A Bride to Heal His Broken Heart

by Melynda Carlyle

  It was time for Darren to go after something for himself: Lorna.

  Chapter 22

  The day had simply flown by for Lorna. She’d finished cleaning up after breakfast and then spent several hours reading to Brian. She’d helped June get supper started and even found a few minutes to help out with some of the other household chores, even though June had declared her help wasn’t necessary.

  Lorna refused to be a freeloader, and if she was going to make the ranch her home, she intended to help out in any way she possibly could. June had insisted she spend time getting herself ready for the dance instead of helping her set the table for supper. Lorna had reluctantly done so, donning her prettiest dress and taking extra care with her hair.

  The outfit was a two-piece skirt with a matching shirt and a small hat that sat atop her head rather than being tied under her chin like her other bonnets. She was debating the wisdom of wearing something that might make the other women attending the dance judge her too harshly. Lorna didn’t want anyone to feel as if she was trying to appear better than they were; she just wanted to look her best.

  The decision about the hat was answered by June when she came up to see if Lorna needed any help with her hair. One look at the matching hat, and June had declared she absolutely must wear it.

  “I don’t want to offend anyone…”

  “Nonsense. You just be your usual cheery self, and everyone will fall in love with you just like we have. I can’t wait to see Darren’s face when he sees you.” June’s smile said she expected Darren to be just as happy as she was.

  Lorna peered at her reflection in the looking glass attached to the wall above the dresser. “I’m nervous,” she admitted.

  “About meeting others in the community?” June queried.

  Lorna shrugged. “And attending the dance with Darren.”

  June just smiled and mumbled something about youngsters as she left the room. Lorna followed her a few minutes later, entering the dining room to find Ethan sitting at the table, but no Darren.

  Ethan smiled at her arrival and told her, “Darren is getting ready for the dance and will not be joining us for supper.”

  Lorna nodded and then slowly began to eat, her nerves continuing to grow as June’s words came back to her. Soon, she heard Darren’s voice at the front door calling to her.

  “Lorna, we should be heading out now.”

  “Coming,” Lorna replied, getting up from the table and smoothing her skirt while ignoring the looks from the others in the room. She sensed several people’s gazes following her, and she wiped her damp palms on her skirt before rounding the corner and getting her first glimpse of Darren standing in the doorway.

  He saw her at the same time, his eyes going wide as he looked her up and down. He wasn’t alone in his perusal; Lorna let her eyes take in the handsome man before her.

  He had changed into his best clothes as well, and her feet stopped moving halfway to him so that she could look her fill. When he smiled and nodded in approval, she blushed and continued walking toward him.

  “You look very nice,” he told her softly as he held the door open for her.

  Lorna grabbed her shawl from the hook by the door and followed him out. The smaller wagon with only one horse stood waiting for them.

  “No reason to take both horses into town, since we won’t be picking up supplies this evening.”

  Darren waited at the side of the small wagon and held Lorna’s elbow as she ascended the two attached steps, adjusting her skirt beneath her. “Thank you.”

  “You are very welcome.”

  He walked around the front and climbed into the wagon. Almost immediately, he started the horse moving forward, carrying them both toward town. “Still excited about this evening?”

  Lorna nodded. “I am, but I’m also a bit nervous. What if I don’t know any of the dances?”

  “You’ll be fine. You’ll meet a lot of people tonight, but don’t worry about trying to remember all of their names. I can help you make sense of them later.”

  Lorna felt a small amount of relief and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  They continued to converse about their day, keeping things light. Before long, they were in town and parking the wagon in an open field next to the church. There were more than two dozen wagons already parked close by. Lorna started to relax when people waved and greeted them with smiles as they headed for the building.

  Darren was a very thoughtful escort, introducing her to everyone they met and making sure she was having a good time. There were quite a few girls her age who had gathered to talk, not really interested in dancing right away. Lorna joined them, mostly listening but also commenting from time to time.

  She decided there were several women she could see herself becoming fast friends with. She’d never really been given an opportunity to make friends with other women her age, so she didn’t want to get her hopes up just yet.

  As the evening progressed, she found herself caught up in the feelings of joy and happiness the townsfolk in attendance exuded. She enjoyed watching the people dance, tapping her toes along with the fiddles and other instruments providing the evening’s music.

  She couldn’t seem to keep from watching Darren as he moved about the other side of the room, talking with other young men and smiling freely. It was the first time she’d truly seen him relaxed and enjoying himself, and she found him even more attractive now.

  “Excuse me, miss.”

  Startled, Lorna spun around, surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on her. She looked into the grinning face of the mayor and had to physically hold back the urge to move away from him.

  “Mayor.” She nodded at him.

