CHAPTER SIX
Grady swore Richard must have invited the entire population of Promise to this so-called party. Neighbors and friends whirled around the makeshift dance floor, while others sat in the sunshine and exchanged gossip. Grady didn’t want anything to do with it.
The first he’d heard of Richard’s party was when he found Savannah in the kitchen this morning cooking her heart out. The next thing he knew, Millie Greenville from the local flower shop was stringing Chinese lanterns around the backyard and asking him when he intended to set up the tables. According to Millie, he was going to need at least twenty to accommodate everyone.
Before he fully comprehended what was happening, people started to arrive. The lead singer of the Hoss Cartrights asked him questions he couldn’t answer. Apparently they didn’t need his help because the next time he stepped out of the barn, they’d set up a stage, plugged in their sound equipment and spread a bale of straw across the lawn for a dance floor.
Richard, dressed in his fancy new duds, was in his element. Grady didn’t know what had possessed him to give in to Savannah’s pleadings to let their worthless brother stay on until his severance check showed up. Grady wasn’t entirely convinced there was a check. Furthermore he wondered where the hell Richard was getting the money to pay for his new clothes, not to mention this party. The guy was supposed to be broke. Well, maybe he had a charge card he hadn’t told them about.
As for Richard’s staying on, Savannah insisted it’d only be a few days. Richard needed to recuperate, rest up. To hear her tell it, you’d think he’d been working on a chain gang for the past six years and was practically at death’s door. Judging by the energy his kid brother displayed on the dance floor, he’d recovered quickly, Grady thought.
The beer flowed free and easy. Grady was on his second bottle himself: The Chili Pepper’s spicy barbecue sauce sizzled on the large tin-drum grills, filling the air with a spicy smoky aroma. The dinner line extended halfway around the house.
Those who weren’t eating or dancing mingled in the yard, making themselves at home. Grady had originally decided not to participate in Richard’s party, but his standoffishness hadn’t lasted long.
Cal and Glen Patterson, neighboring ranchers and friends, arrived then. They sat with him on the porch steps. Grady couldn’t remember the last time he’d shot the breeze with the brothers. The three of them had grown up together and remained close to this day. As close as Grady allowed anyone to get.
“I didn’t think you’d ever welcome Richard back,” Cal said, leaning back, a beer in one hand. Cal and the sheriff were the only two who knew about Richard’s theft. It wasn’t the kind of information you shared about family.
“I didn’t welcome him back.” Grady wanted that understood right then and there. This party wasn’t his idea.
Grady noticed Sheriff Hennessey twirling Dovie Boyd around the dance floor. His opinion of the lawman had fallen several degrees when he’d failed to turn up anything on Smith. If the man was doing his job, he grumbled to himself, Frank would be down at the office right this minute, instead of partying.
“If you aren’t responsible for this welcoming, then whose idea was it?” Cal asked. “Savannah’s?”
“Nope. Richard organized it himself.” Grady took another swallow of beer. The cold brew helped relieve his growing sense of frustration. Again he wondered how Richard intended to pay for all this. Surely he wasn’t expecting him to foot the bill. That would be too brazen even for Richard.
His mistake, Grady realized, was giving in and allowing Richard to stay that first night. Now his younger brother had manipulated him once again—made it look as if Grady had welcomed him back with open arms. As far as he was concerned, Richard couldn’t leave soon enough.
Savannah had been slaving in the kitchen since before dawn. Neighbors he hadn’t seen in months had brought over pies, cakes and an assortment of side dishes; they’d delivered picnic tables and dozens of lawn chairs. And now Grady was indebted to each and every one of them. His neighbors would be looking for return favors, too. Especially of the social kind. It wouldn’t take long for the invites to arrive, and he’d be expected to accept. Damn it all. He’d never been a partygoer and didn’t intend to start now.
“What I’d like to know,” Grady muttered to his friends, “is how the hell he’s paying for all this.”
“Did you ask him?” Glen, the younger of the Patterson brothers, inquired.
