Ordinarily, Chad would have thrown it in Spencer's face, that he'd won. Not that he usually won when it came to women they were both competing over. Spencer was better at making promises that he had no intention of keeping. But Chad would have liked to throw it in his face for once. Tit for tat, it was exactly what Spencer would have done.

But considering what he'd won, he didn't feel like a winner at all. He and Spencer were both going to lose this time around, and he didn't feel like discussing why, when his only reason for being there was to drink enough so he could wipe it from his mind.

So he said only, "I repeat, Spence, go away."

"Give me a straight answer and I will. She's still available, right?"

"Marian is."

"Who the hell is Marian?"

Chad rolled his eyes, though he wasn't surprised at all that Spencer didn't recognize the name. He'd had eyes only for Amanda since he'd first seen her. He might not even know she had a sister, might have missed that entirely, he'd been so centered on Amanda when introductions were made. But if he'd noticed Marian at all, he would have likely gotten to the same first impression that Chad had.

So he merely replied, "The spinster."

Spencer snorted. "Like I'd give a hoot about her. Now are you deliberately trying to provoke me in not telling me what I need to know, or do you just like my company?"

Chad wasn't inclined to tell him, since it was bound to start a fight between them. Not that he wouldn't welcome a fight, but he hadn't counted on one as he hadn't expected to see Spencer during this trip to town. And fighting when he was half-drunk and Spencer wasn't would be rather stupid. But Spencer was going to hear about the wedding in a couple days anyway, when Red had her talk with the preacher.

So there really was no reason to keep silent about it.

"I'll tell you what," he offered magnanimously. "Get yourself a bottle of liquor and drink it down to this point." He held up his own bottle to show there was only a quarter bottle of whiskey left in it. "And then I'll consider discussing my woes with you."

"Woes, huh?" Spencer chuckled, visibly relaxed. "I guess that was answer enough for me. I'll leave you to continue drowning your sorrows alone."

Spencer was halfway to the door when he probably heard Chad mumble, "Just as well."

He stopped, frowned, appeared to spend a few moments debating with himself. Then with an angry gesture, he marched back to the bar, growled at Archie, "Give me a bottle of the same swill, and if you ever tell anyone I drank some of O'Mally s inferior rotgut, I'll run your ass out of town so fast, you won't be able to keep up with it."

Chad just watched with partial interest as Spencer proceeded to guzzle down the bottle Archie tossed at him. He stopped to check it once, sighed that it was only half-empty, guzzled down some more, then set it down next to Chad's bottle to measure it, growled that he still had an inch to go, and quickly finished off the inch.

"Now, you son of a bitch, let's hear it," he snarled when he was done.

"I'm impressed," Chad remarked. "And you still have a voice?"

"Do I have to beat it out of you?"

"Seeing as how we both know that wouldn't work, I guess it's your lucky day that I'll hold up my end of the bargain—or not so lucky. You're not going to like what's happened, any more than I do, but the whole town doesn't need to hear about it, so let's take it outside."

Archie sighed, clearly disappointed that he was going to be excluded, but went back to reading his novel as they left O'Mallys. Chad moved out into the middle of the street. He didn't want any eavesdropping in case he ended up saying more than he should due to the liquor.

Spencer grabbed his arm impatiendy. "That's far enough. Now tell me."

Chad nodded. "I don't know if you know about the inheritance Amanda can't get her hands on until she marries."

"I believe it was mentioned."

"Well, she wasn't willing to wait for it, at least not long enough to enjoy a normal courtship."

"If you tell me she asked you to marry her, I think I'll kill you."

"No, she didn't ask."

"Damn lucky for you she didn't."

"She tricked me into making love to her, and that pretty much settled the matter in Red's mind."

It was the liquor that delayed Spencer's reaction. For all of five seconds he just stared, which gave Chad enough time to get out of the way of the first swing. But Spencer was too enraged to take a chance that he might miss again and tackled Chad to the ground. In a prone position, the liquor caught up with Chad real quick, and his head began to spin.

"Watch it, before I puke all over you," he managed to get out.

Spencer leapt off him, and snarled, "I'm calling you out. High noon."

"I'll be sleeping at noon, and don't be an ass," Chad said as he carefully got back to his feet. "Would I have been 'drowning my sorrows' as you put it, if I wanted her? I don't. I told you she tricked me."

"Liar! How could you not want her?"

"Maybe because I've been around her a lot more'n you have and have seen her at her worst. She's beautiful, yes, but that doesn't make up for the rest. Cut out her tongue, and she might be bearable."

"That isn't funny."

"Wasn't meant to be," Chad replied. "She's a spoiled brat, Spencer, seriously spoiled. And you're more'n welcome to her, if you can manage to get her to marry you before I get dragged to the altar."

Spencer stopped snarling for a moment, and demanded, "You mean it?"

Chad nodded, then wished he hadn't. The spinning wasn't quite over.

"Red's going to talk to the preacher this weekend, either at my pa's barbecue on Saturday, or before she returns to the ranch the next day," he warned. "So that doesn't give you much time. Yes, I mean it. You'd actually have my eternal gratitude if you can pull it off."

