Page 12 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“We’ll see if we can do a bit better than that.” They turned and began heading toward the house in silence. It was a comfortable silence, and both of them were a bit surprised by that. Neither liked to share space, and yet in two days they had fallen into an easy companionship. They ascended the porch steps. Cal reached for the door, but it was pulled open from the inside.

A woman stood in the doorway observing them, her beautiful face cool and composed. Finally she spoke. “Well, I see I’ve been replaced. That didn’t take long.”

An ugly sort of tension radiated between the two. Bailey glanced questioningly at Cal. “Bailey, this is my wife, Isabel.”

“How do you do?” Bailey asked, extending a hand Isabel ignored completely.

“I do very well,” Isabel said, her tone as cold as her expression.

Bailey dropped her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. Obviously something was going on between the husband and wife. Whatever it was, it was none of her concern and couldn’t be improved by input from her.

“What do you want, Is?” Cal asked.

“Just dropping by, seeing what the cat dragged in.” Her eyes landed on Bailey again.

“Bailey’s working for me,” Cal said.

“I’m sure she is,” Isabel replied.

“Enough,” Cal said, the word cold and final. “What do you want?”

“I can’t come to my own house? It is still mine, you remember. Well, half.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go wash up,” Bailey said. She took a step toward the door, but Isabel made no move to let her pass. “Or I could stay here and continue to linger awkwardly in your private conversation.”

Finally, Isabel stepped to the side and let her through.

“Isn’t she the cutest?” Bailey heard her ask, but she skirted around the hallway before she heard Cal’s answer.

“Don’t,” Cal said. “She’s an employee, nothing more.”

“She’s living in our house,” Isabel said.

“In her own room, in her own wing, a fact I’m sure you’re well aware of since you likely snooped before we got here.”

“Oh, honey, you know me so well,” Isabel said.

“I certainly do,” Cal said, bumping by her to enter thehouse. With Isabel there, it felt cold and tense again, sharp contrast to the warm, welcoming way it felt without her. How had he ever thought she would fit in this place? In this world?

“I need more money,” Isabel said, following him to the kitchen while he washed his hands in the sink.

He laughed humorlessly. “I bet you do. What happened to the twenty thousand I gave you eighteen months ago?”

She shrugged. “Living is expensive.”

“The way you do it, maybe,” he said.

“Let’s review, Cal. Either give me the allowance I want to live on, or I take half the ranch in a divorce. Tossing me a few bucks here and there seems like a much cheaper, easier alternative, don’t you think?”

He sighed. “Don’t you ever get tired of being so…you?”

“You’d think so, but no. And a lot of people think I’m pretty great, actually.”

“That’s because they don’t have to live with you or pay your bills,” he countered.

“Aw, save the banter for your new little toy. She looks like the kind that would enjoy it.”

“How much?” he asked.

---