by Lily Cahill
“Oh, I’m sure your parents would love that.”
“I love you,” he said fiercely, “and they’re just going to have to learn to deal with that.”
She placed a hand on his cheek so she could look in his eyes. “It wouldn’t work.”
Clayton blew out a breath. He knew she was right. His parents might eventually get used to the idea that their son was involved with a Murphy, but surprising them in the middle of the night with her in tow probably wouldn’t go over well. “I’ll get you a room at the Cheshire Cat Inn. Just for the night.”
She laughed lightly, “Only if you want everyone in town to know by morning.”
“Fine, I’ll take you to Denver. I’ll take you to Estes Park. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
She was shaking her head before he even finished. “I’m not leaving Bethany behind.”
“So bring her. We’ll figure it out.”
“I can’t take that kind of risk.”
“Why won’t you just let me help you?”
She sighed next to him. “It needs to be this way for now, Clayton. I need time to figure out what to do next. We both do. Acting rashly will only make the situation worse.”
He hated this. He wanted to do something, to protect her. He’d never had a woman make him feel so useless and so totally enthralled all at once. He wished he could chuck her over his shoulder, take her away, and be done with the whole mess of her family.
“And until we figure out the best way to handle this, we have to be more careful,” she said.
“What if we weren’t more careful? What if we just came out with it and faced the consequences?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s just too dangerous for my sister.”
“I’m tired of hiding my feelings for you, Cora.”
“You don’t have to. Not with me. Just my family. For a little while.”
Clayton scowled. It wasn’t the way he liked to operate. He much preferred to just have a fair fight with Butch and get it over with. You had to teach guys like Butch a lesson, or they’d think they had the upper hand.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“It will help me. At home. With Butch. It will be easier on me if he thinks he scared you off.”
“So you do think you’re in danger?”
“No, not really, I—”
“Which is it?”
“There’s a line. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but he’s very … competitive, I guess. My dad used to set us against each other whenever he could. When Butch lost to me, there was hell to pay. My dad would beat him, call him names. So he doesn’t respond well to the idea of me doing better than him. It sort of, I don’t know, it sets him off. But if he thinks that he won and I lost, he’ll forget I’m even there.”
Clayton frowned. He didn’t like it, but maybe she was right. Maybe she would be safer this way. At least temporarily. Clayton remembered what Butch had said to him after he’d threatened to call the police. The words played over and over in his mind.
Think she’ll last that long?
He couldn’t bear to think their being together would give Butch a reason to hurt her.
“Fine,” he said finally. “But I won’t keep this a secret forever. My parents need to know. And I want you out of that house. You have two weeks, Cora. Two weeks, then I’m buying you an apartment and hiring a security detail.”
He smiled as he said the last part, but it wasn’t a joke. He meant it. He couldn’t go on sneaking around and pretending they weren’t a couple now that he was certain about his feelings.
“Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”
“What I’m being is generous. Two weeks is a lifetime to let you sleep under the same roof as that brute.”
A shadow passed across her features, but she smiled through it.
“All right. But leaving has to be on my terms. I decide how and when it happens.”
“Fair enough.”
“And he has to really believe it. He can’t hear any talk around town that people have seen us or that your family knows about it. We have to keep it a secret. Can you do that for me?”
“I won’t lie to my parents. They don’t deserve that and I know I can trust them to keep quiet about this. But otherwise, yes.”
She went silent for a moment, then nodded. “Good. Thank you.”
They arrived at the turn leading to Cora’s house, but she insisted on walking the rest of the way. As he stopped the car, Cora unclasped the necklace and held it out to him.
“No, it’s yours,” he said, forcing it into her hand.
“I—Clayton, no. If Butch found it? It’s too dangerous.”
He hated this. Hated Butch for keeping her from even the simplest happiness.
“Keep it for me?” she asked. “Until I see you again?”
She was accepting it. Maybe not fully, but she was at least acknowledging that it was hers. It was a start.
She pressed it back into his palm. He would keep it. But one day soon, she’d wear it proudly and everyone would know exactly who had given it to her.
When Clayton arrived home, his parents were still awake, reading in the living room.
He went to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. “What are you still doing up?” he asked, though he knew perfectly well they’d been waiting for him.
“Couldn’t sleep,” she said. She seemed restless, exhausted.
Clayton’s father closed his book and looked him directly in the eye. “I believe your mother is waiting for an answer, son.” Clayton had expected his father to be angry, but his voice only sounded weary. “We both are.”
Clayton tried to be very calm when he said, “After you helped me at school, I promised never to lie to you again. And I won’t.”
His mother exhaled, and pressed her eyes closed, as though she knew what the next words out of his mouth would be.
“I’ve decided to take Cora Murphy to the gala.”
His father stared at him with a face carved of stone. “Do my opinions mean nothing to you?”
Clayton’s voice boomed like a cannon. “Of course they do. Which is why this entire situation has been so agonizing.”
“Oh, Clayton,” his mother said. “Why must you always be so headstrong?”
