Page 24 of Texas Honor

“Well, you invited me, didn’t you?” came an equally curt reply in a voice as deep and authoritative as Ward’s. “You called me from the airport and said come over and we’d work out that second lease. So here I am. Or did you forget?”

“No.”

“Do you want to serve my coffee on the damned porch?”

Ward tried not to grin, but he couldn’t help it. Honest to God, Ty Wade was just like him.

“Oh, hell, come in,” he muttered, holding the door open.

A tall, whipcord-lean man entered the house, Stetson in hand. He was as homely as leftover bacon, and he had eyes so piercing and coldly gray that Mari almost backed away. And then he saw her and smiled, and his face changed.

“Marianne, this is my neighbor, Tyson Wade,” Ward told her curtly.

Ty nodded without speaking, glancing past Mari to where Lillian was standing in her cast. “What did you do, kick him?” he asked Lillian, nodding toward Ward.

Lillian laughed. “Not quite. How are Erin and the twins?”

“Just beautiful, thanks,” Ty said with a quiet smile.

“Give them my best,” Lillian said. “Coffee?”

“Just make it, I’ll come and get the tray,” Ward said firmly.

Lillian grumbled off toward the kitchen while Mari searched for words.

“I think I’ll turn in,” she said to Ward. “If you still want me to help with the office work, I need to get some sleep so that I can start early.”

Ward looked harder than usual. Mari couldn’t know that seeing Ty and the change marriage had made in him had knocked every amorous thought right out of his head. Ty spelled commitment, and Ward wanted none of it. So why in hell, he was asking himself, had he been coming on to a virgin?

“Sure,” he told Mari. “You do that. If you don’t mind, try to get your aunt into bed, too, could you? She’s going to make a basket case of me if she doesn’t start resting. Tell her that, too. Play on her conscience, girl.”

Mari forced a smile. “I’ll try. Nice to meet you, Mr. Wade,” she told Ty and went after Lillian.

“Imagine, Tyson Wade in this very house,” Lillian said with a sigh as she fixed a tray. “It’s been a shock, seeing those two actually talk. They’ve been feuding as long as I’ve worked here. Then Mr. Wade got married and just look at him.”

“He seems very much a family man,” Mari commented.

“You should have seen him before.” Lillian grinned. “He made the boss look like a pussycat.”

“That bad?”

“That bad. Bad enough, in fact, to make the boss get rid of a half-wolf, half-shepherd dog he loved to death. It brought down some of Ty’s cattle, and he came over here to ‘discuss it’ with the boss.” She turned, grinning at her niece. “The very next day that dog was adopted into a good home. And the boss had to see his dentist. Tyson Wade was a mean man before Miss Erin came along. Ah, the wonder of true love.” She gave Mari a sizing-up look and grinned even more when the younger woman blushed. “Well, let’s get to the dishes, if you’re determined to get in my way.”

Mari was and she did, quickly shooing Lillian out. Then she disappeared herself before Ward came for the coffee tray. She’d had enough for one night.

BREAKFASTWASANORDEAL,Ward was cold all of a sudden, not the amorous, very interested man of the day before. Mari felt cold and empty and wondered what she’d done to make him look at her with those indifferent eyes. She was beginning to be glad that her vacation was almost over.

He followed her into the office and started opening mail. It had piled up in his absence, and he frowned over the amount waiting for him.

“Can you take dictation?” he asked Mari without looking up.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Get a pad and pen out of the desk drawer and let’s get started.”

He began to dictate. The first letter was in response to a man who owed Ward money. The man had written Ward to explain that he’d had a bad month and would catch up on his payments as soon as he could. Instead of an understanding reply, Ward dictated a scorching demand for full payment that ended in a threatened lawsuit.

Mari started to speak, but the look he gave her was an ultimatum. She forced back the words and kept her silence.