Jeff clenched his back teeth. “Really—you haven’t explained how she arranged all this without leaving the house.”
“I don’t owe you no kind of explanation, Hicks. But just so’s you’ll know, she sent me letters. Seth Wickwire, that tall, big-eared kid with the rabbit teeth who delivered groceries out here once a week? He brought them to me at the livery stable.”
“Yeah? Where are those letters now?
“I did like she said—I threw ’em away. But Floyd’ll vouch for me.”
As if Floyd Endicott were an upstanding citizen whose word was his honor. Jeff clenched his jaw so tightly his head ached. He wanted to call Cooper a liar and shove his words back down his throat. But, even though the man had never given Jeff a single reason to trust anything he said, in this case, he believed him. God, was there no end to Olivia’s hatred of him? She was willing to do anything, hurt anybody, including her sister, to either get rid of Jeff or get even with him. He’d worked his ass off, preparing and planting this stupid field. Now, just to spite him, Olivia had destroyed the whole crop. To make matters worse, while Allie pinched and saved every penny she possibly could, Olivia had pissed away twenty dollars, no small sum. Obviously it didn’t matter if it meant taking the food out of her own mouth—if she’d thought that far ahead. It was just so damned senseless—and maybe that was what enraged him most of all, the sheer stupidity of it.
Jeff took a deep breath. His anger made his hands shake, but his voice was steady and dead calm. He leaned forward to look down into Cooper’s bony face. “You get off this land right now, Matthews, and don’t ever come here again. Go fast, like the devil was after you. And don’t look back, not even once—if you do, I swear to God you might find me behind you.”
Nothing Jeff ever said or done seemed to have made much of an impression on Cooper. He was stupid and mean, a bully and a blowhard who enjoyed watching other people squirm. But like all bullies, he was also a coward. Jeff’s anger rolled out of him, as palpable in the air as the charged feeling right before a lightning storm. He no longer felt any regret for taking Cooper’s son—he still grieved for the boy, but not for his father. All he felt was white-hot rage. Cooper must have sensed it too, because Jeff smelled his fear now. It came to him in a sickening green wave, from beneath the stench of the man’s sweat and body odor.
It felt good—freeing—to watch Cooper grow pale with fear, his face suddenly pasty white in the thin light of the breaking day. It was Cooper’s turn to squirm. Maybe a better man would have risen above that kind of pettiness. If Jeff wasn’t that kind of man, he didn’t care.
“I a-ain’t afraid of you.”
“The hell you aren’t. Go—before I take you apart with my bare hands, you no-account, weaselly bastard.”
As though spurred by a rowel, Cooper wheeled and lurched into a run across the plowed rows, taking the same general route that the wagon had. When the freshly turned earth gave way under his plodding boots, making him stagger and nearly fall, he didn’t slow, and he didn’t look back. Not even once.
~~*~*~*~~
Allie tried to go back to sleep, but she kept listening for Jeff’s return. He was back in only a few minutes.
She saw his silhouette in the dim room and watched as he shucked his clothes. When he climbed into bed with her, tension radiated from him. He smelled of the night air and, not unpleasantly, sweat.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
He pulled her into his arms and sighed. “It is now.”
She smiled and let sleep take her once more.
~~*~*~*~~
Allie awoke to find herself alone in Jeff’s bed. A sleepy-eyed glance around the room told her that the sun was already up. Everything was bathed in the bright yellow-pink light of a summer dawn.
Oh, had last night really happened? Had she given herself to Jeff in that frenzy of heart-pounding passion and tender intimacy? She rolled over and looked at the low ceiling and smiled. Yes, she had and it had been wonderful. She’d given him her heart and body, and in exchange, he’d offered her sanctuary.
It might be just the chance to change her life that she’d dreamed of. Could she go with Jeff? Just the idea of escaping from this place made her heart feel lighter. They’d go someplace where no one knew either of them. No longer would she be one of the crazy Ford sisters. He wouldn’t be the sheriff who had fallen from grace. Maybe they could put all of the grim days behind them now.
