An Obsessive Bride_Family of Love Series_A Western Romance Story

by Elliee Atkinson

  “I was in there playing cards the other night and these men, they accused me of cheating and I had to set them straight.”

  Gabe’s eyebrows shot up. She looked pleased with herself. She didn’t know he was trying not to laugh. He took on a serious look and frowned deeply. “That’s very dangerous. Maybe you shouldn’t be in there playing cards and challenging men that way.”

  “No, didn’t you hear me?” She smiled, shaking her head. “I set them straight. Why, you can ask… you can ask Sam, he saw me. Or that might have been when Allan was in charge. I don’t remember now.”

  Gabe could tell by her words that she had obviously been in the Horse N Saddle more often than he. He didn’t know who Allan was or what he looked like. He couldn’t ask him about the story if he didn’t know who to ask.

  He shook his head. “I still say that’s dangerous and if you’ve had other occasions to fear for your life, you shouldn’t be in there at all. You can get bottles to take out with you. You don’t have to drink there.”

  She looked insulted. He tried not to be delighted. “I don’t go there just to drink. I like to play cards. I like the atmosphere. No man can control me.” She looked at him and leaned in toward him. “Except maybe you. You’re the exception to that.”

  Gabe retreated, pulling back slightly so that her body wouldn’t be pressed against his. “Now, hold on there, Agatha. I know you’ve got some type of obsession with me, but you really can’t expect me to just have automatic feelings for you. That’s the kind of thing that has to grow with time.”

  “I don’t think we need time.” Agatha said, smiling. “I think it’s best to live right now and not think about the past or the future. My heart tells me you’re the man for me.”

  Gabe took another step back when she came toward him. “Stop, Agatha. Stop right there. You don’t want your reputation to be ruined, do you? You don’t need to beg. If a man doesn’t show attraction to you, move on. There will be another one who will. I don’t deserve you, Agatha, because I can’t love you the way you want me to.”

  Agatha shook her head. She crooked her finger at him as she approached in a “come here” motion. “I have to tell you something, Gabe,” she said a voice so low he could barely hear her. He stared at her as she moved just inches away from him, stood up on her tip toes and whispered in his ear, “I know what you’ve done.”

  The words sent chills down his spine. He swallowed and stepped away from her, staring at her with wide eyes. “What… what are you talking about, Agatha?”

  She smiled and he was filled with a sudden hatred for her that made him want to strangle her. She did know. She knew his secret.

  “You don’t know what you think you do,” he said, trying to think quickly. The story was a long one and in the end, he felt justified but if Agatha knew only the end result, she would spread around whatever fanciful lies she wanted to. His life would be ruined.

  He clenched his hands into fists. She dropped her eyes to them and then looked back up at his face, smirking. “I see you are angry now. But you can’t pummel me to death right here in the park, can you? And you can’t stop me from telling anyone I want to. I suggest you do what I want you to do if you don’t want your precious Claire to know about it.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” he breathed, knowing the futility of those words as he spoke them.

  She cackled, throwing her head back. “Now, really, Gabe. I thought you knew me at least a little bit by now.”

  “Why are you doing this to me? I thought you loved me.”

  She grabbed her skirt with her hands, balling the material up in them as she paced back and forth in front of him like menacing wolf about to attack. He looked at her face and suddenly didn’t see her anymore. She wasn’t pretty. She looked like a hawk or a rat, her dark hair swirling around her face, her eyes dark with make-up, her lips were blood red. He was disgusted by the sight of her.

  “I do love you. But you don’t love me. And I don’t deserve to be rejected. So I sent a messenger to Kentucky, to that little town you came from, what’s the name of it again?”

  He didn’t respond. There was no way he would give her any more information than she already had. He also didn’t know if she was telling the truth. She was known for her lies. Maybe she didn’t know.

  He doubted she would have even said anything if she didn’t know something.

