The Case of the Missing Secretary (15 page)

She’d never forgotten her humiliation or her fear of Emmett, whose temper was legendary locally. He’d beaten Randy to a pulp before he’d stormed off, leaving Adell and Melody to patch up the cuts.

Melody hadn’t seen him since, and that was deliberate. She’d moved to Houston to get clear out of his orbit. She’d taken the job with Logan because she knew Logan and Emmett never got along and didn’t ever see each other. What a shocking development this was, to find Emmett here.

Amy and Polk rejoined their father. They looked dangerously vindictive. “You’ll be sorry, Emmett,” Amy said sweetly. “I like Big Bird.” “You can learn to like cattle. Both of you. Let’s go.”

Emmett didn’t put his foot down often. When he did, all three kids snapped to attention and did what was expected of them.

Emmett glared at Melody. “How long are you going to work here?” he demanded.

“For as long as she likes,” Logan told him, getting between them. “It’s no concern of yours. You live in San Antonio. Remember?” “You hired her because of me,” Emmett accused.

“I hired her because Tansy asked me to,” Logan replied. “She’s kin to us, you might remember, in a remote way. She was alone in

The Case of the Missing Secretary 407 Houston and needed work. I hired her.” He looked at Melody and smiled reassuringly. “As it happens, I’m glad I did. She’s an asset. Not up to Kit’s record yet, but she’s good.” “Words of praise from you?” Kit gasped. “I’ll faint.”

“Not yet,” Logan chuckled. “I want your signature on a marriage license first.”

Melody was frozen at her desk. The telephone rang and she answered it, capably if a little unsteadily. “It’s for you, Mr. Deverell,” she told Logan. “Mr. James.” “Damn,” Logan muttered. “I’ll have to take it, Kit.” “That’s all right.”

He caught her hand. “Come on. I won’t say anything you can’t hear.” He led her into the office and closed the door. A minute later, Melody heard him pick up and transferred the call.

Emmett was still glaring at her. She ignored him and went back to work, forcing her mind to the job at hand.

But her hands were trembling. Amy, who never liked other peo-ple, saw that and shyly approached Melody. “She’s trembling,” she said softly. She studied Melody’s averted face and caught her breath. She glared at her father. “You made her cry, Emmett!” “I’m not crying,” Melody muttered, wiping her wet cheeks.

“But you are!” Amy protested. “Oh, you mustn’t. Emmett didn’t mean it. Did you, Emmett?” “She helped your mother run away,” Emmett said icily. “That’s right,” Guy replied. “Come back here, Amy.” “But-“

Emmett’s temper overflowed. “Damn it, I said let’s go!” he shouted, his green eyes flashing at Amy.

Amy had never seen her parent so enraged. She obeyed him at once, a little afraid of the fierceness in his lean face.

Melody didn’t look up as the door opened and then closed. She rested her hands on the computer keyboard and drew in deep breaths as she fought for control. She felt sick all over. The confrontation had been totally unexpected and shattering.

Logan and Kit came back out minutes later. By then, Melody was Pale but composed. “Mr. Deverell left,” she told Logan.

Diana Palmer

“You know how bitter he is about Adell,” Logan said gently. “Don’t let him upset you. He’ll be back on his way to San Antonio in a few days and you won’t have to see him again. At any rate, it’s unlikely that he’ll come to the office anymore.” “Good,” Melody said stiffly.

“He’s a bitter man,” Logan said. “I’m sorry he took it out on you. But it won’t happen again.” “It’s all right,” Melody said. “Honestly.” “You’re doing a good job,” Logan told her. “I hope you’ll stay.”

“So do I,” Kit agreed. “Even when we get married, I won’t be coming back here to work. You’re stuck.”

Melody managed a laugh. “Then I’m glad. I enjoy the job. It’s very interesting.” She glanced at the door and gnawed her lower lip. “If you’re sure that he won’t be back.”

“I’ll guarantee it,” Logan promised. “I’ll be back about two. Can you cope?” “Yes, sir,” Melody promised him. He smiled, and escorted Kit out the door. “Emmett is a…” she began hotly.

“Yes,” he said, leading her to the elevator. “I’ve never seen him be so savage with anyone like that,” he added. “Least of all someone as young as Melody. My God, what a temper!” “He takes after the rest of the Deverells,” she said dryly. He glared at her. “I don’t pick on young women.”

Her eyebrows raised over stark open eyes. “What do you think I was when I came to work for you, you slave-driving tyrant?”

