Honor Bound(56)
"I like it," she said, stepping into the room that was obviously the largest bedroom. It had a wide window that provided a view of the mountains.
"You don't have to say that."
"I mean it."
"Compared to that fancy condo you were living in, this is a slum."
"It is not! I'll decorate it and—"
"You can forget moving any of your furniture up here," he said, pointing his index finger at her.
She slapped it aside. "Why? Because you're too damn proud to use anything belonging to your wife? Didn't Indians barter with their prospective fathers-in-law for their wives?"
"Only in John Wayne movies."
"Consider this my dowry, which, whether you want to admit it or not, I know was a matter of pride to Indian women."
"I can provide for my family."
"I don't doubt that, Lucas. I never have."
"I'll buy furniture as soon as I sell some horses."
"But in the meantime, would you have your son sleeping on the floor?"
At the mention of Tony, Lucas glanced down at the baby. Aislinn had laid him on the wide bed the moment they entered the room. He was awake and looking around curiously, as though sensing he was in new surroundings.
Lucas bent over him and stroked his face with his index finger. Tony opened one of his waving fists and grabbed his father's finger, instinctively pulling it toward his mouth. Lucas laughed softly.
"You see, Lucas," Aislinn whispered, "whether you want to accept it or not, there are people who love you."
He gave her one of his most chilling stares before he swung around and stamped from the room.
* * *
Chapter 10
The next few weeks brought about miraculous changes in their lives. Lucas's friends, under Johnny Deerinwater's friendly supervision, finished the inside of the house. It wasn't fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it was comfortable. Aislinn used her good taste and decorating skills, elbow grease and paint, until the stucco house looked like a magazine model home.
As soon as the telephone was installed, she called Scottsdale and made arrangements for her furniture to be moved to her new house. She itemized the pieces she wanted, including her washing machine and dryer, and double-checked the list with the moving company.
The van arrived several days later. As the furniture was being unloaded, Lucas rode up on horseback and deftly slid from the saddle. The first time Aislinn had seen him sitting astride a horse, he had taken her breath away he was so handsome. She liked him in his faded denim jeans, Western shirts, boots, hat and leather work-gloves. Often she paused from a household chore to watch him from a window as he went about his work outside.
Now, however, when he rode his horse right up to the porch before dismounting, she was made breathless by the angry expression on his face.
His spurs jingled as he crossed the porch, patently furious. "I told you not to send for this stuff," he said in a threateningly low voice.
"No you didn't." Despite his glower, she faced him squarely.
"We're not going to argue about this, Aislinn. Tell them to load it back up and return it to Scottsdale where it belongs, I don't need your charity."
"I'm not doing this for you. Or even for me."
"Well, Tony can't sit on a sofa yet," he said snidely, thinking she was going to use their baby as a lever to get her way.
"I'm doing it for Alice."
His face went comically blank. "My mother?"
"Yes, she's consented to hold her wedding reception here. Would you embarrass her by having her guests sit on the floor after all the sacrifices she's made for you?" A vein ticked in his temple. She had him cornered. Worse, he knew she knew she had him cornered. And while he wanted to admire her cunning and congratulate her for being a worthy adversary, she was still his wife and he was so angry he could throttle her.
He glared at her for a count of ten, then turned on his spurred boot-heels, stamped off the porch and remounted his horse. He kicked up quite a cloud of dust as he rode out of the yard.
Aislinn worked all afternoon arranging the furniture, moving the pieces herself, no matter how heavy. Amazingly, the furniture looked custom-made for the house. She had always liked a Southwestern motif. When she had decorated her condo, that's what she had selected. But the furniture looked even better in this house, its desert tones accented by the native accessories that Lucas's friends had sent as housewarming gifts.
By late afternoon she was exhausted, but as consolation for their argument that morning, she cooked an especially good meal. Her kitchen lacked some of the amenities she was accustomed to, but made up for its deficiencies with space.
Tony was no help on this day when she particularly wanted to please her husband. The baby was cranky and cried fitfully, though she couldn't find any reason for it. While she was keeping dinner warm in the oven, she took a quick bath and made herself attractive as possible for Lucas's return.
She didn't chastise him for being hours late when he finally came in well after dark. "Would you like a beer, Lucas?"
"Sounds good," he said sullenly, taking off his boots at the back door. "I'm going to take a shower." Without a word of thanks, he took the opened can of beer from her hand and carried it with him to the back of the house. Had he turned around, even he might have laughed at the ogre's face she made at his back.