CHAPTER EIGHT

Arabella was much more embarrassed than Ethan or his indomitable parent. She colored delicately and stiffened in Ethan’s arms.

“Uh, shouldn’t you put me down?” Arabella asked.

“Why?” Ethan murmured dryly. “It was just getting to the good part.”

“I thought it already had, from what Miriam said,” Coreen replied, and then spoiled her disapproving-mother stance by bursting into laughter. “You two are heading straight for a fiery end, or so I’m told. Shameful behavior, and Arabella such an innocent.” She raised an eyebrow at Ethan. “How could you, and other platitudes.”

Ethan grinned. “I had a lot of cooperation,” he returned, with a wicked glance at Arabella.

“Miriam said that, too,” Coreen nodded.

“You put me down, you corrupting influence!” Arabella muttered, struggling. “I knew you’d lead me astray if I wasn’t careful.”

He set her gently on her feet. “Would you like to try again? I seem to remember finding you lying in exquisite repose on my bed…?” He glanced at Coreen. “She said it was your idea, too.”

“Actually, it was,” Coreen confessed. “I didn’t know what else to do. I was absolutely certain that Miriam would make a play for you, and I had a fairly good idea why. I think she’s pregnant.”

“So Arabella told me.” He rubbed a hand over his broad chest, staring appreciatively at the younger of the two women. “We’re getting married. Arabella doesn’t know it yet, but you might go ahead and start making the arrangements and we’ll get her to the altar before she has time to work it out.”

“Good idea,” Coreen laughed delightedly. “Oh, Arabella, I couldn’t be more pleased. You’ll be the most wonderful daughter-in-law.”

“But…” Arabella began, looking from mother to son with dazed eyes.

“She will at that,” Ethan agreed. “I’ll take her downtown tomorrow to buy a ring. What do you think about having the wedding at the Methodist church? Reverend Boland could perform the service.”

“Yes, he’ll do nicely. And we can have the reception at the Jacobsville Inn. It’s big enough. I’ll ask Shelby Ballenger if she’ll help with the arrangements. She did the most beautiful job with our charity fashion show last month—amazing how well she manages her volunteer work and their two sons at the same time.”

“Do that,” Ethan replied. “Now, how about the invitations?”

“I don’t think—” Arabella tried again.

“That’s a good idea. Don’t,” Ethan said approvingly. He folded his arms across his chest and turned back to his mother. “Can you handle the invitations?”

“It’s my wedding!” Arabella burst out. “Surely I can do something to help!”

“Of course you can,” Ethan agreed. “You can try on the wedding gown. Take her to the best store in Houston,” he told his mother, “and find the most expensive gown they have. Don’t let her get away with something ordinary.”

“I won’t,” Coreen promised. “A white wedding,” she sighed. “I never thought I’d live to see you happily married, Ethan.”

He was watching Arabella with an odd kind of tenderness. “Neither did I. Not like this,” he said huskily, and his eyes blazed.

But it’s only to get Miriam out of his life for good, Arabella wanted to wail. He doesn’t love me, he wants me. I make him whole again physically. But that’s no reason to get married!

She started to tell him that, but he was already going back into his room.

“I think I’ll lock the door, just in case,” he chuckled. “Good night, Mother.” He stared at Arabella. “Good night, little one.”

“Good night, Ethan,” Arabella said softly. “But, there’s just one thing—”

He closed the door before she could tell him what it was.

“I hate to look smug, but I can’t help it,” Coreen said with a smile as she walked down the hall with Arabella. “Miriam was so certain she could get under Ethan’s skin again. I couldn’t bear to see her hurt him so badly twice.”

“He was different with her at supper,” Arabella said, voicing her biggest fear, that Ethan was once again falling under his ex-wife’s spell.

Coreen glanced at her. “Ethan is deep. Don’t worry. He wouldn’t marry you just to chase Miriam away. I can guarantee it,” she added, looking as if she wanted to say something more. But she shrugged and smiled faintly. “I’d better get to bed. Sleep tight, darling, and congratulations.”