Chapter 34

MARIAN AWOKE GROGGY-EYED AND Still fully dressed, right down to her shoes. She supposed she'd gotten some sleep, but probably not much. She hadn't glanced at the clock before she'd shoved her latest painting under the bed, then curled up in a ball on top of the covers.

She'd never painted by lamplight before, but then she'd never painted with tears in her eyes before either. She wasn't happy with the result, Chad, lying on a pile of hay, unbuttoning his shirt, his expression so sensual, there was no doubt what was on his mind—or what he was about to do.

It was an image she would never forget, even if she hadn't put it on canvas. The details were exact, right down to the brown stain on one of his sleeves and the small half-moon scar above his navel. It looked so much like him, she couldn't look at it for long without getting butterflies in her belly. But it wasn't a painting she could ever share with anyone, so it would stay under the bed.

She should destroy it, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. She would have to roll it up after it dried completely and hide it away where Rita and Ella Mae wouldn't find it when they cleaned.

She was still sitting on the bed thinking about it when her door opened without warning. Amanda was the only one who ever barged in on her without knocking, and sure enough, her sister stood there, leaning against the doorframe. She was only half-dressed again, though today with a skirt and just her lacy white camisole. She still carried a fan, though she wasn't using it at the moment.

As expected, she was smiling smugly. Actually, because it contained not only triumph and laughter, but hidden knowledge as well, her smile was much more smug than usual.

"What do you want, Mandy?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," Amanda replied, twirling the fan about by its wrist tie.

"Then close the door on your way out, thank you."

"What? No congratulations? You are going to come to the wedding, aren't you?"

Amanda was all but laughing. Marian wondered how her sister managed to restrain herself. Probably because she wanted to lead up to something she'd find even more humorous.

Since Marian was dressed and the bed was made up, with just a wrinkle or two on the cover, Amanda wouldn't guess she'd only just awakened, which would have been proof she'd spent a miserable night. Suspecting that Amanda was out for more blood brought her wide-awake though. She decided to put a dent in her sisters gloating before it went into full steam.

"I wouldn't miss your wedding, Mandy. I've only been waiting several years for you to get around to having one, so I can get about the business of leading a normal life myself—with you out of it."

"You promise not to cry too loudly when I walk down the aisle to meet—him?"

"Well, considering he's all but got a shotgun trained to the back of his head, tears would probably be inappropriate. Not that you can really consider someone to be forced into doing something if he would have gotten around to doing it on his own anyway. Merely a difference in timing. So yes, I think I can restrain myself."

It was the casual tone Marian had managed to muster that brought the twist of annoyance to Amanda's lips. "Don't try to pretend you don't care."

"Now there's another interesting difference in timing. Yesterday morning, I probably would have cared. This morning, no, I'm afraid not."

"Liar! You know you want him. You would never have become a stable trollop otherwise."

Amanda's crudeness managed to draw a blush. "Look who's talking, you of the half dozen or more sordid conquests. But at least you won't have to put any fake blood on the sheets now, since your husband has actually been fooled into thinking he was the first to touch you. Bravo, sister, that was rather brilliant, even for you."

The blush changed sides. "That's not why I did it. As if I'd care what my husband thinks," Amanda scoffed indignantly. "The man I marry will be grateful I marry him, virgin or not."

"A moot point, since the him has already been decided," Marian said.

"Yes, it has, hasn't it."

Amanda was back to smirking. This was such a major triumph for her, not acquiring a husband quickly, without having to waste time on courtship, but acquiring the husband that Marian had wanted for herself. This was "getting even" in the grandest way, for every little slight, resentment, and jealousy she held against Marian.

She'd probably even go through with it, since it would get her what she wanted. And if Chad couldn't be cajoled or nagged into taking her home, she'd find a way to get there on her own. He might come after her. Actually, he probably would, since he did want her after all. But after a half dozen or so times of being put to the bother of chasing her down, he'd give up and she'd have exactly what she was ultimately after—her inheritance and no one to answer to.

Marian left the bed, moved over to the door to grasp the handle, an indication that she was going to close it whether Amanda stood in the way or not. Unfortunately, Amanda quickly got out of the way, by stepping inside the room rather than out in the hallway.

"Take your gloating elsewhere, Mandy, I'm really not interested."

Amanda began fanning herself, despite a nice breeze coming in through the open windows, and strolled lazily about the room. "I'm curious," she said, completely ignoring the offer to leave. "Why didn't you speak up last night with the truth? Too noble to force him to the altar yourself?"

"No, because I have a little more respect for myself than you do, to want—"

"I have the utmost respect for myself," Amanda cut in. "It's you who doesn't—or you wouldn't make yourself look like an ugly old maid."

The blush was back, but it was an angry one this time. "You know what, Mandy, you're absolutely right," Marian agreed with her.

She yanked off her spectacles, held them up in front of her with both hands, and snapped them in two, then tossed them aside. She removed the hairpins while she was at it and shook her hair loose.

Amanda hadn't expected her goading to draw such results. She stood there a little in shock for a moment, staring at her own reflection. "You know you won't reveal yourself completely," she said hesitantly, a bit hopefully. "You've worn that disguise too long."

"Too long is right. And thanks for reminding me that I don't need it anymore. You've got your husband lined up. I think it's pretty safe for me to start looking for one now, wouldn't you say?"