They rode in silence until they were within sight of the barn.
“Boone’s doing a stupid thing, too,” Winnie said after a minute.
Keely’s heart jumped. “What?”
“He’s bringing that Misty person home for the weekend,” she said tautly. “God knows why. He treats her badly, but she hangs on. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Revenge,” Keely guessed.
“That’s what I thought, too. But Clark wasn’t the only one hiding jewelry from me. Boone had a jewelry box in his pocket, too, just like Clark,” she said, glancing worriedly at Keely. “I saw it. A little square one, like a ring comes in. He was hiding it.”
Keely’s world was ending. She tried to smile. “I guess he discovered he really does care about her, huh?”
Winnie looked worried. “My brothers are both
idiots,” she muttered.
“Love doesn’t make people rational,” she said, glancing around at the parched pasture. “If we don’t get some rain, even the animals are going to go loco,” she added, trying to change the subject. “This drought is terrible.”
“Worse for small ranchers than for us,” Winnie replied. “We can afford to buy hay to feed our cattle. Now, this corn thing for fuel is pushing those prices even higher.” She shook her head. “You try to fix one thing, and it damages another thing.”
“That’s life, I suppose.”
“Don’t look so glum,” Winnie said gently. “Maybe it was a lapel pin or something that Boone bought for a friend. It might not even be a ring.”
“Of course.”
Winnie knew the other woman was hiding a big hurt. She changed the subject as they rode back toward the ranch.
They met a furious Clark at the barn. He was pacing, steaming. He saw the women ride up and went to meet them, along with a wrangler who took the horses to unsaddle and stable.
“What in the world is the matter with you?” Winnie asked her brother when the horses had been led away.
“That damned private detective who works for Boone’s girlfriend’s father, that’s what’s the matter!” he raged. “Boone set me up!”
“Set you up? How?” Keely wanted to know.
“Nellie is not married,” he ground out. “I was suspicious, because she lives in an apartment in town. None of her neighbors have ever mentioned that she had other men coming and going, much less that her so-called husband was parking his semi in an apartment parking lot. So I asked a friend of mine on the San Antonio police force to check her out for me, on the quiet. He found out that she’s never even been married!”
Winnie was shocked. “Clark, I’m sure Boone didn’t tell them to make up that report,” she began.
“Boone hates Nellie,” he shot back. “He’d do anything to break us up. And before you both say it, I know she has a mercenary streak. She likes pretty things, because she can’t afford them. It’s my business if I want to buy them for her…nobody’s making me do it.”
Winnie and Keely exchanged woeful glances.
“Anyway, she’s furious because Boone checked her out and tried to break us up with lies,” he added grimly. “She won’t see me anymore.”
Keely felt guilty. Although why she should was anybody’s guess.
“I’m really sorry,” Winnie said gently, kissing him on the cheek. “I wish I could stay and talk more about it, but I’ll be late for work. We can talk later, can’t we?” She frowned. “Oh, I forgot! I’ve got to drive Keely home….”
“I’ll drive her,” Clark volunteered. “She can console me.”
Winnie hugged her brother, and then Keely. “I’ll call you,” she told her friend.
Keely nodded. She was disappointed that she didn’t get to see Boone at all, and sad for Clark that he’d been lied to. It didn’t seem at all like Boone to have people make up stories about Nellie.
Clark put her into his sports car and peeled out down the driveway. He was still furious, and it showed.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m going to do what Boone wants me to do,” he muttered. “I’m giving Nellie up before he finds a way to destroy her reputation.”
She felt sad for him. “Boone is formidable,” she said.
“He’s too used to getting his own way. He’s run things for so long that he thinks he can run people’s lives, as well.” He glanced at her. “Are you game for a little payback? After all, he’s done his bit to hurt you, as well.”
She felt a sense of dark foreboding. “What bit?”
“He told Misty that you were running after him at the charity dance,” he said tautly.