Last Promise (9 page)

Chapter Nine

Colt walked in the kitchen and saw his wife pulling pies from the oven. When she placed the pies on the counter, Colt leaned over and kissed her neck.

Victoria turned around and looped her arms around his neck. “I've invited George and his niece to dinner tonight.”

“But Luke is bringing his partner's wife to dinner tonight.” Colt hadn't told his wife what Luke had revealed about Arina's inappropriate behavior. “I hope that is a good idea.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn't it be a good idea?”

“Luke said his partner's wife is acting strangely.”

“Strangely? How so?”

Victoria was surprised when Colt repeated what Luke had told him about Arina. “Is he certain he hasn't given this woman some indication he has an interest in her?”

“Jake had asked Luke that very question. He assured us he hadn't, but even if he did somewhere along the line, she's still a married woman.”

“True enough. Well, nothing can be done about the invitation now.”

Colt kissed his wife before he left the kitchen. “Jake and I will be back in plenty of time to clean up before dinner.”

* * *

As soon as Luke and Arina walked through the door, Luke wanted to turn around and head to the range. The last thing he expected was to see Mary Ann and George sitting in the parlor. Dang his luck. Luke made the introductions and Arina promptly turned to him. “Would you take my shawl, Luke, honey?” Luke didn't look at his brothers, but he felt certain he heard eyeballs popping out.

Colt was standing near Jake and Jake heard him utter,
Aw, no
. There was little chitchat in the parlor before Victoria and Promise walked to the kitchen to finish the dinner preparations. Colt saw Promise lean over and whisper something to Victoria, and from the look on their faces, he was certain they weren't discussing the food.

When dinner was on the table, Luke hoped Colt would escort Arina to the dining room. But no, he wasn't that lucky. Arina linked her arm through his and walked with him. Always the optimist, he thought he might seat Arina near Jake or George, somewhere far away from him.

“Mary Ann, why don't you sit here?” Victoria pointed to a chair next to Colt's, at the head of the table. She planned to sit Luke next to Mary Ann, and George could sit next to Arina and keep her occupied. It certainly wasn't going to be her husband.

Luke was definitely going to take the seat next to Mary Ann, but when he moved in that direction, Arina had plans for his other side. “I'll just sit here right next to Luke.”

“That's fine,” Colt responded. He knew he didn't want to sit next to her if he wanted to sleep beside his wife tonight.

Luke looked at Colt like he wanted to shoot him. And Jake didn't look any happier since he was sitting directly across from Arina, and he was going to have a difficult time averting his eyes for the next hour.

Colt said grace and Luke silently prayed for a peaceful dinner after seeing the visual daggers Victoria and Promise were sending his way. Colt was trying to think of a way to start the conversation at the table, but darned if he knew how to begin. Even he'd been distracted by Arina's buxom display. Thankfully his dilemma was short-lived when his wife addressed Mary Ann.

“Mary Ann, Luke told us about your shop, I think it sounds lovely. Promise and I will be in as soon as you're open.”

“Some of my inventory has already arrived so I will have it open in a few days. Luke told me about your reticules and if you are agreeable I would love to display some in my shop.”

“I certainly am agreeable. I will bring some with me when we come and we can work out the details then.”

“I suppose you don't have shops here that carry expensive items like the shops in Denver,” Arina said.

Luke started to speak up, but Mary Ann beat him to it. “Actually, all of my items are coming from France. And Victoria's reticules are carried by shops in Paris. I think we may give Denver some competition soon.”

“Oh, what a surprise. But I doubt the women here would be interested in the latest fashions like you find in Denver.”

Mary Ann didn't know if this woman came from wealth, but she thought she could teach her a thing or two about handling insufferable snobs. She'd been exposed to the best of them in England's upper class. But she was a guest, not the hostess, so she remained silent.

“We are very much interested in fashion,” Promise said curtly.

