“It lives in the cabin with Willis, when he’s out here with the nighthawks.”
“Oh.” Her eyes were searching his. They fell involuntarily to his chiseled mouth. She’d never been kissed in her life, but she wanted to be. She’d never wanted anything so much. “Nighthawks?”
Ren intercepted that look and understood it better than she realized. He was tempted. Very tempted. But she was Randall’s girl, and the snow was about to cover them up. He took her by the waist and moved her back away from him.
“Nighthawks. The men who watch over the various herds at night, from line cabins like this one, when we have bad weather. We have to go back to the house now,” he said. “You must be frozen in that flimsy coat.”
“My hands are cold, too,” she said. She grimaced. “No gloves.”
“You’re going shopping tomorrow, snow or no snow,” he replied. “I’ll have Tubbs drive you and Delsey to town. She’s got the card for the account.”
“Oh, but I could...”
“You’ll do as you’re told,” he mused, smiling at her consternation. “You won’t win an argument with me. Give it up.”
“Okay. Thanks,” she said softly, her pale eyes adoring on his hard face.
His body clenched. He liked the way she was with him. He hated his brother. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore. He felt like a man walking headlong into quicksand.
“While you’re at it, buy an evening dress.”
“An evening dress?” she asked absently.
They mounted up. He led the way back up the trail.
“I told you. There’s a party for a friend of mine who’s moved into a new house with his wife. You can go with me. They’ll have a band and hors d’oeuvres. You can dance, can’t you?”
She swallowed. “No,” she said miserably. “I’ve never even been to a party in my life, except birthday ones when Sari and I were very small and our mother was still alive.”
He frowned. “You really can’t dance?”
She grimaced. “No. So I guess I won’t need the dress...”
“I can teach you to dance,” he said quietly. “It’s not that difficult.”
Her face lost its tautness. She smiled. “I’d like very much to go with you,” she said. “If your friend wouldn’t mind. I don’t know anybody here.”
“He won’t mind.”
“Okay.”
He thought about teaching her to dance. He thought about teaching her a lot of things. His body got hotter and hotter with images that flittered through his mind as they reached the house. If she was telling the truth, he’d enjoy teaching her. That brought him back to reality. Angie had pretended to be innocent, too.
He glanced at Meredith, who was beaming at him. Was she the real deal, or was she like Randall’s other women?
He was going to have to find out, sooner or later. And if she wasn’t the real deal, then he might be saving his brother from more heartache. That was it. He was taking her out for a noble reason. To see if she was what she pretended to be.
They left their mounts at the stable. He walked her to the back door.
“Stay inside,” he said firmly.
“Okay, boss,” she replied with a faint smile. “Sorry about all the trouble.”
He shrugged. “Rescuing Eastern tenderfeet is what we do around here. In between the winter headaches, at least.”
“I never got to meet the pet wolf.”
“When the weather clears I’ll introduce you,” he said. “Get a heavy winter coat. And a dress. Something pretty.”
She grinned. “I’ll get something gorgeous, so I won’t let you down.”
“Let me down?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends,” she added. “I don’t have much fashion sense. I’m glad you’re letting Delsey go with me. She’ll know what I should buy.”
He felt odd inside. She didn’t want to embarrass him? Angie had gloried in embarrassing him, everywhere they went. She loved to stir up trouble. There was a good chance that she was going to be at this party, and he’d thought about staying home, just to save his pride.
But he could take Meredith with him. Show Angie that she wasn’t difficult to replace. He studied Meredith’s pert figure and smiled. She’d look stunning in an evening gown, with her hair and makeup done properly. She was very pretty.
“Have your hair done, while you’re at it.”
Her eyebrows arched. “Have it cut?” she faltered.
“Good Lord, no!” he exclaimed. “It would be a crime to cut hair like that,” he added, his eyes more expressive than he meant them to be as they lingered on her soft, pale blond hair that fell to her waist in back.
“Oh.”
“Have them teach you how to style it. To go with the evening gown. And get some makeup if you don’t have any.”
“I have powder and lipstick. That’s all I ever wear,” she said. “I don’t like a lot of makeup.”
He pursed his lips, and his black eyes twinkled. “It puts a man off, too.”
“Puts him off?”
“I look really bad wearing a woman’s lipstick.”
She flushed to her throat. She couldn’t even find words. She turned and ran.