Rainee yanked her gaze at him and then at Michael. She put her back to Haydon. Dressed in a light blue dress and matching bonnet, she snatched a sheet from the laundry basket, shook it out and tossed it over the clothesline.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Anything you say, you can say here.” Michael knew Haydon normally dealt with matters privately so as to not embarrass anyone. Only it wasn’t embarrassment reddening Michael’s cheeks—it was anger. Shock rippled through Haydon. Michael had never rebelled against his orders before. Father informed his family if anything happened to him Haydon was in charge and they were to do whatever he said. And Michael had…until Rainee showed up.
“Did you forget to feed the chickens and gather the eggs again?”
“Why do I have to do it? Leah can gather the eggs.”
Haydon couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Lord, help me out here. “Because that’s your job.”
“Not anymore.” Michael puffed his chest out and separated his feet.
Rainee snatched up the empty basket and scurried around them. She fled toward the back door without a backward glance. Haydon didn’t blame her. This was about to get ugly. He ground his teeth in frustration. Once again he was left to clean up the aftermath of one of Jesse’s schemes.
“When was the last time you cleaned the coop?”
“I cleaned it yesterday.”
This whole mess was getting worse by the minute. His brother had never been one to lie before, and here Michael was, doing just that. “That coop hasn’t been cleaned for quite some time. You need to go do it, and do it right.”
Michael didn’t move or say a word. He just stared at Haydon as if he didn’t care, daring him to call him on his lie.
Haydon opted to try a different tactic. “Michael, Jesse did not invite Rainee here for you to follow around like a lovesick bull. She is a guest in Mother’s house and you need to treat her as such.”
“I’m not doing anything wrong. I like Rainee.” Michael darted a quick glance at Haydon. “And I think she likes me. Besides, you aren’t my father. I don’t have to do what you say.”
Haydon sighed, and his chest constricted. He had wondered when this day would come. Dear Lord, I’m in way over my head here. Give me wisdom beyond my understanding in how to deal with this.
“You’re right, Michael. I’m not Father, and I wish he were here to handle this. He would know just what to say to you, and you would do it. But he isn’t, and I am.” He ran his hand down his face. “I know I can’t make you do anything, but I’m asking you to get your chores done to help out around here. I can’t run this place without your help. And as for Rainee, you’re right. She does like you.”
Michael’s face brightened.
“But not the way you think. She doesn’t look at you the way a woman does when she has romantic feelings for a man.”
“What do you mean?”
“Does she look at you with stars in her eyes?”
Michael shook his head.
“Does she touch your arm and smile tenderly at you? Hang on to your every word?”
Michael’s gaze dropped to the ground, and he shook his head. “No.”
Haydon didn’t know what else to say, so he remained quiet.
“Sorry I haven’t been doing my chores. I’ll go do them now.” Michael walked a few steps before he stopped and turned. “Thanks, Haydon. I’m sorry about what I said. You’re the closest thing to a father I have. I won’t give you a hard time anymore.”
“Thanks, Michael. That means a lot to me.”
He watched his brother head to the chicken pen. Pride welled in his chest. Today, his brother had taken a step down the path to becoming a man. That thought made him sad and happy at the same time.
Haydon headed toward the barn. Inside, he grabbed the pitchfork and forked hay into the horses’ stalls. With each toss, the tension of the morning lifted.
Dust danced at his feet and blades of hay floated like big raindrops from the pitchfork.
One major problem created by Jess’s stupidity had been solved. Only one remained—what to do about Rainee. The little woman aroused feelings in him he never wanted to feel again. So before he did anything stupid, like give into those feelings, he wanted her to leave.
But where would she go? Who would take care of her? The guy she had mailed the letter to? Had she heard back from him? Haydon’s head started to hurt, and the muscle in his neck ached as the tension returned. None of this was his problem, but he couldn’t ignore it. After all, she was a person who needed help. And that he couldn’t ignore. He jammed the pitchfork into the hay, trying to take his frustrations out on the dried grass.
