The Engagement Charade
Page 22
I wouldn’t blame him for being angry.
Another thought occurred to her, and she put the brush down on the dresser with a clang. What might he construe from her abrupt departure? She hadn’t behaved like a mere friend. Someone with platonic feelings would’ve been flattered by his practical proposal.
Burying her head in her hands, she groaned aloud. A rap on the main door startled her.
“I’m not ready to see him, Lord,” she murmured, her pulse leaping as she walked through the house.
But who else could it be? Maybe Margaret hadn’t been able to resist one more hug. Half hoping it was the brother-sister duo, Ellie opened the door and immediately wished she hadn’t.
“You’ve made a wasted trip,” she sighed. “Go home, Nadine.”
Ellie started to close the door, but Nadine blocked it with her body. “Oh, I will. And you’re coming with me.”
Shoved out of the way, Ellie stumbled and caught herself on the couch arm. Alarm winged through her as Nadine produced a pistol and waved it above her.
“Nolan used to complain about how stubborn you were,” she said coldly. “You’ve tried my patience for the last time.”
It was a struggle to stand up and also put distance between them. The blood rushed from her head. Light-headedness swamped her.
“What are you doing with a gun?” Ellie knew the woman was comfortable with weapons. She’d hunted alongside Ralph, Nolan and Howard. What she didn’t know was whether or not Nadine would actually use it on her. “We were family, sisters-in-law, for four years.”
“A fact you’ve conveniently forgotten.” She motioned toward the bedrooms. “Time to pack your bags.”
“What do you mean to do? Keep me prisoner?”
“You’ll soon figure out you’re better off with us.” She lifted a shoulder. “Once the baby’s born, you’re free to go, however.”
Disbelief rattled her. Nadine’s meaning was clear. She, Ellie, would be free to leave. Not the baby. This was the act of an insane person, far beyond anything Ellie could’ve imagined her former sister-in-law would do.
“You can’t hide me for long.” Ellie inched farther away, putting the square side table and kerosene lamp between them. Pleading with God to help her remain calm and clearheaded, she attempted to reason with Nadine. “Do your parents know? Ralph wouldn’t condone this, of that I’m sure.”
“Not yet, but they’ll agree this is the best way. You weren’t fit to be my brother’s wife, and you aren’t fit to raise his child.” Her blue eyes glinted with disdain. “Ralph always had a soft spot for you. Don’t worry, he’ll come around. He’s wanted a baby for as long as I have.”
“This baby belongs to me!” Her voice was high and strained. Panic threatened.
“No more arguing.” She leveled the gun at Ellie. “Now, you will pack your bags. Take everything. We’re going to make this look like you’ve decided to take the dear old Reverend Cooper’s offer.”
“How did you know about that?”
Nadine began to quote, word for word, the contents of the letter.
“You wrote that?”
Now that she thought about it, the handwriting had been different. And the scent of rose water accompanying Janice’s first missive had been absent. Ellie’s gaze bounced over the contents of the room, searching for a way out, a weapon she could use to defend herself. But did she dare attempt it? In her advanced pregnancy state, she wasn’t as fast as she could be, and the safety of her child was paramount.
“Sure did. A clever ruse, isn’t it?”
“Alexander will never believe I left without discussing it with him. We are engaged.”
“He will because you’re going to write a convincing note, explaining how you still love my brother and couldn’t possibly marry another. You crave the comforts and familiar surroundings of home—Kentucky.”
Ellie couldn’t allow Nadine to take her to that cove. If she wound up there, she’d likely never leave. Begging God for mercy, she said, “I’m not doing it.”
Nadine’s twin blond brows shot up. “What?”
“I’m not writing that, and I’m not going home with you.” Splaying her hands on her belly, she said, “This is your niece or nephew I’m carrying. You won’t hurt me. You don’t want to put his or her life at risk.”
For an instant, Nadine wavered, her gaze dropping to Ellie’s belly. Then an explosion rang out. Glass shattered and pinged to the floor. Ellie screamed.
Smoke curled from the gun barrel. Nadine’s face had hardened to a cruel mask. “Now we’re going to have to clean that up.”
Behind Ellie, green-tinted glass shards littered the floorboards, the remnants of a decorative bowl atop a shelf. A bullet was lodged into an eye-level log.
Ellie’s spirits sank, her stomach churning dangerously. There wasn’t going to be an escape.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Margaret’s hug was cutting off his air supply.
“You’ve got another hour before your driver arrives,” he wheezed.
Her hold loosened, and she pulled away to dab at her cheeks with a lace handkerchief. Her blue eyes were awash in sadness. “If only you and Ellie were traveling with me.” Glancing about at the wagons rolling along Main Street, she shook her head. “I’d envisioned a very different holiday and subsequent send-off.”
“I’m sorry I ruined Thanksgiving for you,” he said with regret.
I had no idea asking Ellie to marry me would explode in my face.
