by Delilah Hunt
“Hold me back from what?” He spun around and bore down on her. “I wake up and spend my days among the cattle and with my workers. In between everything else I do, I think of you. I’m always thinking about you. Don’t mention any other females, because we both know that’s out of the question for me.”
“Is that why you were so quick to give me the money? Did you think you had to buy me, Brandon?”
The tick in his jaw grew stronger. “What else could I have done? Show up on Prescott’s doorstep, after he humiliated me in front of the entire town because I wasn’t able to take my eyes off you fast enough for him not to know every goddamn thing that was going on inside my head about his precious daughter. Or better yet, maybe I should have cornered you on Main Street and watched those pretty brown eyes recoil in horror because I dared to invite you to dinner?”
Her features froze, like a deer caught in the headlights. “Humiliated you? Brandon I’m so sorry. It seems like I’m forever apologizing for something my father’s done, and me like a dimwit rolling around in ignorance. You’re so wrong, though. I would have appreciated it if you’d been straightforward with me from the beginning. No games or ultimatums. Neither of us is perfect, Brandon. On the inside and out. For a lot of people I’m not exactly the definition of a prime catch either. I’ll never be a bombshell with curves to kill. Some people actually think my skin color is too dark. How can I change something like that? And of course I’m a lousy cook.” Her lips widened into a tepid smile. “You’ve tasted my culinary concoctions. You know what I mean. You can’t change who you are and neither can I. We’re just two normal people, despite what’s on the outside. You say you’re attracted to me and I’m attracted to you, too. In fact it’s because of my feelings for you, how strong they are, that I can’t live with you and pretend it doesn’t hurt that you don’t feel the same way.”
“It’s not just physical.”
“Then what else could it be?”
His chest tightened. Now was his chance to be honest, tell Danika he loved her. He opened his mouth to do so, but the words refused to come.
She shook her head slowly as a sardonic smile met her lips. “Can’t even bring yourself to whisper a beautiful lie, can you?”
Lie? He wished he could tell her the truth; exactly what she deserved to hear. Instead, he was too cowardly to trust his feelings. In desperation, Brandon held onto her hand and cradled it within his own. “Will you come home if I promise to be civil to your father and not say a word against him?”
She allowed her hand to slip from his grasp. “That alone won’t change my mind. I’m sorry.” With those words she gave him her back and strode toward the garden. Brandon stared after her retreating form. It was that day in May all over again, with her one step away from leaving his living room, without accepting the offer he’d laid in front of her. Only this time Danika wasn’t the one drowning in desperation.
Worth the Price
It was three weeks later and Danika felt the walls of her composure crumbling a measure with each passing day. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to keep her distance from the Bar S. She hadn’t lied to Brandon about missing him. Seeing him on her doorsteps had been piercing and left her raw with disappointment. Oh, she knew he desired her still. The longing in his eyes told her as much, except Brandon was unable to tell her the one thing she wanted to hear from him. The only words she needed to hear to feel secure if their marriage had a shot of working. A marriage which she didn’t have the heart to dissolve.
The more time spent apart from him, the more she questioned and stripped apart her decision to the bare bones. Was she being selfish by not giving in to him? She had been willing to marry Brandon for his money. Essentially she had married a man she didn’t love and had known beforehand he hadn’t loved her in return. And now, because her emotions had evolved and matured into love and her husband’s hadn’t, she was willing to bolt and deny her child a father.
On some days it was too overwhelming for her to think about, coupled with her fear that the telephone would ring from her father’s attorney saying that the men her father had hired would be found to name him. She was just grateful it seemed Brandon had yet to repeat the confession to the authorities. But little by little she was being worn down. Terrified of the stress and the effect it might have on her pregnancy, Danika did everything within reason to keep her mind off Brandon. Afternoons and weekends were designated for volunteering at the women’s shelter, which was nearing completion.
That also meant she would be thrust into contact with him next week at the grand opening party. On one hand, she hoped he would perform as expected and ignore the invitation. But deep inside, there was a part of her—the same part compelling her to continue wearing his ring—that prayed he would show up.
“Take a break, kiddo.”
She was knocked out of her reverie by Beth Ann, who came to stand beside her. The older woman winked and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I don’t want that husband of yours to complain I’m working you to death.”
Danika plastered on a smile. Beth Ann, busy woman that she was, had no idea of their estrangement or the drama surrounding her father. It became even more transparent as Beth Ann spoke, much to Danika’s chagrin. “It’s a good thing you snatched him up when you did, isn’t it?”
Danika frowned. Snatched him up? She loved her husband to death, but she had to wonder about her boss’s statement because Brandon’s looks and temperament didn’t exactly endear him to most of the women in Hart’s Fall…or anywhere, she suspected.
“I think quite a few women around here are starting to take notice of him. I mean, if you think about it, that scar on his face is a bit dashing, isn’t it? Not nearly so…unpleasant after you look at it for a while.” Beth Ann giggled like a sappy teenager, to Danika’s annoyance. “Not that you have anything to worry about. Lucky girl, you. Any fool can tell Sharpe is madly in love with you whenever he mentions your name.”
