The scale of it was massive, like nothing Lilli had ever seen before. Two stories, with a wide porch running the full length of the front, the house stood on a knoll, overlooking smaller and less elaborate buildings. The slanting rays of a late-afternoon sun bathed it in a warm orange light that colored the glass panes with a welcoming glow. Gray tails of smoke came from two of the stone chimneys dotting the roof, slanted to shed winter snows, and waved against a saffron sky.
Webb was standing by the opened door to help her out of the automobile. She finally tore her gaze away from the house to look at him, vague disbelief still claiming her. “This is your home?” She let him take her hand as she stepped onto the running board, then to the ground.
“No. It’s our home,” he corrected and held onto her hand while he led her up the main steps to the front doors. “It’s commonly referred to as The Homestead.”
“The Homestead.” She laughed shortly at the unassuming name, finding it inappropriate for such a grand-looking place.
Webb stopped, turning her so she could look out at the endless brown sweep of Calder land. “This is the site that my father filed the original homestead claim on that was the beginning of the ranch. When he expanded his holdings, everyone started calling this section of land The Homestead to differentiate it from the new properties. Gradually, it came to mean this house.”
Instead of looking at the land, Lilli watched him, catching the pride of ownership in his voice and his eyes—and the hint of humility. Somehow his status of wealth and power hadn’t meant much until she had seen these surroundings. They had demanded a thoughtful study of him, but the man she believed she had known was the person standing beside her. The watchfulness was gone from her eyes when he glanced at her.
“Let’s go inside so I can show you your new home,” Webb stated.
Lilli was eager to see what the house was like inside. He took her on a complete tour of the first-floor rooms that began with the living room and ended with the library-den.
“Are all these books yours?” Lilli went to the shelves, her fingers lightly tracing across the many volumes. Books were such luxuries that she had never known one person could own so many.
“I’m going to read every one of them,” she declared, as excited as a child. Webb was discovering that while she might be awed by things, she wasn’t intimidated. Once she became accustomed to the size of the house, she’d turn it into a home for both of them, filled with warmth and laughter the way it had been when his parents were alive.
“What’s this?” She was behind the desk, looking at the map.
“The ranch.” He came around the big desk to point out landmarks to her so she could orient herself and get an idea of where they were in relation to places she knew. When he had finished, Lilli continued to stare at the map drawn on yellowing canvas. “What are you thinking?” Her expression was unreadable.
“Six hundred and forty acres wouldn’t take up an inch on this map,” she murmured. That was the amount of land she and Stefan had worked.
“The ranch is big,” Webb admitted.
“It’s indecent,” she retorted, but her short laugh took any sting from the reply. “And your father acquired all this.” Lilli turned her gaze to study Webb and try to imagine what his father had been like. “I wish I had met him.”
“He was a remarkable man. It took me a while to realize there was only one Benteen Calder.” And that his path would be different from his father’s, a continuation, but over new ground.
“Most people don’t appreciate their parents until it’s too late. I was like that.” There was understanding in her blue eyes.
When he leaned toward her, she raised her mouth to him and slid her arms around his middle to bring their bodies closer. His hard kiss forced her lips apart and expressed a need for her that was more than just physical. It was a discovery that came late to her. Every ruler needed a mate who would regard him as just a man. He needed her. Her fingers spread over the tapering muscles of his back, her feminine form fitting naturally to his male shape. The smell of him filled her as Lilli knew it would on many nights, warm and musky, scented with the bay rum on his smoothly shaven jaw. The play of his hands on her back and hips caressed and molded, excited and aroused, with their possessing touch. She lost herself in the embrace, blocking out everything but this raw glory she was discovering.
When Ruth noticed the Model T parked in front of The Homestead, she went to the house. Cold water had washed the redness of tears from her eyes, although shadows of pain continued to linger in her pale face. She had guessed Webb had gone to see Lilli, and she had to learn the outcome of his visit. The dreadful waiting was intolerable.
With her habitual quietness, she entered the house and went directly to the den, the only room Webb used with any frequency. Her coat was unbuttoned, but her hands were pushed into the pockets where they could knot into tense fists. Burning logs crackled in the fireplace, she noticed when she first entered the den.
Ruth was three steps into the room before she saw the couple behind the desk, locked in an embrace that was almost sexual. Shock drained the color from her face, dissolving her of all hope. She spun blindly, wanting to escape before they noticed her, and blundered into one of the double doors, knocking it into the wall with a loud bang.
“Ruth!.” Webb’s startled voice was husky and laced with the heaviness of his breathing.
Her back was to them and she didn’t turn around. The pain inside was more than tears could wash away, so her eyes burned with dryness. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” It was a hurried apology, offered as she took a step to leave the room.
“Don’t go, Ruth.” He called her back, his voice almost normal. Reluctantly she paused, hearing the two sets of footsteps moving out from behind the desk. Her body was braced and rigid as she slowly turned to face the pair. The pride and gentleness, the love flowing through his rugged features, nearly broke Ruth into pieces. “I want you to be the first to know that Lilli and I are getting married.”
Ruth wanted to scream at him that she didn’t want to be the first, but it simply wasn’t in her to be angry with him. The heat of the repressed emotion put red dots in her cheeks.
>
“Congratulations.” Ruth forced out the word and knew she had to say more. “I know it’s what you’ve been wanting for a long time.” She sincerely wanted him to be happy, but it still hurt that she wasn’t the one.
“You remember Ruth Stanton, don’t you, Lilli?” His arm was around the waist of the auburn-haired woman, keeping her close to his side and maintaining a discreet body contact. “Ruth has always been like one of the family.”
“Yes, I remember her.” Lilli nodded, her lips curving upward in a warm and apologetic smile. “I hope our behavior a moment ago didn’t embarrass you.”
“No. I guess I should have knocked,” Ruth murmured an uneasy response, unable to cope with such frankness.