She’d never seen such blazing hatred before.
The preacher glanced from the bride to the groom, then launched into the ceremony. Ellie listened to the words and the obvious devotion of the bride and groom as they made their vows.
She lifted her gaze to Reid, but his attention remained fixed on Burl Erston. He’d cause them all grief. She was certain of it.
“Do you have a ring?” the preacher asked.
The sheepherder’s face flushed red, and his eyes flashed an apology to the woman who’d soon be his wife. “No.”
“Yes,” Reid said, and pressed something into Pearce’s hand.
The man turned to Reid who merely shrugged. “Get on with it.”
“I have a ring,” Pearce said, and Miss Morris sniffled as he slid the etched gold band on her third finger.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, clutching Kenton’s hand while sending a smile to Reid.
He nodded and continued his vigil, watching Erston. That man was far too quiet.
“In the eyes of God and man, I pronounce you man and wife,” the preacher intoned. “Go on and kiss her.”
Pearce swept his bride into his arms and kissed her with all the passion young lovers can elicit.
Ellie finally took a decent breath. This was the first wedding she’d ever been a part of, and she was sure she’d never forget a moment of it as long as she lived.
The newlyweds broke their kiss, but remained in each other’s arms as they turned to Reid.
“Thank you,” Pearce said.
Reid dipped his chin. “Treat her right or you’ll answer to me.”
“I’ll adore her all my days,” Kenton said, and Ellie knew he spoke from the heart.
The new Mrs. Pearce slipped from her husband’s arms and crossed to Reid. “I never knew why my father favored you so until today.” She reached on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I love you like a brother. Remember that.”
His mouth pulled into a crooked smile that melted Ellie’s heart all over again. How could she have misjudged this man so?
“You’d best be going on your honeymoon,” Reid said.
Ellie sensed that the newlyweds wanted to say more, but Burl Erston’s presence was a poison that tainted the special day.
As the couple filed out, Mrs. Hatch and young Thomas followed. Ellie did the same as they hurried into the kitchen, casting one more glance back at Reid just to assure herself that he was real. That she hadn’t dreamed this up.
“I don’t know where you’re going, but please feel free to take any of the food,” Ellie said to the Pearces.
Cheryl and Kenton shook their heads, but Mrs. Hatch jumped at the offer. “If we could have a meal for today, I wouldn’t have to raid the kitchen of our new benefactor so soon.”
Ellie produced a large porcelain dinner pail, sensing they weren’t traveling that far. Just what had Reid arranged for them?
Mrs. Hatch took a fair portion for their meal. “Thank you for your kindness,” she said again.
Then they were all off in Pearce’s sleigh. They would do fine. But if the shouting coming from the parlor was any indication, Reid Barclay was in for the fight of his life.
“You’ll live to regret your defiance,” Erston said.
Reid laughed. His only regret regarding this decision was not making it sooner. “Don’t bet on it.”
Erston walked to the tree Ellie had fussed over and stared at it a long, tense moment. “You stood a chance of retaining this ranch, but I doubt you’ll be able to hold on to it now.”
“I’ve got until the end of Christmas Day to claim my shares and buy you out.”
“So do your former partners,” Erston said. “Either of them could come forward and offer me a fetching sum for my shares in this desolate ranch.”
It was a possibility Reid was aware of. “It’s their right, same as mine.”
“Ah, yes, the brotherhood of the urchins. I would think this past year has taught you that they don’t want any dealings with you or this ranch.”
“It’s likely they never received my letter.”
Erston snorted. “It’s likely they don’t give a damn. Or,” he said, adding emphasis to that one word, “they are waiting for the moment to seize control of the ranch and boot you off as thanks for deserting them.”
Had he planned it that way from the start? “I didn’t leave out of choice.”
“They don’t know that.”
Reid studied the man who’d controlled his life for the past two years and knew he hadn’t been the only one under Erston’s control. Win, lose, or draw, those days were over.
He wanted answers, and by damn he’d have them now.
“What did you force Kirby to do?” he asked.
“Besides hand over his shares to me to finance the payoff to the law?” Erston let out a chuckle that grated on his nerves. “Kirby was dying. He had no need for anything but atonement for deserting his daughter.”
That wasn’t the way Reid had heard it, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue over that point. “How often did you remind Cheryl that her pa didn’t want her?”
Erston hiked a shoulder. “It came up when the need arose.”
“What was in it for you?” Reid asked, flat out.
The Englishman rocked back on his chair and stared at Reid for so long he was sure the man was refusing to answer. Just when he was about to ask another question, Erston spoke.
“Kirby owned a small parcel of land in Bath and I wanted it.”
“To sell?”
Erston nodded. “I’ve no interest in being a financially strapped landowner.”
Meaning he intended to do as Reid had suspected all along and sell his shares of the Crown Seven as soon as possible. So why send him back here for a year? Why insist that he marry Cheryl in America and combine their shares in the ranch?
The answer was as obvious as the new scar on his head. “You never intended for me to marry Cheryl. But if we did, she’d end up a young widow.”
“How bloody astute. You, more than the others, looked on this ranch as your home,” he said. “I knew you wouldn’t willingly part with your shares.”
