Caleb

by Callie Hutton

  She wasn’t, and until she felt Caleb was actually fond of her, and wouldn’t find it easy to send her away, she had to be careful. Nothing that she’d ever experienced with Sydney or her long drawn out ‘courtship’ with Fred had affected her the way Caleb did. Even sitting next to him now, their legs touching under the blanket stirred her. The man had only to look at her and she was ready to strip off her clothes and lie down.

  The ride into town was pleasant, with Caleb pointing out various sights as they rode along. They passed the church where Gideon was pastor, the local school with children playing outside, and a string of stores. Angel Springs was a busy little town, apparently with a number of thriving businesses.

  Caleb stopped the sleigh in front of the mercantile. “Patience and Nick Farmer own the mercantile. I have an account here. All you need do is tell them what you want and they’ll add it to my account.”

  He helped her down, and she strolled with him into the store.

  “Well, Caleb Fraser. Rumor has it that your mama sent for brides for you and all your brothers.” Mrs. Farmer greeted them cheerfully, her rotund figure heading straight for them. “And this must be one of the wives.” She reached out and grabbed Lily, hugging her to her bosom as if she was a long-lost daughter. “You’re the first bride I’ve met.”

  The woman turned to Caleb and waggled her finger at him. “Now you better be treating this gal here well, or you’ll have to answer to me.” She turned to Lily and lowered her voice. “You know your husband here has been dodging the ladies in town for a long time. There’s been lots of them looking for him to put a ring on their finger. I always wondered about the gal who would lead him to the altar.”

  Lily glanced at Caleb who glowered at the storekeeper. “Mrs. Farmer, this is my wife, Lily.”

  “Oh, what a charmin’ name, dear. Lily. Why, just like the flower.” She beamed at her and took her by the hand. “Let me show you around, so you can shop anytime you please, and know right where everything is.” She waved at Caleb. “You can go on and take care of what you need to do. I’ll show your wife what she needs to know.” She winked at Lily and pulled her down the aisle.

  Lily glanced over her shoulder as Caleb headed for the door. “How long will you be?” Even though Mrs. Farmer was friendly enough, suddenly Lily felt anxious, like Caleb was leaving her here, never to return.

  “Not long. Maybe half an hour. Just have a good time and get your list taken care of.” He tipped his hat at two ladies who entered the store, both of them giggling in his direction. Before Lily and Mrs. Farmer were able to take more than a few steps, Caleb came back into the store. “Oh, uh, Lily. If there’s anything you, uh, you need. Like, ah, ladies’ things, just go ahead and put it on my account.” After that statement, he shoved his hat onto his head and made a quick exit.

  The two ladies who had entered the store turned and followed Caleb with their eyes and then put their heads together to chat. Mrs. Farmer ignored them while she showed Lily around. “Don’t let them women bother you. You’re gonna get a lot of looks from the gals in town who had their eyes on those Fraser boys. Good looking, all of them. But none ready to stand before the preacher. Frankly, I’m glad Fiona stepped in and sent for brides for them all. I doubt any one of them would have married anytime soon. And she’s been hankering for more grandbabies.”

  Lily thought about Mrs. Farmer’s comments as she marched her up and down the aisles, whipping things off the shelves as the pile of goods from Lily’s list grew larger on the counter.

  A lot of ladies in town would be unhappy about the Frasers marrying? Hopefully those ladies would not become a problem. Losing four available men would probably not sit well. She imagined decent husbands weren’t any easier to come by here than they were in North Grove. Oh, there seemed to be a lot of men on the streets, but how many of them were husband material?

  Mrs. Farmer was adding up the bill when Caleb returned. He eyed the pile, and began loading the items into the sleigh. She sighed in relief when he didn’t question the large order.

  “You be sure to have that husband of yours bring you into town on a regular basis,” Mrs. Fraser said as Caleb carried out the last of her things.

  “Yes, I will.” Lily gave the woman a bright smile and joined Caleb on the boardwalk in front of the store.

