Christmas On The Range. Diana Palmer

nearby. Still, he told himself, he had to discourage her from seeing him as her future. It would be a kindness to kill this attraction before it had a chance to bloom. She was years too young for him.

      The rest of the weekend passed without incident. The two women worked on Merrie’s anatomy exam. They watched movies and shared their dreams of the future. On Monday morning, Merrie dropped Ivy off at the local college on her way to San Antonio.

      “I’ll phone you the next time I have a free weekend,” Merrie promised as they parted. “Don’t let Rachel make you crazy, okay?”

      “I’ll try,” Ivy said, smiling. “It was a lovely weekend. Thanks.”

      “I had fun, too. We’ll do it again. See you!”

      “See you!”

      * * *

      Ivy spent the week daydreaming about what had happened in the guest room at Merrie’s house. The more she relived the torrid interlude with Stuart, the more she realized how big a part of her life he was. Over the years she’d been friends with Merrie, Stuart had always been close, but in the background. Because of the age difference, he didn’t really hang out in the places that Merrie and Ivy frequented. He was already a mature man while they were getting through high school.

      But now, with those hard, insistent kisses, everything between them had changed. Ivy had dreams about him now; embarrassing, feverishly hot dreams of a future that refused to go away. Surely he had to feel something for her, even if it was only desire. He’d wanted her. And she’d wanted him just as much. It was a milestone in her young life.

      But toward the end of the week, as she waited in line at the grocery store to pay for her meager purchases, she happened to look at one of the more lurid tabloids. And there was Stuart, with a beautiful, poised young woman plastered against his side, looking up at him adoringly. The caption read, Millionaire Texas Cattleman Donates Land to Historical Trust. Apparently the woman in the photo was the daughter of a prominent businessman who was head of the trust in question. She was a graduate of an equally prominent college back east. The article went on to say that there was talk of a merger between the millionaire and the socialite, but both said the rumors were premature.

      Ivy’s heart shattered like ice. Apparently Stuart hadn’t been as overwhelmed by her as she had been by him, and he was making it known publicly. She had no illusions that the story was an accident. Stuart knew people in every walk of life, and he numbered publishers among his circle of friends. He wanted Ivy to know that he hadn’t taken her seriously. He’d chosen a public and humiliating way to do it, to make sure she got the point. And she did.

      Merrie called her to ask if she’d seen the story.

      “Oh, yes,” Ivy replied, her tone subdued.

      “I don’t understand why he’d let himself be used like that,” Merrie muttered irritably. It was obvious that she knew nothing of what had happened between her brother and her best friend, or she’d have said so. She never pulled her punches.

      “Even the most reclusive person can fall victim to a determined reporter,” Ivy said in his defense. “Maybe the photographer caught him at a weak moment.”

      “Maybe he’s giving a public cold shoulder to some woman who’s pursuing him, too,” Merrie said innocently. “It would be like him. But there hasn’t been anybody in his life lately. Nobody regular, I mean. I’m sure he takes women out. He just doesn’t get serious about any of them.”

      “How did you do on your exam?” Ivy asked, deliberately changing the subject.

      “Actually, I passed with flying colors, thanks to you.”

      “You’re welcome,” came the pert reply. “You can do the same for me when I have my finals.”

      “That won’t be for a while yet. Coming over next weekend?”

      Ivy thought quickly. “Merrie, I promised my roommate that I’d drive up to Dallas with her to see her mother. She doesn’t like to make that drive alone.” It wasn’t the whole truth. Lita had asked her to go, and Ivy had promised to think about it. Now, she was sure that she’d agree.

      “Well, it’s nice of you to do it.” There was a pause. “I’m not going to be able to come home much, once I take the job I’ve been offered at the hospital here. I’ll be working twelve-hour shifts four days a week, and a lot of them will be on weekends.”

      “I understand,” Ivy said quickly, thankful that she wouldn’t have to come up with so many excuses to escape seeing Stuart again. “When I graduate, I’ll be doing some weekend work myself, I’m sure. But when I can afford a car, I can drive up to see you and we can go to a movie or out to eat or something.”

      “Of course we can.” There was a pause. “Ivy, is anything wrong?”

      “No,” she said at once. “The lawyer is ready to hand over Dad’s estate to Rachel. I’m to get a small lump sum. Maybe Rachel will leave me alone now.”

      “I hope so. Please keep in touch,” Merrie added.

      “I will,” Ivy agreed. But she crossed her fingers. It was suddenly imperative that she find a way to avoid Stuart from now on. She couldn’t afford to let her heart settle on him again, especially now that he’d made his own feelings brutally clear. She’d miss Merrie, but the risk was too great. Broken hearts, she assured herself, were best avoided.

       4

       Two years later...

      “Ivy, would you like a cup of coffee while you work?” her latest client asked from the doorway of the office where she was writing checks and balancing bank statements.

      She looked up from her work, smiling, her long blond hair neatly pinned on top of her head. Her green eyes twinkled. “I’d love one, if it isn’t too much trouble,” she said.

      Marcella smiled back. “I just made a pot. I’ll bring it in.”

      “Thanks.”

      “It’s no trouble at all, really. You’ve saved me from bankruptcy!”

      “Not really. I just discovered that you had more money than you thought you did,” she replied.

      The older woman chuckled. “You say it your way, I’ll say it mine. I’ll bring the coffee.”

      Ivy contemplated the nice office she was using and the amazing progress she’d made in the past two years since her disastrous weekend at Merrie’s house. She’d been able to give up the part-time job at the garage when Dorie Hart offered her a bookkeeping service, complete with clients. Dorie had enjoyed the work very much, and she’d kept handling the books for her clients long after her marriage to Corrigan Hart. But her growing family kept her too busy to continue with it. Ivy had been a gift from heaven, Dorie told her laughingly. Now she could leave her clients in good hands and retire with a clear conscience.

      Dorie had some wonderful accounts. There was a boutique owner, a budding architect, the owner of a custom beef retail shop, an exercise gym and about a dozen other small businesses in Jacobsville. Ivy had met the businesspeople while she was in her last semester of college, when Dorie had approached her with the proposal. Dorie and Lita, who carpooled with Ivy, were friends. Lita had mentioned Ivy’s goals and Dorie had gone to see her at the boardinghouse. It had been an incredible stroke of good luck. Ivy had resigned herself to working in a C.P.A. firm. Now she was a businesswoman in her own right.

      And as if her blessings hadn’t multiplied enough, she’d also volunteered to do the occasional article for the Jacobs County Cattlemen’s Association in what little free time she had. She would have done it as a favor to the Harts, since Corrigan was this year’s president, but they wouldn’t hear of it. She got a check for anything she produced. Like her math skills, her English skills were very good.

      Merrie