“Would this be the history that involves you in someone else’s bed on the day before you were meant to marry Jake? His best friend no less!” Laura refused to let Victoria get the upper hand.
She pouted, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “He told you about that then? Or was it that sister of his? She never could resist putting the boot in.”
“It was Jake, not Kerry. He’s told me everything.” Laura didn’t want this woman to think Jake hadn’t confided in her. She wanted her to realise how close Jake and Laura were, then hopefully she’d give up on Jake and leave. “I can’t believe you came back here thinking you could just take up where you left off. He hasn’t even forgiven his own best friend who is like a brother to him. Why would you think he’d have forgiven you?”
Victoria laughed in her face. She threw back her perfect head and laughed. Laura was shocked. “Well, you just gave me all the answer I needed,” she smirked. “He hasn’t told you everything, it would seem.” She leaned in close to Laura. “Jake hasn’t forgiven Dan because he slept with me. Because he loves me. Had it been anyone else, like you for example, I think he would have.”
“You’re crazy!” Laura declared, wanting to get away from Victoria. She didn’t like the self-satisfied look on her face and more than anything she didn’t want to hear what else Victoria had to say. She sensed the woman had something she was simply dying to tell her. Whatever it was, she knew it wouldn’t be good.
Victoria laughed again. “I most certainly am not. You see, I believe Jake will take me back because he’s already forgiven me for sleeping with Dan. The day after it happened, he begged me to marry him. He wanted me to stay and work things out. He was such a mess. Crying and pleading with me to stay while I was packing up my stuff. I left him. He would have had me back in a heartbeat had the choice been his.”
Laura felt sick, her face draining of all colour. “You’re lying!” she whispered faintly.
“Am I? What would be the point? If it wasn’t true, you could just ask Jake and he’d deny it. Of course he might now, but you look carefully at his face. You’ll know then that I am telling the truth. You, sugar, are just a phase he will get over. I am the real thing. The sooner you realise that the better for you. You’ll only be hurt that much more when he comes back to me. And he will. The only thing he has to forgive me for is walking away two years ago. And he will. It is only a matter of time.”
Laura shook her head in denial. “I don’t believe you!” But Victoria radiated confidence. No part of her countenance spoke of her lying. A sinking feeling overtook Laura. She remembered how Jake had gone off the deep end when he’d thought she’d had lunch with Dan. He hadn’t been willing to forgive her. He’d cut her off without a thought, telling her he felt nothing for her. Now she found out he’d apparently forgiven Victoria for sleeping with Dan. He’d still wanted to marry her. If it was true, it sure pointed to Jake’s feelings being stronger for Victoria than for her.
Laura felt her world tipping precariously. Why hadn’t he said a word? She’d asked him if there was anything else he hadn’t told her and he’d avoided the question. Why hadn’t she pressed for an answer? How could he sleep with her, knowing this would come out at some point?
“I’m sorry sugar, but it really is better that you know now. I’m sure you were a nice novelty for a while, but once he’s punished me enough for walking away from him, he’ll be wanting me back.” Victoria patted her patronisingly on the arm before she sauntered off.
Laura stood like a statue in the middle of the street, her mind whirling. Martha’s warning came back to her. She closed her eyes against the void of pain she could feel whirling around inside her. She needed to talk to Jake. He would clear this up. She couldn’t just take Victoria’s word for it. The woman obviously wanted Jake back. She would say and do anything to achieve it.
Taking a deep breath, Laura headed back to her car. She drove slowly back to the ranch, dreading the conversation to come and what it might mean. Jake would sort this out. He’d committed to her last night. He’d told her to keep that in mind and Victoria couldn’t hurt them. She had to believe he meant it.
*****
Jake was just finishing up restoring the small barn to its usual storage space, when Laura entered. He took one look at her face and knew something was very wrong. Her hair hung around her, half up and half down in a wild disarray, but she didn’t seem to notice. The expression on her face was haunted. His heart tripped over in alarm. Dropping the crate in his hand, he hurried over to her. She stepped back when he tried to reach for her.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he asked, really worried at her pallor.