  His mind raced through the confusing thoughts, trying to find a solution.

  “Cooperstown,” she said. He felt like a bomb had dropped onto his head. He felt a little dizzy and put his hand to his head. He had to find his cousin, Mark. He had to find Claire and tell her before Agatha had a chance to. He couldn’t let Agatha do this to him. She wouldn’t blackmail him into loving her or showing her affection. He wouldn’t allow it.

  “Agatha, you can’t force a man to love you, no matter what you threaten him with. If it isn’t there, it isn’t there.” Gabe began backing up toward the gate of the park.

  “You just need to give it time to grow.” Agatha came after him, pursuing him like a dog in heat.

  “Give what time to grow?” Gabe was exasperated. “There has to be something there first. There’s nothing between us. There’s nothing to grow.”

  Agatha shook her head. “If you don’t do what I want, I will spread the word about what you’ve done. No one will ever look at you the same again.”

  For the first time in his life, Gabe felt truly terrified. He thought about the people of Wickenburg, his first family, and what they would think before they heard the true story. It didn’t matter if they heard the truth. There would always be a lingering doubt because of the lies Agatha would spread.

  “You mustn’t say anything, Agatha.” Gabe stopped moving backwards and moved toward her instead. “I want you to tell me what you know. Then I will decide what will happen.”

  “You will decide?”

  “Yes. I am a man who will not let a woman control him.”

  She waited until he stopped a few feet from her and then closed the distance, pressing her chest against him. “I will have control over you, Gabe. Because I have a very good imagination. I know you think I am stupid. That I don’t know you are aware of my little story telling. I do it for my own amusement. I can come up with a million different stories and make them sound completely believable.”

  “You don’t have the best reputation for your honesty, Agatha. I’m sorry, but that’s true.”

  Agatha didn’t lose her snake-like grin. “I don’t have any kind of reputation here, except for the people in the Horse N Saddle and the hotel. There are many, many more people in Wickenburg who only know me as another resident of the hotel. Could be gone any day. No one knows, so they don’t bother to make friends. Who wants a temporary friend?”

  “If you’re tired of moving around, stay in one place long enough to make friends. Get a house of your own. Find a husband.”

  She lowered her eyelids and gave him a snide look. “That’s what I’ve done.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t be your husband, Agatha. You can’t make me marry you. I don’t love you.”

  “You will. I will make sure of it.”

  “You can’t. I don’t believe you know anything about my past.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  Agatha’s face was turning red and her scowl made her look ugly. “Gabe…”

  He stepped away from her. “Don’t come near me, Agatha.” He went through the gate of the park and walked back toward the middle of town where the festival was in full swing.

  “Don’t walk away from me, Gabe!” Agatha called out. “You might not want me to yell this out too loudly.”

  He stopped and turned back. He wanted to charge her like a bull. He walked slowly until there were only a few feet in between them.

  “What do you know?” he growled.

  He hated her smile. “I know you killed a man.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

 
GET THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT GETTING KILLED

  GET THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT GETTING KILLED

  Gabe stared down into the brown liquid in his glass, contemplating what he could do about his situation. He was angry. He was so angry, it was boiling over inside him.

  He was angry at himself. If he had told Mark what happened in a letter, his cousin would already have warned everyone that needed to know about his situation. If he had come clean to Claire before Agatha found out, he might be able to save that relationship before it was too late. He hoped Claire would understand and wouldn’t believe Agatha’s lies. Most of all, if he hadn’t gotten himself into this situation in the first place, he’d be living in peace on his ranch in Kentucky. He might not have gotten to know Claire but nothing would have happened to lead him back to Wickenburg.

  He was angry at Agatha for probing into his private life. What right did she have? Who did she think she was?

  “You okay, Gabe?” Sam was leaning over him, concerned. “You look pale. I gotta get Mark down here for you?”

  Gabe pulled his head up and looked at Sam. His mind was spinning and he’d only had a few drinks. “I’m done for, Sam. I’m done for.”