“I didn’t have a chance.” The party was happening before Grady even knew there was going to be one. If he’d had a clue what his brother was up to, he would have put a stop to it. The last time he’d seen this many people had been the day he buried his parents. Leave it to Richard to dredge up the most pain-filled memory of his life.
“Who’s that?” Glen asked, directing their attention to a blonde woman walking in from the driveway. The row of cars stretched all the way to the road. Fifty at last count.
Grady didn’t recognize the newcomer, either. She was young and pretty, if such attributes mattered to him, which they didn’t. She didn’t seem to know many people because she stood at the edge of the crowd, looking self-conscious in a pin-striped power suit. Whoever she was, she’d completely overdressed for the party.
Cal sat up and gave her a long stare. “Isn’t that the new doc? Jane something-or-other.”
“She’s a doctor?” Glen asked with disbelief. “Promise has a lady doctor? When did all this happen?”
“Last week.” Cal nudged his brother with an elbow. “Don’t you two read the paper?”
“Who has time?” Grady wanted to know.
“Cal keeps the weekly edition by the john, don’t you, big brother?” Glen teased.
“Well, it gets read, doesn’t it?” Cal chided. “Her picture was on the front page. She’s here on one of those government programs.”
“What government program?”
“I don’t know the name of it, but the paper said she agreed to work off her medical-school loans by volunteering her skill in a deprived area.”
“Promise is a deprived area?” This was news to Grady.
“Must be,” Cal muttered, sounding as surprised as Grady.
“Hey, we got a doctor who didn’t fight in the battle for the Alamo?”
Doc Cummings had retired at the first of the year at the age of seventy. At least he admitted to being seventy, but in Grady’s opinion, he was on the shady side of that figure. He’d delivered Grady and just about everyone else in town under forty. Rumor had it that Doc Cummings was lazing his days away on the Gulf coast now, eating shrimp and soaking up the sunshine. Grady wished the old coot well.
Caroline Daniels strolled past, carrying a bowl of potato salad. She returned a minute or so later with an empty one. Straining, Grady glanced into the kitchen and caught a glimpse of Savannah feverishly making another batch of salad. Smith was there with her, sitting at the table and dutifully peeling potatoes. Those two were as thick as thieves, despite all his warnings. His talk with Laredo Smith hadn’t made any difference; he suspected Savannah was still planning a return visit to Bitter End. It hadn’t been easy swallowing his pride and asking for Smith’s help. The wrangler appeared to have gotten the wrong message, too, because he spent every available minute with Savannah, just as if Grady had given the pair his blessing. He hadn’t. Despite his job offer, he wanted the other man off the ranch and the sooner the better.
“Are you going to dance with me or not?” Breathlessly Ellie Frasier plopped herself down next to Glen. They were good friends and had been for years. Grady had never understood how a man could be friends with a woman and not get romantically involved. But that seemed to be the way it was with Glen and Ellie. They were friends and nothing more.
Ellie needed a confidant these days, according to Cal. Her father was terminally ill and had been transferred to a hospital in San Antonio. Her mother was spending all her time there while Ellie ran the family store. Grady sympathized; he knew all too well the pain of losing a parent. Ellie was young to be taking on such heavy responsibility, but from what he heard, she was up to the task. She spent as much time as possible visiting her father, and between driving to San Antonio and managing the business, she was running herself ragged. It surprised him a little that Ellie was at the party, and he guessed Glen had something to do with that. Getting away from all the emotional pressures was probably the best thing for her.
“So what about that dance, Patterson?”
“Seems to me you’ve already got yourself a dance partner,” Glen said. He stared pointedly in Richard’s direction. Grady’s brother was at his most charming, teasing and laughing with the women, exchanging jokes with the men. Outgoing, personable, the life of the party—and self-appointed guest of honor, to boot.
“I gotta say,” Ellie said, speaking to Grady, “your brother’s mighty light on his feet.”
Yeah, in more ways than one. Grady was tempted to say it but didn’t. He frowned, instead. Richard had been on the dance floor for hours without revealing any signs of slowing down. Grady suspected his brother had danced with every woman in town at least once, and the pretty ones twice. He’d taken a liking to Ellie, that was for sure. Grady had seen the two of them dancing three or four times already. He wanted to issue a word of caution, seeing how vulnerable Ellie must be feeling, but he bit his tongue. She’d find out soon enough what kind of man his brother was.