Then her happiness dimmed, and doubt crept in. What if Jeff never opened his heart to her? The scars on his spirit might be so great that no amount of love she gave him could change that. Could she bear living with a man who not only wasn’t her husband, but who didn’t even love her?
And even if she decided that she could accept such a life, she would have to tell was Olivia she was leaving, and Allie didn’t think her sister would receive the news with grace or gladness. The promise that Allie had made her to father would demand that she bring Olivia with her to her new home, wherever it might be. It was her duty, regardless of whatever Olivia had done. Dear God, Allie didn’t want to. She couldn’t. She didn’t believe that Jeff or Olivia would want it either.
She loved Olivia, she assured herself feverishly. She had to love her, she was her sister. Olivia wouldn’t be destitute. There wasn’t much of their father’s money in the bank in town, but she would have the farm. And although she gave every impression of not knowing how to care for herself, she’d watched Allie for years. Surely she’d learned something.
First things first. Clutching the sheet to her chest, Allie swung her legs over the side of the bed. She had to get back to the house and get dressed. Jeff was already up and around, and he’d be wanting his breakfast. She was famished herself this morning. And she didn’t want to risk having her sister catch her out here. She threw back the sheet and pulled her nightgown from the footboard where Jeff had thrown it. Wiggling into the garment, she plucked her shawl from the floor and tidied the bed.
Standing in the doorway, she took a last look at the place where Jefferson Hicks had given her hope, and his body and soul to hold, even for just a little while. Then, with a secret smile tucked in her woman’s heart, she sped across the yard to the house.
~~*~*~*~~
Allie hummed through her chores and created a special breakfast consisting of cornbread, bacon, and fried potatoes. Their redolence filled the kitchen. She decided that she and Jeff would eat together here in the kitchen this morning, so she set the table for two with nice napkins and the good china. It might be a rehearsal for all the mornings to come when they would do this every day. Well, maybe not with good china and table linen, she thought as she poured the coffee. But she would make certain that Jeff had a hearty breakfast to start his days.
It was a beautiful morning, warm but not too hot yet. Outside the birds in the orchard were calling back and forth, and a light breeze rustled the trees. Had there ever been a more spectacular day? she wondered, her heart as light as swan’s-down. She knew it was possible for one day to make a huge difference in a person’s life—she simply had never considered the possibility that the difference could be positive.
Expecting Jeff to come to the back door any second, she served the food so that it would look welcoming. Except for the one disastrous dinner, he’d never eaten in the house.
But the minutes ticked by and Jeff did not appear. She put the bacon and potatoes back on the stove. When a half hour had passed, an odd sense of foreboding crowded in on her, and she decided to look for him. He wasn’t in the yard and the barn door was closed, thank God. She walked the perimeter of the house, in case he was working on some task, but still she couldn’t find him.
At last she decided to check the field. As she walked past her parents graves, she purposely averted her gaze. If some weed had invaded again, or if the flowers planted there needed water, she didn’t want to know. Not now, not today.
When the garden came into view, she saw Jeff standing at its edge, tall and broad-sho
uldered, staring at it as if he’d never seen it before. She was pleased to see that he wore the shirt she’d made for him. Dear God, but he was a handsome man.
“Jeff?” she called.
He didn’t acknowledge her.
Well, what on earth— Her sense of uneasiness grew as she approached him. “Jeff, didn’t you hear—” And then she saw, and her light heart felt as if it had fallen to her knees. “Oh, dear God—”
He continued to stare at the ruined garden, an empty sack clutched in one hand at his side. “I’ve looked at every inch of it, Allie. Nothing can be saved.”
It was obvious why not. All the rows, so carefully plowed and seeded and well on their way with established plants, were mangled and ground into the earth, and the soil was as churned up as if an army had marched through here. Scraps of dirty sacking lay here and there, and what was that white frost coating everything and the peculiar briny smell?
“What—what—?” She couldn’t even get the question out.
