“I will be sharing his bedroom soon and you will no longer be welcome in our home.” With that said, she turned to walk down the hallway to the front door. Travis was waiting on her, and she had no intention of spending her time waiting on Thorpe to return. She had the information she wanted. She would tell Thorpe that she didn’t want those women in his home and he could put them up in the hotel. She knew how to make Thorpe succumb to her demands; she’d done it before.
“Has that woman no shame?” Isabelle asked when they heard the front door close.
“She reminds me of Dora,” Lily said. “She cares for no one but herself. She didn’t even ask what happened to Thorpe when you told her I saved his life.”
“Tell me he’s not going to marry that harpy,” Isabelle said.
“Isabelle! I’ve never heard you speak that way,” Lily said.
“I’m sorry, but can you imagine Thorpe being married to her? What in the world did he see in her in the first place? My heavens, I can hardly fathom a worse fate.”
Lily agreed, but it wasn’t her place to tell Thorpe that the woman he was going to marry was seriously lacking in common decency, not to mention manners. “She does wear beautiful clothing.” Lily felt so drab next to her. Her dress had to cost more than all of Lily’s dresses put together.
“My father used to say, ‘You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,’” Isabelle said.
Lily shook her head. “That’s terrible. But I guess I should be thankful Blue wasn’t here. I was worried he was going to bite her the last time she was here.”
“Too bad he wasn’t here,” Isabelle said.
Thinking of Blue, Lily walked to the kitchen window and looked out. She kept thinking that Blue may just be exploring the territory and would return.
Isabelle walked to her and put her arm around her waist. “Don’t fret. Blue can take care of himself. I’m sure he had a reason to leave.”
“I know he can, but I’m not sure I can go on without him.”
* * *
Reining in at the Tremayne ranch, Thorpe tied Smoke in front of the house and loosened his girth.
Mr. Tremayne opened the door at Thorpe’s knock. “Thorpe, I’m glad to see you. I heard you were back and I’ve been meaning to stop over.”
Thorpe shook his hand. “It’s good to see you.”
“Come in, come in.”
Thorpe followed him to the parlor and accepted his offer of a glass of whiskey. “Please, have a seat.”
The two men sat facing each other and Thorpe said, “I need to have a talk with you.”
“What can I do for you?”
Thorpe began to tell him everything Evelyn had told him when she came to the ranch. “I thought Evelyn would be here and we could talk about this together, but I wanted to know if she is telling the truth.”
Mr. Tremayne poured himself another whiskey, but Thorpe declined a second. He didn’t want a repeat of his performance when he got home. “Thorpe, I went to Kansas City and I talked to the sheriff about Ainsworth. He told me there was a couple staying in the hotel and they were leaving their room and witnessed Evelyn arguing with Ainsworth. They said Evelyn was angry and she was the one landing blows on Ainsworth. Ainsworth did not strike her. She lost her balance and fell backward down the staircase. It seems Ainsworth didn’t do anything wrong. As a matter of fact, he stayed with her until she recovered. He’d only been gone a day when I arrived. The sad fact is Ainsworth didn’t want to marry her. He didn’t think it was his child. Naturally, I wrote his father and explained the situation to him. I’m awaiting his reply. Am I right to assume that it was his child as Evelyn said?”
“Yes.”
Tremayne nodded. “I thought as much.”
Thorpe tossed back the remainder of his whiskey. Evelyn had been lying to him all along.
“Thorpe, I wasn’t aware of what was happening right under my own roof.” He gestured in the air with his glass and added, “Well, maybe I had an inkling if I wanted to admit such a thing was happening. But I can say Ainsworth didn’t force himself on her. I’m sure of that much.”
Thorpe just looked at him; he couldn’t even form a reply. Evelyn was such an accomplished liar, yet her father was an honest man. She did him a disservice.
“This may sound strange coming from her father, but Evelyn doesn’t deserve you. She tried to ruin your life once before. Don’t let her do it again. I don’t want you to marry my daughter. I like you, Thorpe, and I would have been honored to have you for a son-in-law, but Evelyn won’t be true to you.”
