you didn’t come up to the house this evening.”
“Don’t you trust your niece?”
“It’s not Victoria I’m worried about.”
“It should be.”
“What do you mean?”
“When a man has to fire a good hand because of his foreman, he’s lost control of his ranch. If you’re not careful, Buc’s going to cause you to lose your niece as well.”
“I can’t believe you fired him just because Buc fell into a jealous rage,” Victoria said to her uncle.
“What else could I do?”
“You could have told Buc to start acting like a grown man or find himself another job.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Victoria. I wouldn’t risk losing Buc over a fight with a cowhand who probably won’t stay the summer.”
“I was thinking more about you than Buc.”
“I don’t understand.”
“This is your ranch, Uncle Grant. You claimed the land, fought off the Indians, and brought in blooded cattle despite enormous difficulties. Yet Buc goes around giving orders, throwing fits, and acting like it’s his.”
“Trinity just said pretty much the same thing.”
“You ought to listen. He’s not the dumb cowboy he pretends to be.”
“He also told me I was in danger of losing you.”
Victoria went up to her uncle and put her arms around him. “He’s wrong about that. There’s nobody in the world I love more than you.”
“I don’t think he meant I’d lost your love. He meant I’d lose your respect.”
An awkward silence fell.
“I was angry with you and Buc for talking about my marriage like it didn’t concern me,” Victoria said, making sure she looked her uncle full in the eyes, “but I know you were doing what you thought was best. It’s just that you were wrong on that. And some other things, too.”
“Such as?”
“They don’t really matter. The important thing is for the first time in five years I’m thinking about what I want to do rather than worrying about what somebody else will do and what I’ll have to do as a consequence.”
“Maybe Buc was right to be worried about Trinity”
“Don’t men ever give a woman credit for some sense?” Victoria asked, annoyed. “I can listen to Trinity, I can even believe what he says, without falling in love with him. He’s traveled all over the world. He’s seen things I’ll never see. Felt things I’ll never feel. Done things I’ve only dreamed about. He’s made me realize I don’t want a life dominated by fear.”
“What are you meaning to do?”
“I don’t know,” Victoria confessed. “My feelings are all turned upside down. I need time to sort them all out again.”
I’m glad that’s all. Now if you’d just let Buc explain why he—”
“I am sure of one thing,” Victoria said, interrupting her uncle. “I’ll never marry Buc Stringer.”
“But he’s a wonderful young man. Nobody could love you more than he does.”
“Marrying Buc would be the same as admitting I can only have what someone else is willing to give me. I can’t accept that. Not any more.”
“Buc was right. I never should have hired Trinity.”
Later that evening, after a couple hours of fruitless reflection, Victoria came close to agreeing with her uncle. Trinity had had nothing but trouble since he arrived, and she felt responsible for it.
He would never have gotten into the fight if she hadn’t been so determined to explore the nature of his feelings for her. She should have gotten on her horse by herself and ridden home.
Instead she let him stand there with his hands on her waist, his body nearly touching hers, his eyes drilling holes into her soul, and his lips brushing her hair and eyelids. But she liked it. She’d never felt that way before, in a kind of heedless wonder, like she was on the verge of discovering something marvelous.
Trinity had been right. There was something sexual in her attraction to him. She’d tried to tell herself it was purely intellectual, but his touch had destroyed that illusion. She could still feel his
“Don’t you trust your niece?”
“It’s not Victoria I’m worried about.”
“It should be.”
“What do you mean?”
“When a man has to fire a good hand because of his foreman, he’s lost control of his ranch. If you’re not careful, Buc’s going to cause you to lose your niece as well.”
“I can’t believe you fired him just because Buc fell into a jealous rage,” Victoria said to her uncle.
“What else could I do?”
“You could have told Buc to start acting like a grown man or find himself another job.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Victoria. I wouldn’t risk losing Buc over a fight with a cowhand who probably won’t stay the summer.”
“I was thinking more about you than Buc.”
“I don’t understand.”
“This is your ranch, Uncle Grant. You claimed the land, fought off the Indians, and brought in blooded cattle despite enormous difficulties. Yet Buc goes around giving orders, throwing fits, and acting like it’s his.”
“Trinity just said pretty much the same thing.”
“You ought to listen. He’s not the dumb cowboy he pretends to be.”
“He also told me I was in danger of losing you.”
Victoria went up to her uncle and put her arms around him. “He’s wrong about that. There’s nobody in the world I love more than you.”
“I don’t think he meant I’d lost your love. He meant I’d lose your respect.”
An awkward silence fell.
“I was angry with you and Buc for talking about my marriage like it didn’t concern me,” Victoria said, making sure she looked her uncle full in the eyes, “but I know you were doing what you thought was best. It’s just that you were wrong on that. And some other things, too.”
“Such as?”
“They don’t really matter. The important thing is for the first time in five years I’m thinking about what I want to do rather than worrying about what somebody else will do and what I’ll have to do as a consequence.”
“Maybe Buc was right to be worried about Trinity”
“Don’t men ever give a woman credit for some sense?” Victoria asked, annoyed. “I can listen to Trinity, I can even believe what he says, without falling in love with him. He’s traveled all over the world. He’s seen things I’ll never see. Felt things I’ll never feel. Done things I’ve only dreamed about. He’s made me realize I don’t want a life dominated by fear.”
“What are you meaning to do?”
“I don’t know,” Victoria confessed. “My feelings are all turned upside down. I need time to sort them all out again.”
I’m glad that’s all. Now if you’d just let Buc explain why he—”
“I am sure of one thing,” Victoria said, interrupting her uncle. “I’ll never marry Buc Stringer.”
“But he’s a wonderful young man. Nobody could love you more than he does.”
“Marrying Buc would be the same as admitting I can only have what someone else is willing to give me. I can’t accept that. Not any more.”
“Buc was right. I never should have hired Trinity.”
Later that evening, after a couple hours of fruitless reflection, Victoria came close to agreeing with her uncle. Trinity had had nothing but trouble since he arrived, and she felt responsible for it.
He would never have gotten into the fight if she hadn’t been so determined to explore the nature of his feelings for her. She should have gotten on her horse by herself and ridden home.
Instead she let him stand there with his hands on her waist, his body nearly touching hers, his eyes drilling holes into her soul, and his lips brushing her hair and eyelids. But she liked it. She’d never felt that way before, in a kind of heedless wonder, like she was on the verge of discovering something marvelous.
Trinity had been right. There was something sexual in her attraction to him. She’d tried to tell herself it was purely intellectual, but his touch had destroyed that illusion. She could still feel his
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