  “What do you mean?” Sam took the seat opposite Gabe, leaning over the table. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’ve got a secret, Sam. I’ve been hiding something bad from everyone since I got here.”

  “I didn’t know you before, Gabe. I wouldn’t judge you for anything that’s happened in your life.”

  “I know. I just… I’ve made friends here. I’ve got to think about Claire and what she’s going to…” Gabe closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of the fog. “Sam. I…”

  Sam stopped him. “Wait. I’m gonna send Allan to get Mark. He’s still at the festival, I’m sure.”

  “I don’t want to bother him right now. He’s having fun with his family.”

  Sam stood up and gave him a serious look. “You are family, too. And I think you need him. You stay here. You hear me? Don’t you leave.”

  Gabe nodded slowly. “I won’t leave.”

  He picked up the glass and tossed back the liquor, hating the burn as it went down. He wasn’t a drinker. There was no telling what this amount of alcohol was going to do to him.

  He was trying to drown his hatred. He knew that’s what he was doing. He wanted to kill Agatha. He wanted to make sure she never had a chance to spread her hateful lies. The only way he’d been able to get her to leave him alone in the Horse N Saddle was by promising to visit her room later that night. He shuddered. He didn’t want to spend the night with that woman. He didn’t want to spend one moment with her.

  Gabe sat in the chair and stewed, ordering another two shots before Allan came back with Mark. He looked up and acknowledged his cousin with a nod.

  “Oh Lord, Gabe, you’re looking rough. Tell me what’s happened.”

  “I didn’t mean to take you away from your fun and your family, Mark.”

  Mark shook his head, his dark brown eyes deeply concerned for his cousin. “Never mind about that now. You tell me what’s happening please. And don’t leave anything out. I can see something has got you in its grip. You’re not a drinking man. Spill it, Gabe. You’re my cousin. You’re my family.”

  Gabe drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. It seemed to help clear his mind and he grasped on to the memories so he could tell the story the way it needed to be told.

  “I didn’t just leave Kentucky because I wanted to start over in Wickenburg. There was a lot more to it.”

  Mark nodded. “I figured as much. Was it a woman?”

  Gabe cringed. “When is it not over a woman?”

  “True, true.” Mark agreed with him.

  “Her name was Annie. I… I became friends with her the night her brother and I stopped at a saloon in Cooperstown that’s known for its pretty women. She was working there. Her brother and I were doing some work on the ranch. I’d just hired him on and he seemed like a good character. I’m usually a good judge of it and thought it was going to work out just fine. He was a big boy, bigger than me and strong as an ox. I swear I could have saddled him up to the plow and he would have done the work of two horses.”

  Mark’s eyebrows shot up. “That is strong.”

  Gabe nodded. “Yeah, he was unbelievably strong. So Annie and I, well, we never really took our relationship very far. We were good friends but… there was nothing there that could…” Gabe stopped thinking of Agatha. “That could grow. Our love for each other was purely platonic.”

  “I take it the brother didn’t think of it that way.” Mark concluded.

  Gabe nodded. “At first, he was fine with it. He even encouraged it. But when we didn’t take things further, he assumed one of us had hurt the other and you know which one he chose to blame.”

  Mark shook his head.

  “It wasn’t any of his business to begin with,” Gabe continued. “But he wanted to pick a fight. I didn’t want to do it. I really wanted to buy him off but he wouldn’t take any of my offers. Eventually, Annie and I got together to talk about what we could do to ease Jack’s mind. He was trying to be a good brother, we both knew that. But there was no reason for him to take things as far as he did.”

  “Did he challenge you?”

  “He tried. But I didn’t want anything of it. I wasn’t going to lose my life because of my pride. I am a man who wants to live.”

  Mark nodded. “So you left before the duel? And you are worried that everyone here will find out and think less of you.”

