Leo pulled himself up. “That whiskey must be 200 proof,” he said defensively.
“No. You’re just not used to it. Leave your car here when it’s time to go,” he added firmly. “Tess and I will drop Marilee off and take you home. You’re in no fit state to drive.”
Leo sighed heavily. “I guess not. Stupid thing to do.”
“What, drinking or helping Marilee stab Janie in the back?”
Leo’s eyes narrowed on his older brother’s lean, hard face. “Does Tess tell you everything?”
He shrugged. “We’re married.”
“If I ever get married,” Leo told him, “my wife isn’t going to tell anybody anything. She’s going to keep her mouth shut.”
“Not much danger of your getting married, with that attitude,” Cag mused.
Leo squared his shoulders. “Marilee looks really great tonight,” he pointed out.
“She looks pretty sick to me,” Cag countered, eyeing the object of their conversation, who was standing alone against the opposite wall, trying to look invisible. “She should, too, after spreading that gossip around town about Janie chasing you.”
“Janie did that, not Marilee,” Leo said belligerently. “She didn’t have any reason to make it sound like we were engaged, just because I kissed her.”
Cag’s eyebrows lifted. “You kissed her?”
“It wasn’t much of a kiss,” Leo muttered gruffly. “She’s so green, it’s pathetic!”
“She won’t stay that way long around Harley,” Cag chuckled. “He’s no playboy, but women love him since he helped our local mercs take on that drug lord Manuel Lopez and won. I imagine he’ll educate Janie.”
Leo’s dark eyes narrowed angrily. He hated the thought of Harley kissing her. He really should do something about that. He blinked, trying to focus his mind on the problem.
“Don’t trip over the punch bowl,” Cag cautioned dryly. “And for God’s sake, don’t try to dance. The gossips would have a field day for sure!”
“I could dance if I wanted to,” Leo informed him.
Cag leaned down close to his brother’s ear. “Don’t ‘want to.’ Trust me.” He turned and went back to Tess, smiling as he led her onto the dance floor.
Leo joined Marilee against the wall.
She glanced at him and grimaced. “I’ve just become the Bubonic Plague,” she said with a miserable sigh. “Joe Howland from the hardware store is here with his wife,” she added uncomfortably. “He’s telling people what you said to Janie and that I was responsible for her getting the rough side of your tongue.”
He glanced down at her. “How is it your fault?”
She looked at her shoes instead of at him. She felt guilty and hurt and ashamed. “I sort of told Janie that you said you’d like her better if she could ride and rope and make biscuits, and stop dressing up all the time.”
He stiffened. He felt the jolt all the way to his toes. “You told her that?”
“I did.” She folded her arms over her breasts and stared toward Janie, who was dancing with Harley and apparently having a great time. “There’s more,” she added, steeling herself to admit it. “It wasn’t exactly true that she was telling people you were taking her to this dance.”
“Marilee, for God’s sake! Why did you lie?” he demanded. “She’s just a kid, Leo,” she murmured uneasily. “She doesn’t know beans about men or real life, she’s been protected and pampered, she’s got money, she’s pretty….” She moved restlessly. “I like you a lot. I’m older, more mature. I thought, if she was just out of the picture for a little bit, you… you might start to like me.”
Now he understood the look on Janie’s face when he’d made those accusations. Tess was right. Marilee had lied. She’d stabbed her best friend in the back, and he’d helped her do it. He felt terrible.
“You don’t have to tell me what a rat I am,” she continued, without looking up at him. “I must have been crazy to think Janie wouldn’t eventually find out that I was lying about her.” She managed to meet his angry eyes. “She never gossiped about you, Leo. She wanted you to take her to this party so much that it was all she talked about for weeks. But she never told anybody you were going to. She thought I was helping her by hinting that she’d like you to ask her.” She laughed coldly. “She was the best friend I ever had, and I’ve stabbed her in the back. She’ll never speak to me again after tonight, and I deserve whatever I get. For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.”
Leo was still trying to adjust to the truth. He could talk himself blue in the face, but Janie would never listen to him now. He was going to be about as welcome as a fly at her house from now on, especially if Fred found out what Leo had said to and about her. It would damage their friendship. It had already killed whatever feeling Janie had for him. He knew that without the wounded, angry glances she sent his way from time to time.
“You said you didn’t want her chasing you,” Marilee reminded him weakly, trying to find one good thing to say.
“No danger of that from now on, is there?” he agreed, biting off the words.
“None at all. So a little good came out of it.”
He looked down at her with barely contained anger. “How could you do that to her?”
“I don’t even know.” She sighed raggedly. “I must have been temporarily out of my mind.” She moved away from the wall. “I wonder if you’d mind driving me home? I… I really don’t want to stay any longer.”
“I can’t drive. Cag’s taking us home.”
“You can’t drive? Why?” she exclaimed.
“I think the polite way of saying it is that I’m stinking drunk,” he said with glittery eyes blazing down at her.
She grimaced. No need to ask why he’d gotten that way. “Sorry,” she said inadequately.
“You’re sorry. I’m sorry. It doesn’t change anything.” He looked toward Janie, conscious of new and painful regrets. It all made sense now, her self-improvement campaign. She’d been dragged through mud, thrown from horses, bruised and battered in a valiant effort to become what she thought Leo wanted her to be.
He winced. “She could have killed herself,” he said huskily. “She hadn’t been on a horse in ages or worked around cattle.” He looked down at Marilee with a black scowl. “Didn’t you realize that?”
“I wasn’t thinking at the time,” Marilee replied. “I’ve always worked around the ranch, because I had to. I never thought of Janie being in any danger. But I guess she was, at that. At least she didn’t get hurt.”
“That’s what you think,” Leo muttered, remembering how she’d looked at the hardware store.
Marilee shrugged and suddenly burst into tears. She dashed toward the ladies’ room to hide them.
At the same time, Harley left Janie at the buffet table and went toward the rest rooms himself.
Leo didn’t even think. He walked straight up to Janie and caught her by the hand, pulling her along with him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she raged. “Let go of me!”
He ignored her. He led her right out the side door and onto the stone patio surrounded by towering plants that, in spring, were glorious in blossom. He pulled the glass door closed behind him and moved Janie off behind one of the plants.
“I