“Do you know when she will be back?” Thorpe wanted to talk to her one last time. She needed to know her lies would never work on him again.
“I saw Travis pull the buggy into the stable not long before you arrived. Go on out there and talk to her.”
Thorpe thought it was odd that Mr. Tremayne didn’t ask him to wait until Evelyn came into the house, but maybe he wanted to get back to whatever he was doing before he arrived. Thanking him for his honesty, Thorpe walked out of the house and headed to the stable. He no longer had doubts about his responsibilities to Evelyn considering what Mr. Tremayne told him.
When he walked into the stable he heard voices coming from one of the stalls, so he walked in that direction. When he got closer to the stall, he recognized one of the voices belonged to Evelyn.
“If you had money, Travis, I would marry you. I don’t want to be stuck here the rest of my life.”
“Is that why you keep going to Turlow’s? You think you’ll talk him into leaving Wyoming? Or are you doing more than talking?” Travis asked.
“Thorpe will do anything I ask.” She laughed. “Haven’t you seen for yourself that I have a way of getting what I want?”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Are you back in Turlow’s bed?”
Thorpe didn’t hear her answer. The doc had told him about Evelyn and Travis and he didn’t want to believe the gossip. But it looked like even Mr. Tremayne knew what was going on and that was the reason he sent him out here.
“When your old man dies, you’ll have all his money then. You can go anywhere you want.”
“But honey, I don’t want to wait that long. I want to go while I’m young and Pa is a healthy man. He’ll live a long time. We could travel the country together.”
“I know what you want me to do, but your pa has treated me kindly. I told you before you took off with Ainsworth that it ain’t in me to do something like that. I know that’s the reason you shared Ainsworth’s bed, so he would take you out of here. Why did you come back?”
This time Thorpe heard Evelyn’s response; her tone was meant to entice. He’d heard it before. “Honey, forget about Ainsworth. I missed you. We could make it look like an accident.”
When they grew quiet, he started to walk back to the house to tell Mr. Tremayne what he’d overheard, but he wanted them to see him. He wanted them to know someone heard what they were planning. And he wanted Evelyn to know she would never deceive him again. He waited.
“Honey, just think, when we are rid of him we could go anywhere we want. You could have me forever, and never have to work again,” Evelyn promised.
Thorpe knew how her promises were as shallow as her character. He wondered if Travis was buying her sweet words.
“I’ll think about it. Now stop talking,” Travis said.
Thorpe waited another few minutes before he walked to the stall’s opening. Evelyn’s dress was draped over the wooden slats and Travis’s holster and shirt were six feet away from him. “Hello, Evelyn.”
Travis rolled to face Thorpe and his eyes darted to his holster, but Thorpe said, “Don’t. She’s not worth the effort.”
Evelyn sat straight and pulled the straps of her chemise up over her shoulders. “Thorpe, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Are you going to tell me Travis forced you?”
“Yes, yes, he did.”
Thorpe arched a brow at Travis. “Travis, you ready to get killed over her tod
ay?”
Travis jumped up and grabbed his shirt. “Nope. I got what I wanted. If you’ve been standing there long, then you know I didn’t have to force her. You can have her.”
“I don’t want her.” He realized he wasn’t even surprised to hear Evelyn wanted her father dead so she could have his money. He’d heard enough to know that she’d been intimate with Travis before Ainsworth. “Did the baby belong to Travis?”
Travis’s eyes snapped to Thorpe before turning to Evelyn. “What baby?”
“I guess she hasn’t been totally honest with you, Travis. When she left here with Ainsworth, she was pregnant. It wasn’t mine.”
Travis leaned down and grabbed Evelyn by the arm. “Evelyn? Is this the truth?”
Evelyn glared at Thorpe. “Yeah, it’s true.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you I didn’t want to stay here and waste away my life, but you wouldn’t listen. I didn’t want to be tied to this ranch with a baby.”
“Was it my baby?” When she didn’t respond, Travis pulled her to her feet by her arm and shook her. “Was it?”
