by Janet Dailey
"Would you like another Coke, Alison?" Rob inquired, and received an affirmative and smiling nod. His glance then sought out Edie. "How about you, Mrs. Gibbs?"
The appellation made her feel extraordinarily old. "No, thank you," she refused.
The cowboy had barely left the table before Alison was leaning excitedly toward her. "Rob wants to take me home. Do you think it's all right, mom?"
"I just met him, Alison," Edie protested. "I don't know anything about him. Neither do you."
"He's nice. You can see that." Alison was at her persuasive best. "What shall I tell him?"
Maternal instinct insisted that Edie order Alison to come home with her, but it was overwhelmed by the memory of Rob's voice referring to her as Mrs. Gibbs. Her sigh was almost inaudible.
"I can't give you an answer just yet. You can't expect me to make a spur-of-the-moment decision like that, Alison. Let me think about it," she insisted with a vague smile of reassurance.
"But what if he asks me?" her daughter frowned anxiously.
"Let him dangle a little," Edie shrugged. "Tell him that he'll have to wait and see,"
With a grimacing sigh, Alison straightened to glance at the returning cowboy and smile a quick welcome. Edie inspected Rob with a closer eye. Her conclusion matched Jerry's. Rob Lydell was an improvement on some of Alison's past choices in boyfriends.
She didn't notice Jerry rise to his feet until he touched her arm. "The band is playing a slow song, Edie. Want to dance?"
"I'd love to," she agreed without hesitation, and straightened from her chair. "It's been ages since I've danced, so if I step on your toes, don't complain," she added as Jerry guided her onto the dance floor.
"I'm not worried about you stepping on my toes," he grinned. "After all, you're the one that taught both me and Alison how to dance." He turned her into his arms.
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Chapter Nine
WITHIN SECONDS after they had joined the other couples on the dance floor, Jerry became silent and his expression grew serious. Edie glanced around to find the source of his distraction. She knew she had located it the instant her gaze found Felicia dancing with her father. Edie looked quickly away, but not before her heart did a succession of flips at the sight of Will Maddock.
All her senses were on guard, alerted now to the rancher's presence and tracking him with some built-in kind of radar. When someone brushed a shoulder against hers, Edie didn't have to turn to know who it was.
Confirmation came with the stiffening of Jerry's arm around her waist and the low pitch of Will Maddock's familiar voice as he suggested, "Why don't we change partners?"
Edie couldn't think of a single, logical reason to refuse, especially when Jerry was releasing her to welcome Felicia. Then Will's large hand was on her waist, and Edie found herself being guided into his arms and matching her steps to the simple pattern of his. When she lifted her gaze to his rugged face, his gray eyes were smiling at her in a knowing fashion, as if aware of the disturbing effect he had on her. Yet Edie suspected it was all her imagination.
When his gaze drifted after the couple dancing away from them, she glanced at them, too. The young pair were completely wrapped up in each other, oblivious to everything else around them.
"Young love." There was a dryness to Will's remark, and it glittered in his eyes when Edie glanced at them. "No one could pay me to go through those throes of agony again."
In spite of herself she smiled. "Neither would I." She was conscious or a very comfortable closeness, something warm and wonderful.
"My daughter is a true Maddock," he observed in the same tone as before, "Once she decides she wants something, she goes after it. I'm afraid she has decided she wants your step-son."
"Jerry is of the opinion that she has some growing up to do," Edie replied. "At the moment he finds her spoiled, self-centered and immature."
There was agreement in his throaty chuckle. "I always believed that boy had a head on his shoulders, even if he is caught up in that dream of yours about the ranch." Before Edie could take offense at his remark, Will Maddock continued. "That's the trouble with being an only parent. It's hard to say no. I keep trying to make up for the fact that she doesn't have a mother. Normally I wouldn't approve of Felicia being with someone Jerry's age, but I'm hoping he will gently teach her that she can't always have her way."
