“You’d hate that even more. And before too long, you’d hate me, too.” She bent down and touched his lips one last time. “You know I’m right. In your heart, you know it.”
Scooping up clothes, she left before he could counter that, but she’d gone only a few paces when she realized that he hadn’t even tried.
Eleven
Harlan Patrick was mad enough to tear the whole blasted ranch apart, to say nothing of what he’d like to do to Laurie. How could the woman make sweet, passionate love to him one second and then walk away from him the next? It was insulting, demeaning.
Then again, he ought to be used to it. She’d done it often enough to be downright skilled at it, and he ought to be smart enough by now not to be taken by surprise.
While he wrestled with the black mood she’d left him in, he took his time walking back to the main house. Even though he had no desire to face Laurie again anytime soon, he had every intention of sticking as close as possible to his daughter. If Laurie refused to relent and leave Amy Lynn at White Pines while she finished her concert tour, then he was going right back on the road with her. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction to know that she was really, really going to hate that.
He was almost back to the main house when he crossed paths with one very surly, out-of-sorts Slade Sutton.
“Keep that woman away from me,” the hand said, squaring off in front of him defiantly.
Even with his own problems fresh in his mind, Harlan Patrick couldn’t stop the grin that tugged at his mouth. “Problems with Val?”
“She never shuts up.” Slade scowled. “Next time you invite somebody out here who needs baby-sitting, get somebody else. I’m here to work with the horses. You decide to change the job description, I’m outta here.”
There was little doubt he was serious about it, too, Harlan Patrick concluded. Val must have proved herself to be a real handful. Trying not to let his enjoyment of the situation show, he said, “I figured you’d be so used to breaking fractious horses that one little old filly wouldn’t give you a moment’s trouble.”
“She’s not a horse. She’s a blasted nuisance,” Slade growled, and stalked away.
Harlan Patrick hooted as he watched him go. “Made quite an impression, did she?” he commented under his breath. “I’ll have to see what I can do about getting her back here.”
He chuckled at the devious schemes already forming in his mind and concluded that there was a whole lot more of his granddaddy in him than he had ever realized. Matching the cantankerous former rodeo star with Val had been a stroke of genius. In fact, it might be the only good thing to come out of this whole damnable trip to White Pines.
In the midst of his laughter, he paused thoughtfully. If Val had a reason to want to spend more time in Texas, she was exactly the kind of woman who’d find a way to make it work. And if Val could make it work, wouldn’t Laurie begin to see the possibilities, as well? It was something that bore thinking about, he concluded, and he would do just that, right after he made sure she hadn’t stolen his pickup and hauled his daughter back into town or straight on up to Ohio and her next concert date.
To his relief he found Laurie inside, Amy Lynn sound asleep in her arms. The two of them were still surrounded by family. Val had joined them at last but was sitting by herself on the fringes, clearly trying to remain unobtrusive. Harlan Patrick went over and pulled a chair up beside her.
“How’d your tour of the ranch go?” he inquired innocently.
She shot him a wry look. “What tour? I could tell you exactly how long it takes to clean a horse’s hooves. I could tell you exactly what shade of red Slade Sutton’s neck turns when he’s given a compliment. I could even tell you how much feed each horse gets. All of this is from my own personal observation, by the way. Mr. Sutton doesn’t have a lot to say. And beyond the stables, this place remains a mystery.”
That was pretty much what Harlan Patrick had expected. “And Slade?” he inquired.
“What about him?” she asked with a telltale touch of color in her cheeks.