It’s only for a few days. We need him. Beth bit back her temper and smiled. “You really don’t think I should be out here at all, do you, Gabe?”
He shrugged as he settled the harness on its pegs. “It isn’t my place to think anything of the sort, ma’am. I’d just hate to see you get hurt.”
Gabe stood too close for comfort. His tone didn’t quite match his polite words, and his gaze held hers a little too long. With a blush rising, Beth walked away.
Gabe had never offered her a word or look she could call positively disrespectful, but Beth had never met a man who made her more uncomfortable. She should tell Trey, but if he took her seriously he’d fire Gabe and they’d be back where they started, with the plowing and planting still unfinished. And if Trey didn’t take her seriously, that would only make things worse.
At supper Gabe and Trey discussed range conditions and cattle prices, sounding as much like friends as like boss and employee.
Beth counted the days until she and Trey would be alone at meals again. She couldn’t shake off the worry that had nagged at her since his accident. Head injuries were unpredictable things. The effects could linger for months, even permanently. There was a chance, however slight, that Trey wouldn’t be able to do hard physical work again.
But that’s not going to happen. He’ll be himself again soon. All I have to do is put up with Gabe in the meantime.
CHAPTER 9
Trey stood by the corral, soaking up the sun and breathing as deeply as his battered ribs would allow. Desperate for fresh air, he’d dressed and come outside as soon as Beth rode out of sight on her way to Maddy’s. His ribs still ached, but after five days’ rest his head felt better. Another day or two and he’d try getting on a horse again.
Gabe was off in the fields, and Beth had gone to the Kinsleys’ for milk, providing a welcome break from the physical need and emotional turmoil she created in Trey. Turmoil Beth couldn’t guess at and he could never explain without telling her things he couldn’t tell anyone.
She couldn’t know that when she’d asked about his scar, he’d tasted the sickly sweet remnants of chloroform again, heard the nightmarish sounds of the dressing station around him, felt the burn of new stitches in his side. More than that, he remembered faces.
Like the face of a tall, blond kid, younger than himself, in a gray uniform that was too big for him. Eyes wide with shock, he’d swayed in the saddle for a few seconds before he crumpled and fell – the first of the lives Trey had taken.
Those killings were his to live with, and he’d thought he’d learned to do that until Beth came along. Until the dreams started again. How quickly would she leave if she knew?
His one taste of her had only left him wanting more, but if he kissed her again Trey didn’t think he’d be able to stop. Sooner or later he’d end up tying Beth to him for life – and then hurting her more than that man she’d cared for in Denver had hurt her. She deserved a husband with a whole heart to give her.
Trey remembered how she’d looked, flushed and glowing with pleasure after he kissed her. Beth might start caring for him if he let her. Maybe she cared already. She’d been unusually quiet around the house for the last few days. At meals she barely spoke while he talked to Gabe… that thought gave him a twinge. He’d noticed that Beth avoided the barn when Gabe was around, and that she didn’t have much to say to him in the house. For some reason, she didn’t like him much.
Or did she like Gabe too much?
A knot formed in Trey’s chest, hard and painful. His marriage to Beth only existed on paper, after all. He supposed a lot of women would find Gabe attractive. Why not her?
McShannon, you’re going stir-crazy. She hasn’t had time to get her feet under her yet. And you bloody well know she’s attracted to you. That’s the problem, isn’t it?
In the corral, Shiloh lifted her head and whinnied. At a distance, another horse answered. Trey looked down the lane and smiled at the sight of John Reeves’ chestnut mare. John’s timing couldn’t have been better.
When he reached Trey, John looked him over sharply, then dismounted and gave him a cautious slap on the back. “It’s good to see you on your feet. Neil told me what happened. I’m sorry it was my horse that did it.”
“Cloud’s been giving Calico a hard time. He just reacted.” Feeling better already, Trey returned the back-slap. “Put your horse up and come in. Beth will be home any time, and she’ll give me hell if she catches me out here.”
Inside, John parked his two hundred and thirty pounds on Trey’s bunk. They’d met soon after Trey landed in Wallace Flats. John was Trey’s physical opposite, blond, round-faced and massive, but they’d soon discovered that they spoke the same language. Trey had told only John’s family and the Kinsleys that he’d written to Beth.
“Neil spread the word that you were married.” John grinned and shook his head. “I asked him what Beth looked like and he clammed right up. ‘A little redhead’ was all he said. She must be quite something to leave Neil tongue-tied.”
“He’ll stay tongue-tied if he knows what’s good for him,” Trey growled. He liked Neil, even if the man was only as honest as he had to be and drank almost as much as his customers. Neil had a surprising amount of compassion for anyone sick or injured, but that wouldn’t keep Trey from decking him if he talked about Beth in the saloon.
“You know Neil better than that, Trey. From what I hear, she’s a real lady.”
“Yes, she is.” Trey sat at the table and pulled a chair out for his friend. “I suppose June Baker has pretty much worn her tongue out by now.”
“More or less.” John’s shrewd blue eyes turned thoughtful. “Watch yourself. Beth sounds like the kind of woman who could have you pushing a pen in a city somewhere, if you aren’t careful.”
Trey laughed, but the laughter carried a note of uncertainty. Maybe John didn’t know him as well as he thought.
Or maybe he knows me better than I know myself.
“Do you really think any woman could do that to me?”
John wasn’t laughing. “You tell me. She’s gotten to you already. I can see it. Get in too deep and she won’t be easy to forget.”
Hell, Trey had figured that out before he even got her home, but he wasn’t about to say so. “John, there are ten young, single women in town. Four of them are on the point of being engaged. I’ve got no interest in any of the others, so I gambled. If it doesn’t work, Beth’s free to go when and where she chooses. Here she comes now.”
* * *
Beth turned Chance into the corral with the other mares and hurried to the house. Trey was feeling better each day, but she still worried when she left him alone. Milk bottle in hand, she stopped in the doorway when she saw him talking to a hulking, bearded stranger.
When Trey introduced them, John engulfed Beth’s hand in his. “It’s a pleasure. Trey, I have to admire your taste, though I’m not sure about Beth’s.”
Beth warmed to his teasing. She wanted Trey’s close friends to like her, and from the way he spoke of John, he was one of them.
“He’s a nice man,” she told Trey later, as they watched John ride away. “I’m looking forward to meeting Hannah and Ben. I didn’t expect people here to be so welcoming.”
Standing close beside her in the doorway, Trey put his arm around her. “Not everyone will be, but the people I consider friends will like you unless you give them reason not to. That’s how they are.”
Beth faced him. Trey flushed and removed his arm. Still feeling its warmth, she looked into his eyes. They held the same glow she’d seen when he kissed her.
She’d done some thinking since then. Every day she felt more at ease with life here. She’d discovered the sense of accomplishment that came from looking after a house, and every time she went walking or riding she found something new. This empty land wasn’t empty at all when you took the time to really look and listen. And since his accident, she found herself more and more drawn to Trey.
She’d do
ne a sketch of him the other day from memory, and discovered that she knew every line of his strong-boned, tough-looking face. It was the best portrait she’d ever done.
He’d said he didn’t have any answers. Neither did she, but she knew what she felt. If she left here without expressing those feelings, she’d always wonder if she’d been too much of a lady.
Trembling a little at her audacity, Beth slipped her arm around Trey, stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips over his. She’d never been that bold with a man before. She’d always let Daniel initiate their kisses.
Trey’s body tensed, and for a horrible moment Beth thought he was going to push her away, but then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. He kept the kiss gentle like he had before, but his taut, rigidly controlled body betrayed the desire behind his restraint. Too soon, he drew back and took her chin in his hand. “Beth, I’m only human. I want to give you time.”
His harsh whisper went right through her. “I know, but this has been building between us since I got here. We have to start somewhere, don’t we?”
