by Nancy Bush
Kelsey swept her husband a loving look that smoldered with repressed fury. His mouth twitched and he slid an arm around her, pressing her close to his side, an intimate, affectionate pose for husband and wife. Kelsey’s elbow dug like a knife into his rib cage while she ostensibly returned the hug.
“Are you ready to leave, darling?” she said through a brilliant smile.
“In a minute. Lila says Montana wishes to speak to me.” Jesse’s grip tightened around his wife’s slender waist until Kelsey’s intake of breath was a choked gasp.
“Let’s dance,” Samuel inserted, clasping one of Kelsey’s gloved hands and leading her away from Jesse’s constrictive embrace.
“How are you feeling?” he asked once they were on the dance floor.
Kelsey shot him a quizzical look. Samuel was grinning like a devil.
Realizing he’d seen through their little battle of wills, she snorted in disgust. “Please keep it a secret, but I’m afraid I’ve married a boa constrictor. One day he’ll squeeze the life out of me.”
He chuckled. “The two of you remind me of something I’d almost forgotten.”
“What’s that?”
“There is some fun left in the world.”
“Fun.” Kelsey cast him a disparaging glance as he swept her across the floor. Unlike Jesse, who could scarcely dance the waltz without counting the steps in his head, Samuel was an excellent partner. Beneath Jesse’s sophisticated exterior beat the heart of an outlaw, but Samuel possessed the true polish of a gentleman.
“Lila’s fit to be tied,” Samuel observed. “Jesse will scarcely even look at her.”
Kelsey couldn’t stop herself from craning her neck to see her husband. He was talking to Montana now, the picture of gentlemanly civility. But his posture was tense.
“Lila is a married woman,” Kelsey said unnecessarily.
“And Jesse’s a married man.”
“Oh, no. He’s not. I mean” – she stumbled over her words – “not that way.”
“What way?” Samuel’s gaze was all innocence.
“You know full well our marriage is temporary, Samuel,” she retorted evenly. “Jesse and I made a deal.”
“It’s still a marriage.”
Kelsey simply shook her head. She had no wish to further this conversation, as it was quickly veering into dangerous territory.
She and Samuel moved to the punch bowl, and it was then that Kelsey saw Charlotte Chamberlain. Her young friend was flirting outrageously with Tyrone McNamara, acting the part of the coquette. Fear stabbed Kelsey’s heart, and before she could consider her actions, she excused herself from Samuel and strode anxiously toward the couple, her mouth set.
“… you really are bad,” Charlotte was cooing, slapping Tyrone’s arm lightly with her hand.
“And you are gorgeous tease,” Tyrone returned. Charm oozed from him like a noxious odor.
They both looked up at Kelsey’s sudden appearance. Charlotte’s expression turned sour and Tyrone’s gaze swept down Kelsey’s dark green gown, focusing on her sumptuous bosom. Kelsey hated the dress. Rich emerald silk ruffled her nape, then dipped scandalously low over her bosom, revealing more of her breasts then Kelsey felt comfortable with. She wouldn’t have worn it at all except her treacherous mind remembered the one comment Jesse had made when she’d consented to put it on just after it had arrived from Mrs. Honeycutt.
“That color suits you,” was all he said, and Kelsey, who’d eyed the neckline with worry, had nevertheless worked up the nerve to wear the gown tonight. Now she regretted it.
“Where’s Agatha?” Kelsey asked.
“She’s seated at one of the tables,” Charlotte announced airily, inclining her head in the direction of the musicians.
“Could I speak to you alone?” Kelsey requested humbly.
“I don’t think so.”
“Miss Chamberlain and I were just about to dance.” Tyrone clasped Charlotte’s arm and drew her toward him.
Only Charlotte’s slight resistance, a resistance she tried to mask, saved Kelsey from ripping her young friend out of Tyrone’s slimy hands. It was all an act, Kelsey realized with a pang. For her benefit. Because she’d stolen Jesse away.
Agatha was seated alone, drinking a cup of tea and fighting back a look of distaste as the weak fluid passed her lips. Upon seeing Kelsey, her expression grew guarded. “Hello, Orchid,” she greeted her.
