“He said he would take a strap to me,” Sharisse said quietly.
“Oh,” Stephanie said, all accusation dying.
“Wait a minute,” Sharisse said impulsively. “Why couldn’t I leave? It would solve everything. Father would see that I am serious about not marrying Joel, and I would only have to stay away until he gave in.”
“Do you mean it, Rissy?” Stephanie asked, daring to hope. “Would you really do that for me?”
Sharisse was thoughtful. Her father would be furious. She might have to stay away for months. But at least she wouldn’t be responsible for her sister’s misery.
“Why not?” she said courageously. “I can go and stay with Aunt Sophie.”
Stephanie shook her head. “That’s the first place Father will look. You don’t think he’s going to let you go without trying to find you, do you?”
“Oh, dear.” Sharisse frowned. “Well, let me think for a moment.”
“You could use the tickets I have.”
“Go to Arizona? That’s ridiculous, Steph. I won’t have to gothatfar.”
“But where else could you stay? At least Lucas Holt will take care of you until I can get word to you that it’s all right to come home.”
“Take care of me?” Sharisse gasped. “The man is expecting a wife, not a guest. And he’s expecting you, not me.”
“Well, actually, he doesn’t know what he’s getting. I did send him a picture, but it was the one of you and me and Father, the one taken after you got back from Europe. I…ah…I forgot to tell him which of us was me.”
If Sharisse was going to be good enough to go away, she wanted her far enough away that their father would have no chance of finding her. Arizona was far enough.
“When I wrote to him,” she continued, “I signed my name only S. Hammond. So, you see, he wouldn’t know the difference if you went in my place. And he doesn’t have to know that you have no intention of marrying him.”
“You mean deceive him?”
“Well, he’s not expecting to marry me immediately. He said in his letter that he would have to approve me first. After a while, you could just say it didn’t work out, you can’t marry him.”
Sharisse was appalled. “I couldn’t possibly take advantage of the man.”
Stephanie refused to give up. “You don’t have the money to support yourself, do you?”
“I have my jewels. They would last a while.”
“Sell them?”
“As many as necessary.”
Stephanie began to wonder how she could let her sister do this for her, but then she thought of Joel and suppressed her conscience.
“You probably won’t get anywhere near what those jewels are worth,” Stephanie said thoughtfully. “I just don’t see why you can’t take advantage of Lucas Holt. Did I tell you he was a rancher? I’ll give you his letter and the advertisement. You can see for yourself he sounds like a very agreeable fellow. He’s probably rich. You could live in style.”
“Stop it, Steph. I wouldn’t dream of using the man that way. I will make use of his train ticket, though, to get me out of here.” Sharisse grinned, excited by her own daring. “Shall we go to my room and start packing? If I’m going to go, I’ll have to leave first thing in the morning, just as soon as Father goes to his office. You can cover for me in the afternoon and evening. Father won’t have to know I’ve gone until the following day, and by then I should be far away. You’ll have to cancel my appointments for me. I was to meet Sheila for lunch tomorrow, and there’s Carol’s party—”
“How can I ever thank you, Rissy?” Stephanie cried.
“By becoming Mrs. Joel Parrington as soon as you can. I don’t mind disappearing for a while, but I don’t want to be gone too long.” She smiled wistfully. “After all, nowhere can compare with New York. I love it here, and I hate being homesick.”
Stephanie grinned. “You’ll be back before you know it.”
Four
Benjamin Whiskers stood behind his bar, slowly wiping a beer mug. His eyes were on Lucas Holt, watching him walk to the swinging doors, look outside, then come back to stand on the other side of the bar. He finished his third whiskey, and that was the fifth time he’d looked outside. Ben was dying to ask him what he was looking for, but he hadn’t got up the nerve. He still couldn’t get it right in his mind that this was the friendly Holt brother, not the other one.
