by Emma Ashwood
Cassidy frowned. “What are you saying?”
Bonnie chuckled softly. “I’m saying, I think our brother who insists he is immune to love, might just have been jealous. Do you think he likes her?”
“He barely talks to her,” Cassidy said shaking her head.
“Exactly. Maybe he’s afraid if he talks to her he’ll like her even more,” Bonnie reasoned.
Cassidy laughed. “You’re over tired and spouting nonsense. Get to bed.”
Bonnie did get into bed, but the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Carson’s behavior over the last few weeks was nothing if not out of character. Her brother had never been in love and perhaps that was why he was acting so strangely. He might still be angry at them for interceding and finding him a wife, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t falling in love. She said a prayer for God to open Carson’s heart and eyes before she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Chapter 14
27 June 1882, San Antonio, Texas
Carson had spent the rest of the evening enduring a teasing from Tom and Pinkerton. When he had returned to the bonfire it was Tom who called him out. “Afraid we’re gonna steal yer girl?”
Carson had laughed off the comment, not even bothering to reply, but Tom’s words had him lying awake all night. Ever since Annie had arrived on the ranch he had been focused only on the reason for her being there, not once did he allow himself to admit that he liked her.
He had plenty on his mind over the last few weeks and didn’t bother with taking a closer look at Annie. No one knew about the man who had come to see Carson a few months before. Carson had made sure to keep that news and the demand to himself. It had come as a shock to him to learn how much debt his father had racked up before his death. Carson remembered the drought and he also remembered the pained look on his father’s face, but he had thought it was simply due to his father’s ailing health. Never had his father mentioned the loan he had taken with a bank in Fort Worth.
It had taken the bank almost two years to find Carson and the ranch and now they weren’t backing off. He hadn’t spent too many nights lying awake about it because he hoped the man from the bank wouldn’t return.
Instead he focused on raising the steers and hoping for a good price on the hoof when he took them to auction.
Last night when Tom and Pinkerton had made their interest in Annie clear as daylight, a strange feeling had come over Carson. He had spent the night tossing and turning with images of her smile and her blue eyes haunting him. When his sisters had announced their deception, Carson had been so intent on proving them wrong that he hadn’t once considered that Annie might be just what he was looking for in a wife.
It had taken Tom’s comment to bring him out of denial. Somewhere between the early morning hours and dawn, Carson finally admitted to himself that he liked Annie. He had tried so hard not to like her and to see her as a nuisance, but Annie had been nothing but a pleasure to have around. Apart from her help with the chores, his mother even seemed to be healthier.
Faced with the feelings he had tried so hard not to allow, Carson still had no idea how he was going to move forward. Perhaps if he stopped being short and gruff with her and actually took the time to get to know her better…
He brushed off the thought and got to work. After seeing Tom and Pinkerton off he had a lot to do. Annie ignored him over breakfast and when he returned for dinner she had already retired to her room. Carson couldn’t help but feel guilty for treating her badly the night before. He considered going to talk to her but squashed the idea as soon as it took hold. The last thing he needed now was for his mother and sisters to see him grovel. Instead, he turned in early, knowing it was going to be another long night.
When he woke up the following morning, he heard footsteps in the kitchen. A frown creased his brow, he was always up first. His heart began to race with thoughts of matters being amiss with his mother. He dressed in record time and rushed into the kitchen only to find Annie sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a look of total defeat.
Carson’s heart clenched in his chest as he moved towards her. From the corner of his eyes he saw the carpet bag and purse near the front door and his heart began to race.
“Annie?”
Annie looked up to meet his gaze. “Don’t worry, I won’t be a burden to you any longer.”
“What do you mean?” Carson asked. His heart filled with fear. She couldn’t leave, not now that he had realized his strong feelings for her.
Annie stood up and cocked a brow. There was none of the fire in her eyes that Carson had started to look forward to. A smile curved his mouth as he realized that somehow he had fallen in love with Annie. Although they had mostly argued and sparred over the last few weeks, she had snuck beneath his defenses and somehow found a place for herself in his heart.
Annie let out a sigh. “Carson, I know you don’t want me here. None of this is your fault and it’s wrong of me to expect you to feed and board me, regardless of what your sisters did. If you could just give me a ride into town…”
Carson frowned. “Where will you go?”
Annie shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll figure that out somehow.” She glanced out the window and Carson realized he was at a crossroads. He couldn’t let her leave. Not now that he had realized how he felt about her.
“What if you don’t leave?” Carson asked a little hesitantly. He couldn’t help but feel nervous as he waited for her reply.
“I’m sure you’ll understand that I don’t enjoy being a burden any more than you enjoy me being here.”
Carson nodded. He wasn’t sure of his feelings and perhaps the best thing for Annie to do was to find someone who would love her without hesitation. He had the ranch, the debt and his family to think about. “I’ll ready the wagon.”
A short while later they were on their way into town. Bonnie, Cassidy and his mother had been tearful when they said goodbye. It nearly broke Carson’s heart but he didn’t even know if Annie liked him. She said not a word all the way to town.