“I’d forgotten how much fun Richard could be,” Ellie said.
“He’s a regular laugh fest,” Grady agreed sarcastically; he couldn’t help it. Ellie studied him for a moment and he hoped she’d gotten the message.
“Don’t mind Grady,” Glen said, looping his arm around Ellie’s shoulders. “He’s just sore because he doesn’t have anyone to dance with.”
Grady’s frown deepened. He wasn’t about to make a fool of himself in front of the entire town. While Richard might know his way around a dance floor, Grady had been cursed with two left feet. The last time he’d attempted to dance he’d been in his teens and forced to wear a suit and boutonniere.
“I haven’t seen this many people since the Willie Nelson Fourth of July picnic,” Cal said. Like Grady, his friend wasn’t much of a social animal. Glen was by far the most outgoing of the three men. He’d tried to drag Grady off to the town’s biggest function—next to the cattlemen’s dance and the rodeo—for the past six years. Every Fourth of July Promise threw a Willie Nelson picnic, hoping the popular entertainer would agree to visit. Willie had politely declined each year, but the town councillors hadn’t let that deter them from holding the affair in the singer’s honor.
“Come on,” Ellie urged, tugging at Glen’s hand. “I want to dance.” With a show of reluctance, Glen untangled his feet and stood.
The pair were out of earshot when Cal spoke. “We won’t see him the rest of the night. Once he’s out on the floor, he won’t quit.”
“Go ahead if you feel like it,” Grady told his friend. “No need to keep me company.”
“No thanks. I’m happy to sit here for a while.”
Cal lingered an hour or so, not that they said much. This was what Grady enjoyed most about his friend. They didn’t have to fill every silence with idle chatter. A couple of times he was on the verge of mentioning Savannah’s recent trek to the ghost town, but he held his tongue. The last time either one of them had talked about Bitter End, they’d been in their teens. Anyway, there wasn’t anything Cal could tell him he didn’t already know. Besides, Savannah was his concern, not his neighbor’s. After a time Cal drifted away to get himself some barbecue.
Laughter and music abounded. It disgusted Grady to watch his brother. Richard continued to be sociable and entertaining, the focus of the party. It certainly hadn’t taken him long to put the good people of Promise under his spell. Once again Grady wondered how his brother intended to pay for all this, but it wasn’t his concern, and he wasn’t going to worry about it.
The kitchen door opened and Caroline stepped outside. Her gaze caught Grady’s; she waved, then walked over to where Adam Braunfels was handing out beer. She collected two.
Grady was somewhat surprised when she brought the extra bottle over to him. “You look like you could use this,” she said, and sat down on the step beside him. She tucked one knee under her chin while her foot tapped to the beat of the music.
Grady saluted her with the bottle and took a long swallow of beer. Neither spoke for a few minutes; both of them just stared at the dance floor. Finally Caroline said, “He’s really something, isn’t he?”
“If you came over here to sing Richard’s praises, I don’t want to hear them.”
“This might surprise you, Grady, but I’m not a fan of your brother’s.”
It was news to Grady, and he found himself grateful that at least one other person hadn’t been blinded by Richard’s charm. “I get the impression you aren’t particularly fond of me, either,” he said wryly.
She grinned. “I don’t dislike you. I don’t always agree with you, but you’re not half-bad.”
It wasn’t much of a compliment, but Grady would take what he could get. “Hey, careful. Sweet talk just might turn my head.”
Caroline burst into laughter.
Grady smiled for probably the first time that day. “So you’re not one of Richard’s adoring fans.” Funny how that one bit of information encouraged him.
“If it was up to me, I’d string Richard up by his thumbs. Savannah’s been stuck in the kitchen for hours. I don’t think she had any idea what to expect. Richard had told her to plan for about 150 people—she assumed he was joking.”
Right then and there Grady decided that, come morning, Richard was off the Yellow Rose. He didn’t care how many arguments Savannah made in their brother’s defense. They should’ve run him off the property the minute he set foot on their land. Grady shook his head. Surely Savannah would agree with him now.