“Nothing happened,” Arabella blurted out. “I don’t know what Miriam said—”

Coreen patted her cheek gently. “I know you, and I know my son. You don’t have to tell me anything. Besides,” she added with a grin, “men who aren’t frustrated don’t look like Ethan looked when he went back into his room. I’m old, but I’m not blind. ’Night!”

Arabella stared after her, nervous and uncertain. She went on down the hall, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t encounter Miriam on the way to her room.

She should have known the woman would be lying in wait for her. Miriam opened her door just as Arabella drew even with it. Her face was flushed and her eyes were red. She’d obviously been crying.

“You snake,” Miriam accused furiously. She threw back her auburn hair contemptuously. “He’s mine! I’m not going to give him up without a fight!”

“Then you can have one,” Arabella said quietly. “We’re getting married. Ethan told you so.”

“He won’t marry you,” the other woman replied. “He loves me! He always has! He only wants you.” She let her eyes punctuate that coldly sarcastic remark. “You’re quite a novelty, but you’ll wear thin pretty quickly. You’ll never get him to the altar.”

“He’s making the wedding arrangements already.”

“He won’t marry you, I tell you!” Miriam flashed. “He only divorced me because I ran around on him.”

“That seems like a good reason to me,” Arabella returned. She was shaking inside, but she wouldn’t back down. “You hurt his pride.”

“What do you think it did to mine, having you thrown in my face from the day we married?” she burst out. “It was always Arabella this, Arabella that, from the whole damned family! Nobody could have lived up to you, nobody! I hated you from the start, because Ethan wanted you!” Her eyes were wet with tears and she was sobbing as she tried to speak. “Imagine that!” she laughed brokenly. “I had twice your experience and sophistication, I was more beautiful and sought-after than you could ever hope to be. But it was you he wanted, your name he whispered when he made love to me.” She leaned against the wall, crying helplessly while Arabella gaped at her.

“Wha…what?” Arabella gasped.

“It was only when I accused him of using me as a substitute for you that he stopped being capable of making love to me,” Miriam said, slumping. “He was obsessed with your body. He still is. Probably,” she added, rallying a little, “because he’s never had it. Now he’ll get his fill of you, and then maybe I can have him back. Maybe I can make him want me. He did love me,” she whispered achingly. “He loved me, but I couldn’t make him want me, too. Damn you, Arabella! He would have wanted me if it hadn’t been for you!”

She went back into her room and slammed the door, leaving a shocked, staggered Arabella in the hall.

She managed to get into her room without really seeing where she was going. She fumbled the light switch on and locked the door before she collapsed on the bed.

Was Miriam telling the truth? Had Ethan been so obsessed by her body that it even affected his marriage? Was it possible for a man to love one woman but lust after another? She knew so little, had such a faint experience of men that she didn’t know.

The one thing she was certain of was that Ethan still wanted her. It might not be enough to base a marriage on, but she loved him more than her own life. If desire was all he had to give her, perhaps she could build on that and teach him, someday, to love her. She wasn’t as beautiful as Miriam, but he’d said once that inner qualities were just as important.

His ardor that afternoon and that night were proof that his so-called impotence with Miriam was just a fluke. Surely if he could want one woman, he could want another? Miriam had hurt his pride and his body had rebelled. But at supper he’d warmed to Miriam, so might that not affect his ability to want the other woman? Miriam had declared war in the hall and Arabella was afraid that she might not be able to compete. Especially when compared to the more beautiful older woman.

Her mind gave her no peace at all. It was much later when she closed her eyes and went to sleep, leaving all the worries behind.

* * *

Things looked a little brighter when she awoke the next morning. She had to be more confident. She could work at her appearance, at her personality. Perhaps she could become like Miriam, and then Ethan might be able to love her. She might still get Miriam to acknowledge defeat, using her own tactics against her.

She put on her prettiest pale green cotton sundress with its dropped square neck and cinched waist and full skirt. It was a flirty kind of dress and it matched her eyes. She put her hair into a neatly coiled chignon on top of her head and deliberately used more makeup than normal. She had a pair of huge earrings she’d never liked, but she wore those, too. The result was a much more sophisticated version of herself. She smiled seductively and nodded. Yes. If a sophisticated woman was what Ethan wanted, she could be that. Certainly she could!