“Brandon was here?” She’d assumed his volunteer efforts had ceased around the same time as their separation.
“Of course. Not every day, as I’m sure you know, but now and then he stops by to lend a hand. He’s already contributed so much with that donation he made.”
When her boss progressed into discussions revolving around the upcoming party, Danika had to clamp her mouth to refrain from asking specifics of the one topic of interest to her—the women who had been flirting with her husband. With much difficulty she was able to keep her foot outside of her mouth.
“Beth Ann,” Danika began, “I hope you don’t mind if I call it a day. I’m feeling a bit drained these days.” Total lie, but at this point she didn’t care. Her hand came to rest on her stomach for added emphasis to her deceit. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and see what else needs to be done for the celebration.”
On her way out, she couldn’t help but steal glances at the women milling about. Could Brandon be attracted to any of them? Perhaps the strawberry-blonde who was arranging the tables in the eating hall. Or the curvy brunette with way more breasts than she had, in her second trimester. Did they too look at Brandon and think dashing instead of… Danika hung her head in reproach. She needed to stop. It was irrelevant what any of those women thought of him. Right or wrong, Brandon was still hers.
Poised behind the steering wheel of her car, she admitted to herself she was being irrational. But how else was she to react? Beth Ann’s revelation had dredged all of her worries up to the surface. It was far too late to ignore them. Danika revved the engine into drive and sped down the street with one direction in sight.
She arrived on the Bar S, hopped out of the car and sprinted toward the corral. Aside from two calves pacing their enclosure, the sole person present was Clint.
“Hey…”
She held up a hand. “Not now. Where’s Brandon?”
“He ain’t here,” the foreman said. “Went out with Austin Hart. They’re talking to that marshal the Cattle Raise
rs Association’s got on the case.”
Danika slowed to a stop. “He’s not here?” She cast her gaze around the ranch, seeking confirmation of her own. She was unsure if she should weep with relief or cry.
“Nope. Pro’lly won’t back for a while, too. Want me to tell him you stopped by?”
“No!” She regained her composure and spoke softer. “That is, there’s no need for you to do that. I just…” She let out a frustrated sigh. Oh my God, what am I doing? “This was a mistake, Clint. I shouldn’t have come here. Please don’t say a word to him.”
“This is your home, Miss Danika. I reckon you ain’t got a thing to be sorry about.”
She looked over at the house she had shared with Brandon for three wonderful months. “It was never my home.” The ranch hand appeared unconvinced. Sensing he would try to convince her otherwise, she waved goodbye and ran.
She wasted no time in returning to the main road, all the while blaming her excursion to the ranch on a bout of temporary insanity. She glanced at the ring on her finger as a wave of tremendous sadness and regret washed over her. So many promises for her and Brandon were made with that ring. Sooner or later she would have to take it off and face the reality that not all promises were meant to endure.
“My wife was here?” Brandon asked, trying to stay cool.
“That’s what I said. She hightailed it outta here a few minutes ago.”
“Did she swear you to secrecy, not to inform me?”
“Might have. Brain’s foggy sometimes.”
He exhaled and tried to calm the dozen or so thoughts racing through his mind. “What precisely did she say to you?”
“She was quiet. I wasn’t the one she wanted to see.” Cocking his head to the side, Clint gave him a peculiar look. “Say, Bran. Ain’t you thinking even a tiny bit this thing’s getting outta your control? Come next year, when you got yourself that baby crawling around, are you and the missus gonna keep running around seeing who can outrun the other longest. Not a lick of sense in it, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you anything, now did I?” Brandon snapped.
Clint kept on grinning, unperturbed by Brandon’s outburst. Of course he wasn’t, Brandon thought in self-disgust. His foreman and all the ranch hands had become used to his temper and increasingly low tolerance for even the most innocent of mistakes. Two days ago he’d almost fired one of his workers because the young man had forgotten to return a few pieces of equipment to the tack room.
“Listen, Clint. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that,” Brandon relented. He was becoming unrecognizable to himself and didn’t want to be the type of person his workers despised. Hell, he had enough self-disgust to last a lifetime.
“Don’t worry, Bran. I don’t take what you say to heart. The rest of the guys. I ain’t gonna lie to you. They’re grumbling. Can’t tell you how much longer they’re fixing to hold out before moving on.”
Brandon managed a nod. He’d figure out a way to fix the problems with his workers. Danika, on the other hand… His shoulders tensed. Why hadn’t he left Hart’s ranch ten minutes earlier? With her on the ranch, on his turf, he might have been able to convince her to go for a ride with him on Acer, soften her up a bit and remind her of what they’d had. The memories they shared. Maybe he could even have played on her mind with guilt to show her what their child would miss out on by not living on the Bar S with both parents. At this point he wasn’t above using such underhanded tactics.
Running a hand along the beard he’d regrown in her absence, Brandon shook his head. He wasn’t thinking straight. She would see right through him. Also, he was discounting a very important factor in the possible explanation for her need to see him in person. His mind spun into frenzy. He planted his back against the wall as a wave of nausea roiled through him at the thought of Danika filing for a divorce.
