“What’s wrong with what you’re wearin’?” It seemed like a reasonable enough question. So why in blazes did she look so downright horrified?

“Wrong? You want me to go to church dressed like…like this?”

“This is Texas, not Boston. People here don’t put that much stock in what a woman wears. Long as she’s decent.”

“Fortunately, we’re more civilized in Boston,” she said.

Chase burst out laughing. He couldn’t help himself. Emily sure did have a way of turning the tables on him. Since she seemed disinclined to join him in mirth, he grew serious. “So, what are you sayin’?”

“I’m saying that I won’t be attending church in men’s trousers!”

His gaze traveled down the length of her. No men’s trousers, as she called them, had ever looked so intriguing. “Then wear your stovepipe skirt,” he said. “Just remember to yank it up to unprecedented heights, or you’ll never get yourself in the saddle.” With that, he turned and walked away, chuckling to himself.

16

Following her morning ride around the paddock, Emily headed for the kitchen for a cool drink, her conversation with Chase very much on her mind.

She knew people did things differently in Texas, but her dear, sweet mother would turn over in her grave at the thought of her daughter walking into a place of worship wearing something as scandalous as a split skirt.

Cookie poured her a glass of lemonade. A rolled red kerchief was tied around his forehead. Two gray plaits ran down his back like train tracks.

She accepted the cool drink with murmured thanks. The Texas heat and humidity made it hard to quench her thirst.

He set the pitcher on the counter. “I happened to see you talking to Royce yesterday. He giving you trouble?” Before she had a chance to respond, he answered for her. “Let me guess. He offered to pay you to break up your marriage.” He studied her. “So whatcha tell him?”

His bold question surprised her. In Boston, employees were much more circumspect. Here, the hired help acted more like family. “Actually, he offered to pay me for leaving. I told him I had no intention of doing such a thing,” she said and took a sip of her beverage.

“That’s my girl.”

She studied Cookie over the brim of her glass. She doubted he was fooled by the little charade she and Chase played out for his benefit.

She set her empty glass on the counter, and he promptly refilled it.

“Heard you and Peggy Sue had a falling-out,” he said.

She sighed. It seemed as though his curiosity had no end. “It was just a misunderstanding.”

“Peggy Sue don’t mean to be difficult. She’s just set in her ways.”

Emily raised an eyebrow. Peggy Sue was too young to be set in her ways. “What happened to her husband?” she asked.

Before answering her question, Cookie glanced at the open doorway as if to check for eavesdroppers. As an added precaution, he lowered his voice. “Well, it’s like this. Ginny was a babe in the bushes.”