Texas Tender (32 page)

Idalou didn't understand why Carl would let Will straighten his tie after he'd pushed her away.

Carl ran his fingers through his hair. “Every time Mara tries to say anything to me, Van interferes. I've kept my distance like you said,” he told Will. “She's definitely been coming to me.”

“It doesn't matter who's doing what,” Idalou said.
“You shouldn't be getting into a fight at her party, and with Van of all people.”

“Why
of all people?
” Carl asked.

“Because he's been our friend ever since we moved here. He's helped us several times when we needed it.”

“I only put up with him when I thought he was interested in you,” Carl said. “After Webb died, I thought you'd marry Van and I'd marry Mara and we could join all three ranches. It would have been the perfect solution.”

Idalou had never thought of that. Though she appreciated Van's help and his friendship, she'd never once considered marrying him. He'd been very nice to her, but he could also be cruel and thoughtless.

“I never was going to marry Van,” Idalou said. “I expect he thinks you're putting pressure on Mara to defy her father's wishes.”

“I'm not putting pressure on her to do anything,” Carl protested. “After the way she's behaved, the decision is up to her.”

“Then stay away from Van until she decides.” Idalou couldn't resist brushing some dirt off Carl's coat sleeve. She smelled alcohol. “Have you been drinking?”

Carl pulled away. “Not much, but if I had, it wouldn't be any of your business,” he responded angrily. “Since Van is such a great friend, you might speak to him. He has been drinking, quite a lot from what I've seen. I'm surprised more boys don't run away from home,” he said to Will before turning on his heel and walking away.

“What did he mean by that?” Idalou asked Will, her gaze following Carl until he disappeared around the corner of the house.

Will took Idalou's arm and turned her in the opposite direction. “I think he feels you're babying him.”

“I'm worried about him,” Idalou said, angry at both men.

“I understand, but he'll feel more comfortable if you stop showing it.”

“How do you know he feels like that?”

“Because that's the way I've been feeling for the past ten years. I just didn't have the courage to say so. Instead, I learned to sit back and let everybody take care of me. They thought that was what I wanted because I didn't tell them any different.”

“I can't imagine you not having the courage to do anything you wanted.”

Will guided her to a spot away from the mainstream of the party. Several people eyed them as though they wanted to come over, but Will turned his back on them in a way that made it clear he wanted to be alone with Idalou.

“I used to idolize Jake.” He laughed. “I suppose I still do. Pete and I used to fight over who got to sit next to him. If I could knock Pete down, I could get to Jake first. And of course I loved Isabelle. After what happened during my first eight years, I loved her attention, loved that she spoiled me. The other kids pretty much spoiled me, too.” He shook his head. “I guess I was pretty rotten. But I was also unhappy. It took me a while to wise up and figure out what was wrong. Even then, I couldn't leave. After what Matt had suffered to protect me, I couldn't leave him until I knew he was safe and happy. I admire Carl for having the brains and guts to do it ten years before I did.”

Idalou wanted to ask him more about his life with Jake and Isabelle, but their privacy was over for the evening. Will was a celebrity in Dunmore. And while that was more a case among the older citizens and the
very young ones who came to his office every afternoon for goodies, the young men admired him for standing up to Newt and the young women admired him for his looks. Before long, so many people claimed his attention, Idalou felt like a mere accessory. This was her town and these were her friends, people she'd known for most of her life, but she might as well have been invisible for all the attention that got her.

Still, she had to admire Will for the way he handled himself. He never seemed to get impatient or irritated, regardless of the stupid things people said. Not even when Mabel Wren asked what she ought to do about her daughter's fascination with one of Jordan's cowhands.

“Take her to Fort Worth or Dallas and let her meet as many men as possible,” Will said. “That way she'll be better able to judge when she's found the man who's truly right for her.”

Mabel thought Will was a genius and said so. Idalou wasn't ready to declare him a genius, not even after he advised Lloyd to put as much money as possible into land.