Alexander was still wrestling to make sense of the scene in his office yesterday. He’d battled myriad emotions before hurt settled deep in his chest and refused to budge. That, coupled with a feeling of great loss, had left him cranky and absentminded. June and her friends had managed to sustain an atmosphere of celebration, engaging in all sorts of games from chess to charades. If they’d noticed his deflated demeanor, they hadn’t commented on it.
“You didn’t ruin anything, Alex. I simply want you and Ellie to be happy.”
“Well, we’re not.” He had no idea how to fix this.
“This isn’t the place, but it is the time.” Taking his hand, she led him to the bench a few steps to their right, located in front of the café windows. Her trunks had been piled beside it. Once seated, she angled toward him. “Why did you ask Ellie to marry you?”
“I told you—”
She held up her hand. “I know the reasons you gave her. Alex, Sarah’s and Levi’s deaths ripped your life apart. The fact that you’re willing to marry again tells me there’s more to this than a desire to protect her. I don’t accept that friendship is enough to spur a decision like this, not for you.”
Alexander sagged against the bench. People hurried about their business, their breaths fogging in the cold air. A stray cat paused for bits of jerky from the elderly men who stationed themselves outside the mercantile each day. A pair of young boys chased each other into the alley beside the livery.
He couldn’t focus on their faces because Ellie’s dominated his thoughts. Memories of their time together bombarded him.
“I loved Sarah,” he uttered, his voice gravelly. “How I feel about Ellie is different.”
“Different how?”
Propping his elbows on his knees, he thrust his fingers through his hair. Frustration gripped him. “I don’t know how to explain it.” Springing to his feet, he paced to the nearest awning post.
His sister followed him. “If you’re feeling guilty, please stop. Sarah would want you to be happy.”
Margaret was right. His late wife wouldn’t have begrudged him a second chance at happiness.
“I didn’t realize I was until you said something.” He fisted his hands. “Sarah died too young. Her life was snuffed out by an evil man. I tried to save her...but God has the ultimate authori
ty. I can’t go on blaming myself any longer. Ellie helped me see that.”
She’d helped him see a lot of things.
“I didn’t like her at first,” he admitted.
Her eyes got huge. “How can anyone not like Ellie?”
“I wasn’t thrilled about her being hired without my input, first of all. I considered firing her on principle, but her cooking was above standard and had an immediate effect on business. Suddenly, my dining room wasn’t big enough to hold everyone. That didn’t keep me from complaining about her unrelenting attempts to involve me in every little decision.” Smiling wryly, he recalled all those mornings when she’d burst into his office to review the menu. “After the fire, I decided to stop engaging in life. I’d pretty much accomplished that, too. Ellie refused to leave me be. She made me care about the Plum, about Flo, Sally and the customers, and about her.”
Margaret smiled. “She’s a special lady.”
“I admire her more than I can express. I’m happy when I’m with her. I miss her when I’m not.”
“Can you imagine your life without her?”
“Absolutely not. No.”
“Then what are you waiting for? You have to propose again, but this time tell her everything you just told me.”
He ran his hand over his face, inwardly cringing at how he’d botched things with her. “I’m not convinced she’ll give me a different answer.”
She gripped his upper arms. “I am.”
The knowing glint in her eyes gave him pause. “How can you be certain?”
“I gave my word I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Ellie talked to you about us?”
With an exasperated huff, she linked her arm through his and tugged. “Let’s go pay her a visit.”
He jerked a thumb toward her trunks. “You’ll miss your ride.”
“So I’ll leave tomorrow.”
After locating a young lad willing to watch Margaret’s belongings for a small fee, they walked to the Trentham spread. Alexander’s nerves jangled with each step. He hadn’t allowed himself to imagine loving again. This love for Ellie—intense, wondrous and deep-rooted—had been building inside him, like one brick upon another, each layer going unnoticed until wholly complete. Only when he’d risked making their engagement real and been spurned had he recognized how deeply connected he was to her.
He wanted no other woman by his side. Only Ellie would do.
Question was, would she have him?
* * *
She wasn’t supposed to be here.
Nadine guided the team onto the cove’s winding lane, those same overgrown branches catching on her hair that had almost knocked Alexander’s hat from his head. Fear left a coppery taste in her mouth.
Would she see him again?
Would she ever leave this cove alive?
The wagon bumped over the ruts, jostling her, increasing the chances she’d lose her breakfast the moment the wheels stopped turning. Nadine hadn’t spoken a word since they left June’s. She was coldly silent and determined to carry out her selfish, insane plan. Ellie prayed without ceasing, holding on to hope that Ralph would react as any normal person would and negotiate her release.
The twin cabins came into view, and a tangible blanket of depression wrapped tightly about her. She hadn’t ever wanted to return. Now she was back...as a prisoner.
When the wagon lurched to a stop, Nadine leaped to the ground and hollered for her family. Howard was the first to emerge. His scraggly brows lifting slightly, he called for his wife. Gladys joined him, a half-peeled potato in one hand and paring knife in the other. Her gaze narrowing, she descended the steps.
