Hard-Headed Texan. Candace Camp

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      “Daniel Sutton?” Rita asked. “Obnoxious? Are you serious? Daniel is one of the most laid-back men I’ve ever met.”

      “He wasn’t this morning. He was ticked off because I was a woman and he didn’t think I could handle his horse.”

      “Oh.” Rita gave a dismissive shake of her head. “Just worried about his mare, I’ll bet. He’s a nice man. I’ve never even heard him raise his voice. He’s very quiet, doesn’t say much. But I’m guessing what you want to know is whether there is a Mrs. Daniel Sutton.”

      “Rita…” Antonia was irritated to feel heat rising in her face. She hated the way her fair blonde’s skin gave her away all the time.

      Rita chuckled. “Nothing wrong with that. Who wouldn’t want to know that if they met a hunk like him? Well, there used to be. He married his high school sweetheart is the way the story goes. I’m younger than them, so all I know is hearsay. But what I’ve heard is that he was crazy as could be about her—Lurleen was her name. Anyway, they got married right after they graduated from high school, and pretty soon they had a kid, James. James is a nice boy. He’s friends with my sister Lupe’s boy, and I’ve met him a few times. But Lurleen, they say, couldn’t stand life in a little town. She had always wanted to get out, but then she fell for Daniel, so she stayed and married him. Only she still hated it here, and after a while she left town.”

      “Oh, no. She left her little boy, too?”

      Rita nodded emphatically. “James was only three years old. Well, you might guess that didn’t make her too popular around here. I mean, a husband is one thing, but leaving your own child?”

      “So Daniel’s raised him alone all these years?”

      “Yeah. Did a good job of it, too, from what I’ve seen. But they say that he still carries a torch for Lurleen.”

      “Really? After so long?” Antonia felt her heart sink a little within her, and she told herself that was foolish.

      Rita nodded. “Yeah. It sounds kinda weird, but that’s what folks say.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s true, of course. But what they say is that he never filed for divorce. Finally, after several years, she did.”

      “Goodness.”

      “’Course, if any guy’d be like that, it’d be Daniel Sutton. He’s a solid kind of man…steadfast…loyal.”

      Antonia thought back to that morning, to the clean, neat farm and house, the obvious care that he had lavished on them, the feeling he had for his horses. She suspected that he was not a very expressive man, but she also would not be surprised to learn that he felt things deeply. She pictured him, a young man alone on that farm with a little boy, doing the best he could for him, always hoping that the woman he loved would return. A pang pierced Antonia’s heart.

      “That’s so sad.”

      “Yeah.” Her assistant cast a sidelong glance at Antonia and added, “I bet the love of a good woman is exactly what he needs. You know, to bring him out of it. I mean, it’s been, what fourteen, fifteen years now? He hasn’t ever dated much, but you can only carry a torch for so long. You know what I mean? He’s bound to be ready to drop it…for the right lady.”

      “And you’re saying that I’m it?” Antonia smiled. “I doubt it.”

      “Why not? You’re a single woman. He’s a single man. In a town the size of Angel Eye, there aren’t that many opportunities. If it were me, I would jump at a chance like that. Besides, think about all the family reunions—getting to look at all that male pulchritude.”

      Antonia rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so. Number one, I’m not really looking to date anyone. And number two, I don’t think a man who’s still in love with the wife who deserted him fourteen years ago is the best choice if I were going to date. Men are trouble enough without getting one who’s still in love with his ex.”

      “Maybe. But a guy like Daniel Sutton—I don’t know, he might be worth the extra effort.” Rita wiggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly.

      “How does Roberto put up with you?”

      Rita laughed. “I make it worth his while. Who do you think I do all this suffering for?” She nodded toward her meager lunch.

      “You,” Antonia retorted, grinning. “You can’t fool me. I heard Roberto last week worrying about how thin you were getting.”

      “Oh, that!” Rita waved away the statement. “All the Delgado women get to be like bowling balls. He thinks it’s normal. But I can tell you he’ll notice it when I put on my negligee from Victoria’s Secret. But wait—you are not going to distract me from the subject of this conversation. Are you interested in Daniel Sutton?”

      “I told you, I was curious. It isn’t as if he asked me out or anything.” Antonia wasn’t about to tell even a good friend like Rita what had happened that morning at Sutton’s ranch.

      “Ah, but you’d like him to?”

      “I didn’t say that.” Antonia sighed. “No. I don’t want to date him or anyone else. It’s too much trouble. I just want to do my work, get settled in Angel Eye….”

      “Girl, you’ve been here two months. How much settling in can you do in a town this size?”

      “I’m slow.” Antonia crumpled up the wrapper from her burger and tossed it in the trash. “Thanks for the info.” She paused. “But if I start hearing about Daniel Sutton from Lilian and the clerk at the Quik-Mart—”

      “Antonia…you are so suspicious.” Rita smiled enigmatically.

      “Yeah. Right.” Antonia gave her friend a knowing look and left the room.

      

      Not surprisingly, Antonia’s work spilled over into the evening, and she did not get home until after seven-thirty. She was informed of her tardiness by Mitzi, the black-and-white, tailless street cat that had decided to favor Antonia with her presence last year. The white circle around one eye, in contrast to her mostly black head, gave Mitzi a look of faint surprise, and she carried herself with a feline hauteur that was rather comical, given her bobbed tail, a trait acquired in some accident, Antonia was sure, rather than a genetic anomaly. Mitzi, sublimely unaware of the humorous aspect of her looks, seemed to believe that she was a pampered registered Persian in a wealthy household. She greeted Antonia now with a long litany of complaints, plopping herself down in a seated position in front of the door.

      “I hear you, Mitzi,” Antonia responded. “Too regal to bother with rubbing my leg, huh?”

      She started toward the kitchen, and Mitzi jumped up, bounding forward to get in front of Antonia. Antonia smiled. She was more of a dog lover than a cat person, but Mitzi had been the perfect pet the last few months. Antonia’s dog of several years, a beautiful golden retriever named Bailey, had died about six months ago, and Antonia had been unable to bring herself to get another dog, although as a veterinarian she was provided with ample opportunities. Her heart was too bruised by Bailey’s death for another loving dog. However, her imperious, distant cat provided the perfect, amusing, faintly aloof companionship she needed.

      She dumped out the dry food СКАЧАТЬ