Arina eyed her high-necked dress. “Yes, I can see that.” She touched Luke's arm. “The dress I'm wearing was designed in France and Luke said he liked it, didn't you, Luke, darling?”

All eyes landed on Luke. He cleared his throat while he tried to think of a diplomatic response. Being a single man he enjoyed looking, but if he were her husband he wouldn't let her out of the house in that getup. “As I said earlier, it's fine.” He took a long drink of water, wishing it was a double shot of whiskey.

I'll just bet he likes it,
Mary Ann thought.

Of course, Arina's comment drew everyone's eyes to her dress, but no one had a response. It didn't appear Arina was aware of the venomous looks from the women at the table as she continued on. “I find men appreciate dresses which flatter one's figure. But of course one must have a good figure for the latest styles.”

Colt thought he could hear his wife's teeth grinding together, so he thought he would redirect the conversation. He asked George about his new house.

While George was talking, Luke took that opportunity to speak to Mary Ann. “You look real pretty tonight.”

“Thank you.” He looked handsome too and she was angry with herself for noticing. After all, he knew he was picking up Arina for dinner so he obviously wanted to look good for her.

Luke told himself not to allow her brusque tone to dissuade him. “I didn't know you were coming to dinner tonight.”

“That's obvious.”

“Mary Ann . . .” Luke started but was interrupted by Arina.

“Luke, darling, would you pass me the green beans?” Arina asked.

Luke snatched the bowl from the table and thrust it into her hands. He glanced across the table and saw Jake grinning at him. He rolled his eyes. Jake's eyes moved to Arina, and Promise thought he was looking overlong at her bosom and gave him an elbow in his ribs.

“Luke has promised to help me and I am so grateful,” Arina said, responding to George's question about her plans, and turned to give Luke an adoring smile. “I don't know what I would do without him.”

Mary Ann almost gasped aloud when she saw Arina place her hand on Luke's thigh. She glanced up at Victoria, and her expression said she knew something was going on.

Luke jumped like someone had put a cattle prod on his rear. He didn't know what to do, so he ignored Arina's hand and took another drink of water. His voice sounded two octaves higher when he spoke. “This dinner is delicious.” He discreetly pushed Arina's hand off his leg.

Colt and Jake looked at him wondering what in the devil was wrong with him.

“Thank you,” Victoria replied. She certainly hoped her brother-in-law didn't have something going on with Arina because she never wanted to see the woman again.

Luke was so on edge he couldn't even enjoy the fine meal. The situation might have been humorous if he didn't have to face the wrath of his sisters-in-law later. His brothers would be a piece of cake compared to them.

George asked Arina another question and she turned to him when she responded, but she placed her hand on Luke's arm.

“Could we speak privately later?” Luke whispered to Mary Ann.

She glanced at Arina's hand on his arm again and then glared at him. “I rather think you will be occupied.” Mary Ann could hardly believe what was happening at the dinner table of all places. That woman had actually put her hand on Luke's leg. Of all the nerve! Now she had her hand on his arm. At least his arm was on top of the table. Luke seemed oblivious to Arina's indecent behavior. Mary Ann felt like walking out, but her good manners kept her in her seat.

Luke knew Mary Ann saw Arina's hand on his thigh. It wasn't as if he was asking for Arina's attentions. “If I planned on being occupied, I would not have asked you.”

Overhearing part of Luke's exchange with Mary Ann, Colt looked at Victoria and arched his brow in silent communication. Victoria already sensed there was tension between Mary Ann and Luke. Hearing their conversation, she knew it wasn't much of a stretch to see it had something to do with Arina.

Luke couldn't take the tension of not knowing what Arina would do next. It wouldn't surprise him if she crawled in his lap during dinner. He jumped from his seat and everyone stared at him. “I need some more water.” It was a lame explanation, but he needed to get out of the room for a few minutes. Victoria started to get up but Luke told her to stay seated. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed the whiskey bottle. He didn't bother to find a glass, he just took a large swig.

