Texas Tall - Janet Dailey Page 0,92
was Tori. He probably had more interesting things to talk about than horses and cattle and the coming weather. The fancy bastard probably knew his way around the bedroom, too.
Will cursed under his breath. Why was he torturing himself like this? He had more pressing worries than holding on to his woman—not that she was his anymore. Legally, she hadn’t been his for eight years—and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about that.
His jaw tightened as he gazed down at her, holding back emotions he had no right to feel. He ached to lean down and taste those plum-ripe lips in the secret hope they would soften to his kisses; but no, that wouldn’t be smart. If she pushed him away, he wouldn’t be able to stand it.
He settled for lifting the woolen afghan off the back of the sofa, unfolding it, and laying it gently over her body. As it settled into place, she whimpered, stirred, and opened her eyes.
Will’s heart dropped for an instant. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.
“Did you . . . need something, Will?” Her voice sounded muzzy, the way he remembered from those long-ago mornings when they’d awakened early to make love before starting the day.
He shook his head. “I just wanted you to be warm. Go back to sleep.”
“No . . . ’s all right,” she muttered, sitting up. “I was out cold. What time is it? Is Erin back?”
“It’s almost four, and no, she’s not back.” Will hesitated, knowing he should keep silent, but needing to clear the air. “About today—”
“Drew’s a friend. He says he’d like to be more than that, but I’ve told him I need to focus on the trial for now.”
“So you still haven’t slept with him?” Will could have bitten his tongue off, but it was too late to take back the question.
Tori raked back her hair, tightening the fabric of her blouse over one breast. Will cursed himself silently for noticing.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” she said, “but no, I still haven’t. This is no time for a heavy relationship, especially since I’ve got Erin to think about.” She stood, tucking her blouse into her jeans. “Trust me on this. Whatever happens, in the end, I’ll do what’s best for our daughter.”
“Does that include moving back to the ranch?”
“Don’t push me, Will. I said I’d think about it.”
“It’s what Erin wants. She told me.”
“So you’ve been lobbying her behind my back?” Annoyance sparked a fire in her eyes.
“You know I wouldn’t do that. Erin was the one who brought it up to me.”
Tori’s shoulders sagged. She shook her head. “Anyway, it isn’t going to matter, because I’m going to win your case. When that’s behind us, the rest will fall into place.”
“With you, me, Erin, and what’s-his-name. Right?” Will knew better, but he couldn’t resist the jab.
“Don’t make this any harder than it is,” she said in a flat voice. “Just don’t.”
Her face was close to his, her gaze coldly defiant. Will fought the urge to seize her in his arms and kiss away all the anger, all the bitterness between them. But something told him it would take a lot more than kissing to accomplish that.
The tension was broken by the sound of footsteps and voices across the porch. An instant later, Natalie, Beau, and Erin burst inside.
“Hi, Mom,” Erin said. “I thought you were staying in town.”
“I changed my mind,” Tori said, causing Will to wonder if she’d changed plans because he would have known she was with Middleton.
“How’s Sky?” he asked.
“Mending,” Beau said. “But he’s not happy about being out of action when he’s needed here. I did have some news for him. You’ll be interested, too.” He’d brought a folded newspaper inside. Laying it on the coffee table, he opened it to the regional news page.
“Right here. I bought a paper in the hospital gift shop and just happened to see this.” He pointed to a brief article accompanied by a grainy news photo. The headline read, WOMAN WANTED FOR ARMED ROBBERY.
Will scanned the short paragraph that began, The robber of a Wichita Falls pharmacy has been identified as Marie Fletcher, shown in the above surveillance photo. Anyone knowing this woman’s whereabouts . . .
Will studied the blurred photo. The long-legged figure shown at the pharmacy counter was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap. But she’d happened to glance up at the wrong moment. The camera had caught the long, sharp face, the