Affair of the Heart by Joan Wolf Read Free Book Online Page A

thoroughly disgusted with herself. He didn’t want anything to do with her, that was depressingly obvious, yet just for a few minutes tonight she had felt as if they were really communicating. She had thought he understood what she was feeling. And then the old barriers had come up and they were left looking at each other over the fence of his distrust and contempt. The hell with him, Caroline thought violently and turned over on her side and closed her eyes with determination. Who needs him, anyway? Eventually she went back to sleep.
    * * * *
    They were up early the next morning, and Jay cooked breakfast for them over the fire. The day was clear, the sky a deep brilliant blue. Almost as dark a blue as Jay’s eyes, Caroline found herself thinking. She looked at him as he drank his coffee. No. Nothing was that dark. Next to him, Mary Anne stirred with content. “What richness,” the other girl murmured. “To have this right in your own backyard.”
    “Yes,” said Caroline. She got up and went over to her pack, moving like a boy, slim-hipped and long legged in her Levi’s. She fished out a brush, sat down at a distance from the rest of the group, and began to smooth out the tangles in her hair. It gleamed in the sunshine as she worked, a curious mixture of dark and light blond, healthy and shining. It reached well below her shoulders. She put the brush down, flung back her head, and inhaled deeply.
    “Air smell good?” Joe asked teasingly.
    “Marvelous,” she replied. She extracted a ribbon from her pack and began to do her hair into one long thick braid.
    “You have lovely hair, Caroline.” It was Mary Anne’s voice. “Such an unusual color.”
    “Thanks.” Caroline suddenly grinned impishly. “And yes, I do help it along a little. The darker parts are mine, the lighter parts are courtesy of the bottle.”
    Joe chuckled. “Well, the result is real pretty.”
    “I like it better,” she replied candidly. “I got awfully sick of hearing myself described as a dirty blond.”
    Jay stood up. “Well, if everyone is finished ...” he said meaningfully.
    “I’ll wash up,” Mary Anne put in quickly. She came over to stand close to Jay. She was a small girl, and the top of her head just cleared his shoulder. She smiled up at him through her lashes.
    His answering smile looked as if it had cost him some effort. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll saddle the horses.” Caroline waited until he had moved away before she went to help Mary Anne.
    The ride back to the Double Diamond was as spectacular as their ascent had been. Caroline’s emotions were heightened by the scenery, by the feel of the horse under her and the scent of pine and of horses that filled her nostrils. She was aware, with every nerve in her body, of the figure of her stepbrother riding in front of her. He seemed so much a part of this landscape in his faded flannel shirt and ancient Stetson hat. She wished suddenly that they could go on like this forever. As if he sensed her thoughts, he turned in the saddle.
    “Okay?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    He nodded and turned around again. Caroline wondered what it could be, this wild, soft, sweet, and exciting feeling that possessed her. It was the mountains, she thought. The beauty. The freedom.
    * * * *
    They reached the ranch late in the day and left their horses in the barn corral. Regent miraculously appeared and stayed by Jay’s legs as they walked up toward the house. There were four dogs about the ranch, but he was the only one allowed the freedom of the house.
    The Double Diamond ranch house was really lovely, Caroline thought as the four of them approached it across the lawn. It was built of granite which had faded to a softly dusty pink color that glowed a little in the late afternoon sun. The acre of lawn that surrounded it was lush and green. It needs some flower borders, she found herself thinking. And window boxes on the front terrace. It only wants a woman’s touch to make it truly