Laura took a step to the side, tugging her arm free of his grip. Cade eased up, and finally released her completely.
“How?” she demanded. Her voice held a cold edge.
Cade inhaled deeply.
“When Trace showed me where a bunch of sluices had been built along one of the creeks adjacent to his property, I knew I had to act. I decided right then to ride to Anaconda, and register a gold claim on your property in your name.”
Laura’s eyes widened.
Cade drew in another lungful of air, and braced himself. “I also had the deed to your homestead changed.”
“You did what?” she hissed.
Cade grinned. “Let’s just say, the banker in Anaconda who holds your deed knows me.”
“What did you do, Cade?” Her eyes blazed with anger. “You can’t convince me you aren’t like your father if you stoop to his methods of bribing and strong-arming people.”
She leaned forward, and Cade forced himself to keep from kissing her. She’d had her dander up before, but she was downright angry this time, which somehow made her more irresistible.
“You’re right, Laura. I stooped to my father’s level, but it only required a friendly bribe. No strong-arming,” he said. “I did it in your best interest. I had a clause added to your deed that ownership could never transfer to anyone without your express written permission.” He paused, and added, “And that includes that your property won’t even be transferable to any future husband.”
Laura blinked, and her eyes widened like saucers. Her brows shot up. “Husband?” she shrieked. “What makes you think I’d get married again?”
This was certainly not how he’s envisioned proposing to her, and the timing was wrong, but her question had opened the door. Cade reached into his shirt pocket. The band slid smoothly between his fingers.
“Maybe because you want to make an honest man out of me, and keep me in line from now on so I never stoop to any underhanded, strong-arming ways again.”
“Cade . . . Jack Kincaid, what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about this.” He held up the ring, and reached for her hand. The little band nearly slipped through his shaky fingers. “Mrs. Laura Engelman, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He held his breath. Laura stared at the band. If she didn’t say something soon, he might pass out from lack of air.
“You want to marry me?” she whispered so quietly, he had to strain his ears to hear.
“Yes, fool woman, I want to marry you. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly. Will this ring work as a bribe, or should I get on one knee?” He winked. “I know you’d never let anyone strong-arm you.” He covered up his apprehension that he was about to get rejected with a nervous laugh.
Chapter Nineteen
Laura squeezed her eyes together for a fraction of a second. She mentally shook her head. Had she heard correctly? Cade had just asked her to marry him. Her eyes fell on the shiny gold band he held between trembling fingers. It looked so delicate in his large, work-roughened hands. She’d never seen a gold band up close before, much less ever expected a man to give her one. Noah certainly hadn’t been able to afford one.
Slowly, she shook her head. She lifted her gaze to Cade. The expression on his face was almost comical. He looked as if he was going to be sick. He was white as a sheet, his forehead glistening with perspiration.
Laura replayed everything that had transpired in the last hour or so, every word he had said. Finding out that the man she cared for more deeply than anyone she’d ever known was none other than the son of the man who had made her life a living hell, was too much to comprehend.
“I can’t,” she blurted, shaking her head.
“Don’t finish that thought,” Cade interrupted. “Please, just think before you give me your answer. Think about what I’ve said, then look at me, and decide if I’m being sincere or not.”
She raked her teeth over her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. Her vision blurred. Dammit! She didn’t want to cry in front of him. She was in love with this man, but how could she possibly trust him, much less agree to marry him?
Cade didn’t say anything else. He stuck the ring back in his pocket, and then just stood there, looking at her, caressing her with his eyes. Her cheeks and arms tingled from the memory of his touch, always so tender, and so caring. He’d seen past her disfiguring scars, and said he loved her, when nearly everyone else made her out to be a monster.
