In His Touch: Blemished Brides Book 2

by Peggy L Henderson

  The last few days had left him with a lot to think about. He had his son to consider now, something that hadn’t entered his mind until a few days ago while lying in bed with a gunshot wound to his chest. Watching Jonah emerge from the shy and serious child he’d taken from that orphanage into a boy who liked to laugh and have fun, had sent odd stirrings through him, and not only because the boy seemed happy. Contentment, and feelings of peace, surrounded him, too.

  Even with his wound still on the mend, he enjoyed the work of fixing things that were in need of repair, enjoyed wrapping his head around something other than hate, and, dammit, enjoyed the company of the woman who made this place a home. While he’d been instantly drawn to her pretty face since the first time he’d laid eyes on her, it was her spirit and determination to live on her land by herself that held him spellbound.

  Cade focused his gaze on Laura again. He’d lain awake for hours last night; his thoughts shifting one minute from formulating new plans after what he’d found out the other day, to how he was attracted to this woman who had saved his life. Late last night, he’d made the firm decision that it was time to act. He wasn’t going to wait around for another visit from the men who had been harassing Laura. He’d cleaned himself up, because there was no need for a disguise anymore. No need to remain hidden. He wanted to be seen and recognized.

  “Don’t hide who you are,” Cade said in a low tone, as if echoing his thoughts.

  Laura stood before him, her hands twisting and wringing the towel in her hands. There was no doubt she itched to wrap the thing around her head. Cade reached for it, and gave a gentle tug, taking it from her hands.

  “What happened, Laura?”

  She lowered her gaze. She turned away from him, and walked to the counter. One arm wrapped around her waist, the other hand clutched her thick braid to the side of her face. Finally, she looked his way, her eyes shimmering. Cade curled his toes in his boots to keep from rushing up to her and pulling her into his arms. The raw pain of loss in her eyes reflected his own feelings from five years ago. His pain had long been replaced with a need for vengeance.

  A faint smile passed over her lips. She squared her shoulders and stood straighter, her eyes locked on his. Cade’s insides warmed. She might be hurting, but it hadn’t doused the fire and determination that lived inside this woman. She’d been dealt a harsh blow, but she’d risen above it. All she needed now was another nudge to get her past the final hurdle. Apparently, someone was trying to stand in her way.

  “It happened last summer. Noah had just bought the farm that spring. It looked like a nice piece of land, just big enough to raise a few horses and some cattle.” She reached her hand up to swipe at some hair on her face. “The property borders a couple of ranches that we could never compete with, and with all the hills and dense forest, Noah was able to get the land for a cheap price. We were told that the other ranchers in the valley have the prime grazing land.”

  “You’ve got some good pastureland, too.”

  “It’s enough for the few mares Noah was able to afford.” She laughed. “After seeing the success of ranches such as the Red Cliff or the Diamond K, he was no longer content to raise a few cattle. He wanted to get into the horse breeding and racing business.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with a man wanting to dream big,” Cade said, his fists clenched tight at his sides.

  Laura shook her head. “No, there isn’t. And now that Noah is gone, I intend to honor those dreams.”

  Determination, mixed with past hurts and fears, blazed in her eyes. Cade’s admiration for her swelled.

  “I’m sorry you lost your husband.” He took a slow step toward her. “And I admire you for wanting to carry on without him. I still don’t understand why you feel the need to hide away.”

  Her stare bore straight into him. “My husband’s death wasn’t an accident, Cade,” she spat. “I have no proof, but that fire didn’t start by itself. It was a miracle that my friend, Sally, and her husband happened to be nearby to see the smoke, or I’d be dead right now, too. They managed to get me to town and treated for my injuries. I owe them my life.”

