Putting out her hand, she continued, “You make me lose all thought when we touch, but this can’t go on. I need to know what you want. From me.” She waved her hand back and forth. “From us. What are we doing?”
“I know what I was doing.” He chuckled. The low throaty sound sent heat through her. Backing away, she bumped into the table, rattling the china.
Throwing caution to the wind, she raced on. “ Is there an us, or am I a momentary distraction until you leave for home?” She sighed, hoping it didn’t sound as desperate to him as it sounded in her ears. Looking up, she was surprised to see confusion on his face followed by anger.
“Is that how you think I see you? A momentary distraction? Credit me with a deeper personality than that!” Realizing the mistake she’d made, Linnie stood, placing her hand on his sleeve.
“No … no. That’s not what I meant. You are anything but shallow. The events of the past few days have more than proved that to me.” She reached up, caressing his cheek. “I’m messing this all up. You have become so dear to me, Alec. I’m in love with you, and I believe you when you say you’re in love with me, but I don’t know what you want. The thought of you leaving and my never seeing you—holding you—again scares me.”
Anger fled his face, and understanding took its place. Linnie watched a smile, slow and sensuous, build. He leaned down, grabbed her by the waist, and swung her around.
“I meant it when I told you I love you.” He loosened his grip, and she slid down, every inch of her body molded to his. She felt his breath and the strength of his arms, secure, letting her know without word he had no intention of letting her go. As they came face-to-face, he captured her lips with his, slanting his mouth over hers, edging her lips open with his tongue. Eagerly, she complied, wishing this moment would never end.
“You are correct, though,” he said after breaking the kiss over her objections. “We do have a lot to talk about.” He caressed her cheek and led her to the table. “And I think we have a better chance of actually talking,” he laughed, “if we have a little space between us. Otherwise, I won’t be able to think beyond getting you out of all those clothes.”
Her mind flashed back to that first night and how mortified she had been about removing her dress. Looking at the face she cherished above all, she wanted to tear her dress off and climb all over him again.
“I’ve come to some decisions,” he was saying. He had been talking, and she had been daydreaming! She took a sip of wine and listened.
“I love you, Adeline, and I want to marry you.” He reached over and took her hand. “I want to build a life with you and someday have children of our own.”
Reluctantly, she pulled her hand back. She knew what had her so upset whenever she thought about being with him.
“I do love you, Alec, but I don’t think I can marry you. I won’t give up my writing or my photography to play the duchess to people who don’t care about the suffering in the world. I can’t. And what about my mother and Freddie? Are they going to live with us in Scotland? Or will we leave here, and I never see them again? I just don’t see how this would work. I’m sorry.”
She had been so worried about what he wanted she had pushed down what she needed. Being honest with herself and him was the only way she knew to go on.
“I would never want you to be anyone other than the passionate, infuriatingly independent woman who changed the way I see the world.” He stood, walked around the table, and knelt before her. “I need you to show me the world through your eyes. To question things I have taken for granted and help change—”
She held up her hand, stopping him. “But what about all the other people in our lives? Don’t you have an obligation to your title? Where would we live? And what about my family?” She repeated. “There are so many obstacles. I don’t see how this can work.” She looked around the room, tears pooling in her eyes. Her heart was breaking.
“Linnie … Linnie. Look at me.” His voice was soft and drew her gaze. “You are making this more difficult than it is.” He smiled. “Yes, I have obligations to my title, but my properties are well managed, and my father is the image of the strapping Scottish laird. I don’t anticipate ascending to the dukedom for many, many years. As for your mother and Freddie, I want you and your mother and Freddie to be my family. I wouldn’t dream of you leaving them. Or myself for that matter. They’ve become very precious to me. Hawke and I were here in San Francisco looking into our shipping company, as you know.” She nodded, tilting her head to the side, wondering where he was going with this course of thought.
“Part of what we were doing involved interviewing possible managers for this office. After much deliberation, and an unforeseen incentive,” he smiled, and her heart jumped, “I informed Hawke that I would take the role of manager.” He put up his hand. “Now, I know many of my peers would die of shock hearing me say I would ‘work’ at a job, but it’s something I want to do. The bonus to this, of course,” He stood, drawing her up next to him, “is that I will be calling San Francisco my home. There will be trips to our other offices around the world, but I’m hoping you will see traveling as an incentive and opportunity to continue your photography and writing. You can show me how you see the world, and you can report for the newspaper on the impacts events in the world will have here in San Francisco. When we aren’t traveling, we will be here. I know your mother loves her home, and I thought we could buy a home of our own nearby.”
