“Which you did most of the time, if I remember correctly.”
She gave him a sharp look because she’d had no idea he’d known what she did during the day. Had he any idea how terrified she’d been during those months?
He continued, “After starting from scratch and buying and building a whole town, my place should be easy to run. I have a wagon here. We could pack Jennifer’s clothes and yours and leave tomorrow. Or, better yet, let’s leave now. You have clothes at home, and I’ll buy my daughter everything new.”
“Stop it!” she shouted. “Right this moment! Do you hear me? You are not going to start running my life for me again. I like having some power of my own. I like deciding what I want to do rather than having you or my uncle or even Farrell making my decisions for me.”
His head came up. “Who’s Farrell?”
With a look of disgust, she answered, “The man you so blithely tossed across the room this morning.”
“So what’s between you two?” he asked, his eyes in a hawklike gaze.
“I knew Farrell in England. In fact, I was engaged to him once, and he came to America to find me.”
For a moment, Travis was quiet. “You said you’d been in love with a man once. Was he this Farrell?”
She was startled at his memory. “I believe so. I was lonely, and he paid attention to me for a while, and I thought I loved him. It was so long ago, and I was a different person then.”
“And how do you feel about him now?”
She walked about the room. “I don’t know how I feel about anything right now. For years I was scared of everything, and then I suddenly was totally alone, and I had to sink or swim. For the last four years all I’ve done is balance ledger sheets and buy and sell property. Men have not been part of my life. Now all at once Farrell turns up, and I’m reminded of that unloved little girl I once was, and here you are, just like always, making me ache to touch you yet terrified you may make me into a crying child as I once was. Can’t you understand, Travis? I can’t return to your plantation and be smothered by you. The only way I can be myself is to stay away from you.”
In spite of her best intentions, she began to cry. “Damn you!” she said. “Why did you have to come back and upset me like this? Go away, Travis Stanford! Go away and never, never come near me again.” With that, she slammed out of the room.
Leaning back against the headboard, Travis smiled. When he’d first met her, he’d seen just a hint of the woman she could be, but he wasn’t sure how to help her become that woman. Maybe she was right and the plantation was too much to handle. When he’d heard how the staff was treating her, it was all he could do to keep from throttling the lot of them, but he knew she needed to find her own strength.
Now, closing his eyes, thinking about her, he was overwhelmed at the woman she’d become—sure of herself, sensible, her dreams put into action, made into reality. She’d taken what was little more than a wide spot in the road and built a thriving town, and she’d raised an intelligent, sensible little daughter. No one need worry that Jennifer was going to retreat to her room and cry.
With a loud laugh of pure happiness, he tossed aside the quilt and began to dress; at least his pants and boots were in one piece. Although Regan thought she’d matured enough to resist him, he knew she hadn’t. What was that old saying? Age and treachery will win out over youth and talent every time. He planned to use every means, every aid ever learned to win her back. With resolve, he left the room, wearing only the snug dark pants and tall boots.
Chapter 17
TRAVIS STOPPED AT THE OPEN KITCHEN DOOR, DRAWN TO the smells coming from within. Chuckling, he remembered how Regan had always made him miss meals. With one glance about the room, he knew the luscious bit of curves and blonde hair in the corner was Brandy Dutton. He’d heard a lot about her from the weasel he’d met in Richmond.
“Excuse me,” he said loudly. “I wonder if I might get something to eat in here. I’m not exactly dressed for dining in public.”
“Oh my,” Brandy said in such a way, smiling openly at Travis’s wide chest and brawny arms, that Travis knew what he’d heard about her was true; Brandy was far from celibate.
She recovered herself. “So, you’re the man who put roses in Regan’s cheeks,” she said heartily, coming forward.
“I put roses somewhere,” he said quietly, for Brandy alone and not her staff, who were gaping unabashedly.
With a throaty laugh, Brandy took his arm. “I think we’re going to get along quite well. Now sit down, and I’ll get you something to eat. Elsie,” she called over her shoulder. “Run down to the mercantile store and get Mr. Stanford a couple of new shirts, the biggest Will has. And take your time getting back. We have a lot to talk about.”
Brandy fed Travis a meal such as he’d never had before. The more he ate of her food, the more she liked him, and between his shirtless state, the food, and his answers to her questions, she was practically in love by the end of the meal.
“Yes, she’s lonely,” Brandy said in answer to Travis’s question. “All she does is work. It’s like she’s be
en driven to prove something to herself. For years I’ve tried to get her to slow down, but she’ll never hear of it. She goes and goes all the time, buying more and more. She could have retired a year ago.”
“No men?” he asked, his mouth full of mince pie.
“A few hundred have tried, but no one has succeeded. Of course, when you’ve had the best….”
He smiled at her, took the new shirt from the chair back, and rose. “Regan and Jennifer are going to leave Scarlet Springs to return with me. How is that going to affect your partnership?”
“There’s a new lawyer here from back East, and he could handle selling the properties and investing the money. With my half, I might like to travel, maybe see Europe. Tell me, have you told Regan she’s leaving here?”