“Yes, and he’s dead!”
Thorpe doubted Travis loved Evelyn since he was aware of her relationship with Ainsworth, yet his eyes reflected the wound she’d inflicted with her emotionless words.
Thorpe looked at Evelyn and shook his head. He didn’t want to hear more of her lies as she related her version of losing the baby to Travis. Before he turned to leave, he added a parting comment. “I heard what you two were scheming and I intend to tell Mr. Tremayne and the sheriff. It’s up to you, Travis, but you should think about telling them first.”
* * *
Thorpe left the stable, jumped on Smoke, and headed home. It was difficult for him to come to terms with the depth of Evelyn’s duplicity. The doc was right; she had been involved with two men, all the while pretending she wanted to be his wife. He figured if she had married him she would have continued her relationship with Travis. She knew all along it was Travis’s baby, yet she was willing to deceive him and Ainsworth to get what she wanted. He could hardly believe how little he knew about her.
After he’d found her in Kansas City, he’d been so angry that he didn’t think he would ever trust another woman. He was no longer angry; he actually pitied Evelyn. Yet he found himself asking the same question again. Could he trust another woman after this? Lily was the woman he wanted. Could he trust her? Would she ever betray him? Thoughts of Lily kissing Captain Anderson played in his mind. Logically, he knew it wasn’t fair to compare Lily to Evelyn. Evelyn was a schemer and thought of no one but herself. He’d had weeks to observe Lily’s character. She was honest, fiercely loyal, and put everyone’s well-being above her own.
Thorpe hadn’t made any declarations to Lily; she was free to do what she wanted with Captain Anderson or any other man. Now that he no longer felt obligated to Evelyn, he needed to act on his feelings before it was too late.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Where’s Lily?” Thorpe asked as soon as he walked into the kitchen.
“She cooked dinner and then said she was going to lie down,” Isabelle told him.
“We kept looking out for Blue all day, but there’s just no sign of him,” Stone said.
“Poor Miss Lily, she’s plumb heartbroken,” Jed said.
Isabelle intended to wait until she had a moment alone with Thorpe to tell him about their visitor today, but she knew that might not happen tonight. He had a right to know what happened when Evelyn visited. “Thorpe, your fiancée visited us today.”
“I don’t have a fiancée,” he said.
“She said you were her fiancé. Be that as it may, she was here earlier today and she told us we were not welcome here. She said you two would be married soon and we would have to leave.”
“Isabelle, if she comes back when I’m not here, get one of the men to throw her out. You’re welcome to stay on my ranch as long as you like. Evelyn is no longer welcome here. We straightened that out an hour ago.”
“Thank you. You should know she made it clear that . . .” She didn’t know how to say what Evelyn said.
“What?” Thorpe wouldn’t have been surprised by anything Evelyn said.
Isabelle turned pink. “I don’t know how to say it, but she indicated that you were . . . well, very close. I’m not quite sure why she would discuss your relationship with complete strangers, but I felt she wanted to make sure Lily . . . well, let’s just say she was obviously jealous of Lily.”
Thorpe got the gist of what Isabelle was trying to say. So Evelyn wanted to make it clear to them that he’d been intimate with her. He wondered what Lily thought about that. “I don’t think she will come back, but remember what I said.”
Isabelle smiled. “I have to tell you it would give me great pleasure to have her thrown out.”
“Isabelle!” Stone said, but he was smiling. His demure little wife was showing some spunk.
“Well, you didn’t see how she acted. She looked at Lily like she wanted to kill her. I think she took an immediate dislike to Lily because she is prettier.”
Thorpe couldn’t help it, he started laughing. It didn’t take Isabelle long to see through Evelyn’s motives.
* * *
There was a knock on the kitchen door and Curtis walked in. “Hello.”
“Curtis, is something wrong?” Thorpe asked.
“No, I went to town to pick up supplies and just got back. The clerk at the telegraph office gave me two telegrams. One is for Jedidiah and one is for Lily.”
Curtis handed Jed his telegram. “Where’s Lily?”
