by Nerys Leigh
Spinning away, she stomped along the hall. How dare he come and be all apologetic while she was angry with him, and then have the gall to be funny as well.
He should have told her about Briggs the day he’d threatened them. Will should have let her help.
Which he needed to know.
She strode back to the door and yanked it open. Will was still standing on her porch, which was a relief because there was no way she was going to call up the street after him.
“And another thing you should have done is trusted me,” she said. “I’m not a coward. I deserve to know when Nicky and I are in danger. And when you’re in danger.”
He had the nerve to look contrite. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I didn’t tell Dan either.”
“And you think that makes it better?”
“Um… no?”
“No! If you’d told me from the start, we could have dealt with it together.”
His brow bunched together in the middle, like it did whenever he was distressed. “I know, but I was ashamed that something I’d done could put you and Nicky and my family in danger. I thought it would be better if we weren’t together.”
“You… I… what…” Releasing a cry of exasperation, she slammed the door shut again. It was that or slap him.
When was he going to get it through his head that nothing was going to stop her wanting him? She shouldn’t have to work this hard. He should be the one chasing her.
She jerked the door open and thrust a finger at him. “To think I courted you. Actually courted you! Do you think that was easy?”
He rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. “I know I didn’t make it easy.”
“Not just you! Mrs. Vernon all but accused me of being a hussy. She said it was unseemly for a woman to go chasing after a man.”
A smile tugged at his infuriatingly full lips. “Since when do you care what Mrs. Vernon says?”
“That is so very much not the point!”
His smile disappeared. “Look, Daisy…”
She shoved the door closed in his face again. No sentence beginning with ‘Look, Daisy’ was going to make her feel any better disposed towards him.
“Don’t you look Daisy me,” she said when she reopened the door. “I am so angry with you right now.”
“I can see that.”
“You should have told me about Briggs, but instead you left me. You made me think you didn’t want me.”
“I didn’t mean to. I’ve always wanted you, ever since I was eleven.”
“And another…” She paused. “Eleven?”
He smiled a little and nodded.
“Honestly, Will, you are the most exasperating man on earth. Eleven?” She threw her hands into the air. “Eleven?! It’s taken you thirteen years to tell me you like me?”
“To be fair, you were either with Adam or married to Gareth for at least half of that time.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am not in the mood to be fair.”
“I don’t blame you for that.” Taking a deep breath, he gazed into her eyes. “And I don’t just like you. I love you.”
All the air left her lungs in a rush. He loved her? And he was telling her this now?
“First you refuse to court me, then you say you want me, then you leave me, then you lie to me…”
“I didn’t actually lie…” He stopped when she glared at him. “Sorry. Go on.”
“Then you lie to me, then you get shot to save my life, then you ignore me for four days, then you turn up on my doorstep and tell me you love me? What am I supposed to think?”
“I’m s…”
This time, the frame rattled with the force of the door hitting it.
She whirled away and paced back and forth along the hallway.
Her head was spinning. Will made her head spin. He made her want to slap him and kiss him at the same time. He made her heart thump and her stomach wobble.
He made her love him.
She was head over heels in love with William Raine.
He was going to suffer for this.
Reaching the door again, she pulled it open. “I…”
She stopped. And lowered her eyes.
Will was down on one knee on her porch. “Will you marry me?”
Her mouth fell open. Then it flopped up and down a few times as she tried to summon a coherent reply.
“I’ve been an idiot,” he said, gazing up at her. “I couldn’t see past my guilt and I didn’t think I could ever be worthy of you, but God has taught me that’s not the point. None of us are worthy of His forgiveness, but He offers it anyway. You’ve been nothing but good to me and I’ve treated you badly. I love you, and I love Nicky, and seeing you in danger made me realize that I want more than anything to be the husband and father you both deserve. So will you marry me, Daisy?”
She should say no. She should make him work for it like he’d made her work for him. She should slam the door in his face again, and leave it shut this time.
She should most definitely not say yes.
Annoyingly, her heart bypassed her brain and went straight to her mouth. “Yes.”
At first he appeared stunned, and then his face lit up in a dazzling smile.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m not still angry with you,” her brain added quickly, ordering her heart to stop jigging happily around her chest.
“I know.” Standing, he took hold of her hand and raised it to his mouth.
Her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
He gave her a rakish grin. “Preparing to kiss you, if that’s all right.” Before she could say no, he brushed his lips across her knuckles.
It made her skin tingle.
Checking the street beyond him, she grasped his hand and pulled him through the door. “Get inside, before someone sees us.”
He stepped towards her as she closed the door, his grin still firmly in place. “You seem very eager to get me in here. Not that I’m complaining.”
Placing her palm onto his chest, she pushed him away. “Not for the reason you think. I just don’t want anyone to see us. If Mrs. Vernon corners me for one more conversation, I’ll burst.”
“Are you saying you don’t want me to kiss you?”
