A Man to Call My Own

Chapter 31

CHAD SHOWED UP FOR dinner anyway. They were about halfway done when he walked in, sat down, and asked what was for dessert. Kathleen teased him a bit about his horses objecting to the amount of food he was putting away. They bantered back and forth, both laughing, moods light, until he introduced a new topic.

"Is Amanda ill?"

"No, she'd just rather not join the rest of us," Kathleen replied.

"Don't tell me she still needs resting up from the trip?" he asked.

"Possibly. She hasn't taken to the heat very well. You're used to it, so you barely notice it, but—"

"I notice it. It just hasn't been that hot lately, at least not enough to wilt the lady. So she's still pouting over being here?"

Kathleen coughed. Marian stared. To hear him call it on the mark, well, it didn't quite make sense to her, since he'd never spoken derisively about Amanda before. But then she was forgetting that he was probably still angry with her sister because he thought she'd played one of her tricks on him that morning.

She was amazing herself by how calm she'd remained ever since he walked in. Bantering with Kathleen, laughing, he'd behaved as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened that morning—until he mentioned Amanda. Then his tone had changed abruptly.

Her own anger was still simmering beneath the surface. Not that she still didn't want to shoot him. Of course, she knew she was being unfair. She'd known from the start that he'd wanted Amanda.

"I'm glad y'all didn't wait on me," Amanda said in the doorway, using a thick, if poor imitation of a Texas drawl. "And no, I haven't been pouting, darlin," she added, staring at Chad as she fanned herself vigorously. "Goodness, you aren't still annoyed that our little tryst in the stable got interrupted this morning, are you?"

Marian sucked in her breath. How on earth had Amanda found out about that? And why was she deliberately reinforcing Chad's conclusion that it had been her that he'd made love to?

Chad was blushing profusely, with Kathleen now staring at him wide-eyed. This was just the sort of scene Amanda loved to create, but for once it probably wasn't completely deliberate, or planned. She'd obviously overheard his less-than-flattering remarks about her and was now getting even with him. She wouldn't have come right in, because it would have taken her a few minutes to get her rage under control.

Marian was doing some blushing of her own. God, this meant Amanda had overheard a lot more than the table conversation just now. She had to have been in the stable this morning. There was no other way she could know about what had happened there.

But she had no reason to be in the stable. She didn't like horses, and she didn't know how to drive a carriage even if it had occurred to her to escape with the one still on the premises. There was simply nothing to draw her there—except Chad. She'd either seen him return to the ranch and decided to amuse herself with him for a while, to relieve her boredom. Or—actually, it was more likely that she'd simply been watching from her room when they were in the corral, saw Chad drag Marian back inside the stable, and was curious enough to come down to investigate why—and found them making love, and overheard what he'd said.

She must have thought it hilarious, that he'd drawn the wrong conclusion. She'd probably been laughing over it all day and plotting how to make the best use of what she knew in order to hurt Marian. This little scene wasn't for Chad's benefit. Amanda could care less what he thought. He was merely a tool to use, and a perfect one, since Amanda now knew that Marian wanted him for herself.

This was so typical of Amanda. She was getting to rub Marian's nose in the fact that men always preferred her. She was also getting to scandalize Kathleen, which was part of her current agenda. And she would let Chad know how little he mattered in the scheme of things. She wasn't done showing him the consequences of straying from the path of worshiping her. No, Marian didn't doubt that at all.

She felt sick to her stomach. She might have wanted to shoot Chad herself, but she wouldn't have wished Amanda's vindictiveness on him. And it was pointless for her to speak up with the truth. Amanda would call her a liar, so would Chad for that matter, since he'd been so sure which woman he'd made love to.

Amanda was only half-dressed. Marian hadn't noticed right off that her sister was making yet another visual statement about the heat. She was without her camisole and probably her bloomers, too, to go by the slimness of her skirt. And her blouse was unbuttoned down the front beyond decency. It was thin enough to show the shadow of her nipples beneath it, not that the deep V of her blouse wasn't close to showing them off even more. She'd probably come downstairs to shock them with her attire, but with Chad there, she'd found better ammo to use. Marian hoped Kathleen would realize this was just another performance for her benefit, but a glance at her aunt showed she was only just recovering from her initial shock and was blushing again because of Amanda's state of undress.

"We'll discuss your—activities, after you get dressed," Kathleen said sternly.

Amanda raised a golden brow at her and leaned back lazily against the doorframe. "I am dressed, as much as I can tolerate in this heat. Besides, a marriage blessing is all that's required of you, Aunt Kathleen," she added with a tight little smile. "My behavior and the way I dress don't fall under your sphere of influence, so don't think you have anything to say about what I do. I'm only here because there is money involved."

"You're here because your father elected to make me your guardian."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not a child who needs a guardian."

"Then you might want to stop acting like one. Or is this your way of drawing my attention to the fact that you've made your choice about whom you want to marry?"

"Choice? You mean the cowboy here?" Amanda turned her gaze on Chad. "You didn't have marriage in mind this morning, now did you, darlin'?"

Chad was blushing again, probably because Kathleen was frowning at him. "I can explain, Red. It was a riding lesson that got out of hand."

"A riding lesson?" Amanda smirked. "That's a rather crude way of putting it."

Chad ignored the interruption, even though more color in his cheeks said he'd heard it clearly. But it was Kathleen he addressed, assuring her, "I'll take full responsibility for my actions."

Kathleen sighed at that point. "I know you will, never doubted it for a moment. I'm just sorry you have to in this case."

Amanda had been about to decline any further involvement with Chad. Marian was sure of it. She had set up the scene for one of her nasty set-downs, would want to punish Chad for straying from the path of worshiping only her, and he'd obliged her, had left himself wide open to get his self-esteem demolished. But Kathleen's sympathy for him had her changing her mind—for the moment.

Marian often wished she didn't know the way her sister's mind worked, but she did. Amanda had just been given the means to prolong the agony—for all of them. If Kathleen didn't really want Chad to marry Amanda, as her last remark suggested, then Amanda would suddenly find it worth considering, at least temporarily, until a better option presented itself. Plus, she'd have the bonus of knowing it would hurt Marian the most.

Amanda yawned to show her boredom with the subject, even waved her hand for emphasis, and said, "I'll think about it."

"Appears you already did," Kathleen pointed out bluntly.

Amanda merely laughed and strolled toward the stairs. She'd done what she set out to do and would now go gloat over it in private.

The silence that remained at the table was painful. Marian couldn't bear to be a part of it for long, and with a mumbled, "Excuse me," left the room as well.

She got out right before the tears started. So silly of her to let one of Amanda's scenes upset her. She should know better. Actually, this time it wasn't really Amanda's fault. She'd just done what she always did, stir the pot to boiling. What really bothered her was knowing that Chad was a part of it this time, and even further out of her reach than ever.

Being shot would have been a kinder fate for him than ending up with Amanda for a wife.