Once and Always (Women of Character) (7 page)

Tyler looked at her with surprise.
"That sounds like a challenge, as if you expect anything but
honesty."

She took a drink from her water
glass, then pushed wisps of auburn-tinted hair out of her eyes as Harlin
brought their drinks and lunch. When he left, she said bluntly, "I have to
wonder about your motives, since you lied to get me in here."

Tyler didn't blink. "Am I
wrong? Isn't this a great place to start?"

"You think quick on your
feet, Tyler, you always did. But don't lie to me again."

He understood the warning and
nodded his head in response.

Tyler lifted his glass, watching
Annie expectantly. After a slight hesitation, she raised her glass also.
"To a successful union," he said solemnly.

Her eyelids flickered almost
nervously and he watched her full lips move, but she didn't smile. Her glass
lightly touched his. "And for whatever tomorrow brings," she added
softly, "may we both have the courage to face it. I want this venture to
be a success."

Tyler lifted his glass and took a
deep swallow, then he carefully placed it on the table. "One way or the
other I plan to be successful. If you've got the cash, you can pull any string
and make things happen. Money is power."

She looked troubled. "That
sounds so―"

"Realistic?"

"Cynical and bitter come to
mind."

Tyler straightened his sleeve
cuffs. "I admit freely to a certain bitterness regarding the past, but
don't let anyone fool you it makes a difference having money. You're less
likely to be pushed around."

"And yet you've returned to
this area. I still find that hard to believe."

"It's something along the
lines of more of the hair of the dog that bit you, or rather, the dog that
turned on my father." He lifted his glass, then abruptly put it back down.
Taking a deep breath, he started again. "You know part of the reason I
came back. The other part is my father always said he didn't want to return,
but I think he did and maybe I knew he wanted to come back, but ignored
it." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Just before he died he
asked to return, but it was too late. I had him flown in so he could be buried
here."

She looked stunned. "Tyler,
I'm so sorry. I had no idea you lost Grant so recently."

"It was a small memorial
service, and a few locals attended that my dad knew a long time." He sat
back in his chair and tapped his fingers against the table. "It'll be
interesting to stick around and see if the town is as unforgiving as I
remember," he added carelessly.

"I've never found this town
like that."

"You weren't escorted to the
bus station and forced to get on a bus."

Annie's face paled. "Is that
what happened?"

Tyler looked toward the inner
dining room. "You know the answer to that." He lifted his drink and
took a long swallow, remembering the shove the deputy had given his father so
he stumbled and fell against the bus steps.

"No, I didn't," she said
quietly, "but you've just given it to me."

"Martin and the sheriff were
friends. Are you claiming you didn't tell them to make sure we left town?"

Annie sighed. "It doesn't
matter anymore, now does it? It's in the past, but you're not happy with how
you think the town treated you," she said quietly. "Did you ever
think it might have only been a few short-sighted people?"

Tyler mulled over his late night
stop at Jake Oakey's Ice Cream Parlor. Jake had been okay to him, but he was
only one man. "I don't know." He looked at her plate. "You
haven't touched your food."

"I will. It looks very
good."

She took a bite of her salad.
Tyler watched her catch a drip of dressing on her bottom lip with her tongue.
He felt an urge to lean forward and touch her mouth with his, then he thought
of other things he'd like to do beyond a kiss. Frowning, he looked down at his
own steak.

Gruffly, Tyler said, "You
asked me how I knew Judge France. Before you came to the Double B, I was a
smart-mouthed kid who'd decided to quit school. I lived with my mother. My last
scrape with the law Judge France gave me an ultimatum. Live with my father and
keep my nose clean or end up in juvenile detention." He stared at her.
"I thought back then you might have known about my background. By the time
you arrived, I'd straightened myself out." He smiled without humor.
"When the trouble happened six years ago, everybody was ready to believe
Martin over a Stanton."

"Martin made sure I knew
about your background," Annie said softly. "I think he thought it was
a way to protect me from you."

Tyler felt his heart trip, then
hammer loudly. "You defied Martin and went on seeing me?"

