Fugitive Fiancée

by Kristin Gabriel

  Mimi looked at him, a worried frown creasing her brow. “What should we do?”

  “Wait.” He nodded toward the cow. “She’s still trying to make up her mind.” Then he looked at the bowl. “Do I smell popcorn?”

  “That’s right. I’ve got hot chocolate, too. If you can find us a clean blanket, we’ll be all set for a midnight picnic.”

  Garrett grabbed a couple of old saddle blankets out of the tack room, then laid them out in the center aisle. Mimi knelt on one blanket, then handed the thermos to Garrett. “I can’t get this open.”

  He applied a little pressure until the lid loosened, then inhaled the comforting aroma of hot chocolate. “Did you bring some cups?”

  “No, we’ll have to share.” She pried the lid off the bowl of popcorn. “I’m just lucky I got this made before the electricity went out.”

  He sat beside her. “I’ve never been to a midnight picnic before. What exactly are we supposed to do?”

  “Have fun.” She held the bowl out to him, and he scooped up a handful of popcorn. “My mother let me have a midnight picnic for my twelfth birthday. She even stayed up with me, since my father was still at the office.”

  Garrett munched contentedly on his buttery popcorn, unable to take his gaze from her face. She had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. “Sounds like he was a workaholic.”

  Mimi munched quietly for a moment. “It only got worse after my mother died when I was fourteen.”

  “That must have been rough.”

  When she finally spoke, he could hear the heartache in her words. “I still miss her.”

  He wanted to hold her in his arms. Instead, he reached for the thermos. “We better drink this before it gets cold.”

  “Good idea,” she said, holding out the plastic thermos lid.

  “You don’t talk much about your family,” he said as he carefully poured hot chocolate into the cup. Then he recapped the thermos.

  Mimi leaned back against a wooden post and blew gently on the steaming chocolate. “Neither do you.”

  “I’ve told you about my adopted parents and my sisters and Michael. You’ve already met Lana.”

  “But you haven’t told me why you’re so determined to find your birth mother.”

  He scooped up another handful of popcorn, suddenly wishing he’d never brought up the subject of family. “She owes us some answers.”

  “Owes you? Wasn’t it enough that she made certain you found a good home?”

  “No.” His reply was sharper than he intended. He took a deep breath and tried to put his tangled feelings into words. “She dumped us on a doorstep with nothing more than a note and name tags. The least she could have done was stick around long enough to make certain someone found us.”

  Mimi took a sip of the hot chocolate, then handed the cup to him. “How do you know she didn’t?”

  “What?”

  “How do you know she didn’t watch over all of you from a distance until she was certain you were in Megan Maitland’s safekeeping?”

  He took a quick gulp of the hot chocolate, scalding his tongue. “There’s no reason to believe she did.”

  “And no reason to believe she didn’t.”

  He looked at Mimi. “Why are you so eager to defend her?”

  “I’m not. I just…” She let her words trail off with a small shrug. “This is no way to conduct a party. And it’s certainly not what I had in mind for our picnic.”

  Garrett was more than happy to change the subject. He leaned back against a straw bale, listening to the rain patter on the barn roof and enjoying the way the lamplight silhouetted Mimi’s luscious body. “So what exactly did you have in mind?”

  She smiled. “How about a little romance?”

  His pulse picked up a notch. “Now you’ve got my attention.”

  “Good.” She pulled a familiar red leather book from underneath her slicker. “Because we’re about to read the continuing saga of Katherine MacGuire.”

  He groaned, more than a little disappointed. “Not more love behind the hog shed.”

  She scooted closer to him, adjusting the lantern so that the light spilled onto the open pages of the journal. “Just listen.”

  January 15, 1899

  Boyd proposed to me! We met behind the hog shed after supper. He gave me a whole passel of beautiful wildflowers, then went down on one knee. I told him I’d be honored to be his wife. I cried a little, too, but then sunflowers have always given me the sniffles.