She went downstairs with a bounce in her stride. If only it wasn’t for the stupid cast, she might really look seductive, she thought, glaring at the bulky thing. Well, only a little while longer and it would be off, then she could really do some important shopping for the right clothes.

When she got to the breakfast table, Ethan and Miriam were already there, with Coreen and the housekeeper, Betty Ann, busy alternating between kitchen and dining room with platters of food.

Miriam and Ethan appeared to be in intense conversation, and not a hostile one, because he was smiling gently and Miriam was hanging on his every word. Miriam even looked different this morning. Her long hair was plaited and hanging down her back. She was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and no makeup at all. What a change, Arabella thought almost hysterically. She and the other woman looked their own opposites.

Ethan turned and saw Arabella and his jaw clenched. His eyes narrowed with something she couldn’t quite define.

“Well, good morning,” she called gaily, bluffing it out. She bent over Ethan’s tall figure and brushed her mouth teasingly over his nose. “How are you? And how are you, Miriam? Isn’t it a beautiful morning?”

Miriam murmured something appropriate and concentrated on her coffee, giving Arabella a glare before she lifted her cup to her lips.

Arabella sat down, still with a bounce, and poured herself a cup of coffee. “I guess Coreen and I will go to Houston today to find my wedding gown, if you don’t mind, Ethan,” she said breezily. “I do want something exquisite.”

Ethan stared down into his coffee cup. Images of the past were dancing before his eyes. Miriam had said something similar when they became engaged. She’d even looked as Arabella did now, oh, so sophisticated and lighthearted. Had he been completely and totally wrong about Arabella? Did money matter to her now that she was apparently without a career, now that she couldn’t earn her own way? Or was she trying to compete with Miriam by becoming the same kind of woman? Mentally he dismissed the latter. Arabella knew he didn’t want another Miriam. She wouldn’t make the mistake of trying to emulate a woman he despised. He couldn’t bear the thought of another marriage like his first one. Why had he committed himself? He’d wanted to get rid of Miriam, but now it seemed he might be walking back into the same trap.

Coreen came in with a plate of biscuits, took a look at Arabella and did a double take. “Arabella? How…different you look, dear.”

“Do you like it?” Arabella asked with a smile. “I thought I’d try something new. Do you feel like going to Houston with me today?”

Coreen put the plate of biscuits down. “Certainly. If you’d like to….”

“By all means, go ahead,” Miriam said huskily. “I’ll keep Ethan company,” she added with a rather shy smile at her ex-husband.

Ethan didn’t answer. He was still trying to absorb the change in Arabella.

He didn’t say anything to her all through breakfast and Arabella began to feel nervous. He and Miriam had been talking earnestly, and now he looked uncomfortable when she’d mentioned the wedding gown. Was he having second thoughts? Didn’t he want to marry her after all?

Suddenly, he got up from the table and started out of the room.

“Just a minute, Ethan,” Miriam called quickly, seeing her chance. “I need to ask you something.”

She ran to join him, clutching seductively at his arm as they went outside together.

* * *

“What a nice way to start the morning,” Arabella said over her second cup of coffee about half an hour later.

Coreen patted her hand. “Don’t worry so. Let’s get going. I’ll just run into the kitchen and tell Betty Ann where we’ll be.”

While Arabella continued to think about the scene at breakfast, the phone rang and she got up to answer it, since Coreen and Betty Ann were occupied.

Considering the sour note the day had started on, she should have expected it to be her father, she thought when his curt voice came over the line.

“How are you?” he asked stiffly.

She curled the cord around her fingers. “I’m much better, thank you,” she replied, her tone just as stilted.

“And your hand?”

“I won’t know until the cast comes off,” she said.

“I hope you had the sense to let an orthopedic surgeon look at it,” he said after a minute.

“A specialist was called in, yes,” she replied. Her father made her feel ten years old again. “There’s a good chance that I may be able to play normally again.”

