The Green Lace Corset, стр. 66
“You are, by holding Diana.”
Diana whined. Anne cradled Diana in her arms and rocked her until she quieted and fell back to sleep.
“Thanks for being my coach.”
“I’m honored. I love you, and I’m up on just what to do.”
Paul ambled in, pushing his walker, and kissed Anne on the cheek. “You look stunning.”
“Yeah, right. Isn’t Diana adorable?”
“That she is.” He leaned over and kissed the baby’s forehead.
“Remember when you showed me how to toss pasta on the ceiling to make sure it was finished?”
He chuckled. “I sure do.”
George came in the back door and let Lucky off his leash. The dog scurried around the kitchen, yapping.
Diana woke again, with a wail.
“Naptime for you, princess.” George reached for Diana.
“Bye, cutie.” Anne handed her to him. “I’ll see you again before I go.”
Paul scooted toward his room. “Naptime for me too. See you soon.”
Fay whispered, “He’s doing pretty well, just sleeps a lot.”
Anne frowned. She should visit more often. “Okay, spill it about Karl!”
“Hold your knickers. Let me get the omelet going. Gather some mint in the garden.”
Tottering down the stairs reminded Anne of the times she’d picked basil, tomatoes, peppers, and other fresh produce from Sylvia’s garden to make spaghetti. What an overgrown mess now. Worse than her own. Sylvia would be so disappointed. The herbs had all gone to seed. Anne tugged out a few sprigs of mint and carried them back inside.
“Fay, the garden’s a mess.” Anne rinsed the mint in the sink. “Don’t the gardeners still come?”
“They come weekly, but all they do is mow and blow.” Fay put a fruit salad in front of Anne and flipped over the omelet.
Anne cut up the mint with scissors and sprinkled it over the salad. “Maybe after my little one’s born, I’ll come help rejuvenate it.”
Anne put the salad bowl on the table and opened her napkin on her lap.
Fay joined her, carrying over omelet-filled Haviland plates. “What’s your plan?”
“My head’s spinning with the options. I feel like a hamster on a treadmill. I just want to stay in my studio apartment.” Anne bit into her salad.
“That’s not realistic. It’s too small. Don’t you think? What do Sergio and your mom say?”
“They both say I should be with family and claim they’re the best option. Sergio even proposed again to me last night. But I really want to stay in San Francisco.”
“Move in here with us. The place is huge, and we’re family also.”
“You’ve already got your hands full.”
“You wouldn’t be in our hands. Your hands would be another set to help.”
“Let me think about it.” Anne loved the idea, but she couldn’t impose. “Okay—Karl and Priscilla!”
“Ready? It’s as juicy as that salad.”
“Who did you talk to?”
“Fredricka. But I didn’t hear it from her, and you didn’t hear it from me. Word is, Priscilla and Karl were caught together at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Springs.”
“What do you mean, ‘caught together’?”
“Caught, as in caught with their pants down.” Fay paused and raised her eyebrows. “By his wife.”
Anne had a hard time holding back a smile. “Go on.”
“I don’t have all the nitty-gritty, but she does know that Wifey is a big-time attorney.”
“She is? When I was seeing him, he told me he couldn’t leave her because she didn’t have any job skills.”
“She suspected something was going on. He told her the museum was paying for a business trip.”
“He’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.”
“Let’s hope she won’t need to give him anything. He might even be able to get alimony from her.”
“How did Fredricka get so much detailed information?”
“From a mutual friend. Apparently, Priscilla had been using the museum’s credit card for hotels, expensive dinners, et cetera. So, bye-bye, Priscilla and Karl.”
Anne couldn’t believe it.
45
A week later, on a warm evening, pink shadowed the mountains and the sun began its slow descent over the hill. Sally Sue ran out into the meadow with relief as Cliff rode down the slope toward her on Roan. His shoulders slumped, but when he saw her, he sat up straight and gave her an enthusiastic wave.
“I’ve been so worried.” Sally Sue couldn’t help herself. “Wherever have you been?”
“On the range.” Cliff gave her a weary smile within his unshaven face. His clothes were filthy, saddlebags jam-packed. He struggled to get down off Roan. “I’m a bit light-headed.” He limped toward her and started to fall.
“Careful.” She caught him in her arms and guided him inside, where she helped him to sit on a kitchen chair.
Socks scurried over. Sally Sue lifted her up into Cliff’s lap. He stroked the kitten’s back.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sally Sue asked him.
He removed his hat and pushed back his hair, revealing a deep gash on his forehead. One of his eyes was black and blue, bloodied, and swollen shut.
“Oh, my stars and garters. What happened to you?” she gasped.
“It’s nothing.”
“Have you been at the saloon, fighting over a girl?” Sally Sue tried to tease.
“Maybe.”
She felt another sprig of jealousy. It wilted when he didn’t laugh at her joke.
Had he been in a fight? Robbed another bank? Shot and killed another man? She glanced at the gun in his holster. “What happened?” She doubted he’d tell her the truth.
“Got into a scuffle with a grizzly bear.”
She was right he wasn’t going to tell her the truth. If it had been a grizzly, he would be dead, or at least have more lacerations.
“Really, what happened?”
Cliff tried to smile but winced instead. “Got into a tussle with a cowboy.”
“What?”
“Yep. You know how they spell ‘cowboy’ don’t you? ‘O-p-i-n-i-o-n.’”
That was a hoot.
“I went to that ranch, looking for work. The foreman didn’t like the way I swung my lasso. He said I should do it overhanded, but I always have more luck doing it underhanded.”
“Are you lying?”
“I’m not telling you a thumper. It’s the God’s awful truth.”
“Sounds like you didn’t get the work.”
“Nope.”
“Do you really need a job anyway?”
“Every man needs to work.”
With a straight face, she said, “As Mama used to say, idleness is the devil’s workshop.”
“Then I’d better