The Halsey Brothers Series

by Paty Jager

  The air around the three on the blanket sparked with animosity.

  “Ahh, my daughters have returned.” Her father’s gaze traveled over Celeste, and then landed on her. “We need to talk.” He stood, and Clay started to stand as well. “Now, and alone.” Her father glared at Clay, who didn’t look happy either.

  She put a hand on Clay’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll be right back.”

  The stormy set to his face worried her. What had her parents and Clay talked about while she was with Celeste?

  Her father stomped over to the area allotted for parked vehicles. He stopped near their buggy and faced her. His jaw clenched as he stared the length of her, his gaze stopping at the makeup covering her face.

  “I want you to stop giving that man false hope.” Her father’s voice came out as a growl.

  “What do you mean?” She fluffed the hair near her scar, and he moved his gaze to her eyes.

  “Stop showing him attention when it’s misplaced pity. He’s getting the wrong ideas.”

  Rachel clenched her fists and stared at her father. His face had reddened again. She could tell he held his anger in check. “I don’t pity Clay. He’s a strong man with a quick wit and wonderful innovative ideas.”

  Her answer only enraged her father. He stepped forward, taking her arm. His fingers bit into her muscle. “I’ll not have you marrying a man who can’t look out for you.”

  “Clay can take care of me.” She wrenched her arm from his grip and rubbed the smarting area.

  “I forbid you to see him. Go to him, put him in the buggy, and our driver will take him back to the school.” His voice escalated, and his finger pointed to the tree where Clay, her mother, and sister sat as unmoving as boulders.

  She hated scenes. She glanced at her father. He knew it and used the knowledge to his advantage. Should she disobey, he would make the rest of the evening miserable for both her and Clay. Anger boiled in her stomach. She was a professional woman. Her father had no right to order her around like some school girl.

  If she didn’t live under his roof, he couldn’t do a thing about who she saw or what she did. She lowered her eyes so he wouldn’t see the rage or rebellion simmering.

  “I’ll bring Clay to the buggy if you do something for Celeste. One of us should be happy today.” She told her father about Celeste’s infatuation with Representative Folsum. His eyes took on a gleam she knew well. He liked the idea of the match.

  Her heart was heavy over the deceit she was about to pull, but he gave her no choice. One thing she’d learned from Clay; she didn’t have to cower to others. She walked sedately across the grass to Clay. Her father went in search of their driver.

  Rachel didn’t look at her mother or sister. “Clay, would you walk with me?” She tried to make her voice sound natural, but Clay’s head swiveled and his eyes narrowed. The worry furrowing his brow begged her to lean down and kiss him. She restrained, grasping his hand when he pushed to his feet.

  Without a goodbye to her mother or sister, she placed her hand in the crook of his arm and wandered slowly toward the buggy.

  Chapter 16

  Clay knew by the sound of Rachel’s voice and the grip she had on his arm something was wrong.

  “What did your father say?” He stopped.

  “Keep walking. We’re going to get in the buggy and drive away. Smile and act like we’re strolling and happy.” Her stature straightened. “I’ll explain everything once we’re moving,” she whispered in his ear.

  He didn’t like the mystery surrounding her actions. “Why didn’t you tell me to say good-bye to your mother and sister?”

  “I’ll explain later. Quiet, here comes father and the driver.” Her edgy tone and grip on his arm unsettled him. What was going on?

  “Clay, I’m not feeling well, do you mind escorting me home? I’m sure you wouldn’t want to stay here without me, so Ray will drop you off at the school.” Her words rang too sweet, too condescending. He started to question her, but she slid her hand into his and whispered, “Just agree.”

  Playing whatever charade she’d led him into fought against everything he’d ever been taught. The desperation in her plea hooked him as firmly as mercury latched onto gold.

  “Father, thank you for finding Ray.” Rachel placed Clay’s hand on the buggy like earlier and held his other hand, stepping into the vehicle. Clay followed feeling like a coward and thief stealing away. He sat next to Rachel, who immediately grasped his hand.

