by Stacy Reid
Laura gripped her hands. “Thank you for telling me,” she said hoarsely.
Beth nodded and went back to dicing apples. There was less tension in the air, and her shoulders relaxed. Jenny came to stand beside her.
“May I ask where Benjamin is now?”
“Joshua killed him,” Laura said quietly, with a calm acceptance of the type of man her son was.
Jenny spun to face her mother. “How do you know, Ma?”
“Because he told your father that the brother of the man Bethany was married to might come to the Triple K. He met with August on the first night he arrived.”
Jenny scowled, pressing her closed fist against her hips. “And why did no one ever tell me?”
“Because if they come here young lady, you will let your brother and father handle it.” Her voice brooked no argument, and Jenny had no retort she dared make.
Biting back her smile, Beth reached for the next pail of apples, feeling lighter than she had been in a long time.
A few hours later, all the food had been prepared and was artfully displayed on long tables on the full front porch. Beth strolled with Grayson in her hands, humming to the music leaping from the fiddles. Earlier as they had set the stage, Beth had played for a few minutes. She hadn’t played the violin since she’d said ‘I do’ to Benjamin Hardin. How had she not noticed she’d lost one of her passions in life? Pushing aside the dart of uncertainty, she’d clambered to the area they set as the stage, took up a fiddle, rested it on her shoulder, placed the bow on the string, and let the music come alive. There’d been whispered murmurs of appreciation before the Newcombe boys joined in, delighting the small crowd.
Beth played several songs before pausing, shaking her head and laughing when Buck Newcombe dropped to his knees and proposed. August Kincaid had taken her in his arms and danced with her. He had been surprisingly graceful as he spun her in the lively reel, and Beth owned she’d never imagined she could be this happy. A sense of belonging had filled her and a hunger for more. That ache had pushed her to search for Joshua, whom she hadn’t seen since he’d ridden away with his son across the range.
Three large bonfires crackled, the mood was festive, and an astonishing number of neighbors had appeared, some in wagons and others atop some of the most excellent horses she'd ever seen. The barbecue was in full swing, the music from the fiddles danced in the air, and one Eliza Maubry was singing and dancing, and it was clear to all that she was sweet on Joshua. That was a source of an irritant for Beth.
Miss Maubry kept sending him come-hither smiles and even carried him a plate of food. While he had taken it and thanked her, his eyes had only been for Beth, and the sting of jealousy had been soothed. Beth made her way to one of the several benches that had been taken from the barn and strewn around the wide-open land. She sat on a bench a bit away from the crowd, content with watching. Joshua clapped his hand on his father’s shoulder and made his way over. He lowered himself beside her and handed a piece of pecan pie to the baby who reached for it eagerly and stuffed it in his mouth.
His gurgle of delight said how much he liked what he ate, and Beth laughed. Then Grayson looked up at her, smiled toothily and said, “Ma.”
Beth gasped, pleasure and pride bursting into her heart. “Did you hear that?”
“I did,” Joshua said smiling.
Grayson beamed as if he understood he did something delightful, and then he repeated it. She spent several minutes trying to get him to say something else, but he just chortled.
Jenny ran over, looking very pretty in a red Mexican styled dress, her long black hair flowing over her shoulder. “I’ve come to collect Grayson as per father’s orders. He is boasting about his remarkable grandson to everyone, then scolds me when I said all my nephew does is fart, eat, and sleep.”
With a laugh, Beth handed him over, and Jenny walked away with him.
Joshua seemed content to watch her observe the entertainment, except the burn of his stare, flustered her. “You’re staring Joshua Kincaid,” she said without looking at him.
“You’re a mighty beautiful woman.”
She had bathed and donned her finest dress for the barbecue. The last time she had worn it was at a ball back home, an elegant green dress trimmed with white lace and ribbons, but it had held up quite fine during her travels. Her gaze collided with his, and the heat she spied in his depth warned her his patience was at an end. She would be spread beneath him by the end of the barbecue. Beth was having a frightfully challenging time breathing. She lifted her chin to the dancing couples out in the yard. “You don’t dance huh?”
“No,” he said with a frown.
Beth leaned in close and butted her shoulder with his. “I am trying to envision you dancing. I admit the picture isn’t quite coming together. All that brooding intensity and two-stepping don't fit."
He grunted. Then nudged her with his shoulder too. Except she slid right off the bench and tumbled into the grass. The man didn’t know his strength. He was kneeling beside her and helping her to her feet. She’d never seen him move that fast. Beth started to laugh.
"I fail to see the humor here,' he said with narrowed eyes.
“Dance with me Joshua Kincaid, it’s a part of courting you know,” she teased.
“I recall you admitting you’re my woman, the courting bit is over,” he said with an arrogant tilt to his dark head.
She stepped to him, looped her hands around his neck, pressing her body shamelessly to his. “Is that so?”
The possessive stamp in his eyes made his answer.
“Then why haven’t you been kissing me?”
