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His recognition of Ty was instant. “Mr. Calder. I regret that we should meet again under such tragic circumstances.” Despite his constant attempt to adopt the clipped, precise speech of his English counterparts, his voice had never lost its distinctive Texas drawl. To eliminate any need for a response from Ty, Brownsmith added quickly, as he pivoted with a gesturing sweep of his hand, “If you’ll bring Miss Tara this way.”
With the houseman in the lead, Ty carried Tara into the house, across a marbled foyer, styled to resemble an interior courtyard, up a palatial grand staircase, and along a wide corridor to a suite of rooms. All the while Brownsmith directed a flurry of scurrying servants.
Two maids waited to guide Ty through the sitting room to the bedroom, decorated in a daring but deft mix of scarlet and gold, softened with delicate touches of pink.
Again Tara protested the separation when Ty attempted to lay her on the bed. “No. Don’t go.”
“I’m not going anywhere. But you can’t get in bed with your shoes on,” he chided, which apparently made sense to Tara because she sank onto the satin coverlet, lying quietly while he slipped off her black pumps. A maid was there to take them from him before he could drop them on the floor.
“Dr. Parker should be here directly. He had to stop at his clinic to pick up some medication for Miss Tara,” the houseman explained, then lifted his head sharply, catching some sound that escaped Ty’s hearing. He stepped to the window, parting the sheers to look out. “Here he is now. I’ll bring him right up.” He moved away from the window, issuing orders to the maids as he went. “Close the draperies, and see that Mr. Calder has a chair by the bed so that he can sit with Miss Tara.” On his way into the sitting room, Brownsmith met Cat in the connecting doorway. He immediately intercepted her. “Forgive me but these are Miss Tara’s private quarters.”
Turning, Ty saw Cat. “That’s my sister, Brownsmith.”
The houseman recovered quickly. “Miss Cathleen,” he said, making use of his instant recall to address her by her full given name. “You have grown into a lovely young woman. Forgive me for failing to recognize you.”
“Of course,” Cat replied as he waved her into the room, then disappeared himself into the sit
ting room. “How could he remember me when I barely remember him?”
Ty nodded in agreement. “You couldn’t have met more than once or twice.” Then Tara was reaching for him, on the verge of panic again.
Even after the doctor administered the sedative, Tara clung to him, locking his hand in a death grip and refusing to let go. With the doctor’s departure, the maids withdrew, leaving Ty and Cat alone in the darkened room with Tara. They spoke little and then in hushed voices.
Late in the afternoon, it started to rain. Ty sat by the bed and listened to the sound of the wind-whipped rain pelting the windowpanes. It was a lonely sound, made more so by the dim light and the thick silence.
It was along about early evening when Brownsmith returned to the room and informed them that a light supper was waiting for them in the sitting room.
Cat shook her head when Ty suggested she eat first. “She seems to be sleeping soundly. I’ll sit with her. It’s time you had a break.”
Ty didn’t argue with that. Instead, he untangled his hand from Tara’s fingers and walked quietly into the sitting room. A tall lamp cast a pool of light over the table set for two by the window. He cast one glance at the table then crossed to the telephone extension on a gilded table next to an easy chair, upholstered in a scarlet and pink plaid silk. He picked up the receiver and dialed the ranch. Jessy answered on the second ring. In the background, he could hear a baby crying.
“Sounds like I called at a bad time.”
“It’s just Laura, wanting her diaper changed. I take it you’re back at the hotel. How was the funeral?”
Ty hesitated. “Actually I’m at Tara’s.”
“Oh.” Pain cut through her, sharp and swift, caused as much by the small pause as by his reply. Jessy felt the old flare of anger and resentment, but kept it out of her voice. “How is she?”
“She collapsed at the church. The doctor gave her a sedative after we brought her back to the house. Cat’s sitting with her now.”
There wasn’t any comment Jessy could make that wouldn’t sound trite or false. So she said instead, “Then you haven’t had time to make any calls to set up appointments to look over the sale facilities.”
“No. Not yet. If I get back to the hotel early enough tonight, I’ll call and see what I can arrange.”
Which told Jessy that he didn’t plan to leave Tara’s anytime soon. Maybe it was simple jealousy she felt; Jessy wasn’t sure, but she didn’t trust Tara, not completely. And she never would.
PART TWO
That grass, it’s a-feelin’ the footsteps
Of those who walked it before.
One took the land
and one raised his hand.
A Calder just don’t know
