Conrad smiled at her, his face still a mess, as he straightened to sit himself up on his bed.
“Smells great, you’re a doll.” Conrad said as she brought the tray closer to him.
“Leave it on my lap.” He said and she placed it gently on his outspread legs. Then he patted the bed next to him, the smile still on his face. Celia remained standing in front of him and tucked a few strands of her curls behind her ears.
“Have a seat Celia.” He insisted, but she didn’t budge.
“I’ll go attend to my grandfather now. Enjoy your meal.” She said curtly and just when she was about to turn around, he stopped her.
“Be careful of my brother.” He had said.
Celia’s brows crossed and she looked at him, remaining still where she stood.
“What are you talking about?” She asked him, watching his every movement closely now. Conrad had begun to scoop spoonsful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, and held a buttered toast in his other hand.
“I mean exactly what I just said, that you should be careful of Wilder. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” He said, munching on his toast. Celia straightened her neck and raised her chin.
“You really shouldn’t accuse me of things you don’t know about. I hardly know your brother, or you. I’m here for my grandfather, to look after him.” She said, making sure that she sounded calm and confident. The last thing she wanted Conrad to smell, was fear.
“Sure, that’s why you came here. But wouldn’t you want to be looked after yourself?” He asked, smirking at her again. Celia kept her mouth pressed close. She couldn’t be sure what he was talking about and she wanted him to explain.
“You quit your job, a promising career. You can’t be sure how long old Jack will live, what will you do when you go back to New York after a year? Two years? You’ll be too old for the fashion industry, some new twenty-three-year-old would have taken your job.” Conrad continued, enjoying himself on her account.
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.” Celia interrupted him before he could say anything else.
Conrad gave a small laugh.
“Just that you’ve had a chance to get a look around the house, and I know you like what you see. It could be yours.” He said. Celia’s head jerked up sharply to him, what did he mean? What was he talking about? She didn’t get a good feeling from all this.
“Don’t look so surprised honey. I’m only offering you a position by my side.” Conrad laughed again.
“What does that mean?” She cried, losing her temper at him.
“Be with me, give me company in this lonely deserted place. Maybe someday we could marry, have children…who knows? For now, you could have this whole house at your disposal and my protection from my brother, just by sleeping with me.” Conrad had pushed his tray away from himself and was looking at Celia with glittering blue eyes.
She could feel her cheeks flush; her nostrils were flaring.
“Why would I need protection from Wilder?” She asked him, ready to throw a lamp at his head because of the things that he was saying.
“Because ever since Wilder’s wife left him, he has hated women. You won’t be safe around him alone.” Conrad said, his face was serious and he wasn’t smiling any more.
But Celia was running out of the room. The door shut with a bang behind her as she ran down the stairs. She wished she had never gotten on that train from Austin.
Celia knew she needed to talk with Wilder. She hadn’t, she didn’t want to believe a word that Conrad had said to her. The fact that Wilder could be dangerous, that he had a wife who had left him…none of that made sense. The way she had felt the previous night in Wilder’s arms, she couldn’t have felt if she was afraid of him, if he was the kind of person who might hurt her.
Wilder was nowhere in sight. Celia prepared a bowl of soup for her grandfather and then set off towards the back of the house to look for him. She crossed the porch, then walked along the stables, she thought she could hear his voice in the back, talking to the animals. She needed to see him. This was happening too fast, she had only just met him, but she had given him her virginity, she was falling in love with a man she barely knew. But even if she didn’t know him, she knew that Conrad couldn’t be truthful. Wilder wasn’t the man his brother thought he was.
Celia stopped when she saw him. Wilder was several feet deep in a pit of wet mud with a rope in his hand. He had rubber boots on, but his jeans were nonetheless stained and muddy. His shirt sleeves were rolled up and his hat was tipped back on his head. He was oblivious to the scorching sun.