To his surprise, she hadn’t stayed to see if he was okay. In fact, he wasn’t even certain she had been there to see him get hurt in the first place. As silently as she had walked over to the corral in the first place, she was now gone. He saw the hem of her skirt as she disappeared into the house, closing the door behind her. Hank and Jack were still doing their best to see if he was okay, and he quickly brushed them off, insisting that he was fine.
Chase looked at the corral, watching the animal run the length of it round and round again. He could see that the horse was fast, but in the back of his mind, he was worried. It was clear how much Charity liked the animal, and though he himself knew that he would be able to do something with it, he didn’t like the thought of Charity going anywhere near it without someone else around.
Of course, she would never ask one of the hired hands—or even himself—to be there while she looked at the animal, and that could be dangerous. He was going to have to have a talk with her, and just hope that she would listen. After all, regardless of where their relationship was going to go—or what they were going to do when his parents left—he didn’t like the thought of her possibly being hurt.
Especially if she was hurt by something that he had done—whether she knew horses or not, whether she had experience with any horses or not, the fact of the matter was that this animal was wild, and he didn’t care who she was or what she knew.
Chase looked back at his hand, then with a shake of his head he headed toward the barn to tend to the wagon. He could only hope that Charity would listen to him.
Chapter 11
Charity laid in bed watching the ceiling. She could hear the hum of conversation taking place beneath her, and she knew Chase was speaking with his parents in the sun room. It was still a rare thing for him to have his father involved in anything he was doing with the property these days, and she knew it was hard for him to open up and listen to what his father had to say. His dad wanted what was best for the land, just like he did, but they both believed that different things would be best for the land.
Charity knew that Chase respected his father’s wishes and wanted nothing more than to make him happy, but at the same time, Chase also knew how the world was changing, and things were going to be different from businessmen than they were when his father first founded the estate years before. Chase wanted to keep up with and adapt with the change of the times—he was willing to do things differently than before to end up with something that really was better than ever.
But, his father would often cling to his tradition and the old way of doing things, not wanting to risk change that might not work out in the long run. Although Charity didn’t fully understand what the problem was between the two men, she knew that it was best for her to stay out of the conflict and merely keep to her own matters, only offering her opinion to Chase when he asked for it.
She sighed as she set the book she had been attempting to read on the night stand next to her bed, then she put her feet on the floor. It was Wednesday, and no doubt when Chase had finished his discussion with his parents, he was going to offer to take her out for a ride on the prairie. The two of them were still careful to make time for each other on a regular basis, but ever since the new horse had been brought to the estate four days prior, Charity felt that there was something wrong between her and Chase.
It felt as though a wall had been put up between them, and there was tension present where there hadn’t been any before. She didn’t know what was wrong exactly—just that Chase was behaving differently toward her than he had been before. She didn’t know if she had offended him with what she had said about caring for the horse, or if he was embarrassed about hurting his hand, but there certainly was a tension between them that that hadn’t been there previously.
Charity didn’t understand why the injury would be a problem between them, as she hadn’t even witnessed him do it in the first place. She had grown nervous seeing them trying to wrestle the horse into the corral, and to avoid seeing anyone get hurt in front of her, she had left quickly. It was only after he had told his mother that he had hurt his hand that Charity also knew of the incident, and she wanted to tell him that she hoped he was okay, but she also worried that he would think she was mocking him after the way the afternoon had gone.
The sound of a horse neighing caught her attention, and Charity walked over to the window in her room. She could see the horse running around the corral, moving as fast as it could in the small space that it had. Chase had decided to move the other horses out of the corral for the time being, hoping that the new horse would settle in better if he did.
But, it didn’t seem to be working.
Feeling compassion in her heart, she grabbed her shawl and tossed it around her shoulders, then she slipped out of her room and up the hall. The sound of the conversation below was much louder once she was out of her room, but Charity did her best not to listen in on what was being said. She hadn’t been invited to the meeting, and she figured there must be good reason for that, even if she didn’t know what it might be.
She walked down the stairs as silently as she could, then out the door. The breeze felt good on her skin, and she liked the fresh smell that reached her nostrils. She took in a deep breath and let it out again slowly, enjoying the moment for all that it was. Charity opened her eyes and stopped suddenly, realizing the horse was standing in the middle of the corral staring right at her. It was the first time she had seen the animal holding still since it arrived on the property, and she couldn’t help but smile.
She quickly glanced around, making sure there was no one else around, then she took a step forward. “Come here, Boy, easy there.”
Holding out her hand, she spoke softly, encouraging the horse to come forward. It twitched one of its ears back, laying it against its head and snorting. After pawing at the ground for a moment, however, it took a step forward, snickering.
“That’s right, come here. I’m not going to hurt you,” she said softly, still holding out her hand. She walked right up to the rails of the corral, looking around as she did so to make sure no one saw her do it. Chase had told her that he didn’t want her anywhere near the horse—or even the corral for that matter—but she thought it was because he didn’t want her to get attached to the animal, or have the horse grow attached to her.
She didn’t see any problem with getting to know the animal. She was leaving either way, and it would be something that would make her stay at the house a little more fun while she endured getting to know Chase better and waiting for his parents to leave. Reaching through the fence, she allowed the horse to sniff her fingers. Although the horse kept one of its ears back against its head, it put the other ear forward, listening to her as she spoke.
“That’s a good boy,” she muttered. The horse was beautiful. It was black in the dusk and dawn, but now, in the middle of the afternoon, there was a distinctly blue hue to the animal’s fur. She had never seen a horse that color, and it took her breath away. “No one is going to hurt you.”
“I thought I told you I didn’t want you anywhere near that animal without someone out there to make sure you stay safe!” Chase’s voice came from behind her, startling her. