Kasie chuckled as both girls grabbed a hand and coaxed her to
her feet. "I gather that I'm to be carefully observed from now on,
so I don't make a run for the border," she murmured to Gil.
"That's right. Good girls," Gil said, grinning. "Keep her with you so
she doesn't have a chance to escape."
"We won't let her go, Daddy," Bess promised.
They tugged her up the staircase, and she went without an argu-
ment, waiting in their rooms while they washed their hands and
faces.
"Daddy was real mad when we came home," Bess told Kasie. "So
was Uncle Johnny. He said Daddy should go and get you and
bring you home, but Daddy said you might not want to, because
he'd been bad to you. Did he take away your toys, Kasie and put
you into time-out?"
"Heavens, no," she said at once.
"Then why did you go away?" the child insisted. "Was it on ac-
count of Pauline said you left us alone? We told Daddy the truth,
and Pauline went away. We don't like her. She's bad to us when
Daddy isn't looking. He won't marry Pauline, will he, Kasie?"
"I don't think so," she said carefully.
"Me and Jenny wish he'd marry you," Bess said wistfully. "You're
so much fun to play with, Kasie."
Kasie didn't dare say anything about marriage. "You can't decide
things like that, sweetheart," she told Bess. "People don't usually
marry unless they fall in love."
"Oh."
The child looked heartbroken. Kasie went down on her knees and
caught Bess gently by the waist. "What do you want to do after
we have lunch?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Could we swim in the pool?"
She'd forgotten that the family had a swimming pool. "I suppose
so," she said, frowning. "But it's pretty soon after your accident,
Bess. Are you sure you want to?"
"Daddy and me went swimming the day after we came home,"
Bess said matter-of-factly. "Daddy said I mustn't be afraid of the
water, after I fell in, so he's giving me swimming lessons. I love to
swim, now!"
So some good had come out of the accident. That was reassur-
ing. "Let's go down and eat something. Then we have to wait a lit-
tle while."
"I know. We can pick flowers while we wait, can't we? There's
some pretty yellow roses in a hedge behind the swimming pool,"
Bess told her.
"I love roses," Kasie said, smiling. "But perhaps we'd better not
pick any until someone tells us it's all right."
"Okay, Kasie."
They went downstairs and Kasie helped Mrs. Charters set the ta-
ble. She was welcoming and cheerful about having Kasie back
again. John talked easily to Kasie and the children. Gil didn't. He
picked at his food and brooded. He watched Kasie, but covertly.
She wondered what was going on in his mind to make him so un-
happy.
He looked up and met Kasie's searching eyes, and she felt her
stomach fall as if she was on a roller coaster. Her hands trembled.
She put them in her lap to hide them, but her heartbeat pounded
wildly and her nervousness was noticeable. Especially to the man
with the arrogant smile, who suddenly seemed to develop an ap-
petite.
Chapter 10
For the next few days, Gil seemed to watch every move Kasie
made. He was cordial with her, but there was a noticeable differ-
ence in the way he treated her since her return. He was remote
and quiet, even when the family came together at mealtimes, and
he seemed uncomfortable around Kasie. She noticed his reti-
cence and understood it to mean that he was sorry for the way
he'd treated her before. He didn't touch her at all these days, nor
did he seem inclined to include her when he took the girls to mov-
ies and the playground, even though he asked her along. But she
always refused, to the dismay of the children. She excused it as
giving them some time alone with their father. Gil knew that wasn't
the truth. It made matters worse.
John left Thursday for a conference that Gil had been slated to at-
tend, and Gil stayed home. Kasie noticed that he seemed unusu-
ally watchful and he was always around the ranch even when he
wasn't around the house. He didn't explain why. Kasie would have
loved thinking that it was because he was interested in her, but
she knew that wasn't the reason. There was more distance be-
tween them now than there had ever been before.
Mrs. Charters mentioned that there was some uneasiness among
the cowboys because of a threat that had been made. Kasie tried
to ask Gil about it. He simply ignored the question and walked
away.
He was missing at breakfast early one Monday morning. The girls
were sleeping late, so Kasie walked into the dining room and
found only John at the table.
"Pull up a chair and have breakfast," he invited with a grin. "I have
to move bulls today, so I'm having seconds and thirds. I have to
keep up my strength."
"If you keep eating like that, you could carry the bulls and save
gas," she said wickedly. "I thought you had to go to Phoenix to
show a bull this week?"
He averted his eyes. "I thought I'd put it off for another couple of
weeks." He sipped coffee and studied Kasie quietly. "There's a
new movie showing at the theater downtown. How would you like
to pack up the girls and go with me to see it?"
Her eyes lit up. "I'd love to," she said at once.
He grinned. "Okay. We'll go tomorrow night. I, uh, noticed that you
don't like going to movies with my brother, even if the girls go
along."
"I just thought he'd like some time alone with them," she hedged.
"After all, I'm just the governess."
He poured himself more coffee before he replied. "That's a bunch
of hogwash, Kasie."
She drew in a long breath. "He makes me uncomfortable," she
said. "I always feel like he's biding his time, waiting for me to
make another mistake or do something stupid."
He chuckled. "He doesn't lie in wait to ambush you," he said
softly. "He meant it when he apologized, you know. He was sorry
he misjudged you. Believe me, it's a rare thing for him to make a
mistake like that. But he's had some hard blows from women in
recent years."
"I felt really bad about what happened," she said with a wistful
sadness in her eyes. "I should have remembered that he never
trusted Pauline to look after the girls. I'd met this man on the
plane, and he invited me to lunch. I liked him. He kept me from
being afraid on the way to Nassau."
John's face sobered, and she realized that Gil must have told him
about her past. "I'm sorry about your brother and his family," he
said, confirming her suspicions. "Gil and I haven't really been part
of a family since our uncle died."
"Don't you ever go to see your parents?" she asked curiously.
"There was a time when they offered an olive branch, but you
know Gil," he said soberly. "He's slow to get over things, and he
refused to talk to them. Maybe they did neglect us, but I never
thought it was malicious. They had kids before they were ready to
have them. Lots of people are irresponsible parents. But you can't
hold grudges forever." He frowned. "On second thought, maybe
Gil can."
She smiled and reached across the table to lay her hand over his.
"Maybe one day you can try again. It would be nice for the girls to
have grandparents."
"The only ones they have left are our parents. Darlene's died
years ago." He caught her hand in his and held it tight. "You make
the hardest things sound simple. I like myself when you're around,
Kasie."
She laughed gently. "I like you, too," she said.
"I never believed you had anything to do with Bess getting hurt,"
he said somberly. "Anyone could see how much you care about
the girls."
"Thanks. It's nice to know that at least one grown-up person in
your family believed I was innocent," she said, oblivious to the
white-faced, angry man standing in the hall with an armload of
pale pink roses. "It hurt terribly that Gil thought I'd ever put the
girls at risk in any way, least of all by neglecting them. But it
wasn't the first time he's accused me of ulterior motives. I should
be used to it by now. I think he's sorry he rehired me, you know,"
she added sadly, clinging to his hand. "He looks through me when
he isn't glaring at me." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]