Fugitive Fiancée

by Kristin Gabriel

  “This isn’t about Venna. This is about you and me.” He stared at her for a long moment. “Look, I’m not trying to put you on the spot. I realize you’re an engaged woman. If you’d rather not go to the party with me…”

  “I’m not engaged anymore,” she said, before he had a chance to retract his invitation. “And I’d love to go. Thank you for asking me.”

  “Eat your soup,” he said gruffly, leaning back in his chair.

  She finished every last drop, then settled against the pillows. The warm glow inside her had nothing to do with chicken soup and everything to do with Garrett asking her on a date. “Can I get up now?”

  He scowled. “Absolutely not. The doctor ordered complete bed rest.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. If you stay in bed the rest of the night, I might let you get up tomorrow.”

  She frowned. “Were your sisters this bossy when you were the patient?”

  “Worse,” he replied, setting the bed tray on the dresser. “Now I want you to try to get some more sleep.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I just slept for five hours straight and I don’t feel the least bit sleepy. How about another bedtime story?”

  “I’m fresh out.”

  “I’m not.” She reached over to the bedstand, opened the top drawer, then drew out the old journal and handed it to him.

  “What’s this?” he said, turning it over in his hand.

  “The buried treasure I found in your tack room.”

  He opened the journal, then whistled low. “Eighteen ninety-eight? I knew that barn was old, but I didn’t realize it was that old.”

  Mimi snuggled down under the blankets, savoring the warmth and the odd sensation that she and Garrett were the only two people on the earth. Her hand still ached slightly, but she could put up with a little pain to stay on the ranch. To stay with Garrett.

  He cracked open the journal. “Where should I start?”

  “The last entry I read was dated December fifth, so start at the one after that.”

  He flipped through the pages, then leaned back in his chair and began reading.

  December 7, 1898

  That nosy Minnie Jo spied me and Boyd kissing. I had to give her my best hair ribbon to keep her from telling Mama. Mama doesn’t like him because he won’t come to church. But Pa says a man can worship God just as well on the wide open range as he can on a hard church pew. When I asked Boyd if he prays on the range, he said he’s been praying every day that I’ll let him kiss me again.

  “Kiss him again?” Garrett began paging back through the journal. “What exactly have I missed?”

  “Katherine is falling for her father’s new ranch hand, Boyd Harrison,” Mimi informed him. “He kissed her behind the hog shed.”

  “Sounds like Boyd isn’t wasting any time.”

  “I think she’s falling in love with him.” Mimi knew firsthand how hard it was to resist a handsome cowboy.

  “She’s only…what?” He flipped to the first entry of the journal. “Eighteen? That’s much too young to fall in love.”

  She smiled. “I didn’t realize there was a minimum age requirement.”

  “Well, there should be if girls like Katherine let some traveling cowboy lure them behind a hog shed. And it sounds like good old Boyd is going to find himself on the wrong end of a shotgun if her father finds out.”

  Mimi turned on her side to face him. “We won’t find out unless you keep reading.”

  Garrett thumbed through the pages until he found the next entry.

  December 12, 1898

  I used up almost all my egg money to buy some beautiful blue linen fabric at the mercantile today in Austin. It’s the same color as Boyd’s eyes. I told him I’d make him three fine handkerchiefs and sew his initials on them. When I asked him to tell me his middle name, he told me it begins with S, but I must guess it. I guessed Samuel, Silas, Simon, Saul, Sebastian, and Sherman. He laughed the hardest when I guessed Sassafras. I’ll sew BSH on the handkerchiefs, but I won’t give up until I learn his middle name. I want to know everything about him. He’s on my mind when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up in the morning. I wish Mama liked him so I could ask her if this is love.

  Garrett looked up from the journal. “I think the S stands for smooth talker.”

  “Keep reading,” Mimi ordered, dismayed to find her eyelids growing heavy.