“Maggie certainly seems to be taken with him,” he noted, frowning as he brought the beer bottle to his lips. His younger brother danced with the five-year-old, twirling her about the floor. The youngster’s shrieks of delight could be heard over the music. Richard’s success with Maggie rankled, especially since the child ran away in terror whenever she laid eyes on Grady. Somehow or other, without realizing what he’d done, Grady had frightened the kid. For the life of him, he didn’t know how it’d happened, and despite his efforts, he hadn’t been able to repair the damage.
Caroline kept a close watch on her daughter. “She’s easily swayed by charm, it seems.”
“She isn’t the only one.”
“Are you jealous, Grady?”
“Hell, no,” he protested before he had a chance to fully consider the question. On second thought, he had to admit there was a grain of truth in Caroline’s words.
It was bad enough that Richard had implied—or outright said—that Grady and Savannah were throwing him this party. The fact that he had just about every woman in town fawning over him and almost every man eager for his company only added insult to injury.
“I don’t suppose I could convince you to take a spin,” Caroline said, motioning with her head toward the dance floor.
“Not on your life.”
Caroline sighed as though disappointed. “That’s what I thought.”
“Hey, you don’t need me.” He gestured toward a group of single men standing under a live oak tree. “Any one of them would be happy to dance with you.”
“I suppose.” But she didn’t budge and, truth be known, he was glad she didn’t. He thought of inviting her to go bowling with him—that would be more to his liking—but hesitated. It’d been so damn long since he’d gone out on a date he wasn’t sure how to go about asking.
Then it dawned on Grady that maybe Caroline was interested in him. “Are you saying you want to dance with me?” In other circumstances he probably wouldn’t have asked, but he’d downed three beers on an almost empty stomach and his inhibitions were definitely lowered.
“I might be,” she responded.
He mulled over her answer. He liked Caroline, admired her for the good friend she was to Savannah, and while he’d certainly noticed her, found her attractive, he’d never thought to make anything of it.
“You should get married,” he said, and for the life of him, Grady didn’t know what had prompted him to suggest such a thing. Horrified, he stared down at his empty beer bottle.
“Do you have anyone in mind?” Caroline asked.
“Not me.” He wanted that understood.
“Don’t worry, Grady, you aren’t in the running.”
He’d asked for that, but he didn’t like hearing it. Then, thinking he should resolve this before things got out of hand, he decided to explain. “Maggie needs a father.”
Caroline was on her feet so fast it made his head spin. “Don’t tell me what my daughter needs or doesn’t need, Grady.”
“Fine, I won’t.”
“Good,” she declared, and stomped away.
Women! They had to have the last word. But after Caroline left, Grady regretted the conversation. Worse, he knew he was one hundred percent at fault. He should never have said the things he had. It wasn’t his place to suggest Maggie needed a father. It had made him sound judgmental or disapproving when that wasn’t his intent at all. He respected Caroline; he just thought her life as a working single mother was too hard. And he hated the way little Maggie seemed so susceptible to any man’s charm. Any con man’s charm. Well, nothing he could do about it now.
The sun set and after a while someone lit the Chinese lanterns. The lights swayed in a soft breeze, casting shadows that danced about the yard. The band switched from lively melodies and line dances to slower, more mellow songs. Couples, wrapped in each other’s arms, slowly circled the floor.
Families with young children packed up their youngsters and started home, prompted by thoughts of work and school in the morning. Playing the role of gracious host to a T, Richard escorted them to their cars, then stood in the driveway and waved them off.
“Nice party,” Adam Braunfels said as Grady headed toward the house, around nine o’clock.
“Not my party,” he was quick to tell the owner of Chili Pepper.
“I hope everything was satisfactory,” Adam said next.
Grady tucked his hands in his back pockets. “Great. I certainly didn’t hear any complaints.”
“Good. I want you to know I was as fair as I could be with the tally.”
Grady didn’t know what Adam was talking about or, rather, why Adam was telling him, but he nodded his head, which had started to pound. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and his mind continued to dwell on his disastrous conversation with Caroline.
