Sophie slowly blinked her eyes open and then stretched her arms. When Isabel turned to her, the little girl smiled. “Hi,” she said in a low morning voice. Isabel was amazed at her enthusiasm. A ten-year-old who was happy from the instant she woke up! Sophie was precious and Isabel was beginning to understand why she was the apple of her father’s eye.
“You must get ready for school. You’ll be late,” Isabel said, walking over to sit by Sophie’s bed. She stroked her shining blonde hair and couldn’t help but smile, as much as her body hurt.
“Did you sleep well, Isabel?” Sophie asked and she nodded.
“Of course. I slept very well,” Isabel declared, trying to keep the smile on her face.
“Will you please take me to school? I want you to take me to school,” Sophie said and flung her small body into Isabel’s arms.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Isabel said, patting Sophie’s back. It was good to get a warm morning hug.
Chapter Nine
Thankfully, Sophie’s school was only a ten-minute walk from the ranch. Isabel walked Sophie to the gate of the small school building where, according to Sophie, only ten other kids from the town attended. Isabel stayed back at the gate. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to introduce herself to the teacher.
Then, Isabel walked back to the ranch, dragging her feet and wiping the sweat off her forehead. She felt like her body was ravaged. As she walked up the dirt road towards the porch of the house, she thought she heard Liam whistle. Then he appeared.
He was on a horse, a mighty chestnut-colored horse with a chocolate mane. They galloped towards her and she felt like the ground was shaking underneath her feet. He didn’t seem to slow down as he approached her, but rather came to a sudden halt beside her. Isabel shaded her eyes with the palm of her hand to look up at him.
The sun was behind him so that his face was darkened and a bright orange light silhouetted his dirty blonde hair and cowboy hat. He looked regal and masculine on his horse. She imagined him with his shirt off, as she had seen him the previous night.
“Isabel, meet Henry.” He said and it took Isabel a few seconds to realize that Liam was introducing her to his horse.
“Oh. Well, hello Henry,” she said, still keeping her distance.
“Have you ever worked with horses?” he asked and she bit down on her lip in reply.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?” A grin formed on his face. He was mocking her.
She remained silent. Liam rolled his eyes and she got the sudden feeling that he was annoyed with her. She began to worry again. That she wasn’t good enough for him – good enough to be his wife. “I can learn. Tell me what to do and I’ll try my best,” she said eagerly while Liam glared down at her. The grin on his face had vanished. He looked like he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with her anymore.
“Just carry the chopped wood to the back of the house. The nights are going to start getting colder than usual and we’ll need to get the fireplace going,” he said dismissively.
Isabel gulped and nodded her head.
“Where is the wood?” she asked, tucking in stray strands of her curls behind her ears. She was uncomfortable under his gaze, especially now that he had seen her completely naked. He knew what she looked like without any clothes.
Liam pointed into the distance where Isabel could just about make out a pile of wood in response. “Carry in a week’s worth. Then you can start making my lunch. I’ll be in by one,” he said and, without waiting for a response, he turned around on his horse and galloped away.
Isabel was left standing in the sun, staring at him as he disappeared into the back of the ranch. She wiped her face with her hands, sucked in her stomach, and tried to calm down her nerves.
It was December already, she tried to remind herself even though it felt hotter than the middle of summer on the East Coast. She lifted up her skirt with her fingers and started walking towards the spot that Liam had indicated. Carrying chopped wood back to the house, cooking meals, dressing a ten-year-old for school. None of these were tasks she had ever performed in her life before, and every step she took made her nervous.
She couldn’t understand why she was so desperate to please Liam. He hadn’t even accepted her as his wife yet. In fact, she was free to just leave if she wanted to. It actually seemed like Liam would prefer if she did. He didn’t give her any indication that he was happy to have her here. Rather, it seemed like he had changed his mind about having a mail order bride altogether.
Isabel walked slowly towards the pile of wood that Liam had undoubtedly chopped and stored there earlier.
This was going to be her life now. Was this what she wanted? Did she want to be married to a man who barely even looked at her? Who dished out orders and expected them to be executed on his terms? Who wanted her around the house so she could do all the housework and take care of his daughter? She had a successful career in New York. She was a city girl. She had never known a life like this. Did she actually want to give all that up and lead this life of isolation with a man who rarely ever smiled?
Then Isabel remembered the way he had touched her the previous night. The kind of pleasure he had given her in a way she had never experienced before. She knew she was curious to know more, to experience more. She wanted to see more of Liam… see him completely naked. Just the very thought of it stirred something in her belly. She wanted him inside her. Even if just for one night.
It was going to be a test for Liam, just as he was testing her. He had teased her the previous night with his body, brought her to the edge, just gave her a taste of what was in store for her.
And now Isabel was determined to find out the rest – what it would feel like to have Liam completely to herself. Even if it meant waiting and hoping that he decided she would make for a good wife. She could always change her mind later. She could always leave if she wanted to. Her life in New York was waiting for her if she ever needed to go back.