“This the surprise you were talking about?” Gladys looked from her daughter to Ellie.
Nadine’s gaze pierced Ellie, stark warning written there. “She’s here to stay, Mama.”
Ellie remained on the high seat, feeling like a prized steer at auction beneath three appraising stares. Desperate, she appealed to Howard.
“I want to go home,” she announced. “Nadine forced me to accompany her at gunpoint.”
Scraping his cracked, stained hand over his jaw, he said finally, “She didn’t hurt you, though, did she?”
Her head reared back. Why was she not surprised by his apathy? He’d remained a passive bystander since the day she wed his only son.
“That’s not the point. I—”
“Cease your bellyaching,” Gladys snapped, motioning for her to get down. “Seeing as how you love to cook,” she sneered, “you can help me with the noon meal.”
Ellie thought about refusing. For a split second, she considered grabbing the reins. But turning the team around would take concentration, skill and time—time enough for Nadine to discharge her weapon. And she had no doubt she’d wound her, not seriously but enough to thwart her escape. A nick on her shoulder or arm, perhaps. She couldn’t risk it.
So she climbed down. The moment her boots touched the soil, her future went dark, her hope all but extinguished.
With a gun pointed at her, Ellie had penned two convincing letters, one for June and one for Alexander. Nadine had hovered over her, making it impossible to try to insert clues. The only sign that anything was wrong was her messy handwriting. Try as she might, she hadn’t been able to still the shaking of her hands.
“First, we’re going to get her settled,” Nadine pronounced, going to the rear and taking one of the crates in her arms.
Ellie trudged after her, feeling like a twenty-pound sack of flour sat on her chest. Taking one of the other crates, she went into the cabin she’d moved into after Nolan’s death.
“Welcome home.”
“This was never my home,” she said quietly. “You did nothing to make me feel welcome. In fact, you treated me like an interloper who provided free labor.”
Nadine dropped the crate to the floor with a crash. Rounding on her, she thrust her finger in Ellie’s face. “You speak to me like that again, you’ll regret it.”
Ellie forced herself to meet her gaze. She wasn’t going to be cowed before her. “Nolan and I had our problems, but he never would’ve allowed such treatment.”
Nadine lifted her hand and would’ve struck Ellie if Ralph hadn’t entered then.
“Nadine!” He advanced into the room, his shirt sweat-streaked and boots caked with dirt. His expression reflected his utter confusion. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Quickly lowering her hand, she attempted to pacify him. “Ralph, you and I discussed how Ellie would be better off with us.”
“On her own terms,” he responded, staring at his wife as if he’d never met her. “Doesn’t look like she’s here of her own free will.” He pointed to the gun belt around her waist. “You took my gun without my permission. What did you do? Threaten her life?”
Ellie kept silent as Nadine walked over and placed her hands on Ralph’s chest.
“Sweetheart, you know this is where Ellie needs to be. If she remains in town, we’ll be cut off from our kin. That baby is a Jameson, our last and only link to my brother.”
A little of the hardness left his face. “You’ve longed for a baby. I have, too. But this isn’t the way to fulfill our dream. You have to let her go.”
Pushing him away, Nadine spat, “You’ve never wanted one as much as I have. You’re obviously not willing to do hard things. I am.” She flung her arm toward Ellie. “She stays until the baby comes. Then she’s free to leave.”
He lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Nadine, this is madness—”
“You’re free to leave, too. Nolan would expect me to watch over his child.”
Ralph looked ravaged, as if he’d lost his wife and wasn’t sure he’d recover her.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“About?”
Ellie’s knees gave out, and she sagged onto the bed. Please let this be a ruse, she prayed. Because if it wasn’t, her only hope of escape had just gone up in smoke.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“This doesn’t make any sense.” Alexander paced the length of the café’s kitchen. “She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to us.”
He stopped to review the letter’s contents again, the headache that had been brewing all afternoon hammering at his skull. The others in the room with him remained silent, as confused as he was about her swift and stealthy flight to Kentucky.
“I agree.” Margaret peered over his shoulder. “Ellie’s not the type to make rash decisions. At the very least, she would’ve told June of her plans.”
Stationed at one of the windows, the older woman turned at the mention of her name. Worry was stamped on her face. “She was completely calm and clearheaded when I left this morning. She said she’d think and pray.”
The past two days had been rife with intense emotions. First, he’d ruined Thanksgiving with his botched proposal. He’d feared their friendship was at risk and possibly even their professional relationship. That morning, he’d finally examined his heart. His love for Ellie had filled him with hope for the future.
He and Margaret had been disappointed to find the Trentham home empty. Disappointed, but not deterred. They’d assumed the women were tending errands together. A pass through Main Street’s shops and businesses had been unsuccessful, so they’d returned to the Plum to wait. A couple of hours later, June had come to them with a pair of letters...one for June and one for Alexander...both frustratingly brief.