  Laura turned away from him. Without the towel in her hand she gripped her braided hair until her knuckles turned white. Abruptly, she stared at him again. “I was barely recovered when the owner of the Diamond K Ranch approached me, and made me an offer on the farm. The same offer he’d apparently made to Noah several weeks prior to the fire. After I refused, people in town stopped talking to me. Folks said I looked like an abomination, and I shouldn’t show my face anymore. I had no choice but to cover myself, if I wanted to buy things I needed, or ride all the way to Anaconda.”

  “I figured you were covering up some sort of injury. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  The corners of her eyes twitched. “I don’t want Jonah to see me like this,” she whispered. “He’ll be afraid, just like the other children in town.”

  Cade scoffed. “Kids are only afraid of something when they’re told to be. He’s a bright boy. He knows who you are. A scar ain’t gonna change that.”

  Laura smiled. It was anything but a happy smile. “Children called me names, and their mothers did nothing about it. Apparently, rumors were going around that I had set the fire, in order to kill my husband. Women called me evil, and that what had happened to me was my punishment.”

  Cade clenched his hand into a fist, searching for words to convince her that she had no reason to be ashamed. Anger surged in him for the injustice done to her. Renewed determination flooded him to confront the man responsible for her problems. He touched his fingers to the good side of her face again.

  “You’re a beautiful woman, Laura. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  Her eyes glistened, and Cade took another step closer. He inhaled the soft fragrance of fresh soap, and his insides warmed like they hadn’t done in years. He lowered his head, and touched his mouth to hers. Her lips softened beneath his, and the urge to fold her into his arms rushed through him with a force so strong, he abruptly pulled back.

  “I’m sorry,” he stammered, and cleared his throat. “That was uncalled for.”

  His forehead wrinkled, and he stared at her. She looked stunned at what he’d done. He tensed, fighting the urge to repeat his actions, needing to feel her soft lips on his, to wrap her in his arms and take away the fear and hurt in her eyes.

  To keep from following through with his thoughts, he stepped back, and turned away from her. He headed for the front door like a coward.

  “Why did you shave off your beard, Cade?”

  Laura’s softly spoken question stopped him in his tracks. He faced her fully, and ran a hand across his smooth jaw. She stepped out of the kitchen, her hand still holding her long rope of dark hair along the side of her face to conceal her scar as best she could. The nightdress gave her body a shapeless appearance, but he’d stood close enough to her a moment ago to know that wasn’t the case.

  “I got business I need to take care of,” he said curtly.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Business with whom?”

  “I need to pay someone a long overdue visit, and I thought it was best to show up presentable.”

  Her forehead scrunched in confusion. “I thought you were just passing through these parts. You know people around here?”

  He stepped up to her, forcing his hands at his sides to keep from touching her. “I told you last night there are things you’re better off not knowing about me.”

  Laura eyed him warily. “Don’t go after those men, Cade. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

  Cade locked eyes with her. Then he laughed scornfully. “I think I have a fairly good idea who I’m dealing with, Laura.” His face turned serious. “But I don’t think you do.” Despite his intentions, he reached for her hand. “I need you to trust me.”

  She pulled her hand away, and took a step back. “How can you ask me to trust you? I don’t know anything about you, and you won’t tell me.”
>
  Cade clenched his jaw. If he told her what she wanted to hear, she’d run him off the property. After today, maybe he could be honest with her.

  He straightened. “I ain’t got a right to ask, but I was hoping you’d look after Jonah for me while I’m gone.”

  “You’re leaving now?”

  He almost pulled her into his embrace at the fleeting look of panic in her eyes. He couldn’t afford to let those stirrings for her get out of hand. Once she found out the truth about him, she might hate him. Besides, there was a good chance he might not be coming back.

  “I’d like to borrow a saddle horse, if it’s all right,” he continued.

  “You have a horse.” She glared at him.

  Cade grinned. “I got other things I need to keep my mind on besides a randy stud horse under saddle.”

  Laura squeezed her eyes together for a second, and her lips tightened in a hard line. She had a right to know about him, but now wasn’t the time to tell her. He’d deal with her anger later.