A soft footfall sounded, and a voice intruded. “Why Joshua Kincaid, how unneighbourly of you that you haven’t called on me and my pa as yet. I’ve heard you’ve been back home for a week now.”
Beth stepped away from his incredible warmth as Miss Maubry strolled over. There was a determined gleam in her hazel eyes, and she smiled at Joshua flirtatiously.
He tipped his hat. “I’ll visit your father soon enough. Have you met Bethany Galloway, Eliza?”
Her smile dimmed, and there was a coolness in the gaze that stared at Beth.
“I have, of course, I was charmed." Her voice indicated she was anything but. "Will you walk with me for a spell, Joshua? It has been so long since we chatted. We could ride down to the creek, away from the noise for a bit. Pa has been wanting to talk to you about selling timber to the Topeka & Santa Fe railroads.”
In one of their morning rides, Joshua had explained the operations of the Triple K with evident pride. The Triple K sold coal and timber to the Union Pacific Railroad. Soon, all the territories would be connected by railway. Beth supposed this other railroad was a competitor.
Joshua nodded and shifted his attention to Beth. “I’ll see you soon.”
“I am sure you two have some catching up to do,” she said softly, not liking the strange emotion twisting through her. It felt harsher than jealousy, but the feeling was so unfamiliar she could not put a name to it. An ache crawled up her throat, and she acknowledged then it was because Eliza Maubry seemed like she fitted at his side.
A satisfied smile curved Eliza’s lips and Beth nodded to her politely and turned away, wondering if she had ever fitted anywhere. Her life in Virginia before the war had been idyllic, but there had been a hunger for more, a restlessness her mother had never understood. And that was why Benjamin Hardin had so easily deceived her. He'd offered a life that seemed different from the humdrum one she’d been living. She flushed to see Laura peeking over at them, her gaze bouncing from Eliza to Beth. She had only taken a few steps when a strong arm circled her waist from behind and spun her around.
“This will only be a business meeting, brown eyes,” he said provoking amusement glowing in his eyes.
“I never said anything,” she whispered fiercely, aware that dozens of people were watching them. While he rode with her daily, he had never done anything that showed their relationship was more than fr
iendship. A sweet ache had filled her at the realization he wanted to protect her reputation from unkind scrutiny. But now…there was blatant possession in the way he held her against his body.
His arms closed more securely around her, and he dipped his head and kissed her. It was a light brush of his lips against hers, but every sense of Beth came alive in need.
“You’re my woman, brown eyes and the only one I need or want.”
And everything that had been turbulent inside righted itself.
Chapter 11
A couple of hours later the barbecue was over, but several neighbors lingered by the bonfires, retelling outlaw stories. Beth had played a few songs on the fiddle again before she had retired inside to take care of Grayson. She hadn’t been needed, not with Kathy, and his family doting on him, but Beth had bathed him and sang to him softly until he slept. His grandfather had collected him saying he would like for his grandson to sleep in his room. She had handed over her sleeping son.
She quite enjoyed being on the Triple K ranch, and she loved the warmth of the large rambling house. It was never short of laughter, the rumble of male voices, and the smell of baking bread and biscuits, bacon, beef, and roasted pork. It had been a long day, and she was tuckered out, needing to sleep more than anything else. Yet Beth felt so uncertain. Joshua’s family was lovely, and the very thought of her son growing away from them brought a lump to her throat. They loved him already, and she could see herself easily falling into the rhythm of this homestead.
Taking a deep breath, she stood up from the copper bathtub, dried herself, then dressed in a chemise, pantalets, stockings, and a simple white dress. She slipped her feet into slippers and left her hair rippling over her shoulders and down her back. Making her away from her room and down the winding staircase, she entered the large living room, the boisterous laughter tugging a smile to her lips. Beth scanned the room. Joshua was nowhere to be found, and instinctively she glanced outside, to see him walking away from the main house, toward a path that led to the forest.
Her heart hitched. Though surrounded by his family, he was still a lone wolf, the dangerous kind. She’d seen that the men on the ranch respected him, admired him even, but Joshua wasn’t a man others could be comfortable around. What was out there and not by the fire with his family?
“Go to him,” Laura Kincaid said softly.
Beth's head snapped around to see his mother standing close by, her kind eyes assessing and probing, and knowing.
Heat flushed along Beth’s cheek. “I am here to put Grayson to bed and—”
“Grayson is more than fine, Beth. I do not think August has gotten tired of the fact he has a grandson yet.”
Beth glanced at the men by the fire. August was sitting in a large rocker, with Grayson curled contentedly on his chest. Her little man was still sleeping, and there was a look of peace on his grandfather’s face that brought an ache in her heart. “Thank you, Mrs. Kincaid.”
“My dear, I think it’s about time you called me Laura.”
Beth smiled and made her way outside, following the path she had seen Joshua take. She stepped into the forest surprised to see there was a well-worn path beyond the first cusp of large oak trees and junipers.
“Joshua?”
“I’m here.” He was leaning against the bark of a tree.
“Where are you going?”
“To my cabin.”
She raised her gaze to his. “Why do you have a cabin away from the main house?”
