LITMIR.BIZ

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is your home. You and Travis will stay,” Ruben said with a finality that brooked no further debate. He returned to his chair in the living room.

      Maggie looked down at her coffee cup. Her parents were united against her in this case. There was no point in arguing with either of them. When the time came, she and Travis would simply leave. Regardless of their generous, loving spirit, she could not live off her aging, hardworking mother and father. Rosita was head housekeeper in Ryan Fortune’s huge mansion, and Ruben was a cowhand. They had already raised their family and should not have to raise Maggie’s, too.

      While it was good to be home for a visit, things weren’t quite the same as they used to be. Or maybe they were exactly the same, Maggie thought, and she’d simply forgotten how deeply her mother had always involved herself in the Fortune family’s troubles, and how quickly she had defended anything they’d ever done. Maggie now saw that involvement and defensiveness from a much different perspective. As strange as it seemed, Rosita loved the Fortunes, and she worried about them as she would a second family.

      Maggie became introspective. Her mother might love the Fortunes, but she certainly didn’t. Neither did she dislike them; they were simply there, rich beyond belief, and obviously bored with life, because one or more of them was forever getting into or causing trouble.

      Well, she wanted no part of them. She’d come home to see her family, and to get herself back on track, not to get involved with the Fortunes.

      But today’s event seemed to have worked against that philosophy, she realized, and though it would bring Dallas’s name back into their conversation, she couldn’t keep it from her mother.

      Maggie related the incident as calmly as she could manage. “Travis could have been—” she couldn’t force the word killed out of her mouth “—seriously injured.”

      “Well, thank God Dallas was there,” Rosita exclaimed. “I’m so glad you met him again. He’s a fine man, Maggie, but so alone. My heart goes out to him every time I see him.”

      “I’m sure he doesn’t have to be alone, Mama.”

      “He’s an honorable man who loved his wife,” Rosita said with defensive pride in Dallas’s lonely existence. “Mourning Sara’s death the way he’s done indicates respect for her memory. Too many people seem to forget a beloved spouse within months of their passing, which I will never understand. Do you think I could forget your father so soon if something should happen to him, God forbid? No indeed, Dallas is to be admired for holding his grief so close to his heart.”

      “Perhaps you’re right,” Maggie said quietly, recalling quite vividly the way Dallas had looked at her today. He hadn’t been thinking of Sara then, Maggie thought. And she knew that he would have stayed and talked to her for longer, if she had encouraged further discussion.

      But what did a Fortune and a Perez have to say to each other? Oh, they might do business together, as Dallas and Cruz were doing, but Dallas breathed the rarefied air of the very wealthy, and Maggie was the daughter of a housekeeper and a cowhand. Not that she was even a tiny bit ashamed of her parents’ life-style or history. Rosita and Ruben had raised their five children in this very house, and it had been a home brimming with love and good morals.

      Still, the distance between the Fortunes and the Perezes was much farther than the walk from Ryan’s southwest mansion to this cozy little house.

      Strangely, knowing how far apart the two families really were didn’t seem to keep Maggie from thinking about the unique color of Dallas’s eyes or his wonderful smile. Sensible or not, she knew that he had stirred something within her today that had nothing at all to do with gratitude over his rescuing Travis.

      She gave her head an almost angry shake to push Dallas from her mind. She was absolutely not going to get silly over Dallas Fortune.

      “So, Mama,” she said matter-of-factly, “how did your day go?”

      Rosita frowned. “For me it went well, but it wasn’t a good day for Ryan. His lawyer, Parker Malone, delivered some very bad news. Ryan’s wife, Sophia, is demanding half of everything Ryan owns in the divorce settlement, which she certainly doesn’t deserve. That woman is a disgrace,” Rosita exclaimed disgustedly.

      “She must be the same woman today that she was when Ryan married her, Mama,” Maggie said gently.

      “She was his first wife, Janine’s, nurse, and I would bet anything that conniving Sophia set her cap for Ryan Fortune long before his wife and the mother of his children passed away! Oh, I remember so much about that sad time, Maggie. Ryan was devastated, and Sophia was there to console him. Console him, hah! Why did she stay on the ranch after her patient was dead and buried? I’ll tell you why. It was to get her greedy hands on Ryan’s money! She was never a nice woman, Maggie, never. Ryan was vulnerable, and Sophia took advantage of him. She’s still trying to take advantage of him!”

      Maggie couldn’t help smiling. “Mama, do you eavesdrop on the Fortunes’ conversations?” she asked teasingly.

      Rosita looked hurt. “How could you say such a thing?”

      Maggie reached for Rosita’s hand. “Mama, I was only teasing you.”

      “Sometimes I hear things—how could I not? But I do not deliberately sneak around and spy on the Fortunes.”

      “Of course you don’t.”

      “And sometimes they tell me things themselves. They know I care about them, Maggie.”

      “I’m sure they do.”

      Rosita became thoughtful for a few moments, then she smiled rather impishly. “You know, Maggie, Dallas is considered to be the area’s most eligible bachelor. He’s very good-looking, he’s educated and he’s a hard worker. Maybe you should be nice to him.”

      Maggie’s eyes widened. “You just told me a few minutes ago how much you respected his long mourning period. And then we talked about Sophia, and you said that she took advantage of Ryan while he was in the same state after Janine’s death. Surely you’re not suggesting that I chase Dallas as Sophia chased Ryan!”

      Rosita looked aghast. “Oh, my, I did sound as though I was, didn’t I?”

      “Yes, Mama, you did.” Maggie studied her mother’s stricken face. “But I know you didn’t mean it. You were only teasing, too.”

      “Well…yes,” Rosita said slowly, almost reluctantly, Maggie noticed just before her mother smiled again. “But you are not like Sophia. You are a good, honest, kindhearted, decent woman, and Dallas would be lucky to have you for his wife.”

      “Mama, you’re incorrigible!” Maggie got up. “I’m going to bed.” Leaning over, she kissed Rosita’s cheek. “Good night, Mama.”

      “Good night, Maggie.”

      Chuckling under her breath over her mother’s brass, Maggie went into her room and shut the door. How could her mother possibly think that Dallas Fortune would ever marry a nobody? she thought while getting ready for bed. Especially when he was still in love with his deceased wife.

      Maggie stopped buttoning her pajama top, as today’s meeting with Dallas overwhelmed other thoughts. Unquestionably, he had looked at her as a man looked at a woman. She could get his attention, if she put out the effort. But then what would happen? she asked herself with a disdainful toss of her head. A fling? A short-lived affair? She wasn’t here permanently, for one thing, and besides, her sexual experience was limited solely to the man she had married. She wouldn’t even know how to have an affair. For that matter, she didn’t even like the word affair.

      Flirting with Dallas Fortune would undoubtedly end up in shame for herself and her family. She wanted no part of that sort of heartache, nor did she deserve it.

      Settling down in bed, she told herself to forget Dallas’s whiskey-colored eyes and great smile. Forget his long, lean body. Forget you even met him again!

      “Good

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