She shrugged and looked away from
him. Tyler thought he caught a glimpse of pain on her face.

"How did you keep the ranch
going when you stopped competing?" he asked abruptly, troubled by what
she'd admitted.

"I've taken in a limited
amount of training." At his surprised look, she said, "You thought I
severed all contact with anyone outside the ranch?" Her eyes took on a
distant look. "I wanted to. I didn't want to see anyone. I took on just
enough training to keep me going. . .people who knew what to expect when they
came here. Mostly, people approached Danny and he'd tell me. This year there's
been a lot of expenses with the house and it's depleted me financially."

"You went through everything
Martin left you?" he asked skeptically.

"I―I, yes." Annie
twisted her fingers together and looked away from him.

Watching her closely, Tyler said,
"As hard as it is for me to believe, I have this gut feeling he didn't
leave you much. How can that be?"

She started to shake her head in
denial, but then she let out a sigh. "He wouldn't have done it on
purpose," she said defensively. "Things happened. He'd had some bad
luck and he was sick, then he made some bad investments. His accountant said he
was overextended but I know Martin, I'm sure he expected to be on top again. If
he hadn't died, everything would have been okay. He'd have pulled out of
it."

"What about your barrel
winnings?" He knew she'd done very well.

"Gone." She lifted her
chin. "It's common knowledge that I paid back the breeding fee that was
collected fraudulently. At sixty thousand, it pretty much wiped me out."

Tyler sat back and swore. They'd
all been caught in Martin's trap. "As unscrupulous as he could be at
times, how could Martin do that to you? He had to know the truth would come
out."

"I don't care how much in
debt he was, it wasn't Martin," she said angrily. "He wouldn't switch
horses. This was his ranch, his sweat and blood. His pride. You don't go and
ruin your life's work, not for sixty grand. It's a drop in the bucket compared
to the money he had coming in."

Tyler leaned closer. "How do
you know? Did he tell you he was innocent?"

"He suffered a massive stroke
and never came out of the coma. We'll never know who was responsible."

Bitterly, he looked at the spark
of anger in Annie's eyes. She'd never believe it was Martin and he would always
know it had to be. "We'll never agree on this," he said in a low
voice. "And unless new information turns up, I'll never be able to piece
together what did happen. It will always be the Stanton scandal."

"Honestly, Tyler, I don't
know what to believe. Sometimes I wonder if we should leave the past where it
belongs." Unhappily, she added, "I know for you that's not an
option."

Tyler looked at their plates, the
food hardly touched. Maybe this hadn't been a good idea, not when it led to
rehashing the past. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

With a look of relief, Annie
nodded.

Tyler took care of the bill and
together they left the deck and reentered the dining room. Tyler saw several
people glance up from their tables and he could almost sense their curiosity as
he and Annie wended their way through the tables. He hadn't felt this
self-conscious since he'd been a gangly teenager, and he knew it stemmed from a
certain protectiveness toward Annie. He felt her stiffness as he guided her in
the same manner as when they'd arrived, his hand at her elbow. He felt a sudden
resistance as she stopped. He looked down at her, thinking that no matter what
she thought of her face, with her eyes large and luminous, her body poised
gracefully, she was a woman who would always be noticed.

"Anna," a man's voice
exclaimed, and Tyler realized one of the diners had put out his hand and
stopped Annie.

Annie lifted her hand and touched
the man's arm.  "Gill, so wonderful to see you."  She turned to
Tyler. "Tyler, I'd like to introduce you to Gill and his wife Tara Dakins.
They own the ranch just the other side of Bridgeton, Twenty Percent Acres, do
you remember it?"

Gill Dakins, a man somewhere in
his fifties, face weathered and body lean of build, rose to his feet. He
immediately embraced Annie and then shook hands with Tyler.

"Anna, I haven't seen you in
so long." His sidelong glance at Tyler was sharp and inquisitive.

Tara rose to her feet and likewise
embraced Annie. "My dear, I'm so happy to see you."

"It's wonderful to run into
such dear old friends," Annie said, and to Tyler, her voice sounded
genuine, without strain. "Since we did run into you, you should be the
first to hear the good news. Tyler will be leasing the Double B."

