Her heart slammed painfully in her chest, and before she knew what was happening, scalding tears gushed out of her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and wept.
Clint was just returning to his office when a strange sound made him pull up. He glanced around. A buggy passed on the street behind him. At his side, Cash looked at him in question. Clint held up his hand, and his son clamped his mouth closed. They exchanged a disconcerted look and Clint preceded him through the door.
Mavis, sitting at his desk, must not have heard his approach. The size of his chair made her look like a small child. Her face was buried in her elbow, but the fingers of one of her gloves were stained in black.
Clint turned to Cash. “Son, go order our supper. Hunger’s gnawing my belly. I’ll join you shortly.”
Cash nodded and strode out the door.
Hearing him, Mavis stood and whisked up one of the newspapers Laughlin had brought by. “What’s the meaning of keeping this hidden from us, Clint? I thought you were our friend. And where did it come from? I can’t imagine.”
He held out a calming hand as he slowly stepped forward, seeing the anger flash in her eyes. She reminded him of the young Mavis he’d known so briefly before their mama took them away from Eden. One day she’d been outside on the ranch, watching the men brand cattle. Clint, only a youth himself, had helped out when he could at John Brinkman’s small ranch.
Thing was, in addition to the branding, they had at least a dozen bull calves that needed castrating. He’d thought Mavis too young to watch such an event, but she wanted to stay. Her pa had sided with Clint and sent her into the house. The whole way up that path, she’d sent him daggers over her shoulder. Looking at her now, he almost chuckled, but didn’t.
“Easy, Mavis. Just settle down.” He hated to see her so upset but was a bit relieved the truth was out. They’d have to deal with those articles sooner or later. He’d only hoped to wait until he’d uncovered something about where the writer’s information had come from.
“Settle down?” she asked in a strangled voice. “How can I do that?” She opened the page and scanned the beginning of the article. “This person, this Harlow Lennington, has exposed our personal life for the whole world to read. Where did these papers come from?”
“Mr. Laughlin. That’s how he’d heard of Eden in the first place.”
“And that’s why he believes more men are moving to Eden?” she asked, her hand moving to her throat. “Because our private history has been spelled out?”
“And your inheritance.”
“Is that legal?”
He shrugged. “That’s a question for Henry.”
“Does he know?”
Clint nodded. “Since the wedding, but Laughlin, with all he’s been doing, only just had time to dig them out of his belongings. Henry read them before me.”
“Who else? Who else knows every detail of our lives?”
“That’s all.”
“That’s all here in Eden, you mean?” Mavis’s face clouded over. “And Mr. Laughlin believes after the men come, the women will follow. How callous. Treating us like an enticement.”
She was overwrought. Tears brimming in her blue eyes were about to spill over. Mavis, always the strong sister, the wise sister, sounded like a hurt pup. Again, her ink-stained fingers came into view. There was at least one piece of personal information that hadn’t made it into the papers. Why she loved those gloves so much was a mystery.
“Laughlin’s not responsible, Mavis. He didn’t write the articles. He just read ’em. And was good enough to tell Henry and me about ’em. You should be thankful. The person to be angry with is the one who’s betrayed all your confidences. Who is Harlow Lennington? Do you have any idea?”
Her lips wobbled. “I’ve never heard his name before today.”
“I didn’t expect you would. Henry is digging up what information he can.”
Seemed her anger had finally been replaced with hurt. Then her eyes narrowed. She took a step back.
“Wait one minute here,” he said, dropping his voice as he followed her with a stride forward. “I see that look in your eyes. Get that notion out of your head this instant. I may have known a few things about your family, but not that Emma had a crush on both of her employer’s sons. That Belle couldn’t stand the woman she thought would someday be her mother-in-law. That Lavinia skipped more than a few days of school pretending to be ill. That to get her teaching credentials, Katie had to take her teaching test twice. Or that you and your husband had a favorite restaurant that once made you wash dishes when you ran short of what you owed.”
