“In Arizona?”
“Yes.”
“What is his standing?”
Sharisse knew the way his mind worked. “He’s not rich. He owns a small horse ranch outside the town of Newcomb. It just barely supports him and the few men who work for him. He catches wild horses, tames them, then sells them to the Army and to other ranchers. What breeding stock he has started is still too young for sale, as I understand it.”
“What is he like?”
Sharisse didn’t want to be thinking about Lucas and replied offhandedly, “I guess you could say he’s handsome, if you like the type.”
“The type?”
He just wasn’t going to leave it alone. She sighed. “Dark, rugged, excessively masculine. He’s tall as well, and frightfully strong, with a body…” She blushed to the roots of her hair. Whatever was she doing? “Let’s just say his physique might be envied by some men. As for his character, well, he’s like you. Stubborn, arrogant.” Her father said nothing to that. “Lucas can be roguishly charming, too. He’s like no man I’ve ever met before.”
“Howdidyou come to meet him?”
She tried to sound bored. “It’s all rather complicated.”
Marcus didn’t like her evasiveness one bit, but he had heard all he needed to know for the time being. “You’re sure he’s not for you?”
She lowered her eyes, feeling quite dejected all of a sudden. “That’s irrelevant.”
“Why?”
“If you must know, he didn’t want me. He was furious when we were forced to marry.”
Marcus paled, then the color rushed back into his face. “This man dared rejectmydaughter?”
“For heaven’s sake, Father, my being your daughter had nothing to do with it. I never told Lucas my background. In fact, he thought I was destitute.”
“So you weren’t good enough for him,” Marcus concluded. “A girl with no money.”
“No. I don’t think my means had anything to do with it. He simply didn’t want a wife.”
“Then he should have had the decency not to bed you before sending you home!”
Sharisse cringed. It made Lucas seem so callous, but how could she explain?
“He didn’t send me home, Father. I left of my own accord as soon as I had the means to do so. Lucas won’t end the marriage himself. He is leaving that up to me. I have little doubt that if I insisted he remain my husband, he would do so.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“We were compatible in many ways.”
Her manner became evasive again, and Marcus asked suspiciously, “Are you being completely honest with me, Rissy?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did this man really let you go, or did you up and take off from him like you did from home?”
“I didn’t consult him about it, if that’s what you mean,” she replied irritably. “For some reason that he wouldn’t tell me, he wanted me to stay for a while. But how could I stay with him after he admitted he didn’t want a wife?”
Marcus was thoughtul for a moment before asking, “Is it possible he might come after you?”
“No,” she said firmly. “Even if he wanted to, he doesn’t have the money for a long trip. There is no reason why he would want to, anyhow. I really am tired, Father.”
“Of course,” Marcus conceded. “But there’s just one more thing.”