"My dear Anna," Tara
said, "it must be so difficult for you to lease the ranch, but I'm sure
you've given it careful thought."

Tyler marveled at the apparent
ease with which Annie smiled. He knew that leasing the ranch had to be eating
at her. Martin would have hated it. He'd probably have let it fall into the
ground before he let anyone else run it. Especially a Stanton.

"It will give the ranch the
boost it needs," Annie said now. "We came here to celebrate with
lunch." Annie threw him a pleased smile and Tyler's insides tightened. She
hadn't smiled at him like that in six years and now it was only for the benefit
of her friends.

"Tyler, you're a lucky
man," Gill said. "Anna's one of the best horsewomen on the east
coast. I hope this means we'll be seeing you back on the circuit?" he
asked Annie.

Annie looked startled. "Not
this year," she said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. We'll be
concentrating on the ranch."

Tara turned to him and it seemed
to Tyler her smile wavered. She put a hand up to her throat and her face went
white. "I―I didn't catch your last name."

"Stanton," he said,
watching her dark eyes narrow.

"Grant Stanton's son?"
Gill asked, clearly surprised.

Tyler had known this awkward
moment would arrive, no doubt one of many awkward moments. He shoved a fist
into his pants pocket. "The same."

Tara stared at him, her blue eyes
now like chips of ice. "I see."

Tyler clenched his jaw, wondering
what Tara Dakins thought she saw. He had nothing to apologize for, but he still
felt the sting of the past. "I guess you knew my father?" No sense in
beating around the bush.

"Yes, who doesn't know the
story?" her voice was brittle and Tyler clenched his jaw.

"Depends what story you're
recalling. I'm wondering why I don't remember you," Tyler added.

"Gill only recently retired
and bought the ranch," Annie said quickly, stepping forward as her chin
went up a notch. She turned to Gill. "We're going to work the ranch
together, and I'm behind Tyler one hundred percent. You'll be hearing a lot
more of the Stanton name. I intended to give you a call, Gill, so I'm glad we
ran into each other. If there's any business you'd like to send our way, you
know how to find us. I'll leave it up to you."

The older man's surprised looked
smoothed out. "A partnership sounds ideal."

Tyler thought that after his
initial surprise, Gill didn't seem put off by the news that he'd be the one
running the ranch. But then again, it was early days yet.

"We expect to be up to full
operation within the next few months. Not only barrel racers," Tyler
added, "but cutting horses also."

"That's Tyler's specialty and
he's got the championships to prove it."

Tyler marveled at the note of
pride Annie injected into her voice. She gripped his wrist and turned it so she
could see his watch. "We have to go," she said apologetically. She
placed a hand on Tara's arm. "I hope you'll stop by the ranch. It would be
nice to see you again."

Tara smiled stiffly. "I'll
try to do that Anna." Her glance moved to Tyler and then quickly back to
Annie. "I'd love to see you."

Tyler couldn't help but think Tara
Dakins wouldn't stop by unless she was certain he was absent.

Tara hugged Annie and nodded
coolly to him. Cynically, he supposed she could have just ignored him
altogether. He felt a slight tremor shake Annie, and then another. Final
goodbyes were exchanged and they walked the length of the dining room, then up
the steps and outside. Tyler had no time to ponder Tara's coolness as Annie
suddenly began to walk very quickly toward the car.

He reached his hand out to her.
"Whoa, hold up." She kept going until she reached the car, then
stopped and leaned against the back of it, her breath coming hard and fast as
she pressed a hand to her stomach. With concern, Tyler pulled her upright,
holding her by the arms. "What's the matter? What is it, Annie?" he
asked urgently.

"I had to get out of
there."

He noticed now that some of her
makeup had rubbed off and the scars stood out in bright relief against her
skin. Sympathy rose in Tyler, but he hid it, knowing she wouldn't appreciate
it.

Placing one arm around her
shoulders, he opened the car passenger door. "Come on, sit down a minute
and relax. You look like you're going to fall over. Maybe we'd better find a
doctor. Do you think you're having an allergic reaction to something you ate?"