“Cooper Matthews and Floyd Endicott came out here with a wagon during the night. They drove it back and forth over the vegetables, and then for good measure they finished off the job with bags of salt.” He held the white cotton sack out to her. It had been torn down the middle, maybe with a knife or some other pointed tool. When she held the two halves together, she read Diamond Salt.
“Salt!”
He just stared at the field, his arms cross over his chest. “Yup. Nothing is going to grow in this ground for a long time.”
“How do you know it was them?”
“I saw them both. I woke up when I heard their horse and I came out here with the axe to chase them off. I was so angry when I realized what they’d done, I figured I’d better leave it in the blackberries—I honestly didn’t know what I’d do it I had it in my hands. They had an argument before I could talk to them, and Floyd left by himself in the wagon. I threw Cooper off the property and told him to never come back.”
“But—but, why would they do such a thing?” She couldn’t control the quiver in her voice. “Do they hate us so much?”
“Well, I know they hate me, but that’s never been a secret. There’s more.” He sighed once, as if trying to decide how to tell her.
“M-more?”
“Cooper told me that Olivia paid him twenty dollars to come out here and do this.”
She stared at Jeff. “And you believe him?”
He turned and looked directly into her eyes. “Yes, I do. I think she did it to get even with me for throwing a bucket of water on her. And probably just for being here. She sent him a letter that she asked Seth Wickwire to carry back to town for her.”
Allie sputtered for air and words, having trouble finding either. The accusation was preposterous, and her automatic defense of her sister jumped into play. “I agree that Olivia has behaved badly, but I can’t believe she’d do something like this! Jeff, she’s never even seen Cooper Matthews.”
“I’ll bet she did the day he came out here and raised hell because you’d given ‘his’ job to me, his boy’s murderer. She’s even talked to him by now. I saw her running back to the house last night while those two men were out here, and she saw me. She waited on the porch.”
Allie opened her mouth to dispute his theory, then closed it again. She remembered that Olivia had seen Cooper that day, and heard him, too. She’d even overheard him promise revenge against Jeff. Allie wished it wasn’t true, but she realized it was.
“Oh, God, oh, God. I’m sorry, Jeff. I’m so sorry.” She lowered her head for a moment and gazed blankly at the salt sack in her hand, ashamed of her sister and feeling as if she bore part of that shame as well, simply by being related. Then she looked at the garden again. Jeff had worked so hard out here with Kansas, that balky mule, and the plow. He’d labored with pure grit and determination to fix the seed drill. He’d planted each row so carefully to satisfy her exacting demands. He’d planted the border of violets to appeal to her heart. “All that work. For nothing.”
He glared at her with rock-hard eyes. “I’m not going to take this, Allie. Not for another goddamned minute. I just can’t. I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror if I do. And if I let it go now, it will only get worse and worse.”
She turned away from his set face. Her heart clenched, then sank from her knees to her feet. Of course, he wouldn’t take it. Why would a man want to tie himself to a woman who’d brought as much trouble to him as she had? She tried to swallow the knot forming in her throat, but it remained there, aching enough to bring tears to her eyes. She would let him go without railing at him about broken promises. She’d been a fool to think that she could escape to that life she’d envisioned for herself.
Her throat was as dry as powder. “I-I understand, Jeff. I’ll pay you for the whole season, just as if you’d stayed till harvest time. If Sheriff Mason objects, I’ll explain everything to him. You should get on with your life.”
He put a finger under her chin to draw her face back to his. “What are you talking about?”
God, did she have to go into excruciating detail and lacerate her heart even further? She gripped the salt sack in her fist. “You want to go, so go. You’re right—this is too much for anyone to take. You certainly have every reason to leave. I won’t stand in your way.”
His expression melted and comprehension softened the look in his eyes. “Oh, Allie.” He took her into a fierce embrace and pressed her head to his shoulder. “Allie, honey, no. I don’t want to leave. I can’t leave you.” He held her back at arm’s length and peered into her wet eyes. His own voice was rough with emotion. “Did you forget what I told you last night? I need you beside me, Althea Ford. You made me remember what it means to be a man. In every possible way.” He kissed her and pulled her back into his arms.
