CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Candice was wearing one of her best day gowns. Her hair was carefully done in a smooth twist and tucked beneath a blue silk bonnet that matched her dress. She was waiting impatiently on the verandah as Pedro hitched up the buck-board in the quiet of the morning. She was going to pay a call on Judge Reinhart.
It was the day after he had coldly turned his back on her in Tucson. Candice could still feel the shock and humiliation of his rejection. Before she had eloped with Kincaid, Judge had been in love with her—she was sure of it. Of course, he was not the only one, but he was the most successful and respected of all her suitors. Candice was not familiar with rejection. She could not think when she had ever been turned away or disliked or condemned. Especially by a man. She couldn’t believe that this was happening, and she had to see him and explain.
To her disappointment, Judge was not at his house, and the housekeeper told her he wouldn’t be back until the midday meal. She decided to wait. She curled up on the sofa in the small but charming living room, in front of an adobe hearth that added much warmth in the winter. She tried to pass the time reading a book by Dickens,A Tale of Two Cities, but there was no way she could concentrate—not when she was nervous and perspiring with anxiety. She bit her knuckle and remembered that this was really all her fault—for dancing with Jack Savage.
“Hi, Candice.”
Little Tommy Reinhart was staring at her with a grin. He was almost six. “Hello, Tommy. Did you have fun at the barbecue?”
“I hated it,” Tommy said sullenly. “Tell me a story.”
Candice looked at him, realizing for the first time that if she ever married Judge she would become a mother to two children. It was a sobering thought.
“Tell me a story,” he said again, sitting next to her.
“Well …” Candice began, and then Lisa Anne appeared in the doorway. “Hello, Lisa Anne.”
“What are you doing here?” the girl said, staring enigmatically.
Candice was taken aback by the child’s rudeness. “I’m visiting your father.”
“Are you going to tell Tommy a story?” she asked, approaching.
“Not today.”
“Oh, please, please, please!” Tommy screamed.
Candice almost grimaced.
Lisa Anne was studying her.
“You shouldn’t look at your elders like that,” Candice said. “And it’s rude not to greet a visitor properly and offer refreshments. Shouldn’t you be doing your chores or your homework?”
“My chores are done, and so is my homework,” Lisa Anne said calmly, as if she were twelve and not nine. Tommy was still shrieking about wanting a story. “Shut up,” Lisa Anne said to him. She turned to Candice. “You’re the one who ran off with the gambler.”
Candice stared.
“You’re the one who was dancing with the half-breed too. Are you really a whore?”
Candice gaped and clenched her hands to stop herself from smacking the little brat. “I’m going to tell your father about your awful manners,” she warned.
“Why? Because it’s true?”
She was incredulous and stunned. Just then Judge appeared in the doorway without his familiar, warm smile. “Hello, Candice.” He sent the children outside.
Candice was on her feet, biting her lip. “Hi.” She tried a smile on him. “I … I had to come and see you, Judge.”
His jaw was tight. He gestured toward the couch. Did Lupa offer you any coffee?”
“Yes, yes, she did.” Candice sat down. Judge sat in a chair across from her. He didn’t say anything. “You’re upset with me.”
Judge looked at her. “Am I?”
“You’re angry.”
“If you want to dance with half-breed savages, go right ahead.”