Mavis gasped so loudly, Clint knew he’d gone too far.
Her eyes flashed with outrage. “Have you memorized everything?”
“There is so much, how could I?”
Her face fell.
“I’d like to get to the bottom of who’s responsible. John would be furious his girls have been unknowingly exposed like this. And I’m sure your sisters will be as unsettled as you are.”
Her anger faded away and her lips wobbled, bringing a surge of compassion.
“When did you plan to break the news?” she asked, turning away to pace the length of his office. She stopped at the front windows and gazed out, watching a group of miners walk by. She turned back to him, her fingers tented below her chin, a stance that almost looked like prayer.
But his eyes kept returning to her gloves, badly stained on the fingers of her left hand. In a moment of insight, he remembered the bottle of ink he’d spilled in the bottom of his drawer. Embarrassment for the mess in his desk burned in his chest. He could never be what she deserved. And maybe he’d never even had a chance. For the past few months, she’d been spending plenty of time with Maverick Daves. Maverick was his good friend, but he wasn’t fit to wipe her boots either. Neither one of them was good enough.
“Sorry I ruined your gloves,” he said quietly, feeling like an oaf. “I’ll pay for a new pair.”
She swept her hands behind her back. “No need.”
Why did her face, her eyes move him in such a way? Suddenly pulled by a power larger than himself, he went to her side and gently reached around her back. She leaned away, staring into his eyes, her expression unreadable.
“Let me see the damage,” he whispered. When he tried to bring her arm around, she resisted but didn’t break her gaze. His face close to hers, her breath came fast. She let him take her arm, but it wasn’t until he’d started to peel off the stained glove that she seemed to regain her senses.
“Let me have this before you ruin your dress.” A chuckle slipped between his lips. “My salary can’t afford a new gown too.”
Her eyes widened. “No, Clint. Let me go.” She shook her head frantically and yanked her arm away—
Leaving the stained glove in his grip.
“What’s wrong, you silly girl? It’s just a—”
She gave a strangled gasp and whipped her hand behind her back—but not before he saw her missing little finger. Her face contorted—with pain? No, he realized. Embarrassment.
Remorse filled his stomach like a hot slug of whiskey. It didn’t matter that he didn’t think a missing finger was a big deal—he’d seen far worse injuries during the war. What mattered was that he’d carelessly exposed something deeply private to her, more private than any of the stories in those papers. He felt like retching. “Mavis?”
She backed slowly away, her gaze riveted on the floor.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. A missing finger doesn’t mean—”
He was digging himself in deeper. He could tell his words were like glass on ice, hitting hard and then shooting off into the unknown. There was nothing he could say to make this better. Why had he been so stupid? Why hadn’t one of her sisters warned him? She was the most beautiful woman in the world and he’d never, ever wanted to hurt her.
She’d already started for the door.
He silently urged her to turn around, to meet his eyes. Can she feel how sorry I am?
“May I take them?” Her gaze was trained on the newspaper. “I’d like to read them more carefully. And I’ll have to show my sisters.”
He’d told Laughlin he’d not lose the papers. “I’ll bring them when I come by the house tonight—with Henry.”
With a final nod, Mavis disappeared out the door, and a deep anguish whooshed from his lungs. He hoped, in time, she’d trust him with the story of what had happened to her finger. He hoped she wasn’t gone for good.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lara’s hand slid down the smooth banister as she and Lavinia descended from the upper floor of the ranch house side by side. “I wonder what your family meeting is about, Lavinia? Blake wouldn’t say a word. And I tried my hardest to pry the secret out of him over supper.” She winked in her ever-familiar way.
“I’m sure I don’t know,” Lavinia answered. These days, it could be anything. “Something to do with the ranch or the cattle, I’m sure. Maybe water is running low like it did last year—but we limped our way through. There’re so many conditions that can go wrong with so many animals. I’m sure we’ll talk about business, because if not, he would’ve invited you to join in. You know we consider you one of the family. I’m sure he just didn’t want to bore you to tears.” She laughed, touching the delicate cap perched on the side of her head. But her heart hadn’t been in the making of it, not like before, not like when they’d been living in Philadelphia.
