The Debutantes of Durango Box Set Books 1-3

by Peggy McKenzie

  "I heard there was a ruckus downstairs and I knew immediately it was my father,” she said.

  “Yes, he was attempting to have the sheriff search the hotel to find you. It seems someone saw you entering the premises this afternoon. Perhaps one of the members of the prestigious Ladies Club of Durango."

  "I didn't see anyone around that I recognized, but I suppose it's possible someone saw me and I didn’t see them," she admitted. Why hadn't she been more careful not to be seen?

  "It’s of no consequence,” John reassured her. “Sooner or later, we would have had to come out in the open about our marriage."

  "Yes, our marriage,” she mused. “What will you tell everyone when I leave Durango for parts yet undecided? I admit I didn’t quite think it all through to the end."

  She watched John hesitate before he spoke. "What do you want me to tell them?

  Regina thought about his question. “I think I would like for you to tell everyone that I wanted my freedom more than security. It makes me sound more adventurous and independent than timid and afraid; don’t you think?”

  When he didn’t answer, she changed the subject. "How did my father take the news?" She didn't have to ask, but her morbid sense of curiosity demanded details.

  "As you might expect," John said. "He was quite displeased that I had the audacity to sully his daughter with my presence. Me not being the highbrow son-in-law he had hoped for. Well, if the color of his face was anything to go by that is."

  Regina heard the bitterness behind John's words, and she felt the sting of guilt that she had put him in the position to have to deal with her father and his insults.

  She approached him and lay her hand on his forearm hoping to give him comfort. "I'm sorry he belittles you, John. You don't deserve his acrimony."

  John searched her face. For what, she wasn't sure. Perhaps he thought she shared her father's opinion of him. But no, that wasn't possible. She had made it clear she trusted him. Believed in him. Valued him.

  "I hope you still feel that way when I tell you the news that will be all over Durango by tomorrow afternoon, dear wife."

  "What news?" Regina's anxiety returned. "What could possibly be worse than my father hunting all over Durango for his wayward daughter?"

  "The fact that his wayward daughter is now married to the man who usurped her father's business aspirations."

  Regina's heart pounded inside her chest and her breath hung in midair as if her lungs were paralyzed. This was much worse than she could ever have imagined. "Oh, John. What have you done?"

  John watched the shock on Regina's face turn to fear. No, not fear. Fear was a manageable emotion. This was pure terror. He couldn't stand to see her so afraid. Especially since this latest battle with her father was his doing.

  “Usurp my father’s business aspirations? What are you saying?”

  "Regina, sweetheart. Please don't look so stricken. Your father's bark holds no bite for me. Or you. He can do nothing to us. It is his pride that has taken a beating, but he’ll get over it in time. You will see."

  John was certain he spoke the truth about Regina’s father. The man had nothing to recommend him to the community or Ben Scott and his investors.

  "John, you truly don't understand the way my father's mind works. He has been bested by someone he considers beneath him. Someone inferior to his perceived social standing and therefore, his worth. He is not a man to be trifled with. He can be very coldhearted and cruel. I’ve seen him destroy men for far less than what he thinks was the theft of his daughter. Oh, John, I fear you have made a huge mistake and it is all my fault."

  He watched his wife's bare feet pace back and forth in agitation. "Regina, my dear. Please don't trouble yourself. Not about this. I can handle your father. Don't you trust me?"

  John had to admit Regina's doubt stung his ego a bit. After all, he was much stronger and more streetwise than Henry Beckett ever thought of being. When it came to a fight, whether in the street or in the board room, Henry Beckett was no competition.

  "John, you don't understand. My father plays by his own set of rules. Devious and conniving rules that leave him the only winner. And his opponent destroyed. No, John. I'm not worried about what you see coming. I have no doubt you can take care of yourself. What I am afraid of is what you won't see."

