Chapter 50

Stuart's private railroad car was a marvel of elegance even for him. He'd be the first to say it was overdone. But he didn't use it often enough to bother redecorating it. While it wouldn't accommodate all of their party for sleeping purposes, the parlor area was well supplied with overstuffed chairs girded in velvet, so those who ended up sleeping in them didn't really mind. And there had only been one night that they'd had to, when the train stopped at a depot only long enough for the passengers to eat dinner, then continued on through the night.

There was a well-stocked bar, even a piano. "It came with the car," Stuart explained with a shrug. "Just never got around to getting rid of it."

Red actually knew how to play it, and entertained them a few times. Chad enjoyed that much more than playing poker with his father and his men because he couldn't concentrate long enough not to get ribbed for it. And he had no excuse to be so preoccupied, none that he was willing to share anyway.

Actually, his father seemed to be in the same boat— of not being able to concentrate for very long. Chad had guessed why. It was pretty obvious. But he'd wait until Stuart made the announcement, that he and Red were going to get hitched, before he said, " 'Bout time."

The two made a perfect couple. Chad had thought so long before Stuart came to that realization himself. And he would have gotten a kick out of seeing his father "in love" again after all these years since his mother had died, if he weren't so aggravated over his own pathetic circumstances.

He shouldn't have come along on this trip. He'd never gone to Chicago with his father before. There was only one reason for his presence. He couldn't bear to see the woman he wanted riding off into the sunset without him. That was really stupid, because she didn't know he wanted her, and she sure as hell didn't want him. So there had been no point in going, other than to make himself miserable. And he was doing a good job of that.

It hadn't been so bad at first. Spencer and Amanda had distracted him with their odd relationship. He'd even found a lot of their bickering amusing, considering how he felt about Spencer. But it was getting harder and harder to see Marian every day and be so totally ignored.

Her behavior spoke volumes about her feelings for him. She didn't have any, though she might have previously. He'd stood a good chance with her, before Amanda had tricked him. But she'd be insulted if he turned to her now. That night under the stars, she'd been in shock, and although he hadn't intended to take advantage of that, he really had gotten carried away from wanting her so much. He should have just told her that; but she'd been so embarrassed about it afterward, he hadn't wanted to make it worse. And even if for some reason she'd welcome his suit, the incident in the stable with her sister would always stand between them. He'd be better off just to forget about her entirely.

They were at their last overnight stop before reaching Chicago, when Chad found Spencer eating alone in the hotel dining room. He'd come down late to eat himself, hoping everyone else would be done and already in their rooms. Stuart had already announced that he'd be going all the way to Haverhill with the ladies. No surprise to Chad. He'd yet to decide if he would as well.

Prolonging the agony was one way to view it, except that Marian would be returning to Texas, probably even moving to the Kinkaid ranch if she didn't marry before Red did. Maybe he should just stay in Chicago himself, at least until Marian was out of his life.

He sat down at Spencers table without asking permission. He and Spencer had been "getting along" if you could call not fighting getting along. And ever since the trip started, Chad had been curious what was behind Spencer's strange attitude. Half the time he seemed annoyed, and the other half he seemed to be holding back laughter.

Spencer merely glanced up when Chad sat down, then went back to cutting the meat on his plate. Chad chose not to be ignored. He'd had quite enough of that lately.

"Where's the wife?" he asked.

"A headache sent her to bed early. She seems to get a lot of them."

"I'll bet," Chad said dryly. "But as good a reason as any for you to be tarrying down here."

Spencer grinned, a secretive grin that Chad found damned annoying. But Spencer offered nothing by way of explanation, "The food's great. I decided on a second helping is all."

"Glad to hear it, since I'm starving." Chad called the waitress over and asked her to bring him what Spencer was having. Then as if they'd already been discussing it, he said "You two getting a divorce as soon as this thing with the lawyer is settled?"

Spencer almost choked at the unexpected question, but recovered with a noncommittal, "I'm beginning to like married life."