“Your host filed an injunction against me, so that I can’t touch the joint account,” he told her. “That wasn’t kind of you, Arabella. I have to live, too.”

She bit her lip. “I…I know, but…”

“You’ll have to send me a check,” he continued. “I can’t live off my brother. I’ll need at least five hundred to get me through. Thank God we had good insurance. And I’ll want to hear from you as soon as your cast is off and you’ve seen the specialist.”

She hesitated. She wanted to tell him that she was marrying Ethan, but she couldn’t get the words out. It was amazing how he intimidated her, and she a grown woman! It was habit, she supposed. He’d always controlled her. He still did. She was just a wimp, she thought angrily.

“I’ll…call you,” she promised.

“Don’t forget the check. You know Frank’s address.”

That was all. No words of affection, no comfort. He hung up. She stood staring blankly at the receiver. Before she had time to show her concern, Coreen was back and they were off to Houston in Coreen’s black Mercedes-Benz.

* * *

They browsed through the exclusive bridal department at an exclusive store in Houston for an hour before Arabella was able to choose between three exquisite designer gowns. The one she settled on was traditional with Alenlon lace over white peau de soie, a delicate, modified V neckline that plunged to the waist but in such a way as to be discreet. It was unique and incredibly sensuous all at once. She chose a traditional veil as well, one with yards and yards of fabric which Ethan would be required to lift during the ceremony. Arabella felt the sense of tradition to her toes, because she was going to her wedding bed a virgin.

The pleasure of the day had been faintly spoiled by Ethan’s attitude and Miriam’s changed image. Arabella still didn’t understand what had gone wrong so suddenly, and even as she was choosing the gown she wondered if she’d really get to wear it. Ethan could change his mind. She wouldn’t even blame him. Probably he was finding it hard going to give up Miriam, and the divorce had only been final for three months. Coreen had said that he’d been moody during those three months, too. She frowned at the gown as the saleswoman wrapped it with care in its distinctive box.

“What a blessing you’re a perfect size,” Coreen smiled. “No alterations. That’s a good omen.”

Arabella managed a wan smile. “I could use one.”

The older woman gave her a curious look as she gave the saleswoman her credit card. But it wasn’t until they’d completed their shopping, right down to delicate silk-and-lace undergarments and nylon hose, and were on their way back to Jacobsville that she finally asked Arabella what was wrong.

“I wish I knew why Ethan was so distant this morning,” she told the other woman.

“Miriam’s doing, no doubt,” Coreen said curtly. “Don’t underestimate her. Ethan’s treating her too nicely and she likes it.”

“I won’t underestimate her.” She hesitated. “That phone call I got this morning was from my father. He called and asked me to send him a check….” She cleared her throat. “Well, he’s still my father,” she said defensively.

“Of course he is.”

“I should have paid for the gown,” she said suddenly. “Then, if the wedding is called off, it won’t put any strain on your budget.”

“Listen, dear, our budget doesn’t get strained and you know it.” She frowned at Arabella. “This was Ethan’s idea. He wanted you to have a designer gown.”

“I think he’s changed his mind. He and Miriam were getting thick before breakfast,” Arabella said miserably.

Coreen sighed gently. “Oh, Arabella, I wish I knew what was in my eldest’s mind. Surely he isn’t letting that woman get under his skin again!”

“Miriam said that he wanted me when he married her,” Arabella blurted out. Her lower lip trembled. “She accused me of ruining her marriage.”

“Ethan’s always wanted you,” the older woman said surprisingly. “He should have married you instead of letting your father spirit you away. He was never happy with Miriam. I’ve always felt that she was just a stopgap for him, a poor substitute for you. Perhaps Miriam realized it, and that was what went wrong.”

“Wanting isn’t loving.” Arabella twisted her purse in her lap. “I may not be sophisticated, but I know that.”

“You look pretty uptown to me today,” Coreen comforted with a smile. “That sundress is very attractive, and I like the way you’re wearing your hair. Ethan certainly noticed,” she added wickedly.

“I thought Miriam was getting his undivided attention this morning and he wasn’t snarling at her.”