Adam pulled a slip of paper from his hip pocket and handed it to Grady. “I’d appreciate if you could write me a check now, Grady, before I go back to town.”
“What?” He was sure there’d been some mistake.
“For the barbecue,” Adam explained as if he were dense. Grady knew why he wanted to be paid; what he didn’t understand was why Adam expected him to do it.
“I already said this wasn’t my party.”
Adam’s mouth thinned. “I don’t care whose party it is, I need my money.”
“And you expect me to pay?”
“Yes.”
“This is Richard’s business.” Grady was about to walk off when Richard raced to their side.
“I need my money,” Adam repeated, looking from one brother to the other.
Richard’s feet shifted nervously. “Would you mind paying him, Grady?” he asked. “I honestly thought my check would be here before now.” He looked down at his boots. “I...I feel horrible about this.”
Arms folded, Adam stared at Grady, ignoring Richard completely.
Grady felt as though the top of his head was about to explode. He had no choice but to pay up. His brother had done it to him again. Either he wrote Adam a check now or he came off looking like the bad guy.
* * *
Laredo was elbow-deep in the kitchen sink when Frank Hennessey walked into the room. The sheriff nodded politely at Savannah, who sat with her feet propped up on a chair. It was the first time all day Laredo could get her to take a break. He knew she was exhausted. Hell, he was himself, and he hadn’t worked near as hard as she had.
While he hadn’t been particularly fond of Richard before, Laredo actively disliked him now. He’d been around men like the younger Weston in his time. Fast talkers. Users. Selfish and thoughtless. Richard certainly knew which buttons to push when it came to his sister, Laredo had noticed. All he had to do was mention their mother, and Savannah crumbled. It infuriated him to watch the jerk take advantage of her that way.
Laredo knew Grady was on to Richard, but he suspected Savannah wasn’t. Even if she did find out what kind of man her brother was, she was perfectly capable of overlooking it, and that worried Laredo.
“If you don’t mind, Mr. Smith, I’ve got a few questions I’d like to ask you,” the sheriff said.
A little confused, Laredo lifted his hands from the dishwater and reached for a towel. He didn’t like the idea of the sheriff singling him out, but he didn’t want to make a fuss in front of Savannah, either.
“Is there a problem, Sheriff?” Savannah asked, looking concerned.
“No, no.” Hennessey caught Laredo’s glance. “Perhaps you’d like to step outside, Mr. Smith.”
“Sure.” Laredo dried his hands and squelched his growing sense of irritation. Grady had put the lawman up to this; he’d admitted it earlier himself. Not that Laredo had anything to hide, but he hated the way it made him look to Savannah.
He waited until they were in the cool night air before he spoke. “I don’t have any kind of record.”
“Wrong,” the lawman was quick to correct him. “You ran a red light back in 1995.”
Stuffing his hands in his back hip pockets, Laredo glared at the sheriff. “I stand corrected.”
Hennessey ignored the sarcasm. “I got a couple of questions for you.”
“Fire away.” Laredo clamped his teeth together, anger simmering.
“How long do you plan to stay in Promise?”
“As long as I damn well please.” His tolerance for this kind of treatment was gone.
“Listen, Smith, it won’t do you any good to get smart-mouthed with me. If you want trouble, you don’t need to look any farther than right here. I can make enough trouble to last you a lifetime. Now I suggest you check your attitude.” He gave him a moment to let the warning take hold, then repeated the question.
“I plan on heading out as soon as I can pay for the repairs to my truck.” Laredo kept his voice a monotone and trained his gaze on the barn door.
The lawman’s crisp voice mellowed when he next spoke. “Miss Savannah’s a mighty fine woman.”
Laredo’s eyes clashed with the sheriff’s. “You think I don’t know that?”
“No one wants to see her hurt.”
“I don’t, either,” Laredo said. He didn’t understand why everyone assumed he’d purposely do anything to hurt Savannah.
“For reasons I can’t quite grasp, she seems to have taken a liking to you. But if you’re leaving soon, I figure you’ll be gone before there’s any real damage done.”
