by Soard, Lori
Gage shook his head in mock disgust. “Why can’t I get a greeting like that?”
“Because you don’t have his big brown eyes.” Catherine stroked the velvety neck.
“I have big green eyes.”
Catherine half-turned to see him batting his lashes outrageously. A giggle bubbled up and floated past her lips.
Gage grinned. “That’s better. You looked entirely too serious for a minute.”
“You’re still not getting the same greeting this horse did.”
“That’s okay, honey. If you greeted me like that, we would never get any work done.”
Catherine felt the heat creep into her cheeks. Gage chuckled.
“You’re all set, Mister Maddock.” The boy dug the toe of his boot into the accumulating snow and twisted it back and forth.
“You’re Jerry’s boy, aren’t you?” Gage asked.
“Yes’sir.” The boy lifted his face to the sky. “Best ask your question quick, looks like we’ll get some snow.”
Catherine watched in amusement as the youth turned and bolted into the barn without so much as a goodbye. Then his words settled, question.
“What question, Gage?”
“We’ll see.”
He moved toward her, wrapping his big hands around her waist and lifting her up into the sleigh. Catherine felt her head swoon and was surprised her knees didn’t buckle. But she managed to not embarrass herself and sat down with her dignity still intact, or what was left of it anyway.
Why, oh why, did his touch have to affect her? Catherine desperately wished she were immune to him. She wasn’t going to allow her weakness to control her. With a man like Gage, a woman had to be constantly on her toes. His number one goal in life was to take the ranch from her. As long as she kept reminding herself of that fact, she’d be okay.
The moon was a shadowy hint of light atop the mountains. Catherine pulled loose one of the blankets their thoughtful host had provided and wrapped it around her legs. She relaxed against the back of the seat, enjoying the cooling chill of the clear winter night. The horse’s hooves crunched loudly in the still air, echoing off the mountains.
“I’m sorry for what I said about your father.” Gage spoke so softly, his words almost seemed to be a part of her thoughts.
Catherine looked at him, startled. “You are?”
The last thing she’d expected was for him to apologize. She’d been prepared to hold his words against him, it was one of the few defenses she still had to fight her growing feelings for him and he’d just ripped it away. She could almost resent him for apologizing, but he seemed so sincere.
“Am I forgiven?”
“Of course.”
Gage smiled and reached over to take her hand in his. Catherine stiffened for a moment but then relaxed as the comforting warmth of his hand through their gloves impressed itself on her. They rode quite a way before Catherine realized that the flakes had picked up with a fury and were drifting down relentlessly, covering the blanket around her legs and dotting the black gelding until his back appeared white.
“We should head back.” Gage shifted the reins, coaxing the horse to turn around.
But they’d only gone a few feet, when he halted the horse’s progress. He turned to her and Catherine felt her heart plummet to her toes. What was he up to? She shivered. She was cold and if they didn’t get back soon, they could very well wind up stuck out here. He took both her hands in his, gazing into her eyes and she knew as sure as her name was Catherine that he planned to propose again.
Fury pumped through her fierce and swift. Did he really believe she was gullible enough to marry him and give him complete control of the ranch? What other reason would a man like him want to marry plain, boring Catherine Claiborne. She gritted her teeth, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but her instincts screamed that he was about to prove her right.
“Catherine, marry me.”
She closed her eyes, if she looked at him right now, she just might shove him out of the sleigh and leave him out here.
“We make a good team. We get along well. We could have a good marriage.”
“Why, Gage?”
Catherine opened her eyes to see the shocked expression on his face. So, he’d thought she’d just agree. Give the little lady a few hours of fun, romance her under the moonlight and she’ll fall all over herself to accept your proposal. Well, wrong. She might be plain. Simple. Even boring. One thing she wasn’t, was stupid.
“I’m fond of you.” His cheeks darkened suspiciously.
Catherine held in a bitter laugh. Fond of her. Fond of her land was more like it. “That’s no reason to get married.”
