Texas Fierce by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey [Dailey, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-28T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

SUSAN’S MOTHER STIRRED A TEASPOON OF SUGAR INTO HER JASMINE tea and took a cautious sip. “You’ve been avoiding me, Susan,” she said. “I’ve been here for days and I’ve hardly seen you.”

Susan sighed. She’d come downstairs before the breakfast hour, hoping to grab a quick cup of coffee and disappear for a morning ride. But no such luck. Vivian had never been an early riser, but she’d made an exception this morning.

“We’ve barely had a chance to talk.” Even at this hour, Vivian was put together for the day. Her still-pretty face was made up like a movie star’s, her short blond hair freshly dyed and fluffed to perfection. Costumed in a turquoise silk blouse, tan skirt, and a coordinating neck scarf, she was the picture of a gracefully aging Southern belle.

“Sit down, dear.” She tapped a manicured finger on the tablecloth. “You’re looking peaked. Are you taking care of yourself?”

“I’m fine. Just need some coffee.” Susan turned toward the swinging door that connected the dining room to the kitchen.

“You need more than coffee. Sit down.” She rang a small brass handbell that stood next to her plate—a bell that Susan hadn’t seen in her entire time here. The aging cook stepped through the door and stood at attention as if she’d trained him, which she probably had.

“Ma’am?”

“Get this girl some coffee with cream and some bacon and eggs with wheat toast. Pronto!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He vanished and returned a moment later with a cup of steaming coffee and a small pitcher of cream for Susan, who’d given up on leaving and taken a seat. “Thank you, Joe,” she said.

Vivian shook her head as the old man returned to the kitchen. “What have I taught you about thanking servants?” she scolded Susan. “You’re supposed to ignore them. They’re just doing their jobs.”

“Mother, this is Texas,” Susan said. “It’s good manners to be nice to everybody, even the hired help.”

“Well, I taught you better.” Vivian spooned more sugar into her tea, tasted it again, and nodded her silent approval. “Your father told me why you broke your engagement.”

“Good. Then I won’t have to explain it all over again. I can’t believe Dad tried to talk me into changing my mind.”

Vivian sighed. “You’re very young, my dear. When you’ve experienced more of life, you’ll realize that happiness doesn’t always come in a perfect package. Sometimes we have to accept the bad to get the good.”

Susan had just finished stirring cream into her coffee. The spoon clattered to the table. “You’re agreeing with him? I can’t believe this!”

“Think about it, dear. Ferguson is a handsome young man, and he seems bright enough to be a good manager. One day he’ll own this ranch. Combine that with what you’ll inherit, and the two of you could be extremely wealthy. Think of it—anything you want. You could replace this hovel with a beautiful new home. You could travel, have the best of everything for you and your children—”

“Mother, don’t you know what he did? Not just in the past, but after we got engaged.

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