Laredo kept his mouth shut, knowing the lawman would use anything he said against him.
“Look, I know I’m speaking out of turn here, Smith. It’s none of my affair when you come or go. All I’m saying is that a lot of folks around here think highly of Savannah. No one wants to see her used, especially by a drifter who’ll desert her without a second thought. You get what I’m saying?”
Laredo pressed his lips tightly closed in order to hold his tongue.
“Good. Like I said, Savannah’s the sweetest, gentlest soul in these parts, and if you or anyone else decides to take advantage of her, you’ll answer directly to me. You got that, boy?”
Laredo’s shoulders ached because of the stiff way he held his back. It’d been a lot of years since anyone had called him “boy.” Laredo hadn’t liked it then and liked it even less now.
“You heard me?” Sheriff Hennessey asked, more forcefully this time.
“Loud and clear.”
The lawman nodded and slapped Laredo amiably on the shoulder. “I’m glad we had this little talk. Now you go back to whatever you were doing, and I’ll give Miss Dovie one last spin around the dance floor.”
Laredo didn’t comment. He stood rigid and angry while the sheriff strolled away.
“Laredo?” Savannah said his name softly as she joined him. “Is there a problem?” The distress in her voice melted away his anger. Hennessey was only speaking his mind, prompted, of course, by Grady. The long hours he’d spent working with Roanie hadn’t been enough to prove himself to Savannah’s brother. But Laredo didn’t imagine Grady was ever going to accept him, no matter what he did. Not that it was necessary, other than to ease Savannah’s mind. The situation weighed heavily on her, and for that reason alone, it bothered Laredo.
“Everything’s fine,” he told her.
“You sure?”
“Positive.” He took her hand and led her to the porch swing, then sat down beside her. After a few moments he slipped his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head against his chest. To hell with Grady Weston, Laredo decided. He was holding Savannah and he didn’t give a damn what her older brother thought.
Despite his defiant attitude, Laredo had taken the sheriff at his word. Hennessey could easily make trouble for him. He wasn’t looking to cause problems, but he wasn’t going to run off with his tail dragging between his legs, either.
Savannah was quiet, and after a moment he assumed she’d gone to sleep. Content to hold her, Laredo entertained himself by watching the party, which was still in progress, although the numbers had dwindled considerably. He figured things must be winding down.
When the band took a break before their final set, Richard brought out his guitar. Taking advantage of the more or less captive audience, he started playing. A dozen people gathered around him. A few children, including Maggie, camped at his feet. A sing-along ensued, and Richard performed several of the songs he’d massacred a few nights earlier in the bunkhouse. Only this time he managed to do a respectable job of carrying a tune, and the words were recognizable.
Twenty minutes later the band returned, and the lead singer encouraged all the men to bring their sweethearts onto the floor. Laredo watched as Richard chose Ellie Frasier—and even managed to steal a kiss when he thought no one was looking. He didn’t dance with Ellie long, though, changing partners and dancing with several elderly ladies and then with Maggie and a few of the other children still at the party. The little girls’ delight at having the guest of honor pay them such attention sounded in their excited shrieks. The guy was smooth, Laredo gave him that.
“Is this the sweetheart dance?” Savannah asked him, lifting her head from his shoulder.
“That’s what he said.”
She sighed deeply. Laredo had never been much of a ladies’ man, but he knew what that sigh meant. Savannah wanted to dance the sweetheart dance with him, but she wouldn’t ask. He had to be the one to invite her.
Damn, he wasn’t any good at this romance stuff, but he hated to disappoint Savannah. Nor was he good at dancing. It always made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. Especially in front of an audience. And especially when it was this slow music.
Rather than disillusion her, though, Laredo stood and extended his hand in a courtly fashion. “May I have the honor of this dance?”
Her responding smile was worth any embarrassment he might bring on himself, Laredo decided. Savannah’s beautiful blue eyes filled with happiness. “Does this mean I’m your sweetheart, Laredo Smith?” she asked softly.
Hennessey’s words of warning echoed in his ears. But hell, the man could arrest him for all he cared just then. “It must.”