  John's pride pricked. "Is it your father’s subterfuge or his chicanery you think me incapable of recognizing before it’s too late? I can assure you Regina, I did not get where I am today by being naïve or easily caught off guard—"

  "John. You misunderstand what I am saying." He watched her float toward him in her gauzy nightgown, her face etched with worry. She placed her hand on his chest and looked up at him with dark eyes that never failed to mesmerize him.

  "My father will not play fair. He will undermine you with your business associates behind your back. He will whisper words of doubt about your integrity to them, and he will not rest until he has ruined you, both financially and personally. I should never have asked you to help me. Now you will pay the price."

  John wanted to reassure Regina he wasn't afraid of her father or anything he might do. He had solid backing from many of the town's elite businessmen because of his own honest dealings with them, but also because they hated Henry Beckett's condescending attitude toward most of Durango’s establishments. That man caused trouble wherever he went.

  No, John wasn't afraid of her father. He knew he could hold his own with likes of him. What he was afraid of was that his wife may one day agree with her father, if he failed to win her love before she found out the truth.

  The thought made his stomach roil. Perhaps if he told her now. Threw himself at her feet and begged her to understand just how much he loved her. No. He must keep his composure. He just needed time. Time to build upon their friendship. Time to make her fall in love with him.

  “John? Are you listening to me? I’m afraid of my father’s retribution against you, and—”

  John placed a finger over Regina's lips to stop her words. His eyes followed his fingers to her mouth and the impulse to lean in and kiss them was almost too strong to resist. He took a deep breath and raised his gaze to meet her troubled one.

  "Regina, I’m not afraid of your father.”

  He watched as Regina stood and began pacing across the floor again. Her slender bare feet peeking out from underneath her gauzy nightgown with each step forward. John remained silent and waited for what came next.

  Regina stopped and turned to face him. "I had no idea you were wanting Mr. Scott’s overseer’s job. Won’t that mean you will have to be at Mr. Scott’s beck and call?”

  John nodded. "Yes, that is customary.”

  “And won’t I be expected to accompany you so I might entertain for you and Mr. Scott and his investors…and their wives?”

  He could see Regina’s mind spinning with consequences.

  “Yes, that is expected too, I suppose,” he admitted begrudgingly.

  "I see." Regina continued pacing back and forth across the floor, worry plain across her face.

  “And does my father know that Mr. Scott has made his decision and chose you as his overseer?”

  "No, I took pity on him. I thought his public humiliation at knowing his daughter is now married to the son of a con artist was enough for one night. There will be time enough for him to learn the rest of the truth tomorrow when Mr. Scott makes the announcement before he and his son leave on the afternoon train.”

  “I see.” She paced around the room a few more times and then stopped in front of him. “How good are you at dodging bullets, John?”

  He watched her study him. Unsure if she were serious or not, he grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows in jest. “I’m pretty good at it. I had to be growing up on the street. And, I’m not bad at throwing a few myself.”

  She continued studying him and then she grinned back. "And you say my father’s face was an alarming shade of red when he heard the news?"

  Encourag
ed by her response, he agreed. "Yes, it was. Quite alarming, actually."

  "That’s very good to hear." Regina walked toward him and took his hands in hers. "John, you were there when I needed you. You helped me out of a most dire situation. What kind of friend would I be if I did not come with you when you needed my help?”

  Guilt threatened his resolve. He had thought the greater good would outweigh his temporary deceit. But now, looking into the eyes of the woman he loved, the woman who trusted him completely, how could he keep the fact about their marriage from her?

  “Regina…” Fear at her reaction to the truth tied his stomach in knots. "There's something I should tell you—"

  She placed her fingers against his lips and looked up at him. "Say no more. I will be happy to play hostess for you in front of Mr. Scott and his investors. It’s the one thing I’ve been trained to do. I did not suffer through all those endless lessons on how to be a good wife, a good hostess, and a good manager of my household staff for nothing. Besides, I do not want it to be said I was not a good pretend wife when I am gone."