“I am not a tyrant,” he said, pushing the Down button hard. “1 was terrific to work for.” “When?”

He narrowed his eyes as he studied her. “Do you want to marry me or not?” “Of course I do.” “Then be nice to me.”

She moved close, glancing down the deserted hall. “How nice do I have to be?” she whispered, and suddenly plastered herself against his big body. He chuckled and pushed her away. “Not that nice,” he told her.

The Case of the Missing Secretary 409 “Not until it’s legal, anyway. From now on, we’re doing it by the book.” “Party pooper.” “All right, if you really want to make love on the floor of the elevator…!” “No!”

He laughed delightedly as she backed away from him. “Well, what did you expect? I’m pretty vulnerable with you.”

“So I noticed.” She fanned herself with her hand. “And you a respectable stockbroker, too.” “I’m an engaged man. Damn this sluggish elevator…!” The door opened finally, and a broody, muttering Emmett and three red-faced children stared out of it at Kit and Logan. “Now what?” Logan asked curtly. “Big Bird,” Emmett said through his teeth. “What?”

“She incited them.” He gestured toward the other two. “They’re in it all together. They stood in the middle of the sidewalk and told God and the rest of the world that I was stunting their natural development by denying them educational programming. Then,” he added viciously, “they overturned a fajita stand and dumped salsa on a fat lady.”

Kit leaned against the wall, laughing so hard that she could barely stand.

”Well, you needn’t look at me,” Logan told his furious cousin. I’m not keeping them for you. And if I were you, I wouldn’t go near Melody. She’ll probably throw a keyboard at you if you so much as stick your head in the door!”

“I’m not stupid,” Emmett replied. “Go on,” he told the kids. “I hope she stuffs you into a drawer!” “I don’t want to go!” Guy muttered. “She stole our mother!” “This isn’t the time or the place,” Logan said. “Go on, Guy. Try not to upset Melody anymore, if you please. Your father’s done a great job on her nerves already.”

“All right,” Guy muttered. He glanced back at his father. “But I’m on your side, Dad.”

Diana Palmer

“I know that,” Emmett replied quietly. “Go on. Don’t…give her any trouble.” He shrugged. “I guess I was pretty obnoxious.”

“That’s an understatement,” Logan said as he got into the elevator with Kit and a subdued Emmett. “She’s terrified of you, couldn’t you tell? Two years have passed since you beat her brother to his knees and verbally assaulted her, and she still starts shaking the minute she sees you. Quite a feat, cousin,” he added venomously, watching Emmett shift his eyes. “You didn’t use to stoop to terrorizing children.” “She isn’t a child,” Emmett said stiffly.

“But she is. She’s barely twenty,” Kit said quietly. “And she isn’t worldly at all.” Emmett scowled. “Twenty?” “You didn’t know?” Kit asked, staring up at him curiously.

His broad shoulders rose and fell. “I never thought about it.” He went broody, avoiding Logan’s sudden stare.

They left him on the sidewalk and went to get into Logan’s sleek Lincoln.

“Is Emmett really like that?” Kit asked. “He seemed so easygoing and kind…”

“He’s a hell-raiser,” Logan told her as he put her into the car and got in beside her. “He always was wild, even as a boy. He married Adell just days after his mother died and he insisted that they start a family right away. She seemed to care about him, and we thought he’d settled down. But he took off rodeoing and left her there alone with babies and cattle, and she was never suited to either. She met Randy, fell in love for real and just took off. Emmett blamed her, blamed Melody, blamed the kids, blamed everybody except the real guilty party-himself. He hated marriage and responsibility. He was trying to find a way out when Adell presented him with one. His pride was bruised, but he never loved her.” “He got married because of what happened to his mother?”

“Yes, I think he did. He was lonely and Adell thought she loved him. It was only infatuation, though.” He stopped at a traffic light and looked at Kit worriedly. “Do you love me?” he asked suddenly. “Do you love me enough, Kit?” Her lips parted as she studied his broad, leonine face. “I’d do

The Case of the Missing Secretary

anything in this world for you,” she said quietly. “Anything, Lo-gan.”

That didn’t sound like infatuation, and combined with the look in her eyes he was convinced. He took her hand in his as the light changed and wrapped it in his fingers. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

Which told Kit very little about his own feelings. It was impossible not to know how much he wanted her. As he’d said, they did get along well together. But what if he discovered one day that what he felt for Kit was only a physical infatuation? What if he fell in love with someone else and took off?

