Hidden Fires by Sandra Brown

Author:Sandra Brown [Brown, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4555-4632-9
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2015-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

“Have you heard from Jared, Olivia?” Carson asked one night at dinner. “Seems he’s been in Austin an uncommon length of time.”

“Come, Carson,” Olivia said with a laugh, “you know why Jared is ‘detained’ in Austin. I’m amazed that he abstained as long as he did. Having a wife of convenience drives a man to find some release from his physical needs, doesn’t it, Lauren?”

Lauren’s fork clattered to her plate. How dare the woman be so blatantly crude! “Since it’s Jared’s ‘physical needs’ you’re referring to, you should save that question for him,” she retorted angrily. But underlying her anger was heart-sickness. Her mother-in-law was most probably right. Why else would Jared extend his stay in Austin? She hadn’t guessed she could miss him so much. The longer he was gone, the more the tension mounted in the house.

The daily routine in Coronado was different from that at Keypoint, but was routine nonetheless. Elena gained strength each day. If the weather permitted, she would walk with Lauren in the gardens, which boasted only a few chrysanthemum blooms. The wind, when it whistled in unpredictably from the north, was biting and bitter, and there were a few days in early November when it rained incessantly and Lauren thought she would go mad at the tedium of her life in the large house.

She longed for the hectic days at Keypoint with Rudy and Gloria, their loving banter, and the children with their pranks. She missed her quiet talks with Maria, too. A few months ago, Lauren would have been scandalized by a woman living with someone else’s husband, but she now condoned Maria’s life with Ben. Their love had been pure. Lauren’s uncharacteristic broadmindedness was due in part to her knowledge of the kind of life Ben must have had with Olivia.

Olivia went to the bank most days, and when she stayed at home, Carson telephoned often from his office. He was always at the house for dinner, and Lauren was grateful for his kindly presence. She could not have borne being alone with Olivia. The woman looked at her with such hostility that it startled Lauren each time she caught Olivia’s emerald glare on her.

Carson continued to be obsequious to Olivia. They talked constantly about the railroad and the plans for the power plant. Apparently any hesitation Olivia had once had about forming an alliance with the Vandivers no longer existed. She commended their decisiveness and ability to manipulate others to achieve their goals. Olivia mentioned Kurt often, and always with a sly look in Lauren’s direction, which made her feel distinctly uncomfortable.

One evening at dinner, Olivia observed her daughter-in-law balefully through a forest of lowered lashes. She would never forgive her for convincing Jared to allow that sick Mexican and her baby to remain under her roof. The fact that Lauren gave shelter to an ailing Mexican was bad enough, but her real transgression was that she had triumphed over Olivia in an argument with Jared. More threatening than that, she had forced Jared to make a decision.

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