The Husband Hunt (Smoky Mountain Matches)

by Kirst, Karen

  “Is that right?” Velvet voice cloaked in menace, he edged closer, his hulking body looming over her. “I’ve been wondering something. What is the exact nature of your and O’Malley’s relationship?”

  Though adrenaline raced through her body, priming her for flight, Sophie held her ground. “What do you mean?”

  “I know you two are friends, but it seems to me he’s awfully protective of you. Some would even say possessive.” His gaze raked her with awful suggestion. “Are you lovers?”

  She gaped at him. “How dare you! Nathan and I have done nothing to be ashamed of.”

  His large hands snapped around her rib cage. “You’ve gone beyond the bounds of friendship, though. I can see the truth in your eyes.”

  Their complete and utter isolation hit her then, stole the air from her lungs. Maybe this outing hadn’t been her smartest move, after all.

  Alarmed now, she braced her hands on his biceps. “He warned me about you.”

  Thrown off guard, one blond brow quirked. “Did he, now? What did he accuse me of?”

  “Nothing specific.” She met his gaze unflinchingly, unwilling to let him see her fear. “I inferred that you used to be friends. Nathan isn’t a vindictive person, nor is he so shallow as to sever a friendship over a minor dispute. Whatever you did must’ve been pretty bad.”

  “We were never friends. I tolerated him.” His lip curled. “The reason he hates me is because I know he’s a fraud. A weak excuse of a man.”

  Outrage seared her insides. “You’re the fraud, Landon. You pretend to be the perfect gentleman when deep down you’re really a conniving snake.” Pushing against him with all her might, she demanded, “Let me go.”

  He was bigger and stronger than her, and her attempt to break free failed miserably.

  Landon sighed long-sufferingly. “There’s no one around to hear if you protest, sweet Sophie. Don’t fret, all I want is a kiss. You need to see for yourself what a real man is like.”

  His mouth came down hard on hers. Sophie froze. He was really doing this. Forcing himself on her. Taking her lack of resistance as compliance, Landon crushed her to his chest and tilted her head back at an awkward angle.

  Defiance bubbled up, bursting forth in a cry of protest. Her heel came down hard on his toe. He ripped his mouth away. Muttered a stinging oath. Her knee contacted high on his inner thigh, and his hold slackened.

  But before she could scramble out of his reach, his fingers fisted on her dress. She reared back. The sound of material ripping frightened her as nothing ever had before. Drawing on strength she hadn’t known she possessed, she elbowed him in the nose. A cracking noise met her ears. Blood gushed down his face, a face she’d once thought of as boyishly good-looking. Now that she was privy to his true nature, he just looked ugly.

  “I’ll make you pay for this!” he growled.

  Hurrying toward her horse, she mounted clumsily, urging him to flee while she was still half in the saddle. He obeyed. The shakes overtook her halfway down the mountain, but there were no tears, only anger. At Landon for his boorish behavior. And at herself, for not heeding Nathan’s warnings.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When she rode into the yard, Nathan was sitting on her front stoop looking mad enough to spit nails.

  She wasn’t prepared to face him. Not when she was so very vulnerable and desperate for his arms around her, for his reassurances that everything was going to be all right.

  Dismounting on wobbly legs, she paused to bury her forehead in her horse’s flank and to pray for strength. Baby steps, Sophie. Letting go of him is going to take time. Lots of it.

  “I suppose you’re here to check up on me,” she muttered without glancing his way, taking the reins and starting past the cabin in the direction of the barn. Her unbound hair acted as a curtain, masking his view. “Who told you?”

  “My brother.” His boots scuffed the grass as he strode after her.

  Inside the barn, he intercepted her efforts to heft the saddle off, gently nudging her aside. Sophie kept her head bent, taking her time locating the brush amid the assorted tools and tack in an effort to delay the confrontation.

  “Look, I didn’t come here to argue with you.” Lowering the saddle to the ground, he spoke to her back. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine.” Picking up the brush, she gripped it tightly. Please leave before I throw myself in your arms.