  “I’ll be back before dark,” he said. Without giving her a chance to argue with him further, he yanked the front door open and headed toward the barn.

  The sun poked up from behind the mountains in the distance when he mounted the gelding he’d picked out from the hillside pasture. Laura stood at the door to the house, fully dressed, and wearing her shawl. She hugged her arms around her waist. Jonah would be awake any moment.

  Cade tipped his hat to her and nodded as he rode past, then kneed his horse into a lope. By mid-day, he pointed the animal toward a group of barns and outbuildings in the distance. The ground here was mainly flat, the grass tall and green, and horses dotted the landscape. The sprawling valley was framed on two sides by sloping foothills that rose higher into full-sized mountains in the distance. A white-washed plantation-style home sat about a hundred yards away from the first barn.

  By the time he entered the ranch yard, several men had stopped what they were doing and watched him. Cade pulled his hat further over his head out of habit. Someone would recognize him any minute. None of the wranglers he encountered so far looked familiar to him. Five years was a long time, and men moved on.

  He stopped his horse in front of the large house, and leisurely pulled his leg over the back of the saddle. He looped the ends of the reins around the hitching rail, and walked up the porch steps to the house.

  “Cade?” A loud voice called behind him. “I’ll be damned. You’re back.”

  Cade turned. A grin formed on his face.

  “Woody,” he greeted. He waited for the other man to come to him, and held out his hand.

  Woody’s smile widened. His spurs jingled as he approached on bowed legs, a testament to his many years in the saddle, breaking colts. “We was wondering if you was ever coming back,” he said, pumping Cade’s arm up and down like the handle on a waterspout. “When word got out that you was released from prison, we was ready to celebrate with you, but you never showed up.”

  “Had other things to do first,” Cade said absently.

  “Well, better late than never, they always say, right?”

  Cade directed his attention to the house, and knocked on the heavy oak door. Not a second later, it pulled open.

  “Look who’s come back,” Woody nearly shouted at the man who stared at Cade from inside the house. “Cade’s finally come back.”

  The man, dressed in a black three-piece suit, the chain of his pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat pocket, shot an annoyed glance toward Woody, then his eyes returned to Cade.

  “I’ve been expecting you,” he said, his voice businesslike. He stepped to the side, and Cade entered the home. The scent of cigar smoke filled the air.

  The man closed the door behind him, and wordlessly walked through the entry hall to a double-doored room. Cade followed on his heels. Once they were both in the room, the man finally turned and acknowledged him.

  “So, you still go by the name Cade?”

  Cade’s jaw clenched. “It’s what my wife called me.”

  The man’s eyes twitched. His lips tightened, then he smiled.

  “Can I pour you a drink?” he asked, and held his hand out to indicate several glass decanters on the counter that lined one wall of the room.

  “I ain’t here for a drink,” Cade said through clenched teeth. His pulse pounded at his temples.

  The man chuckled. “Of course not,” he said smugly. “I was honestly expecting you months ago. So, what’s kept you away?”

  Cade locked his eyes on the man facing him. Renewed hatred welled up inside him.

  “That’s my business. I’m here for only one reason.”

  The man’s brows rose. “Oh? And what would that be?”

  Cade took a step forward, and glared at him. “Tell your men to stay the hell away from Laura Engelman.”

  Chapter Nine

  Laura closed the book in her hand, and stretched her arm in a slow motion to set the leather-bound volume on the round little table next to the rocking chair. She turned down the brightness of the lamp, and shifted in her seat. The flames in the hearth created dancing shadows on the walls, the logs crackling and popping in a relaxing cadence.

  She touched the top of Jonah’s head, gliding her fingers through his thick, dark hair, and leaned forward to place a soft kiss at his temple. The boy moved his head against her shoulder, and his arm fell to the side. Laura smiled. He’d fallen asleep a few minutes ago while she was in the middle of reading about Tom Sawyer’s adventures with Huck Finn.

