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with wanting her. She smiled to herself. Yes, that would be sweet, to see his desire for her and show him
that she felt nothing at all.
I have to talk to Randy and Lattice about the twins, she told her parents as she finished her second
cup of coffee. They beat up Mrs. Morrison s boy today.
Adam nodded. The boy s something of a bully, but they shouldn t have ganged up on him, he agreed.
I suppose Randy and Lattice will come to the party. If Lattice is home. She travels so much these
days.
For pleasure? Priss asked.
I suppose. I don t think she and Randy get along very well. And John can t be making it easy for
them, he said quietly. He s been pure hell, from what I hear. He s very bitter.
About what? Priss wondered, but only nodded. Will John be at the party?
I don t know, he replied. He s rarely seen these days. He sticks to the station like glue, except for an
occasional trip to cattle sales.
That didn t sound like the old John, who had loved people and socializing. She stared at her father. Are
things bad at the station? she probed.
They have been, he said vaguely. Drought, you know. But I guess they re picking up now. John just
bought that new Ford.
It s not a luxury car, but it s nice just the same, Renee interrupted. We d better rush, darlings.
Upstairs she put on the long white gown with its one shoulder strap and side slits and sequined bodice
and studied herself in the mirror. She d filled out in five years. She still wasn t quite voluptuous, but she
wasn t thin, either. She looked good, she told herself. She put on a pearl necklace and bracelet and ear
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studs, and a minimum of makeup. To top it all off, she draped a blue fox boa around her neck. Yes, she
thought. Yes, that would be just the thing to parade in front of John Sterling.
When she went back downstairs, her parents were waiting for her. Her father was dressed in dark
evening clothes; her mother in a royal blue gown.
Gorgeous couple. Priss beamed. You look lovely. You, too, Dad.
I ll box your ears, he threatened. You re a dish yourself. Didn t we do well? he teased Renee.
Yes, we did, darling. Renee grinned, taking his arm. You ll wow em, sweetheart, she told her
daughter.
Priss fiddled with the boa. I d like to stop by the Sterling place on the way to the party, if you don t
mind, she said quietly. I need to speak to Randy and Lattice alone, and even if they do come to the
party, I realize it would be better to see them in a quieter setting.
No problem, Adam said. Shall we go, ladies?
It was a chilly night, and Priss almost wished she d worn a jacket instead of the boa. But the car soon
warmed up, and it didn t take long to wind up the oleander-lined driveway at the Sterling station to the
old Colonial-style house with its graceful porches. It had been recently repainted and gleamed like a
stoic ghost among the gum and wattle trees.
I ll only be a minute, Priss promised. She got out of the car and walked slowly up the steps onto the
wide porch. It looked just as it had years ago, when she used to come up here and have lunch with
John s mother. She d always loved the elegance of the old house.
She knocked on the door, fraught with nerves, wondering who would answer it. Footsteps sounded, and
the door was thrown open. But it wasn t John, it was Randy.
He was shorter than his brother, with reddish-brown hair and pale blue eyes, and in his younger days he
had had a frightful superiority complex. But now he seemed different as he grinned at Priss and let her
into the house.
Well, hello, he greeted deeply, his eyes clearly approving little Priscilla Johnson s new look.
Priscilla, how you ve grown up! He admired her.
One does, inevitably, she said and smiled back. She was trembling, but she maintained her poise.
Was John nearby; was he here? she wondered feverishly.
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