LITMIR.BIZ

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never be alone as long as the Manleys are alive,” Winnie said firmly. She laid a warm hand over Allison’s forearm. “We all love you very much.”

      “Yes, I know. Do you know how much I care for all of you, and how grateful I am for a place to stay?” Allison replied sincerely. “I couldn’t even go back to the house in Bisbee. Mom and Dad rented it out… Well, before we went to Central America.” She faltered. “I was afraid to go near it even for possessions, in case somebody from the press was watching.”

      “All the furor will die down once the fighting stops,” Winnie assured her. “You’re being hunted because you have firsthand information about what really happened there. With the occupation forces in control, not much word is getting out. Once the government is well in power, it will become old news and they’ll leave you alone. In the meantime, you can stay with us as long as you like.”

      “I’m in the way. Your marriage…”

      “My marriage isn’t for six months,” Winnie reminded her with a warm smile. “You’ll be my maid of honor. By then, all this will just be a sad memory. You’ll have started to live again.”

      “I hope so,” Allison replied huskily. “Oh, I hope so!”

      * * *

      Back at the Nelson place, Gene had just gone into the house to find his half sister, Marie, glaring at him from the living room. She looked like Dwight, except that she was petite and sharp-tongued.

      “Dale’s been calling again,” she said irritably. “She seems to have the idea that she’s engaged to you.”

      “I don’t marry one-night stands,” he said with deliberate cruelty.

      “Then you should make that clear at the beginning,” she returned.

      His broad shoulders rose and fell. “I was too drunk.”

      Marie got up and went to him, her expression concerned. “Look at what you’re doing to yourself,” she said miserably. “This is your home. Dwight and I don’t think of you as an outsider, Gene.”

      “Don’t start,” he said curtly, his pale green eyes flashing at her.

      She threw up her hands with an angry sigh. “You won’t listen! You drink, you carouse, you won’t even pay attention to the lax discipline that’s letting the men goof off half the time. I saw Rance with a bottle in broad daylight the other day!”

      “If I see him, I’ll do something about him,” he said, striding toward the staircase.

      “And when will that be? You’re too busy having a good time to notice!”

      He didn’t answer her and he didn’t look back. He went upstairs, his booted feet making soft thuds on the carpet.

      “What about Dale? What do I tell her if she calls again?” she called after him.

      “Tell her I joined a monastery and took vows of chastity,” he drawled.

      She chuckled. “That’ll be the day,” she murmured as she went back into the living room. At least he had been sober when he got home last night, she thought. And then she frowned. Not his usual style on a Friday night, she pondered.

      It wasn’t until later in the morning, when Dwight told her about his meeting with Allison, that his behavior registered.

      “You mean, he looked at her and put the shot glass down?” Marie asked, all eyes.

      “He certainly did,” Dwight replied. Gene had gone out to check on the branding. Considering the size of the ranch and the number of new calves, it was much more than a couple of days’ work. “He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her.”

      “Is she pretty?” Marie asked.

      He shook his head. “Nice. Very sweet. And a passable figure. But no, she’s no beauty. Odd, isn’t it, for Gene to even notice a woman like that? His tastes run to those brassy, experienced women he meets at rodeos. But Allison seemed to captivate him.”

      “If she influenced him enough to keep him sober on a Friday night, I take my hat off to her,” Marie said with genuine feeling. “He was like his old self last night. It was nice, seeing him that way. He’s been so different for the past few months.”

      “Yes. I know it’s hurt him. I never realized how much until I saw him coming apart in front of my eyes. Knowing about his real father has driven him half-mad.”

      “We can’t help who our parents are,” Marie said. “And Gene wouldn’t be like that man in a million years. Surely he knows it?”

      “He mumbled something about never having kids of his own because of his bad blood, one night when he was drinking,” Dwight confided. He sighed and finished his coffee. “I wish we could find some way to cope with it. He has no peace.”

      Marie fingered her coffee cup thoughtfully. “Maybe he can find it with our Miss Hathoway,” she mused, her eyes twinkling as they met his. “If she had that effect from a distance, imagine what it could be like at close range?”

      “Except that she isn’t Gene’s kind of woman,” he replied, and began to tell her all about the quiet Miss Hathoway.

      Marie whistled. “My gosh. Poor kid.”

      “She’s an amazing lady,” he said, smiling. “Winnie’s very fond of her. So fond that she’ll discourage her from even looking at Gene, much less anything else.”

      “I can see why. The angel and the outlaw,” she murmured, and smiled gently. “I guess I was daydreaming.”

      “Nothing wrong with dreams,” he told her as he got up from the table. “But they won’t run a ranch.”

      “Or organize a barbecue,” Marie said, smiling. “Good luck with the books.”

      He groaned. “I’ll have us in the poorhouse in another few months. If Gene was more approachable, I’d ask him to switch duties with me.”

      “Could you do that?”

      “No reason why not,” he said. “But he hasn’t been in a listening mood.”

      “Don’t give up. There’s always tomorrow.”

      He laughed. “Tell him.” He left her sitting there, still looking thoughtful.

      Chapter Two

      “Are you sure this looks all right on me?” Allison asked worriedly as she stared into the mirror at the low neckline of the strapless sundress Winnie had loaned her for the barbecue. They’d spent a lazy day at home, and now it was almost time to leave for the Nelsons’ Triple N Ranch.

      “Will you stop fussing? You look fine,” Winnie assured her. “You’ve been out of touch with fashion for a while. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly proper. Even for Pryor, Wyoming,” she added with a mischievous grin.

      Allison sighed at her reflection in the fulllength mirror. The young woman staring back at her looked like a stranger. Her long, dark hair was loose and wavy, framing her lovely oval face to its best advantage. She’d used mascara to emphasize her hazel eyes and she’d applied foundation and lipstick much more liberally than usual. Too, the off-the-shoulder sundress with its form-fitting bodice certainly did make her appear sophisticated. Its daring green, white and black pattern was exotic and somehow suited her tall, full-figured body. The strappy white sandals Winnie had loaned her completed the outfit.

      Winnie modeled dresses for a local department store, so she was able to buy clothes at a considerable discount. She knew all sorts of beauty secrets, ways of making the most of her assets and downplaying the minor flaws of face and figure. She’d used them to advantage on her houseguest. Allison hardly recognized herself.

      “I always knew you’d be a knockout if you were dressed and made up properly.” Winnie nodded, approving her handiwork.

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