“Agatha.” There was a wealth of feeling in Kelsey’s tone. She couldn’t hide it. It filled her throat and choked her. “Thank you for sending my things to me.”
“You’re welcome, my dear.”
“How – have you been?”
Agatha gazed at her thoughtfully. “Fine, although if I have to attend one more event in the interest of furthering my granddaughter’s social circle, I may consider Charlotte a candidate for a nunnery.”
Kelsey smiled. “Would you mind if I sit down?”
“No, dear. Please do.”
While music floated over the heads of the crowd and Charlotte moved into their line of view, pretending to revel in Tyrone’s embrace even while her arms held him stiffly at bay, Kelsey let Agatha’s gentle company soothe her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her these past few weeks. She ached inside for the friendship she’d lost.
“Jesse’s taken Portland by storm,” Kelsey murmured in an attempt at polite conversation. “This sham of a marriage should be over soon.”
“What will you do then, my dear?”
“I don’t know. Leave, I suppose.”
“Leave the city?” Agatha regarded Kelsey somberly.
Kelsey drew a breath and nodded. It was time to find herself a real life. Near time, anyway.
“I’m sorry,” Agatha said.
“No sorrier than I.”
The music ended and the guests clapped politely. Kelsey stood to excuse herself, but Madame Duprés suddenly thumped up to them in all her glorious splendor.
“Lady Chamberlain,” she said in her dramatic voice, leaning intimately toward Agatha on her cane. “I hope you’ll accept my invitation.”
Agatha’s brows arched.
“Madame Duprés is having a soirée this Sunday,” Kelsey explained. “She asked me to make certain you knew how much she wanted you to attend.”
Humor twinkled in Agatha blue eyes. “Ah, yes.”
“Do say you’ll come. Your lovely companion has delighted me with her acceptance. I would so enjoy introducing you to some acquaintances of mine.”
Agatha looked bemused by Madame Duprés’s gushing insistence. Kelsey half expected the woman to fall on bended knee and kiss Agatha’s hand. “I’m afraid I’m otherwise engaged,” Agatha murmured politely. “Perhaps another time.”
Annoyance flared the nostrils of Madame Duprés’s rather sumptuous nose. “Yes,” she snapped out. “Another time.” She pounded away in a fit of pique, Jeffrey fluttering behind her.
Kelsey shared a moment of silent mirth with the woman she considered as close as a grandmother. Then Charlotte appeared, her face flushed with ill temper. She flopped into the chair beside Agatha and looked ready to cry.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Agatha asked sharply.
“He’s just so – so –” She glanced toward Kelsey, fighting back her feelings in front of her adversary. “Awful, Grandmamma!”
“Yes, Charlotte.” Agatha’s voice was dry.
Charlotte glared at Kelsey as if it were all her fault. “And he said terrible things about you!” She flung out. “He said that you and he had actually –”
“Actually what?” Kelsey prodded gently while anger ran like molten lava through her veins. So help her, she was going to take care of Tyrone McNamara once and for all.
Charlotte blushed to the roots of her hair, shooting her grandmother an anxious glance. “Never mind.”
“He loves to shock, Charlotte,” Kelsey told her. “Beware of the man. Whatever he says about me, he would have no compunction to say about you either.”
The color drained as quickly from her face as it had appeared. “Grandmama,” she whispered in a shaking voice.
“Don’t worry, dear,” Agatha soothed gently. “Orchid will take care of everything.”
¤ ¤ ¤
Three hours later, as she unbound her hair, sending the fashionable coil of curls Irma had fussed over cascading down her nape, Kelsey smiled at the memory, knowing it was Agatha’s way of forgiving her. And Charlotte, the silly ninny, had actually learned something from Tyrone’s outrageous and shocking manners.
Filled with the glow of happiness, Kelsey headed downstairs in search of Jesse. She wanted to talk to him, to share her joy. She wanted to share something with someone, and he was all she had.
Her face rapt, she threw wide the doors to his den and strode into the room.
Jesse was seated at the desk, reading through sheaves of correspondence. He glanced up at his wife’s unexpected entrance, then slowly set down the papers and laid his arms across the desk.