  “Funny. You don’t sound fine.” He stepped closer, his nearness welcome and unthreatening. Not like Landon’s. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

  How was it that Nathan was perceptive of her moods and yet blind to her feelings for him? She sighed. No sense hiding this. She was fairly certain she’d broken Landon’s nose. News like that would travel fast.

  Slowly, she faced him. The concern wreathing his handsome features dropped away the instant he spotted her ripped sleeve. Horror widened his eyes. “What happened? What did he do to you?”

  “Nathan—”

  Looking ill, he skimmed his thumb across her lower lip. She jerked. “Your lip is bleeding.”

  She touched her mouth, only now aware of the dull soreness. Landon must have inadvertently bit her when she’d stomped on his foot. She shuddered. “You were right. He’s not a nice man.”

  “Tell me what happened, Sophie,” he urged, panic edging his voice.

  “He kissed me. That’s all.”

  It was just a kiss, Sophie. Nathan’s harsh words taunted her. It meant nothing. Funny, his rejection had wounded her more deeply than Landon’s attack.

  “He hurt you.” A terrible anger turned his face to cold marble, frightening her. “He’s going to pay for that.”

  Nathan wasn’t a violent man, but threaten someone close to him and he became the noble avenger. What if he confronted Landon and got himself into trouble? What if he got hurt?

  She pressed a hand against his hard stomach, determined to calm him. “I’m perfectly fine, Nathan. Honest.” She scraped up a shaky smile. “I didn’t need a rescuer this time. I rescued myself. Aren’t you proud of me?”

  She’d meant it as a joke. He stared at her, more somber than the day his favorite bloodhound died. “I’m very proud of you, Soph. Fighting back took a lot of courage.”

  He carefully skimmed her hair behind her shoulders, his tenderness inviting her to lay her head on his capable chest and cry it out. But she couldn’t. Not if she was to extinguish the love burning like the North Star in her heart and soul.

  “It’s my actions I’m ashamed of. I should’ve told you everything from the beginning.” Pivoting, he sank onto the wooden chest shoved up against the wall and buried his face in his hands. “If not for my pride, you wouldn’t have been in harm’s way.”

  Setting the brush on the shelf, she went to sit beside him. “What happened today was not your fault. By ignoring your warnings, I put myself into an unpredictable situation. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.”

  Shifting so that the barn wall supported him, hands resting on his thighs, he shot her a look filled with regret. “He hurt you.”

  “He hurt you, too, didn’t he?” she countered softly. “What exactly did Landon do? I want to know.”

  A muscle jumped in his tight jaw. “You may find this hard to believe, but he and I were once friends.”

  Gatlinburg’s most popular and quiet, shy Nathan? Yeah, it was a stretch.

  “Imagine my surprise when he started paying attention to me. Here was this kid who had everything going for him—a nice, well-established family, good marks in school and more friends than he knew what to do with—and he wanted to hang out with me. I thought maybe, by associating with him, some of his good traits would rub off on me.” He scowled in self-recrimination. “I quickly learned Landon was a fake. His ego demanded constant fee
ding and, more than anything, he needed to be in control. He must’ve seen me as a weak mark.”

  “Don’t say that. There’s nothing weak about you, Nathan O’Malley.”

  Nathan surged to his feet and commenced pacing, his towering presence shrinking the small structure.

  “At first, we did normal things. Fishing. Swimming. Then one day, we were up in the barn loft playing with his new kittens, and he dared me to throw one over the side.”

  Sophie gasped, dreading his next words. That poor, helpless animal.

  “I refused, of course, but he grabbed the one from my lap and tossed it over, laughing hysterically as I cried over its limp body.”

  Knowing Nathan’s depth of respect for animals, she could only imagine his anguish. “That must’ve been a nightmare.”

  Still pacing, he ruffled his already tousled hair.

