AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She realized she was trembling, and she knew she had to get away. But she couldn’t leave until she said what she needed to. “You are a small-minded, pompous man, Hugh. But even worse, you have a wicked heart. St. Gert’s deserves better.”
Francesca stared through the living room window at the gleaming stretch of Florida beach. It was beautiful, but she missed Wynette. She returned her attention to the disagreeable telephone conversation she was having with her husband. “Yes, darling, I’ve heard what they’re saying on the news. But I’m sure Kenny has a rational explanation.”
She wasn’t sure of any such thing, and she winced as her normally soft-spoken husband adamantly voiced his displeasure.
Finally, he quieted enough for her to speak. “I’ll admit the news clip is a bit damning, but the Duke of Beddington’s such a rotter. Really, Dallie, if you knew him, you’d simply detest him. I’m certain he had it coming.”
She lifted the receiver a few inches from her ear as he erupted again. He was calling her from Augusta, where the final round of the Masters was being played even as they spoke. Reporters had been stalking him all morning, and guilt nipped at her. This was her fault for sending Emma to Kenny. Beddington had obviously gone to Wynette because of her, and something, just as obviously, had gone drastically wrong.
Ever since Francesca had seen the footage of the fight in the Roustabout parking lot on the morning news, she’d been trying to reach Kenny, but she kept getting a busy signal. She’d hoped Emma would have a positive influence on him, but, instead, she seemed to have landed him in deeper trouble. None of this would have happened if Francesca hadn’t decided to try a little off-beat matchmaking, as her husband was now reminding her.
The other line buzzed. Dallie was still raving, and she slipped him on hold.
“Hi, Mom, it’s me.”
“Teddy, darling! Thank goodness you called. I have your father on the other line, and he’s being completely disagreeable. Hold on.”
She clicked back to Dallie, who seemed to be threatening her with a rather interesting sexual variation if she ever tried matchmaking again. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Teddy’s calling.”
Dallie immediately quieted, as she’d known he would. Of the many blessings in her life, witnessing the love between Dallie and his son was surely the greatest.
She took advantage of his brief silence to end the conversation. “Hurry home tonight, my darling.” And then, to punish him for being so cranky, she dropped her voice into the husky purr she’d perfected before her sixteenth birthday. “I bought the most exquisite massage oil yesterday. Almond with a faint overlay of sandalwood. Imported, of course, and outrageously expensive. But I insist on using only the very best . . . on every part of you . . . that will to
uch . . . certain parts of me.”
There was a long, eloquent pause, and when he finally spoke, his voice sounded just the slightest bit hoarse. “Francie, I do believe I’m going to catch an earlier flight.”
Francesca smiled as she gently disconnected him. As if there’d ever been any doubt.
“I’m going to kill him!” Torie exclaimed, over the voice announcing final boarding of Flight 2842 to London’s Heathrow. “I really will, Lady E. The minute Kenny resurfaces, I’ll do it. Tell her, Dex. Tell her I always mean what I say.”
Instead of replying, Dex slipped his arm around Emma’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “I’m sure once Kenny’s had a chance to think things over, he’ll be in touch.”
Emma thought how difficult that would be since she was getting ready to fly across the ocean. She was also homeless and jobless. “It’s all right. After what happened last night, I don’t expect him to speak to me again. Really.” But she’d hoped he would. She’d hoped he’d forgive her.
She fumbled in her purse for her boarding pass. She’d postponed getting on the plane as long as she could, just as she’d postponed leaving the ranch when it finally became evident that Kenny wasn’t going to return, but she couldn’t stall any longer.
At least she’d be getting away from Torie, who’d been nagging Dexter all day. No matter what he did or said, Torie found fault with it. He’d been bearing her insults with admirable restraint, but Emma’d been forced to bite her tongue to keep from calling her to task.
To make the trip even more uncomfortable, Emma had told them the truth about Hugh and his threats. After what they’d seen last night, they deserved the whole story, and, although they were both sympathetic, her confession made her feel like a dotty, dear thing, completely incompetent and out of touch with the world. The only secret she’d kept was the fact that she’d fallen in love with Kenny, but she was afraid both of them already knew that.
Torie’s worried expression only reinforced the feeling. “Kenny’s got a slow fuse, but, unfortunately, once it gets lit, it takes a while for him to cool down. And the fact that Tiger just won another Masters won’t help.”
“Yes, well, I seem to have run out of cooling down time.” She kissed Dex’s cheek, then gave Torie a fierce hug. “You’ve been wonderful to me. I’ll miss you dreadfully. You’ll never know how sorry I am for what I put you through last night.”
“Are you kidding? I was glad to help out.” She shot Dexter a peeved look. “Besides, it’s nice to be around someone who’s spontaneous instead of a person who has to think every damn thing through from top to bottom.”
Dexter smiled.
Torie squeezed Emma’s shoulders. “And don’t think you’ve seen the last of me, Lady E. We’ll keep in touch.”
“I hope so.”
“You can count on it. Our love affair might have been brief, but it sure was memorable.”
Emma laughed, then felt her throat close tight. She was going to miss this wacky band of Texans. “Be good to Dexter, Torie,” she whispered. “He’s a wonderful man.”
Torie hugged her back and looked unhappy. Emma gave them both a shaky smile, then hoisted her tote and turned toward the jetway.
