then said, "The reason I'm here is to tell you that Mannard called, and the two colts that were due to arrive tomorrow aren't gonna."
"Why?"
"One of 'em's sick."
"Sick?" Austin could feel his blood pressure rising again.
"Sick how?" He'd paid a helluva lot of money for those horses, and hedamn sure expected them to arrive in good health.
Robb removed his hat and ran a hand over his sweat- covered bald head.
"Dunno. Couldn't get much out of him." Herman Mannard was a horse traderwho wheeled and dealed in the big leagues. Until now, Aus- tin hadn'tbought from him, never having had the money to afford his prices. Butthe man had the best horseflesh around; because of that, Austin hadsaved and sacrificed in order to make the purchases. He wasn't about tobe screwed around.
"Well, go back and get something out of that bastard. I've already paidfor those colts. And if he doesn't want me to come over and rip his headoff, he'll make good on this deal."
Robb's auburn eyebrows lifted.
"He isn't going to like that."
"Do you think I give a damn?"
"Nope."
"So call 'im." "Consider it done," Robb said, ambling off.
A short time later Austin had ridden the filly until she had learned torespond to the basics and he was beat. Feeling the need to relax, hemounted Bluebonnet and rode for pleasure through a portion of hiscleared property.
The hot wind felt good slapping him in the face as he gently kicked thehorse into a gallop.
Soon he stopped at the edge of a small creek, where he dismounted.
While the animal lapped up the cool, clear water, Austin leaned againstan oak, its limbs dripping with moss, typical of bayou country.
It was in that peaceful moment that the past sneaked up andkarate-chopped him from behind. Cassie again. Anger filled every cornerof his mind as he tried to keep her image from intruding.
Suddenly Bluebonnet lifted her head and shook it. Water spewed over him,which sent another expletive flying.
Even though he didn't expect Cassie to hang around for long, herpresence was disconcerting, to say the least. He'd recognized right offhow the years had matured her, making her more beautiful and enticingthan ever.
And just as forbidden.
He hadn't wanted to take his eyes off her, that evening racing to theforefront of his mind in vivid detail, as if it had happened nine daysago instead of nine years.
He would have given anything at that moment to know what was goingthrough her mind. If her facial expression had been anything to judge by, she hadn't felt anything. Oh, she'd looked at him through wide eyes,but they had registered no emotion. It was almost as though she hadnever laid eyes on him, much less rolled in the sand with him embeddedtightly inside her.
Shit.
Thoughts like that could land him in big trouble. He'd dreaded that day,had gone to great lengths to prevent it. But it had happened, out of theblue--wham, like a two-by-four slammed upside his head.
Yet there were times when he couldn't believe in the existence of that one-night hinge, that he'd gone insane and ravished her body, havingbetrayed himself, his friend and his fiancee. For the longest time afterhe'd married Alicia, it had been Cassie he'd made love to in his mind.
Still, he had tried hard to make his marriage work and to make Aliciahappy, even though she had never turned him on sexually the way Cassiehad. Where Al- icia had been a cool, calm and methodical lover, Cassiehad been hot, wild and tempestuous.
It had been two years since the car accident had taken his wife andunborn child. Given those tragic circumstances, he was proud of the wayhe had pulled himself back together and made a new life.
James had remained by his side throughout that ordeal and was stillthere.
That personal tie, combined with his business connection to Wilma, puthim in daily contact with the Worthams, which meant he would see Cassieoften, as well. That thought made his blood curdle.
Avoiding her was more what he had in mind. Her presence had resurrectedhis guilt and given it new life.
Somehow, though, he had to bury it again. He couldn't afford to letCassie undermine his newfound sense of peace or the coveted respect ofthe Worthams.
Although Austin had grown up without any of life's amenities, one wouldnever know it. He'd been determined to overcome that handicap, vowingnever to be poor again.
His daddy had worked long and hard in the oil fields. His mother haddied while trying to give birth to another child. His daddy had been acold man who'd had little time or patience for his son.
With the help of his sharp mind and wit, Austin had made and savedenough money to go to college, where he'd met up with James Wortham.