“You’re right,” Lara said. With her free hand, she gestured to the room below. “I just love what you and your sisters have done. Someday, I hope to be able to persuade Mother and Father to travel to Colorado for a visit. Perhaps my parents can be your first paying guests.”
“Guests?”
“Didn’t you listen to a word I said at the restaurant?” She grasped Lavinia’s arm and pulled her to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. “I truly think you’ll miss an opportunity of enormous proportions if you dismiss the idea. Promise me you’ll at least bring it up to your sisters.”
Lavinia had to admit that Lara might be on to something—she hadn’t stopped thinking about the idea since Lara broached it. It was just that everyone had had their hands full ever since arriving in Eden. And there was still the silver mine to open and begin work on. That opportunity sat dark and quiet. Henry had encouraged them to begin thinking in that direction, and she supposed they should. Another source of income that didn’t depend on weather, water, or disease would be a good thing.
“Yes. I’ll bring it up if the suggestion means that much to you.”
“Tonight?”
“I don’t know about that. First I have to hear what Mavis is about. At supper, her face was stony and she avoided my glance. I have the sneaking suspicion that she’s been crying. When I pressed her, she’d say nothing.”
A line formed between Lara’s eyes. “I’d think you’d be concerned about Katie. What in the world are you going to do about her? She swore us to silence before we left the cantina, but I’m not all that convinced that’s the correct course of action. Doesn’t she realize how her reputation will be ruined if word of her clandestine meetings with Mr. Alvarado gets out, especially in a small town like Eden? And now Mr. Laughlin knows as well. What do you think about him? Will he keep the knowledge to himself?”
Mr. Laughlin. After learning about Katie, Lavinia’s troubles with him didn’t seem quite so bad. Katie was partaking in a risky business that could completely change the course of her life. Had Mavis, with her red eyes, learned Katie’s secret too? Was that what this family meeting was about?
“Vin? What’re you thinking? I’ve never seen you so quiet.”
Lavinia laid a comforting hand on Lara’s arm. “Don’t worry, Lara. You’re here on holiday, not to shoulder all our problems. I’m sure whatever Mavis has to discuss can’t be all that important. The livery may have some unknown expense that she wants our opinion on, or maybe this has something to do with Katie. If the mood feels right, I’ll bring up your suggestion.”
They embraced.
“That would be wonderful. If you decide to take my advice, I’ll feel like a real Brinkman.”
“You are a real Brinkman!”
“Go to your meeting while I walk down to the bunkhouse and see which handsome cowboy I can sweet-talk into escorting me on a moonlight walk. I’d not like to go off the trail and get lost.”
Lavinia couldn’t stop a wide smile. “You’re incorrigible.”
“And that’s why you love me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Entering the library, Lavinia gave her normal sigh of approval as she looked around the room. A large wool tapestry depicting a prairie filled with cattle, woven by a famous artist from Santa Fe, hung above the fireplace. A large leather sofa and two polished cotton chairs and ottomans sat in a semicircle around a coffee table made from large rocks. A small baby grand piano took up the far corner. A desk along the wall with more hand-carved chairs, and a large bookcase on the opposite wall, balanced the room. All their father’s books from the old house filled the shelves, along with others the sisters had added. Blake usually had a story or anecdote to share when he’d pull out a volume, regaling them with tales about their father. His personality. His likes and dislikes. Those stories were better than any novel. Because of that, Lavinia thought this room her favorite. A packet of their father’s favorite tobacco and his preferred pipe was kept in a special box on the shelf, scenting the air. Floor-to-ceiling drapes, made from red-printed French cotton they’d ordered from Denver, accented the large windows that looked down on the ranch.