  December 24, 1898

  I finished the handkerchiefs and wrapped them with a pretty red bow I’ve saved for a special occasion. Since only Minnie Jo knows about Boyd and me, I had to sneak off to the barn after the folks went to bed. There was a full moon and it was so romantic in the hayloft, just Boyd and me.

  He told me he has a hankering to build a ranch down near San Antonio. Then he asked me if I’d go all that way with him. Of course, I said yes! He didn’t exactly propose, but my heart started pounding so fast I couldn’t hardly breathe. This is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me.

  Oh, if only I could tell Mama! She married Pa when she was only seventeen, a year younger than me, so she should understand true love. But she’s dead set against Boyd. I don’t understand how she can hate him so much.

  I love him with all my heart.

  When Mimi opened her eyes, Garrett was gone and all the lights were out. She leaned over to look at the clock on the bed stand, surprised to find it was after midnight. Realizing she must have fallen asleep again, Mimi got out of bed and quickly changed out of her work clothes and into one of Garrett’s old T-shirts that she’d been using as a nightshirt.

  She walked to the window and leaned her head against the cool windowpane. The moon hung low in the clear night sky, and a canopy of stars twinkled at her. Mimi wrapped her arms around herself, the edge of the T-shirt whispering against her thighs. It seemed odd to think that Katherine had stared at the same moon, perhaps on a night just like this. Had her life been filled with more joy or sorrow?

  Mimi knew it was time to make some decisions about her own life. In a few short weeks, her sojourn on this ranch would come to an end. Then it would be time to face her father. And Paul.

  She suppressed a shiver, then padded back to the bed, pulling the warm blankets around her shoulders. Austin and all her problems seemed very far away at the moment.

  But she couldn’t hide from them forever.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE SHRILL RING of the telephone woke Paul Renquist from a restless sleep. He fumbled for the receiver, then picked it up. “Hello?”

  “This is Harper. You awake?”

  “I am now,” he growled.

  “Good. We need to talk.”

  Paul sat up in bed. “You found her?”

  “Not yet, but I did find Rupert Casville in my office today.”

  “Shit.” A dull, throbbing ache began in Paul’s left temple.

  “Daddy Casville got a postcard from his daughter. Want me to read it to you?”

  “Of course,” he snapped.

  “‘Dad, I’m fine,’” Harper read over the phone. “‘Please don’t worry about me. And don’t forget to take your medicine. Love, Mimi.’”

  Paul took a deep breath. “Where is she?”

  “According to the postmark, she was still in Austin as of yesterday. But there’s no return address.”

  “What was Rupert’s reaction?” he asked, wondering why the old man hadn’t informed him of this latest development. It gave him a queasy, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  “Relief, mostly,” Harper replied. “In fact, he’s certain Mimi will be home soon. So certain that he fired me.”

  “So let him think you’re off the case,” Paul replied, irritated by the whine in Harper’s voice. “I’m paying you more than enough money to stay on it.”

  Harper blew into the phone. “Look, Renquist, I don’t much like double-crossing Casville. If he finds out, he could ruin me.”

  Paul pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. The last thing h
e wanted to do at two o’clock in the morning was baby-sit a chicken-shit private investigator.

  “Hey, Paul? You still there?”

  Paul sighed. “I told you the old man is sick. The doctor put him on some new kind of medication that makes him irrational. Just leave everything to me.”

  “Cut the crap. We both know you’re setting Casville up for some kind of scam. Why else would you want dirt on his daughter?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “Hey, don’t get me wrong,” Harper said with a low chuckle. “It takes guts to pull one past the old man. In fact, I admire you so much, I’m willing to stay on the job for a cool hundred grand.”

  “That’s bullshit!”

  “Think again, Paulie.” Harper sounded calm, almost as if he was enjoying himself. “I’m the one doing all the legwork here.”

  “You haven’t found Mimi,” Paul exclaimed. “You haven’t done a damn thing to earn one lousy dime! How hard can it be to locate a woman in a wedding dress?”

