Is that really what she wanted to do? Go back to New Orleans after she fought so hard to stay here?
No, she didn’t want that, but she couldn’t stay here, either.
Sheridan cleared her throat, once again struggling with the urgent need to cry. “Have Mr. Applebaum send me the papers. I’ll let you know where once I’m settled. You can send my belongings there, too.”
“I hate to see you go.”
Sheridan sniffed as her gaze roamed over the woman who’d become such a good friend. “I hate to go, but I just can’t stay here. Tell the girls goodbye for me. I don’t think I can do it myself. You’ve all become so important to me.” She rose from her chair and headed upstairs on legs that felt like stone. She could make the afternoon stage if she only packed the bare essentials.
“I’m heading to the house.” Wyatt directed his comment to Hank, unable to keep the smile from his face.
Hank laughed. “Ah yes, it’s lunchtime and Sherry will be waiting for you.” He sobered quickly. “I’m so glad you made the right decision, Wyatt. I’ve never seen you happier.”
“Two more days!” he replied, still amazed that he was marrying Sheridan for real.
“I know. Mary has already pressed my suit so I can stand up for you. Twice. I think she’s just as excited as you. She’s been wishing you’d find someone for the longest time.”
“Well, she got her wish. My folks should be here tonight. I’m sure my mother has already planned the reception menu.” His grin widened. “I’ll be back.” He turned his attention to Duke. “You stay here with Hank.” The dog looked at him, then sat, his tail still wagging.
He squeezed Brigadier’s sides and raced him toward the house, his excitement at seeing Sheridan filling his veins. She’d been coming out to the ranch in the early afternoons to bring him lunch, a situation they both found enjoyable. And while he understood that it would be improper for her to be there overnight until they were married, he respected her decision. She’d be his wife soon enough, though he had to admit, the nights were the hardest. He hated sleeping alone, hated that the house felt so empty.
He slowed Brigadier to a walk as soon as he hit the barnyard, noticing the strange buggy in front of the steps. Sheridan must have rented the conveyance instead of a horse like she usually did. He dismounted and tied the horse’s reins to the porch post,then raced up the steps, his smile widening. He opened the door, fully expecting to smell her perfume and hear her in the kitchen.
All of his excitement died in an instant.
It wasn’t Sheridan waiting for him. It was Katie. He’d known she was still in town but didn’t think she had the nerve to come to him. Again. She posed on the sofa, dressed in hardly anything, trying to look as seductive as she could. He recognized that look. She was up to something. He just didn’t know what.
“What the hell, Katie! Why are you in my house? Where’s Sherry?”
She said not a word as she rose from the sofa and strolled toward him like she hadn’t a care in the world, as if she hadn’t broken his heart, not once but over and over again. Her smile was the one she wore when she wanted something—a new dress, a new bauble, or cold, hard cash. She looked deeply into his eyes then smoothed her hand against his face. “Hello, Wyatt.”
He physically removed her hand from his cheek, gently so as not to hurt her, and took a step back. He didn’t want her here, didn’t want her touching him. Hell, he didn’t want to see her at all. Ever. “Why are you here? Where’s Sherry?”
She didn’t respond to his question. Instead, she moved closer…for each step back he took, she took one forward. She laid her hands on his chest, her fingers splayed over his muscles and practically purred, “I came back. For you, Wyatt. I made a mistake. I hope you can forgive me. I still love you.”
He wasn’t falling for her act. He’d done so the last time and had his heart broken again. “Get out.”
“What?”
“Get dressed and get out!” His anger flared. To think he’d been in love with her at one time. Now, she just reminded him that he’d chosen poorly. And maybe he had needed to learn that lesson. Maybe that’s what made loving Sheridan so much easier. “I don’t want you here. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“I know I made a mistake, Wyatt, but can’t you forgive me?” She wrapped her arms around him. “I love you. I want to be with you.”
He shook his head and removed her arms from around his neck, then took several steps away from her. “Actually, Katie, I do forgive you. I know it’s not your fault you are the way you are. Never satisfied with what you have. Always wanting more. It’s my fault, too, because I tried to give you everything you wanted. I know now that whatever I could give you would never be enough.” His gaze roamed over her. She was still beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as Sheridan, not only in looks, but in heart. Katie would never be anything other than a conniving, selfish person. “I’ve found someone who doesn’t treat me like a bank. She never asks for anything. Not money, not jewelry, not flowers, though she deserves them.”
“Are you talking about your precious Sheridan?”
“I am.”
“You love her.”
“I do. She’s a good woman.” He picked up the fashionable skirt she’d left on the floor in front of the fireplace and tossed it in her direction. “Put this on.”
She let it fall to the floor then stalked, not walked, to where he stood, and stomped her foot, something she did when she didn’t get her way quickly enough. She pouted, something she did quite well, he remembered. She could even produce tears on demand, which still amazed him, though it had taken him a long time to realize she used her tears as a weapon. That’s how she suckered him into giving her money the last time she was here. “Prove it to me, Wyatt. Kiss me. If you feel nothing, then I’ll know and I’ll leave quietly.”
He laughed, disbelieving her nerve and audacity, then sobered as the reality that he’d once loved her settled in. “I’m not going to kiss you. I want you to leave. Now.”
“Fine. Then I’ll just kiss you!” And then she pressed her full body against his, put her arms around his neck and pulled his head down toward hers. Her mouth found his.
