Wedding at Wildwood by Lenora Worth

a warm, soft wind flowing through the open windows in front of him. His business manager and lawyer, Sanford Reynolds, wasn’t too happy with him right now. Sanford had advised more expansion, but Dillon wasn’t quite ready to tackle everything that went into building and opening another store.
    Not now. Not when he was back here at Wildwood and he had a million scattered emotions blinking through his mind like fireflies. Rhyme and Reason, as his chain of eclectic bookstore-coffeehouses, was aptly called, would just have to wait.
    He needed a little rhyme and reason of his own right now. He needed to stop thinking about Isabel Landry.
    Remembering yesterday, remembering kissing her there in that field, Dillon let the darkness shroud his doubts while he remembered the feel of her in his arms.
    But the ugly vision of his brother staring down on them with condemning wrath quickly broke through the sweetness of that particular daydream. Eli would cause trouble for them, just as he always had. Dillon could handle it; he’d learned to let his brother’s taunts and disapproval roll right off his back—or at least he’d learned to avoid Eli by staying away. But he wouldn’t allow Eli to inflict any more pain on Isabel. Yesterday’s encounter in the cotton patch had only reinforced the uneasy feeling Dillon always had around his older brother. Things had gone from bad to worse after Isabel had left them.
    “I can’t believe you’re taking up with her again,” Eli had said, contempt clear in each word.
    “That’s none of your concern, brother,” Dillon had retorted. “Anyway, why do you care? You’re engaged, remember? You’re about to be married. I don’t think your lovely bride would appreciate the way you stare at Isabel Landry.”
    And Dillon certainly didn’t appreciate it. It made him sick—just as it always had. Eli might be attracted to Isabel, but she would never, ever be good enough in Eli’s eyes to take the attraction any further.
    But Eli was obviously still in denial where Isabel was concerned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    Dillon inched closer to his brother. “Oh, yes, you do. We both know what I’m talking about. I walked away from you once, Eli, to protect Isabel and her family. And I’ve regretted it ever since. You might not get so lucky this time.”
    “Are you threatening me, little brother?”
    “No, I’m telling you that I want you to stay away from Isabel. She’s done nothing to you. She never did. You just can’t seem to tolerate anyone who doesn’t have blood as blue as yours. So stop playing your cruel games and concentrate on your marriage.”
    “While you concentrate on that low-class woman who’s sponged off us all her life?”
    Dillon’s whole body had tensed; he came close to hitting his brother. And the dare in Eli’s eyes only fueled that need. But, sanity and practiced self-control kicked in as Dillon remembered all the other times his brother had set him off, then had blamed him for the whole thing. This time, it would be different. This time, he’d stay in control. Instead of doing what Eli expected him to do, he’d pushed past Eli, determined to keep a civil tongue for his mother’s sake.
    Then he’d turned, pointing a finger at his brother. “Isabel Landry has more class in her pinkie than you’ll ever have your whole life, brother. And you know as well as I do that Isabel never took advantage of living here. Good grief, Eli, they lived in a shack. They barely made ends meet.”
    “That so-called shack was rent-free,” Eli had reminded him with self-righteous disdain. “And they lived off this land, had plenty of fresh meat and vegetables. And still Isabel walked around like she ought to be a queen or something. Now, she’s even worse. I didn’t want her here for the wedding, but Mama and Susan insisted. That girl thinks she can flaunt it over us now that she’s been away from here for a while if you ask me.”
    “I didn’t ask