He gulped in a breath. “I have to do something,” he whispered to himself. He ran a finger along his beard again, noting the scruffiness. God in Heaven, he must resemble someone who had just crawled out a cave and was viewing civilization for the first time. It was a blessing in disguise she hadn’t seen him.
“The beard or the missus?”
“Both.” He thought back to the invitation he had received two weeks ago. After tossing it onto the kitchen table, he hadn’t given it a further thought, assuming it was sent out of courtesy without anyone expecting or wanting him to show up. Plus, he had never been to a fancy party before and had no interest in doing so. Until now. Danika had a vested interest in the homeless shelter. Naturally she would be there. Yes. A party was the safest way to be close to her, where the likelihood of talks turning to divorce would be lessened, and remain that way after he’d wormed his way back into her heart.
Worth the Price
“Can you believe we pulled it off?”
Danika pivoted toward the voice. She had a virgin strawberry daiquiri in hand that she’d been nursing for the past fifteen minutes. Disappointment had already made itself a home within her in at the sound of the feminine voice, devoid of a gruff Irish lilt. Dragging her gaze away from the entryway, Danika curved her lips upward into a smile for her boss.
“It was amazing, wasn’t it?” Yesterday the Hart’s Fall Shelter had opened its doors for the first time and she was saddened but delighted to see there were a few men and women, some with small children in tow lined up at the door, seeking aid.
“I’m just happy those families have a safe place to sleep at nights.”
“Definitely.” Beth Ann paused for a moment, inspecting her. “What about you, Dani? How have you been sleeping at nights?”
Danika laughed and patted her growing stomach. “You mean now that the baby’s discovered how to do backflips?”
“No. That’s not what I meant. I stopped by Evelyn’s place last week. She told me she hadn’t seen you in a while, not since you’ve moved out of her rented room upstairs. She thought I was saddling you with too much work, that I needed to ease up on you since you’re pregnant and dealing with being single again.”
“I’m…I’m not single. I’m still married.”
“I’m sorry,” Beth Ann said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Evelyn assumed I knew, just in case you were wondering.”
Danika calmed her nerves. She knew her friend would never betray her trust on purpose. “It’s fine. I am still married, though. It’s just that Brandon and I have separated. We’ve been living apart for quite awhile.”
Beth Ann’s eyes drifted to her stomach. Danika knew what she was thinking. “No. The pregnancy isn’t the reason we’re estranged. My husband and I don’t see eye to eye on a number of important issues.” She lifted a shoulder and tried to appear casual. There was no use pretending her marriage could be salvaged. She glanced around the room. She hadn’t seen Brandon in almost a month and it didn’t seem to her, that he was bothered at all by their lack of contact and communication.
“I wish I had known sooner.” A flush crept up Beth Ann cheeks. “I wouldn’t have said anything to you about finding Brandon. Ah, what was the word I used?”
“Dashing,” Danika provided, her lips twitching in humor at Beth Ann’s discomfort.
“Ah, yes.” She slid an arm around Danika’s shoulder. “I was spewing out of the wrong end that day.”
Danika grinned. “It’s all right. Although dashing isn’t exactly a word I’d use to describe Brandon.”
“Which word would you use?”
The breath left her body within an instant. That was definitely not a feminine tone. Beth Ann’s arm left her shoulders. She watched the other woman give a brief nod to Brandon before scurrying off to the other side of the dining hall.
Squeezing her eyes shut to regain her composure and calm the frantic slamming of her heart against her ribcage, she faced the husband she hadn’t seen in weeks.
“Why are you here?” Stupid, stupid question, she admonished herself a second later.
He was standing so close to her, th
e scent of his aftershave and the hint of mint on his breath awoke her senses.
“I was invited.” His brows arched. “Was I wrong in coming tonight, Cailín?”
“Don’t call me that,” she muttered. “In fact, if you have anything to say to me at all, Brandon, soon you’ll be able to address me again as Danika Prescott.” Take that, Mr. Can’t-Be-Bothered-To-Know-If-Your-Wife and Baby-Are-Okay.
“That’s not possible.”
“Why isn’t it?” she snapped, infuriated by his coolness. “Is it some sort of ego trip for you to have a woman going around using your last name, to show that she once belonged to the almighty Brandon Sharpe?”
He appeared bemused. “Only if that woman is you.”
Danika rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. “Whatever, Brandon.” She looked him up and down. Grudgingly, she had to admire how handsome he looked in the dark gray tuxedo. For a moment the word dashing almost came to mind. If she weren’t so happy and frustrated at the same time to see him, she would have laughed. “I knew there was a chance you would be here and I still came. Obviously that means I don’t plan on ruining my night by arguing with you. I hope you’ll extend the same courtesy to me. If not for me, then I’m sure you’ll think about the stress you might be putting on your unborn child.” She waved a hand at her stomach bulging from beneath the empire waistline of her one-shoulder pink chiffon dress. “You do remember we made a child together, don’t you?”
“How could I forget?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. I haven’t heard a single word from you in a long time. A girl might start to get ideas.”
A scarlet flush traveled up his jawline. “I thought you wanted me to stay away from you.” His leg shifted, making her wonder if his display of coolness was about to unravel. “You said you needed your time. I was giving you exactly that.”