  “I’m sorry you’re going to miss the fireworks,” Judge Tarkiel said without the least bit of remorse in his tone.

  The buggy jiggled, harnesses jingled, and they jolted forward.

  Rachel’s warm breath misted against his ear and neck. “Father forbid me to see you anymore and told me to take you to the school and come back to the festivities.” She gripped his hand tighter. “I don’t like deceiving him, but I won’t stop seeing you.”

  Clay set his lips on hers and kissed her. “He told me to stop seeing you. That you only cared about me out of pity.”

  “You don’t believe that do you? You’re one of the strongest men I’ve ever met.” She pressed her lips to his. Her tongue timidly eased into his mouth. He moaned and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, drawing her against him. He wanted this woman and nothing would keep him from her.

  She eased away. “Ray, stop here.”

  “Miss, your father said to—”

  “I don’t care what my father said. Let us out here. I want to walk with Mr. Halsey back to the school. Then I’ll walk home from there.”

  Rachel’s haughty tone intrigued Clay. He’d not heard her use the regal attitude before.

  The vehicle stopped. Clay stepped down and held his hand up for Rachel. She grasped his hand and hurried down. Her arm circled his.

  “Ray, on second thought. Would you be so kind as to go to the house and ask Samuel to pick me up at the blind school in two hours?” Rachel’s words purred with sweetness. If she’d asked Clay to crawl through a barrel of knives in that tone he’d do it.

  “Yes, Miss. I’ll feel better knowing you aren’t walking the streets after dark.” The jingle of the harness and clomp of the horses faded.

  Rachel pulled on his arm to move him forward. Clay set his feet. “What are you up to?”

  “We need time to talk. Alone. My father made it clear he doesn’t want us to talk at all, so I figure we’ll wander toward the school and talk. There’s no one about since they’re all at the celebration.” She squeezed his arm, and he fell in step with her lazy pace.

  “Sending him to get you a buggy for later was a wise choice. I wouldn’t want you wandering around after dark, either.” Fear clenched his stomach at what could happen to her.

  “I don’t plan to use the buggy, but it was a good way to keep Ray from heading back to my father too soon and telling him I didn’t follow orders.”

  Clay stopped and faced her. “I don’t like you deceiving your father. Or any of your family.”

  “They’ve given me no choice. I’m a grown woman with a career. They can’t tell me who I can or can’t be with.” Rage shook her voice. “I’ll not be threatened or have you threatened.” She twisted to stand beside him. Her arm, linked with his, urged him onward as she began to walk. “I’ll sleep at the school tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll find a boarding house to move into. I’ll not have my father dictating what I do and who I see.”

  “When we get to the school, I’ll give you money to get two train tickets to Portland. We’ll take the next train north then catch the next one to Baker City. There’s no telling what your father might try if we wait a month.”

  He liked the idea of leaving right away. He’d bet every piece of gold in the stamp mill Judge Tarkiel would find a way to get him thrown out of the blind school if he couldn’t keep them apart.

  Her steps stalled. “What about your family? Shouldn’t you give them notice you—we’re coming?”

  “I’ll telegraph Hank when
we get to Portland.” Her steps faltered. “What’s wrong?”

  “We’re getting close to the school, and I don’t want our time together to end.”

  His stomach rumbled. “We missed the picnic. Is there anywhere around here we can get a meal?”

  “Everything is closed, and everyone is at the park.” Disappointment rang in her words.

  “What about the school? Didn’t they take the students to the celebration?”

  Her steps quickened. “Yes! They should have left by now. They’ll all be gone until after the fireworks. We’ll get food from the kitchen and have our own picnic in the backyard.”

  Clay smiled and hurried along beside her. The crunch of gravel under his feet and the sweet scent of the lilacs oriented him. They were moving around the side of the school. Rachel stopped at the back of the building. He caught a whiff of the freshly sawn boards Jasper and he had cut to mend a corner of the school. Heat carrying stale food scents and lye wafted out when Rachel opened the door by the infirmary and kitchen.