  “Lovely dance, isn’t it?” Mayor Harington said, still grinning at her.

  “It’s very nice,” she agreed, her eyes glancing around to see if Darren was close enough to help get her out of this exchange.

  “Would you care to dance? I noticed you’ve not been on the dance floor yet.”

  Lorna felt even more uncomfortable at the thought of the man touching her. She truly wanted to decline, but she decided it would be rather rude to cut him off.

  Besides, what harm can one dance do? It’s not as if the man can harm me in the middle of all of these people.

  “Thank you,” she replied softly, placing her hand lightly on the arm he extended. She allowed him to lead her out onto the dancefloor, trying not to acknowledge the cockiness with which he did so. When he turned to face her, taking her hand in his and placing his other hand around her waist, she cringed inwardly. She silently willed the musicians to play a very short number.

  The music began, and Orvis turned her around the dancefloor. His steps were sure and confident, but she found herself constantly fighting his hold as he tried to pull her indecently close. She finally locked her elbow and kept her arm between the two of them. Distaste filled her mouth as the man proceeded to try and impress her with his status and wealth.

  “Most of the town owes their livelihoods to me in one way or another. I’m considered quite a catch, you know.”

  Lorna pasted a smile on her face and chose not to reply, allowing the man to continue talking.

  “So, you’ve been in town for a few weeks. What do you think of our little town?”

  “It’s very nice,” she replied softly.

  “And what exactly brought you out here? Family? Gold? Adventure?”

  Again, Lorna remained quiet. Her stomach twisted into knots and she silently willed the song to end soon. He reminded her so much of Vincent that toward the end of the dance she actually felt her skin crawl. She wished she’d declined his invitation to dance in the first place. All she could do now was endure until the song ended.

  That came a few blessed moments later. As the music came to an end, she attempted to withdraw from his embrace, but found herself trapped by his hold. She tried to pull her arms free, hoping she wouldn’t be forced to make a scene in order to secure her release. She was ju
st at the point of giving him a stern dressing-down when suddenly Darren was there, pulling her away from the mayor.

  “My turn to dance with the lady,” he told Orvis and moved Lorna quickly to the other side of the room. The music started up and Darren turned her, gliding around the dancefloor with her in his arms. Her relief was a physical thing and she gave Darren a bright smile.

  He continued to spin her around and she tried to enjoy being in his arms, but she could feel Orvis’s eyes staring at her intently from across the room the entire time. There was something about the man that simply put her on edge. She tried to blame it on the insecurities she still had from her incident with Vincent.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Darren asked once the music ended. He escorted her over to the refreshment table, where Sofia pulled Lorna aside.

  “You two look wonderful together,” Sofia told her with a soft sigh.

  Lorna blushed and nodded. “Darren is very special.”

  Sofia winked at her as Darren joined them and then turned to join her husband as the last dance of the evening was announced. Darren looked at her and nodded toward the dancefloor. “Shall we?”

  Lorna nodded and, rather than offering her his arm, he reached for her hand, pulling her alongside him as they took their place in the circle of other couples. The song was a slow ballad this time, and Lorna found herself standing much closer to Darren than she had before.

  He watched her as they performed a slow waltz around the room, and she found herself unable to look away from him. No words were necessary as they moved together. As the music enveloped them, it was as if the other couples disappeared.

  Lorna felt her heart flutter and a warmth filled her inside as Darren gazed into her eyes. All too soon, the music came to an end, as did their silent connection.

  Friends and neighbors bid them a safe trip home, and ten minutes later, they were in the wagon. Lorna pulled her shawl about her shoulders as the full moon overhead guided them back to the ranch.

  When he reached for her hand, she gave it willingly. He held it tight as the horse bore them homeward, and Lorna resisted the urge to lay her head upon his shoulder. For now.

  When they were less than a mile from the ranch, Darren released her hand and instead placed his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her closer to him on the buckboard, her hip and thigh coming up against his own, giving her the perfect opportunity to lay her head in the crook of his shoulder.

  She held herself stiffly for a long moment, and then decided she wasn’t going to ruin this by worrying about proper behavior. Darren’s arm around her felt marvelous, and she inhaled his clean, spicy scent, closing her eyes as she attempted to commit it to memory.

  He was warm, deliciously so, and she found herself resenting the fact that home was so close. When they finally got to the ranch, Darren stopped the horse in the yard, but didn’t immediately alight from the wagon. Instead, he turned to face her, his hands going to her shoulders as he searched her face for a long moment.

  Lorna stared back at him, one of her hands resting on his shoulder, itching to creep upward and see if his hair was as soft as it looked. He folded her fingers into his palm, then dipped his head and kissed her.