“I need to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth.” She swallowed hard, her voice wobbling with her effort to control her emotions.
“What is it?” Jake dreaded the question. Somehow he just knew this had Victoria written all over it. How he wished he could kill the woman for her interfering.
“I saw Victoria in town. She took great delight in telling me that when she slept with Dan two years ago, you forgave her. She said you begged her to still marry you. That she left you. Is it true?” Her voice nearly broke on the last words she uttered.
Jake closed his eyes in horrified silence. It was the one thing he’d dreaded her finding out. He should have known Victoria would wield that weapon. He should have told her himself. He’d lost his chance to explain things first. Heaven only knew what the damage that omission would do.
Laura took one look at his face and knew it was true without him saying a word. She broke down, sobbing. “Why didn’t you tell me? You let Victoria stand there and smugly get one over on me with her little announcement. She couldn’t wait to tell me that you hadn’t let me in on everything, that she is the one you ultimately want! Why did you promise me all those things last night, when you didn’t mean them? Oh, what a fool I have been. Again!” She started to walk away from him but Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“I should have told you. I’m sorry. I should have known Victoria would pull a stunt like this and I should never have put you in that position. Let me explain things, please. What happened two years ago has no bearing on now.”
“If that’s true, why didn’t you say anything? I asked you last night if there was anything you hadn’t told me. Why didn’t you say anything then?” She hit him in the chest with her fist, her anguish nearly choking her.
“Please will you give me time to talk with you about this? Don’t just assume you know my reasons and shut me out. This is what Victoria wants. Please, give me a chance to explain. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t ask you to hear me out.” Laura looked into his eyes, seeing his agony reflected in them. She bit her lip, unsure. “What have you got to lose to hear what I have to say?” Jake coaxed her towards the crates he’d been dumping back in the barn. She allowed him to seat her on one. He pulled another one near to her and sat facing her.
“Two years ago, I thought I was in love with Victoria. We’d been together for some time before what happened with Dan,” he began, his voice full of emotion. “I was so used to her being around. I thought she was the only one for me.” Laura choked on a pain filled sob. He grabbed her chin, forcing her eyes to his. “I was wrong. So very, very wrong. I just didn’t know it at the time.”
“When everything happened,” he continued. “I was distraught. I didn’t think I could live without her. I had never had a serious relationship before her. She was my first love or so I thought. I didn’t think I could take it if I lost her. I went to her home the morning of what was meant to be our wedding and yes, I begged her to work things out with me. She would have none of it. She was packing her clothes and planned on leaving that very day. I thought I would die. I made the biggest idiot of myself, trying to win her back. She didn’t love me. I saw it that morning. She couldn’t care less.”
He paused, his eyes searching Laura’s face for any sign of softening. She refused to meet his gaze. “I was so ashamed of h
ow I begged and pleaded with a woman that had so completely betrayed me that I couldn’t tell a single person what I’d done. I couldn’t bare for them to know what a fool I’d been and how much I had chucked my pride away for someone who didn’t care.”
“Kerry and Bill don’t know?” she asked quietly.
“No.”
She looked at him then, her eyes filled with pain. “Are you only staying away from her because you think she doesn’t love you back? If you see she does, will you want her instead of me? After all, you were so able to throw me away when you thought I’d had lunch with Dan. You wouldn’t have forgiven me.”
“I’m staying away from her because I don’t love her and never did. I love you. That time with Dan, I was afraid of what it would mean for me if I really let you in. I told you that before. I just didn’t tell you what a fool I’d made of myself, how low I’d sunk with Victoria. It took a long time for me to be able to look myself in the mirror again after that incident. I never wanted to end up like that ever again. Please Laura, believe me when I tell you I don’t want her. I want you.”