“Upstairs.” Thorpe stuck out his hand and said, “I’ll take it to her; I’m going to get a fire going in her room.” He pointed to a chair. “Have some dinner.”
Curtis handed him the telegram. “I can eat in the bunkhouse.”
“Sit. I know you must get tired of Charlie’s cooking, but if you tell him I said that I’ll fire you,” Thorpe teased.
Curtis laughed and sat down. “Charlie only cooks a couple of things good, but I do get tired of having those few things over and over.”
“Lily is an excellent cook and she makes great cakes,” Thorpe said. He was tempted to read Lily’s telegram, but he stuck it in his shirt pocket. He glanced at Jed and saw a big smile spread over his face as he read his telegram. “Good news, Jed?”
Jed looked up at him with tears in his eyes. “Yessir, Mr. Thorpe, the best news. It’s from my brother and he’s going to come here in the spring. That Captain Anderson kept his word. He found him for me and got word to him where I would be spending the winter. Thanks be to God.”
“That is great news,” Thorpe said. He wondered if Lily’s telegram was from Captain Anderson.
Stone slapped Jed on the back. “I’m happy for you.”
“Me too, Jed. You never wavered in your belief that he was alive,” Isabelle said. “You’re just like Lily. She has never given up on her grandfather.”
“Since your brother is going to come here, that’s means you’ll be here for a while. Why don’t we set up that blacksmith shop over the winter?” Thorpe said.
“Mr. Thorpe, I think that is a fine idea. I thank you.”
“If that brother of yours decides to leave the military, then he can work with you if he is of a mind.”
“You mean we’re going to have a blacksmith on the ranch?” Curtis asked, looking from Thorpe to Jed.
“It looks that way,” Thorpe said.
* * *
Outside Lily’s door, Thorpe pulled the telegram from his pocket. He glanced down and saw Anderson’s name. Why did she have to hear from Anderson now, just when he’d found out he no longer had any obligation to Evelyn? He wouldn’t read the telegram, no matter how much he was tempted. He tapped on the door.
“Come in,” Lily said.
Thorpe opened the door and saw Lily sitting by the window. “I have a telegram for you.”
Her eyes widened. “For
me?”
She certainly looked excited to receive a telegram. No doubt she knew it was from Anderson. He walked across the room and handed her the piece of paper. While she read, he added some logs to the fire she already had going. He didn’t want to leave, so he took his time at the fireplace. “Isabelle said she was going to bring you up some dinner.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. She finished reading and was folding the piece of paper. Whatever Anderson had said made her smile.
He stood and faced her. “Good news?” Would she tell him what Anderson said?
She shrugged. “Captain Anderson said he would come visit if I am here in the spring.”
Thorpe started to say he hadn’t invited him to Dove Creek. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“I guess you’ll have to tell him you’ll be on your way north.”
“Yes.” The last thing she wanted to think about was Captain Anderson. He’d been very honest about his interest in her, and she feared he would continue to hold out hope if she didn’t dissuade him. She was in love with another man, and that man had a fiancée. “He said I should let him know where I will be.”
Thorpe bristled at her comment. “I guess that would indicate you two are more than friends.”
His accusatory tone frustrated her. “I’m not the one that has a fiancée while kissing someone else.”
“I’m not either,” Thorpe said.
“Your fiancée seems to be of a different opinion.”
Thorpe crossed his arms and glared at her. “I don’t have a fiancée,” he ground out.
Lily had hit a nerve, but she didn’t care. “She let us know today that you two were intimate and that you told her everything. Did you tell her you were kissing me? As a matter of fact, she said she would be sharing your bed again soon.”
Lord help him. It was hard for him to believe even Evelyn would say such a thing to two strangers. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. He was getting a pounding headache.
It was written all over his face that he’d been intimate with Evelyn. Lily jumped up and took a step toward him; their eyes met and held. “No response? You are taking her to your bed and you say she is not your fiancée? Wasn’t that what you wanted from me? Isn’t one woman enough?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, but her temper had gotten the better of her.
Christmas at Dove Creek Page 29