Tracie Peterson - [Desert Roses 01] (14 page)

“I just can’t take any more. Rufus parades his women around me like trophies from some unnamed battle. I know I’ve not been the best wife to him, but his treatment of me has left me completely defeated. I’m scarcely even welcome in church, and I’m always the topic of conversation. I can’t bear it any longer.”

“Of course not. Don’t worry about a thing. You can stay here until we figure what’s to be done. I’ve saved a bit of money. It’s not a lot, but we’ll use it to set you up elsewhere.”

“I have money as well,” Katherine said rather sheepishly.

Alex released her hold as her mother reached for her purse. “How?” she asked.

The older woman opened her purse to reveal a great deal of cash. “I went to the bank and withdrew a good portion of our shared account.”

“Father will be livid when he finds out.”

“He’ll be angry no matter what,” her mother replied.

“That’s true,” Alex answered, remembering what her father had said. “He’s going to be quite ugly about this—you do know that, don’t you?”

“He can’t hurt me any worse than he already has.”

Alex studied her mother as if seeing her for the first time.
She’d lost a great deal of weight, leaving her face gaunt and strained. Her clothes actually hung loose around her shoulders and waist. Alex shook her head. How many youthful dreams had been crushed and broken on the altar of Rufus Keegan’s infidelity?

“Mother, Father plans to win himself an appointment to Washington. He’s here to lay the foundation for that, and he won’t allow us to interfere with it. Maybe it would be best if we just leave without saying a word to him.”

“No, I’ll have to talk to him sooner or later.” She closed her purse and looked to her daughter. “I just need to know that you don’t think badly of me.”

“Honestly, Mother, I’ve thought you should leave him for ages. Father has brought shame upon this family, and now the shame should rest upon his shoulders alone. Let him suffer as we have.”

“I don’t want to seek revenge, Alex. I’ve prayed that God might just take me—pull me out of this misery so that I wouldn’t have to make any choice at all—but that’s not happening. I just want to be released from the pain. That alone would be enough for me.”

Alex wondered if it would truly be enough. She’d like to see her father called to account for his actions. She’d like to see him stripped of the things he held dear—just as her mother had been. Her mother had little choice but to stand by and watch her dignity and social standing diminish. She could say nothing as her husband cavorted with one woman after another, all within the eyesight of the town’s biggest gossips. No, Alex wasn’t at all sure that merely having the pain removed was enough.

“I just need to know that God won’t hold this against me,” her mother continued. Getting to her feet, she paced a space at the end of the bed. “I want to be a good Christian, to be a good wife, but it’s so hard. When he brought liquor into the house, breaking the law, I said nothing.” Her voice broke and a little sob escaped as she continued. “When he dealt
in underhanded manners with his businesses and cheated others of what is rightfully theirs, I did not condemn him. I knew God would eventually deal with him on all this and more. But if I walk away and divorce Rufus, then the blame will be mine.”

Alex could sense her mother nearing hysteria. “Look, why don’t you just let things lie for a time. There is nothing that says you must divorce immediately. Just take a holiday. You’ve come to El Tovar, so let that be the start. Tell Father you need a rest and that you’re going to visit Audra. You could go there and see her and the family, while I square things away with the Harvey Company and find us a new location to live.”

“Yes, but once your father learns the truth about the money . . .”

“We’ll deal with that when it happens,” Alex interjected. “Father is not going to immediately concern himself with such things. He’s with friends—powerful friends—who can give him exactly what he wants. He won’t think about banking matters for a single moment. Today, just rest. Let’s just concentrate on getting through one day at a time and give the rest to God.”

“I’d like that—truly I would.”

A heavy knock sounded at the door, causing Katherine to jump back. “I’ll get it,” Alex offered. “Why don’t you just freshen up a bit?” She didn’t wait for a response but went to the door.

Her father pushed her back as soon as the door opened a few inches. “What are you doing here?” he demanded of his wife. He came in rather like a bull moose stomping and snorting, ready to take on his adversary.