“Men get funny when they start thinking about marriage,” Coreen assured her. “Now, stop worrying. Ethan knows what he’s doing.”

But did he? Arabella wondered. She might be helping him to make an even bigger mistake than he had before.

And when they got back to the ranch, she found more cause than ever to be concerned. Betty Ann was coming down the staircase with a tray when Coreen and Arabella walked in with the huge dress box.

“What are you doing carrying a tray upstairs at this hour?” Coreen asked the housekeeper, and frowned.

Arabella had a faint premonition even as Betty Ann spoke.

“Ethan fell,” Betty Ann said tersely. “Had to be took to the hospital and X-rayed, with herself—” she jerked her head toward the staircase “—hanging on him for dear life.”

“Is he all right?” Coreen asked the question for both of them.

“Mild concussion, nothing really serious. They wanted to keep him overnight, but he insisted on coming home.” The housekeeper sighed. “He’s been up in his room ever since, with herself hovering, and when he wasn’t demanding things, he was cussing.” She glanced warily at Arabella. “I don’t know what Miriam told him, but he’s been anxious to see Arabella. Too anxious and too angry.”

Arabella felt her knees going weak. Could her father have called back and told Ethan about the check he’d demanded? She knew Ethan would be furious. She just hadn’t counted on him finding out so quickly. How had he found out?

“I guess I’d better go up and see him,” she murmured.

“We both will,” Coreen said shortly.

They marched upstairs. Ethan was lying on top of his bed with a faint gash on his forehead that had been stitched, making a red-and-black pattern on the dark skin. He was fully clothed, and Miriam was sitting with an angelic look by his bedside. The ministering angel.

“So you finally came back,” Ethan began, glaring at Arabella. “I hope you enjoyed your shopping trip.”

“You knew we were going to get my wedding gown,” she said, mildly defensive.

“It’s lovely, too, one of their most expensive,” Coreen seconded. “A designer gown…”

“Yes, I had one of theirs when I was married,” Miriam said with a demure flirting glance at Ethan. “Didn’t I, darling?”

“What happened to you?” Coreen asked.

“I got tossed,” Ethan said shortly. “Every rider comes off now and again. I was helping Randy with that new mustang in the string we bought from Luke Harper. I got pitched into the fence on my way down. It’s nothing.”

“Except concussion,” Coreen muttered.

“Obviously that didn’t bother anybody except Miriam,” he said enigmatically, glaring at his mother and Arabella.

Coreen glared back at him. “You’re in a sweet mood, I see. Well, I’ll help Betty Ann. Are you coming, Miriam?” she added pointedly.

“Oh, no. I’ll sit with Ethan. He shouldn’t be alone, since he has a concussion,” Miriam said, smiling as she laid a protective hand on Ethan’s big, lean one.

Coreen went out. Arabella didn’t know what to do. Ethan didn’t look as if he needed protecting from his ex-wife, and the way he was looking at Arabella made her want to hide.

“Did you hear from my father?” she asked him hesitantly.

“No, I didn’t hear from your father,” he said coldly. “Get me a beer, will you, Miriam?”

Miriam looked as if leaving was the last thing she wanted to do, but Ethan glared at her and she left, reluctantly, her eyes darting nervously from Ethan to Arabella.

That nervous glance made better sense when she closed the door and Ethan let Arabella have it with both barrels.

“Thank you for your loving concern,” he said coldly. “How kind of you to give a damn if I killed myself on a horse!”

She felt her knees going weak. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“You might have told Mother, at least,” he persisted. He tried to sit up, grimaced and grabbed his head, but he scowled furiously when she made an automatic move toward him. “Just keep your distance, honey,” he said harshly. “I don’t want your belated attention. Miriam was here, thank God. She looked after me.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” she said, exasperated.

“You had a phone call before you left the ranch, didn’t you?” he demanded.

“Why, yes, of course…” she began.

“Miriam told you I’d been hurt and I needed Mother to drive me in to the hospital, but you didn’t say anything,” he accused. “Not one word to her. Were you getting even, because I didn’t pay you enough attention at breakfast? Or was it a way to get back at me for what happened last night? Did I go too far and scare you out of your virginal wits?”

