glance her way or answer and they rode a few minutes in silence.
“Am I really the first outside person to show an interest in the Wrenville house?” Destiny asked. “That’s what someone told me.”
“As far as I know. I can’t really speak for before my time.” He checked his mirrors. “My deputy and I stayed out there once, just to see if anything happened or if vagrants were in there. Nothing happened and no one was staying there. The house is run-down, neglected. No one’s lived in it since the 1800s. It was well built to begin with or it would be falling in by now, but when something is abandoned, it doesn’t last.”
“So the house is ignored by one and all.”
“That sums it up. I think you’ll have a difficult time filling half an hour about the house or the people who died in it.”
“We’ll see. I hope you’ll consider a brief interview. Since you’re a Milan, I think it would be of interest.”
“Sorry, the answer’s still the same. No interview. So far, no occasion has ever arisen in Verity that warrants an interview from me, other than just answering brief questions for the news. And that’s the way I hope it remains. I wouldn’t be that interesting, anyway.”
“I differ on that topic. I’m not accustomed to getting turned down.”
Wyatt gave her a quick glance. “I’m sure that’s the truth. I imagine you’re accustomed to getting what you want from men.”
“Most of the time, I do. So far, you’re proving to be an exception, but I hope I can change your mind.”
He glanced over at her. “It all depends on what you want from me,” he said, a husky note coming into his voice that gave her the satisfaction of knowing he had some kind of reaction to her.
“Wyatt,” she said, “you haven’t discouraged me. I still hope to get an interview from you. I know it would be interesting.”
“You’d be surprised how dull I can get. Ask a local reporter. Their eyes glaze over sometimes, but it shortens interviews.”
She laughed softly again. “I don’t think you really do that—at least I would guess it is rare. I’m still going for an interview of my own.” She received another glance and this time his crystal-blue eyes darkened slightly and the look he gave her raised the temperature in the car.
“You go ahead and try,” he said in a deep voice that made her heart race.
“So that doesn’t scare you?” she asked.
“Hardly. It’ll be interesting to see you bargain for an interview,” he replied. He shook his head. “The evening has definitely taken a turn for the better.”
“We’ll see,” she replied.
Leaning back in the seat, she gave thought to the situation. Wyatt wasn’t reacting to her the way the majority of men did. She had grown up knowing that she was not the pretty daughter in her family. Desirée was breathtakingly beautiful and had been so all her life. Destiny had unruly red hair, was tall, but not stunning in her physical appearance, especially during her awkward teen years, but from an early age, she had learned to please and charm those around her to get what she wanted. With her relatives, she had poured out her love, being cooperative, obedient, helpful and turning on the sweetness when she needed to. During her later teens with boys her age, she had flirted, and it hadn’t taken much to melt them into hopeful males eager to please her.
It shocked her that, so far, Wyatt had resisted her smiles and easy requests.
She studied his profile, the firm jaw, prominent cheekbones, a slight bump near the bridge of his nose. He was not what she had expected and she was having a reaction to him that surprised and disturbed her.
“Do you have other places in Texas that you’ll visit?” he asked.
“Not at this time.”
As she watched him drive, he gave her a quick glance. “So how is Desirée?” he asked.
“She’s fine. She recently married.”
“I saw that she did. I hope she’s very happy.”
“I’ll tell her you said that.”
“Does she know you’re in Verity?”
“Yes, she does. From what I hear, you’re still single, which surprises me.”
“Now why would that surprise you?” he asked.
“You’re handsome, in your early thirties, appealing, influential and well-known. I’m sure every female in this county knows you. If we consider just the single ladies, I’d guess the ones in this county plus the next three or four counties know you. Texas women are beautiful. The elements are right for you to fall in love and marry.”
He smiled without taking his attention from the road. “You’d think, but it hasn’t happened.”
“So there’s no one you had to explain to about taking me to dinner tonight?”
“No, there isn’t. By the way, while you’re here, two of my brothers want to meet you. They saw you on TV today, and one of them has read your last book.”
“Well, I’m happy to discuss my book with anyone who is interested,” she replied. “So my book is why they want to meet me?”
“Not altogether,” Wyatt replied. “It’s part of the reason. I imagine every man in Verity would like to meet you. And maybe every male over fifteen in the next four or five counties,” he said.
“I take it your brothers are single.”
“One is widowed and the other is my single, youngest brother, so you’re right. Nick lost his pregnant wife. He’s still hurting pretty badly. It’s been a rough time for him and he’s not dating anyone.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, startled about the loss in Wyatt’s family. “I don’t think Desirée knew that.”
“There’s no reason for her to keep up with Nick, and that hadn’t happened when she was here.”
Destiny gazed out the window, taken aback once again by seeing a more serious side to Wyatt. Now that she was getting to know him a little, she wanted to be more up-front with him and thought about the right moment to reveal her genealogy. “Well, I, for one, have been curious about you. There aren’t many men who can upset my sister.”
“I’m sorry if I did, but I don’t think it was devastating since she was married within the year—I believe her first marriage. In the three years since we dated, isn’t this marriage number two? I don’t think she’s been pining away over me.”
“Perhaps not. It’s too bad. Now that I’ve met you, I imagine you would have had a settling influence on her. A sheriff, rock solid, mid-America, a Texan. How the two of you got together in the first place, I can’t imagine,” she added. “You don’t look the type to be knocked off your feet simply because she’s a movie star.”
“You