  John took her hand and kissed the fingertips that lay against his mouth. He turned her hand up and kissed the palm of her hand. He wanted to continue up her slender arm to her shoulder. Her neck. Her mouth. Instead, he stepped back and looked her in the eyes.

  "I would never accuse you of not being a good wife, Regina. Pretend or otherwise." He could only hope Regina would say the same about him when she learned the truth about their marriage?

  "Good. Now, I am exhausted from the day's events and I would like to go to bed."

  Surprised at her abrupt change of topic, he gave her a quick bow. "Very well, I will leave you to—"

  "Leave? What? Where are you going?" Regina's surprise surprised him.

  "I—I assumed I would sleep in one of my guest rooms."

  "You can't do that. How will that look to your staff in the morning? Tonight is our wedding night, John. Have you forgotten?"

  No, he definitely had not. But he had never, not even in his wildest imaginings, dreamed this night was possible. Until now.

  Chapter Eight

  Regina heard the faint rattle of dishes somewhere close by. The cobwebs of sleep slowly faded away and she opened her eyes to her strange surroundings. For a moment, she was confused about where she was, and then memories of the day before came flooding back.

  She sat up in the large bed and took stock of her surroundings. The pillow next to hers held the indention of John's head, but where was he?

  The sunlight filtered through the lace curtains leaving a lovely pattern across the carpet and brocade bed covers. She could see speckles of dust floating in the air, swirling and circling before falling to the floor.

  "Good morning, Mrs. Kingston. I trust you slept well."

  Regina whirled to see Mary across the room setting up a breakfast tray on a small wooden table with the most beautiful stained glass lamp set atop it.

  She pulled at the covers and discretely searched for signs of John, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  "Mr. Kingston just left to go downstairs to talk with his accountant, Mr. Farnsworth,” Mary explained, as though she’d ready Regina’s thoughts. “He ordered breakfast and said he would return in twenty minutes.”

  "Thank you, Mary." Regina blushed. She knew what the woman was thinking, but wasn't that the whole point of her and John sharing the bed last night?

  "Here's some coffee if you would like a cup before Mr. Kingston returns. It’s nice and hot."

  "Again, thank you, Mary. I would love some coffee after last night’s—” Regina stopped short, realizing how her words sounded. She had been referring to John's stand-off with her father.

  "I understand, ma'am. Mr. Kingston is a very fine-looking man. A very fine-looking man, indeed. There will be many ladies around Durango who will be crushed to learn he is no longer a bachelor."

  Regina studied the young woman a little closer. Was Mary talking about herself, or just voicing an observation?

  She felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought, but why should she? John didn't belong to her. At least, not in that way. “Do you have a husband or a special someone, Mary?”

  "I do, ma'am. We have been together for a while now. I expect him to propose any day." Mary blushed. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Here I am rattling on about my personal life and you wanted some coffee. I'll pour you a cup right away. Would you like it in bed?"

  "Actually, I will have it in bed. Thank you. And please, do not apologize to me, Mary. I want to know all I can about John's staff. He seems to care about you all very much."

  "Yes, Mrs. Kingston. Mr. Kingston is a very good and generous man. He pays each of us a fair wage, even Herbert, the main cook. Sometimes he can't make it into work because of his gout. The pain is too much for him to bear. But Mr. Kingston won't fire him like other employers would. Instead, he hires the widow Watson to come in for a day or two until Herbie recovers. Ain't nothing like I ever seen, ma'am. Like I said, he's a good man. And fair. He’s a right fair man. You are a very lucky woman, Mrs. Kingston."

  "Yes, I suppose I am," Regina admitted. Even though she and John weren't really married, she considered herself very lucky to be able to call him her friend. And knew she too could always count on him.

  "You are to call me Regina, remember? And please, let the other staff members know they are to call me Regina as well." She didn't want them to think she thought herself above them just because she was married to their boss.