“Mornin’.”
Haydon’s pitchfork hit the top board of the stall with a thud.
“How you doing, Haydon?”
“How do you think I’m doing?” he grunted his reply and stepped over to the next stall. He started tossing hay into it, hoping Jesse would take the hint and leave him alone. But knowing how stubborn his brother could be, he knew that wasn’t likely to happen.
“Look. Are you ever going to forgive me? I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”
“What more do I want?” Haydon reeled around. “I’ll tell you what I want. I want you to take care of the mess your careless thinking created. I want you to get that woman out of here so things can get back to normal. That’s what I want.”
A loud gasp near the barn door snapped Haydon’s attention in that direction.
Rainee stood in the doorway with her hand over her mouth, blinking wide eyes at him. The moment froze around him, and then she whirled and fled from the barn.
“Feel better now?” Jesse shot a look of disdain at Haydon coupled with a quick shake of his head, then bolted after her. “Rainee, wait!”
Haydon closed his eyes and let his head drop backward. He stared at the ceiling as disgust with himself drizzled over him like the particles of swirling barn dust. “You’re a poor excuse of a man.” Melanie’s words pierced his soul for the millionth time since she’d first said them. She was right. He was a poor excuse for a man. No real man treated a woman that way even if he thought she was out of earshot.
But then again, he hadn’t done it on purpose. How was he supposed to know she was standing there? He hadn’t heard her come in. Still, right was right and wrong was wrong. And he was wrong. Although he would love nothing more than to have Jesse deal with this, he knew he needed to go and apologize to her himself. He had been the one who hurt her.
“I’m so sorry, Rainee. I’m sure Haydon didn’t mean it.”
Without any resistance, Rainee let Jesse guide her toward his house. Sadness pulled her into its embrace, numbing her mind and heart. To actually hear Haydon say he still did not want her here hurt more than it should have.
Though he had already made that perfectly clear, she had held out hope over the past three weeks, praying that maybe he was starting to change his mind because she had seen the looks he had given her when he thought she was not looking, and she had thought she knew what they meant. Obviously, she was very wrong. It was clear he had not changed his mind about her.
The stairs groaned as they made their way up them. Jesse opened the door for her and she preceded him inside.
Hannah stepped through the bedroom door and her eyes widened. She waddled over to them like a baby duckling hurrying to keep up with her mother. Her gaze slanted between the two of them. “What’s the matter?”
“Haydon is what’s the matter.”
Rainee caught the frustration in Jesse’s voice.
“I know he’s my brother and all, but sometimes the man needs to think past his own selfishness.”
Hannah’s forehead wrinkled. “What did he do now?” She placed her arm around Rainee and led her to a simple tan-and-blue Victorian settee.
“I’ll get some tea and then leave you two ladies alone.”
Rainee did not miss the look of understanding that passed between
them.
Hannah reached into the pocket of her dull gray apron and pulled out a clean, folded hanky. She pressed it into Rainee’s hand. Rainee wiped her eyes and nose.
“Here you go.” Jesse handed them each a cup and saucer filled with a pale yellow brew.
He leaned over and kissed his wife’s cheek. When he rose, he looked down at Rainee with compassion. “Don’t let what Haydon said get to you, Rainee. I know he didn’t mean it. He’s not a cruel man. He’s just— I’m sorry.” He shrugged, then gave a small smile before he stepped outside.
Just what? She wanted to scream at him to complete his sentence. The need to know what Jesse had been about to say pressed in on her, but he obviously did not want to finish whatever it was.
With a weighty sigh of acceptance, she took a sip of the weak tea and set the cup back in the saucer.
“Now tell me, what did Haydon do to upset you?” Hannah’s soft brown eyes blinked with concern.