Her arm tightened around her waist as he avoided a collision with another couple. It broke the pattern and Edie missed a step and brushed against him. The contact with the hard-muscled flesh of his body brought an instant recall of other times when she had been held this close. She had accepted the fact that she found him sexually attractive, but she was only just beginning to discover that he aroused her emotionally, too. Its existence was strong at this moment as his hand shaped itself to the small of her back.
She resisted the molding pressure of his hand as she resisted the discovery of her growing emotional involvement. Directing her gaze away from the broad set of his shoulders and the tanned column of his throat, she sought the distraction of other couples on the dance floor. Alison was among them, her arms wrapped around the neck of her partner.
"Maddock, do you know anything about that cowboy dancing with Alison?" She drew his attention to the pair. "His name is Rob Lydell."
"Yes, I know him. What about him?" His glance was curious.
"He has asked to give Alison a ride home tonight," she explained. "I've only just met him, and I wasn't sure whether I should let Alison go with him or not."
The corners of his mouth twitched in an attempt to suppress a smile. "I think it's safe to say you can trust him." His tone and his vaguely amused attitude caused Edie to frown in confusion. "Rob works for me," he revealed. At first she was too stunned by his answer to reply.
"I should have guessed," she murmured almost under her breath. What was there about these Maddocks, she wondered. First Jerry was succumbing to his daughter's charm, and Alison was all wrapped up with one of his hired hands. And here she was, caught up in some crazy longing for the rancher himself.
"If you'd like, I'll have a talk with Rob and make certain you have no cause for concern about Alison," he offered with parental understanding.
"It isn't that." She shook her head, impatient and suddenly defensive. She attacked out of instinct. "Why can't you leave us alone?"
His glinting gray eyes ran over her face, following her thoughts. The line of his mouth became mocking. "You know the old saying—if you can't beat them, join them."
It wasn't meant to be taken seriously, she realized. He was only baiting her, trying to get a rise from her. Well, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Her gaze was fixed on a point beyond his shoulder. Maddock uncurled his fingers from around her head and tucked one under her chin, lifting it. She was forced to meet his steady gray eyes.
"We Maddocks aren't such a bad lot, Edie. You've got the wrong impression of us altogether," he murmured. "Our differences have been on a purely business level. Your mistake was taking it personally. I've told you that before, but you still don't believe me. Your ranch happens to sit on land I want. If you had bought any other place, I would have wished you the best of luck."
His fingers slowly stroked the underside of her jaw, tracing its firm set. Edie closed her eyes at the raw ache his caress induced. Her fingers closed over his forearm to draw his hand away as the music stopped.
"Which doesn't change the fact that we still own the ranch, Maddock, and we aren't going to sell it to anyone," She replied tightly.
Turning out of his arm, she left the dance floor to return to her table. She was conscious that he followed her, escorting her back. At the table he pulled out her chair. As she sat down, both Jerry and Alison returned. She looked up to see the measured look Maddock gave the two before he nodded briefly to her and moved away toward the bar.
"You didn't mind changing partners, did you, Edie?" Jerry studied the stillness of her features with an anxious frown.
"Of course not." Her assuring smile was stiff, not fully natural.
But Jerry didn't seem to notice as his gaze traveled after the rancher, seeking him out among the others lined up at the bar. "What do you think Maddock would say if I asked to take Felicia home?"
"I'm sure you would have his permission," she replied, remembering the approval Maddock had voiced about Jerry.
"Did he say anything about Felicia and me while you were dancing?" Jerry was quick to catch the note of certainty in her tone.
"Yes. Something to the effect that Felicia has made up her mind she wants you…and a Maddock always gets what he or she wants. So I don't think your request will come as any surprise to him." She smiled to take the little sting of bitterness out of her words.
But Jerry hadn't noticed it. "Excuse me." He rose from his chair to make his way through the crowd to Felicia.
"I don't know what he sees in her," Alison muttered. "She's a brat."
"But a very beautiful brat," Edie pointed out, then remarked on the absence of her daughter's suitor. "Where is Rob?"