  She gave into her longing and wrapped both arms around his neck. She let her fingers tangle in the hair at his nape as he pulled her against his chest. His hands moved up and down her spine as his lips devoured her own. This wasn’t the chaste kiss of the night before, but a kiss that promised passion Lorna didn’t fully comprehend.

  Darren kissed her, moving his lips along her jawline and up to her ear before retracing the path and kissing her lips once more. Lorna’s senses had stopped functioning properly at the first touch of his lips, and it was long moments before he finally lifted his head and looked back down into her face.

  “Lovely Lorna,” he murmured, bringing one of his hands forward to brush over her cheek in a tender gesture. When a shiver ran up her spine, he murmured softly, “I should let you go inside where it’s warm.”

  Lorna nodded, at a loss for words in this tender moment. Darren brushed his thumb over her lips and then kissed her, almost chastely this time, before sighing and dropping his arms from around her.

  Her arms fell to her lap, and she watched as he came around and helped her down from the wagon. “Goodnight,” he told her with a soft kiss on her forehead.

  “Goodnight,” Lorna whispered, afraid to say too much for fear she might beg him to take her back into his arms again.

  Kissing Darren was quickly becoming one of her favorite parts of the day. She headed for her bedroom and got ready for bed, thoughts of his kisses on her mind.

  I hope I get a chance to repeat tonight again and again.

  Whatever was happening between her and Darren felt too good to dismiss or ignore.

  Chapter 23

  The next day Orvis found himself once again entertaining George, but this time in his office. He’d left his door open, knowing the man would be coming to see him at some point. It wasn’t a meeting that Orvis was necessarily looking forward to.

  He turned his attention to the map on his desk. It showed the area of Virginia City. Orvis had marked out the location of each ranch and homestead; the marks signified the various ranches and properties that needed to be purchased to meet the new railroad’s land needs.

  “Orvis, did you get the Wilsons’ land?” George asked as he stalked into the mayor’s office a short time later.

  “Good morning to you too, George.” Orvis stood up and held out his hand in greeting, only to pull it back when George refused to shake it.

  “Cut the niceties. Did you or did you not get Wilson to sell his land?” George sat down in a chair facing the mayor’s desk, a scowl upon his ruddy face and displeasure radiating from his eyes.

  Orvis sat back in his chair, holding onto his temper, and answered through clenched teeth, “I told you I was working on it.”

  George leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at him. “Orvis, I’m telling you I need that land. Immediately.”

  “We still have a few weeks—”

  “Not anymore, you don’t,” George growled at him. The man sat back and looked around the office, his mouth curling in distaste. “I’m moving the deadline forward. No more wasting time. My men will be arriving shortly, and they want to start construction on the railway line immediately.”

  “We agreed—” Orvis began, only to be cut off by George.

  “There is no we. There is me, and I’m telling you that time is money. I trust you can understand that and accommodate my wishes. I want everything sorted out by this time next week.”

  “Next week?” Orvis questioned, his mind racing.

  “Next week. Or else…” George let his sentence dangle, leaving Orvis to fill in the rest. George was ruthless and not someone Orvis had any intention of crossing or disappointing. “Do I make myself clear?” George demanded, leaning forward and glaring across the expanse of the desk.

  Orvis stammered and then finally managed to nod. “I’ll do my best.”

  “I hope your best is good enough. I would hate to have to find another ally in this town. I’m sure there are plenty of takers for the job of mayor.”

  With the threat made, George stood up and dusted off his shoulders as if being in the mayor’s office had somehow contaminated him. He glanced around at the furnishings Orvis was so proud of and shook his head in disgust. George then stalked from the office, letting the door slam behind him.

  Orvis slumped against his desk for a long moment. This meeting had not gone as he’d planned, and it was very clear that more needed to be done.

  Orvis’s entire plan for his future was about to unravel, and all because the ranch owners wouldn’t sell. No one was going to stand in the way of Orvis meeting George’s expectation. The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he became.

  He stood up from behind his desk and paced the length of his office, his fists clenched tight by his side. His boots sounded loudl
y on the wooden floor planks.

  How dare anyone think to keep me from my due! This town is mine, and I will decide its future, not a bunch of cowhands.

  When he had control of his anger and emotions once more, he grabbed his coat and headed for the saloon. He was due to meet with Leroy and Claus, and it seemed he would now need them to change their tactics. A more immediate response was needed from the landowners in the area who were balking at selling out to the railroad.

  Orvis found Leroy and Claus already at the bar and nodded for them to join him in his private drinking chamber. They were in a good mood, teasing one another about one of the saloon girls. Orvis raised his voice. “Sit down.”