The Rancher. Diana Palmer

He was the mildest, most forgiving man anywhere around Branntville. He’d walk away from a fight if he could. The very fact that he got involved meant that he felt there was more than a slight problem.

      But Cort loved Odalie, and here was this bad-

      tempered little frump making cracks about her, probably because she was jealous.

      “I guess if you don’t have a real talent and you aren’t as pretty, it’s hard to get along with someone who has it all,” he commented.

      Her face went beet-red. She stood up, took her father’s journal, closed it and put it back in the desk drawer. She faced him across the width of the desk.

      “Thank you for explaining the journal to me,” she said in a formal tone. “I’ll study the notes I took very carefully.”

      “Fine.” He started to leave, hesitated. He turned and looked back at her. He could see an unusual brightness in her eyes. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just, well, you don’t know Odalie. She’s sweet and kind, she’d never hurt anybody on purpose.”

      “I don’t have any talent, I’m ugly and I lie.” She nodded. “Thanks.”

      “Hell, I never said you lied!”

      She swallowed. Loud voices and curses made her nervous. She gripped the edge of the desk.

      “Now what’s wrong?” he asked angrily.

      She shook her head. “Nothing,” she said quickly.

      He took a sudden, quick step toward her. She backed up, knocked over the desk chair and almost fell again getting it between him and herself. She was white in the face.

      He stopped in his tracks. His lips fell open. In all his life, he’d never seen a woman react that way.

      “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked, but not in a loud or menacing tone.

      She swallowed. “Nothing. Thanks for coming over.”

      He scowled. She looked scared to death.

      Great-Aunt Sadie had heard a crash in the room. She opened the door gingerly and looked in. She glanced from Maddie’s white face to Cort’s drawn one. “Maddie, you okay?” she asked hesitantly, her eyes flicking back and forth to Cort’s as if she, too, was uneasy.

      “I’m fine. I just...knocked the chair over.” She laughed, but it was a nervous, quick laugh. “Cort was just leaving. He gave me lots of information.”

      “Nice of him,” Sadie agreed. She moved closer to Maddie, as if prepared to act as a human shield if Cort took another step toward the younger woman. “Good night, Cort.”

      He wanted to know what was wrong. It was true he’d said some mean things, but the fear in Maddie’s eyes, and the looks he was getting, really disturbed him. He moved to the door, hesitated. “If you need any more help...” he began.

      “I’ll call. Sure. Thanks for offering.” Maddie’s voice sounded tight. She was standing very still. He was reminded forcibly of deer’s eyes in headlights.

      “Well, I’ll get on home. Good night.”

      “Night,” Maddie choked out.

      He glanced from one woman to the other, turned and pulled the door closed behind him.

      Maddie almost collapsed into the chair. Tears were running down her cheeks. Great-Aunt Sadie knelt beside the chair and pulled her close, rocking her. “There, there, it’s all right. He’s gone. What happened?”

      “I mentioned about Odalie not inviting me to the party and he said I was just jealous of her. I said something, I don’t...remember what, and he started toward me, all mad and impatient...” She closed her eyes, shivering. “I can’t forget. All those years ago, and I still can’t forget!”

      “Nobody ever told Cort just what Odalie did to you, did they?”

      “Apparently not,” Maddie said heavily. She wiped her eyes. “Her dad made her apologize, but I know she never regretted it.” She drew in a breath. “I told her that one day somebody was going to pay her back for all the mean things she did.” She looked up. “Cort thinks she’s a saint. If he only knew what she’s really like...”

      “It wouldn’t matter,” the older woman said sadly. “Men get hooked on a pretty face and they’d believe white was black if the woman told them it was. He’s infatuated, baby. No cure for that but time.”

      “I thought he was so sexy.” Maddie laughed. She brushed at her eyes again. “Then he lost his temper like that. He scared me,” she said on a nervous smile.

      “It’s all right. Nobody’s going to hurt you here. I promise.”

      She hugged the older woman tight. “Thanks.”

      “At the time, that boy did apologize, and he meant it,” Sadie reminded her. “He was as much a victim as you were.”

      “Yes, but he got in trouble and he should have. No man, even an angry young one with justification, should ever do what he did to a girl. He didn’t have nightmares for a month, either, did he, or carry emotional scars that never go away? Sad thing about him,” she added quietly, “he died overseas when a roadside bomb blew up when he was serving in the Middle East. With a temper like that, I often wondered what he might do to a woman if he got even more upset than he was at me that time.”

      “No telling. And just as well we don’t have to find out.” Her face hardened. “But you’re right about that Odalie girl. Got a bad attitude and no compassion for anybody. One of these days, life is going to pay her out in her own coin. She’ll be sorry for the things she’s done, but it will be too late. God forgives,” she added. “But there’s a price.”

      “What’s that old saying, ‘God’s mill grinds slowly, but relentlessly’?”

      “Something like that. Come on. I’ll make you a nice cup of hot coffee.”

      “Make that a nice cup of hot chocolate instead,” Maddie said. “I’ve had a rough day and I want to go to bed.”