Her head was swimming. Surely he wasn’t quite rational after that knock on the head, with all these wild statements. “Ethan, Miriam didn’t call me,” she protested. “I didn’t know you were hurt!”

“You just admitted that you got the phone call, so don’t bother denying it,” he added furiously when she started to do just that, to explain that it was her father who called, not Miriam. “I should never have divorced Miriam. When the chips were down, she cared and you didn’t. I hope that damned dress you brought is returnable, honey, because I wouldn’t marry you on a bet! Now get out of my room!”

“Ethan!” she burst out, horrified that he could actually believe her capable of such hard-boiled behavior.

“I only took you in because I felt sorry for you,” he said, giving her a cold appraisal with silver eyes. “I wanted you like hell, but marriage is too high a price to pay for a mercenary virgin with eyes like cash registers. It’s all too plain now that I was right, that all you were interested in was financial security for you, and probably for your damned father!” Before she could answer that unfounded charge, he sat straight up in bed, glaring. “I said get out! I don’t want to see you again!”

“If you believe I’m that mercenary, then I’ll go,” she replied, shaking with mingled hurt and fury. “I’m glad to know how you really feel about me, that it was only desire and pity all along.”

His eyes flashed silver fire. “The same goes for me. You’re no different than Miriam was—out for all you can get. You even look like she used to!”

So that was it. Too late, she realized how her sudden change of appearance and her interest in an expensive wedding gown must have seemed to a man who’d already been used for his wealth once.

“You don’t understand,” she began.

“Oh, yes, I do,” he returned hotly. His head was throbbing. Somewhere inside, he knew he was being unreasonable, but he could hardly think at all for pain and outrage. “Will you get out!”

She went. She could barely see through her tears, almost bumping into a satisfied-looking Miriam as she went down the hall toward her own room. Her temper flared at the smug expression on the older woman’s face.

“Congratulations,” she flashed at Miriam. “You’ve got what you wanted. I hope your conscience lets you enjoy it—if you have one.”

Miriam shifted uncomfortably. “I told you he’s mine,” she said defensively.

“He was never yours,” Arabella said, brushing angrily at her tears. “He was never mine, either, but at least I loved him! You only wanted what he had, I heard you say so before you married him. It isn’t your heart that he broke, it was your ego. He was the one who got away, and you couldn’t take it! So now you’re going to get him back, but you’ll be cheating him. You don’t love him, even now. And if you’re not pregnant, I’m a brain surgeon!”

Miriam went white. “What did you say?” she gasped.

“You heard me,” Arabella said. “What are you going to do, get Ethan to the altar and pretend it’s his? That’s just what he needs now, to have you come back and finish what you started. You almost destroyed him once. Are you going to finish the job?”

“I need someone!” Miriam protested.

“Try the father of the child you’re carrying,” Arabella replied.

Miriam wrapped her arms around her chest. “My child is none of your business. And neither is Ethan. If he loved you, he’d never have believed you could ignore him when he was hurt.”

Arabella nodded quietly. “Yes, I know that,” she said, pain deepening her tone. “And that’s the only reason I’m leaving. If I thought he cared, even a little, I’d stay and fight you to the death. But if it’s you he wants, then I can bow out gracefully.” She laughed bitterly. “I should be used to it. I did it four years ago, and look how happy you made him.”

Miriam grimaced “It could be different this time.”

“It could. But it won’t. You don’t love him,” Arabella said. “That’s what makes it so terrible, even if he loves you.” She turned away and went into her room sickened by the thought. It was like history repeating itself.

The wedding gown, in its box, was lying on her bed. She tossed it into a chair and threw herself across the bed, crying her heart out. It didn’t matter that Miriam was the snake who’d betrayed her, it was the fact that Ethan didn’t believe she was innocent. That was what hurt the most. If he didn’t trust her, he certainly didn’t love her. She’d been living in a fool’s paradise, thinking his ardor might lead to love. Now she knew that it wouldn’t. Desire was never enough to compensate for a lack of real feeling.