“For how long? She is so beautiful Jake. She is so vibrant and feisty. I’m ordinary. Nothing much.” Her voice caught on a sob.
“Don’t you say that!” he cried fiercely. “You are beautiful inside and out. Victoria is only beautiful on the surface. What you are is everything that I want in my partner. I want you for the rest of my life. That will never change.”
Laura wanted to believe him, but she was terribly afraid. More than anything else, she didn’t want to end up like her mother. She didn’t want to love a man who wanted someone else and for that unrequited love to destroy her. Misery ate at her insides.
“Victoria told me that the only reason you haven’t forgiven Dan is because it was her he slept with. That if it had been anyone else, you would have. Is that true?” She hated to ask, but she had to know.
“No. I haven’t forgiven Dan because he was like my brother and he completely betrayed me. It wouldn’t have mattered who it had been, I could never forgive him for what he chose to do. Truly, it wasn’t because it was Victoria.” He took her hands in his, gently rubbing the backs of them with his thumb. “Please believe me, I’m over her. I have been ever since the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met came into my life. I made a mistake not telling you what I did when Victoria was leaving, but part of that was because I didn’t want to lose your respect.”
“You wouldn’t have,” she said softly.
“Why not? I lost respect for myself. Sweetheart, I never told a soul about that incident. Doesn’t that tell you something?” he pleaded with her.
“Bill and Kerry really don’t know?” she asked, needing his reassurance that he hadn’t told her because he was ashamed and not for any other reason.
“I am willing for you to ask them yourself, if that’s what you need to do. You will see that they knew nothing about it.” She looked at his face, seeing nothing but honesty in his gaze.
“That’s not necessary.” She didn’t want to put him through that humiliation, she loved him too much for that. “You should have told me.”
“I know. I will make it up to you for my thoughtlessness.” He pulled her onto his lap, hugging her tight. “Do you forgive me?” He nuzzled her neck, making her shiver.
Gently, she pushed on his shoulders until he reluctantly let her get to her feet. She ran her hands nervously down the front of her trousers. “I need time to think about all this. I have to sort my head out. I hope you can understand, but I just need time to think.”
“Okay.” He looked sad. “Let me know if you need to talk some more.”
“I will.” She turned and headed out of the barn. Jake sat for a long time after her departure, wishing he’d told her. He’d made so many mistakes and had hurt her too many times. Getting to his feet, he wandered out of the barn, heading for their managers office. It was time he took steps to get Victoria out of their lives. The sooner, the better.
*****
Victoria smiled happily to herself at the trouble she’d no doubt caused for Jake. By now, his little wren would be beside herself with doubt. She was so easy to lead into any stream of thought that Victoria desired. Sighing blissfully, she sank into the sofa in her cabin, enjoying a glass of red wine.
A knock sounded at her door. She rose gracefully and crossed to answer it. Seeing the identity of her visitor, she quickly pulled the man inside, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen him. “Well?” she asked abruptly.
“They were talking in the small barn. It wasn’t easy to hear everything they said, but it would seem she is still uncertain about his explanation. She left to think things through.” Walter crossed the room, picking up her glass of wine and draining the contents.
“Perfect! You have done well. I couldn’t be more pleased with this outcome.” She took the glass from him, poured herself more wine and sipped it slowly.
“How can you say that? She is listening to him. She could easily accept what he says and where does that leave things?” Walter frowned.
“Don’t get yourself into a snit!” Victoria sneered. “You’re only worried you won’t get the chance to sample her charms yourself. What you and Jake see in her I can’t imagine.”
“I don’t suppose you can. But again, what now?”
“Oh don’t worry yourself. Now comes my favourite part. I will put the final nail in the coffin of their relationship. It really won’t take much.” She laughed nastily. The sound of a second knock had both of them jumping in fright. Silently, Victoria shoved Walter into the bathroom, a finger on her lips advising him to stay silent.
She opened the cabin door, a sexy smile on her lips, sure it would be Jake on the other side. Instead she found a small woman with tightly bound hair and a pair of glasses perched on her nose.