She didn’t want to want him to kiss her. “That’s not the point.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Then what is the point?”
“I…” The way he gazed at her, a smile warming his hazel eyes, made it hard to concentrate. What was the point again?
His smile faded. “I know you’re angry with me.”
That was the point. She was angry with him. She nodded, as if she’d known that all along.
“And I know now that I was stupid to not let you help me.”
She nodded again. It wasn’t helping that he was being so reasonable.
“But I would very, very much like to kiss my fiancée,” he said, his smile returning. “So if you could tell me what to do to make that happen, I’d be grateful.”
He was too charming for his own good. And too handsome. And too… everything.
She fisted her hands at her sides to stop herself from reaching for him. “I want you to promise that you’ll be honest with me from now on, about everything.”
He pushed his free hand into his pocket and rocked back on his heels. “I will, I promise.”
“And that you’ll tell me when something is wrong, and let me help you.”
“No problem.”
“And that we’ll make decisions together, and you’ll ask my advice when you don’t know what to do.”
“Since you’re smarter than me, I’m pretty sure that’ll be often.”
She clamped her lips together against her smile. He was smart enough to know the right things to say to her.
“And that you’ll let go of this idea that you don’t deserve me and Nicky. I wouldn’t agree to marry you if you weren’t a good man.”
His eyes softened. “I’ll do everything I can to l
ive up to that.”
She heaved a sigh. He still didn’t get it. “I’m not in love with you because of who you could be. I’m in love with you because of who you are, who you’ve always been.”
He gaped at her. “You’re in love with me?”
“Of course I’m in love with you. I don’t marry men I’m not in love with.”
He pulled his hand from his pocket, his smile sidling back onto his face. “I hope you’re done with the stipulations, because I’m really going to have to kiss you now.”
She probably could have thought of more, but she was rapidly losing the will to do so. “The rest can wait.”
Stepping towards her, he slipped his hand around her waist. “Good.”
It was somewhat annoying that Will could so easily banish her desire to make him suffer with just the touch of his lips, but it was hard to be angry when her heart was pounding and her knees were weakening and his hand was pulling her close. So she gave up the fight, slipped her arms around his neck, and pushed up onto her toes.
By the time his lips slipped from hers, they were both breathing hard.
He winced as she accidentally jostled his injured shoulder.
She leaned away, touching it gently. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He smiled. “A little bit, but I didn’t really notice.”
“How is your shoulder?”
“Still painful, but the doc says it’ll be all right.”
“Good.”
“Good that it’s painful? Or good that it’ll be all right?”
She thought about that. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Fair enough.”
He leaned forward for another kiss, but she placed her finger onto his lips to stop him.
“I’m still angry at you.”
“Mm hmm,” he murmured past her finger.
“Making me run around after you. Well, no more.”
“Mm hmm.”
“I expect some serious courting from you in the next two weeks.”
“Mm hmm. But why two weeks?”
“Because that’s when we’ll get married.” She raised her eyebrows, daring him to object.
He gave her a smug smile. “Why two? I’m sure the pastor could fit us in sooner.”
Having known him practically her whole life, there wasn’t much he could do to surprise her anymore, but he managed it now. “You want to get married sooner?”
He ran one finger down the side of her face. “Daisy, nothing you or anyone else does or says is going to make me change my mind. I love you, I want you to be my wife, and I can’t wait to start our life together. If you truly feel the same way about me, then I’m ready right now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is this so you can get out of the courting?”
Pulling her closer, he chuckled. “I plan on courting you for the rest of our lives.”
Oh, he was good.
“You’re a dangerous man, Will Raine.”
“Oh? How so?”
Touching her lips to his again, she gave up all pretense at resistance. “Because you’re so annoyingly easy to love.”
Chapter 26
The house was tiny, barely eight feet wide, squeezed between two other houses like someone had rammed it in without any thought of what damage they might do. One side of the roof stood higher than the other, and the chimney looked as if it might topple over in a strong breeze. A pane of glass in the narrow window had been smashed and a rag stuffed into the gap.
Will knocked on the weathered front door. After a few seconds, it opened a crack.
“Mrs. Briggs?”
With the door barely open and the interior dark, he could only see a single eye, but it narrowed at him suspiciously. “What do you want?”
He attempted to look as unthreatening as possible. “My name is William Raine and I’m from Green Hill Creek. I’m looking for Mrs. Bertha Briggs. I’ve come all this way to find her.”
The door opened a little more, enough to reveal a woman in a dress that had seen better days. Many, many better days. She had the kind of face that could have been pretty, if the weight of a lifetime of worry hadn’t taken its toll.
“I don’t know you,” she said.
“I know, but I know your former husband. Kind of.”
She frowned. “I’m not interested in anything to do with him.”
The door started to close.
Will placed his hand on the surface to stop it. “I’m not here to harm you in any way. Please, just hear me out. I promise you’ll be glad if you do.”