By the time they reached the station, Carson couldn’t help but notice the sad look in her eyes.
“Thank you,” Annie said as she began to climb off.
“Don’t go.” The words fell from Carson’s mouth before he even considered them.
Annie turned to him with a questioning look. “Why? You don’t want me on the ranch. Don’t ask me to stay out of guilt, Carson. I’ll… I’ll be alright,” she finished with a sigh.
Carson took a deep breath and knew in that moment that he couldn’t let her go. He searched her face and couldn’t help but wonder how he had fallen in love with her without even realizing it. “I’m not asking out of guilt. I’m asking because I was a fool.”
Annie’s eyes widened with confusion. “What are you saying?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Carson’s mouth. “I’m saying I was a darn fool. Instead of thanking my sisters for finding me a beautiful, smart and witty wife, I tried to prove them wrong. All I managed to do was prove that my stubbornness won’t bring me happiness.”
Annie didn’t speak, but nor did she move.
Carson reached for her hand. “The moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were going to be trouble. When I saved you from the bull, I refused to admit I liked you. But last night it took my friends to make the blinders fall from my eyes. I….” Carson swallowed. He had never said the words before and wasn’t sure if he was doing this right. “Annie, I’ve fallen in love with you. Stay, because I’d like you to be my wife…. That is if you feel the same way.”
Annie’s eyes were shuttered, not revealing the slightest emotion as she held his gaze. “You’ve been nothing but rude, angry and irritable with me for weeks. Why should I believe you now?”
Carson shrugged with a foolish grin. “Because I didn’t want to admit Cassidy and Bonnie had done good.”
A small smile played on the corners of her mouth. “You want me to stay?”
“I wa
nt you to stay,” Carson agreed. “Maybe if I stop being rude, angry and irritable you might even come to like me.”
Annie’s face lit up with joy as she shook her head. “You big oaf! I’ve liked you from the first time I saw you. Just didn’t figure you needed to know since you were so intent on being rude to me.”
Carson’s heart skipped a beat. “Do you like me enough to be my wife?”
Annie considered for a moment before she finally let out a sigh of joy. “I’d like nothing more.”
Chapter 15
27 June 1882, San Antonio, Texas
Annie’s heart felt as if it would explode from her chest at any minute and do a dance of happiness. Since the first moment she met Carson she had known the circumstances that had brought her to San Antonio didn’t matter; she had lost her heart on him right there and then.
But over the last month she had been certain he didn’t share her feelings. She had tried to win him over, but it had become clear to her on the night his friends had stopped by that Carson had never felt the same way. She searched his eyes and saw none of the condescension or anger there that had been aimed at her over the last month.
Her smile cut into her cheeks as she realized that he was indeed the man Cassidy and Bonnie had described in their letters. “Wait, Cassidy and Bonnie?” Annie said.
Carson frowned. “What about them? They’re going to be ecstatic. You’d better prepare yourself; they’re going to remind us that they brought us together for the rest of our lives.”
Annie laughed before shaking her head. “Not if we pull a fast one on them first.”
“What do you have in mind?” Carson asked with a frown.
Annie smiled as she leaned forward and explained her plan to Carson. By the time they headed back to the ranch neither could stop talking. They were catching up for the month they had lost and dreaming of the future they would share. If Annie had thought her future looked bleak that morning, she now knew it would be as bright as the Texas sun.
When they arrived together on the ranch, both Cassidy and Bonnie rushed out to meet them.
“You’re staying?” Bonnie asked hopefully.
Annie shook her head. “No. The train is only coming tomorrow. Your brother was kind enough to let me stay another night.”
Cassidy and Bonnie both nodded dejectedly and headed back into the house. As soon as they were alone, Carson turned to Annie with a wicked grin. “Do you know how hard it was to keep from smiling?”
Annie giggled. “I do.”
Carson framed her face and leaned closer before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t believe I almost let you go.”
Annie’s heart swelled in her chest. “You didn’t, and that’s all that matters now.”
They headed into the house, both making sure they wore their angry expressions. It was Carson who asked his mother to join them in the living room for an announcement.
The sisters sat down, hopeful of the news Carson was going to deliver. Daphne glanced at Annie, but Annie didn’t say a word, she just winked. Confusion dawned in Daphne’s eyes as Carson began to speak.
“I’ve decided that this ranch will never be able to feed as many mouths as are gathered here. Ma, you know you’ll always have a home here. But Bonnie, Cassidy, it’s time you found yourselves husbands.”
Cassidy frowned. “It’s not like we haven’t tried, Carson. There is no one. Surely you don’t expect us to marry ranch hands and highwaymen?”
“Besides, we do our share of the chores,” Bonnie quickly argued.
Carson shook his head. “I’m takin’ a wife and plan on havin’ many children.”
Smiles lit up throughout the room as Cassidy and Bonnie rushed to Annie. “Is it true?”
Annie couldn’t stop the smile that spread on her face. “It’s true. We’re getting married in a fortnight.”
Daphne quietly began to cry. “I knew it. I just knew Carson loved you, he was just too stubborn to admit it.”
