by Lori Wick
Angel’s smile was distracted, but knowing she was welcome she stepped in and took a chair across the desk. Preston put the papers he’d been reading aside and simply stared at her for a moment. Finally he said, “What can I do for you, Angel?”
She sighed. “I hate to ask it, Preston, but is there any chance I could have a raise?”
“I think it’s possible. Can you tell me what’s on your mind?”
Angel hesitated. She knew that Preston would stay quiet, but what did it matter? The way Rebecca’s shape was changing, her pregnancy wouldn’t be a secret for long.
“Rebecca is expecting.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t,” Angel said patiently, “but I’ll explain. She’s married but didn’t realize her condition until just tonight. I want to be able to give her a little more money. That’s the reason for the raise.”
“Why doesn’t she just go back to her husband?”
“She doesn’t want to right now, and I for one would never force her. She’s doing Dan’s laundry and some shirts for a few of the boys here, but I don’t want her to take on any more than that. I’m not sure what babies cost, but I think we’d better start putting something aside now.”
The use of the word “we” and the tender look in her eyes were not lost on Preston. He stared at the woman across from him for a full 30 seconds, his heart finally admitting that he was in love with Angel Flanagan. But he would have been foolish to try to reckon with his feelings at the time. He forced his mind back to Rebecca.
“What is it about this girl, Angel? Both you and Dan seem so attracted.”
Angel shrugged, her face more open and vulnerable than Preston had ever seen.
“I don’t know, Preston. She’s like the kid sister I never had. She’s so sweet and unassuming, and so innocent I’m afraid to let her out of my sight. Now I find out that she’s expecting.”
“Are you sure she’s not having one on you, Angel?”
“I’m sure. I was the one to point out to her that she must be pregnant. I thought she might faint. I can assure you, there was no pretense.”
They were quiet for several seconds before the man spoke.
“Well, plan on your raise this week.” He smiled just slightly. “I’ll have to come by sometime and meet this woman I’m supporting.”
“Why don’t you come to dinner?” Angel asked kindly. Again, Preston was amazed at the change in her.
“Rebecca always has supper ready for me before I go to work. You could eat with us before we have to come here.”
“All right.” Preston knew that his voice sounded different as well. “What night?”
“Thursday. Come Thursday about 4:00.”
Preston nodded.
“I’ll ask Dan too. He comes often anyway.”
Angel had stood now and was at the door when Preston spoke again.
“Does he know about Rebecca’s baby?”
“No. He’s got to be told, but it’s really her affair. I know she doesn’t see his feelings for her.”
Angel said the words but heard them as if someone else had spoken. She looked into Preston’s eyes, and for a moment she couldn’t move or speak. It was some seconds before she nearly whispered, “I’ll see you here tomorrow night.”
“All right, Angel,” Preston’s voice, equally soft, sounded like a caress. “And I’ll plan on Thursday.”
Angel didn’t say anything else before she left, but her eyes told Preston that she was pleased about his coming; surprised by the fact, but very pleased indeed.
15
Rebecca woke slowly, her mind full of the night before. In the last few weeks she had become adept at retreating into her own little dream world, but now it was time to face the truth. She was having Travis’ baby. She had run away from the man but now carried his child.
Not able to sleep after she heard Angel leave, Rebecca had lit the lamp again and slipped the nightgown back over her head. With the curtains drawn against the night, she stood before the mirror and made herself face the facts. There was no getting over the bulge in her abdomen or the thickness of her waist. She was going to have a baby. Not even 20 years old, and only three nights with her husband, but she was going to have a child.
At that point she couldn’t do any more. She had climbed back into bed and fallen instantly asleep. She hadn’t even heard Angel come in or check on her, but now, with the morning light peeking around the curtain, it was time to rise and make plans.
She decided almost instantly not to contact Travis. She was not afraid of him, but neither did she want him involved. It never occurred to her how she would feel if Travis kept a child of theirs away from her. She knew only that she didn’t trust him right now. She had trusted him, but now she felt used. She asked herself how she would feel if she were to learn that she’d been all wrong about the situation. How would she respond if she learned that Travis loved her and not the ranch? The idea was so inconceivable to her that she immediately dismissed it. He’d had his chance. He was not the man her father thought, and that was all there was to it. Everyone made errors in judgment, her father included.
Rebecca struggled to push his face from her mind—not the Travis of the last few days, hurting and distant, but the Travis who had met her at the stage office and had taken her on walks and held her hand, treating her like she was a rare bloom.
But that didn’t last for long, did it? Her anger sparked unaccountably and without warning. He certainly didn’t want to stop at holding my hand, and now I’ll have a baby to show for it!
That Rebecca was not thinking logically was not entirely clear to her. Her emotions were too close to the surface. It was true that she had been coerced into marrying Travis, but for some reason her father’s role failed to surface in her memory. Travis Buchanan had not forced her into anything, but before she rose for the day she was convinced that the only thing her husband had ever wanted was to own the Double Star and to get her into bed for a few nights.