Alex tried to think how she might intercede for her mother and create a story her father might accept, but nothing came to mind. She opened her mouth to comment, but already her mother was pulling something from her purse. With a smile on her face and a cheerfulness Alex knew her mother did not feel, Katherine Keegan handed the card to her husband.

“I came here because the Winthrops invited me to join you here. It seems they have a series of special dinners and gatherings and thought I might like to be a part of their celebration. I even purchased a new gown for the main gala. I knew you wouldn’t want me to look shabby next to you.”

Rufus Keegan grunted as he pulled the invitation from her hand. “You should have stayed home where you belong.” He considered the card for a moment, then glared back at his wife. “
I
didn’t invite you here.”

Alex stepped forward. “She’s here and to send her back to Williams now would only disgrace you—the Winthrops issued the invitation personally.”

Her father turned on her. “You’d better remember what I told you—I won’t brook any nonsense from either one of you. I intend to see myself in Washington, D.C., working with the new president, and perhaps one day even enjoying that office myself.” He turned back to his wife. “I won’t tolerate your interference or scenes. If you so much as open your mouth to say the wrong thing, you’ll regret it. Do you understand me?”

Alex moved between her father and mother. “Don’t threaten her. She’s put up with enough of your embarrassing games.”

“This is no game, Alexandria. You’d do well to learn that here and now. Your mother knows her place most generally, and it isn’t until she talks to you that she feels compelled to create a fuss. If you want to keep your job here, I’d suggest you learn your place as well.”

Alex straightened her shoulders and leaned toward her father’s face. “You have no power over me here. Of that I have absolute confidence. You cannot see me hired or fired, and that’s the truth of it, so do not pretend to threaten me.”

“It’s not a pretense, and the threat is very real.” His brows drew together as his eyes narrowed. “I fully intend to see my plan through to completion.”

“Please don’t argue,” Alex’s mother said, coming to stand beside them. “Someone might overhear.”

Crumbling the invitation in his hand, Keegan threw it at
Alex and stomped to the door. “You mark my words and mark them well. I won’t be kept from my dreams by the likes of either one of you. I have a plan to get me where I want to be, and you’d better stay out of my way. Or else!”

“Or else what?” Alex questioned, unable to keep her mouth closed. “To what extent will you go to silence us?”

At this her father calmed, almost unnaturally so. He rubbed his mustache and actually smiled. The sinister expression on his face left Alex cold and weak-kneed.

“People die all the time, don’t they?”

With that he opened the door and left the room. Alex felt frozen in place, while her mother crossed the room and quickly shut and locked the door.

“Oh, what are we to do?” she questioned. Her pale face contorted in fear and anguish.

Alex barely felt able to draw a breath. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have believed him to say something so . . . so . . .” She left the words unspoken.

Her mother reached out and took hold of her. “I’m terrified, Alex. I’ve never seen him like this, not even when he’s hit me in anger.”

“He’s hit you—and you stayed with him?” Alex questioned. Her mother released her grip on Alex and walked to the window. “Alex, a married woman makes many a choice that seems irrational to others. I’ve done what I had to do, just as I’m doing what I have to do now.”

“But, Mother, this has to stop. He must be stopped.”

Her mother nodded. “I know.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Valerie Winthrop had never known a man she couldn’t conquer. Generally all she had to do was bat her eyelashes, smile coyly, and show a spark of interest and the men came running. But in the case of Luke Toland, that simply wasn’t so. Luke had no interest in her, and that could only mean one thing—another woman.

He had said as much, but Valerie couldn’t find out from Luke who that woman might be. Watching him, however, she’d been able to pretty much ascertain that Luke was in love with Alex Keegan, the dowdy little Harvey Girl. Worse still, the Keegan woman also appeared to have feelings for Luke—although Valerie wasn’t entirely sure the woman knew it yet. Women were such queer creatures at times, and Alex Keegan seemed the strangest of them all. For all Valerie could tell, Miss Keegan was not at all interested in the men around her, in spite of numerous comments of praise and adoration. Although why anyone would praise the creature was beyond Val. She found Miss Keegan quite boring with her spiritual interests and Biblical restrictions.

