Innocent Fire
Page 34
“Where’s Rathe?” Derek was asking, after shaking hands with Langdon—a tall, dark man in his late thirties.
There was a crash from upstairs and the sound of pounding footsteps. Miranda and Derek looked toward the ceiling at the same time, both frowning. “I think your question has been answered,” Miranda said.
Derek walked to the open doors and called, “Rathe, Rathe, come down here this instant.” His voice was loud and stern.
“My youngest has a penchant for mischief,” Miranda told her father, smiling ruefully. “I thought Nick was bad when he was younger, then I thought Storm was bad, but Rathe makes them seem like angels.”
“Your children are beautiful, dear,” Shelton said, looking proud. “I wish Angeline were here to share your family with me.”
Miranda had a tremendous urge to cry and to hug her father. She remembered as if it were yesterday her father slapping her mother and calling her a slut, then hitting her. But here he was filled with a grief that wouldn’t die. She was confused.
“Here’s the scamp,” Derek said, propelling forward a boy of about five who was the golden image of his father, except for his sapphire blue eyes.
“It was an accident!” Rathe yelled. “I swear!”
“Don’t lie and swear in the same breath,” Derek said. “And we’ll discuss your mother’s broken vase later.”
“Oh, Rathe!” Miranda cried, frowning.
“Rathe’s in trouble now.” Storm grinned.
Rathe tossed a defiant look at her. “It was an accident! I swear!”
“Rathe, this is your grandfather,” Miranda said, taking him firmly by the hand. The boy seemed to be bursting with energy, barely able to stay in one place.
“Hello there, Rathe.”
“So you’re my grandpa. Do you really live in England? Are you really an earl? How come Nick gets to be an earl, and I don’t? Can I come visit? Do you have horses?”
“Yes, Rathe, I do live in England, and yes, I am an earl.” Shelton smiled at him warmly. “I’m afraid only the oldest son can take the family title, but you are most certainly welcome to visit. Perhaps you’ll come visit your brother when he is earl of Dragmore.” Shelton winked at Nick.
Rathe whooped, jumping up and down.
“I hope you’ll be staying for a while,” Derek said. “I would love my kids to have a chance to get to know their grandfather.”
Shelton looked at Miranda. “It’s possible, although Paul will be leaving from Galveston in a few days.”
“Gold fever.” Langdon smiled.
“Going to make your fortune?” said Derek.
“Don’t see why not,” Langdon said easily.
“C’mon, Langdon,” Derek said. “Me and the kids are going to give you a tour of the ranch.” He looked at Miranda and Shelton. “I think these two have some catching up to do.” He took Rathe’s hand firmly, and Langdon followed the troop of Braggs. At the door, Rathe broke free of his father’s hold, shrieking, running into the hall. Derek grinned back at Miranda with a little shrug before closing the door behind their guest.
Father and daughter looked at each other.
“You have a beautiful family, Miranda,” Shelton said softly. He gazed fixedly at his daughter.
“Thank you, Father. How about something to drink?”
“Yes, please.”
Miranda poured them both a brandy and sat on a divan that was covered with floral chintz. Her father sat on a sofa upholstered in striped silk.
“I’m so glad you’re happy,” Shelton said. “Even though your letters were few, your love came through in every sentence.”
“I am happy,” Miranda said. “Completely. “I’m in love with my husband, and I adore my children. We have a wonderful home.” She gestured. “It hasn’t been easy.”
“You look exactly like Angeline,” Shelton said, shakily. “It’s like gazing upon a ghost.”
Miranda saw the pain in his eyes and her heart went out to him. “You loved her.”
“Very much.”
She thought about that and realized that what a little girl had seen might have been an isolated incident. As if reading her mind, Shelton spoke. “I would like to share the past with you, Miranda.”
She looked at him. “I would like that too,” she said, tears coming to her eyes. “But you don’t have to, not if you don’t want to. I can see how much you loved her. I realize that I was wrong, Father.”
He gave her an understanding smile.
“Are you going to California?”
“No. I had considered it, though, I must admit. The past ten years have been painful for me. But I can’t neglect my estate, my duties.” He smiled. “Paul’s decision to go to California gave me an opportunity to come here that I couldn’t resist.”
“I’m glad you’ve come.”
A silence descended, sad yet warm. Miranda wondered how she had ever been afraid of her father. He was no beast, no terrible monster, just a man.
From outside, there was an explosion of noise. Nick shouted, Storm shrieked, and Rathe gave a perfect imitation of an Apache war cry. Through it all could be heard the sound of Derek’s rich laughter. Then the three children started yelling at once, vying for their father’s attention, and Derek’s laughter could still be heard. Miranda smiled.
“What’s going on?” Shelton asked, startled.
Miranda shrugged. “Who knows? Sometimes I think Derek believes the children are here to amuse him, his personal circus troop.” She was smiling tenderly.
Still, she couldn’t resist. With her father at her side, they went to the window and peered out the long velvet drapes. Derek had Rathe perched on his shoulders, laughing helplessly. Langdon was at his side, and they were watching Storm and Nick, both astride the same horse. Storm was in front, standing, slipping, the horse snorting in protest. Nick moved the horse into a trot. Storm yelped. The mare broke into a canter, and Nick stood gracefully. It looked extremely precarious.
“Bravo!” Derek shouted.
With laughter, Storm slipped, taking Nick with her, and they went tumbling to the ground. Derek was still laughing, and Miranda tried not to smile.
About the Author
BRENDA JOYCE is the bestselling author of thirty-nine novels and five novellas. She has won many awards, and her debut novel, Innocent Fire, won a Best Western Romance Award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance Award for Splendor and two Lifetime Achievement Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. There are more than fourteen million copies of her novels in print and she is published in more than a dozen foreign countries.
A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her website: www.brendajoyce.com.
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Avon Books by
Brenda Joyce
AFTER INNOCENCE
BEYOND SCANDAL
CAPTIVE
THE FIRES OF PARADISE
FIRESTORM
THE GAME
INNOCENT FIRE
PROMISE OF THE ROSE
SCANDALOUS LOVE
SECRETS
VIOLET FIRE
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
INNOCENT FIRE. Copyright © 1988 by Brenda Joyce Dworman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted
, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition DECEMBER 2008 ISBN: 9780061984464
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