Regan's Pride by Diana Palmer

Author:Diana Palmer
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1994-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

“He’s so restless lately, have you noticed?” Sandy asked Coreen one afternoon when Ted was working on a truck with two of his men. “I’ve never heard him use language like that within earshot of the house.”

The language was audible, all right. Coreen peeked out the window toward the metal building where the ranch vehicles were kept. One of the men with Ted had thrown down a wrench and he was stomping off in disgust.

“Hawkins, get back here or get another job!” Ted yelled after him.

“I’ll get another job, then!” came the angry reply. “Can’t be worse than this!”

“Coward!” the third man called after him gleefully.

“Do you want to go with him, Charlie?” Ted asked with a dangerous smile.

Charlie picked up the dropped wrench and offered it to the greasy man bending over the engine of the truck.

Coreen was shivering. Angry voices still made her uneasy, and Ted was much more volatile than she’d ever realized. At home, without any social restraints on his temper, it seemed to be terrible.

“How do you stand it?” Coreen asked Sandy nervously, as they set the table.

Sandy stopped what she was doing and turned to her friend, hardly aware of a cessation of the noise outside. “He isn’t like Barry,” she said softly. “He isn’t a violent man. It takes a lot to make him fight, and he doesn’t hit women. He’s just upset because he’s been unkind to you, and that’s why he’s being impossible to live with. He’s sorry about the way he’s treated you and too proud to apologize for it.”

“He’s very loud,” Coreen muttered.

“He’s a marshmallow inside” came the musing reply. “What you see isn’t the real man. Ted hides what he feels under that prickly exterior. It keeps people from finding out how vulnerable he really is.”

“In a pig’s eye,” Coreen retorted. “He’s steel right through.”

Sandy put a plate down a little noisily. “But you don’t hate him,” she added, her voice as clear as a bell in the room.

Coreen flushed. She started to argue, aware of Sandy’s level stare and a tiny flicker of diverted attention that was quickly concealed.

“Do you?” she persisted.

“No,” Coreen confessed, her eyes lowered. “But it might have been easier for me if I had, once. Barry made my life so miserable. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have someone taunt you with feelings you can’t help, to hold another man’s rejection over your head for years, reminding you over and over again that you weren’t worth loving. He was so jealous of Ted…insanely jealous, even though he didn’t really want me himself. He couldn’t stand it when he found out how I felt about Ted. I think he would have killed me, that last night…”

A faint sound from behind her brought her head around. Ted had been standing in the open doorway. His face was hard and drawn, oddly pale.

“Well, get an earful, Ted,” Coreen muttered with the first show of spirit yet. An open sack of flour sat on the table beside her and she accidentally knocked it with her elbow, jumping to catch it before it fell.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.