Closing the door behind her with a quiet click, she turned, then drew back. She’d expected Mavis and her sisters, who were all there, but an edgy-looking Clint and Henry, who she hadn’t expected, stood when she entered. Blake already waited at the window. He wasn’t thinking about a dwindling water supply or sick cattle. Something else was on his mind.
I’ve been totally wrong about tonight. This is serious. Is it Katie? An issue with the inheritance?
She glanced around, trying to figure out the quandary before she was told.
The door opened again, and Ada entered with a tray filled with cups, a coffeepot, and cream and sugar. She arranged everything on the table. “The coffee you requested,” she said pleasantly, glancing at Mavis. “Enough to go around.”
Lavinia smiled at the housekeeper on her way out.
“What’s this about?” Lavinia asked, finding it strange that the men were so silent. She couldn’t think of one subject about the ranch that they hadn’t yet discussed to death. The men, she had been amazed to discover, liked to talk. But only if the subject matter was to their liking. They could go on for hours about beef prices, cattle or horse breeding, or the Rocking J Ranch, the competing outfit that always seemed to cause the Five Sisters difficulties.
Mavis patted the spot on the couch beside her. “Come get comfortable, Lavinia. Have a cup of coffee.”
Lavinia narrowed her eyes. Had Mavis heard news about the Crowdaires, their duplicitous guardians who had absconded? Was that what had her upset? Lavinia couldn’t think of any other reason why Mavis would look the way she did. Blake, Clint, and Henry weren’t giving anything away.
The sooner she sat, the sooner they could get on with it. She joined Mavis and Belle on the cool leather sofa. Emma and Katie were in the two Queen Anne chairs bedside the fireplace.
“This is all quite mysterious,” she remarked. “Clint, how was your visit to Durango last week? I haven’t had a chance to ask you with all the wedding preparations and then the wedding.”
Clint tipped his head in a nod. She’d never seen him so stiff. His gaze darted to Mavis for one instant, but she ignored him completely.
“Short. Uneventful. Just the way I like ’em,” he said, his deep voice constrained. “Durango’s growing. I don’t recognize some of the streets since my last visit. The silver boom has the place
hummin’. My hat’s off to the law and mayor for keeping the place so civil. Can’t say that they have much crime.”
He cleared his throat and then stood to pour himself a cup of coffee. Henry seemed lost in thought. Finally, Blake walked from the window and stood by the piano that had been delivered last month. The shining crown of the room. “There’s been some news,” he began, glancing for a moment at Belle.
She blossomed as she usually did when their eyes met.
Katie sprang to her feet. “You’re expecting! I knew it! Mother and Father would have been so happy.” She waited with a bright face for Belle’s reply.
“Really, Katie, think about it. Blake and I aren’t expecting—yet,” Belle replied, a blush tinting her cheeks. “We just got married.” She turned and looked at Mavis. “You need to have a talk with her about . . . well. Before something happens.”
Katie sank down to her spot, and Lavinia sent her younger sister a supportive smile. Belle was right. She’d promised Katie she and Lara would keep her secret, but only for so long. If she and Santiago wanted to court, they needed to do it openly—and properly.
Blake cleared his throat. “We’d best not dither any longer. Mr. Laughlin has brought some disturbing news to Eden.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Blake’s tone was all business. Lavinia jerked straight, her attention snapped back to the issue at hand. Had he just said Mr. Laughlin? Hadn’t she just been daydreaming about him? Did Rhett’s “disturbing news” have something to do with him helping her dress in the hotel? She flushed.
Katie, though, had gone white, no doubt convinced Rhett had decided to say something about her and Mr. Alvarado. “What is it?” she asked.
Mavis, surprisingly not worrying the cotton-filled little finger of her glove, kept her eyes on her lap. She glanced up. “A newspaper in San Francisco has run a series of articles. There are three,” she said. “They’re about Eden, Father’s passing, and how his beloved daughters have returned home. Our earlier lives are mentioned as well.”
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