Calder Born, Calder Bred (Calder Saga 4)

“So?” Ty frowned, his eyes narrowing.

“Tara will be there with her senator beau.” His tone was both chiding and commiserating. “One of the problems with living in your isolated corner of Montana is you don’t keep up to date. Tara Lee has grown weary of campus society and started traveling in more exalted circles.”

“What do you mean?” A hard knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

“The newspapers around here have been filled with items about Tara Lee Dyson and the young and attractive bachelor Senator Mason Dodd the Third. I left out that his daddy willed him a fortune in oil stocks. The two of them have been the talk of Austin all summer.”

Ty glanced at the telephone, wanting to pick it up and call her, find out for himself whether what Jack was saying was the truth or not.

“She dates a lot of people. It doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

“Once I would have agreed with you, but she’s moved into the big time now. Come on, Ty. Surely you can see it. She’s gone through this campus with a fine-tooth comb and raked off the guys who had something going for them—from star athletes to the big shots. She’s made her conquests here, so now she’s moving on to bigger game,” Jack insisted. “You might as well forget about her the way all the rest of us have.”

“That sounds like sour grapes to me, Jack,” Ty accused.

“Hey, I’ve never pretended that I wouldn’t have been dripping at the chance to walk behind the barn with her. Hell, she wouldn’t even have to crook her finger. I’ve taken my swipes at the string she trailed in front of me, but I’m smart enough to know she isn’t going to let it lie there long enough for me to catch hold of it. And you should be, too.”

“It isn’t the same.” He loved her. One way or another, he was determined to have her.

“It’s the same all right. You’re just too damned stubborn to admit it.” The sandy-haired man shook his head in mock despair. “I’m just trying to be a friend, so it doesn’t matter if you like what I’m saying or not. Little Miss Tara Lee gravitates to power like a duck to water. With a daddy like hers, she was raised to it. No one on campus is important enough for her to bother with now, including you.”

The prediction didn’t turn out to be entirely true. Tara usually attended any important social functions on campus with Ty as her escort, but most of her social life was centered off campus. Her dates ranged from young men holding political office to important lobbyists.

As graduation approached, the beginnings of desperation took hold of Ty. Another evening was drawing to a close. Standing alone with her on the private patio behind the Dyson home, he knew there weren’t many chances left. He took a deep pull on his cigarette and held the smoke in his lungs, exhaling it finally through his nose in twin spirals. He felt a hand on his arm. Tara had a way of touching him with her fingertips that commanded all his attention.

“Ty Calder, I don’t think you’ve been listening to a word I’ve been saying,” she accused in her soft, drawling voice.

“That’s only half true,” he murmured, studying her through half-closed eyes in an attempt to screen the blatant desire he felt. “I’ve been listening to the sound of your voice. It reminds me of raindrops falling softly.”

“Ty.” The pressure of her hand increased slightly on his arm as a pleased smile radiated across her features. “You make a girl feel very special.”

“You are very special—to me.” He dropped the cigarette onto the cobbled patio and crushed it under his toe. “With a little encouragement, I’d consider telling you all the ways you’re special to me.” He slid an arm around her narrow waist and made a quarter turn to

face her and link his hands together behind her back, “It might take all night, though.”

“I’ll bet you’d make sure it did.” She laughed throatily and ran her fingers under the lapels of his jacket. She looked at him through the upward sweep of her dark lashes. “Did I tell you that Douglas Stevens will be asked to join the diplomatic staff at the American embassy in France?”

“No.” Ty couldn’t have cared less where the man was being sent.

“Rumor has it that he’s being given an important post.” She continued sliding her fingers along his lapel. “With Doug there, I’ll be able to stay at the embassy while I’m in France, and probably attend a lot of the functions.”

“Is that important to you?”

“Important? I’m not sure I know what you mean by that.” She tilted her head at a beguiling angle, the velvety darkness of her hair blending into the midnight black making a cameo of her face. “It will certainly be an unforgettable experience. How many other girls would have a chance like that?”

“Not many, I suppose.” Her smoothly innocent reply made him feel churlish for harboring any resentment. “I guess it’s the idea of you seeing more of Stevens that I don’t like.”

“Jealous,” she teased.

“Yes.”

Tara laughed softly. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised at your bluntness,” she declared. “You always seem to say what you feel.”

“Like I love you,” Ty stated. When she started to cover his mouth to keep him from saying more, he caught her hand and held it against his chest. “No. I’m running out of time to say all the things I want to say to you. I won’t have many more chances to see you before graduation.”

“It’s very late, Ty. Daddy will be wandering out here any minute to shoo us inside so he can lock up for the night,” she warned him, but he saw the glitter of excitement in her eyes and knew she wasn’t really protesting.

“I can sum it all up in one phrase, Tara,” he assured her huskily. “I love you.”