  “Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Harper snapped. “I’ll find her. Especially now that I know she’s still in Austin. I just need a little more time.”

  Paul raked one hand through his rumpled hair. “Exactly how much time? I expected to be on my honeymoon by now.”

  “Hey, I just said I’ll find her. But I can’t make her marry you.”

  “Let me worry about that.”

  “Fine. Why don’t you worry about this, too. If Casville finds out you’re directly defying his orders, he’ll cut you off at the knees.”

  Paul closed his eyes against the pain in his head. “Is that a threat?”

  The jerk was scamming him. Maybe Harper had found Mimi already and was just stringing him along to get more money. He was tempted to slam down the phone. But he hadn’t gotten this far in life by losing control of his temper. He’d play the game and come out on top.

  Just like he always did.

  “Look, I’ve kept my mouth shut.” Harper let the moment linger. “So far.”

  Paul licked his lips, his headache evolving into one of his rare migraines. “Okay. I’ll give you an extra twenty thousand.”

  “It’s too late at night to make jokes, Paul. Try again.”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “I’ve got Daddy Casville’s phone number right in front of me, and my dialing finger is starting to itch.”

  Paul stared out the huge picture window of his luxury penthouse apartment, the lights of Austin blurring as the pain in his head increased. “All right. But fifty is as high as I’ll go.”

  “You took so long, my price went up. Now I want sixty grand.”

  Paul’s hand curled tightly around the telephone receiver. He wished it was Harper’s scrawny neck. “Deal.”

  “Good. When do I get my money?”

  “When you find Mimi. But I want to be the one who supervises the happy reunion. So you don’t get a dime if she suddenly shows up on Daddy’s doorstep.”

  “That won’t happen,” Harper replied. “I guarantee it.”

  THE O’HARAS’ BARBECUE was already in full swing by the time Mimi and Garrett arrived. A local country band played on a makeshift stage set up in front of the horse paddock. The savory aroma of sizzling beef emanated from the barbecue pit in the center of the yard. Garrett and Mimi waited in a receiving line in front of Connor and Lacy O’Hara’s sprawling house.

  Garrett leaned toward Mimi’s ear. “Did I mention you look wonderful tonight?”

  She smiled at him. “Only about five times.”

  “Is that all? Then I’ll say it again. You look wonderful.”

  “Thank you.” She let her gaze travel slowly over his snug black denim jeans and neatly pressed charcoal shirt. “You don’t look half bad yourself.”

  Garrett lightly placed his hand on her back and propelled her forward. His touch sent a tingle straight down to her toes. She was as giddy as a girl on her first date, though she’d never been to a party like this before. When the Casvilles and their society friends entertained, no one wore blue jeans or cowboy hats. They dined on pâté and truffles. Danced to a string quartet instead of cowboy music. And basically bored each other to death.

  But tonight she wasn’t Mimi Casville, daughter of one of the richest men in Texas. She was Mimi Banyon, ranch hand. Complete with a new outfit for her Saturday night date. Garrett had finally convinced her to accept an advance on her wages, so she’d driven his pickup to a store on the outskirts of Austin that carried farm supplies and Western wear. That’s where she’d found the cream silk blouse and wheat-colored denim jeans. Not her usual style, but Mimi liked the look.

  And from the way her date kept staring at her, he did, too.

  Garrett clasped her hand in his as they worked their way through the crowd. She’d already been introduced to every one of the Maitlands and was still trying to keep them all straight in her head.

  Lacy O’Hara was sweet, and much younger than Connor, her handsome husband. But you could tell by the way they looked at each other that their love was timeless.

  Abby was there, and insisted on examining Mimi’s wrist, the sting barely visible now. Then Abby introduced her husband, Kyle McDermott. Mimi had panicked for a moment, recognizing him as one of her father’s business associates. But Kyle didn’t seem to make any connection. Mimi soon relaxed, realizing he was too entranced by his wife to give her a second glance.