“I’m not being headstrong. I’m being honest with you. I love her and I’m taking her to the gala.”
“Love her?” his father asked, incredulous, an edge of amusement in his voice. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t even know her.”
“Yes, I do. And if you knew her, you would love her too.”
Now it was his father’s turn to boom. “Listen to what you’re saying. The very idea of it is offensive.”
“She’s different from her family. She couldn’t be more different.”
“If what you say is true, then why does she still associate with them?” his mother asked. “Why not disown them and forge a path on her own?”
It sounded so simple when she said it that way, as though Cora had all the resources in the world to do with as she pleased. Clayton cringed when he realized he probably would have looked at it exactly this way only a few weeks ago.
“She has a little sister. And she refuses to abandon her to that father and brother of hers,” he said. “You can’t imagine what she puts up with just to be able to take care of her.”
“Let me guess,” his father said. “Her poor little sister is ill too, and just needs a little bit of money for medicine to make her all better?”
“Do you really think I’m that gullible, father?”
“From the sounds of it.”
“You’re wrong. I’ve tried to offer help, practically twisted her arm, but she won’t accept a single penny from me. She wouldn’t even let me buy her dinner.”
“Then she’s only setting you up for a bigger con. It’s the way they operate. Soon it will be a house or a car or a vacation or some other such nonsense.”
Clayton practically s
houted his response, “I would give her all of that and more if she’d allow it!”
“Not with my money, you won’t.”
“I don’t need your money. I can make do on my own.”
“I won’t listen to another word of this. You’re not giving her anything and you’re not taking her to the gala. I absolutely forbid it.”
“Oh, Lowell. Stop blustering,” his mother interjected. “You’re only making the girl all the more enticing.”
His father seemed to register her words. He quieted for a moment.
Did they really think he was only interested in Cora because she was forbidden? This wasn’t going as he’d hoped. They didn’t understand him at all.
He took a moment to calm himself before he spoke again. “My feelings for Cora won’t change, regardless of whether you approve of her or not. She’s asked me to keep our relationship a secret for the next two weeks so she can have time to figure out a way to leave home with her sister, and do so without my help. But if she isn’t able to find a way on her own, I fully intend to support her in any way I can. Regardless, we will not hide our feelings for one another after that. I’m only telling you because I never want to lie to you and because I’m hoping that over the course of the next two weeks, you’ll consider giving Cora a chance.”
His father only shook his head in silence, but his mother looked at him directly. She examined him for a moment, her brow creased in concern. She seemed on the verge of speaking when his father’s voice interrupted.
“You’re a betting man, aren’t you, son?”
The words stung, and he guessed that’s why his father had chosen them. Clayton met his gaze with steel in his eyes.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Lowell said. “I’ll wager that before those two weeks are up, the Murphy girl will make her move. If you’re right about her, then by all means bring her to the gala and we’ll give her a chance. But if you’re wrong, then you’ll allow your mother and I to choose your bride.”
“My bride?” Clayton asked. He could hardly believe what his father was proposing.
“Lowell, you can’t be serious,” his mother said.
“I am. Whoever we choose, he must be engaged by Christmas and marry her in the following calendar year, or he’ll forfeit his trust fund.”
“Agreed,” Clayton said without hesitation. His father couldn’t have known how simple the decision was for him. He had absolutely no doubt about Cora’s integrity. He would have gambled twice as much.
“Fine,” his father said, turning to his mother. “I suggest you invite some viable candidates to the gala. When the Murphy girl fails, I don’t want to waste any time.”
At a poker table, it was easy to spot a fish. They were the most confident ones at the table: overbetting, showing off, and always going all-in in favor of playing after the flop.
But Clayton, he was a shark. For the first time that night, he felt a glimmer of hope. This was his game, and he was holding a royal flush.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Cora
Cora’s fear for Bethany’s safety helped her work up some tears. The tears were the only thing that would make it look real.
She walked in the house and slammed the door behind her. The men were in the kitchen as she expected. Having torn through their money at the bar, they were back at the house now, drinking cheap beer and playing poker around the table as they usually did on Wednesday nights: Butch, Danny, and Ralph.
“It’s all your fault,” she said to Butch.
“Pretty boy finally come to his senses?” Butch asked, not even bothering to look up from the cards in his hands.
“You scared him off,” she said. “And now he’ll never come back again.”
Butch looked over at her and laughed. “Did you really think you had a chance with a Briggs? I mean, look at you.”
“He liked me enough to ask me out, didn’t he?” she said.
“The only time a guy asks out a dog like you is when he knows she’s easy.”
“And I bet you were all too willing to show him how you howled, weren’t you?” Ralph said, his voice sulky and sharp as a razor.
“Lay off her, Ralph,” Danny said.
But Ralph didn’t listen. “Is that what I’ve been missing to get you? A big wallet? Why don’t you come sit on my lap, honey. I’ll let you feel how big my wallet is.”
Butch guffawed.