  Boyd wants to start up a ranch of his own near San Antonio. He’s got people there who will help him. He talked half the night about his dreams for the ranch and the wonderful house he’ll build for us.

  Oh, if only Pa will give us his blessing! Boyd said he isn’t afraid to face him, but all the rest of the ranch hands almost jump out of their britches when Pa starts yelling at them.

  Just think, in a few days I’ll be a bride. We’re lucky the circuit preacher is in the area. Now I just need to find something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

  I’ll wear my new yellow dress for the wedding. And borrow a yellow hair ribbon from Minnie Jo to wear in my hair. That takes care of something new and something borrowed. And I know Ma will be plenty blue when she hears the news. That just leaves something old.

  Maybe Boyd can help me think of something.

  January 16, 1899

  He’s gone. I looked everywhere for Boyd after breakfast this morning and couldn’t find him. Then Hank told me he snuck off in the middle of the night. And stole one of Pa’s horses! I don’t believe it. I know it can’t be true. Boyd loves me. He asked me to marry him. Something terrible must have happened to make him leave.

  No matter what Ma says, I know he’ll come back for me. I just know it.

  Mimi looked up from the journal. “Looks like things are definitely getting worse for our star-crossed lovers.”

  Garrett could sympathize with the young couple. Things were definitely getting worse for him, too.

  He was falling in love with his ranch hand.

  Heat crawled over his skin at the revelation. How could he fall in love with a woman he’d just met two weeks ago? A woman he suspected was still in love with another man. It was preposterous. Insane.

  And an undeniable fact. He loved her. Now he just had to figure out what to do about it.

  She began reading again, and he closed his eyes, savoring the sound of her voice.

  February 1, 1899

  No word from Boyd. Every day I watch the horizon for him, but every night I go to bed with a broken heart. I can’t wait any longer. Tonight I will follow after the man I love. If I head south for San Antonio, I may meet up with people who have seen Boyd. Maybe he’s gone on ahead to buy our ranch.

  I’ll leave a note for Ma and I’ll leave my dear journal in my special hiding place in the barn. Someday I’ll come back and record my journey.

  I just know it will end happily ever after.

  Garrett opened his eyes to see Mimi closing the journal.

  “Well, don’t leave me in suspense,” he teased. “What happened?”

  She looked at him, a frown creasing her brow. “I don’t know. That’s the last entry.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She sat up straighter and quickly thumbed through the slim journal again. “Positive. All the rest of the pages are blank.”

  “So Katherine took off after Boyd….”

  “And she never came back.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “I FOUND HER.”

  Paul shot to his feet, as surprised to see Harper standing in the library of the Casville mansion as he was to hear the news. “Keep your voice down!”

  He strode to the door, taking a look around the empty hallway before closing it and turning the lock. His heart beat triple time in his chest. Sleepless nights and tension-filled days placating Mimi’s distraught father had taken their toll. Rupert had even started making noises about going to the police and declarin
g his daughter a missing person, which meant all of Paul’s well-laid plans were about to unravel.

  “Where is she?” he asked, wiping his damp palms on the front of his slacks.

  Harper waited until he sat down behind the desk. “Five miles east of Austin as the crow flies. A place called the Lord ranch.”

  Paul frowned. “What is that? Some kind of dude ranch for the rich and famous?”

  “No. It’s a working ranch. Owned by one Garrett Lord.”

  “So how did you find out she was there?”

  “After I talked with Snyder, I started canvassing the rural area where he claimed he found her abandoned car. I got lucky my first time out at a ranch called the Triple C. The owner didn’t know anything, but his daughter, Venna Schwab, recognized Mimi’s picture right away.” Harper smiled. “That Venna is quite a number.”

  “I don’t give a damn about some cowgirl. Tell me about Mimi. What’s she doing at a ranch?”

  “Working.”