  They turned into the kitchen. His stomach rumbled at the aroma of fresh baked bread hanging in the air.

  “Wait here.” Rachel slipped from his grasp. Cupboards thumped and dishes rattled. “This should do. Hold out your hands.”

  He did as directed and grasped the handle of a pitcher in one hand and wrapped the other around a basket handle.

  “We’re set.” Rachel slipped her hand in the crook of his arm and started walking.

  Cool air and the tang of fresh cut wood surrounded him as his feet crunched on gravel. The sun no longer warmed his face. In the short time they’d stepped inside, the day had drawn to an end and evening sounds abounded. Crickets and frogs serenading from the pond beyond the outbuildings wrapped contentment around him.

  “Wait a minute.” Rachel stopped. The sound of a cloth snapping and a pulse of air signaled she planned to sit on the ground. “You can sit now.” She guided him two steps forward and relieved him of the pitcher.

  Clay sat, placing the basket in front of him. He reached first on one side and then the other. “Sit beside me.”

  The rustle of her skirts and her soft citrus scent lured him to his right. He reached out, circling his arm around her shoulders and drawing her into an embrace.

  “Whatever happens, I will find you.” He sealed his promise with a kiss.

  Rachel leaned into his solid chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her onto his lap. No one, not her family or anyone else, ever made her feel as whole and worthy as this man. He was the first person to not scoff at her career and to not pity her for her scar. His acceptance of who she was humbled and excited her. His touch, voice, and charm sent her senses spinning in a dizzy, delicious spiral to her heart.

  His hands roamed reverently over her back and sides. His thumbs barely grazed the sides of her breasts. She pressed closer, pushing her bosom against him, hoping to appease the tingle in her nipples.

  He pulled back, drawing in air like a man running a race. His chest heaved. She placed a palm over his racing heart. His hand rose to touch her face. She pulled back.

  “No. Never pull away from my touch.” He wiped at the makeup and lard covering her scar. “Take this stuff off. I want to touch you.”

  She clutched a corner of the cloth she’d spread on the ground and wiped the concealment from first his thumb and then her face.

  He reached up, his fingers tracing the line. Clay leaned forward, and to her surprise, he spread small kisses the length of her disfigurement. “This is a sign of your bravery and large heart.”

  Her chest ached from his loving actions and tender words.

  His hands cradled her head. She stared into his shadowed face. The growing darkness sheltered them. Clay’s face moved closer. His lips brushed hers. The tip of his tongue traced her lips, and she opened, allowing him entry. He swooped in setting her body on fire with his growing intensity. His hand roamed to her hip and up her side, resting under her breast.

  She leaned closer, pushing her breast into his hand and moaned at the sensation of his palm holding the weight and his thumb rubbing her nipple through the cloth separating their skin.

  A warm ache rippled in her pelvic region. The new sensation so overwhelmed her, she straddled his lap and rubbed the area against him, trying to appease the throbbing.

  “Rachel…I want you.” Clay’s hoarse voice and his hands fumbling with the buttons on her dress yanked her from the need of haze clouding her wits.

  What was she doing? She grasped Clay’s hands, stopping their exploration of her breasts.

  “Not here, not now.” She kissed the backs of his hands and set them palm down on her thighs. The heat of his hands beckoned her body to move against him again. She sucked in a breath, stilling the urge. His body shuddered under her.

  “You’re right.” The tinge of frustration in his husky voice shot heat through her again. His hands squeezed her legs and moved up to her waist, sending shivers of desire racing to her center as her shaky fingers buttoned her bodice. “This isn’t the place or time.” He leaned forward his forehead against hers. “But we will make love, and you won’t want to stop.”

  His statement spun brazen thoughts in her head and renewed the throbbing between her legs. “Is that a promise?”

  Clay chuckled. “Yes, and Halseys don’t break their promises.”

  His deep velvety response nearly melted her into a puddle of wanton need. Rachel slid off his lap and busied herself putting food on a napkin. She still tingled and every nerve was sensitive to the cool evening breeze.

