Rivals by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online

that meant. By then, he’d learned that Hattie’s hatred went much deeper than that.
    â€œMorgan’s Walk means nothing to you.” It was more a assertion of fact than an accusation.
    â€œYou’re wrong, Hattie,” he said softly. “I have many memories of the place where I lived for eleven years…the place where my mother died. Her body wasn’t even cold before you threw us out.”
    â€œI threw out a range wolf and his cub. But for my sister, I would have done it much sooner.” Not a flicker of remorse showed in her expression.
    â€œAnd you never let any of us forget that either. You couldn’t even let my mother die in peace,” Chance recalled, along with all the bitterness.
    â€œOthers may be fooled by your fine clothes and fine airs—or your beguiling smile—but not me. They may marvel at your ability to spot a weakness and move in, but I am well aware that you were born with the cunning and the instincts of a wolf. Do you think I don’t know what you intend to do with Morgan’s Walk? A Stuart ultimately destroys everything he gets his hands on.”
    Chance slowly rotated the snifter in his hand and absently studied the swirling, amber-brown liquid in the bottom. “Some things deserve to be destroyed, Hattie,” he said, neither affirming nor denying her accusation. “A place that’s known only hatred is one of them.” Lifting the glass, he bolted down the last swallow of brandy.
    Her gloved fingers tightened their grip on the cane. “Morgan’s Walk will never be yours,” she declared in a voice hoarse with anger.
    Amused, Chance cynically arched an eyebrow in her direction. “Short of murder, there’s no way you can prevent me from getting it. Like it or not, Hattie, I am your only kin—your only choice for an heir.”
    â€œAre you?” There was a smoothness, a smugness in her expression that he hadn’t observed before. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”
    Chance was instantly wary, and smiled to hide it. “Is there some significance to that remark?”
    â€œMerely that you may not be my last remaining relative.”
    â€œAm I supposed to believe that?” he mocked.
    â€œIt happens to be true.” Her cool statement reeked of confidence.
    He studied her with a long, considering look. “It’s a nice try, Hattie. But if there was anyone else, you would have mentioned them long ago.”
    â€œPerhaps I just found out about this person myself.”
    He didn’t wholly believe her, but he didn’t like the gleam in her eyes either. He started to ask how she’d found out about this so-called relative, then remembered the meeting she’d had this very morning with the crafty old lawyer Ben Canon, and checked the impulse, asking instead, “Is that what—or should I say, who?—brought you to San Francisco?
    â€œI thought you should be the first to hear the news…and I wanted to see your face when I told you. You see—” She paused again for emphasis and rose from her chair, briefly leaning heavily on her cane. “—I know how much you were counting on getting Morgan’s Walk. I never underestimate the greed of a Stuart. You would be wise not to underestimate the determination of a Morgan to stop you.”
    â€œI’ll remember that.”
    When she started toward the door, Chance walked over and opened it for her. The cane ceased its rhythmic tap on the floor as she paused short of the threshold, a hard satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. “This is one time when I have truly enjoyed seeing you, Stuart.”
    â€œThen you’d better enjoy the feeling while it lasts, Hattie,” he returned, his mouth forming a cold smile.
    â€œI intend to.” Again the cane swung out in advance of her stride.
    In three steps she was by him and out the door. For a grim second, he stared after her stiffly