That meeting had been the turning point in his life. Though he was afreshman and James a senior, they became firm and trusted friends.
That friendship was strengthened after Austin married Wilma's youngersister, Alicia. Following Alicia's death, Austin inherited her stock inthe hotel chain. But it was only when Wilma badgered him into leavingthe real estate business and assuming Alicia's responsibilities at theJasmine Hillcrest that his life changed radically yet again.
Austin loved hotel work, something he hadn't expected. Wilma loved having him there, as well. His trusted presence gave her time off tohelp her husband. Austin also benefitted from the partnership. He hadtime to pursue his real passion, which was his horse farm, an endeavorboth James and Wilma had encouraged and still did.
Not only was he lucky on that score, he had another project pending thatWilma approved of. He was in the process of finalizing a deal thatinvolved buying a piece of prime land in New Orleans. Austin's planswere eventually to tear down the building that was already there andreplace it with a new one.
Suddenly Bluebonnet shook her mane again, jarring him back to the momentat hand. Back to Cassie, dammit.
Why had she come home without warning? What had she been doing all thoseyears while on the run from that bastard she'd married? Jameswouldn't--or couldn't--talk about the subject. Austin suspected it wastoo painful or too embarrassing, or both. And he'd never feltcomfortable pressing James for that information.
Austin didn't realize he was no longer alone until he heard Robb's gruffvoice, seeming to come out of nowhere.
"You're gonna be pissed," his trainer said from atop his horse." "It'sthe hotel," Austin said flatly.
"You got it."
"Tell my secretary to call Wilma."
"She already did, and Mrs. Wortham's not feeling well."
Concern for Wilma took precedence over his own selfishness.
"I'm on my way."
By the time Austin showered, changed clothes and headed his car towardtown, the cobwebs had cleared and he was back on track. Cassie and herson wouldn't stay long. His gut instinct told him that. He had simplymade a mountain out of a molehill. In a few more days she would be gone,and he would have weathered yet another storm.
For the moment, that was enough.
Seven now come we don't have sex anymore?"
Wilma knew she had shocked her husband even before he swung around andconfronted her, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
"I don't" -- His voice failed, as if he didn't know how to respond.
She couldn't disregard his face, either; it was flushed, clearlyreflecting his revulsion at being put on the spot with such a question.
"Oh for pity's sake, James, stop acting like you're as pure as the dayyou were born."
The veins in his neck stood out.
"That doesn't deserve an answer."
Wilma shrugged innocently.
"I don't know why not." "You do know," he said in an irritated tone.
Before they married, she had known he was on the reserved and prudish
side.
Surprisingly though, he'd turned out to be a better than average lover.
But after Cassie had been born and he'd been called to the ministry, his
studies and preparation toward that goal had taken precedence over everything else, except Cassie.
She herself had gotten a fair amount of his attention. When he became a
full-fledged pastor, however, and his church began to grow inattendance, along with his stature in the community, it seemed as if hehad suddenly become saintly.
Sex had been the first thing to go.
But that no longer mattered to her. Some perverse side of her had just
wanted to shake him up, shake him out of that pious shell he'd erected between them.
Maybe her illness had dried her up inside as well as out, making her
cruel.
Or maybe it was because her life had ceased to mean anything since her heart had decided to go haywire.
"You knew how I was when you married me. I haven't changed."
"Wrong," Wilma corrected from the bed, where she was propped against a
pile of pillows.
"You have changed. When we married, you contributed your share to this marriage."
"Wilma, this is not a conversation I'm interested in having."
"Oh, really? I never would have guessed." Her voice was filled with
unvarnished sarcasm.
"Sex is the last thing that should be on your mind," he added red-faced.
"You're ill and shouldn't exert yourself unnecessarily."
She ignored that and added more fuel to the already simmering fire.
"When did I lose you to the cause? When did you become so dedicated to
your work that you forgot how to be human?"
"That's not humorous in the least."
"I didn't mean it to be."
"So where is this conversation going?"
"I'm not sure. After all, you still haven't answered my question," Wilma