* * *

The dinner ended and Mary Ann and George left before Luke and Arina. But as soon as Luke and Arina were out the door Colt poured a large whiskey for himself and Jake and they walked to the porch. “What do you make of her?”

“I don't know, but Luke has his hands full,” Jake said.

“You can say that again. She acts mighty strange for a married woman.” Colt was sure the women were in the kitchen discussing the very same thing.

“I'll say. She's obviously a woman who likes men. And she is a looker, no doubt about it.”

“You better not let Promise hear you say that.”

* * *

Dinner proved to be quite interesting, but not exactly what Luke would call successful. Luke's sisters-in-law were fit to be tied by the time he put Arina in the buggy. If there had been room in George's buggy he would have had him take Arina back to the hotel. Arina hadn't helped matters with the ladies. He thought she went out of her way to be rude to them. On the other hand, she was very friendly with his brothers and made it very clear she preferred their company. Before Luke climbed into the buggy, Victoria pulled him aside and reminded him he was a God-fearing man, and he'd better not do anything that he wouldn't mind being repeated in church. On their way to town, Arina cuddled up next to him like it was thirty below zero instead of an unusually warm evening.

He'd driven home slowly, not so he could spend time with Arina, but he hoped Mary Ann would have already retired to her quarters by the time they arrived. No such luck. When he reined in at the hotel he saw Mary Ann walk behind the desk.

Arina was still hanging on to him when they walked inside the hotel. “Luke, honey, thank you for keeping me so warm on the way back.”

Mary Ann didn't take her bait. She didn't even look at the couple.

Her apparent indifference didn't thwart Arina from making her point. “You are so thoughtful to walk me to my door.”

He'd actually thought about saying good night at the staircase but he didn't want Arina to plant another kiss on him in front of Mary Ann.

“Did you enjoy your dinner, Mary Ann?” he asked as they passed the desk.

“Yes, I did, Mr. McBride. Your sisters-in-law are lovely ladies.” Which was more than she could say for the creature on his arm.

Reaching Arina's door, Luke said a hurried good night hoping to catch Mary Ann before she went to her room.

“Come in for a little while, Luke.” Arina wasn't ready to let him go.

“I need to get back to the ranch.”

“If you light a fire for me I will fix you one drink before you go.” She walked inside and dropped her shawl on the floor.

He thought now might be the opportune time to talk to her about her flirting. He had tried to be understanding of her situation and make allowances, but he'd had enough. At this point things couldn't get much worse between him and Mary Ann, or his family for that matter. He followed her inside and closed the door. After tossing his hat on the table he grabbed some logs and started stacking them in the fireplace. It reminded him of the day he'd started a fire for Mary Ann. He chuckled to himself when he remembered she had tipped him for his efforts. It took him a few minutes to get the fire raging, but once the job was done he saw a glass appear over his shoulder. He rose and turned around to see Arina standing there holding two glasses of whiskey. She'd changed out of her dress and was wearing her robe again. She must save a lot of money on underclothes since she rarely had them on. Taking the glass from her he quickly gulped the contents down. He couldn't have a talk with her while she was wearing next to nothing. It was all he could do to keep his eyes above her neck.

“I should go.”

Arina moved closer. “Stay, Luke.”

He took a deep breath. He had no choice but to have this discussion now. “Arina, I don't understand what you are doing.”

“You don't?” She ran her fingers over his chest to the back of his neck. “I want you to stay the night with me.”

“Are you forgetting you are a married woman?”

“I'm not forgetting, but I haven't seen my husband in months. I'm not a woman who wants to be alone.” She stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his.

Luke pulled away from her. “Arina, I can't forget you are the wife of my friend and partner. I don't understand you. By the way you are acting, I don't think you're really concerned about Sam's disappearance. He could be dead! Doesn't that bother you?”

“Of course it bothers me. But he obviously didn't care what happened to me, did he?”