So now, missing him, she had no control over her emotions. Angry because of her sister, worried because of her father, she was constantly up and down with the feelings Lucas evoked. The strain was getting the best of her, and her nerves were raw.
Thirty-four
An intense autumn sun burned down on the quiet avenue, but Sharisse barely noticed, used to a hotter sun. She stood on the curb, looking up at Hammond House, long after the hired driver had gone. It all felt somehow foreign. She had not been away even three months, but it seemed as though years had gone by. And most unnerving was the feeling that she didn’t belong there.
Climbing the stairs very slowly, taking deep breaths, Sharisse was tempted to knock on the door. But that would be cowardly, and that was not the impression she wished to convey. She walked right in as though she belonged there, then stopped in the large foyer, overwhelmed. For so long she had taken all this for granted, the marble floors, the rich wallpapering, the crystal lighting; such quiet elegance.
She stood there realizing how easily she would give it all up just to see Lucas’s jewel-like eyes again. And then she chided herself. Lucas didn’t want her: she had to remember that and make herself stop thinking about him so much.
“Miss Hammond!”
Sharisse jumped as her name echoed in the large foyer. Mrs. Etherton stood at the top of the stairs, as prim as ever, though a little shaken up just then.
“What is it, Mrs. Etherton?” Marcus Hammond called out through the doorway of his study.
Utter silence followed. Sharisse didn’t move a muscle, didn’t even breathe. It was only a moment before Marcus Hammond appeared in the doorway. He stopped, staring at her, his blue eyes quickly covering her from head to foot before they settled on her face. If she had expected to see a man exhausted from worry, this wasn’t it. He looked tired around the eyes, but otherwise there was no difference.
Sharisse carefully guarded her expression. Was that relief she saw on her father’s face for a second before he mastered his own expression? She couldn’t tell, for the sound of running footsteps made him frown.
Stephanie had heard Mrs. Etherton’s exclamation and come running. She nearly collided with the housekeeper at the top of the stairs. But Sharisse didn’t spare a glance for her sister, because she couldn’t take her eyes off her father. He glared at both of them, then said to Sharisse, “Put those things down and come in here.”
How easy it was to revert to following this man’s orders without question. Sharisse set her portmanteau and Charley’s basket on the floor and crossed the hall to enter her father’s study. A brief glance at her sister showed Stephanie’s alarm, which made her own apprehension worse.
The door closed behind her, and Sharisse steeled herself. She couldn’t bear the silence. “You’re still angry with me?”
“Of course I’m still angry,” he said in a rough voice. But even as he spoke he came to her and drew her into his arms. He hugged her so fiercely, he squeezed the breath right out of her. Then he let her go just as suddenly. She could only stare at him amazed. He was frowning, but that didn’t alarm her now.
So it was true. He really had worried about her. Her relief was so great that she grinned, delighted.
“I think you missed me, Father.”
“Don’t you get sassy, girl,” he said sternly. “I should take a strap to you, by God. What you did was the most irresponsible—”
“I am aware of that.” She cut him short before he could work himself into a temper. “And I really am sorry, Father. No one regrets my foolishness more than I do.”
His concern revealed itself then. “Youareall right, aren’t you, Rissy? I mean, nothing…happened to you?”
She hesitated. “Well…” She didn’t want to tell him about Lucas if she didn’t have to. “No. I look fine, don’t I?”
“Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately?” he asked brusquely.
Sharisse blushed. “I’ve been traveling for over two weeks, Father. Once I clean up and change—”
“Two weeks?” he exclaimed. “Just wherewereyou? The men I hired couldn’t find you. Two weeks!”
“I…I was in the territory of Arizona.”
“That’s clear across the country! Are you crazy? The territories outside the states are barely civilized. Whatever made you—?”
“Does that really matter?” she interrupted. “I’m home.”
Marcus clamped his mouth shut. He didn’t know how to deal with this daughter anymore. He’d never known her to be like this, to be—just like her mother.
Too, Marcus didn’t want to risk another demonstration of her newfound independence. How did you explain to your child the agonies you suffered, not knowing where she was or even whether she was alive? She wouldn’t understand, not until she had children of her own. Marcus knew he couldn’t go through another disappearance, he just knew it.
“Sit down, Sharisse.” He moved behind his desk, where he felt more in command. “I want your solemn word that you willneverleave home again without my blessing. You are of an age where a certain amount of freedom is acceptable, but you are nevertheless vulnerable. And your breeding demands proper behavior, Sharisse. Anything less is a disgrace to our good name. Do I have your word on this?”
“Yes.”