  “Eat.”

  His hand captured her wrist, his fingers lingered before sliding down to take the offering. “Thanks.”

  He began eating. She stared at Clay in the fading evening light.

  “There are things we need to discuss before I follow you to Sumpter.” She picked up half a sandwich and fiddled with the edge of the crust. She wanted to follow her heart and jump at his offer to join him in Sumpter. But she couldn’t without knowing his long term expectations.

  “I agree. I had intended to discuss the future with you before blurting it out to your family.”

  He placed a hand on her leg. The heat of his contact didn’t ignite desire as before. The touch enveloped her in security and companionship.

  “We haven’t had a lot of time alone, and they weren’t being all that congenial.” She covered his hand with hers. “I’ve never felt as secure with anyone as I do with you. But I need to know.” She took a deep breath. Please, say yes. “Will you allow me to continue my medical practice?”

  He entwined their fingers. “Yes. We could use a doctor in Sumpter. The nearest one is Baker City, a half a day’s ride northeast.” He tugged her hand drawing her near. “I’d never ask you to stop helping others. Your huge heart is one of the many things I admire about you.”

  Tears blurred her vision. This man would allow her to live as she wished. If she hadn’t already lost her heart to him, his conviction in her would have done it. Rachel wrapped her free arm around his neck, pressed her body into his, and kissed him with all the emotion swirling in her heart. Drawing back, their lips barely touching, she whispered, “Thank you.”

  His arms circled her body. “You’re welcome,” he murmured and kissed her with the same abandon she’d given him. Molten liquid flowed to her extremities and ignited the pulse of need in her center.

  “Miss Rachel? Miss Rachel?” The sound of her father’s driver jolted her body like a dip in a freezing river.

  “I have to go to him. Tell him I’m spending the night here.” She pushed out of Clay’s arms, her heart pounding with fear. If her father got wind of her antics, there was no telling what he’d do.

  She handed Clay the remainder of the food. “Take this. Finish eating. I’ll see you in the morning.” She stood, drawing Clay to his feet.

  “I won’t leave you alone. We need to face your father together.” Clay caught her arm.

  “Please, I�
��m going to tell the driver to go home. I’m spending the night here. But considering I can’t seem to keep my hands to myself, I think it’s best if we part now.”

  “Miss Rachel?” The driver’s voice grew louder as the man made his way around the building.

  “Please.” She kissed Clay’s cheek. “We’ll finish our discussion tomorrow.”

  His qualities of loyalty and fighting wrongs were what she loved about the man. However, her father knew too many men who, for some coins, wouldn’t mind beating up a blind man.

  She hurried away from him toward the driver’s voice. Once they boarded the train to Sumpter her father could do nothing. Even he would have to abide by her choice or risk losing his daughter.

  Chapter 17

  “Where is she you, son-of-a-bitch?”

  Clay sat straight up in bed. Who the hell was yelling? Blazes! His stomach roiled, and dizziness swam in his head. He couldn’t have been asleep long.

  “Who the hell are you?” he growled, swinging his feet to the floor and taking a stance to defend himself even though he only wore his drawers.

  “Where’s my daughter?” Whiskey bathed breath whooshed into his face as the voice registered. Judge Tarkiel.

  “Last I knew she went to talk to your driver and told me she was spending the night in the school.” He clenched his fists. The man thought so low of him that he believed he’d bed his daughter the same night he’d been told to stay away from her?

  The man cleared his throat. “When Samuel returned saying Rachel planned to spend the night at the school, I—well, I thought—”

  “It’s pretty obvious what you thought. Did it ever occur to you I care about your daughter and wouldn’t do anything to harm her? And you ordering her to not see me might just make her a bit rebellious?”

  “That’s why I thought she was—”

  “I do see what you thought. You told her to leave me and feared she’d do the opposite and go to bed with me. You don’t know your daughter very well.” Clay sat on the bed and scrubbed his face with his hands. He wanted to go back to sleep, not battle with Rachel’s father.