Savannah placed her hand in his and stood.
“Be warned, I might step on your foot,” he muttered under his breath as they approached the dance floor.
“I suggest you watch your own feet. It’s been a long time since I did anything like this.”
Laredo should have known Savannah would find a way to put him at ease. Being with her always made him feel...special. As though he alone, of all men, was worthy of this good and beautiful woman. Right this minute he could almost believe it....
Several couples swayed to the romantic music, holding each other close. One couple was deeply involved in a kiss.
Laredo drew her into his arms and concentrated on moving his feet in a box step, mentally counting to four. One step back, one step to the right, one step forward and then to the left.
“Laredo,” she whispered in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Relax, okay?”
“But—”
“All I really wanted was for you to hold me.”
That was all he wanted, too. He shut his eyes and pulled her into the shadows. He kissed her ear, smiling when he felt her shiver.
“Like that, do you?”
“Oh, yes.”
He rubbed her back.
“I like that, too.”
Laredo was just beginning to feel that he had the hang of this when she captured his earlobe between her lips and gently sucked on it. His eyes flew open and his blood went hot. He slowly let the breath drain from his lungs, then locked his hands at the small of her back. Soon she was flush against him. With her softness touching him like that, in the most intimate places, Laredo lost count of the steps. Not long afterward, he discontinued dancing altogether, other than to shuffle his feet a little.
“Laredo,” she whispered. “I’m glad Grady asked you to stay. I’m glad for a lot of reasons.”
“Me, too,” he whispered. “So glad...”
The song continued and he closed his eyes again, wanting to savor these moments. His heart felt so full it actually hurt. Until now, with Savannah in his embrace, Laredo hadn’t thought such a possibility existed. But his heart ached. Not with grief or pain but with love.
Of all the memories that could have come to him at a time like this, the one that did was of his father. The last memory he had of his father still alive.
Laredo had been a young boy when his father left for Vietnam. He didn’t understand about war; all he knew was that the man he adored was going away. He’d hidden in the barn, thinking if no one could find him, maybe his father wouldn’t have to leave. Naturally his childish plan hadn’t worked, and he’d been found in short order.
Then his dad had taken him on his lap and held him for a long time without saying a word. When he did speak, he’d promised Laredo that, no matter what happened while he was away, nothing—not distance, not time, not even death—would separate Laredo from his father’s love.
Months later, when Laredo had stood in front of a cold casket and watched his father’s body lowered into the ground, he’d recalled those words. At the memorial service he’d stood proud and tall. His mother and grandparents had wept, overcome with grief, but Laredo’s eyes had remained dry.
Emotion welled up inside him now and he understood, perhaps for the first time, the intensity of the love his parents had shared. The depth of it. With this revelation came the knowledge that he felt the same way about Savannah. His mother had never remarried, and Laredo finally understood why.
A gruff voice broke into his thoughts and he lifted his head from Savannah’s to see her older brother standing by the side of the dance floor.
“I don’t like the way you’re holding my sister.”
Laredo released Savannah. Grady Weston’s face was flushed and angry.
“Grady, please!” Savannah reluctantly moved away from Laredo. “You’re making a scene and embarrassing me.”
“Leave us alone,” Laredo warned. Their eyes met, challenged, clashed. His willingness to make peace with Grady had vanished after that talk with the sheriff.
Before he realized exactly how it had happened, he and Grady were facing off, their fists raised.
“Grady, stop!” Savannah cried, and when it did no good, she turned to Laredo. “If you care for me, you won’t do this.”
Laredo did care, so damn much it terrified him. But this was one fight he wasn’t walking away from.
“Please,” Savannah said, stepping directly in front of him.
Laredo felt himself weakening.
Caroline Daniels arrived then and slid her arm through Grady’s. “It seems to me that what you need is a nice hot cup of coffee,” she announced, steering him toward the kitchen.
Laredo watched the two of them walk toward the house.
Savannah slipped her arms back around Laredo’s neck. “I believe this dance was mine,” she said, nestling close to him once more.
A lot more than this dance belonged to Savannah Weston, Laredo realized. She also owned his heart.