It was unfortunate for Dan that he came in just after Rebecca had decided all men were dogs. She seemed glad to see him, and even told herself that this man was different, but her heart was a bit wary. Dan had no idea about the storm that had brewed in her mind a few hours earlier.
“Can I talk you into joining me for a picnic lunch?” he asked with a kind smile.
“Is it that warm out?” she asked him.
“You’ll need a sweater, but I know a place that’s protected by some rocks. We’ll never feel the wind.”
Rebecca smiled, feeling pleased all of a sudden, and Dan took that as a yes.
“Who knows,” he went on innocently, his voice light and teasing. “Maybe I’ll even be lucky and steal a kiss.”
The eyes that Rebecca turned to him were so cold that Dan blinked.
“I thought we were just friends,” she told him stonily.
“We are,” Dan said gently, thinking he understood but sorry he had opened his mouth.
“Then why would you even think about kissing me?”
Dan’s heart melted. Still not understanding the situation, he approached. His hands went to the arms that Rebecca held stiffly at her side. He rubbed ever so gently, his voice tender.
“Rebecca, I was not threatening you, but I’m not made of wood either. A man would have to be dead not to be affected by your sweetness.” Dan’s hand pushed a stray curl from her cheek. “Not to mention the fact that you’re a very lovely and desirable woman.”
Rebecca’s eyes shot sparks. “Friends?”
Dan stared at her outraged face and calmly said, “Yes, Rebecca. Friends.”
“Be friendly to Rebecca,” she went on coldly. “And what will that get me? Probably another baby!”
Dan’s mouth literally swung open. He had never heard her talk like that. Indeed, he hadn’t thought her capable of such thoughts. She had voiced her thoughts so loudly that Angel had awakened. Dan caught her at the edge of his vision as she joined them just inside the kitchen, bu
t he kept his gaze on Rebecca.
Not having fully taken in what she had just said, Dan tried to make amends.
“Rebecca, what is wrong? What did I say?”
“You know very well what you said.” With that she burst into tears, brushed past both Dan and Angel, and bolted from the room. They both stood still long after her bedroom door slammed shut upstairs. Some minutes passed before Dan looked at Angel. She was still in the doorway, a robe thrown carelessly over her frame.
“I just asked her for a picnic,” Dan said, “and teased her about stealing a kiss. She got upset when I told her she was desirable. What woman doesn’t want to hear that, Angel? And what is this talk about a baby?”
Angel thought that if her heart got any softer she would melt, but Dan’s words were almost too much for her. She told him to sit down and checked the coffeepot. It was fairly warm, and before joining him, she poured them both a cup of stale coffee.
“She’s pregnant,” Angel told him straight out. “She realized it only last night. And what’s more, Dan, she’s married. I didn’t know that until last night either.”
Angel watched as the color drained away from Dan’s face. She knew he had it bad, but not until she’d looked into his stricken eyes did she realize how bad.
“Who is this man?” he finally strangled out.
“I don’t know. She hasn’t wanted to share much, and I haven’t pressed her. It doesn’t really matter, at least not to me. I went to Preston last night about a raise. That way Rebecca won’t need to take on any more laundry than she already has.”
“She’s not going to do any laundry in her condition!” Dan thundered, but Angel shook her head.
“We can’t do that do her, Dan. I want her to take it easy, but I think that, baby or not, she’s discovering who she is for the first time. As for the man, if he could let a woman like Rebecca get away, he doesn’t deserve her.”
Dan sat for barely a moment and then spoke fervently. “Nothing has changed for me, Angel. I don’t care about the other man or the baby or anything. I care about Rebecca. I’ve got to make her see that.”
“Well, don’t start by telling her you don’t care about the baby.”
“No, of course not, I just meant—”
“I know, Dan, but that was my clumsy way of saying you’re going to have to go easy.”
Dan nodded, his eyes moving to the ceiling as though he could see through the boards. “I’m not leaving here until I talk to her.”
Angel, not knowing whether that was wise or not, felt it best to keep her mouth shut.
“Look at yourself,” Rebecca, now dry-eyed, hissed at her own reflection. “You’ve enjoyed his attention, and now you know what he wants. He wants what all men want! When are you going to grow up and face facts?”
With a move that was almost vicious, Rebecca grabbed her thick blonde hair and scraped it back away from her face. The style was too severe—it hardened her eyes and made her face look thin—but she found a piece of string and ruthlessly tied the hair back. She glared at her own reflection, vowing not to cry again.
How stupid to react the way she had. What did she care if Dan desired her? Well, let him. No man was going to use her ever again. Not Dan, Travis, or anyone. Ever! Dan’s knock cut into her angry musings, but Rebecca remained stubbornly silent.
“Rebecca.” The knock sounded again. “Are you in there?”
Still she stood mute.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” she told him when she couldn’t hold the words in any longer.
“That’s too bad,” Dan spoke sternly. “If you’re not dressed, you better get behind the screen, because I’m coming in.”
The door opened before Rebecca could move or protest. She was across the room from Dan but showed her disapproval by moving to the window and looking down at the backyard. The door did not close, but Rebecca knew Dan stood looking at her.
“You could have just told me about your husband and the baby.” His voice was soft.
