Tammy wanted to crawl in a hole. Lance was standing there hearing this, hearing her own mother treat her less than a man who has no relation to the family or any sort of integrity. It was shameful. The look on Richard’s face was one of triumph, and further distastefully, there was a look of desire. Melanie was a puppet. She would do anything Richard or her mother said. She always wanted Richard though. She was sleeping with him when they were engaged—an engagement she didn’t want. “Congratulations,” she forced out. It wasn’t the fact that it was Richard, or it was her sister. It was the fact that her family acted as if she was nothing to them even after all these years and what had happened.
“Thank you,” he said sweetly grinning wide.
Too sweetly. She would never be alone with him again.
Just then another car pulled up beside the limo, double parking. Her father got out of the rear passenger side. Probably just getting off work. It was a black Mercedes from a car service. Taxis were beneath this family.
“Tammy?” he came around the front of the limo and saw his daughter. His normally steeled expression showed surprise and to her delight, elation. “You got my letter?”
“Hi daddy. I did.” She did genuinely love her father. He didn’t say much most times but probably because her mother occupied most of the air in the room. She loved that he called her Tammy instead of that dreaded Tamara that reminded her of her life here.
He actually smiled. “You look well.” He reached over and gave her a brief casual hug.
She released Lance’s hand to hug him back. “I am.” Her father was never very affectionate. It had to do with his upbringing. He also came from money and his parents never showed him and ounce of emotion. It made him a hard man, but he’d eased up a bit while she grew into a teenager. He still was rigid but could actually show a sense of humor now and then.
“I’m so glad my letter found you. I’ll have to give my secretary a bigger bonus this Christmas.” George’s eyes then went to the tall handsome stranger. “George Van Allen.”
Her mother gave Tammy a castigating look over the missed introduction again. Where were her social graces?
“Lance Hartley,” he volunteered.
“Now that’s a familiar name.” He held out his hand and Lance shook it.
“How do you know my daughter?”
“I’m her fiancé.”
Well, except for the passing cars and other various neighborhood noises, you could have heard a pin drop. There was a distinct sharp intake of breath from her mother’s direction but Tammy was too stunned to even pay it any attention. Her jaw slacked, but her mouth didn’t gape, surprisingly. She stared up at Lance as he retrieved her hand again. He didn’t even skip a beat while weaving the tale. Oh, he was good, really good. “We were going to break the news after her brother’s big day so we didn’t take away from their special time, but seeing as we’re all here.”
Her mother gripped her poodle tightly and it began to struggle at the discomfort. She stepped up to Lance. “It’s unfortunate that Tamara didn’t tell us this sooner. I feel a little unprepared. We didn’t even know you existed.”
“I needed to distance myself,” Tammy said. “I was working on my career.” Of course she had to get away from her too, but she wasn’t going to say that out loud. Her mother, however, had no qualms about berating her openly.
“Yes, we all know how you chose to do a blue collar job when your family has known what is best for you and—”
“Can we not do this here?” Tammy said softly choking down that familiar rise of bile.
Richard stepped forward and shook Lance’s hand then. He tightened his grip more than usual just to get a firm one back. The threat was made and received. He released him and stepped back. “So what do you do Mr. Hartley?”
“I raise horses, and cattle.”
Richard actually had the balls to release a short laugh. Elizabeth gasped.
“Really?” Richard spared an amused glance at Elizabeth who looked mortified. He brought his attention back to Lance. “So you’re sort of a cowboy?”
“Sort of,” he repeated looking mildly entertained.
Tammy did her best to pinch her lips together to keep from laughing. The Lansdowne Ranch was a world famous supplier of thoroughbred racehorses. The Hartley’s were very wealthy and could probably match her father’s own prominence, yet he chose to keep that to himself. She didn’t even question why. She knew he had a motive for doing so. Richard was prancing about like a studded peacock thinking Tammy chose beneath him and Lance was going to take his time before he moved in for the kill. Gosh, she could just fall more and more in love with this man.
“What about you Tammy?” Richard asked. “George said you did go into nursing.”
“I did,” she answered with pride. She was certain he already knew that because her mother knew she did. He was just doing his best to make it sound like she’d chosen beneath him regarding her career and her faux fiancé. He was looking down his nose at her, but she didn’t care. She loved what she did.
“She’s very good,” Lance cut in. “She has three different jobs and is exceptional at all of them.”
Another compliment from Lance! She would have swooned if she wasn’t so tense at the moment.
Well, her mother paled and Richard scoffed again. “Well, it must be difficult to support her on a cowboy’s salary. I’m so relieved that Melanie has decided to be at home and learn to be a good wife.”