Chapter Ten
What Isabel hadn’t been expecting was for the wood to be as heavy as it was. She had no idea what a week’s worth of wood for the fireplace looked like. She tried to carry an armful first, but the logs were too heavy for her. Her limbs hurt, her back ached, and she walked slowly, sweating towards the back of the house with only a few at a time.
In the distance, she could hear Liam with the horses. He whistled, clucked his tongue, and called out to them as he worked. She couldn’t see him, so she didn’t know what he was doing exactly, but it was a sort of twisted comfort that he was there. Although she was getting more and more embarrassed by her slow progress.
It was just wood that she carried, and even this she couldn’t do quickly enough. She was worried about his lunch as well. She wanted to please him with a delicious hearty meal after his day spent doing hard manual labor. But she wasn’t sure what ingredients were available in the pantry for her to do this.
Isabel could feel herself dehydrating slowly, and then she remembered that she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since the previous night’s dinner. Also, she had barely slept. Her body felt like a bundle of rags that she was only dragging around the place.
Her arms felt sore, too sore to even lift up any of the wood anymore. She walked back to the pile of wood for the third time, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Her stomach felt empty and sore, as did her back. Isabel looked up towards the sun, trying to steady herself, but the bright light suddenly blinded her.
When she looked away, she could only see darkness everywhere and then the ground beneath her started to swing and shake. She heard herself gasp and then a weak scream escaped her lips and then the world became completely blank.
The next thing she knew, she was forcing her eyes open. She could feel a cold cotton cloth on her forehead and she was lying down. On Liam’s bed. She was in Liam’s bedroom. The curtains were pulled so the room was fairly dim and she could feel the gush of a breeze from somewhere beside her.
Isabel tried to
sit up and two large hands appeared on her shoulders. She looked up. It was Liam pushing her back down on the bed. “Stay still for some time longer,” he said. She thought there was a change in his voice somehow. She also noticed he held a fan. Did people actually use those anymore? But now she knew where the cool breeze was coming from. He had been fanning her.
“What happened?” she tried to ask and realized that barely any sound came out from her lips.
“Here, drink this,” he said and held a glass of milky-looking liquid to her parched lips. “It’s glucose in water. Just drink it, Isabel,” he said a little more authoritatively.
She sipped from the glass, still in complete shock. Liam’s touch had been gentle, he had concern in his eyes. He looked like he was guilty.
“You fainted. I heard you shriek and then found you by the pile of chopped wood,” he said after she had drunk half the glass of glucose water. He placed it back on the table beside her and started fanning her again. Isabel felt her curls fly around her face, and the sweat on her forehead was evaporating fast. She suddenly felt a lot better, more like herself.
“When did you last eat? When did you last drink some water?” he asked her, almost like he was scolding his daughter.
Isabel hung her head down, she was ashamed of herself. “I forgot this morning,” she replied, her voice still cracked.
Liam shook his head and looked away from her. “I knew it from the moment I saw you. You’re not cut out for here, not for this ranch, not for this place,” he said, more to himself than to her.
“I’ve just been tired. I just got here. I need some time to get used to all this.” Isabel heard the pleading in her voice. She was feeling desperate again. She didn’t want him to turn her away, send her back. She wanted to please him, to convince him that she was worthy. She wanted him to make love to her.
She watched his piercing blue eyes turn to her again. His jaw was taut and strong, his hands still clutched the fan as he swung it. “You need some rest, Isabel. You need to sleep,” he said.
She bit down on her lip. “I just need some time to settle down, Liam,” she pleaded with him again and tried to sit up.
“Get some sleep. I’ll go fetch Sophie from school and make some lunch for all of us.” He stood up from his chair beside her and placed the fan on the table next to her.
“Liam,” she called out to him as he walked towards the door. She didn’t want him to leave, but why should he stay?
He stopped and looked at her. “Why are you so desperate to be here, Isabel? What are you running away from?” he asked.
Isabel gulped, swallowing her words. They stared at each other and then he walked out when she didn’t reply to his question.
She couldn’t bring herself to tell him. What would she even say? It was so petty, so silly. He would think she was a child. She would only give him more reason to turn her away, to think she was unsuitable for this ranch. To be a step mother to Sophie or be his wife.
But now that he had left the room, it gave Isabel some time to think about what Liam had done. How he fanned her as she slept. How he was caring for her.
Chapter Eleven
Isabel must have been sleeping again because she didn’t realize when Sophie had come to sit beside her. “Daddy made you some soup, Isabel.” She heard Sophie’s soft voice as she opened her eyes. It was she who was sitting beside her and fanning her now. Liam was nowhere in sight.
“Are you feeling any better?” she asked when Isabel pulled herself up to sit. There were pillows arranged behind her for support.
“Yes, I am. Much better. Thank you,” Isabel said, smiling at Sophie’s worried face.
“Daddy said that you fainted. Will you be alright?” Sophie asked and Isabel nodded her head.
“I just got a little dehydrated, sweetie. I’m alright now.” Isabel reached for the bowl of soup while Sophie continued to fan her. “I don’t need the fan now. Tell me about school,” Isabel said, dipping her spoon into the bowl of soup.
Sophie still looked dismayed, like she didn’t trust Isabel’s insistence that she was fine. “But daddy told me to keep fanning you and also to make sure that you eat your soup and go back to sleep.” Sophie sounded worried, more worried than Liam did.