As she dressed for dinner, Valerie took special care to wear something sensually appealing. She hoped later to slip away to Luke’s cabin. Poor, dear man. His broken wrist was making him quite miserable. Valerie knew just the right medicine to help him heal, and perhaps by wearing this gown, she might actually take his mind off the homely Miss Keegan.

But along with her interest in Luke, Valerie longed to have everyone’s attention fixed on her. She loved the way men came to attention when she entered a room—loved the look of admiration, of longing in their eyes. She was like a prized jewel that everyone wanted, and she enjoyed the position. Her life—on her terms.

Too bad she had to contend with Joel Harper. She had
grown bored and weary of his attention. He only wanted the money and power her status could afford him, and he was a bitter man with an agenda to right the wrongs done to him. Had he been even the slightest bit attentive, Valerie might have found him worthy of her affections. After all, he was handsome. He had a sort of Fred Astaire look to him.

She’d even told him so when they’d been in London earlier in the summer and had seen Astaire dance with his sister Adele. Joel had been flattered, unnecessarily so. He’d pressed for her affection after that, seeing her comment as some open door to become more intimate. But her comments had been nothing more than passing thoughts, certainly nothing to suggest she was ready for physical romance with her father’s lackey.

Smoothing down the satin of her Poiret dinner gown, Valerie tried not to think about her fate with Joel. She still had her freedom for a time. A freedom that might see her happily entangled with a certain cowboy, if she could only find a way to capture his attention.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Valerie knew she looked rather scandalous. The pale green satin clung to her in a most daring way, while the draped neckline scarcely hid the fact that she’d chosen to wear very little under the gown. Just let Luke Toland try to ignore her now.

She rubbed her favorite scent on her bare upper arms. It had been her experience that this was most effective in drawing a man’s attention. Lastly, she touched up her makeup and hair.

“Perfect,” she murmured, noting her reflection one last time.

The evening had cooled considerably, but Valerie refused to take a wrap. The look she wanted would be ruined if she were to add so much as a scarf to the ensemble. Making her way to the rooftop garden, where they’d all agreed to meet prior to dinner, Valerie drew appreciative stares from every man she passed along the way. She smiled to herself. It was
good to feel their approval—to sense their longing. It gave her a sensation of power.

Reaching the roof, she immediately spotted her father’s stocky frame. Dressed rather uncomfortably in the tuxedo he hated, her father was already playing the room. A consummate politician, Winston Winthrop knew very well how to work the crowd to his advantage. The best thing he had going for him was his ability to listen—really listen. He could pick up details in a conversation that everyone else tended to miss. Using these details, the good senator managed to align himself with the common man. It had worked to his advantage and had seen him through thirty-some years of public office.

“The common man,”
he would say to Valerie,
“holds the key to success. For the common man, once influenced for you, will eagerly share what he knows with his neighbors. And, once they are convinced, they will share their opinion with their neighbor and so on. The wealthy not only care little for such matters, but rarely are willing to share their news with each other for fear of their powerful friends becoming even more powerful.”
And Valerie knew this to be true, for her father rarely spoke of important matters unless it was to press someone into service on his behalf.

“Daddy,” she said softly, coming up beside the portly senator. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, stopping just before reaching face. She’d learned long ago that her father’s cheek was hardly the place for her lipstick.

Joel stood just to the right of her father. His perusal of her costume seemed to come in a mix of emotions. He liked what he saw, she was sure of that. But she was just as sure that he didn’t like everyone else seeing her that way.

“Sweetheart, you’ll catch your death. Perhaps I should escort you back downstairs so that you can get something to put about your shoulders,” Joel suggested.

Valerie loved that he was disturbed by her appearance.
Let him fret and fuss
, she thought.
I will never let him own me
.

“I’m perfectly warm, thank you.” She turned away from
him then and met the man at her right. “I’m Valerie Winthrop.”

The man was of no special account. He was just one of the many who followed her father around like a faithful dog. Valerie pitied these men. They were like pack animals seeking out the strongest among them. Sometimes that strength came in the form of intelligence and sometimes in physical stamina, but always they sought it out and aligned themselves accordingly.