Texas rich by Fern Michaels

proportion."
    "Billie, my concern is you. Nice girls do not go to bed before they're married. I don't want you to be like Cissy. Oh, yes, I've heard the rumors," Agnes answered Billie's surprise. "How that girl's mother holds her head up is beyond me!"
    Agnes occupied herself with her coffee cup, carefully hiding her smugness. Everything was going as planned. She had to remind herself to be carefiil, to say just the right thing at just tiie right time. She sipped the hot brew, not wanting to admit to herself that Billie's statement had rocked her severely. Strength was not a trait she associated with her lovely daughter. When Moss Coleman entered their lives she'd seen that strength grow and bloom. She musto't let Billie think she was being manipulated. Agnes sighed, wishing for those easier days when Billie was a little girl and had been so amenable and willing to see her mother's way and adhere to her mother's ideals. Everyone knew that Billie Ames was a talented, lovely girl. Why else would Mrs. Fox have entertained the notion of a match between
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    Billie and Neal? It was because Agnes had been farsighted, grooming and training Billie for a better life than this one. Carefully now, Billie had to think she was following her own lead. "Billie, you're so young. Moss is older, more sophisticated. You are certainly no match for him. I imagine he's had many women and he's the type to have many, many more. I don't want to see you hurt. Worse, I don'twant you used and left behind. That kind of thing can become a habit. Look at Cissy. It's not what I want for you, Billie. It would be best if you didn't see Moss anymore, forget last night, and go on from there."
    "No! I love Moss and he loves me. He's going to ask me to marry him and I will. And if he doesn't ask me, I'll wait for him, forever if necessary. I love him!" Tears were bright in Billie's eyes and Agnes felt pity for her daughter. Still, she mustn't allow it to interfere. Billie tossed her napkin onto the table and fled from the room.
    Agnes finished her coffee and set the cup in the sink. She marched through tiie living room to Billie's room and closed the door behind her. "I detest such behavior, Billie. If you want to be grown-up and do the things adults do, then behave like one. I want you to take my place at the Red Cross today. You have to be there by nine and expect to work through lunch. Take a shower and get there as soon as you can. I'll call ahead and tell them you're taking my place. I'm much too upset to go myself," she added, knowing Billie's sense of guilt wouldn't let her refuse. She was right. Again.
    The minute Billie had left the house, Agnes called the Navy Yard and asked to be put through to Lieutenant Moss Coleman in Admiral McCarter's office. While she waited, she let her eyes wander to the desk calendar near the phone. She counted the days since she knew Billie'd had her last period. The Moss Colemans of this world didn't believe in things like protection. Agnes would bet next month's ration stamps on that. She swallowed hard, not liking to think of the gamble she was taking. That it was Billie who might be pregnant and therefore Billie who would be taking the risk didn't enter Agnes's mind.
    "Admiral Noel McCarter's office. Lieutenant Coleman speaking."
    "Lieutenant, this is Agnes Ames. I'd like to talk with you when you get off duty. What time shall I meet you outside the gates?"
    Hers was a no-nonsense tone. She meant business. Moss
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    grinned. She was one hour and fifteen minutes late. He'd expected the call before eight. "Yes, ma'am. I'll be off duty at three this afternoon. Good-bye, Mrs. Ames."
    Beef. Oil. Something called electronics. A spread. Acres and acres of land. Money. Respectable money. Power. Prestige. All the things Agnes ever hoped and dreamed for could be Billie's. Billie would share.
    Agnes settled herself at the kitchen table and penned off two notes to her roomers. She apologized for such short notice, but she