“It’s none of your business.” Her retort was deliberately brutal.
“Well, I’m making it my business.”
“You have no right,” Rebecca told him, spinning from the glass. “It’s none of your concern.”
“Everything about you concerns me, Rebecca, and this is no different.”
His tone and the look in his eyes completely disarmed her. For a moment she stared at him. Dan stared right back.
“I want you to take it easy,” he finally said.
“You’re not going to tell me what to do, Dan.”
“As long as you take it easy, I won’t, but I meant what I said. You’re going to take it slow.”
“And I meant what I said, you’re not—”
“I’ll tell everyone the baby’s mine and that we’re getting married if you don’t do as I tell you.”
Rebecca was thunderstruck. Her mouth opened but then closed again. He could do it. She knew he could do exactly as he said, and everyone would believe him. She didn’t want that. She had been prepared to stand up to him, but she was helpless against this. The fire left her in a hurry. Watching her shoulders slump, Dan thought he’d gone too far, but when he went to her side she did not push away.
“I’m thinking of you, and I’m thinking of the baby, Rebecca.” His voice was no longer stern. “I don’t want you to take on any more than you are right now.”
Thinking logically for the first time in hours, Rebecca saw the wisdom of his words. After all, she still had extra laundry to do as well as Angel’s jobs. At last she nodded silently and let her eyes stray to the window again. Dan wanted above all else to take her into his arms, but he restrained himself. Maybe in time he could still find a way. Maybe in time he could show her how he felt.
To cover his emotions, he cleared his throat and said, “What did you do to your hair, anyway?”
Rebecca’s chin rose in the air, a gesture Dan had never seen before.
“I pulled it back. Do you like it?”
“No, I don’t,” he said honestly but kindly.
“Then I’ll leave it up,” she snapped. Dan had to work at not smiling. Something told him he was headed into a new phase with Rebecca, one that might not be all that fun. However, nothing short of a broken neck would cause him to miss it.
“You don’t have any color in your face at all,” Angel commented on Thursday afternoon. “Why not let me use a little tint from my jars upstairs?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rebecca told her succinctly. “I’m not a hostess at the Silver Bell.”
“Meaning?” Angel pressed her, and Rebecca turned to look at her across the dining room.
“Angel.” She sounded as though she were addressing a child. “What does it matter what I look like for dinner with friends? In your job you have to look good. I don’t.”
“But you have to care, Becky. I mean, your hair and everything—it’s like you no longer care at all.”
Rebecca put her hands on her hips. “Shall we talk about what my vanity got me, Angel? Pregnant, that’s what! And Dan wanting to kiss me besides. Now, I’m not conceited enough to think that Preston is going to drop at my feet, but neither am I going to doll myself up because he’s coming over.”
“But Dan’s coming too, and I—”
“Dan sees me every day, Angel.” Rebecca was bent over the table and not really attending Angel, “and knows what I look like. Beyond that, I don’t care. In fact, I may take pains to look even worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bruno seems to think I need company too.”
“Bruno? Bruno who works at the Silver Bell?”
“That’s the one. He winked at me when he picked his shirts up this morning.” Rebecca turned to look at Angel. “And that was with my hair pulled back!”
Rebecca spun back to the table, and Angel covered the smile that spread over her mouth. What a changed girl Rebecca was from even the beginning of the
week! Monday night she realized she was in a family way, and by Thursday she was telling both Dan and Angel what she would and would not do. She did laundry all day Wednesday, cleaned the house Thursday, and prepared a gorgeous supper for four.
It concerned Angel that Rebecca had begun to look at men as the enemy, but wasn’t she like that herself? She and Dan had been friends for a long time, and Preston had always dealt honestly with her, but there weren’t many men she trusted.
With Preston coming to mind, Rebecca and her situation momentarily faded from Angel’s thoughts. Had she really seen something different in Preston’s face on Monday night? It was so hard to know. Nothing seemed to have altered between them as she worked all week, but he had been so ready to accept her dinner invitation that night. They had never socialized before, not in five years’ time, but now, with little or no warning, he’d been more than willing to come to dinner. Angel mentally shrugged. She was getting fanciful. He was probably just starved for a home-cooked meal.
16
Preston was a man who liked to have a cigar after a good meal, but this afternoon he refrained. Angel wouldn’t have batted an eyelash, and Dan might have joined him, but Rebecca did indeed look like a woman who needed tender care. He thought she would be much more attractive with her hair down, but as it was, she was very lovely and brought out feelings in him that he hadn’t known existed.
What had Angel said? Something about the kid sister she never had. Preston now knew what she meant. He hadn’t expected to share Angel’s feelings, but in some ways it was a relief to have Rebecca distract him. Otherwise he would have been gawking at his hostess. Because he and Angel had never socialized, he had never seen her like she looked this afternoon.
There had never been a time when she didn’t seem alluring, but this afternoon, dressed in a simple cotton dress, her hair pulled back at the sides but not piled atop her head, she was so approachable that Preston nearly embraced her. He could almost feel how wonderful it would be to pull her close and bury his hands in the thick fall of her hair.