“That brings me to the matter of finding you both husbands,” Carson said in a firm voice. “Annie and I have arranged for both of you to become mail order brides. The advertisements have been placed and will be circulated through the west within a week.”
“That’s outrageous!” Cassidy exclaimed.
Annie tried her best to keep her smile in check.
“You can’t be serious? Carson, we were only trying to help you and it worked. Surely you can’t banish us for that?” Bonnie asked with a sullen expression.
Carson shook his head. “It’s final. The first proposal you receive, you’ll accept.”
“Carson!” Daphne exclaimed suddenly. Everyone kept quiet and turned to Daphne who barely ever said a word. “That’s a brilliant plan.”
Annie wanted to kiss Daphne for playing along.
“I hate you!” Bonnie cried out.
“You wouldn’t…” Cassidy said shaking her head.
Carson glanced at Annie who simply nodded. Carson shrugged. “You’re right, I wouldn’t, but if you ever interfere in my life again, I might.”
Silence hung over the room as both sisters considered themselves chastened before Daphne spoke up again. “You girls can start on dinner and you’ll be responsible for the wedding feast as well.”
Laughter floated on the summer’s breeze that drifted past the cabin as celebrations could be heard all round. But inside the cabin Annie didn’t care about anything, all she cared about was the handsome man looking at her with love in his eyes.
“Annie, care to go for a walk?”
Annie smiled. “I’d like that very much.”
Carson took her hand and led her out of the cabin, and for the first time since leaving Boston, Annie knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Chapter 16
10 July 1882, San Antonio, Texas
Carson and Cassidy headed into town on the day before the wedding. Cassidy wanted to get a few things for the wedding feast and Carson wanted to check with the preacher about the time of the service.
The last week had brought new life to the ranch. Their mother hardly ever took to bed. Carson wasn’t sure if it was the upcoming wedding that had lifted her spirits or if God had finally heard his prayers to heal his mother, but either way, he didn’t care. He was just grateful that his mother no longer slept her days away, waiting for the angel of death to come and get her.
Cassidy and Bonnie were in just as high spirits. Annie had been sewing night and day to make new dresses for everyone for the wedding. Carson still couldn’t believe he had almost let Annie leave San Antonio just because he was stubborn. Over the last two weeks he had come to know a different side of her, a side that made him fall even deeper in love with her.
For a man who never considered marrying or having children, Carson was now very eager to become a husband. He couldn’t wait to have children with Annie or to share the rest of his life with her. He had been so consumed with joy that he had completely forgotten about the bank in Fort Worth until a man stopped him in the thoroughfare in town.
“Mr. Evans. Glad to find you here, spares me a trip out to your ranch.” The man glanced at Cassidy before turning back to Carson. “Can I speak freely?”
“Carson, who is this man?” Cassidy asked with a confused look. They didn’t know any pompous-suit wearing men.
Carson sighed. “Cassidy, this is Mr. White. Mr. White, my sister, Cassidy.”
“Mr. White?” Cassidy asked, shaking his hand briefly.
“Ah, you’re Carson’s sister, which means this concerns you as well. As I explained to your brother last month, the bank is calling in your father’s debt. It’s been two years since your father passed and we have received no repayments. According to our knowledge your ranch will fetch a handsome price with the cattle industry booming at present.”
Cassidy turned to Carson with a frown. “Carson, what is he talking about?”
Carson let out a sigh. He had tried his best to keep this from his family, but they w
ere going to find out sooner rather than later. “Pa had a loan with the bank during the drought. Since we didn’t know about it, we didn’t pay it. They’re calling it in before we can go to auction.”
“If you’ve waited two years, surely you can wait till the auction, it’s only three months away.”
Mr. White smiled grimly. “We’ve waited long enough. Two weeks, Mr. Evans, then we foreclose on the ranch.”
“Surely we must be able to do something. You can’t just take our ranch!” Cassidy exclaimed not caring who heard her.
Mr. White shrugged and named a ridiculous amount of money. “If you pay that before the two weeks are over we might be able to settle on a payment plan again. But that’s the outstanding payments due to us.”
Cassidy’s eyes glassed over at the amount and Carson just sighed. “We’ll never be able raise that, you know it.”
Mr. White’s smile broadened. “I’ll see you in two weeks, Mr. Evans. Make sure you’re packed.”
He climbed into his stagecoach and left Cassidy and Carson in the street, flummoxed by the doom he had just pronounced.
Cassidy turned to Carson shaking her head. “You knew?”
“He came by the ranch last month while you were in town. I didn’t want to worry Ma.”
“Carson, we’re going to lose the ranch.”
Carson nodded. “We’ve got two weeks. Just don’t tell Bonnie, Ma or Annie before the wedding.”
Cassidy shook her head. “Carson, you can’t keep this from them.”
“Just till after the wedding. We’ll figure somethin’ out,” Carson assured his sister, but he didn’t have the faintest idea where to start. Two years of debt payments were impossible to repay in two weeks. He had two sisters and a mother and after tomorrow he would also have a wife to take care of and nowhere to raise his steers for the auction.