“I need you.”
Catherine’s chest hurt from trying to breathe normally. He needed her. The admission hurt her more than she could have imagined. Need was not love and in a blinding flash of insight, Catherine realized that she’d secretly longed to hear him say he loved her. Had wanted that with everything in her, because she loved him.
“We could be happy, Catherine.” He reached into his coat pocket and opened a tiny black box, the diamond sparkled up at her.
Catherine had to resist the urge to reach out and snatch it. The stone was clear as the mountain lakes and set in a round setting to maximize the affects. How had she let herself fall in love with him? She must be crazy. This weakness had to be overcome. She couldn’t afford to love him. She hardened her heart. The ring was just a cold, inanimate object, much like the man who’d purchased it for her.
“No.”
Gage’s brows pulled down in the center. “What did you say?”
“I said no. I’ll marry you when they hand out popsicles in hell.”
Gage’s jaw set in a harsh line. He glanced at the ring with such disgust that Catherine thought for a moment he would sling it into the nearest snow bank. She had to fight the urge to reach out and take it from him. Let him throw it away, it meant nothing to her. If it had been bought with love, then it would mean something. This ring was a symbol of his greed.
*
The gnawing ache that burned through Gage’s gut irritated him. Her rejection shouldn’t hurt; he didn’t love her. But it did hurt and that bothered him because there was no reasonable explanation for it. He grabbed the reins and started the sleigh in motion.
Catherine fidgeted at his side, but remained wisely silent. He wasn’t upset because he loved her, that was ridiculous. It was just that he wasn’t used to being rejected, that had to be it. But even as Gage told himself that he knew that Catherine Claiborne had somehow tiptoed past his defenses and stolen a piece of his heart.
Angry with himself, he gripped the reins tightly, refusing to take his anger out on the hapless horse plodding through the mounting snow. Apparently, he wasn’t as irresistible as he’d hoped. Catherine hadn’t given her refusal a second thought, it had come so swiftly that it had taken a moment to register on his senses.
He’d thought they had built a sort of camaraderie, if nothing else. Apparently, he’d been mistaken. Catherine not only didn’t enjoy his company but she downright disliked him if her response to his proposal was anything to go on. The thought thudded to the bottom of his heart and sat there like a heavy weight. He had to get over this insane fascination with her. One night, if he could have her in his bed for one night, he could get her out of his system and get his life back to normal.
The horse stumbled, the sleigh gave a sudden wobble, lurched and then tilted to the side. Cat cried out as she was thrown against him, he grabbed her to keep her from falling from the sleigh. Her wide, fear-filled blue eyes met his. Gage felt his anger soften a little.
“What did you do?” Cat accused, trying to push away from him.
Gage’s anger rushed back. “What did I do?”
“You were driving.” Cat pointed out.
The fact that she had a point didn’t make her accusation any easier to bear. Glaring at her, he swung himself down onto the white ground to survey the damage. The
right side of the sleigh had slid off the ground, tilting halfway into a shallow ditch. The rapidly falling snow had covered the indentation, making it appear as solid ground. Gage gritted his teeth. It didn’t appear they were going anywhere anytime soon.
“How bad is it?” Cat hopped down from the sleigh and crossed to the back.
She clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh, my.”
“Do me a favor, Cat.”
“What?”
“Just be quiet.”
Cat gasped in outrage, her cheeks heating to a fiery red. Even through his frustration and anger, Gage thought she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. He turned back to the sleigh.
“Can you get it out?”
Gage gritted his teeth.
“Maybe the horse could pull it.”
Anger simmered through him. It was half her fault they were in this mess. If he hadn’t been so distracted over her, he may have paid closer attention.
“Maybe—”
Gage interrupted her. “Maybe we should unharness the horse and ride back.”
“But—”
“This isn’t going anywhere.”
Cat shrugged. “I’ll help.”