  “I was so upset I didn’t speak to him for days. You can imagine how well that went over. At first, he was livid. Then he changed tactics, apologizing and promising never to do it again.”

  “And you believed him.”

  “I did. The cycle kept repeating itself. Stretched on for months. The final straw came in late July, a few days before my eleventh birthday. Landon and I were out at old man Miller’s swimming hole, horsing around, when he lured me up into a tree. He dared me to jump off into the water. It was high, and I didn’t want to do it. When I tried to get down, he pushed me.” Grimacing, he held up his right hand. “Broke two fingers. One of the bones pierced the skin. Now you know why I can’t stand the sight of blood. It was a gruesome injury. Doc had to perform surgery. Ma was beside herself with worry.”

  Nauseous, Sophie forced herself to stay seated instead of going to him. “I recall asking you about the scars. You were evasive.”

  “I didn’t share what happened with anyone outside my immediate family. I swore my brothers to secrecy.”

  “Josh didn’t want to pound Landon?”

  “Oh, yeah, he did, but Pa warned him against it.”

  “Surely other people have discovered his true nature,” she said, amazed she hadn’t seen through Landon’s act before now.

  “He has countless acquaintances and no true friends. He doesn’t let anyone close. Control is his obsession. He’s been very careful not to reveal himself. That’s why he can’t stand me, because I know who he really is.” His expression turned stormy. “Your connection to me is the reason I think he lost it today.”

  Sophie nodded, her hair swinging forward. “He questioned my relationship with you.” She clamped her hands tightly together. “H-he accused us of...”

  He muttered something unintelligible. “I’m going over there.”

  “No!” She whipped her head up. “There’s no need. He won’t be bothering me again.... I broke his nose.”

  His brows collided with his hairline as his jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you did that.” Dismay flitted across his face, followed by grudging admiration. “Wait. Yes, I can. You’re the gutsiest girl I know.”

  She deflected the praise, intentionally dredging up his flippant disregard of what had been the sweetest moments of her life. Just a kiss, Sophie. Attraction. That’s all this is. During the long, arduous ride down the mountain, she’d had ample time to think. To stew over her problems. And she’d had a revelation. If she were to have any chance at all of moving forward, of having a fulfilled and content life, she had to oust him from her heart. The easiest way to do that? Embrace a different future than the one she’d envisioned. Embark on a new life with a new husband. She’d create a new and different family for her and Will.

  “I’ve made a decision.”

  “A decision about what?” Distracted, he was still thinking of Landon, of the attack.

  “My hunt is over. I’ve decided to marry Frank,” she said with as much dignity as she could considering she was sitting there with her dress ripped and hair falling down around her face. “If he’ll have me.”

  He went very still. “This is awful sudden, isn’t it?”

  “As you are aware, time is not on my side.”

  Looking pained, he slipped his hands into his pockets. “Are you certain?”

  Pushing to her feet, she stepped around him. Pressed her hands to her chest where, beneath flesh and bone, her heart cracked and bled drops of regret. “He’ll make a fine husband. We’ve become friends.” Through the opening, a cloud passed over the sun, blocking its radiance.

  Tension-filled silence stretched between them. “If you’re sure that’s what you want, I’ll support your decision.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.” Why did this have to hurt so much? “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go inside and change before I pick up Will from the Lamberts’.”

  “Of course. I’ll go.” In the doorway, he turned back and propped a hand against the frame. “But first I want to apologize for my hasty words yesterday. I was harsh. That was uncalled for. I was angry at myself, not you. I’m the one who instigated the kiss—”

  “Stop.” Holding up a hand, she struggled to maintain her composure. “There’s no need to rehash the details. I’m hoping to become engaged very soon and once that happens, I won’t spare another thought on what was an unfortunate mistake.”

  Liar, an inner voice accused. You’ll never, ever, forget it.

  Nathan flinched a little, then nodded. “Right. Well, that’s my signal to leave. Bye, Sophie.”

  Watching him stride away, she felt utterly bereft and, as usual, alone.