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him again. Trey met her halfway. Beth threaded her fingers into his hair and opened to him, letting his lips and teeth and tongue take her on a slow, sensuous journey. She still sensed him holding back, but somehow that only made it sweeter – so sweet to be surrounded by his strength, at home in his arms. She couldn’t move when the kiss ended.
“Trey, I think…” One quick glance into his eyes, and Beth lost her voice. She looked down and shook her head. “I can’t think.”
Trey took a ragged breath and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Neither can I.” A shaky grin tugged at his lips. “I guess we’ve put the cart before the horse, getting married. Maybe we need to forget we’ve been to church already and start at the beginning. It just might be too much fun to skip.”
“I think you might be right.” Beth stepped back and gathered her thoughts – no easy task. “I’d better go feed and water Calico.”
Trey stopped her with a look. “Beth, is there some kind of a problem between you and Gabe?”
So, he’d noticed. Beth chose her words carefully. Over the last few days she’d seen very little of Gabe other than at meals, but she still felt his contempt, and instinct told her something uglier than contempt lay beneath it. She knew if she said so to Trey, he’d be furious, and a fight was the last thing he needed right now. “We just rub each other the wrong way. Gabe doesn’t seem to think much of women in general.”
Trey’s hard hand closed around her wrist. “Has he said or done something to upset you?”
Beth had seen Trey’s temper, but not the cold anger that showed on his face now. She tried to pull out of his grip, but couldn’t. “There’s nothing to get upset about. He irritates me, that’s all. He as much as said he didn’t think I belonged in the barn, and if I tell him anything he brushes it off and waits to hear it from you, but it doesn’t matter. In a few days, he’ll be gone, and in the meantime I’ll spend as little time around him as possible.”
Trey held her gaze for a long moment, then let her go. “All right. I imagine Gabe isn’t much like the help you were used to in Denver. I’ll talk to him.”
“Trey, there’s no need–”
“I said I’ll talk to him.”
Beth knew nothing she could say would change his mind. She spent the rest of the afternoon in misery, waiting for Gabe to come in from the fields for supper. At least he should have finished the plowing today. If it came to the worst and Trey fired him, she’d plant the blessed oats herself.
When he got up from the supper table, Trey gave Beth a pointed look. Knowing she’d only make matters worse by refusing to leave, she picked up her sketchbook and went out to the vegetable garden, close enough to hear if the men raised their voices.
In about five minutes, with no sounds of an argument, Gabe strode out of the house. Catching sight of Beth, he came to her and held out his hand. “Mrs. McShannon, it seems we’ve been misunderstanding each other. Mr. McShannon told me you’re new out here. I figured as much myself, but it never occurred to me that you might take offense at anything I said. Please accept my apologies.”
He sounded perfectly sincere, and maybe he was. Perhaps they had misunderstood each other, though Beth didn’t think so. Still, for Trey’s sake… “I am new here, and perhaps I’ve taken some things the wrong way. Let’s just start over again, Gabe.”
Those pale eyes looked into Beth’s as he smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Gabe left for the barn, and Beth went back to the house.
Trey looked up from the bunk, where he sat going over his account book. “Did Gabe find you?”
“Yes, he did. He apologized. Did you ask him to?”
“No. He offered to before I could. He seemed honestly surprised when I said he’d upset you. I told him I expected him to treat you with the same respect he does me, in the house and out of it. If he doesn’t, I want to know. Is that clear?”
Relieved, Beth started getting ready to wash the supper dishes. “Yes, it’s clear. Now let’s forget the whole thing.”
“Yeah.” Trey’s gaze met hers; held. “I guess we have enough to think about.”
* * *
The next afternoon, since Gabe was sowing the oats and didn’t need the team, Beth took the wagon to town for supplies. Instead of June, a portly, balding man stood behind the counter at the store. Beth handed him her list with a smile. “Hello. You must be Mr. Baker.”