  Paul snorted. “Good one, Harper. Let’s save the jokes until after we’ve got this deal sewn up.”

  “I’m not joking. She’s apparently hired on as a ranch hand.”

  Paul shook his head. “Mimi’s never done a day of hard labor in her life. She spends her time cataloguing musty antiques and filling out the branches of the great and powerful Casville family tree. There has to be some other explanation.”

  “Well, it’s probably not going to be one you like.” Harper took a seat on the sofa. “Venna claims Mimi is living with Garrett Lord. They even attended a neighborhood barbecue together a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps there’s more to their relationship than business.”

  Paul clenched his jaw, surprised at his reaction. Jealousy wasn’t his style. But it galled him that Mimi was shacking up with another man so soon after their botched nuptials. Any remnants of guilt he had left about relieving her father of a few million dollars mercifully disappeared.

  “So what now?” Harper asked.

  Paul pressed the tips of his fingers together. Knowing Mimi’s precise location changed everything. He’d have to proceed very carefully. “Let me think about it. In the meantime, keep her under surveillance.”

  “And if she heads for home?” Harper asked.

  Paul leveled his gaze on him. “Then make sure she doesn’t get there.”

  THE NEXT DAY, Garrett stood on the edge of the hayloft and pitched another forkful of straw into the stall below. Unfortunately, the work didn’t distract him from thinking about Mimi. She’d left in his pickup this morning on some mysterious errand. He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d gone to meet with her fiancé.

  He stabbed the fork into the straw, telling himself it didn’t matter. Calving season was almost over. Then Mimi would be gone for good.

  Unless he could think of a damn good reason for her to stay.

  “Garrett?”

  “Up here,” he called, shaking the packed straw loose from the pitchfork.

  A few moments later, Mimi appeared at the top of the ladder. She sneezed at the dust in the air, then smiled as she walked toward him. “I have a surprise for you.”

  He stuck the pitchfork into a square bale of straw. “Now, that sounds intriguing.”

  “Here it is.” She held up a bulky manila envelope.

  He took a step closer to her.

  “What is it?”

  “Your past.”

  Garrett looked up from the envelope into her sparkling blue eyes. “I don’t understand.”

  She took a deep breath. “When I saw your teddy bear, I knew it was special. So I called a friend of mine, a professor who specializes in antique toys. After I gave him a detailed description, he confirmed that the teddy bear is very unique. A limited number were made and sold over ninety years ago in the Sagebrush County area.”

  He stared at the envelope. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to be disappointed if it was another dead end.” She pushed the package into his hands. “But it’s not, Garrett.”

  He sank down on a bale of straw, then fumbled with the clasp of the envelope, surprised to find his fingers shaking. “Damn.”

  “Let me do it.” She leaned over his shoulder, her blond hair caressing his cheek.

  He closed his eyes, trying to regain his equilibrium. After searching for answers for so long, they were now quite literally in his grasp. He should be ecstatic. Instead, his curiosity had turned to wariness. What if there was something inside that envelope he didn’t want to know? What if it was something that could change his life forever?

  “Garrett? Are you all right?”

  He opened his eyes and saw Mimi seated beside him. She held a thick blue book in her hands with the title Calloway Centennial 1885-1985 emblazoned in silver lettering across the front.

  He cleared his throat. “Of course.”

  She scooted closer and began slowly paging through the book. “This is a compilation of the history of Calloway, Texas, a tiny town north of San Antonio. There are old photographs in here, as well as information about the first settlers in the area.”

  He could hear the underlying excitement in her voice. Her fascination with the past was obvious, and he could see she’d chosen her career well. Which made him wonder all over again why she would put her life on hold just to work on a cattle ranch.

  Mimi turned to the middle of the book and pointed to a photocopy of a daguerreotype. In it was an older couple, the man looking fierce with his long white beard, the woman short and plump with big dark eyes. “This is Samuel Larrimore. Your great-great-grandfather.”