"He stopped to chat with some friends. He'll be here shortly," Alison replied confidently.
"You didn't mention that he worked for Maddock." Edie observed the way her daughter nibbled at her lip, revealing the information had been known to her.
"Just because he works for them doesn't make him like them," she reasoned. "Rob is nice."
"I'm not going to argue with that. If you want to ride home with him, I have no objection." After all, Maddock had vouched for him and it was obviously what Alison wanted.
"Thanks, mom." Her face was wreathed by a smile as she leaned over to give Edie a quick hug.
Rob returned to the table to sit beside Alison, and Edie was forgotten as the two spoke in low voices to each other. With Jerry gone as well, Edie felt superfluous. Everyone was paired up except her, and she didn't like the lonely feeling that gave her.
Rising, she laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder to gently intrude on their conversation. "I'm going home," she explained as the reason for the interruption.
"You can't leave now, mom," Alison protested. "It's early yet."
"Maybe for you, but it's late for me." She glanced at the young man sitting so close to her daughter and smiled. "Good night, Rob."
"Good night, ma'am. I'll see that Alison gets home safely," he promised.
"I won't be late," Alison added.
"Tell Jerry I've left when you see him," Edie said as she moved away from the table toward the door.
Outside, the music and the noise of the bar was muffled. Edie paused and lifted her gaze to the night sky, brilliant with stars. A big, heavy moon lolled above the jagged horizon of the Black Hills. After the smoke-filled bar, the air smelled fresh and sweet.
As her thoughts wandered over the night's events, she strolled in the direction of the parked car. What was it the master battle tacticians said? Divide and conquer. That was precisely what was happening. Jerry was with Felicia Maddock. Alison was with Rob Lydell, Maddock's hired man. And she was finding Maddock more irresistible with each meeting. It didn't bode well for the future.
She sighed and crossed in front of the dark opening to an alleyway. With her head down, Edie didn't notice the next building contained a honky-tonk bar until the door slammed and three laughing cowboys staggered outside. They dawdled there, trying to decide where to go next. They were blocking the front part of the sidewalk, so Edie moved to walk behind them and continue to her car parked half a block away. At that moment they noticed her, and one of them let out a long wolf whistle. The implied compliment tugged at the corners of her mouth with a smile.
"Where are you going, honey?" One of the young cowboys moved in front of her to stop her.
"Can we come along?" a second spoke up.
The building was at her back as they crowded around her, yet there was nothing threatening in their manner. They'd had a few drinks and were ready for a good time. Edie was neither worried nor afraid.
"Sorry, fellas. I'm on my way home, so how about letting me by?" Her request was friendly but firm.
"The night's young," the third insisted. "It's too early to go home."
"I'll bet she had a fight with her boyfriend," the first one guessed.
The second cowboy took up the thought before Edie could respond. "You aren't going to let him spoil your evening, are you? It would be a shame to let that pretty dress go to waste."
"We'll take you out," the first one offered. "You just tell us where you want to go and we'll take you." There was a chorus of agreement from the other two.
"Thanks for the invitation, but I want to go home—alone." She stressed the last to leave them in no doubt. "Would you mind letting me pass?"
There was a slight shift, creating a gap between two of them. As Edie started to slip through it, the third cowboy made one last attempt to change her mind.
"Come on, honey. Take pity on three lonely cowboys," he coaxed.
A voice came from behind all of them. "You boys aren't listening. The lady said no."
Edie pivoted as she recognized Will Maddock's voice. The sight of his large frame standing by the shadows of the alleyway took everyone by surprise. The young cowboy closest to him recovered first and swaggered forward a couple of steps.
"Well, well, well. If it ain't the big bull of the woods himself," he drawled with exaggerated thickness. "I don't recall you bein' invited to this party."
"I invited myself. Now let the lady pass." There was a steel-hard quality to his voice, but his face was in the shadows and Edie couldn't make out his features.