Gage and Cat worked quickly and freed the gelding. The horse blew an agitated breath through his nostrils.
“Easy, boy.” Gage patted the animal’s neck. The horse skittered around.
“This should be fun.”
That was it. Gage turned to Cat, cold fury filling his veins. He took a menacing step toward her, she paled and backed away. If she couldn’t keep quiet, he’d find other uses for that luscious mouth of hers. He took another step and another.
The horse whinnied, pawed the ground and took off at a fast canter. Gage put his hands on his hips and stared after the horse in amazement.
“He got away.” Cat’s eyes were wide with fear again.
“No kidding.”
“Now what do we do?”
“Walk.” Gage didn’t wait to see if she would follow, he struck out after the horse. The snow was coming down swiftly and the landscape could be deceptive with all this blinding whiteness, but horses instinctively could find their way home. He was betting that’s where the gelding had headed. He hoped to God he was right, because the temperature was dropping and he wasn’t sure how long they could survive if he was mistaken.
Chapter seventeen
An hour later, Gage was ready to admit that following the horse may have been a mistake. He was fairly certain they were walking in circles. He glanced back at Cat. She hadn’t said a word since they’d started their hike. Her lips were tinged blue from the cold but she was still behind him. Unwanted admiration for her courage wound around his heart. A lot of women would have at least been whining by this point. Not his Catherine.
His Catherine. He needed to get a grip. She wasn’t his and had already declared she never would be. The thought caused the gnawing burn to start in his midriff again, so he picked up his pace, determined to make it back to Manning’s ranch.
After a few minutes, he glanced back. No Cat. His heart stopped. He turned around fully and shielded his eyes with his hand. She was back there but several feet behind him. Her pace was slow, laborious. Gage paused, waiting for her to catch up. She was going to have to walk faster or they would be out here all night. The temperatures seemed to be dropping again. The cold seeped into his bones and Gage wondered if he’d ever feel warm again.
Cat took another step, stumbled and fell down. Gage tried to run to her, but the snow and cold slowed him down. By the time he reached her side, she was pulling herself to her feet.
“Okay?” He brushed some snow from her cheek.
Cat nodded and gave him a weak smile. “Just tripped.”
Gage swallowed. When he’d seen her go down, he wasn’t sure what had happened. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins like fire water.
“I’m fine.” She gave a body-wracking shiver.
“We’ll come across something soon.” Gage wasn’t so sure about that, but she looked so forlorn, he wanted to give her some hope.
She nodded.
Gage smiled and started back through the snow, slowing his pace considerably. Why did he still feel this raw ache over her rejection? He frowned, almost like he would be empty without her in his life. He groaned. He couldn’t be falling in love with her, that would be the height of stupidity. But even as the thought presented itself, Gage knew it made perfect sense, explained his hurt and desire for her. His only hope was to be on guard against any deepening feelings. He would get Catherine Claiborne out of his system and he would move on. Right now, his first concern had to be finding them shelter.
Gage heard the crisp crunch of snow and glanced back. Catherine was lying in the snow, her eyes closed. His world spun to a standstill and he knew without a doubt that he’d never stood a chance of not falling in love with her.
*
Sleep beckoned. The cold comfort of drifting away and not feeling the pain in her tired, frozen feet or the bone-sluggish tiredness that drained her.
“Cat. Open your eyes.” Gage’s voice was fuzzy, almost as though he were talking from a great distance.
Catherine, felt him lift her and shake her a little. She grumbled. Why didn’t he just leave her alone? Couldn’t he see how very tired she was?
“Open your eyes right now.”
Cat’s eyes fluttered open and confronted his worried green gaze. She tried to reach up and pat him on the cheek but her arm was too heavy; it seemed to weigh more than her whole body.
“I just want to take a little nap.” Her words were slurred even to her own nearly frozen ears.
Gage gave her another little shake and pulled her to her feet. “No. We have to keep moving.”
“Mean.”