She pleaded a headache and spent the rest of the night in her room, even refusing supper. Having to watch Miriam gloat would be the last straw, and she had no stomach for any more arguments with Ethan. She knew from painful experience that once his mind was made up, nothing was going to change it. She’d have to leave in the morning. At least she did still have a little money and her credit cards. She could manage on that. She could go to a hotel.

Her eyes were red with tears. Damn Miriam! The other woman had found the perfect way to foul up everything. Now she’d have Ethan again, just as she’d planned. Well, Arabella thought viciously, they deserved each other. So much for all the pretense. Ethan had admitted that it had only been desire that he felt, that he’d pitied her and that’s why he’d invited her here. Probably the excuse of keeping Miriam at bay had been fictitious—like his so-called impotence. She’d never believe another word he said, she told herself firmly. If they were quits, it was just fine with her. If Miriam was what he wanted, he could have her. She put on her gown, turned out the light, and lay down. Amazingly, she slept.

* * *

Coreen finally found five minutes alone with her son, Miriam having given in to drowsiness and gone to bed.

“Can I bring you anything?” Coreen asked him. “We didn’t have a proper supper. Arabella went to bed hours ago with a headache.”

“Too bad,” Ethan said coldly.

Coreen scowled at him. “What’s eating you? Come on, out with it!”

“Miriam phoned the house before you and Arabella left for Houston to tell you I needed a ride to the hospital,” he said curtly. “Arabella didn’t even bother to tell you. Apparently the shopping trip meant more than any little injury of mine.”

Coreen gaped at him. “What are you talking about? There was only one phone call and it was from Arabella’s father!”

“Is that what she told you?” he asked with a hard laugh. “Did you talk to him, or hear him? Did Betty Ann?”

Coreen moved close to the bed, her eyes full of disapproval and concern. “I had hoped that you cared about Arabella,” she said. “I hoped that you’d be able to see through Miriam’s glitter this time to the cold, selfish woman underneath. Perhaps that kind of woman really appeals to you because you’re as incapable of real love as she is.”

Ethan’s eyebrows went straight up. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. I don’t need proof that Arabella didn’t lie. She wouldn’t walk away and leave an injured animal, much less an injured person. I believe that because I know her, because I care about her.” She stared down at him. “Love and trust are two sides of one coin, Ethan. If you can believe Arabella capable of such a cold-blooded act, then I’d suggest that you forget marriage and put Miriam’s ring back through your nose. God knows, right now I think the two of you deserve each other.”

She turned and left him there. He picked up a cup from the table and slammed it furiously at the closed door. He knew he was fuddled, but his mother had no right to say things like that to him. Why would Miriam lie about a phone call that he could certainly check? All he had to do was get the record of where the call originated from the phone company to prove a lie. Anyway, Miriam had been different lately, very caring and warm, and he’d actually enjoyed her company. He knew all about the man she was in love with, and he’d done his best to encourage her to go back to the Caribbean and try again. So that meant she wasn’t interested in him as a man anymore, and it gave her no reason to try and break up his apparent romance with Arabella.

Or was it all a ruse on Miriam’s part to get him back? Could Arabella be innocent of what he’d accused her of? He didn’t want to think about that, because if she was, he’d just ruined everything. Again. He groaned. It was the way Arabella had dressed, the things she’d said about getting an expensive wedding gown, and then the way it had hurt when Miriam said Arabella was going to Houston anyway, despite his condition.

He was concussed and his mind wasn’t working properly. He’d been sure that Arabella loved him, but when Miriam said she wouldn’t come to see about him, he thought he’d been mistaken. Then he’d worked himself into a lather thinking that she’d only wanted to use him, as Miriam once had. Miriam had been so different lately that he’d been sure she’d changed, that she wasn’t the same self-seeking woman she had been. But was she different? Or was he just susceptible because his head was throbbing and Arabella had hurt him?

He lay down and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t—he couldn’t—think about that right now. He’d think about it in the morning, instead, when his throbbing head was a little clearer. Then he’d face the future, if he still had one with Arabella.