“Why do you have to be so mean?” Cora asked. She didn’t have to fight for her tears so hard just then. “Can’t you just let me have one thing to be happy about?”
“Aw, go cry to somebody else,” Butch said. “Nobody cares about your stupid boy problems. Especially with that jackass.”
“I do,” Ralph said with a sleazy smirk. “Just give me a minute to finish this hand and I’ll be rich enough to have my turn. That’ll make you feel better.”
“You guys are disgusting,” Cora said.
“Are we playing here or what?” Danny said. “It’s your turn, Ralph.”
With their eyes back on the game, she stomped toward the stairs.
Bethany was waiting for her on the top step. From the looks of it, she’d been listening to the whole thing. There were already tears glistening down her cheeks and it looked like she needed a handkerchief for her dripping nose as well.
“Oh, Cora!” she said, flinging her arms around her sister’s waist. “I’m so sorry. I thought for sure you had found true love.”
Cora had to stifle a laugh at her sister’s dramatics.
“Hush now, sweetie,” she said, then lowered her voice. “Let’s go to our room and you can hear the whole story.”
Cora had to pry Bethany’s arms from around her middle.
“I don’t know if I can take that kind of heartbreak, Cora. I really don’t.”
Cora gathered Bethany up in her arms, rolling her eyes even as she smiled. Leave it to Bethany to amplify the drama.
“Don’t despair, little bee,” she whispered. “I don’t tell Butch all my secrets.”
She led her down the hall to their room, waiting until she had the door closed firmly behind them to tell Bethany the truth.
“He said he loved you?” Bethany said, her voice a little too excited. Her eyes were wide as flying saucers.
“Shhh. I don’t want Butch to know any of this, okay? I only told you so you wouldn’t worry about me.”
“Oh, Cora. You have to marry him. It is true love. I know it is.”
“Slow down. There’s absolutely no talk of marriage.”
“Not yet,” she said with a smile.
“Not ever, Bethany. We live in very different worlds. His parents would never approve.”
“But they haven’t even met you yet!” she said. “I know they’d love you just as much as I do if they met you.”
“Yes, they have. I actually spoke with his mother today. And she made it quite clear that she doesn’t approve.”
“She must be a terrible person then,” Bethany huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her little chin into the air. “I used to like the Briggs—even though we’re not supposed to—but I don’t anymore. Not if they don’t like you. I hate them all.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“Of course there is,” she said. “They’re coming between you and true love. It’s just like Romeo and Juliet.”
“I certainly hope not,” Cora said. “I’d prefer to keep breathing, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s just so tragic,” Bethany said, and Cora could see that she was on the verge of tears yet again. The emotions that girl could cycle through in a matter of moments were sometimes impossible to fathom.
“There are lots of different kinds of love,” Cora said. “Some kinds last a very long time. But others you only get to hold on to for what feels like a moment.”
Bethany’s face looked horror-struck. “That sounds terrible.”
Cora laughed. “It’s not. Not really. I know it’s hard to understand. But somet
imes, it can be even more special. That’s the kind of love that Clayton and I have. We both know it’s not forever, so we’re cherishing it while we can. We have to make the little time we do have together as special as possible. Then we’ll be able to remember it our whole lives.”
“When I fall in love, it’s not just going to be for a little while. It’s going to be forever,” Bethany said.
Cora smiled. “Six months ago, you said were in love with Donald Krupke. And where’s poor Donald now?”
“Donald Krupke? I never said that. He’s repulsive.”
“You most certainly did.”
“Well, it wasn’t true love then. I was misled.”
“You were not misled. You’ve known him practically your whole life. You were in diapers together.”
“How was I to know that he was evil enough to ambush me with snowballs when I had just curled my hair? I could never fall in love with someone who didn’t appreciate beauty.”
Cora raised her eyebrows and grinned.
“Besides,” Bethany said. “I couldn’t have possibly known what true love really was until Mikey Gould moved to town, could I? I mean, have you seen those eyes? They’re like chocolate.”
Cora listened to her sister babble on about Mikey Gould, who was at least the fifth boy Bethany had proclaimed her undying love for in the past year.
She was glad to get Bethany talking about herself. It was the easiest way to distract her, and Cora didn’t have the energy to try to make her understand the way things were with Clayton. She wasn’t sure she understood the way things were herself. Sometimes she wished she could see things as clearly as she had when she was thirteen years old. Back then, her world had been so black and white. Now she could see all the shades of gray in between. Ignorance would make her feelings so much easier to handle right now.
It hadn’t been a lie, exactly, telling Bethany she had a different kind of love with Clayton. She knew their relationship would be short-lived. That much was true. But she also knew her feelings would last much longer—after Clayton was forced to end it with her, after he’d met someone else who was more appropriate, even after he’d gotten married and begun to build a life that didn’t include her. She could see the way things would be now, could see the way her heart would break again and again. What she couldn’t see was how to stop it, how to stop loving him. She was certain that part was impossible.