“Carson, don’t interrupt him,” Jared commanded sharply. Lauren was surprised when Carson obeyed without question. “We’re getting to the good part. Mr. Vandiver and son,” he said the last word with a sneer, “have come all the way from Austin bringing a detailed TransPlains Railroad diagram showing a straight track into Coronado.” Jared paused and took a long drink of the whiskey. “I’d hate to think they’ve wasted their time.”
Lauren viewed this whole scene with fascination. The man became more of an enigma every time he opened his
mouth. Cowboy, Harvard graduate, businessman?
“Vandiver,” Jared continued, “the railroad has been in Kerrville for several years. Comfort and Fredericksburg are in the process of negotiating one. With Lockett cattle, the granite quarries, and the cedar posts business, why do you imagine we need your help in obtaining a railroad?”
“Shut up, Jared. You’re drunk and you’re offending our guests,” Olivia barked. Her face was a mask of fury.
“Quite all right, Olivia. He asked a simple question, to which I will give a simple answer.” Parker bowed to her slightly before facing Jared again. “Ben Lockett was a respected man in this state. A very powerful man. I don’t have to tell you that. Yet for years he was unable to secure a railroad into Coronado.”
“That’s because he wasn’t going to exploit the people who respected him!” Jared shouted.
“Whatever the reasons for his failure, you still have no railroad. I happen to have many friends on the Railroad Commission. If I tell them that Coronado is a bad risk…” He shrugged expressively. “On the other hand, if I say that it’s a potential money maker, they’ll jump at the chance to build train tracks here. If a man as influential as your father failed to achieve this goal without my help, how do you propose to do it?”
Some of the arrogance and fire went out of Jared then. He placed his glass on a small table and faced Parker, staring at him for several long, silent moments. Parker stared back levelly, clearly evaluating a foe.
Calmly, hardly above a whisper, Jared pronounced, “You are a sonofabitch.”
“Yes, I am,” Parker agreed grimly.
Jared turned his alcohol-brightened eyes on Kurt, who had remained silent throughout the exchange. “I wonder what that makes you,” Jared said contemptuously. Then his eyes swept across Lauren to his mother and Carson. His face registered disgust and resignation before he turned and strode from the room, the heels of his polished black boots emphasizing his anger with each long, hurried step on the parqueted floor. A few seconds later, the front door slammed.
Always the diplomat, Carson conciliated, “Parker, Kurt, you must be patient with the boy. He just lost his father. Ben’s death hit him hard.”
“If he were a boy, I could tolerate his behavior,” Parker said. “As it is, he’s a thirty-year-old man acting like a boy. Olivia, you’d better get things straight with him. If he can’t be counted on for his support in this venture, then the deal is off. Your son is Ben’s heir, and everyone will be watching to see how he handles himself. If word gets around that he can’t control his temper and his personal habits,” he paused and looked significantly toward the liquor cabinet, “then I couldn’t endorse a joint venture for fear of losing my own credibility.”
“I understand, Parker.” Olivia’s green eyes were as cold and hard as emeralds. “Jared will come around to our way of thinking. He always does.”
Lauren was unaccountably irritated by Olivia’s self-assured guarantee. Jared was a grown man who had made some astute observations of his own. She felt a compulsion to defend him but, of course, she could not.
“He has a terrible reputation for activities that are unmentionable in Miss Holbrook’s presence,” Kurt contributed sanctimoniously.
“I don’t need you to tell me my son’s virtues or vices, Mr. Vandiver,” Olivia snapped.
“No, Mrs. Lockett. I only meant—”
“I think it’s time for us to take our leave,” Parker interrupted his son. “We’ve had a thorough discussion. We should give the proposal some further study and weigh all the elements involved.” He stood, walked over to Olivia, took her hand, and held it in both of his. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Olivia. The dinner was excellent. That Lockett beef can’t be beat.”
“I’m sure we can look forward to working together in the future, Parker. Your plans will proceed without interference, I assure you.”
“I hope so.”
Kurt murmured a personal goodnight to Lauren. This time when he raised her hand, his fleshy lips brushed across the back of it. It took all her composure not to jerk her hand away. She was grateful when the wide oak door with the etched and beveled glass closed behind the Vandivers.
Carson, Olivia, and Lauren stood in the foyer. The rest of the house was silent. Lauren turned to Olivia and faced her squarely. “Mrs. Lockett, why did you lie to them about me? You made me an unwilling accomplice in that lie.” She was astounded at her own temerity, but honesty was an integral part of her nature.
“Unwilling?” Olivia asked. Her brows arched over her eyes like two black wings. “You could have denied it right then and told them the truth. But you didn’t. I think you saw, as I did, that my story was more plausible and less… compromising.”
Lauren looked at Carson, who was staring at his shoes and offering no help. She clenched her hands tightly at her waist and gnawed on her bottom lip. Her initial instinct was to deny again the insinuation that she and Ben Lockett had meant anything more than friends to each other, but she refrained.
Two months. She must stay at least two months. Then…
Quickly she excused herself and went upstairs.
* * *
Carson lay in the tester bed and watched Olivia as she stepped from behind the decorative screen and walked naked across her bedroom.