This was something new, he thought. Kelsey invariably went straight to bed as soon as they returned from any outing. Frowning, Jesse wondered what had caused the color in her face and the sparkle in her eyes. A man, he thought sinkingly. She had the look of a woman in love.
“Jesse,” she said with undiluted delight. “I had the most wonderful time tonight!”
“Really.”
“I was dancing with Samuel and feeling awful and eager to leave. I was hoping you would finish with Montana soon and say it was time to go. But then…” She clasped her hands together, smiling with genuine joy.
“But then?” Jesse prodded coolly.
Her lovely eyes lifted to meet his harsh gaze. “But then something wonderful happened. I had a few moments alone with Agatha, and Charlotte, and I think Agatha’s forgiven me.”
Jesse didn’t immediately answer, and Kelsey felt utterly foolish that she’d expected him to understand. Even though he’d sympathized with her feelings once, he couldn’t know what this meant to her. He would think her a silly featherbrain that Agatha’s friendship mattered so much.
“I just enjoyed the moment, that’s all,” she finished lamely, clasping her hands together.
Jesse dragged his gaze away from the vision Kelsey presented in that gown. Her hair was loose. She’d let it down, and it fell in ribbons of purplish-red to her waist. The green silk shimmered and whispered when she moved. The top of her breasts glowed milky white in the soft light from his desk lamp. Vividly he recalled the touch of her close to him, the gentle smell of her perfume, the taste of her lips.
He stared at the papers in front of him. Papers representing the deal Montana was willing to make with him. Papers he would soon sign. Papers that represented the culmination of his revenge.
But between the lines of print he saw Kelsey Garrett’s luminous gray eyes and curving pink lips.
“Do you have time to talk?” she asked uncertainly. “I’m not tired, and I’ve got a thousand questions about your – plans.”
“Have a seat.” He gestured to the grouping of leather chairs on the other side of the desk, but she moved in a soft rustle to the window seat, curling her legs beneath her on the dark blue chintz cushion.
“Thanks. Have you come to any decisions about Montana Gray?”
Jesse glanced down at the papers. He’d deliberately kept her uninformed, but now that the deal was set, he couldn’t see what harm telling her would do. “We’re starting a shipbuilding business together.”
“Shipbuilding?” Kelsey looked at him in surprise. “That sounds almost legitimate.”
“It is legitimate,” he responded dryly.
“That doesn’t sound much like revenge.”
Jesse flicked a glance out the window to the black sky beyond. It was a moonless night. He was starting to lose sight of what was important, he realized. A thirst for vengeance could be doused, he thought ironically. Lust certainly obscured other emotions. No one knew that better than he did.
“Tell me about your engagement,” he heard himself ask.
“To Harrison?” Kelsey looked startled.
“Unless you were engaged to someone else too,” he answered sardonically, then suddenly lifted a hand as he remembered. “Oh, wait. I forgot about Warfield.”
“That wasn’t an engagement. That was disgusting.”
“What happened between you and Harrison?”
“I already explained: He was in love with Miracle, not me.”
“You didn’t say how you felt about him,” Jesse pointed out, walking around his desk and leaning his hips against its polished surface.
Kelsey looked down at her hands, then out the window, then back at him. “I wasn’t in love with him either.”
“But you were going to marry him,” Jesse persisted.
“Yes,” she admitted a bit testily. “To end the feud.”
“You agreed to marry Harrison as a means to end the feud between our families?” Jesse asked in disbelief.
“Harrison and I liked each other. The arrangement seemed to – make sense. But that was before he met Miracle.” When Jesse didn’t immediately respond, Kelsey said with spirit, “I don’t see what my history has to do with the situation we’re in now. I didn’t marry Harrison, I married you. And all I really want to concern myself with is getting out of this marriage before something – awful happens.”
In the lamplight her skin looked as soft and sleek as satin. Frustrated with her – and himself – Jesse was compelled to learn more about her. For reasons he didn’t want to explore, she absolutely fascinated him. “You said Harrison deserted you.”