“Hello, I’m Miss Porter, the manager. I am so sorry to trouble you, but I have been asked to contact you by Mr Carter. He has requested for me to give you a full refund with his apologies but the cabin has been incorrectly booked. He asks for you to please find alternate accommodations with immediate effect.” The woman coughed nervously, handing Victoria an envelope.
Victoria seethed. “Why hasn’t Mr Carter come himself if he wants me to leave?”
“I don’t know, I am only following his instructions.” The woman looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was.
“Well, really. I booked up and paid just like everyone else. He can’t just kick me out!” Victoria’s voice rose several octaves, starting to sound shrill.
“Actually, there is a clause in the contract for all guests that Mr Carter can refuse to allow someone to stay on the ranch for any reason. It is still his private property so he reserves the right to withdraw accommodation at his own discretion. He is well within his rights to ask you to leave, as long as monies you paid to stay are refunded. And they have been.” Miss Porter smiled apologetically.
Victoria narrowed her eyes on the woman. “Well, you can’t expect me to move this late in the day. I will have to stay tonight and try and find somewhere else tomorrow. That is the best I can do!”
“I’m sure that will be satisfactory.” Miss Porter nodded to her. “I will leave you to it. Good afternoon.”
Walter came out of the bathroom as soon as the woman had left. “What now? How can you implement anything if you aren’t even staying here?”
Victoria waved an impatient hand at him. “For what I have in mind, we only need this evening. We will need to act fast and I will need your help if it’s going to work.” Her golden eyes gleamed maliciously. “If we play our cards right, we can still pull this off.”
Nodding with satisfaction, Walter sat beside her on the sofa as they swiftly planned their next move.
*****
“I don’t like the look of this Lotta,” Flo said as she fluttered round the outside of Victoria’s cabin. “We should be in there finding out what they are up to. Who knew they even knew each other?”
> “We can’t interfere. We must tread very carefully when the big test is in full swing. If we try and influence things in the wrong way, we could ruin everything and lose our wands in the process. We must wait and see how things play out,” she nodded firmly, but Lotta was just as worried as Flo.
“But something doesn’t feel right with all of this,” Flo said her hand fluttering to her throat. “I can’t help feeling something is going on that we are not aware of.”
“I agree.” Lotta had been feeling something stirring in the wind for a couple of days. Trouble was in the air, but she was unsure what would happen.
“So what do we do?” Flo asked, her plump face concerned.
“We watch and we wait,” Lotta told her firmly.
“Shouldn’t we watch in there?” Flo pointed to the cabin. “We need to know what’s going on.”
“That we are not allowed to do. Victoria is part of the big test and we are forbidden from poking our noses in too much.”
Flo grumbled. “We are fairy godmothers. How come we can’t just make a happy ending come about?”
“You know we’ve never been allowed to just make these things happen. We give our charges what they need to find true love, but we can’t force it to happen,” Lotta lectured. Flo fluttered round the cabin, pressing her small ears to the walls and door, the sound of her complaints wafted round Lotta.
She understood the agitation Flo was feeling. She felt it too. Something was going on, but she wasn’t sure what. It was closing in though. And fast. She only hoped both her and Flo would be able to help when it hit.
Chapter Fifteen
Jake swore repeatedly as he strode into the house. His day just kept going from bad to worse. First all the hassle with Kerry and Bill that morning, then the Sheriff had dropped by to confirm the feed had been full of poisonous plants. No surprises there! Jake couldn’t help but be thankful Charger had survived the incident and no other horse had been affected. Unfortunately, depending on how you looked at things, nobody else in the area had any incidents to report. It was the Sheriff’s opinion that The Twisted Tree Ranch was the target of this madman. That didn’t sit well with Jake. He hadn’t a clue as to who would want to harm his horses. It was a horrible feeling to know someone out there really had it in for them.
Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) Page 24