“So, I’m mean. Get mad, get furious with me, but get up.”
Catherine thought his voice sounded a little desperate and wondered if he was having trouble thinking of a new way to steal her ranch. But she didn’t really have enough energy to care and her eyes started to drift shut again.
“Wake up, Catherine Claiborne. You don’t want to give me the ranch that easily do you?”
Catherine’s eyes snapped back open. No she didn’t want to give up the ranch. No matter how much her traitorous heart might love him, she refused to surrender.
“That’s it, sweetheart, just a little further.”
Gage coaxed and prodded her, half-holding her up. Catherine made it another mile before her legs gave out. She just couldn’t go any further. She tried to push to her feet, determined not to let the sleepiness overtake her again, but her body refused to cooperate.
She felt herself cradled against a warm chest. Catherine snuggled against Gage. Then she was lifted in strong arms. She tried to protest that he couldn’t carry her, but even her voice was too exhausted to function.
“You’re going to be okay, sweetheart. I see a cabin.”
Catherine nodded her head, or thought she did. She meant to anyway.
“Catherine, I’m going to set you down.” She felt the gentle stroke of his gloved fingers against her cheek. She supposed that was good, at least if she could feel something, she must not be frostbitten.
“Do you have to?” She sounded thick, as though she had cotton in her mouth.
He chuckled. “Yes. I have to kick in the door.”
That got Catherine’s attention. She opened her eyes as he slid her to her feet, holding her for a minute while she regained her balance. Her gaze landed on the rickety wooden door. Gage shouldn’t have any problems kicking it in.
Oddly, the thing that impressed her the most was the white sign with the red and black letters.
Penalty for damaging these premises is jail and a fine. $10,000 reward for reports leading to a conviction.
Gage took a step back and landed his boot square in the middle of the door.
$10,000 reward.
The wood splintered. He aimed another well-placed kick,
knocking the door open and cracking it more. Catherine toyed with the idea of turning Gage in to the authorities, and collecting the $10,000 reward. He would be in jail, so the ranch would be hers alone and she’d have the money to do repairs.
She grinned despite her frozen lips, not that she would ever actually do that, this was a matter of survival, but the daydream of it was quite amusing.
Gage swung her back into his arms and crossed over the threshold. Catherine wondered if her icy cheeks were showing the color she felt blooming inside of her. Was this what their wedding night might be like if she said yes to his proposal? Longing burst through her. She wanted to be married to Gage more than she wanted the ranch or adventure, but not without love.
Gage pushed the door closed behind them, it sat crookedly on its hinges. “At least it’s dry in here.”
Catherine shivered. She was so cold, she didn’t think setting fire to herself would warm her up.
“Let’s see what we have.” Gage surveyed the one-room cabin.
A narrow cot was pushed against one wall, a wood-burning stove took center stage in the middle of the room and a tiny alcove housed the kitchen with two chairs and a rickety looking wooden table.
Pulling open a drawer in the kitchen, Gage found a book of matches. A thorough search revealed no logs or coal to start a fire.
“The table,” Catherine said.
Gage nodded. He flipped the table over, kicked at the rickety legs until they broke off and quickly started a fire in the stove.
“It’ll warm up in here a little.” He grabbed a huge pile of blankets and nodded toward the cot. “Why don’t you lay down under these blankets and try to get warm?”
Catherine felt fear bloom in her. All she’d wanted before was to lay down and sleep. Now that her brain had thawed a bit, she realized it would have meant sure death to her. What if she went to sleep and never woke up?
“It’s okay, Cat. You won’t freeze to death in here,” Gage said.
“How did you know what I was thinking?” Catherine whispered through still chattering teeth.
“You have a very expressive face.”
Catherine frowned. If her face was so expressive, did he know that she loved him? If there was any mercy in this world, he would never guess. Catherine wasn’t sure she’d live through the embarrassment. She’d almost rather go back outside and face the cold.