  The rest of the Maitlands seemed very fond of Garrett, and he obviously returned their affection. Mimi could see that despite his early abandonment, there were plenty of people who loved her boss.

  She watched him as he stopped to talk with Jake Maitland, and wondered if Garrett realized how rich he really was. Her financial future was more than secure, and her bank account full to bursting, but was there anyone alive who loved her unconditionally?

  The sound of Garrett’s deep laugh shook her out of her maudlin reverie. She’d never been one to give in to self-pity and wasn’t about to start now. Especially on such a beautiful, balmy night.

  Garrett caught her gaze and held it as he carried on a conversation with Jake. Something in his eyes made her breath come quicker. It was the oddest feeling. Even though they were standing several feet apart, she felt close to him—connected in some odd way.

  At last, Jake’s wife, Camille, walked up and laughingly pulled her husband away. Mimi smiled as Garrett approached, then she saw him frown as he looked over her shoulder.

  “Uh-oh,” he muttered. “I think it’s too late to hide.”

  Mimi turned to see another one of Garrett’s admirers scurrying over to them. Only this one could almost be classified as a stalker.

  “There you are!” Venna flashed a wide smile at Mimi’s date. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Garrett Lord.”

  “Evening, Venna. You remember Mimi?” He turned and slid his arm around Mimi’s waist.

  “Of course.” Venna’s smile dimmed. “How are you?”

  “Fine, thank you.” Mimi was more confused than ever by the woman’s behavior. At their last visit, Venna had implied that she and Garrett were an item. Yet she didn’t act hurt or offended that he’d shown up with a date.

  Venna turned her attention to Garrett. “My, my, you do clean up good, Garrett Lord. In fact, you look good enough to eat.”

  A young woman with auburn hair appeared next to Venna. “My brother would give you indigestion, Venna. You’d better stick to barbecue.”

  Garrett grinned. “Hey, Lana. Is that any way to talk about your big brother?”

  She circled one arm around his waist and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Somebody has to protect you.”

  “Speaking of protection,” he said, returning the hug, “where’s that new husband of yours? I’m surprised he let you out of his sight.”

  She hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s in the stable showing our son the new foal.”

  “Please excuse me,” Venna said. “I have to go see if Lacy needs any help in
the kitchen.” Then she gave him a jaunty wave. “Save me a dance, Garrett.”

  Lana watched her walk away, then turned and arched one auburn brow. “I’m surprised you showed up here tonight, Garrett.”

  “I never miss a good barbecue,” he replied, clearing his throat. “This is my date, Mimi Banyon. Mimi, this is my kid sister, Lana Van Zandt.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mimi said, noting the striking resemblance between Garrett and his sister, although Lana’s complexion was much fairer than Garrett’s.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you,” Lana replied, clasping Mimi’s hand in her own. “I can’t remember the last time my brother was out on a date.”

  “Lana,” Garrett admonished under his breath.

  She clapped a hand over her mouth, but Mimi could still see the smile she wasn’t trying very hard to hide. “Whoops. Me and my big mouth. Seems like it gets me into trouble all the time.”

  “Maybe you should fill it up with some food,” Garrett suggested.

  “Good idea. Why don’t you go get some barbecue for all of us while Mimi and I find a place to sit?”

  Garrett started to refuse, then shook his head in defeat and walked toward the barbecue line.

  “I want a double serving of coleslaw,” Lana yelled after him.

  Mimi couldn’t help but like Garrett’s sister. Even when she turned into an amateur private eye.

  “Okay,” Lana said, once they were alone. “Tell me everything.”

  “What exactly do you want to know?” Mimi asked as they walked to an empty picnic table and sat down.

  “Well, for starters, how did you and my brother meet?”

  “He found me in his hayloft. One thing led to another, and now I’m Garrett’s new ranch hand. At least until calving season is over.”