Linnie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was staying here!
“I am also going to follow up on your mother’s suggestion about vineyards farther north. Hawke thought it could be a good investment.”
She threw herself into his arms. “I love you, Alec MacCairn. I’ve fought loving you—needing you—from the moment we met, but no more. I never hoped to love again, but you’ve shown me it’s possible. I don’t want to spend another moment of my life without you.”
Alec stepped back, reached into his pants pocket, and withdrew a small box.
“I don’t have the family engagement ring to give you.” He opened the box, revealing a stunning, cushion cut solitaire in a simple gold setting. “I hope this will be satisfactory until I can cable my family and tell them the good news. Will you marry me?”
Tears coursed down her cheeks as he took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. She nodded, unable to speak.
“It’s beautiful, Alec.” She reached up to kiss him. “I doubt any other ring could be as beautiful. Yes.”
More from This Author
The Heart You Own
Diane R. Jewkes
New Mexico Territory, 1895
“Why should we sell part ownership of the ranch?” Kara demanded, ready for a battle. “We’ve done fine. The cattle herds are growing and haven’t the markets been strong? Why sell now?”
“Sweetheart, you don’t need to concern yourself with business decisions. Why don’t you go help with the cattle?” her father said, waving a dismissive hand as he looked down at the papers on his large, oak desk.
She gasped in surprise, stung by his rebuke, unable to believe her ears. “Don’t you dare dismiss me like one of the ranch hands!” She slammed her fist on the desk.
Case Jonston looked up sharply, then leaned back in his leather chair. “Don’t take that tone with me, young lady,” he said, his voice hard as flint. “This show of disrespect won’t be tolerated.”
“Papa? Are you listening to me? Why do we have to bring this Englishman into our business? How do you know he isn’t going to try to buy you out — take over the ranch? Then where would we be? I’ve read dozens of stories in the newspapers back east about farmers and ranchers being swindled out of everything by these ‘helpful’ investors, charlatans posing as wealthy Europeans or even nobility. What if — ”
“Look, honey,” said her father, his voice low and even. “I needed cash to keep the ranch running. The beef prices haven’t been what I would have liked. Selling a partnership made sense. T
his opportunity came while you were at school in Virginia.”
“This has been going on for that long?” Her voice crept higher. “I’ve been back from finishing school for two months, and you couldn’t find some way to tell me?” She sat with a thud in the leather chair in front of her father’s desk, unable to catch her breath.
“Why … why didn’t you write and tell me? Why didn’t you take me out of Mrs. Wentworth’s School? The money would have been better served here on the ranch instead of trying to teach me how to be a proper lady.”
Her father got to his feet and walked around the desk to pull her into his arms. She could hear the deep rumble in his chest and feel the warm comfort of his big body as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Oh, Little Bit,” he chuckled. “I know you hated school and would have used any excuse to come home, so I didn’t tell you. The money from your school wouldn’t have helped, and it was your mother’s wish for you to finish.”
Pulling gently from her father’s embrace, she looked up into his eyes.
“How bad is it? Please, don’t keep any more secrets from me, Papa. Not knowing is worse than the honest truth.”
“Well, with the cash coming from Lord Stoneham, we’ll be able to expand the herd, improve the outbuildings, and pay the railroad to ship this year’s stock to market in Chicago.”
“I didn’t realize.” Kara shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry. But why does the Englishman have to come here? Can’t he just send the money and leave us alone? And how do you know he’s honest, and he’s not going to steal everything?”
“Lord Stoneham is Scottish, not English; they do make a distinction,” Case replied. “He is not interested in just sending money, and you know I wouldn’t become partners with a man who took no interest in where his money is going. Besides, in my correspondence with him, Stoneham has given several good suggestions. When he arrives within the week, he’s not only bringing his wealth and education, he’s bringing Angus bulls and cows to cross with our longhorns.”