  "Yes, ma'am. Regina. I will pass that on. Now, if you will excuse me, I am needed downstairs. I’m sure Mr. Kingston will be returning soon."

  Mary curtsied and left the bedroom, closing the double doors behind her.

  Regina sighed and leaned back against her soft pillows, plumped against the massive upholstered headboard. She settled the down bed covers around her with her free hand and balanced the cup of coffee in the other.

  Another contented sigh escaped her lips. She had to admit, she could get used to this life.

  John had been every inch the gentleman last night. He allowed her some privacy before he joined her in bed. When he did come to bed, he discretely doused the lamps and undressed in the dark.

  She would never admit this to him, but she’d feigned sleep while she quietly watched him undress in the moonlight coming through the window. She didn't know what made her do it. She had never behaved so brazenly in the whole of her life. Maybe it was the novelty of her situation. Or, maybe it was her connection with John. Whatever it was, she did not regret that she had done it.

  Memories of last night had her heart racing and her breath catching in her throat. John had an incredible body. And when he had laid down on the mattress down beside her, she could feel the warmth of his body through the bed covers. He’d worn his long underwear to bed but slept bare-chested. He teased her that he didn't usually share his bed fully clothed, but for her, he would make an exception.

  His words made her wonder whom he was referring to. Was there a woman waiting for John in the shadows? The thought made her jealous again and she allowed herself to imagine John was truly her husband. In every sense of the word.

  It wasn't a huge leap to think her friendship could grow into something more. After all, she and John had been friends for years. He was clever. Kind. Generous to a fault, if his employees were to be believed, which she was sure they were. And, it didn't hurt one bit that he was handsome as the devil. Why she wouldn't mind at all if he—

  "What are you thinking about, Regina? You look like the cat that swallowed the canary."

  She jumped at the unexpected sound of John's voice and spilt hot coffee all down her chest.

  “Ow!” she yelled as the hot liquid singed her skin. She tossed the coffee cup away from her and jumped out of bed, brushing at the hot liquid.

  "Regina! Are you alright? Let me help you."

  John rushed to her side and began pulling the stained gown away from her body.

  "Take your damn dirt h
ands off my daughter, you degenerate piece of filth!"

  Regina turned to see her enraged father standing in the doorway of John's bedroom, followed by her shocked mother, and a very embarrassed lawman.

  John pushed Regina behind him to hide her accidental near nakedness.

  "How dare you enter my home uninvited. Sheriff, do you have a warrant to enter my home?" John demanded.

  "Ummmm, well, no, I don’t. But Mr. Beckett here seems convinced that his daughter is here against her will. And as a lawman, it is my duty to—"

  "I thought I made myself clear last night, Henry. Regina and I are married. A legal and binding marriage. And you sir, are embarrassing yourself, as well as my wife.

  "Sheriff, if you will escort my wife's parents to the door, perhaps we can make other arrangements for a familial visit. At a more decent hour.” John’s voice carried authority. He knew his rights and could have the town council remove Sheriff Wiley from his post if he chose to. He would rather not resort to that, but he would if the man continued to jump every time Regina’s father said boo.

  "Yes, Mr. Kingston. I'm sorry to have intruded on what is clearly a private moment with your new bride, but he and Mrs. Beckett convinced me their daughter was in trouble and needed my help."

  John still stood between Regina and her parents. "I understand Sheriff, but as you can see, we are in no need of a third party. Now, if you all will be so kind….He let his words hang in the tension-filled air.

  The implication was clear. They did not require an audience.

  John saw the sheriff hesitate. “I would be remiss in my duties if I took your word for it, Mr. Kingston. If you don’t mind, I’d like the lady to answer for herself.” The sheriff then directed his question to Regina. “Are you in distress, ma’am?”

  Still hiding herself behind John, he felt her shake her head and answer. “No, Sheriff. I’m fine. My husband and I were, as he said, having a private moment. And I would appreciate it if you would all leave.”