She didn’t open the door, but she did stop trying to push it shut. “Go on, then.”
He lowered his hand. “Thank you.”
“Ma?”
Will glimpsed a boy of about twelve walk up behind Mrs. Briggs.
“It’s all right, Bobby,” she said, without taking her eyes from Will. “Go and check on supper.”
“Yes, Ma.” Bobby gave Will a suspicious look before turning and walking out of sight.
“I have things to do,” Mrs. Briggs said, “so say what you have to say.”
“I don’t know if you knew this, but your husband was released from prison a few weeks ago. But…”
“I don’t want to see him,” she said. “So if you’re here to ask me to, you should leave now.”
“Oh no,” he said quickly, before she tried to shut the door again, “I’m not here for that. And he’s back in jail now anyway.”
She pursed her lips. “What for?”
“Kidnapping. Assault. Attempted murder.”
Her eyes went to the sling holding his still-healing arm. “Did he do that?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t going to lie, but he also didn’t see the need to elaborate.
“What he does has nothing to do with me.”
“I know that, and I know you were left without anything when he went to jail the first time.”
She shook her head in disgust. “Fool man gambled away our money then got himself put in prison. Not the first time I rued the day I ever met him, but it was finally the last.”
Will looked up at the run down house that no one would live in if they had a choice. “I know things can’t have been easy for you and your sons, and I want to help.” He held out the pouch he’d brought with him. “Why I’m doing this and where it came from isn’t important, but it’s all legal and above board. And it’s all yours.”
He’d considered keeping some of the two thousand dollars he’d won for the new life he was about to start with Daisy, but when he really thought about it, he didn’t want the money. It was from his past life, and he didn’t want anything to do with that anymore. He was looking forward to a future now, one that didn’t have anything to do with the bad choices of his past, and that was worth more than all the money in the world.
So he’d taken enough for the train fare to San Francisco and home again. The rest, he was giving to Mrs. Briggs.
She stared at the pouch for long seconds before hesitantly reaching out to take it from him.
“Have a good life, Mrs. Briggs,” Will said, turning to leave.
He’d gone ten feet before he heard a gasp from behind him.
“Wait!”
He looked back to see the door wide open and Mrs. Briggs running towards him.
She came to a halt in front of him. “I don’t… what… why are you giving this to me? Who are you?”
He considered telling her everything, about what he’d done, about what her husband had done, but he instinctively knew it would be the wrong thing to do.
So he simply told her, “I’m a man who’s been forgiven.”
And with that, he walked away, finally leaving all his shame behind.
Chapter 27
Four days later.
Daniel pulled the jacket into place and smoothed the collar down around Will’s neck. “How does it feel? Is it hurting your arm at all?”
Will shrugged his good shoulder to settle the jacket into place. “It’s a bit tight a
cross the back, but it doesn’t hurt. How does it look?”
Dan stepped back and ran his eyes over the borrowed suit. “You clean up passably well. It’s a good thing you and Adam are more or less the same height.”
Will slipped his sling back on and turned to look in the mirror over the washstand, standing on his toes in an attempt to see the rest of him. “I look devastatingly handsome, admit it.” He wondered if Daisy had a bigger mirror in her bedroom. Their bedroom, after today. They’d be living in her rented house until he and Dan built the new house on the farm. “Maybe we should buy a suit together, so we have one whenever either of us needs it. Of course, with my much longer legs there might be a problem with the trousers.”
“It’s one inch.”
Will drew himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest. “And yet it makes so much difference.”
Dan shook his head, smiling fondly. “Look at you, about to get married. You’ve come a long way this past year. I’m proud of you.”
His brother’s praise meant more to Will than he could say. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I know.”
Will erupted into laughter. “You’re so modest.”
“Says the man who just called himself devastatingly handsome. What can I say? I’m a really good brother. No sense denying it.”
There was a knock at the bunkhouse door and Sara called, “Everyone decent in there?”
Dan walked over to let in his wife. “No, but we’re dressed.”
He took one of the twins from her as she walked in. Will knew it was Susannah because she was wearing a blue cap. After he and Dan admitted to their mother they couldn’t tell the babies apart, she’d taken pity on them and knitted one pink and one blue.
Although Will was pretty sure he was getting the hang of telling them apart now. Well, eighty percent sure. Seventy, at least.
“The twins are all fed and ready to go,” Sara said, bouncing Levi as she looked Will up and down. “Well, don’t you look handsome?”
“It’s only the suit,” Dan said. “I’m still the better looking one.”
Will took Levi from Sara and walked past his brother to the door. “That’s right, you keep telling yourself that.”
~ ~ ~
Six years had passed since Daisy stood on the very spot where she was now, beside the man who was to become her husband. She’d been wildly in love with Gareth, and blissfully happy to be marrying him, and they had four wonderful years before she lost him.