Rosita became excited. “What did he say?”
“I believe it was something like, ‘Hello, Maggie.”’
Rosita twisted around to look at her daughter. “Are you being fresh with me?”
Maggie couldn’t help laughing. “No, Mama, I’m not being fresh. But that’s what he said.”
“That’s all he said?”
“He also asked how I was, and then he talked about what a great little kid Travis is.”
“This all took place on the porch? Didn’t it occur to you to invite him in?”
“It occurred to me,” Maggie admitted quietly. “I asked him in and offered lemonade. He drank a glass and left.”
“Well, you must have talked about something while he was drinking his lemonade!”
“I believe that was when he referred to Travis as a great little kid. I agreed, of course.”
“Hmm,” Rosita murmured thoughtfully. “He was probably thinking of the baby he lost. It’s so sad to lose a child. And poor Dallas lost his wife at the same time.” Rosita wiped away a tear and recovered her composure. “Did he say anything nice to you?”
“Like what, Mama?”
“Maggie, for heaven’s sake. Did he say you were pretty, or hint that he would like to see you again?”
“Mama, he came to see Travis,” Maggie hedged, glad that Rosita’s back was turned so she couldn’t see Maggie’s guilty face.
“That’s what he wanted you to believe,” Rosita said, and folded her arms across her bosom in a gesture that appeared smugly satisfied. “Now I know what is happening,” Rosita declared. “Dallas likes you. He’ll be back.”
“Mama! Don’t you dare play matchmaker with Dallas and me! I’m not the least bit interested in him!”
“Oh, hush,” Rosita said. “You couldn’t find a better man than Dallas Fortune, and don’t try to convince me that you wouldn’t like to marry again. It’s not natural for a young woman to live without a man. The same goes for Dallas, living all alone in that big house of his. You’re perfect for him, and I have a feeling that he knows it.”
Maggie groaned. “Now you’ve got us married? I don’t believe this.”
“Maybe you should believe it,” Rosita said serenely. “At the very least, you should give it some serious thought.” Rosita got up from the chair and took the brush from her daughter’s hand. “I think I’ll go to bed now. Good night, dear.”
Maggie had to forcibly beat back an impulse to blurt out the truth about Dallas’s visit today, just to see the shocked expression on her mother’s face. She paced the floor long after Rosita had retired, recalling with anger and humiliation Dallas’s insulting propositions one minute, and picturing the resulting ruckus should she ever relate the incident to her family the next.
Dallas might have her mother snowed, but Maggie knew what kind of man he really was, the big phoney! Walking around making everyone think he was still mourning his wife, and then coming on to Maggie with downright scandalous suggestions. Oh, yes, she was definitely on to Dallas Fortune.
It was later, after Maggie had gone to bed, that a feeling of melancholy settled upon her. She could have liked Dallas so much. Why had he ruined any chance they might have had of becoming more than acquaintances?
“Men!” Maggie muttered disgustedly. Rosita was right; Maggie would like to marry again. But was there one single man on earth who wasn’t a cad, a cheat or a liar? One man who truly liked and respected women?
She doubted it. If it weren’t for her parents’ long and happy marriage, she would also doubt that it was even possible for a man and woman to live together in harmony for any length of time.
Around ten the next morning Rosita phoned from the main house. “Maggie, Cruz and Savannah are coming to dinner tonight.”
“Oh, good,” Maggie exclaimed. “What should I fix for dinner? I’d like it to be something special.”
“Well, Cruz adores barbecued ribs. There are ribs in the freezer, and maybe you could make a nice potato salad.”
“Great. I’ll plan the meal around that.”
“Thank you, sweetie. See you this evening.”
“’Bye, Mama. Don’t work too hard.”
As she hung up the phone, Maggie moved the kitchen curtain aside to check on Travis. She had relented on yesterday’s decision about confining him to the house, because his sad little face under that huge hat had been more than she could bear. “But,” she’d told him firmly, “this is your last chance, son. If you leave the yard today without permission, you will remain in the house for at least a week.”
“I won’t be a bad boy, Mama, I promise.”
Maggie had hugged him. “You’re not a bad boy, sweetheart,” she’d said with a catch in her voice. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Then she had watched him joyously run for the door.
Holding the edge of the curtain in her hand, Maggie became so stunned that she nearly pulled it from the rod. Dallas was in the yard talking to Travis again! She wondered why she hadn’t heard a car pull up, and then she noticed a handsome black horse tethered to a post.
Groaning out loud, Maggie let the curtain fall back into place. What was wrong with that man? She’d done everything but physically attack him, and he still had the gall to drop in. What could she say that might penetrate his egotistical stubbornness?
Maggie angrily narrowed her eyes. Travis already liked Dallas and believed that Dallas liked him. There were more ways than one for her trusting little son to get hurt on the Fortune’s Double Crown Ranch. Dallas’s insincere attentions could cause more damage to Travis than any fall the boy might take. She had to put a stop to this before it got completely out of hand.
Detouring to the freezer just long enough to take out two packages of ribs to thaw for dinner, Maggie then hurried to the front door. Yanking it open, she found herself no more than a foot away from Dallas. His hand was up, and she knew that he’d been all set to knock on the door.
“Good morning,” he said as calmly as you please, as though people always opened doors before he knocked on them.
Maggie couldn’t be nice. “What do you want?” she asked in a cold, unfriendly voice.
Dallas’s heart sank, but he vowed again not to give up on Maggie. How could he, when she affected him so strongly? Even angry, she was so darned pretty that he wanted to stand there and stare at her.
Pretending that he hadn’t picked up on her foul mood, he smiled. “I’d like to take Travis for a ride.”
“And I suppose you told him the same thing and got him all excited about it,” Maggie said with scathing sarcasm.
“I wouldn’t do that, Maggie. I asked him to stay in the side yard while I talked to you. Since he’s never been on a horse before, I thought it might be best to get him used to being so far off the ground by having him first ride with me.”
Maggie almost shouted, “No!” but a sudden burst of very disturbing knowledge stopped her. She could be as protective of Travis as she wanted, but the damage—as far as Dallas went—had already been done, and could very well be irreversible. Was there any point now in stopping Travis from learning to ride a horse, just because Dallas would be his instructor?
A great weakness overtook Maggie. She loved riding herself, and it was only natural for a boy with Travis’s lively curiosity and imagination to be drawn to horses. She’d brought this on herself by bringing Travis to the ranch, even