Free Heart of Winter by Diana Palmer

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?
    â€œYou’re very quiet,” Nicole said hesitantly.
    â€œI’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?”
    â€œHeavens, 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.
    â€œI’ll be delighted to have you stay the night,” Sadie told her enthusiastically. “It gets lonely with just me for company. Mother likes people.”
    â€œHow 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?”
    â€œCertainly,” 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.
    â€œI’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.”
    â€œAn ulcer,” Nicole said. “Just an ulcer. But he pushes so hard.”
    â€œHe always has. Competing, you know,” she added with a loving smile. “He feels he has to come up to par with Winthrop.”
    â€œThat 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.”
    â€œNot 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?”
    â€œMr. 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.”
    â€œAnd now Winthrop’s done a vanishing act. Why?”
    â€œI 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.”
    â€œHe 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