  Garrett swallowed hard as he stared at the photo, looking for some resemblance. “And that’s my great-great-grandmother beside him?”

  She nodded. “Helga Bruner Larrimore. She was Samuel’s third cousin, a widow who lived in Germany. When Samuel was forty-five years old, he wrote to her and asked her to marry him. She accepted, and came to Calloway in 1885 with her three-year-old daughter, Anna Bruner, in tow.”

  Garrett looked up from the book. “How do you know all this?”

  Mimi smiled. “I contacted the director of the Sagebrush Conservation Society several days ago. A very helpful lady. When I learned she was going to be in Austin today for a symposium, I asked her to meet me and bring any materials she’d discovered related to Larrimores. Including photocopies of old letters, birth certificates, marriage licenses and death notices. This centennial book was an unexpected bonus.”

  Relief flowed through him. “So that was the reason for your mysterious errand.”

  She nodded. “I had to take your teddy bear with me, too. The director made me promise to let her look at an authentic Bruner Bear. But don’t worry. It’s back safe and sound in your bedroom.”

  “A Bruner Bear?”

  “Designed and crafted by Anna Bruner. Your great-aunt.”

  He shook his head. “I still can’t believe you learned all this from one worn-out old teddy bear.”

  “Garrett, that worn-out old teddy bear is worth over a thousand dollars.”

  He blinked. “What?”

  “It’s true,” she said, laughing at his stunned expression. “Teddy bears became popular around 1906, and Anna Bruner began making her bears in 1909. She died in 1912, when she was only thirty years old. So Bruner bears are not only of exceptional quality, but very rare. You own one of the few left in existence.”

  He turned to the book. “Are there any other Larrimores in here?”

  She flipped the page and pointed to a photograph of a family of eight. Five young girls in identical frilly dresses and one young boy wearing a dark, homespun suit all stood staring stiffly at the camera. Their mother sat proudly among her children, three on either side of her. She was a petite woman with a sprinkling of freckles and a mischievous gleam in her eyes that reminded Garrett a little bit of Lana.

  Mimi pointed to the father in the picture, a man with short dark hair parted straight down the middle and a handlebar mustache. “
That’s Wilhelm Larrimore. He’s the only son of Samuel and Helga.”

  “These are my great-grandparents,” Garrett said, staring at the photo.

  “That’s right. And the boy in the picture is your grandfather, Hans Larrimore.”

  Garrett brushed his finger over the photo, his throat tight. To be finally given a past, a heritage of his very own, after all these years was almost too much for him to comprehend.

  “Hans married a woman named Stella, and they had one child in 1942. A son.”

  “My father?” Garrett ventured, his voice so tight it came out in a whisper.

  “Yes.” Mimi sorted through the papers in the envelope, then handed one to him. “This is his birth certificate.”

  Garrett took a deep breath, then read the neatly typed certificate. “‘Gary Hans Larrimore. Born December 2, 1942. Mother, Stella Rimmer Larrimore. Father, Hans Larrimore.’”

  He stared at the birth certificate, unable to believe it was real. “My father’s name is Gary Larrimore.”

  Mimi laid her hand over his. He grasped it, hanging on tight as his well-ordered world tilted on its axis. After twenty-five years, he finally knew his father’s name.

  “There’s more.” Mimi handed him another piece of paper. “This is your grandfather’s obituary. He was drafted into the Army during World War Two, shortly after your father’s birth.” Her voice softened. “He never made it home.”

  “‘Sergeant Hans Larrimore, 27, of rural Sagebrush County,’” Garrett read aloud, noting the date, 1943, at the top of the obituary, “‘was killed in action somewhere in the Pacific theater. Hans leaves behind his loving wife, Stella, and son, Gary. Also mourning his death are his parents, Wil and Kate Larrimore, and his grandmother, Mrs. Helga Larrimore. Memorial services will be held Friday at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Calloway.’”