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there while he was in Dallas, but they could get another temporarily. Odd that it
didn't even bother her to think about being back with her parent again. She didn't
feel intimidated any more.
Time went by slowly. Mary came to visit, but Arabella was reluctant to listen to
any news from the ranch, especially about Ethan. She didn't want to hear what
was going on at the house, it would be too painful. The only reality was that
Ethan hadn't bothered to call or come by or even drop her a postcard, even
though he knew by now or so Mary had said before Arabella protested listening
to news of Ethan that Miriam had lied about the phone call. He knew, but he
wouldn't apologize for the things he'd said. He never apologized, she reflected.
Since Miriam was still with him, why should he bother? He and Arabella were
now past history.
Meanwhile, Ethan was trying to come to grips with his own idiocy. He was
certain that Arabella wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't blame her; he'd certainly
been eloquent in his condemnation. He thought it would be better if he let things
cool down for a few days before they had a showdown. In the meantime, Miriam's
man was on his way up to Texas. They'd reconciled and Miriam had been on a
cloud ever since, barely coherent except when she was talking about the planter
she was going to marry. Ethan enjoyed her company, especially now that he was
well and truly off the hook, now that he was able to understand the past and why
things had happened the way they had. Miriam had suffered an unfortunate
experience with a family friend as a child. As a result, she'd become brittle in her
dealings with men, and very hostile toward them. Only now, secure in her
pregnancy and the love of her planter, was she able to come to grips with the past
that had made her what she was when she'd married Ethan.
Ethan's only regret was that he'd married her in the first place. It had been
unfair to her, to Arabella and even to himself. He should have followed his in-
stincts, which were to marry Arabella and let the chips fall where they may. He'd
never been able to give Miriam anything except the dregs of his desires for
another woman and, eventually, not even that. He hadn't understood that
Miriam's childhood had made it impossible for her to give herself wholly to any
man. She'd been looking for love in a series of impossible physical liaisons that
were only briefly satisfying. She'd wanted Ethan's love, but he'd withheld it, and
she'd tried to punish him. Arabella, though, had suffered as well, trapped in a
career that her father controlled, with no hope of escape.
It had thrilled him when Coreen had told him Arabella had once loved him. But
he didn't know what she felt now. She probably hated him. He'd started for town
three times in the past several days, but he'd stopped. She needed time. So did he.
.
Mary came up the steps as he was going down them, and he stopped her, trying
not to look as unhappy as he felt.
"How is she?" he asked bluntly, because he was certain she'd been to see her
friend.
"Lonely," Mary said, her voice gentle. "The cast comes off Tuesday."
"Yes." He stared off over the tree-lined horizon. "Is her father here yet?"
"He'll be here Tuesday." Mary was nervous of Ethan, but she hesitated. "She
won't talk about you," she said. "She doesn't look well."
He glanced down at her with flashing silver eyes. "Nobody told her to leave," he
said cuttingly, stung by the remark.
"How could she stay, knowing that you're going to marry Miriam all over
again?" she asked. "I guess you two do deserve each other," she added with the
first show of spirit Ethan had ever seen in her, and she was gone before he could
correct her impression of the situation.
What made everyone think Miriam was marrying him? He sighed angrily as he
went down the steps. Probably because neither of them had told the rest of the
family what was going on. Well, when her planter arrived they'd get the picture.
For how, he couldn't let himself dwell on how bad Arabella looked. If he thought
about it long enough, he was sure he'd go stark, raving mad.
Mary and Matt had studiously ignored Miriam since Arabella's departure, and
Coreen had been so coldly polite to the woman that she might as well have had
icicles dripping off her. Ethan tried to make up for his family, which only
reinforced their speculation about Miriam's status in his life.
Miriam's intended and Arabella's father arrived in town at the same time.
While Jared was being introduced to the Hardemans, Arabella was having the
cast off and being told that her hand and wrist had healed almost to perfection.
Her father had beamed at the specialist. But only at first.
"Almost to perfection," Dr. Wagner repeated, frowning at Arabella's father.
"Translated, that means that Miss Craig will play the piano again. Unfortunately [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]