Rainee looked down at her lap and ran her fingers over the hanky, folding and refolding it. “He said he wanted me out of here and for things to be back to normal.”
“Well, I never. Wait until I get a hold of that man.” Hannah started to rise, but Rainee put her hand on top of her arm.
“Please, Hannah, do not. He is right. I must away. My presence here obviously causes him great distress. And he should not have to feel that way in his own home. Besides, there is another gentleman who answered my advertisement and I—”
Hannah interrupted her. “You’re not going anywhere, Rainee. Ever since—” Hannah stopped abruptly. “Never mind that. You can move in here with Jesse and me. If Haydon doesn’t like it, well, too bad. This is our ranch, too.”
Rainee did not wish to cause any more trouble in this family. She had caused quite enough already.
Her Aunt Lena was right when she did not want to get involved with Rainee’s troubles. These people should not have to either. If only she would have thought of that before she had posted the advertisement.
Her heart stung at the thought that she should have just graciously accepted her fate at the hands of her brother and Mr. Alexander. A shudder ran through her spine. At least then, these good people would not be made to suffer as well. “Thank you, Hannah, for your generous offer, but I cannot accept it. I expect a post any day now from Mr. Bettes.”
“Mr. Bettes. Who’s that?”
“The gentleman I told you about. The other man who responded to my advertisement with whom I felt comfortable contacting. He is a Christian, and he did not sound as terrible as some of them.” She shivered at the memory of some of the contemptible letters she had received.
“Rainee, I don’t want you to go. I’ve enjoyed our visits. Besides, I have a feeling about you and Haydon.”
The smile came very close to touching her heart. “I, too, have enjoyed our visits, Hannah, but truly, it is clear I must take my leave. I came here to get married. And it is quite obvious that is not going to happen. So I must away as soon as possible. Haydon does not want me here. And I shall not stay where I am not welcome.”
Haydon tossed his pitchfork into a pile of loose hay and headed out into the bright sunshine, which was the complete opposite of his mood. He needed to find Rainee and apologize.
When he stepped onto Jesse’s porch, through the open window he heard Rainee say she would not stay where she was not welcome. He felt horrible. Without hesitating, he opened the door without knocking. “You don’t need to go anywhere, Rainee.”
Both of the ladies’ attention swiveled to him standing in the doorway.
“Haydon Bowen, how dare you barge in here?” Hannah rose, but he held up his hand to silence her.
“I’m sorry, Hannah. But I—” He glanced over to Rainee, embarrassment shrouded her face.
She immediately looked down at her lap, and remorse for his behavior punched his gut.
“Rainee. Can we talk?”
She raised her head and tilted her chin. “I do not believe there is anything to talk about, sir.” She rose with the grace of a queen. “Now, if you will excuse me. I have things I must attend to.” She faced Hannah. “Thank you, Hannah, for the tea and for your most gracious offer.” Shoulders squared, she glided toward him and brushed his shoulder on the way out the door.
He turned to follow her, but Hannah grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. He looked down at her hand and then at her face.
Fury shot from her big brown eyes. “Don’t you dare hurt that woman, Haydon Bowen. You have no idea what she’s been through.”
He touched the brim of his black hat and slipped out the door and into the fresh air, wondering what Hannah meant by what the woman had been through—cotillions and balls? Yes, they were so very hard on a person.
He spotted Rainee storming her way to his mother’s house, and his heart locked on the sight. “Rainee.”
She picked up her pace and so did he until he caught up to her. Reaching out, he clutched her by the elbow and turned her, though she spun on her own accord and very nearly took a swing at him in the process.
“Unhand me, please.” It was an order—not a suggestion.
“Only if you promise you’ll hear me out.”
Spunk flashed through her eyes. “There is nothing you could say to me that I would wish to hear. I know how you feel. You have made it perfectly clear, and I am sorry for making your life miserable. You need not trouble yourself anymore about me. I am leaving as soon as I am able to make other arrangements. And the sooner the better. For both of us.” With those words, she yanked free of him, hiked up her skirts and closed the distance between her and his mother’s house within a matter of seconds.
