White Christmas: Woman Hater / The Humbug Man. Diana Palmer

who knew his older brother a little better than Nicole did, was uneasy. Winthrop hadn’t offered to take a woman out to dinner since that blonde barracuda did him in. Nicky had touched something in him, something cold and dormant, and now Winthrop seemed determined to fight it to the last breath. Gerald studied Nicky, wondering if she had any idea how disturbing Winthrop must find her. Probably not. She was a sweet person, a little reserved most of the time. Gerald was fond of her, in a brotherly way, and he felt responsible for Winthrop’s unexpected coolness toward her. Knowing how his brother felt, Gerald should have been more wary of bringing a woman to the ranch. But it had been Winthrop who’d mentioned bringing Nicky. Come to think of it, Winthrop had asked a lot of questions about her after he’d seen her that day at the Chicago office. He pursed his lips. Well, well. Big brother had an Achilles’ heel, it seemed. He smiled as the thought warmed his mind. And now that Winthrop had the quarry near the hook, he was going to play her for a while, was that it? Or had he gotten cold feet and was now running?

      “You’re very quiet,” Nicole said hesitantly.

      “I’m just thinking. By the way, with Winthrop gone, would you rather spend tonight at Sadie’s?” he asked with old-world politeness.

      She smiled. “You’re a nice man. Would you mind?”

      “Heavens, no,” he murmured. Besides, it would give him an excuse to see Sadie again the next day, when he went to fetch Nicky. And it would kill any potential gossip stone dead. Winthrop might appreciate that one day.

      They went that night to have dinner with Sadie. She was a tall woman with blond hair and soft brown eyes. Nicky had always liked her, and the two of them found plenty to talk about when Sadie had come by the office to wait for Gerald.

      “I’ll be delighted to have you stay the night,” Sadie told her enthusiastically. “It gets lonely with just me for company. Mother likes people.”

      “How is she?” Gerald asked gently.

      Sadie sighed and shook her head. “No better. No worse. She just lies and looks at the wall and begs to die.” She bit back tears. “Here, Nicky, help me get the food on the table, will you? Gerald, would you like to go in and ask Mother if she needs anything?”

      “Certainly,” he agreed, and paused to exchange a look with Sadie that was long and bittersweet.

      Sadie watched him leave the room, her eyes wandering over his tall figure in the becoming tan suit.

      “I’m hopeless,” Sadie sighed, smiling shyly. “I love him to death, but there’s not a thing I can do about it. I love Mother, too. I can’t leave her.”

      Nicky studied the wan face. “He hasn’t been well, either,” she said.

      Sadie glanced up. “Oh, dear.”

      “An ulcer,” Nicole said. “Just an ulcer. But he pushes so hard.”

      “He always has. Competing, you know,” she added with a loving smile. “He feels he has to come up to par with Winthrop.”

      “That would be a tall order,” Nicky said without thinking as she laid the table.

      Sadie glanced at her as she filled cups with steaming black coffee. “He’s a cold man.”

      “Not really,” Nicole replied softly. “He’s just hurt, that’s all.”

      The older woman pursed her lips. “How did you wind up on the ranch?”

      “Mr. Christopher wanted to come home for a month to rest and work. I have car payments, furniture payments, payment payments …” She grinned. “I couldn’t afford to lose a month’s pay, so I came, too.”

      “And now Winthrop’s done a vanishing act. Why?”

      “I don’t know,” Nicky said honestly. “He asked me out to dinner tonight, and then this morning he left.” She shrugged. “He’s very difficult to understand.”

      “He always was. I’ve known the two brothers for years. I went to school with Gerald.” She filled the coffee cups and then placed them in their lovely china saucers on the linen tablecloth. “Winthrop was always a loner, although he was something of a rounder in his younger days. He broke hearts …”

      “I’ll bet he did,” Nicky murmured. She looked up. “Did you know about the blonde?”

      “Everybody around here knew about the blonde,” Sadie replied. “It was a nine-day wonder. The gossip went on forever, as it does in small communities. Winthrop got back on his feet and lived it down, but I imagine he hasn’t really gotten over it. She was a first-class barracuda. She’d have cut him up like fish bait if they hadn’t been in that wreck. She’d have taken him for everything he had, and left him bleeding without a backward glance. She married an oil millionaire, you know. They say she’s got a closet full of mink coats.”

      “How sad,” Nicky said genuinely, her green eyes full of bitterness. “So many people marry for money. Or try to.”

      “I’ll bet you never would,” Sadie said unexpectedly. “Gerald always did like you. I’m a bit jealous of you.”

      “Me?” Nicky grinned. “Thanks, but he’s too nice a man to make a play for his secretary. I’d do anything for him, but only in the line of duty. I’m shy that way. Most men don’t appeal to me physically.”

      “Does Winthrop?”

      Nicole flushed and flapped around while Sadie burst out laughing.

      “I’m sorry, but your guilty secret is safe with me,” Sadie said with a laugh. “Oh, Nicky, what a man to get hot and bothered by. The iceman!”

      “It could be worse. I could develop a case for some married man with twenty kids.”

      “True, true.” She put the finishing touches on the table arrangement. “Come and meet Mother, and then I’ll show you where to put your overnight case.”

      “You’re nice to let me stay,” Nicky said. “You and I know that nothing would go on, but people talk. I don’t want any gossip about my nice boss.”

      “Neither do I, and I’m glad you’re old-fashioned.” The nurse narrowed her eyes. “You really are old-fashioned, aren’t you?” she asked with startling perception.

      Nicky cleared her throat. “I always thought … well, marriage is nice. They say white only means it’s your first marriage, but it means a lot more than that to me. I had old-fashioned grandparents.”