He was right, though he still couldn’t believe his brothers hadn’t cared enough to fight for the ranch Kirby had left them. But then they’d believed that Reid had double-crossed them and stole their shares.
“You could have had me killed in England,” he said. “Why go through this elaborate ruse to return here?”
“The laws are far different there,” he said. “Kirby told me that it wasn’t unusual for a man to die from a well-placed bullet and his killer would never be found.”
That day at Pearce’s ranch made sense now. The cowboy he’d intercepted had fessed up that he’d been hired to wipe out everyone living at the sheep ranch. That was done to switch the blame from Erston to the gunnysackers out to rid the high plains of sheep and sheepherders.
All the while a lone gunman was lying in wait. “You ever stop to think what would have happened if one of Pearce’s herders had caught that bullet?”
“Are you insinuating my aim is less than adequate?”
“I’m still alive,” Reid said.
“Unfortunately.”
Reid’s disgust for Burl Erston shot higher than a just-tapped oil vein. “Hubert has taken the time to pack your bags, and Shane saw they were loaded onto a sleigh. I’ll give you five seconds to clear out.”
“You can’t be serious,” Erston said.
“Yeah, I can.” He whispered his Colt from the holster and took a bead on Burl Erston. “One.”
“Good God, Barclay,” he said, shooting to his feet. “Have you lost your mind?”
He thumbed back the hammer. “Two.”
“Damn you!” Erston stormed from the house, slamming the door in his wake.
Reid holstered his Peacemaker, well aware this war wasn’t over yet. Nope, if the sale of those horses didn’t go through, he could kiss this place good-bye.
; Chapter 18
After partaking of the wedding feast she’d partially had a hand in, Reid thanked Ellie for her help and left the house. Another mare was due to foal, and since he’d sent two hands over to Pearce’s farm to help keep watch, he had to pitch in and help with the horses.
Ellie suspected he enjoyed it, but she also knew he’d miss this ranch more than he would the stock. Though he was proud of his horses, he could replace them in time. He’d not replace the memories he’d created here with Kirby Morris, Dade and Trey.
Yes, she’d certainly seen a different side to Reid Barclay today. With Cheryl married to the man she loved, there was nothing standing in the way of Ellie following her desires. Nothing except fear over how he’d react when he learned she was Ezra Kincaid’s daughter. Dare she trust her heart again?
She wasn’t sure.
With the house put back in order and enough leftovers to do Reid, Hubert and her for supper, Ellie bundled up and left the house. Maybe it was her imagination, but it didn’t feel as cold out.
This evening would be the perfect time for her to visit at length with her pa. Before long her time here would be over, and her new position in California would begin.
But the excitement and gratitude she’d felt at joining the Falsmonte Ladies Academy was absent. She didn’t know when she’d ever see her pa again. And Reid? Well, he’d be just a memory she’d hold close to her heart.
She made it to the cook shack without any problem and rapped on the door. When nobody answered, she pounded on the panel a bit harder.
The door to the bunkhouse opened and a cowboy poked his head out. “If you’re looking for Moss, he’s gone hunting.”
“Oh, thank you.”
The cowboy ducked back inside the bunkhouse and closed the door. Now what?
A sound from the stables across the way caught her attention. Reid stood there, staring at her.
Should she return to the house? Or go to him?
“How is it going?” she asked him.
“Not far from birthing,” he said, and started toward her again, his long legs eating up the distance in no time. “I need a couple of old blankets for when she foals.”
“Does it take long?” she asked as she trailed him into the barn and to the room filled with all manner of saddles and tack.
“Hard to say. Every birth is a bit different.” He draped two blankets over his shoulder. “This one shouldn’t be foaling now, but the stallion broke free and got to her.”
“Do you need any help?”
He stopped and looked down at her. “Nope. You ever see a horse born before?”
She shook her head. For all her education, the mystery of birth was still that. A mystery.
He glanced from the stables back to her and heaved a sigh. “If you want to watch, and think you have the stomach for it, then come ahead. But you can’t do anything that’ll stress the mare.”
“I’ll do exactly what you tell me to do,” she said and fell into step beside him.
That earned a wicked wink and set her mind churning on things other than horses. Despite the bite of cold, she felt her face flushing as well, but if Reid noticed, he didn’t comment.
He opened the stable door for her and she hurried inside, surprised it was light and relatively warm inside. Restive whickering came from a stall midway down the aisle.
The horse circled the pen, her sides quivering. “She’s about ready,” Shane said, his voice pitched soft.
Reid laid the blankets beside a stack of towels and slipped inside the stall. “Easy girl,” he said, running a hand over the mare’s bulging belly and beneath. “We’re getting milk now.”
The mare nickered softly and made one more circle of the pen before going down on her front legs, and then easing her body down on the bed of straw. Ellie’s heart pounded as the mare kicked her leg before dropping her head down.
Reid talked softly to the mare, reassurances mainly, as he caught the tail in a soft cloth that held it out of the way.
She had an unobstructed view of the mare, and watching the changes come over the horse was both a shock and a thrill. Watching the gentle manner that Reid fussed over the mare filled her with renewed compassion.