“Once the fear of Indians is past, you won't be able to sell it fast enough.”

She had to listen to several women regale him with the menu they'd planned for the evening when it was their turn to provide supper for him. She was relieved when the dancing finally started. However, that part of the evening didn't turn out as she'd expected. It appeared that every female at the party was determined to dance with Will. The women had their menfolk tap Will on the shoulder, a polite way of saying they wanted to change partners. Idalou got to dance with all the husbands and boyfriends, while Will was forced to dance with all the wives and girlfriends.

It would have been funny if it hadn't been so irritating. Idalou had come to this party with Will. She wanted to talk to Will. She wanted to dance with him. She didn't want to spend her evening with people she'd known for years and had no interest in getting to know better. She also didn't want to dance with men who stepped on her toes nearly as often as they trod upon the ground. Will was a superb dancer, a fact each of his partners was wont to announce immediately upon the end of her turn in his arms.

As one woman after another stepped in to steal Will from her, she was shocked to realize she was on the verge of tears. She excused herself to her current partner—one of Jordan's ranch hands—and hurried off the dance floor, hoping to escape notice. She'd never been so close to losing control over her feelings. She had never been the emotionally fragile type. She got angry sometimes, but her anger was controlled and directed. She could be impassioned, but that, too, was controlled and directed.

What she was feeling now was totally different. It was akin to despair, a belief that everything was hopeless, that she'd never be happy again. If Carl hadn't been so angry he'd left the party, she'd ask him to take her back to town. It seemed this wasn't the night for romance in the Ellsworth family.

“You can't stop dancing now. I've been saving the first slow dance for you.”

Idalou spun around to find Will standing only inches away. “I'm sure somebody will break in,” she said.

“Don't tell me you're jealous.” Will's eyes danced with devilment, but turned serious when he saw she wasn't amused. “I'm not going to allow anybody to cut in. We're going to dance at least one whole dance this evening, and this is it.”

Idalou was torn between risking further humiliation
by going back on the dance floor and running away to protect her bruised heart. She needed time to shore up her defenses, to make herself less vulnerable, but she couldn't turn her back on the promise of love that shone from Will's eyes. She allowed him to draw her back onto the dance floor.

She had barely settled into Will's embrace when a man stepped up and tapped him on the shoulder. “No, Vernon,” Will said. “Tell Dorothy this dance belongs to Idalou.”

His refusal to step aside caught Vernon Hill by surprise, but he went back to his wife, who gave Idalou an angry look.

“You now have one less admirer,” Idalou whispered in his ear.

“I don't care. You're the one I invited to the dance.”

Idalou put all thoughts of other women out of her mind. She was determined to enjoy this dance to the fullest. She had danced with many men tonight, but not one of them could dance as well as Will. It was as though she and Will were one body moving in effortless, synchronized motion. He was too tall for her to rest her head on his shoulder, but it was just as enjoyable to lean against his chest, to feel the beat of his heart, the movement of the muscles under his skin.

She ignored the raised voices she could hear above the music of the band.

“You don't have to be jealous of Dorothy or any other woman,” Will said.

“I'm not jealous,” she insisted, “just irritated.”

And fearful. Now that she'd opened her heart to Will, it seemed he had virtually no space for her. Yet, enclosed in Will's embrace, it was easy to imagine staying here forever. He wasn't boastful or showy, but he had a quiet strength that gave her a wonderful feeling of security. She hadn't felt that way when
she'd first met him. His unflappable attitude, his calm approach to every problem, his insistence on thinking everything through before acting, had struck her as the attitude of a man who couldn't be bothered enough to care. Learning she was wrong had been a humbling but exciting discovery.

Learning that below that cool exterior burned a very strong liking for her had been stunning. Only now was she beginning to believe it might actually be true. She didn't know if she loved him, but she couldn't imagine any man who'd make a better husband.