A man and woman walked closely past them, two children in tow that quarreled loudly. Laura glanced up, then around the clearing beyond the buggies. Off in the distance, Ethan Mallory was playing catch with Jonah. Her heart squeezed tightly in her chest. She loved the little boy as much as she loved his father. Was it possible that Cade was sincere? For over a year, she’d been mistrustful of folks for the way they’d treated her. Cade had never seen her as a woman with ugly scars. The way he’d looked at her from the first day he was conscious after getting shot, he’d gazed upon her as if she was a desirable woman.
She turned her head to look up into his eyes. Even now, there was only tenderness in those brown depths. And love. . . and a look of pure anguish. Those emotions were raw, and real.
Laughter drifted from behind a nearby buggy that was parked under a tree. Not a second later, Mathilda and her friend emerged from behind the vehicle.
“You were wrong, Agnes. He must want something pretty desperately if he’s still willing to be seen with her. I just wonder if Mr. Kincaid knows that Laura Engelman is pursuing his son. It’s disgraceful.”
Agnes giggled. “He probably puts a pillow case over her head so he doesn’t have to look at her when . . . you know.”
Cade’s head whipped around to the nasty women. “I’m about to do something I’ve never done, and that’s physically hurt a female,” he growled.
Laura reached her hand up to grab his arm when he was about to stride off.
“They’re not worth it, Cade,” she whispered. “Don’t pay them any mind.”
His body relaxed slightly from having gone stiff and rigid with tension. Slowly, he turned to face her. A look of pure admiration flashed in his eyes.
“Walk away, just like you told me earlier. Let’s not give them the upper hand again,” she said, widening her eyes and nodding at him for emphasis.
Cade’s lips rose in a quick smile. He reached for her wrist, and led her away from Sally’s buggy, and out of earshot of the women. He didn’t stop until he rounded the corner behind the whitewashed church. Then he stopped, and faced her, still holding tightly to her hand.
“You’re a remarkable woman, Laura. You’ve had to put up with this sort of nonsense for a year, yet they haven’t whipped you, no matter how vicious they get. I’m just sorry this is all because of the bastard whose name I’m cursed with.”
His arm muscles bunched and tightened beneath her palm.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” She offered a slow smile.
The folks in town may not have beaten her, but hadn’t she avoided them after they started calling her names and making false accusations? She’d covered her head in shame, and hadn’t come to town unless absolutely necessary.
She looked up at the man standing before her. Until Cade came along, she’d been hiding like a coward. He had changed the way she saw herself. He’d made her feel beautiful, and desirable, made her laugh, protected her. And . . . she loved him.
Cade squeezed her hand. “It’s because of him that you lost so much. Jack Kincaid has ruined so many lives.”
“Someday he’ll pay for his misdeeds.”
Cade ran a hand across his face. “My mother told me that when he started making money in the cattle business, he became more and more ruthless. She begged him for years to stop with his underhanded business practices. She even urged me to leave, after my father recruited me as one of his men who did his dirty work for him.” He laughed scornfully. “His top man at the time taught me well. I learn
ed to be good with a gun, and how to effectively coerce and bully people.”
“Is your mother at the Diamond K?”
That he spoke freely of his mother and personal matters compelled Laura to ask. She kept her hand on his arm, and the tense muscles softened under her touch.
“She died nearly seven years ago,” Cade murmured. “Before Jack moved his cattle to Montana. I thought he’d changed after her death, that he wanted to make a fresh start.” He gave a bitter laugh. “It didn’t take a month after coming here before his old ways re-emerged.”
“What happened?” Laura whispered.
Cade raised his head to stare at something in the distance. Laura followed his gaze. Jonah was still playing ball with the two men.
“He had his eye on some horses owned by a Blackfoot trader named Standing Buffalo,” Cade said, as if to himself. He still stared at his son. “When the Indian didn’t want to sell, he told me to do what needed to be done to get those animals.” Cade sneered. “I was barely of age, and too dumb to tell him I didn’t want to do his dirty work anymore.”
“But then you met Jonah’s mother,” Laura guessed.