“Yes, and you must be Mrs. McShannon. My wife’s mentioned you.” To Beth’s surprise, Mr. Baker leaned forward and whispered, “Can I speak to you privately, please?”
She nodded.
Mr. Baker came out from behind the counter and beckoned her into a quiet corner. For a moment, he just stood there, fiddling with his watch chain. Finally, he took a breath and plunged in. “Damn, this is awkward. We’ve never even met before, but this needs to be said.” He cleared his throat, looking more uncomfortable by the second. “Two nights ago after closing up, I went over to the saloon for a beer and I heard these men at another table talking. Ugly talk, about a woman. Most of it was coming from one man. I knew Trey had just hired help, and this man was a stranger, so after listening for a couple of minutes I put two and two together. The man was talking about you. I’m sorry, but Trey would want to know what kind of man he’s hired.”
Why, that two-faced, filthy-minded cad. “Mr. Baker, what exactly did he say?”
The storekeeper’s face turned beet red. “It wasn’t fit to repeat to a lady.”
June came out of the back room in time to hear him. She bustled over, nudged her husband aside and spoke in an angry whisper. “If Frank won’t tell you, I will. He said you and Trey weren’t sleeping in the same room and it didn’t surprise him that you had an eye for the help, that you were the kind of woman who needed a real man. For heaven’s sake, Frank, don’t look like that. You told me. I’d like to be there to see Trey put that man’s lights out.”
Beth felt as if she’d just turned over a rock and found something slimy and loathsome underneath. She’d like to see Trey put Gabe’s lights out, too, but right now he couldn’t. Which meant it was up to her to send Gabe packing. She put one hand on June’s shoulder and the other on Frank’s. “Thank you for telling me about this. It will be dealt with as soon as I get home.”
* * *
Beth found Trey sitting on the front doorstep, putting the final touches on a set of braided reins he’d been making to keep himself occupied. He helped her carry in the supplies, which made it difficult for her to sneak his revolver from the dresser drawer and into her skirt pocket, but she managed it. On her last trip out to the wagon, while Trey was inside, she ducked into the barn and stuffed the weapon in her saddlebag.
“I’m taking Cheyenne for a little run before supper.”
Trey didn’t question her.
Beth changed into her denims, then returned to the barn, climbed to the hayloft, and roll
ed Gabe’s belongings up in his bedroll. Without giving herself time to think twice, she saddled Cheyenne and started for the river.
She pulled up at the edge of the bottom field and took the revolver from the saddlebag.
Gabe was sowing oats. His black mare stood tied to a nearby cottonwood.
Beth untied his bedroll from the back of her saddle, laid it in front of her, and waited for him to see her. When he did, he sauntered toward her. As soon as he stepped within reach she dropped her reins across Cheyenne’s neck, leaned down and backhanded Gabe across the face, hard enough to snap his head back. “You’ve got a filthy mind and a mouth to go with it.”
Her handprint stayed on his cheek, white against furious red.
Gabe reached to pull Beth off her horse, but she anticipated him, kneed Cheyenne away, and brought up the revolver in her other hand.
Gabe stopped in his tracks. “You little hell-cat, have you lost your mind?”
“No, I’ve just heard an earful about you in town.” With her free hand, Beth tossed Gabe’s bedroll at his head, making him duck. “You’re fired. Get your horse and get out of here.”
Gabe looked up at her, pale eyes glowing with anger. “Your husband owes me a week’s pay.”
“My husband owes you a beating, and he’ll pay you if he ever sees you again. Get moving. Now.”
Smirking, Gabe stood his ground. “Are you going to shoot me if I don’t?”
Beth fired a shot into the ground in front of him and grinned when he jumped. “Oops. I missed. I’m not much of a shot, but Trey says I could probably hit someone coming at me at close range. Want to try me?”
Swearing, Gabe picked up his bedroll and untied his horse.
To Capture the Sky (Choices of the Heart, book 2) Page 10