Under A Prairie Moon by Madeline Baker

Author:Madeline Baker [Baker, Madeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Butterfly Kisses Press
Published: 2016-04-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Lydia Conley spared hardly a glance at Kathy as her gaze sought Dalton’s. A slow smile spread across her face. It was the most blatantly sultry, provocative, predatory smile Kathy had ever seen.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Crowkiller,” Lydia said. Her voice was soft and seductive, like warm silk sliding over cool satin sheets, as she offered him her hand.

Kathy glanced over her shoulder, curious to see Dalton’s reaction to the woman who had been the cause of his death.

Dalton took Lydia’s hand and quickly released it. “What brings you to town, Mrs. Conley?”

Kathy frowned, wondering if it was her imagination, or if he had stressed the word Mrs. Was it to remind Lydia that she was a married woman, she mused, or was it to remind himself that she was off-limits?

Lydia lifted an elegant hand and let it fall. “I was bored, so I asked Whitey to bring me to town.” She slid a glance at Kathy, the look in her eyes reminding Kathy of a mongoose eying a cobra. “Who is this?”

“My cousin, Katherine Wagner, from New York City. Kathy, this is Mrs. Conley.”

Kathy nodded at the other woman. Lydia Conley was indeed beautiful. The pictures she had seen had not done the woman justice. She wore a blatantly expensive orange and brown taffeta dress that complemented her wavy auburn hair and deep brown eyes and emphasized her creamy white skin. A bonnet with matching orange and brown streamers was tilted at a jaunty angle over one eye. Expensive brown kidskin half-boots and a pair of white gloves completed her outfit.

Standing beside her, Kathy felt about as attractive as an old worn-out shoe.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, I’m sure,” Lydia said, her voice perfectly modulated. “How long will you be visiting?”

“I’m not sure.” Driven by some perverse urge, Kathy slid her arm through Dalton’s. Smiling up at him, she batted her eyelashes. “Dalton is such fun to be around, I just may stay forever.”

Dalton frowned at her, as if to remind her that they were supposed to be cousins, but Kathy didn’t care. Even without meeting Lydia’s gaze, she could feel the other woman’s animosity.

Lydia turned back to Dalton. “What brings you to town?” she asked, her full attention again focused on Dalton. “Are you taking care of business for Russell?”

Dalton shook his head. “No ma’am. I’ve been taking care of my own business.” Deciding it was useless to go on pretending they were cousins, Dalton placed his hand over Kathy’s, the gesture flagrantly possessive. “Why don’t you do the same?”

Jealousy, disbelief and indignation clashed in the depths of Lydia Conley’s eyes. “How dare you speak to me like that!” she hissed, and lifting her skirts, she swept past them, as aloof as a queen among peasants.

“So,” Kathy murmured, “that’s the infamous Lydia Conley.”

“That’s her.”

“Did you love her?”

“No.” Dalton glanced over his shoulder. Lydia was walking across the street, back rigid, skirts swaying. “But I wanted her,” he muttered. “Heaven help me, I wanted her.”

Kathy withdrew her arm from Dalton’s.

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