Cade’s head turned to her. “Yeah. I met Jonah’s mother. She was Standing Buffalo’s daughter. Jack told me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t tolerate an Indian woman at the ranch.” He laughed. “And that if I married her, he would disown me. It was the best thing he could have said. I packed my things, and moved in with her family at the trading post. We married, she had Jonah, and then . . .” He broke off, and started pacing, raking his fingers through his hair. “And then, Jack had to ruin it all. After he had her killed, I was framed for murder, and he sent my son to an orphanage as far away as possible, thinking I’d never find him again.”
Laura’s hand reached up. When he stopped, she touched his face with her palm. Cade covered her hand with his.
“But you did find him.” She offered a smile. The pain in his eyes lifted, and was replaced with a warm gaze directed at her.
“And one way or another, I’m gonna bring Jack down to where he can’t hurt Jonah, or you, ever again,” he sneered, hatred blazing in his eyes.
The muscles along his jaw tightened beneath her fingers, and he gripped her hand harder. Laura hesitated only slightly, then stepped closer, rose on her toes, and touched her mouth to his.
“I love you, Jack Kincaid,” she whispered against his lips. “I don’t believe you’re like your father.”
Cade’s arm wrapped around her, and he pulled her to him. His hand let go of hers, sliding his palm along her jaw behind her neck. He held her to him and parted his lips to deepen the kiss. Laura leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his back and held tightly to him.
“I don’t like the sound of that name,” he said when he finally eased his head back.
Laura smiled up at him. “All right.” She cocked her head to the side. “I’ll call you Cade if you prefer, but would that then make me Mrs. Cade?”
Cade stared at her, and his lips widened in a grin. “Only if you agree to marry me.”
Laura tilted her head, and narrowed her eyes. “I think you might have to bribe me with another kiss.”
All the air left her lungs when Cade pulled her into a fierce embrace, and lifted her off her feet. He kissed her with such passion, her knees weakened and the world began to spin around her. Not until someone tugged at her skirts and called Cade’s name repeatedly did he let go of her.
“Don’t hurt Miss Laura,” Jonah cried, with a frantic look on his face.
Cade released her, and began to chuckle. Laura shot him a disapproving look. She knelt to the boy’s eye level, and held out her arms. Jonah fell against her, and she hugged him close. The boy had obviously never seen two people show affection for one another.
“He wasn’t hurting me, Jonah.” She looked up at Cade, and smiled. “Your pa would never hurt me.”
Cade’s eyes smoldered with her words. He grinned, his features and demeanor completely changed from several minutes ago.
“Everything all right here?”
Laura raised her head to see Trace Hawley, his wife Katie, Sally and Ethan approach.
“Has anyone seen the preacher?” Cade asked.
“I think he was eating pie a while ago with the ladies from the sewing circle,” Ethan said.
Laura stood, peeling Jonah’s arms from around her neck. “Preacher?” Her eyebrows rose.
Cade reached for her hand. “I ain’t leaving town until I make an honest woman out of you. Rumor has it that you’ve been living in sin with a man, and who knows what’s been going on out at that farm of yours.” He winked at her.
“Well, I think this might go on record as the shortest courtship ever,” Trace whispered behind them.
Katie cleared her throat. “Are you sure? I don’t remember you courting me before we married, Trace Hawley.”
Sally and Ethan chimed in with their own remarks, but Laura tuned them out. She smiled up at Cade.
“Does that mean you plan to move back into the house?” she teased. “Now that the barn has a roof, you might like it better out there.”
“I think I’ve had my fill of sleeping with the horses and chickens.” Cade leaned forward and whispered against her ear. “That’s why I think it’s best that we tie the knot before we leave here today.” A shiver ran down Laura’s spine at his words.
“I suppose one of us had better find the preacher,” Trace said, looking at Ethan, an amused expression on his face. “Since we’re already at the church.”
‘What do you say, Jonah?” Cade lifted his son into his arms. “Would it be all right if I marry Miss Laura, so that you can call her mama from now on?”