  Gabe looked directly at his cousin. “There’s so much more to it than that.”

  Mark lifted one hand. “I apologize for jumping to conclusions. Please go on.”

  Gabe looked over at Sam, who was watching the two of them from behind the bar as he cleaned glasses over and over without thinking. He raised two fingers and Sam nodded.

  “So Annie and I decided to try a relationship… see if there was anything that might come of it. She’s a sweet woman and I had a lot of good times with her. But we never… we never clicked. I didn’t desire her the way I wanted to desire a wife. I wanted to be around her. I liked being around her and talking to her. She was one of the nicest women I’ve ever met and more fun than some of the guy friends I’ve had. But there was no…”

  “No sexual attraction.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Yeah. None of that. And… I need to want my woman. Does that make sense?”

  “Of course it makes sense. So go on. The relationship didn’t go well?”

  “We went back to being friends by mutual choice. She knew it and I knew it. There could never be anything substantial between us. When she told Jack, she tried to put it as bluntly as she could. She told him she loved me but not like a wife should love a husband.”

  “You didn’t marry her, did you?” Mark interjected.

  Gabe shook his head again. “No. We didn’t get married. We never had any kind of relations. We only kissed a few times. It was nice. It was warm and it made me feel loved. But the spark I needed wasn’t there. Don’t think it was there for her either. And since marriage is the ultimate goal of a relationship like that, we knew it wasn’t going to happen for us.”

  Gabe stopped when Sam came over with two shot glasses in his hand. He set them down in front of Gabe, who picked up one and threw the liquid down his throat, swallowing quickly. He pressed the back of one of his hands against his mouth and tried to breathe. When he got his breath back, he looked at Sam and nodded. “Thanks, I needed that.”

  Sam returned the nod and went back to the bar. He resumed cleaning the glasses and staring at Mark and Gabe. “He’s really inquisitive, ain’t he?” Gabe asked Mark. Mark just smiled.

  “So about Annie…” he said.

  “Yeah, about Annie. Well, she told her brother that we weren’t meant to be and he came gunnin’ for me, sayin’ I thought I was too good for her. Since I’d hired him and he knew how much money I had and the property I’d accumu
lated, he couldn’t get over the fact that sometimes it isn’t about money. It’s about feelings, emotions, and all that girlie stuff. Sometimes, a man’s just got to follow his heart. I know that sounds dumb. But sometimes, you gotta accept it.”

  “So once again, you left so that you didn’t have to duel him?”

  Gabe didn’t say anything. He played with the glass in front of him, rolling it on its edge and making circles on the table top with it. “I didn’t want to leave Kentucky. I liked Cooperstown. I liked my ranch and everything I had in it. I didn’t want to leave.” He sounded like he was in pain.

  Mark leaned forward on the table. “Did you leave town before you dueled him?”

  Gabe flicked his eyes up to look at Mark. “No.”

  “Did you duel him?”

  Gabe stared into his cousin’s eyes. “No. He came to my house when Annie was there. We’d been discussing how to deal with his anger. He saw us together. He came inside and threatened me. Annie got in the way and he punched her so hard, she flew across the room. I…” Gabe dropped his eyes. “I tried to get him to leave. He was in a rage. He was yelling and spitting at us. I couldn’t make sense of it. But when he went toward Annie with the intention of dragging her out of my house, I saw red. I didn’t mean to kill him. He was like a raging bull and wouldn’t stop. He was going to hurt someone. Probably Annie, if I’m at all honest with you.”

  “What happened?” Mark asked.

  Gabe stared blankly in front of him, lost in the memory of the tragedy that had changed his life forever. “I went after him, jumped on him to keep him from getting to Annie. He was going to hurt her. I couldn’t let him do that. We struggled. Fought. Broke a lot of stuff in my study. It was terrible. I got pretty banged up. He punched hard. I saw him reach for his gun. I saw him pull it out of the holster.”