  “I hope you don’t think I spent too much.” She eyed the back of the sleigh loaded down with parcels and bundles.

  “I imagine this is all stuff we need?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you buy anything for yourself?”

  “Um, actually, I did buy a bar of soap I like to use. And some cream for my hands.”

  He leaned close and spoke softly. “I like the soap you use. Maybe I’ll help you with your bath tonight.”

  Her heartbeat sped up and she licked her lips, visions of her sitting in the tub, the steam rising while Caleb rubbed her fine soap over her slick skin caused her knees to buckle.

  Oh, my.

  “Caleb!” They both turned as a woman came hurrying down the boardwalk, waving her arm.

  “That’s the woman who was in Pete’s house the other day.” Lily peered at the girl as she barreled past the stores, practically mowing people down in her quest to reach Caleb. Pretty in a common sort of way, she wore an outfit that only came to her knees. Lily’s eyes grew wide as she watched the girl’s bosom bounce, greatly testing the bodice of her skimpy dress. All she could think was the girl must be freezing. She had a bright red ribbon in her hair and wore face paint.

  She placed her hand on her exposed chest and took deep breaths as she approached them. For a minute Lily thought the girl would run right into Caleb’s arms. “Did you find my necklace?”

  Caleb just stared at her. “What?”

  “My necklace? Did you find my necklace?”

  “No, Desiree. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She sighed and placed her hands on her ample hips. “When I slept in your bed the night before your wedding, I must have lost my necklace. It’s my lucky charm. Did you find it?”

  Chapter Six

  Goddamn.

  Caleb didn’t have to look at Lily to know her expression. The heated waves of anger from her body as she gasped at Desiree’s words warmed the air like the strongest sunshine.

  “No. I haven’t seen it,” he mumbled as he grabbed Lily’s elbow and practically dragged her to the sleigh.

  “Well, check the sheets on your bed,” Desiree shouted.

  Lily climbed stiffly into the vehicle and showed him her back, until she must have realized that left her facing Desiree, so she quickly turned again until she was looking forward. It surprised him that there wasn’t steam coming from her ears.

  He slapped the reins and the horse moved forward. Damn Desiree and her big mouth. Sure, she’d slept in his bed that night, but she ‘forgot’ to mention he wasn’t in the bed with her. He’d been curled up on the damn floor in the other room. His brothers had seen to that.

  Not sure whether it was better to explain or simply let it go, he clamped his lips tight. They’d only gone three blocks when Miss Bonnie Sanger stepped from the boardwalk to stand directly in front of his wagon. He groaned, but couldn’t ignore her without running her down.

  He drew up on the reins. “Hello, Bonnie.”

  She walked up to him, her hands on her hips. “I just heard a rumor that you got married.”

  “Yep. Sure did.”

  She pouted in a way he used to think was sweet, but now just annoyed the hell out of him, with Lily sitting right there.

  Bonnie reached up and covered his hand with hers. “Honey, if I knew you were looking for a wife, I would have been first in line.” She batted her eyelashes, making his stomach churn. “You know we were pretty good together.”

  Good God. It had been a really, really bad idea to come to town with his wife in tow the first time after word has spread of his marriage. He didn’t exactly regret the life he’d led until now, but why did h
is past have to show up on every block?

  He ran his finger around the inside of his collar. “I, ah, wasn’t exactly looking for a wife.”

  Lily’s sharp intake of breath told him he’d said the wrong thing. “What I mean is, it was kind of a surprise.”

  “A surprise? Honey how can getting married be a surprise?” She glanced at Lily, eying her with outright curiosity.

  “I gotta go, Bonnie. Nice seeing you.” He tugged on his hat brim and flicked the reins. He faced forward before anyone else halted their progress to ask inane questions. Lord above, if another woman stepped in front of the wagon, he’d run her over.

  “Stop in and see me sometime.” Bonnie’s husky voice followed them.