He should have been happy she was making other arrangements and would be out of their lives soon, but he wasn’t. And that bothered him.
Chapter Ten
“Men. Why did You ever create the wretched creatures? What do You have against us women anyway, Lord?” Rainee mumbled as she stomped her way through the kitchen and headed toward the stairway.
“What did you say?”
Rainee stopped and looked over at Katherine sitting in the chair darning a sock.
“Are you all right?” Katherine placed the stocking into the basket at her feet and pointed to the chair near her.
Rainee wanted to keep going, but she refused to be rude to Katherine just because her son was a brute. Plus, she needed to inform Katherine she would be leaving soon. Just how she would finance the trip, she did not know, but she wanted to get as far away from Haydon as possible.
With a heavy sigh, she walked over and sat in the chair next to Katherine. “I want to thank you for everything you have done for me.”
“This sounds like goodbye.” Worry lines etched Katherine’s eyes. “Don’t you like it here?”
“I love it here.” Rainee nodded and fought back tears. Being around Katherine had made Rainee less lonely for her mother, and she had come to care dearly for this woman. But the reason she had come no longer existed, and she could no longer pretend that it might, nor would she trespass on Katherine’s kindness any further.
“Then, why?” Katherine tilted her head, inspecting Rainee. “Does it have anything to do with why you’ve been crying?”
“How did you know I had been crying?”
“Because your nose is all red and puffy.”
Rainee put her head down, but it was too late. Katherine already knew.
“Now, tell me, what has you so upset?”
Not wanting to cause a rift between Katherine and her son, Rainee decided on another tactic. “It has been three weeks since I arrived, and to be honest, there has been no sign of Haydon wanting to marry me. Quite the opposite, actually. So I think it best that I pack my bags and head back to Prosperity Mountain to catch the next stagecoach. If my calculations are correct, it should be arriving in the next day or two.”
“But where would you go? Surely not back home to that—”
Rainee knew the words Katherine chose not to speak
. That monster, her brother. She took a breath to settle the horror that thoughts of her brother always provoked.
“Rainee.” Katherine grabbed her hands. “Why the sudden change? Did something happen to change your mind?”
Reluctantly, Rainee nodded.
“What?”
“I would rather not say. But please believe me when I say I must go even though I wish to stay. But I simply cannot.”
“I won’t push you to tell me what has caused you to change your mind, but would you consider staying for my sake?”
“For your sake? I do not understand. How could my staying possibly benefit you?”
“Because, I really enjoy your company, and I’ve come to love you like one of my own. Besides, I would worry myself to death, wondering if you’re okay. Here, I know you will be. Plus, you’ve been a huge help. But that’s not the only reason why I want you to stay,” Katherine hastened to add, but Rainee already knew what she had meant. Katherine loved people for who they were, not for what they did for her.
Genuine compassion and love flowed from Katherine to Rainee.
“That is very kind of you, Katherine. I, too, have grown to love all of you. But what about Haydon? I know he does not want me here.”
“Did he tell you that?”
Not wanting to be a pot stirrer, Rainee simply said, “Let us just say a woman knows when she is not wanted.”
Katherine frowned. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But…” She pressed her finger to her lips. “There are several single men in this county. I’m sure you could have your pick of any one of them. In fact, we’re hosting church here tomorrow. You can meet some of them then.”
Could this be why God brought her here? Perhaps there would be a kind man among the gentlemen tomorrow who would take her as his bride.
Or perhaps not.
Who would have thought she would have to succumb to marrying a total stranger instead of marrying for love? If only her parents had not died. If only she could wait until she found someone who loved her and she him. But time was not her friend in that regard, so she needed to stop dwelling on the “if onlys” because they did no good whatsoever.
The Unexpected Bride Page 10