Giant of Mesabi

Long strides quickly brought him into view, and the smile of welcome froze on her lips at the coldness of his expression. His gaze swept over the table, stopping icily on her.

"What's this?" A victory celebration?" he accused.

Alanna shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be the same man who had left the house this morning, or more accurately this noon.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered uncertainly.

"Don't you?" Rolt jeered. Alanna winced; until now thinking she had seen the last of his harsh mockery. "Kurt didn't keep his appointment this afternoon."

She looked at him blankly. "I don't understand."

"Really?" he retorted with contemptuous disregard for her confused expression. "He left a message with my secretary saying he was unavoidably detained. That was his exact phrase—unavoidably detained." His repetition of it reminded Alanna that Rolt had used the same expression this morning, the implication jolted her. "It was a perfect twist of the knife by my brother, don't you think?"

"What are you saying?" Alanna breathed incredulously.

"What's the matter?" His lip curled sardonically. "Didn't you know that my little brother had already let the secret out? Were you hoping to let it slip tonight?"

"You don't know what your talking about!"

"Don't I?" Rolt pivoted sideways as if he couldn't stand to look at her. Just as abruptly, he glared at her. "You had me fooled completely. I never dreamed for an instant that you would leave me this morning and meet Kurt this afternoon. And you knew it, too."

"I didn't meet Kurt," Alanna protested.

A dark brow arched arrogantly over indigo scorn of his gaze. "Where were you this afternoon. Alanna? I phone here and there wasn't any answer. You weren't at your parents' either."

"I went into town—" she gestured wildly toward the bottle of champagne "—to buy the champagne for our dinner tonight."

"By sheer coincidence, it happened to be that you were gone at the same time Kurt was unavoidably detained, is that right?" A muscle leaped savagely in his jaw.

"It happens to be the truth, I went into town, bought the champagne and came straight back, without meeting anybody!" Her eyes burned with bitter tears.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

She sunk her teeth into her lip for a painful second. "I don't expect anything!"

Her voice was choked. She know she couldn't endure his cutting sarcasm without dissolving into tears. She started to hurry from the room, but Rolt intercepted her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

"Do you deny that this isn't the first time you've met Kurt since we've been married?" he snarled.

She blanched. Her eyes widened in alarm. The line of his mouth became ominously grim at her reaction.

"You thought I didn't know about your meeting with Kurt yesterday, didn't you?" He pulled her against his chest, coldly looking into her stunned face.

Yesterday—it seemed much longer ago than yesterday that she had met Kurt in the parking lot of the Iron Range Interpretative Center. If Rolt knew about that, then it was no wonder he thought she had been with Kurt today. But after last night and this morning, how could he think that?

"H—how did you find out?" she faltered.

"Office gossip. It has away of traveling fast, especially if it has the potential of scandal. Someone overheard you arranging to meet Kurt when you talked to him in the hall," he explained with cutting disdain.

"I met him, yes," she admitted, "but it wasn't a sordid thing, not like you're trying to make it sound."

"You mean he didn't hold you in his arms or kiss you?" Rolt mocked. "Not even for old times' sake?"

It didn't matter what she said, Rolt was going to believe the worst. Alanna gritted her teeth against the pain tearing at her heart.

"I am not going to discuss it with you," she declared tightly. "What's the use of defending myself when you've already tried and convicted me?"

"The facts speak for themselves," he retaliated.