"You could have fooled the rest of us."

Spencer laughed. "Appearances can be deceiving— as we both found out."

"You wishing you'd found out sooner that the ladies are twins?"

"Hell no. Marian is too—how shall I put it—nice for my taste."

"Too nice for you, period," Chad mumbled.

Spencer sat back, took a drink of his wine, and said nonchalantly, "I sense you haven't claimed her yet. But then I always knew you were a fool."

Chad stiffened, reminding him, "I made love to her sister. That's not something a woman will overlook."

"Since when did you become an authority on women?" Spencer smirked. "You might as well run around with your head in the ground because you sure as hell aren't going to get anywhere with her by not trying."

"Look who's talking. You have a wife who claims a headache if she even looks at you."

Spencer burst out laughing. Chad gritted his teeth. His food arrived just then, or he might have sent his fist across the table.

He'd never known Spencer to be so cryptic, or to withhold what he found to be amusing. And something was sure as hell amusing him, although, for once, it didn't seem to be at Chad's expense. It was still damned annoying that Spencer was keeping it to himself.

But then Spencer surprised him. Laughter wound down, still grinning, he confessed, "I hate to disappoint you, but Amanda's 'headache' excuse isn't for me—well it is, but that's because she hopes I'll follow her right to bed. Her excuse is mainly so no one else will notice that she prefers to retire early these days— or wonder why."

Chad frowned thoughtfully. "What you're implying doesn't add up."

"That's because you're missing the main equation. How shall I put this? She loves making love."

Chad snorted. "But otherwise hates your guts?"

Spencer's grin widened. "She doesn't hate me. Far from it."

"You're just her current favorite verbal punching bag then?"

"You mean her pouting? That's all her cattiness is, because I won't pamper her or give her everything she wants. Lord love her, she wouldn't be herself if she didn't pout. She is a brat, after all."

"And that doesn't bother you? Never mind. Your amusement speaks for itself."

Spencer chuckled. "She pouts over that, too. But I can't help it. I've never met such a spoiled rotten female before. I find her antics and manipulations funny as all hell."

"It would drive me up a wall."

"Well, that's you, and thank God, you and I aren't the least bit alike."

"Son of a bitch," Chad said as he realized, "you wanted to marry her all along, didn't you? Your protests were just for her benefit."

"Of course."

"You ever going to get around to letting her know?" Chad wondered aloud.

"Probably not." Spencer shrugged. "That would spoil her, and I'm not stupid."

"A matter of opinion," Chad said, but it was merely habit, insulting Spencer.

And Spencer ignored it. "I'm not about to make that mistake. Besides, it wouldn't make her happy. It never did. Spoiling her just made her a bitch. But she's learning—rather late, though better than never —that it's more worthwhile to earn what she wants than to have it given to her. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of teaching her."

Chad shook his head. "You amaze me, Spencer. I never would have thought you'd have that kind of patience."

"There's no patience needed. She's too predictable, my wife. She's spent her life manipulating others and never realized just how easy she is to manipulate herself."

"I almost feel sorry for her."

Spencer burst out laughing again. "For what? Getting her just deserts?"

"Something like that."

"Don't kid yourself. She's never had so much fun in her life as she's had since she met me."

Chapter 51

ON THE LONG TRIP to Haverhill, there had been plenty of time to discuss a plan for confronting Albert Bridges. After going back and forth on all sorts of possibilities, they decided that the sisters would remain out of sight, until they located Albert—assuming he hadn't already taken off to other parts of the country with his ill-gotten gains. But if he was still in Haverhill, they didn't want to alert him to their presence before a confrontation could be arranged. They didn't want to give him the opportunity to run before they could get their hands on him.

Marian didn't like having to disguise herself again and stay cooped up in her hotel room. She wasn't going to get married that way. She needed to be seen by old acquaintances to have any hope at all of receiving any proposals before she was forced to return to Texas.