  The boy had listened attentively, immersed in Tom’s escapades, playing pirates on a deserted island with his friends. Several times, she’d wanted to close the book, but he’d begged her for just a few more pages each time, until finally, his eyes had become so heavy, they’d fallen shut.

  Laura glanced at the grandfather clock opposite her. The large timepiece had come with the house, and Noah had restored it to working condition. The chimes had rung ten times nearly half an hour ago. She suppressed her own yawn, then leaned forward to stand. She wrapped one arm around Jonah’s middle, the other behind his knees, and lifted him. Even in sleep, his hand crept up and around her neck, and he clung to her while she carried him to his bed.

  Laura’s chest warmed, even as her insides seethed with the anger she’d tried to suppress all day. She placed Jonah in his bed, and pulled the covers over him. Quietly, she closed the door and returned to the main room. She held her hand to her mouth and yawned.

  Damn that man for riding off this morning without telling her where he was going. He’d said he’d be back before dark. The sun had set quite a while ago. Annoyance had alternated with worry all day. What if Cade didn’t come back?

  He harbored a lot of secrets, and if he returned, she was going to demand some answers. If he’d gone after Jack’s men, how would he know where to find them? Dozens of scenarios played over and over in her mind while she paced the main room.

  Sally’s question whether he might be one of Jack’s men had surfaced several times already today. Laura shook her head again at the thought. It made no sense that they would open fire at one of their own, and the other day, they hadn’t given any indication that they knew him. Cade had defended her, and he’d been ready to shoot them if they didn’t leave.

  When the clock chimed eleven times, she knelt to bank the fire in the hearth. Despite the late hour, she was wide awake. Her anger with Cade for riding away this morning without an explanation couldn’t erase his tender touch, the sincere look of caring in his eyes, and that kiss.

  “It didn’t mean what you wanted it to,” she mumbled.

  She smirked. He’d pulled back abruptly, and turned away from her, which was the expected reaction. How could any man find her attractive? He’d quickly covered up his surprised expression when he’d first walked into the house. He’d seen some of her scars, but not the full extent. She’d been so caught up in the moment, in the way he’d looked at her without revulsion in his eyes, she’d allowed hersel
f to see things that weren’t there. His handsome, clean-shaven face had surprised her as much as her ugly scars had, no doubt, startled him.

  “You’re lonelier than you realized, Laura,” she chided, and stood from kneeling. “He was being polite, buttering you up so he could leave Jonah with you and ride away.”

  Laura straightened, and sighed, staring unfocused at the last of the glowing embers in the hearth. She unwrapped her shawl from her head and draped it around her shoulders.

  Cade’s words rang in her ear.

  “You’re a beautiful woman, Laura.”

  Noah had never called her beautiful, not while he was her beau, and certainly not after they’d married. He’d often said that he desired her, but he’d never complimented her looks, or anything else, for that matter. Even when she’d told him she loved him, he’d rarely ever returned the sentiment.

  A horse whinnied from outside. Cade’s stud horse was better at alerting her to visitors than a watchdog. Laura’s heart jumped in her chest, and she rushed to the window. The darkness made it impossible to see anything. Her eyes fell on the rifle she kept propped by the front door. She reached for it, her hand trembling. Had Cade returned, or was someone else out there?

  The even cadence of a horse’s footfalls drew closer. The animal moved at a slow walk, definitely not in any hurry. Laura’s eyes fell to the door. She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d bolted it hours ago. Her breath caught in her throat as she strained her ears to listen. Low nickering noises came from the stallion. A gate squeaked on its hinges, and a man spoke in a low tone.

  Laura leaned her back against the door and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled her shawl up over her head out of habit, and unbolted the door. She pulled back on the latch, gripping tightly to her rifle.

  “Cade?” she called out into the darkness.

  A squeal of surprise left her mouth, and she nearly dropped her weapon. She stumbled backward, and clamped her hand over her mouth. The large silhouette of a man stood right outside the door. He rushed forward, and grabbed for her arm.