been in during those last lonely days in Chicago, she had not had much of a part in the events that had brought her here. Like a child, she had blindly taken the advice that had been offered her way by her cousin, Herman; advice that she had never really stopped to evaluate. But the advice had done some good, she grimly told herself. And for the first time in a great long while, she had been able to think about other things than her own immediate sadness and sense of loss.
Robin remembered the feel of Alex's muscular arms around her, shielding her from the wind and rain, and from her own fears after the accident with the jeep. She remembered the sudden rush of feeling, the realization that he meant much more to her than he should. She felt her cheeks burn at the thought. What had she expected? Some type of movie-script reaction from him? That he would sweep her off her feet and confess that he, too, had been attracted to her from the very first second their eyes had met? So unreal. In fact, she couldn't really decipher the feelings herself, to pinpoint the turning point when his moods and reactions had begun to mean more to her than before. And she wouldn't be the first young woman to make a fool of herself, she was sure. His conclusion about women being fortune hunters was probably the result of many uncomfortable situations.
And what of her job here ? Now that Robin had stuck her nose into a situation that wasn't her business, taken risks that were not her place to take, opened up festering wounds in a family that lived with a shadow over its past, and finally pushed some desperate person far enough to make an attempt on her life, just what should she do?
She felt stronger now, more sure of herself in her recent days in Montana. Until today. Whatever new maturity she had attained, it was not worth risking her neck.
She climbed out of her bed and lit a dim light on her dressing table. No sense trying to sleep in a state like this. She wrote a quick letter to Herman, careful not to mention the recent occurrences at the ranch, but making it clear that she did not desire to stay here any longer.
Chapter 8
Robin had mailed her relatively urgent letter the very next morning, and then the days began to crawl by while she waited for Herman's reply. Always nagging at the back of her thoughts was the fear that Alex would find out prematurely of her undisclosed relationship to Herman, find out her references had been exaggerated and her training mostly in another field. She did not relish facing his anger again.
But life went on fairly smoothly. She was doing a good job of running the Ridley house, that she knew. Alex had not mentioned the episode in the jeep again, aside from a broad statement to her to take care of herself and not to allow another such incident. She knew what he meant. The questions that had begged to be asked about Laura Ridley's death had been smothered... Robin had no desire now to take any more risks. The thought that someone had once tried to murder her, coupled with her smarting pride, which had suffered so much at Alex's cool treatment after her emotional outburst on the prairie, made her yearn for escape from her present situation.
Each day Robin waited for the mail to arrive. Each day she was disappointed. No letter from Herman made its appearance. The days went by. Then one week, two weeks. In a moment of dismay one evening as she sat alone in her room, she picked up the phone and made a long-distance call to the Robinson Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan. A feminine voice answered the ring at the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is Robin North calling from Montana. I'm Mr. Robinson's cousin. May I speak with him please?"
If he had merely been delaying getting in touch with her until he had found her another position, she'd tell him she'd accept anything at all. She'd even come home and work at the resort while she tried to line something up. All that was on her mind was a
Robin remembered the feel of Alex's muscular arms around her, shielding her from the wind and rain, and from her own fears after the accident with the jeep. She remembered the sudden rush of feeling, the realization that he meant much more to her than he should. She felt her cheeks burn at the thought. What had she expected? Some type of movie-script reaction from him? That he would sweep her off her feet and confess that he, too, had been attracted to her from the very first second their eyes had met? So unreal. In fact, she couldn't really decipher the feelings herself, to pinpoint the turning point when his moods and reactions had begun to mean more to her than before. And she wouldn't be the first young woman to make a fool of herself, she was sure. His conclusion about women being fortune hunters was probably the result of many uncomfortable situations.
And what of her job here ? Now that Robin had stuck her nose into a situation that wasn't her business, taken risks that were not her place to take, opened up festering wounds in a family that lived with a shadow over its past, and finally pushed some desperate person far enough to make an attempt on her life, just what should she do?
She felt stronger now, more sure of herself in her recent days in Montana. Until today. Whatever new maturity she had attained, it was not worth risking her neck.
She climbed out of her bed and lit a dim light on her dressing table. No sense trying to sleep in a state like this. She wrote a quick letter to Herman, careful not to mention the recent occurrences at the ranch, but making it clear that she did not desire to stay here any longer.
Chapter 8
Robin had mailed her relatively urgent letter the very next morning, and then the days began to crawl by while she waited for Herman's reply. Always nagging at the back of her thoughts was the fear that Alex would find out prematurely of her undisclosed relationship to Herman, find out her references had been exaggerated and her training mostly in another field. She did not relish facing his anger again.
But life went on fairly smoothly. She was doing a good job of running the Ridley house, that she knew. Alex had not mentioned the episode in the jeep again, aside from a broad statement to her to take care of herself and not to allow another such incident. She knew what he meant. The questions that had begged to be asked about Laura Ridley's death had been smothered... Robin had no desire now to take any more risks. The thought that someone had once tried to murder her, coupled with her smarting pride, which had suffered so much at Alex's cool treatment after her emotional outburst on the prairie, made her yearn for escape from her present situation.
Each day Robin waited for the mail to arrive. Each day she was disappointed. No letter from Herman made its appearance. The days went by. Then one week, two weeks. In a moment of dismay one evening as she sat alone in her room, she picked up the phone and made a long-distance call to the Robinson Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan. A feminine voice answered the ring at the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is Robin North calling from Montana. I'm Mr. Robinson's cousin. May I speak with him please?"
If he had merely been delaying getting in touch with her until he had found her another position, she'd tell him she'd accept anything at all. She'd even come home and work at the resort while she tried to line something up. All that was on her mind was a
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