There was a beat of silence, and then he said, “Sometimes I need the space to clear my head…and there is just too much talking down there.”
She moved a bit closer. “To clear your head from what?”
He looked away from her for a moment and then held out his hand. She didn’t hesitate to walk over and thread her fingers through his. He tugged her along the path, and they strolled in silence for a few minutes. He veered left into a clearing, lush with thick grass, and she could hear the babble of a brook close by. They stopped, and she peered up at him, nervous anticipation burning through her veins. The glow of the moonlight bathed everything in silvery moonbeams, and she could see his expression as he considered her. It was stark, lonely and intense.
It occurred to her how little she knew the man before her. There were depths she hadn’t even begun to understand, but she desperately wanted to discover. He removed his hat and let it fall to the ground, lowered himself onto the grass and tugged her down with him. It felt natural to use the firm muscles of his arm as a sort of pillow as she lay back and stared at the starlit sky.
“I like being alone.”
His response was so simple and stark. She thought about that for a minute, for she was the opposite. When all was silent the memories of her weakness and shame rose and choked her. She loved laughter, family, and friendship. Though she supposed there were times she relished solitude. “Is that why you have a wandering spirit?”
He grunted, and she laughed lightly. “I’ve heard that a lot in the last few days. Your Ma says you have been drifting from you were a boy. You would leave home for weeks at times, sometimes months.”
“I love the land, its rawness and beauty are unmatched. Sometimes I come here, lay on the grass and simply consider the stars.”
“And what do you think about when you stare at the heavens, Joshua Kincaid?”
“Life. Things I have done, things I have not done. I come here almost every night and talk myself out of climbing through your window, spreading you wide and then licking up all your sweetness.”
Her head snapped up to find him staring at her. At that angle, she could not see him entirely, just a slash of arrogant cheekbones, the arch of his perfect black brows. She waited for her heart to settle back into her chest. A few small animals rustled under the bushes and the crickets chirped, the sound rhythmic and soothing. “Why haven’t you?”
“I’m a patient man.”
And she got the sense he was waiting for something, but what? She froze as a thought occurred to her. What if he waited for her to offer herself? What if he thought that night back in Liberty he had taken her choice? The notion felt far-fetched…yet, the emotion that tore through Beth had a lump forming in her throat, and she knew with every part of her soul, if Joshua had to wait months, years, he would until she was ready. The heart of the man revealing himself to her was nothing like his reputation. She had heard the whispers of him, even before she’d met him.
He was lawless, savage, and far more dangerous than any man she had ever known. "When you just rode into Liberty…there was a man in the saloon, he said you'd killed over a hundred men."
He met her eyes for a moment, and she could have sworn there was a spark of humor in those piercing green eyes. Then his lips twitched, confirming her assessment. "You believe every drunken tale you hear?”
“No, that’s why I’m asking. I know your reputation, Joshua Kincaid. In both Liberty and Blue Lagoon, I’ve heard the whispers in town and even on the ranch, they say you’ve killed men.”
He dipped into his pocket, rolled a smoke and lit it. “I’ve told you already, none that didn’t deserve it.”
“They say you are as tough as the men who ride the outlaw trails, maybe even tougher.”
“I’m a rancher,” he said mildly. “And a fighting man when needed. Nothing more.”
And Beth wondered if she could ever present him to her mother as Grayson's father. Her mother lived an elegant life amongst Boston elites. Her life was political dinners, balls, and the theatre. The kind of life Beth would lead again, once she returned to her mother. But hadn't she lived a similar experience in Virginia? Her father had owned one of the most extensive cotton plantations and had been much respected by their society.
“Do you recall the first man you killed?” She wasn’t sure why she asked him, but Beth couldn’t understand the will it must take to relieve someone of their very existence. The coldness of heart and nature it must take. Joshua must have it, and despite knowing t
hat she was falling deeper and hopelessly in love him. She had never known her heart could be this stubborn and complicated.
“I was sixteen,” he said quietly. “And it was two, one right after the other.”
Horror congealed in her chest. “You were so young.”
“I was already a man.”
She stared at the blue beauty of the sky, thinking how different their lives had been. “In Virginia, boys of sixteen were shyly asking girls to walk with them by the river. When I was sixteen, I was busy worrying about what laces and hats to buy, and how I would flirt with a beau when he came calling,” she said softly. “Why did you kill them?”
“They needed killing.”
She turned her head, the grass rustling beneath her, to meet his regard. "I’m certain it was more than that.”
“I was on a cattle drive with my father. We were passing through El Paso, and there was a farm. I heard a scream. I went to investigate, and there was a young woman, and there were two of them." He looked up into the sky and laced his fingers behind his head. "One was watching, and he'd already taken his turn to rape her, the other was just starting. I thought to run for my Pa, but by the time I would reach our campfire, maybe they would have killed her. I shot the man who was about to rape her. Then I knifed the other."
She stared at him in bemusement. “It never occurred to you to just take them to the law? You had the advantage, you could have stopped them with a word.”