Westmoreland's Way - Brenda Jackson [41]
He must have heard the cutting anger in her tone. “Calm down, Pamela. It’s not what you think. You have smart sisters and I think they’re getting a wasted education going to that public school in Gamble. As you know, I went to a private school and I received a top-notch education. The best. And I know you want Nadia and Paige to get accepted into a good college. Going to a private high school will not only assure them a good education, but also entrance into the best colleges. That’s what you want, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And just think, they would be associating with people who will benefit them in the long run.”
“Yes, but I’m not for sending them away from home,” she whispered, so her voice would not carry to the dining room. She had just assured Nadia that she wouldn’t.
“I know, which is why I’m looking into schools in Cheyenne. That’s not too far away,” he said, as if she would be glad to hear the news.
She moved away from the kitchen and into the living room, which would afford her more privacy. “As far as I’m concerned, if it’s not here in Gamble then it’s too far away.”
“But we’ll be looking out for their futures. There’s a wonderful private school there that has excellent living facilities and great security.”
Pam tried to keep a ripple of anger from consuming her. “You should have talked to me about this first, Fletcher.”
“It was going to be another one of my wedding gifts. I know how much your sisters’ futures mean to you.”
Pam closed her eyes. “We can discuss this more when you return.”
“I don’t understand why you’re upset. I’d think it would be what you wanted. At least I believe it’s what you told me you wanted that day you accepted my marriage proposal.”
Pam couldn’t say anything. Was it really fair to get upset with him when she had said those things?
“If that’s not what you want, Pamela, then no sweat. I want to do whatever makes you happy,” he said in a throaty, low voice that did nothing but frustrate her even more.
“I know, Fletcher, and I appreciate everything you’re doing, but we’ll need to talk about this when you get back.”
“Okay, baby. Have a good evening. And by the way, is Dillon Westmoreland still in town?”
She could actually hear the coldness in his voice. “No, in fact Dillon has left town,” she said. What she’d just said really wasn’t a lie because Dillon was no longer in Gamble. Fletcher didn’t have to know he had merely moved to a hotel in neighboring Rosebud.
“I guess he got what he came for and decided to move on. That’s good. Maybe we won’t be seeing the likes of him again anytime soon,” Fletcher said cockily.
She frowned, not liking Fletcher’s attitude. “I suspect he will be returning at some point since he still has my great-grandfather’s journal.” She figured she might as well prepare him now so he wouldn’t go into cardiac arrest when he did see Dillon again.
“He can keep the damn journal for all I care. I just don’t like the man.”
Pam inwardly fumed. The journal was not his to decide whether Dillon could keep it or not. “Goodbye, Fletcher.”
“Goodbye, Pamela, and I hope to see you Sunday.”
Dillon smiled at all the voices he heard in the background of his phone conversation with his brother Micah. Micah, a graduate of Harvard Medical School who was only a couple of years younger than Dillon, was an epidemiologist with the federal government. Everyone often joked about Micah being the mad scientist in the family.
“So how long will you be home, or did you just drop in long enough to attend this weekend’s charity ball?” Dillon asked Micah. His brother was known to travel all over the world doing work for the government. He had lived in China for an entire year during the bird-flu epidemic.
The charity ball he was referring to was the one the Westmoreland family hosted every year to raise money for the Westmoreland Foundation they had established to aid various community causes.
“I’m here for the ball and I’ll be home at least through New Year’s. Then I’m off to Australia for a few months.