“Your daddy is very kind, but I don’t need it. I’m feeling much better now.” Isabel smiled. The soup tasted surprisingly good. It was chicken broth, just like the kind her own father used to make for her if she ever got sick as a child.
“Sophie?” The little girl looked dejected and sad suddenly. “What’s wrong honey? Did something happen in school?”
Sophie shook her head, trying to avoid Isabel’s inquiring looks.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m doing much better. As good as new,” Isabel said and reached for Sophie’s chin.
“I think daddy is really mad at me now,” she said, still not willing to look Isabel directly in the eye.
“Mad at you? Why should he be mad at you? What did you do? My illness had nothing to do with you.” Isabel smiled at Sophie, stroking her head now with her hand.
“It does,” Sophie said in a low, meek voice. She didn’t look at Isabel, whose hand now stopped stroking her head.
“What are you talking about?” Isabel placed the bowl of soup back on the table. She still wasn’t taking Sophie seriously. How could any of this possibly be a little child’s fault? She was imagining her own guilt in all this.
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” Sophie said, hanging her head. She was playing furiously with her fingers and Isabel sat up straighter in bed.
“Tell me what? You’re not making any sense, Sophie.” Isabel’s brows were crossed and her heart was beating fast again. There was some kind of secret between father and daughter, and it made Isabel incredibly afraid suddenly. What was it that she didn’t know about the Mayers? Sophie was taking her time, and Isabel knew that the only way she would be able to find out the truth was by coaxing her. Liam would never tell.
“Daddy made me promise that I wouldn’t tell you.” Sophie suddenly looked up at Isabel. Big fat tears threatened to spill from the bottoms of her eyelids.
“I want you to know that there is nothing you can’t tell me, honey. What is it? I will not be mad at you or your father.” Isabel reached for Sophie’s hands and pressed them together. She was talking in whispers just as Sophie was. They were both afraid of Liam overhearing their conversation.
“Daddy… I… he…” Sophie began, fumbling with her words. Isabel squeezed her small hands again, straightening up in the bed. She was afraid of what she was going to hear. What had Liam done? What kind of a person was Liam truly like? What big secret had he sworn his daughter to protect against his new bride?
“Go on, sweetie,” Isabel urged her.
“Daddy didn’t place the ad,” Sophie blurted out and whipped her face away from Isabel.
Isabel’s fear quickly turned to confusion. She couldn’t understand what Sophie meant by it. “He didn’t place the ad? You mean the ad for the mail-order bride?” Isabel asked and Sophie slowly turned to look at her again. Then she nodded. “What does that mean? Who placed the ad then?” Isabel asked, more confused now than ever.
“I did,” Sophie said and burst out crying. Isabel reached for her and pulled her close to her chest. She had promised the little girl that she wouldn’t be mad, no matter how bad the secret was. But she still couldn’t wrap her brain around the revelation.
“You placed the ad? On behalf of your father? He asked you to?” Isabel asked, trying to keep the confusion and anger out of her voice.
“No. He didn’t know,” Sophie said, looking up at Isabel’s face. She had tears streaming down her cheeks now. “I saw the ads in the paper and I wrote one for daddy, just like the others. Then I posted it to the newspaper. I thought it would be fun. I wanted a mother, a friend. And you’re perfect.” Sophie’s words were jumbled and then she flung herself against Isabel’s body again.
Isabel held the little g
irl tightly in her arms. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. None of it made sense, but it very well explained why Liam behaved with her the way he did.
He didn’t want a mail-order bride. He wasn’t expecting one to suddenly turn up at his doorstep. His daughter had placed the ad, replied to Isabel’s queries… had done it all secretly until Isabel appeared at their ranch. It was all Sophie all along.
“Isabel… Are you mad at me?” Sophie cried and Isabel clutched her to her chest, trying to keep the anger and embarrassment out of her voice.
“Not at all sweetie. It’s still not your fault,” she said, biting down on her lip.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, after a long and restless night in which Isabel couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Sophie, Isabel found Liam brushing the mane of his horses. Isabel hadn’t seen him since he had sat fanning her by her bed. He must have been busy at the ranch all evening and then slept on the couch. Why, Isabel didn’t know, but somehow his absence had made her even more furious.
She could see him as she walked towards him, her feet kicking up dust as she went. Her skirt was hitched high up and she could feel her whole body shake as she strode towards him.
His back was turned to her, and he was whistling a tune. His plaid shirt sleeves were rolled up and his boots were muddy now. Even from the back, he looked handsome. His shoulders were strong and straight. His back was broad and tapered toward his slim waist. He appeared to be smiling up at the horse as he brushed its mane.
“When were you going to tell me?” Isabel nearly shrieked at him. Liam just turned his head, although his hand had stopped in position. His eyes were dancing against the orange light of the setting sun. He had that same grin on his face.
“I knew Sophie wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for very long,” he said and then fully turned to look at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me the moment I got here?” Isabel repeated. She could feel the rage erupting from her ears. She was plenty embarrassed, but she was even angrier.
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