He cared. There was no other explanation for it.
The mare whickered and kicked again, and Ellie’s mouth dropped open as the animal’s sides bulged. The birthing itself happened in a span of minutes.
Reid wrapped a towel around the baby horse and rubbed it down while the mare delivered the afterbirth. Shane quickly saw to that while the mare gained her feet and gave a great shake.
“What a fine foal,” Reid said.
“Is that a female or a male?” she asked.
“Female, with the same strong lines as her mama.” He smiled at her, and the uninhibited joy on his face took her breath away. “You want to come in and take a closer look?”
Ellie tossed a nervous glance at the mare. “Will she mind?”
He shook his head. “Etain’s a gentle one.” He reached out to pat the mare’s shoulder.
She took him at his word and slipped inside the stall. The foal stood on wobbly legs that looked far too long and fragile to support her.
“She’s just beautiful,” Ellie said, and reached out to pet the newborn.
The foal sniffed and nuzzled her hand. “She’s trying to suckle my fingers.”
“That’s good. Let her suckle them while you lead her to the mare’s udder.”
Ellie did, moving at a snail’s pace and nearly overcome with awe when the foal exchanged her fingers for the mare’s teat. The mare whickered and nuzzled the foal.
“It’s a miracle,” she said.
He smiled. “It happens every day.”
“Maybe, but I’ve never seen anything this wonderful before,” she said, looking around the stall and thinking of another birth that happened ages ago and gave cause to celebrate Christmas.
Life.
That’s what Christmas was about.
Life, love, and the promise of tomorrows.
Shane returned. “I can handle it from here on.”
“Yep, this one doesn’t look like it’ll cause us trouble.” Reid took Ellie’s arm. “Let’s head back.”
She smiled, for she didn’t trust her voice. She didn’t argue either when they stepped outside into the still beauty of an early evening and he draped an arm around her and hauled her close.
As they walked toward the house, she realized she’d never felt this close to anyone. Just with Reid.
He dropped his arm from her when they reached the house. She ducked inside and moved toward the kitchen, thinking the house never seemed so quiet.
“Would you like coffee?” she asked.
“Nope. I’ve got to clean up, then tend to some bookwork.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked back, his eyes dark and sparking with passion. “I’ll be done with it in an hour. If you want me then, I’ll be in my room.”
After giving her another wink that left her tingling, he turned and tramped up the stairs.
Ellie stood there for a long time.
This was it.
He’d invited her to his room, and she surely knew it wasn’t to talk.
It was all up to her whether to run to her room and bolt the door, or take that walk down the hall.
Well past an hour later, Reid prowled his room like a restless cougar. His blood pulsed in thick hot waves and his cock stirred with that first twitch of an arousal.
He welcomed the sensation even though he cursed the predicament he was in. The light was on low. He was ready to pleasure a woman. Not just any woman.
Nope, he wanted Ellie Jo Cade under him. Wanted to get lost in her expressive eyes as he buried himself in her heat.
Thinking of how thoroughly he longed to love her kept him hard while his senses fired sheet lightning. Soon. It had to be soon or he’d lose his damned mind.
He groaned and combed his fingers through his hair. The heavy need settling in his
groin had him walking with care. Had him fretting too. What if she didn’t come?
The glow of a full moon drifted through his windows, ribboned across the floor and spread like a blanket over his bed. His empty bed.
The house had fallen quiet hours ago, like it had been tucked in for the night. Would she come to him?
He wasn’t sure. He could go to her, but he wouldn’t.
If they had sex, it had to be her choice. She had to come to him first. Dammit, he wanted her to come first.
He wanted her. He needed her so damned badly.
Reid stomped to the door and dropped his forehead on the cool, smooth wood. He pressed both palms on the panel and felt his blood surging like a swollen river of need.
His teeth hurt and his skin felt close to busting. He damned sure couldn’t close his eyes without seeing her inviting smile. He couldn’t stomp around the room like a maddened bull because the rub of his pants on the swollen tip of his head had him close to coming.
He couldn’t draw in a decent breath without smelling lilacs, for crying out loud.
He’d hurt to be inside a woman before, but never this bad. He’d never felt this needy. This vulnerable. He’d never been this unsure of himself and so sure of the crazy ideas twirling in his head like a killer twister dancing over the ground.
But the notions wouldn’t stop either. If he could hang on to the ranch, he’d be free to go after Ellie. If he lost the ranch and everything he owned, he could offer nothing but hard times and heartache.
Over the pounding of his heart he heard a creak. A door? It had to be.
Reid slid a hand to the door handle, his fingers curling around the knob like a shadow, laying siege to it like a thief in the night. But he couldn’t bring himself to wrench it open.
But as time stretched out, a taut silence wove a knot of tension in the house. Had wishful thinking conjured up that sound? No doubt it had, for nothing stirred in the house except his longing for Ellie.
She wasn’t coming.
It didn’t matter why. She wasn’t going to take him up on his challenge.
Fine.
He’d put her from his mind.
Except he couldn’t.
Go to her, fool.
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