  * * *

  Her parting words, stinging like a thousand fire ant bites, stayed with him all the way home.

  What did you expect after your sorry behavior? You deserved worse and you know it.

  Sophie had made her choice, had she? He tried to be happy for her and felt petty when he couldn’t. Her and Frank? He found it difficult to believe they’d be happy together. Frank was too passive. And everyone knew he didn’t take a single step without his mother’s permission.

  Beneath the dissatisfaction burned a desire to exact retribution on that scum Landon Greene. Something had to be done. Look at what had happened because of his continued silence.

  Reining in Chance at the barn entrance, Nathan hollered for Caleb. His brother appeared after a minute—sweaty, bits of straw sticking to his pant legs, hands propped on his hips, impatience marking his expression. One look at Nathan and he started forward. “What happened?”

  “Sophie finally showed up at her place with a busted lip and her dress ripped.” At the alarm skittering through Caleb’s brown eyes, Nathan held up a hand. “She’s fine. She handled Landon.”

  Caleb’s mouth firmed. “Now it’s our turn,” he said, pivoting on his heel. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  Nathan foolishly allowed his mind to wander to Sophie’s encounter, imagining Landon’s hands on her, forcing himself on her, and the real possibility that things could have gotten much, much worse. If not for her bravery and quick thinking...

  White-hot rage simmered in his veins. His horse shifted nervously beneath him, no doubt detecting Nathan’s wrath, and he smoothed a hand along his powerful neck. “It’s okay, boy.”

  As he waited for Caleb to saddle Rebel, he prayed and asked God for guidance, wisdom and self-control. As much as he longed to plant his fist in Landon’s face, it wouldn’t accomplish a thing, would only spur the bully to further action.

  His brother led his horse out of the barn and mounted up. As they were about to ride out, Josh emerged from the orchard and waved them down, insisting on joining them when he heard what they were planning.

  The ride out to the Greenes’ place was accomplished in tense silence. Nathan was glad of his brothers’ support—this confrontation had been brewing for years—however, the last thing he wanted was for one of them to suffer injury. While neith
er of them went out seeking violence, the pistols in their holsters said they meant business.

  It being Sunday afternoon, a time most families in these parts spent relaxing and visiting with neighbors, they found Jedediah Greene rocking on his porch. At the sight of them entering his yard, he lowered his pipe and came to the top of the steps.

  “Howdy, gentlemen.” Scanning their serious expressions, his bushy brows met over his nose. “What can I do for you?”

  “We need to talk to you and your son,” Nathan said. Jedediah was a reasonable man. Maybe exposing Landon’s true nature to his family would be the wisest course.

  He waved the still-smoking pipe. “Come on in. I think he’s in his bedroom.”

  Dismounting, they left their mounts in the yard and preceded the short, balding man inside. Wanda Greene, who’d been reading at the table, quickly masked her surprise at the sight of three armed men entering her home. Glancing at her husband, she hurriedly stood and offered them coffee, which they refused.

  “Landon,” Jedediah called, “you’ve got company.” As he chose a chair beside the fireplace, he indicated the leather sofa. “Please, have a seat.” He watched them with open curiosity. It wasn’t every day the O’Malley brothers paid a formal visit.

  Nathan hadn’t been here since he was a kid. It was still neat and tidy, the furnishings plain yet sturdily built, pictures on the walls. A home to be proud of.

  Landon strolled into the living area, stopping short at the sight of them, immediately on the defensive. “What do you want?” Hands fisting, he glared at his father. “What’s going on here?”

  “Calm down, son,” Jedediah ordered, clearly confused and embarrassed. “Why would you have a problem with the O’Malleys paying us a visit?”

  Lips thinning, he didn’t answer. At the sight of the bandage covering his nose, the bruising beneath his eyes, Nathan battled the urge to do further damage.

  “You’ll have to excuse his bad mood.” The older man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “He’s in a lot of pain because of his broken nose.”