“Within the week!” she yelped, caught off-guard again. “Why did you wait so long to tell me? What? Were you just going to surprise me over dinner? ‘Pass the potatoes Kara, and by the way, this is my new partner.’” She began prowling around the study, unable to conceal her agitation. “Or were you hoping I wouldn’t notice strange cattle in the pen and a stranger with a funny accent wandering around.”
“Kara, listen to me — ”
“It’s bad enough he’s coming here, but now you tell me he’s already planning on changing things without even seeing our operation.” She huffed in exasperation, “This is just wonderful.”
“Now, Kara … . ”
“Why doesn’t he stay in England or Scotland or wherever he’s from, and manage his property there? Who is he? How did you find out about him and his money?” She fired questions at her father so fast he didn’t have a chance to speak.
She advanced on her father, who backed away, putting his hands in front of him, until he bumped into his chair and plopped down in it.
“Kara, slow down! Stop yelling at me,” he snapped, finally stopping her tirade. “If you will sit down, I’ll tell you what I know.”
She sat down, tugging at the front of her shirt.
“All right,” she nodded tersely, “let’s hear about this savior of the Ladder J Ranch.”
“First of all,” he said in a calm voice, “I would like you to try to have an open mind about this. You seem prepared to condemn this man, and me, without even meeting him or hearing me out. I would expect more from you. This is not like you.”
He cut her off as she started to interrupt. “I have the floor, if you don’t mind.” Tapping his fingertips together, Case leveled a stare at her, like he had when she was little and caught her getting into some kind of mischief. “Young lady, I am very disappointed. Don’t you have faith in my ability to do what is best for the ranch and you?”
She realized she had gone too far, again. All her life she had pushed the limits of his patience, either in word or deed. She twisted the handkerchief in her hands into knots.
“I’m sorry, Papa.” She looked up, tears swelling in her sapphire eyes. “Really, I didn’t mean to imply you don’t know how to run the ranch. I’m just afraid everything is going to change and this … this man will try to take over everything or worse, he’ll be another shiftless remittance man; all promises and lies, draining us of everything and giving us nothing in return.”
“Let me tell you about my arrangement with Lord Stoneham,” Case answered softly. “I should have told you this sooner, I am sorry. Little Bit, I didn’t intentionally shut you out, but you must remember you and the ranch are my responsibility, and mine alone.”
He put up his hand to stop her before she could speak. “Let me talk, please.”
Leaning forward, he rested his forearms on the desk.
“First off, you know he’s not a remittance man. Stoneham is the heir of the Marquis of Lochay in Scotland. Stoneham is the title of the first son. His name is Hawke Pryce.”
“More like a chicken than a hawk, I bet.” She snorted softly.
“Young lady,” Case tried not to laugh, harrumphed, shrugged his shoulders, and continued. “He studied at the finest universities in Britain, and served in the military in India for several years. His is a very wealthy title, and Stoneham has had to learn the workings of all of its holdings. In addition, he has made a fortune of his own through many shrewd investments and ventures.”
“That still doesn’t explain why here, why us, and why you don’t think he’ll cheat us.”
“He heard about the Ladder J from Arthur Cove, over at the Rocking C. Apparently he’s an old family friend. Stoneham wrote me with the proposal to bring fresh bloodlines and capital into the ranch. In return, he wants to spend time out here and try some theories he has about ranching.”
“Oh, I see now.” Annoyance flashed through her. “This is some old gentleman whose father has yet to die. He needs to find something to relieve his boredom, and we are some experiment he wants to try. It doesn’t sound much different from Lord Peavey to me.”
The only person of noble birth she had ever seen spent his days and nights in one of the local saloons. It was rumored scandal drove him out of Britain and his family sent him money to keep him away. In her mind, British “gentlemen” were probably worthless wastrels who considered themselves too good to be bothered by the common rabble. “No, Kara,” Case replied, “Stoneham is not an old gentleman. He is not yet thirty and boredom seems to be the least of his worries.” He leaned back in his chair. “He has written me of the problems he’s seeing with the land in Britain and Scotland and is trying to learn new methods to correct them to make the land rich again.”
“All right,” she put her hands up in defeat. “All right. I’ll try to reserve judgment until I meet this man and see for myself what he is really all about.” She leaned her hands on the desk. “Right now, I’m going to go help bring in the cows and calves.”
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