A Woman's Touch

the relationship department,“ Rebecca mused. „You don’t have a monopoly on the ability.“
    „Probably not.“ Kyle stared out over the valley from beneath hooded eyes. „But the Stockbridges tend to make more than their share of mistakes in that field and I’ve sure as hell done my part to live up to the family tradition.“

    „Do you realize that this is the first really meaningful discussion about our pasts that we’ve ever had?“ Rebecca asked.
    „It wasn’t a discussion I ever wanted to have.“
    „I know. Why?“
    „I figured it would scare you off,“ he said frankly. „I didn’t want you summing me up as a two-time loser.“
    „You’re not a loser.“ Rebecca got to her feet and dusted off the seat of her jeans. „You just never met the right woman. That’s all.“ She started back toward the horses.
    „Becky, wait…“ Kyle leaped to his feet and followed. „What do you mean, I never met the right woman?“
    „It’s simple,“ she explained as she picked up Athena’s reins. „So far you’ve tried twice, right? You managed to choose a wimp the first time around, and the second time you went for the comfortable type you figured wouldn’t give you any trouble.“ She swung herself up into the saddle. „You made some mistakes, and now you’re gun-shy. That’s understandable. Obviously the choice of a bride is too complicated to be left in your hands. The Stockbridge men apparently need help in making such an important decision.“
    Rebecca turned Athena and started down the hillside. Kyle watched her for a minute, trying to decide how to take her last words. He felt confused and disoriented. He shouldn’t have allowed Rebecca to draw him into a discussion of his past. He had long ago determined not to tell her about his record of failure with women.
    But she hadn’t seemed all that upset by the story of his disastrous marriage and broken engagement. In fact, she had taken the tale in stride.
    He worried on one hand that her casual attitude stemmed from her loss of interest in him. Maybe she simply didn’t care any longer. But there was another possibility, he told himself. Maybe Rebecca just wasn’t as alarmed as he had feared she would be by those grim details of his past. Maybe she didn’t consider them all that terrible, after all.
    Kyle vaulted onto Tulip’s back and followed Rebecca down the hill. He wasn’t about to give up. The small flame of hope that still flickered within him wouldn’t be extinguished easily. Rebecca was the one woman in the world for him.
    He had to get her back.
    She had taught him what it meant not to be alone.
    Rebecca spent the rest of the morning poking around Alice Cork’s house and barn. Kyle tried to coax her into coming back to his house for lunch, but Rebecca firmly resisted. He left her alone eventually, jamming his hat down over his eyes and stalking off to mount Tulip. The two horses cantered away in a cloud of dust. Rebecca watched them leave, and then she went back to work.
    By midafternoon, she was hungry. She drove back to town and parked her car in the motel lot. Then she walked across the street to buy sandwich makings. She wasn’t in the mood for another hamburger at the small cafe.
    The eager curiosity on the face of the grocery-store owner didn’t surprise her. She was getting accustomed to the interest everyone in the little community was taking in her.
    „You been out to the Cork place yet?“ the elderly man asked cheerfully. „Not exactly a mansion, is it? Old Alice took good care of her animals, but toward the end she let the house and barn go. Probably didn’t feel up to the work.
    The wife and I – I’m Herb Crocket, by the way – we took a load of groceries out to her coupla times a week when she got to the point where she couldn’t make it into town. Ethel, that’s my wife, tried to tidy things up a bit, but Alice didn’
    t want her fussing. Alice always was real independent. Just like her ma.“
    „I went out this morning,“ Rebecca said as she chose a loaf of bread.
    „Pretty little valley, isn’t it?“ Herb asked, his eyes shrewd. „If you want my advice, I’d sell it quick. You don’t want to be in the middle when the war heats up between Ballard and Stockbridge. Take the best offer and duck. But don’t look for a buyer from these parts. Everyone here knows the situation. You’ll need to sell it to some fool from Denver or maybe a Californian.“
    „The Ballards and the Stockbridges