  It was a quiet ride back to the cabin. Lily sat like a stone statue, her lips tight, her jaw clenched so hard she had to be in pain. He glanced in her direction a few times, but she never wavered from her bearing. He had the feeling if he nudged her she would tumble over the side with as stiffly as she held herself.

  Once they arrived home, she jumped from the sleigh, slipping on the ice, but righting herself before he could reach her.

  “I’ll unload everything and bring it in,” he said.

  She gave him a curt nod, grabbed a small sack from the back, and headed to the house.

  It took him a half hour to unload everything. He forced her to speak to him by asking her with each item where he should store it. Her curt answers soon turned into pointing where she wanted it.

  Eventually the last item was shelved and he removed his coat and hat and hung them on the hook. Still in her coat, Lily sat at the kitchen table, glaring at the wall.

  “Um, are you all right?”

  “Caleb Fraser, I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life.” She spoke through her teeth, making him not one hundred percent sure what she said.

  “I’m sorry.” He figured he needed to apologize for something. Whichever disaster they’d encountered in town.

  She turned to him, her eyes bright with tears. “Why don’t you take out an ad in the Angel Springs newspaper and announce to the entire town that I arrived as an unwanted mail order bride on your doorstep?”

  He shifted his hands to his hips “Now why would I do that?”

  She stood and rounded on him. “Because since you told whoever that tart was that your marriage was a ‘surprise,’ I’m sure every young lady in town who had her eye on you will find it quite hilarious that you were trapped into marriage.”

  “Well, dammit, what did you want me to say? You were a surprise.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I know that. But it wasn’t what I had been told before I left my home to come to this. . .this . . .” She swiped her cheeks with her finger.

  Lord she was crying. He hated it when women cried. But, somehow, he knew with innate male wisdom that she didn’t want to be comforted. At least not by him. He raised his hand, then dropped it. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  She moved closer, her finger poised to stab him in the chest. “And what about the woman in the scandalous dress who thinks she lost her necklace in your bed? The night before our wedding!”

  Now he was getting mad. Lily had no right to upbraid him about things that had happened before they’d tied the knot. He gave up his freedom to marry her, and here she was complaining about what he’d done before he even knew her name. He never wanted to get married in the first place, but had done his duty instead of sending her home.

  Hell, he’d even spent the last few nights celibate because he was careful of her sensibilities, and he wasn’t one to cheat on his spouse like the women he’d been chasing off for years. Did she give him credit for that? No, she acted like he had some sort of commitment to her before she’d even arrived. Well, he hadn’t.

  Lily wanted to crawl into a corner somewhere and lick her wounds. Because she’d married this man, she would spend the rest of her life on this ranch, and making visits to town. It was pretty obvious that within hours everyone in Angel Springs would know Caleb had married her against his wishes.

  There were apparently a lot of women who had hoped to have Caleb’s gold band on their fingers. Well, they were welcome to the cad.

  Except if she left him, or if he turned her out, she would have nowhere to go. Her home was gone, her job, and her reputation. Fred’s deception still stung.

  “I don’t have to answer to you for what I did before you leg-shackled me!”

  Lily sputtered, trying hard to form words. “Leg-shackled you! Since my memory has never been called into question before, I recollect that no one stood behind you with a shotgun aimed at your back.”

  “There might as well have been.” He threw up his hands and marched to the window, leaning against the frame, his arms crossed. “Mama sure left us all no choice. Not even to be able to choose which bride we wanted.”

  Well!

  Lily drew herself up and gathered her wounded pride around her like a cloak. “Very well. I see now there is no possibility of us ever living in harmony.” She turned on her heel and headed to the bedroom where she proceeded to throw her belongings into her small satchel.

  The man was absolutely horrible. Vain, over-confident, and a bully. He’d apparently lived a charmed life with the ladies up until now, but she would not stand by and have him make a fool of her with the town. As soon as she could gather her thoughts, she would decide where she would go from here.

