Page 82 of Silver Lining
He brought her a cup of coffee. "Open it. You're making me crazy."
"No, I have to guess what it is. I think it's… an apron. Is that it?"
"Louise, open the box."
Finally, she lifted one corner and peeked inside, then burst into laughter. "It's a nightgown!"
"A skinny nightgown," he said, grinning with pleasure.
"A beautiful nightgown," she whispered. Standing, she shook it out and held it against her body. "There's real lace around the neck and the cuffs! Did you see that?"
"I saw it," he said, laughing. "Now sit down again because we're going to have a little ceremony."
Going back to the mudroom, he withdrew the cursed nightgown from its hiding place and carried it back to the kitchen.
"I'll make rags out of the material," Louise said.
"I'm not taking any chances that this thing will turn up in my bed ever again." He opened the lid of the firebox and stuffed the cursed nightgown inside. And stuffed and stuffed, making it appear more bulky and more unwieldy than it was until she was laughing and cheering for him to win the battle.
"And now," he said after replacing the lid over the burning nightgown. "A toast." He raised his coffee cup and so did she. "Out with the old nightgown and in with the new!" He saw her gazing back at him with soft, shining eyes. "But not tonight," he added in a husky voice.
"No," she whispered. "Not tonight."
She came to him and wound her arms around his neck. Tonight there was no Philadelphia , no baby, no guilt or feelings of betrayal. Tonight was enchanted, a night set apart from the life they would return to in a few short hours. Tonight was theirs alone, a night for joy and tenderness and the greatest gift of all, the giving of themselves.
CHAPTER 18
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"The people you're harming most are my wife and my family."
"Now you know how it feels to stand by and watch someone you love suffer."
Max stood before Houser's massive cherry wood desk, gripping his hat in his hand. If the only person being hurt had been himself, nothing on earth could have made him ride in to the bank and humble himself in front of Howard Houser.
But it was Louise out there in the dark cold and blowing snow every morning and every evening. Louise staying up all night with half-frozen beeves. Louise, so exhausted she staggered. One night shortly after the new year, she had fallen asleep at the supper table.
And it was Dave, leaving his own ranch and family to help out. Wally, giving up his evenings to work in the ice and cold.
"What will it take to end this? What do you want from me? Whatever it is …"He swallowed his pride.
"I'll do it."
Howard leaned back in his chair and smiled, noting the sling across Max's chest.
"It doesn't end until you're ruined. It doesn't matter if you get those cattle through the winter because I can guarantee you won't find a buyer come spring. And without a buyer, you won't have funds to retire your mortgage. You'll lose your ranch in June. The first thing I plan to do after foreclosing is burn your house and barn to the ground."
Slowly, Max nodded his head. This was what he had expected from Houser, but he'd had to give it a try for the sake of Louise and his family.
"Just so you understand, McCord. In retrospect, I don't entirely fault you for marrying that woman. I don't agree with the choice to put yourself in the drawing, but I understand why you thought you had to do it. I'm going to destroy you because you seduced an innocent young woman and ruined her life. You tarnished her name and placed her at the center of a scandal.
"Right now, my daughter is a prisoner in your mother's home. The last time she came into town was on Christmas Day. She won't come again because she rightly believes her condition will be noticed. My man Ridley informs me there are already whispers. Perhaps they originated with your mother's cowboys, or maybe Mrs. Dame, the seamstress, has been indiscreet. It doesn't matter. Sooner or later my daughter's condition will be noticed and remarked upon. If the law permitted, I would kill you for destroying her innocence and her illusions. I'd shoot you dead for placing a blot on the Houser name. As justice is denied me, I must satisfy myself by destroying you. And I will. Now get out of my office."
Wally looked up from a stack of papers piled neatly on his desk as Max strode through the lobby. He started to rise, but Max shook his head and continued toward the door. There was nothing to discuss.
Wally had known as well as he that an appeal to Houser would be futile.
Before he pushed through the heavy glass doors, Max took a moment to look back into the lobby. A short line of patrons waited before the teller's cages, but their low voices didn't disturb a reverential hush.
