Savage Flames

“It was a small favor, considering your generous invitation to'”

“Well, how else could I get ya here? Been way too long,” Billy insisted. “It's a shame it took a situation like yours to get us together again.”

He sighed. “Yes, well…situations happen, don't they?”

“And we'll hash all that out after we get you home and outta these fancy city clothes. Gotta say I like that derby, though. Never owned one myself.” Billy plucked at the sleeve of his brown plaid suit. “Looks like you've done right well for yourself practicin' the law, Mr. Getty.”

“It's what's beneath the suit that's taken the beating,” he replied with a sigh. “Appearances can be deceiving, my friend.”

“And I want to hear whatever you gotta get off your mind'but meanwhile it appears our new tutor is ready to load up.” Billy grinned. “You were the perfect escort, Gabe. Professional, well-heeled air about ya'to discourage anybody else who might be givin' her the eye. And lots of practice at totin' a woman's trunks, I bet!”

“It's amazing how much luggage one tiny female requires. Where would any of them be without men for pack animals?”

For a fleeting moment he wondered how Cranks, the butler, spent his time now that he no longer accompanied Letitia on her shopping excursions. It was a good sign that such a thought didn't depress him today; a better sign that he could laugh at himself for ever depending on domestic help.

It felt good to shoulder those trunks with Billy; they'd worked together as boys, and it was only his bent for book learning that had sent him away from such a salt-of-the-earth existence. As he heaved Gracie's trunks up to the buckboard, his muscles told him he hadn't pulled his weight lately. Maybe this trip to rural Missouri would balance him…show him what he was made of, without stylish clothing and someone else's mansion to live in.

When they pulled into the Bristol driveway, lined with maple trees in their shiny spring leaves, Gabe's heart fluttered. It was still the homeplace he'd envied when he came here for Billy's wedding: the house glowed with fresh white paint and its pillars suggested Southern grandeur of a bygone era. Lilacs scented the breeze, and beyond the large red barn stretched miles of white plank fence. Beautiful grazing horses dotted the lush pastureland.

He couldn't have painted a prettier picture if he'd been Michelangelo.

A dog raced toward them then, white with distinctive markings around his eyes and ears. Some of his fondest childhood memories returned: Billy letting him pick out a border collie puppy born in the Monroes' barn…their four dogs herding Texas longhorns that had cut across their Kansas farms. Those black and white collies were long gone, but Gabe still glowed, thinking about them. Everything about this family took him back to better days, and Gabe felt happier than he had in weeks. Maybe years.

“Rex!” a loud voice called. “Rex, you ornery mutt! We're not finished practicing!”

Billy halted the horses while Grace sat taller on the seat between them. “Don't tell me that's Solace, riding without'”

“Haven't you ever seen your sister practicin' her act?” Billy cut in. “She's trainin' her new dog, and he's a handful.”

“Mama would be having a'time and again she's told Solace not to'”

“Which is why Solace loves to come here.” Billy leaned his elbows on his knees to include Gabe in his grin. “You and Lily were cut from silk and satin, honey, and Aunt Agatha's academy was the place you needed to be. But while you were away, how do you s'pose Solace entertained herself? She sure wasn't perfectin' her needlework.”

Gabe chuckled. He gazed at the approaching figure in rapt fascination, for she was standing barefoot on the back of a bay gelding that cantered alongside the driveway. Solace Monroe wore old denim pants and a red plaid shirt, and with her dark brown hair flying behind her'and a daredevil grin!'she seemed like something from a dream. She balanced so confidently on the horse's back that she appeared to be floating. Or flying.

And then, a few feet before she reached the buckboard, Solace dropped down to straddle her mount as though these acrobatics were second nature to her. Such effortless grace bespoke hours of practice, and Gabe wondered how many times she'd tumbled off'how many bones she'd broken'to reach this level of performance perfection.

“Gabe! Gabe Getty, it's been way too long!”

Her hands shot out and he grabbed them. A warm tingle of energy raced through his body when he felt the strength in Solace's sturdy hands. Her face was flushed from riding and her breath came in exuberant bursts as she grinned at him. The little girl he'd danced with at his wedding was anything but a child now.

“I was so happy to hear you'd be'” Her face clouded over then, but her brown-eyed gaze never wavered. “We were all so sad to learn about Letitia, Gabe. How horrible it must've been for you to'but you're here now! Family again, like when we were kids!”

His heart turned a cartwheel. When had anyone ever greeted him with such enthusiasm? Such all-embracing sincerity? He opened his mouth but it took a moment for the words to come out.

“It's good to be back,” he murmured. Grace and Billy watched him closely, so he gave them the best smile he could muster. “The past few weeks have been sheer hell. The Ban-crofts blame me for Letitia's untimely'”

“How absurd!?

? Solace had no need for more details. She believed without question in the Gabriel Getty she'd known all her life.

He swallowed hard. Her compassion nearly overwhelmed him. He wasn't sure he deserved such outright confidence in his innocence. Those bold brown eyes unnerved him, too, yet the glow on Solace's face drew him in and warmed his very soul. And she did all this as effortlessly as she'd ridden her horse standing up.

“Don't mind my sister, Gabriel,” Gracie murmured. “She wants the best for you'as we all do. But she needs to rein herself in.”

Anguish froze Solace's face, and then Gabe watched a play of familiar emotions: despair and betrayal…the sense of being an outcast in her own family. And in that brief moment, he heard the cry of a kindred spirit. How often had he himself felt despised and belittled these past six years?

“Now Gracie,” Billy began, “you shouldn't doubt your sister's intentions about'”