But letting go enough to marry any man wasn't going to be easy. Feeling safe in his arms wouldn't mean much if she had to give up her independence, if she had to accept his decisions when she disagreed with him. Idalou told herself to stop staring into the future and simply enjoy the evening and being in the arms of a man who made her feel happy just to be with him.

It would be easier if the men who were shouting would stop.

“We should do this more often,” Will said.

“Mara only has one birthday a year.”

“I don't need to depend on birthdays or any other celebration to tell you how much I care for you,” Will said. “You're a very remarkable woman.”

She didn't feel remarkable. On the contrary, she felt about as unremarkable as possible.

“I never thought I'd meet anyone like you when I came to Dunmore. You know, you're the reason I took the sheriff's job.”

“It doesn't matter. You and Junie Mae will be leaving soon. You won't be coming back. I know you won't. You'll want to sell the ranch. You know Carl and I don't have the money to—”

Will put his fingers over her lips. “Did anyone ever tell you you think too much?”

“Yes. Carl.”

“Your brother is a very intelligent man. You ought to listen to him.”

Before Will could say anything else, the sounds of a fight erupted somewhere in the distance. Before they could locate the sound, Emmett, one of Will's deputies, came rushing up.

“You'd better come, Sheriff. Van and Carl are fighting again. They've bloodied each other this time.”

Most of the people had stopped dancing, some leaving the dance floor to watch the fight. Angry at Carl for being foolish enough to get into a second fight, Idalou followed Will as he pushed his way though the gathering onlookers. Two men were making only halfhearted efforts to keep Van and Carl apart. Idalou was shocked to see blood smeared over both men.

When Will waded in between the two men, others stepped forward to pull them apart. Carl and Van continued shouting and struggling to reach each other.

“They're both drunk,” Emmett said. “Otherwise, they might have done some real damage.”

Hair falling in their eyes, their clothes ripped and dirty, Carl and Van looked like two drunks who'd been in an all-out brawl. Blood from Carl's nose and a cut on Van's cheek had smeared their faces and fists, and there were flecks of blood on their shirts. Boots that had been glossy were covered in dirt. Neither looked liked the handsome young man he'd been at the start of the evening.

Will looked from Carl to Van. “I think jail is the best place for them to cool off. Once they're sober, I'll see if I can talk some sense into them.”

“You don't have to put Carl in jail,” Idalou said. “I can take care of him.”

“I'm taking my son home,” Frank Sonnenberg said.

“They're going to jail,” Will said. “Unless Mara or her parents want to file charges for ruining the party, they'll be free to leave in the morning.”

Idalou would have argued with Will, but Frank Sonnenberg beat her to it. To hear him talk, you'd think it was all Carl's fault and Van was an innocent bystander. Idalou didn't excuse Carl's participation in the fight. Fighting wasn't something Carl would normally do, especially at a party for the woman he hoped to marry.

“I'll run you out of town,” Frank shouted.

“Save yourself the trouble,” Will replied, not fazed by Frank's shouting or threats. “I'll be leaving soon anyway.”

A murmur ran through the crowd. Idalou wasn't surprised to hear several people telling Will they hoped he would stay. What did surprise her was the feeling of desolation that settled over her. She knew he would soon be taking Junie Mae to the Hill Country, but somehow his always being close at hand when she was in trouble had caused her to begin to expect him to be there in the future. It wasn't a conscious thought, or she'd have corrected it. It was what she hoped would happen, what she
wanted
to happen.

Finally Frank Sonnenberg turned and stormed out. Will turned to Idalou.

“I have to ride into town with Emmett. Will you be okay until I can come back?”

She hadn't expected to be left behind. It was a desolate feeling. After Frank's outburst, people were looking uncomfortable. She wouldn't be surprised if they went home early.

“You don't have to hurry,” Jordan told Idalou. “I'm
not letting anybody go home early just because two boys were drunk and got into a fight. Hell, I did that a few times myself. It's just one of the things that makes boys different from girls. Start worrying those fiddles, fellas,” he shouted at the band. “The night is still young.”