“Stop brooding,” he said, smiling at her. “We’ve got plenty going for us. We’ll make it, Kit. I promise you, we will.” Her long fingers curled into his. “Okay. I won’t worry.”

But she did worry. They took out the license and she went back to the office to continue her search for Tansy. It was much more imperative now to find her, with the impending marriage. She wanted Tansy there. More, she wanted to make sure that her future motherin-law was all right. The fact that Tansy had checked into a medical center was very worrying indeed. Usually when the elderly woman sought medical assistance, it was after some wild stunt that bruised her. But there hadn’t been any wild stunts. Tansy had gone in deliberately, on both feet. And that in itself, Kit thought uneasily, was cause for concern.

Chapter Ten Kit found the hospital without a problem. Then she sat in the car, worrying about how to proceed. There was a good chance that Tansy would be very angry if Kit just walked into her room and started asking questions. On the other hand, there was little else she could do.

Leaving her car in the parking lot, she proceeded into the hospital and found which room Tansy was in. She hesitated outside the private room, but only for a minute. With a deep breath, she knocked gently at the door and opened it.

Tansy Deverell stared at her without speaking, her eyes very wide in a thin, pale face which held pain and worry.

“And here you come again,” Tansy murmured, with a hint of a twinkle in her eyes. “Yep,” Kit said, smiling.

“You’re too good a detective, Kit,” Tansy said. “This time I didn’t want to be found.”

“I had that figured out for myself.” She moved to the bed, and sat down beside it, her blue eyes quiet and steady on the worn face in its frame of untidy silver hair. “Why are you here?” “I won’t tell you that.” “Are you ill?” “I won’t know that until I get the results of the tests.” Kit held her breath. “Tests for what?” Tansy couldn’t conceal her worry and fear. “I don’t know, Kit,”

The Case of the Missing Secretary 413 she said in a choked tone. “I’ve been getting tired a lot, and I can’t seem to stop losing weight. I don’t know, but it could be cancer.” “Oh, Tansy,” Kit wailed.

“And if it is,” she continued, “I don’t want my boys to have to suffer through the uncertainty with me. When I find out for sure, then I’ll tell them.”

Kit felt terrible. She knew she should tell Logan and Chris, but Tansy looked crushed enough already. “It isn’t fair to keep it from them,” Kit began gently.

“Yes, it is, dear,” came the soft reply. “You’re all heart, aren’t you, Kit?” she asked. “Nothing like that curvy cash register he thinks he’s in love with.” “The delectable Betsy?” Kit replied with a quiet smile.

“Chris’s description.” Tansy nodded and she smiled. “He’ll come to his senses one day.”

“I’m delighted to tell you that he already has,” Kit told her. “We just got a marriage license. I’m going to be your daughter-in-law.”

Tansy held out her arms and hugged the younger woman with pure delight. “You couldn’t have brought me happier news if you’d looked for years. Kit, how wonderful!”

“He doesn’t love me yet,” Kit told her. “But maybe I love him enough for both of us.”

“Give him time. Commitment is new to him. He’s my son. He can’t be completely stupid.” Kit laughed. “Of course he can’t.”

Tansy could sympathize with Kit. It was hard to love so deeply and not have it returned. If only her eldest son wasn’t so blind!

She rubbed her cold hands. “Go away, Kit. I love seeing you, but this is something I have to do alone. And don’t tell my sons. Not a word,” she said sternly. “But…”

“Not one word,” Tansy repeated, her eyes piercing. “This is my business. Mine alone.”

Kit knew when she was beaten. “All right. But I’ll be back to see about you,” she said firmly.

“I knew that already,” Tansy said, and smiled. “You’re a sweet child.”

Diana Palmer

“No. I just have good taste in people,” Kit murmured. Tansy laughed, although her eyes didn’t. “When will you know, one way or the other?” Kit asked. “Tomorrow.” “Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Can I bring you anything?” “Not really, Kit. But thank you for asking.”

She studied the older woman, noticing that her hands were shaking. “Tansy…”

“I’m freezing,” Tansy said. “And starving to death. You know, no matter how much I eat or drink, I can’t seem to get full. All that hunger and thirst, and look at me.” She laughed. “Skin and bones.” She lay back and closed her eyes. “Life is so complicated sometimes.” “Don’t we all know it,” Kit mused. “How is Melody working out?”

“I don’t know if he’ll still have her by sundown,” Kit replied. “She’s baby-sitting Emmett’s kids, and he hates her. I mean hates her!”