“Yes, I did.” She lifted her chin and gazed at him coolly. Jesse waited, and she finally relented. “He left me at the altar. It wasn’t his fault. He was injured in a fire and Miracle helped save his life. Unfortunately, she didn’t know who he was, so none of us knew why he didn’t show up at the church.” Her voice grew brisk at the memory. “It was very embarrassing. You can probably imagine the gossip that followed: Kelsey Garrett left at the altar by Harrison Danner. Jace was apoplectic!”
Jesse lowered his lids. Inside, he winced with sympathy. It had been hard enough for him to be labeled the black sheep of the family, and he’d deserved it. Kelsey had been an innocent victim. “I’m surprised it didn’t set off another Danner/Garrett war,” he said blandly.
“Oh, it did. Not directly, but indirectly. And then when it was discovered that my father had been carrying on a secret affair with a Chinook woman, well, you can imagine the uproar, Jace and Emerald were livid. They wouldn’t acknowledge that Miracle was even a human being, let alone that she was Garrett kin.” Kelsey smiled and shook her head. “They’re such prigs.”
Jesse marveled at the change in Kelsey. He would have labeled her much the same after their first few meetings. “Who’s Emerald?”
“Jace’s wife,” Kelsey answered promptly. She shot him a sideways glance, her lips twitching with mirth. “A real lady, much like Lila Gray.”
Jesse’s blood froze. Emerald? Not his Emerald! “I’m surprised your brother actually married,” he murmured. “I thought he’d never get over Lexie. How did he meet – Emerald?”
“She’s from Malone. You remember my mother, Lucinda?”
“Of course.” Jesse’s expression hardened. He was sure now that Jace’s wife was one of the women – the virgins – he’d seduced, or in Emerald’s case, been seduced by.
“My mother wanted at least one of us to marry someone wealthy and important. Jace dutifully followed through, though he and Emerald never had children. At least they hadn’t by the time I left Rock Springs. Mother died several summers before Harrison and I were to be married,” Kelsey added quietly. “She was thrown from a horse.”
“And my mother died of diphtheria.”
Kelsey looked ashamed. “I’m sorry, Jesse. I never meant to hurt you with that news.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he dismissed gruffly. “It’s all long over now.”
> Silence pooled in the room, their spate of conversation ending as if turned off by a spigot.
“Are you ever going back to Rock Springs?” Kelsey asked at length.
“I don’t know,” he said softly, thoughtfully.
“What about after this situation with Montana’s over? What do you plan to do?”
“I have no idea,” Jesse admitted honestly.
“Do you know,” she said, her voice shaking with suppressed laughter, “what our families would do if we showed up together, married? Jace would have an attack!”
“Truly,” Jesse agreed with a smile. “You’re on a downward spiral with the Danner men. I’m sure he’d much prefer you to marry Harrison.”
Kelsey gazed at him through her wide gray eyes, and he didn’t like the look of compassion written across her face. “Is that why you haven’t been back? Because of what people said about you?”
“Hell, no.” Jesse was disgusted with himself that he’d given her the wrong impression. “I was in trouble with my father, practically my whole family. It was too constraining. I don’t want to rake it up again.”
“Don’t you miss them though? Sometimes?”
Against his will Jesse remembered parts of his youth he’d purposely repressed: the sweet scent of newly mown hay, Harrison’s uncomplicated grin, his first taste of homemade wine – which he’d choked on and therefore had caused Pa to struggle to fight back laughter – the ring of Lexie’s joyous, musical laughter, and the hard sting of Tremaine’s hand when he’d slapped Jesse on the back for taking good care of his horse, Fortune.
He shook his head.
“Not ever?” she asked tentatively.
“Not ever.” Uncomfortable with this whole conversation, Jesse said, “You haven’t told me why you left. You said it wasn’t because Harrison deserted you, or because he married someone else. So why was it?”
Kelsey blinked several times, her lovely brows drawing into a delicate frown. “Actually, I suppose it was just as you said. Only I was in trouble with my brother, and Emerald. They wanted to marry me off to somebody. And they wanted to stir up trouble with your family. They were stirring up trouble with your family.” She wrinkled her nose in remembrance. “A lot of things happened and I just – left.”