Free Fire And Ice by Diana Palmer

her eyes were telling him how she felt. But he didn’t even flinch.
    “I’m so sorry we have guests coming,” Victorine told her eldest son with blazing eyes and a cold smile. “I’d love to discuss that little speech with you, dear boy.”
    He smiled in amusement at his mother’s bridled fury. “No doubt you would, Mother dear. But despite the pressure from you and Andy, I’m not budging one inch until I’m convinced that he isn’t making a mistake in his choice.”
    “Will you spend the rest of his life tell-ing him which women to date, which fork to use, which television programs he may watch…?” Margie broke in.
    “It’s none of your business,” he replied curtly.
    “Jan is my sister; of course it’s my business.” She glared at him. “She’s had quite enough heartache in her life without having to be barbecued by an overprotective stuffed shirt like you!”
    Cannon looked as if he’d like to take a bite out of her, and Victorine had just opened her mouth to speak when the doorbell sounded.
    “Oh, your guests are here,” Victorine said quickly. “The maid will let them in, but shouldn’t we greet them?”
    Cannon was still glaring at Margie. “Later,” he said menacingly, “you and I are going to have a few words together.”
    “Oh, I’ll just look
forward
to it!” Margie drawled, smiling sweetly.
    He turned and strode angrily toward the front door while Victorine gave a mock sigh of relief, drawing Margie along with her.
    There were two businessmen at the door, one tall and solemn, one short and heavyset with a red face. Cannon followed them into the living room, sparing Margie a pointed glare as he introduced Bob Long and Harry Neal.
    In short order, Margie found herself standing alone with Bob Long as the others argued about the current administration’s economic policies.
    “Do you argue politics, Mr. Long?” Margie asked politely.
    He shook his head, looking somewhat irritated. “My great interest is water conservation.” He glanced at her. “And I’d hardly expect you to know much about that.”
    His chauvinistic attitude pricked her a little, but she smiled. “On the contrary, Mr. Long, it’s an interest of mine, as well. I come from a small town outside Atlanta. We use two million gallons of water per day, and we draw from a tributary of the Chattahoochee River. The nearest town to us has a processing plant that uses a million gallons a day on its own, to say nothing of the city’s consumption of three million gallons a day.”
    Bob Long stared at her as if he feared his hearing had failed him. “And it draws from the same tributary?”
    “Partially,” she said. “But last year, when the drought came, the town had to drill three additional wells to meet water consumption, and right now we’re looking at the feasibility of a county-wide water and sewage system.”
    “That’s just what happened to us,” he replied, and proceeded to tell her how the problem had come about and what the governing body had done to alleviate it.
    They were busily discussing new legislation allocating water consumption by municipalities when Cannon interrupted them.
    “I hate to break this up, Bob,” he murmured with a hard glance at Margie, “but Harry and I need some input from you on the merger proposal.”
    “Merger.” Bob Long blinked. “Oh, yes, the merger.” He turned and shook hands with Margie. “I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a conversation so much. We must do this again.”
    Cannon gave her a strange, puzzled glance as he led the older man away.
    Andy and Jan had just rejoined the group. Andy looking fighting fit, and Jan herself looked as if she were ready to enter into the fray with her man. Even Cannon’s harsh look when they came into the room wasn’t enough to bother either of them.
    “Well, well,” Margie teased. “Changed your minds?”
    “Sure did.” Andy grinned. “I took a course in advanced dragon slaying in college. I went outside, looked at