The third cowboy continued to stand in front of Maddock in silent challenge. "Is that an order?"
"Yes."
Edie felt the tension build in the air. These boys were ripe for some excitement, and Maddock's attitude was all the provocation they needed. She could sense it rippling through the trio of cowhands out for a night on the town.
"What if we don't obey your order?" the freckle-faced one on Edie's left inquired with feigned innocence.
"I guess I'll have to show you that it's the right thing to do." Maddock shrugged easily.
"Maddock—" She attempted to protest his handling of the situation, but he didn't give her a chance.
"Stay out of this, Edie," he ordered tersely.
"Edie?" The second cowboy looked at her, catching Maddock's familiar use of her name and drawing his own conclusion. "Is he the one who spoiled your evening and sent you home early?"
She intended to respond to that and attempt to defuse the scene, but it had already escalated beyond the point where any of the men would listen to her. She realized that as gone as the first cowboy took a step toward Maddock.
"I always wondered if you were as tough as everyone says," he murmured. "I guess I'll have to find out for myself."
"I guess you will," Maddock agreed.
The cowboy took the first swing, a blow that was warded off by Maddock's upraised arm. With every intention of stopping the fight before it went further, Edie took a step forward, but the shortest cowboy of the trio caught her by the waist to prevent her from reaching the scuffling pair.
"You'd better stay here, miss," he advised for her own protection. "We don't want you getting hurt."
Despite her struggles, she was held fast. When it became apparent that the first cowboy was getting the worst of it, the freckle-faced cowboy rushed in to help his buddy. The cowboy holding Edie blocked most of her view, limiting her knowledge of the fight to the grunting sounds of the protagonists, the thud of landing fists and thrashing bodies.
Finally there was a kind of silence underlined with heavy breathing and punctuated with soft moans. The arms holding Edie loosened as the last cowboy carefully let her go and moved out of her way. She saw Maddock standing there, breathing hard and swaying a little while his two opponents staggered unsteadily to their feet.
"Had enough?" His rough voice made a winded challenge.
; One of them nodded an affirmative answer and reached down to scoop up Maddock's hat and hand it to him. Edie stared in stunned disbelief as the cowboy's hand remained outstretched to shake Maddock's. The second cowboy did the same in a show of no hard feelings. Then all three were drifting across the street. Edie heard the good-natured ribbing start among them before they reached the other side.
"Are you all right?"
Maddock's question roused her from her stillness. Men, she thought, why do they think everything has to be settled by a fight?
"Who asked you to interfere?" she demanded, because as far as she was concerned, she hadn't been in any danger at all. The resulting brawl had been completely unnecessary.
"No one. The boys were looking for some adventure. It's better that I supplied it instead of you," he said, straightening a little and squaring his shoulders as if regathering his strength.
Her gaze narrowed in sharp suspicion as it occurred to her that Maddock had not simply "happened" to come this way. "Why were you following me?"
"I realized that I hadn't told you how attractive your dress is with shoes." His compliment reminded her of that afternoon when he'd seen her trying on the dress barefoot. Some of her irritation faded with his remark. He lifted a hand to his cheek and wiped at it. She saw the glistening dark stain of blood on his fingers. "One of those damned cowboys cut me with a ring," he muttered under his breath.
"You'd better let me look at it." She walked over to him and took the handkerchief he produced from a rear pocket. Folding it, she dabbed at the blood oozing from the gash on his cheekbone. In the shadowed night she couldn't tell the extent of the injury. "There isn't enough light here."
"There's a back entrance to this bar in the alley. The owner is a friend of mine. We can use his office in the rear." With the first step he took toward the dark alley, he swayed unsteadily. Edie was instantly at his side to curve an arm around his middle, offering him slim support. Maddock paused, leaning some of his weight on her until his legs were steady under him. He draped an arm across her shoulders, his hand closing on the soft flesh of her arm, and started into the alley. "I haven't been in a fight for five years. If that third man had come at me, I don't think I would have been standing at the end."