Page 25 of Texas Honor

Each letter was terse, precise and without the least bit of compassion. She began to get a picture of him that was disappointing and disillusioning. If there was any warmth in him, she couldn’t find it in business. Perhaps that was why he was so wealthy. He put his own success above the problems of his creditors. So he had money. And apparently not much conscience. But Mari had one, and the side of him that she was seeing disturbed her greatly.

Finally Ward was finished dictating the letters, but just as she started to type them, the phone rang. Ward answered it, his face growing darker with every instant.

It was a competitor on the phone, accusing him of using underhanded methods to get the best of a business deal. He responded with language that should have caused the telephone company to remove his phone and burn it. Mari was the color of a boiled lobster when he finished and hung up.

“Something bothering you, honey?” he chided.

“You’re ruthless,” she said quietly.

“Hell, yes, I am,” he returned without embarrassment. “I grew up the butt of every cruel tongue in town. I was that Jessup boy, the one whose mother was the easiest woman around and ran off with Mrs. Hurdy’s husband. I was that poor kid down the road that never had a decent family except for his battle-ax of a grandmother.” His green eyes glowed, and she wondered if he’d ever said these things to anyone else. “Success is a great equalizer, didn’t you know? The same people who used to look down their noses at me now take off their hats and nod these days. I’m on everybody’s guest list. I get recognized by local civic groups. I’m always being mentioned in the newspapers. Oh, I’m a big man these days, sprout.” His face hardened. “But I wasn’t always. Not until I had money. And how I get it doesn’t bother me. Why should I be a good old boy in business? Nobody else is.”

“Isn’t Mr. Wade?” she fished.

“Mr. Wade,” he informed her, “is now a family man, and he’s missing his guts. His wife removed them, along with his manhood and his pride.”

She stood. “What a terrible thing to say,” she burst out. “How can you be so coldhearted? Don’t you realize what you’re doing to yourself? You’re shriveling up into an old Scrooge, and you don’t seem to realize it.”

“I give to charity,” he said arrogantly.

“For appearances and to get ahead,” she replied hotly. “Not because you care. You don’t, do you? You don’t really care about one living soul.”

His chin lifted and his eyes sparkled dangerously. “I care about my grandmother and my sister. And maybe Lillian.”

“And nobody else,” she said, hurt a bit by his admission that he didn’t feel a thing for her.

“That’s right,” he said coldly. “Nobody else.”

She stood there with her hands clenched at her sides, hurting in ways that she’d never expected she could. “You’re a real prince, aren’t you?” she asked.

“I’m a rich one, too,” he returned, smiling slowly. “But if you had any ideas about taking advantage of that fact, you can forget them. I like my money’s worth. And I’m not suited to wedding cake and rice.”

When what he had said finally broke through the fog and she realized what he was accusing her of, she had to bite her tongue to keep from crying. So that was what he thought—that she was nothing but a gold digger, out to set herself up for life on his fortune.

“I know,” she said with an icy look. “And that’s good because most women who are looking for a husband want one who doesn’t have to be plugged into a wall socket to warm up!”

“Get out of my office,” he said shortly. “Since you’re here to visit your aunt, go do it and keep the hell out of my way! When I want a sermon, I’ll get it in church!”

“Any minister who got you into church would be canonized!” she told him bluntly and ran out of the room.

She didn’t tell Lillian what had happened. Shortly thereafter Ward stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t come back until well after bedtime. Mari hadn’t gone back into the den, and by the time she crawled into bed, she was already planning how to tell Aunt Lillian that she’d have to return to Georgia.

It wouldn’t be easy to leave. But now that she’d had a glimpse of the real man, the character under the veneer, she was sure that she was doing the right thing. Ward Jessup might be a rich man with a fat wallet. But he was ice-cold. If she had any sanity left, she’d get away from him before her addiction got so bad that she’d find excuses to stay just to look at him.

That remark about not caring for anyone except family had hurt terribly. She did understand why he was the way he was, but it didn’t help her broken heart. She’d been learning to love him. And now she found that he had nothing at all to give. Not even warmth. It was the worst blow of all. Yes, she’d have to go home now. Aunt Lillian was coping beautifully, taking her medicine and even resting properly. At least Ward would take care of the older woman. He cared abouther. He’d never care about Mari, and it was high time she faced facts.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MARIHADAmiserable day. She kept out of Ward’s way, and she didn’t go back into the den. Let him get a temporary secretary, she thought furiously, if he couldn’t manage his dirty work alone. She wasn’t going to do it for him.

“Talk about unarmed conflict,” Lillian muttered as Mari went out the back door in a lightweight jacket and jeans.

“He started it,” Mari said irritably. “Or didn’t you know how he did business?”

Lillian’s expression said that she did. “He’s a hard man to understand sometimes,” she said, her voice gentle, coaxing. “But you can’t imagine the life he’s had, Mari. People aren’t cold without reason. Very often it’s just a disguise.”

“His is flawless.”

“So is yours,” Lillian said with a warm smile. “Almost. But don’t give up on him yet. He might surprise you.”

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