  Caleb’s large body blocked the front door. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “Don’t cuss.” Lily arched a brow. “Why do you care? You can take yourself off to town anytime you wish and request an annulment. Then you can form a line of all the women who want to marry you. Most likely there are hundreds.” Her stiff fingers pulled up the collar on her jacket. “I’m sure the judge will sympathize with you since poor Caleb was so taken advantage of by me and your own mama.”

  “I don’t need your permission to do anything. And leave my mama out of this.”

  “And I don’t need your permission to do anything, either, nor do I have to answer to you. And in case your memory is not as good as mine, your mama started this whole thing.” Her hand tightened on her satchel enough to turn her knuckles white. “Now get out of my way.”

  They both stared at each other, their bodies tense, eyes flashing, neither one ready to back down.

  “If you don’t move away from that door, I will scream to bring the roof down.”

  He put his hand out. “Lily, please, this is silly.”

  “Move.”

  Reluctantly, he stepped aside. She flung the door open, wincing as it slammed against the wall. She stepped out into the early evening air and took a deep breath. With her head held high, she marched to the end of the path and stopped. Where was she going? The walk to town was much too far. She turned in a circle, viewing the area, noting Caleb leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed, watching her with narrowed eyes.

  Ignoring him, she continued her survey until she spotted a small cottage on the east side of the barn. She remembered Caleb pointing it out when he had given her a tour of the grounds. It had been the foreman’s house before they built a bigger one for the man before Pete, who had a wife and several children.

  That would be perfect for her to use until she decided what she would do with her life. She had been an independent woman before this fiasco, and she would be one again. If there was no library in Angel Springs, then she might secure a job at one of the many stores until she saved enough money to . . .

  To, what?

  Go somewhere else. A place where no one knew her, or her sorry history with men. She would have her own little house again, maybe get a dog or cat and be very happy without Mr. Caleb Fraser, or Mr. Fred Dillon, or even that worm, Sydney Drummond. In fact, were she Catholic, she’d consider entering a convent. A lifetime spent with all women seemed very appealing right now.

  The snow crunched under her feet as she made her way to the small hous
e. A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed Caleb followed her. She snorted. Why would he want to know where she was headed? He obviously didn’t want her, had never wanted her, and would probably kick up his heels once she was gone from his life.

  Let all those legions of broken-hearted women comfort him.

  The door creaked as she shoved it open. The tiny area had a few pieces of furniture. A bed, a small table and two chairs. She moved further into the space and set her satchel down on the table.

  “You can’t stay here.” Caleb’s deep voice shattered the silence.

  “Indeed? And why not?” She hurried on, “Not that I need your permission.”

  “You have no wood for a fire, there’s no food here, and wild animals roam the area.” He banged his fist on the door. “This wouldn’t keep out a bear if he decided he wanted to make a visit.”

  “I can put a chair under the doorknob.”

  Caleb shook his head. “Lily, come back to the house, please. This is not a good idea.”

  She hesitated for a moment. It would be cold and lonely here, and Caleb was right, what would she eat? Then she stiffened her shoulders. She was plumb tired of men wreaking havoc in her life. She was done with them.

  “I will do just fine. You needn’t worry about me.” She brushed past him to exit the house. Once outside, she gathered kindling and large pieces of wood.

  “Lily.”

  “Go away, Caleb. I don’t want you here, and I don’t need you here. I can very well take care of myself. I’ve done it since my last parent died eight years ago.”

  “But you’ve never had to survive alone in a cabin in the middle of the mountains.”

  She strode past him, her arms full of branches. “Then it’s time I learned.” She walked through the door, and kicked it shut, leaving him standing on the porch.

  After dumping the kindling sticks in the fireplace, she found a flint on the stone mantle and lit the wood. Since they’d had a week of sunshine after the last snowstorm, the wood was dry enough that there wasn’t a lot of smoke. Once the kindling burned brightly, she threw on one of the logs she had carried in.