“Ohhhh . . . ” Her relief was so great, her knees so watery, she would have fallen if he hadn’t held her upright. She wrapped her arms around his slim waist and gripped the back of his shirt in both hands.
“What I meant was I’m not going to let Cooper push me around anymore. Ever since Wes got killed, he’s egged me on, trying to provoke a showdown. I’ve mostly let him get away with it because I figured I was on borrowed time anyway, and I felt so damned bad about his son. I still do, but I know I felt a hundred times worse about Wesley than his own father did. I’m not going to let him get away with it this time. Even if Olivia did pay him to do this, you own half of this farm and you can press charges against him and Floyd.”
“Will I have to accuse Olivia too? I won’t be able to do that, Jeff.”
“No. They were trespassing. If they bring her into it, no one is going to believe them. And if Will asked her if she ordered this, what do you think she’d say?”
Allie nodded, understanding his implication. “She would deny it.” How had her sister gone so wrong? Worse yet, how could Allie have been so blind not to see her true self? Amos Ford may not have been much of a father to Allie, but he’d doted on Olivia, and he’d set a good example by being forthright and hardworking. Since he’d been gone, Allie had taken his place. She’d tried to do her best by Olivia, to remind her to be respectful, loving, and honest. She seemed to have learned nothing but selfishness and treachery.
“Come to town with me, then, and we’ll talk to Will Mason,” Jeff said, looking down at her. “At least you’ve got a good witness—me.”
“We’ll go. But we might as well eat the breakfast I cooked. The sheriff probably won’t be in his office for another hour or so.”
Jeff turned her back toward the house with his arm looped over her shoulders, leaving the garden that would never see another harvest until the soil recovered from Olivia’s latest shenanigan. The woman he would soon call sister-in-law was filled with poisonous obsessions, Jeff realized, and to such a frightening degree that it was impossible to predict what she might do next.
The idea filled him with an icy dread, not for himself—Olivia couldn’t hurt him. But Allie . . . he want
ed to protect her from any more hurtful ugliness. The best way he could do that was to get Allie away from here.
~~*~*~*~~
Just as Allie finished washing the breakfast dishes, she heard Olivia come down the stairs. She slumped into the kitchen, cool and pouting, and acting as though she’d been wronged. She wore a dove-gray dress with a berry-colored sash and her hair was tied up in a matching ribbon, but her face looked as though she hadn’t slept at all. Well, if she’d been up and around in the night conspiring with those terrible men, perhaps she hadn’t.
Out of habit long ingrained, Allie nearly asked, “Do you want some toast?” But then the absurdity struck her. Life couldn’t continue as it always had, with her constantly scurrying and scraping to keep everything aright in her sister’s cloistered little world. Olivia had done a terrible thing—an unconscionable deed that could never be justified or explained, and Allie was finished mollycoddling her like a spoiled child.
In a stern voice she couldn’t quite believe came from her, Allie said, “You and I are going to have a long talk, Olivia.”
Her sister gave her a startled, wary look. “About what?”
Allie clenched her fists, scoring her palms with her fingernails. “I can scarcely believe you have the gall to ask.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the back door. Expecting to see Jeff, Allie was surprised when she found Will Mason standing on the porch.
“Sheriff Mason, what a coincidence. Jeff, that is, Mr. Hicks and I were about to come to town to talk to you. We had some trouble out here last night.” She couldn’t help but spare a glance at Olivia. Then she pushed open the screen door. “Won’t you come in?”
“Only for a minute, Miss Althea.” The sheriff stepped inside, advancing no farther than the hooked rug in front of the door. He peered at Althea so intently that she wondered what he could be staring at. Then she remembered her bruised cheek. Self-conscious, she put her hand over the bruise. What on earth would he think?
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