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“On second thought, don’t bother,” Tara declared with an airy wave of her hand. “I’ll call and tell her myself as long as I’m here. It’s awful the way we have managed to lose touch these last few
years after we were so close.”
“I’m sure Cat would like that,” Ty replied evenly, aware that his younger sister had always been fond of Tara.
“We were about to have dinner. Would you care to join us?” Chase motioned to an empty chair at their table, the invitation intended to prompt her departure.
It backfired.
“How kind of you to ask, Chase. I think I’ll pass on the dinner, but I would love to join you for a cup of coffee and catch up on all the family news.”
Tara took perverse satisfaction in the flicker of irritation that passed so briefly across Chase Calder’s expression. She had no illusions about his opinion of her. Regardless of her welcome—or lack thereof—she had no intentions of leaving until she was ready.
When Chase moved to pull out the empty chair for her, Tara turned away so she could make it appear she hadn’t noticed. Instead she swung around one of the chairs from a nearby table and positioned it so that she could sit between Ty and the loathsome woman he married. Tara hated Jessy. She always had. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind that, if it weren’t for that she-bitch Jessy Niles, there would have been no divorce and she would still be Ty’s wife.
Admittedly she and Ty had encountered some problems in their marriage, but none they couldn’t have worked out. Given enough time, Tara would have seen to it. That’s why she had strung out the divorce so long.
In truth, Tara had ultimately agreed to the divorce only when it became clear that the harder she fought Ty over it, the more determined he became about it. It was hardly surprising. The grass always looked greener in forbidden pastures. Now that he had had a chance to graze on it for a few years, Tara wondered just how much Ty still liked the taste of it. Surely he had wearied of Jessy by now.
After all, the woman was common as dirt, the daughter of an ordinary ranch hand. It was true that the bone structure of her face was quite good, classical in its line. Makeup would have done wonders to enhance it, but one glance had revealed to Tara that Jessy was totally devoid of any, except, perhaps, some lipstick. That same glance also told her that Jessy still didn’t wear the sort of clothes a Calder wife should. Cowboy boots, tan twills, and a sloppy white shirt were hardly suitable attire. Nor did Jessy know how to take care of her skin. Tara had been quick to notice all the feathery lines etched around Jessy’s mouth, nose, and eyes, lines emphasized by the golden tan that came from a failure to use protective sunscreen.
It was beyond question that Jessy suffered greatly in contrast to her. With the two of them sitting side by side, Ty was bound to notice the disparity. Tara was counting on it.
“So how have things been at the Triple C?” Tara angled herself toward Ty, effectively excluding Jessy from their conversation as Chase signaled for Sally to bring a cup of coffee for her.
“Fine.” Ty’s one-word answer was deliberately cool, almost as cold as the accusation in his eyes that seemed to convey he knew what she was up to.
Fully confident of her abilities, Tara was undeterred. “I’m glad some things have gone well for you.” She let her gaze slide to his shoulder sling, paused a beat while she summoned a subtle welling of tears, then gave an expressive little shudder. “Every time I think about that horrible moment when they told me you had been seriously wounded, I”—she lifted her head, letting him see the moisture in her eyes—“I was worried out of my mind about you, Ty. Crazy, isn’t it, after all this time apart.”
His glance fell from her face. “I appreciate your concern—”
“Concern?” Her low laugh was soft with mockery. “I was frantic with worry. Poor Sally must have thought I had taken leave of my senses over the way I grilled her about you when I first arrived. Thank heaven you never saw it. That would have been too embarrassing. Why, the way I was carrying on, a stranger would have thought we were still married.”
“Our divorce was final six years ago,” Ty reminded her smoothly.
“True. Six years, one week, and two days. But who’s counting?” She kept her smile light and playful, but the look in her eyes was something more serious. Truthfully Tara had no idea of the exact date of their divorce, but she doubted that Ty knew it either. “Look.” She raised her left hand, showing him the black opal ring on her finger. “I’m still wearing the engagement ring you gave me. I told you I was going to keep it. Even with the problems we had, we also had some very good times.”
“Dammit, Tara.” He pushed the words through gritted teeth, checked some further angry retort, and ground out instead, “It’s long past time you took that ring off.”
“Now you sound like Daddy,” Tara chided.
“How is your father?” Chase inserted, regarding her with an impenetrable expression.
“Daddy, he’s—”
“Doing quite well, thank you.” The male voice with its distinct Texas twang came from E.J. Dyson. Dressed as usual, in an expensive Western-cut suit and familiar white Stetson, he came to a halt beside Tara’s chair and cast an indulging smile at her head.
She glanced up in surprise. “What are you doing here, Daddy?”
“Looking for you, of course,” he replied then nodded to Chase. “Good to see you again, Calder. And you, too.” His encompassing glance included both Ty and Jessy. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has,” Ty agreed. But it was the worn and weary look about the older man that had Ty narrowing his eyes to make a closer inspection. The man looked every bit of his seventy years and more.
“As you can see, I still have trouble keeping track of my daughter. Some things never change, I guess. Truthfully, I’m not sure I want them to.” E.J. laid a hand on Tara’s shoulder in affection, then turned a smiling glance on Ty. “I understand congratulations are in order for both you and your wife.”
Before Ty could respond, Tara looked up in confusion. “Congratulations? For what? Have I missed something?”
“Jessy is expecting,” E.J. informed her.
