Man of Ice by Diana Palmer Page A

deadpan.
    “Oh, they’re too silly to repeat. And now they make sense. I suppose you simply gave up dating women you didn’t care about.”
    He hadn’t expected that Leslie might be so easy to placate about those rumors. He glanced at her, scowling.
    She only smiled, and this time without overt flirting. “It’s kind of sweet, really,” she mused. “Barrie didn’t suspect?”
    He averted his eyes. “No.”
    “She still doesn’t suspect, does she?” she asked curiously. “You’re engaged, but she acts as if it’s difficult for her even to kiss you. And don’t think I was fooled by that very obvious lipstick smear on your handkerchief,” she added with a grin. “There wasn’t a trace of it on your face, or a red mark where you might have wiped it off. She’s very nervous with you, and it shows.”
    He knew that, but he didn’t like hearing it. “It’s early days yet.”
    She nodded slowly. “You might consider that she has less experience with men than she pretends,” she added helpfully. “She hasn’t got that faint edge of sophistication most women of her age have acquired. I don’t think she’s very worldly at all.”
    He pulled the car into a parking spot in front of the old county courthouse. “You see a lot for someone who pretends to have a hard edge of her own,” he said flatly, pinning her with his pale green eyes.
    She leaned back in her comfortable seat. “I was in love with my husband,” she said unexpectedly. “Everybody thought I married him for his money, because he was so much older than I was. It wasn’t true. I married him because he was the first person in my life who was ever kind to me.” Her voice became bitter with memories. “My father had no use for me, because he never believed I was his child. My mother hated me because I had to be taken care of, and she wanted to party. In the end, they both left me to my own devices. I fell in with bad company and got in trouble with the law.” Her thin shoulders lifted and fell. “I was sentenced to a year in prison for helping my latest boyfriend steal some cigarettes. Jack Holton was in court at the time representing a client on some misdemeanor and he started talking to me during the recess.” She smiled, remembering. “I was a hard case, but he was interested and very persistent. I was married before I knew it.” She stared at her skirt, distracted by memories. “When he died, I went a little mad. I don’t think I came to my senses until today.” She looked up. “Barrie has something in her past, something that’s hurt her. Go easy, won’t you?”
    He was surprised by her perception. But it was beyond him to admit to a relative stranger how Barrie had been hurt, and by whom. “I’ll keep it in mind,” he replied.
    She smiled at him with genuine fondness. “I do like you, you know,” she said. “You’re a lot like Jack. But now that I know how things stand, you’re off the endangered list. Now how much do you want to offer me for that tract of land?”
    He chuckled. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy, but he wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth.
    * * *
    When he came back with Leslie, his arm around her shoulder and all smiles, Barrie was immediately on the defensive. She had all sorts of ideas about why they were both smiling and so relaxed with each other. She was furiously jealous and hurt, and she didn’t know how to cope with her own reactions.
    She was silent at the dinner table, withdrawn and introspective, speaking only when addressed. It was the first glimmer of hope that she’d given a pensive Dawson. If she could still feel jealous about him, there was hope that he hadn’t killed all her feelings for him.
    So he laid it on with Leslie.
    “I think we ought to have a celebration party,” he announced. “Friday night. We’ll phone out invitations and have a dance. Corlie will love making the arrangements.”
    “Can she do it, on such short notice?” Leslie asked.
    “Of course!