Laura blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Yeah,” Jonah nearly shouted. “And I wanna call you papa from now on, too.”
Sally rushed up to Laura, and hugged her tightly. Katie did the same. “We’re so happy for you, Laura,” she said.
Half an hour later, Laura stood in front of Reverend Edwards, gripping tightly to Cade’s hands while the preacher spoke the vows. Behind them stood their closest friends, the Hawleys and the Mallorys, as witnesses to the occasion. When Cade opened the door to leave the church, a small crowd had gathered outside. Word had apparently traveled fast that there was a wedding ceremony being performed at church, today of all days.
Laura’s heart pounded, and her breath caught in her throat, staring at the gathering of people. Some whispered, others just gaped at them in surprise. Cade held tight to her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Mathilda and Agnes gasped loudly, standing off to the side. Their mouths nearly dropped to the ground.
“Meet the new Mr. and Mrs. Jack Kincaid,” Trace said loudly to the crowd, stepping around Laura and Cade. He led his wife down the church steps, and was followed by Sally and Ethan. Jonah peered out from behind Laura, grabbing tightly to her skirt.
Cade tugged at her waist, pulling her to him. “I love you, Mrs. Cade,” he murmured, and dipped his head to kiss her soundly on the mouth.
Several people began to clap slowly. Others soon joined, and some even cheered.
“I think we’re done celebrating with the town,” Cade whispered. “What do you say we head home?”
“You don’t want to stay for the fireworks?” Laura raised her eyebrows.
Cade’s grin widened. “I think I’d rather create some fireworks of our own.”
Laura’s heart flipped in her chest. For lack of words, she simply nodded. Her knees trembled when her husband led her down the steps of the church. She threw a hasty glance at the crowd. The two women who’d been the biggest thorns in her side still gaped at her and Cade. Laura returned the hesitant, uncomfortable smiles of some of the women who’d openly ostracized her. She raised her chin, wrapped her arm around Cade’s, and reached for Jonah’s hand. Who cared what these people thought? She had her family, and that’s all she needed.
Cade led her to the Mallorys’ buggy.
“We’ll get a ride home with Trace and Katie,” Sally said when she offered them the use of the vehicle. “Ethan can come by in the morning to pick it up.”
“As long as he doesn’t show up too early.” Cade winked at Laura, whose face flamed.
He helped her up into the rig after Jonah scrambled into the seat ahead of them. Laura adjusted her skirts around her legs, her heart still pounding. She’d gotten married today! The whole notion still seemed too unreal. She smiled at her husband when he climbed into the buggy next to her.
“I never thought the fabric you bought for me would turn into my wedding dress,” she whispered.
Cade reached for her hand in her lap. “I couldn’t imagine you in anything prettier,” he said, and leaned around Jonah to kiss her again. He tipped his hat to the folks who still stood and watched, then clucked to the horse and headed out of town.
Chapter Twenty
“I made a huckleberry pie for the picnic. I’m sorry you didn’t get to taste it,” Laura said, wringing her hands in her lap.
Cade focused on the rhythmic swinging of the horse’s back as the animal trotted along, pulling the buggy toward the homestead. Without turning his head, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. His lips twitched. Laura was nervous. She sat ramrod straight, her eyes directed anywhere but at him.
“I had some, and it was the best pie ever,” Jonah said, his voice filled with exuberance. “I even helped her make it. I picked most of the berries. Too bad you weren’t there to have any, Cade . . . I mean, Papa.”
Cade held the reins in his hands, his thumbs on top of the leathers. He rested his elbows on his knees, and moved his hands slightly in tune with the bobbing of the horse’s head. His son calling him papa warmed his heart.
“I’m sure Miss Laura will make another pie for us if we ask real nice,” he said. “I’m sorry I missed it.”
In His Touch: Blemished Brides Book 2 Page 14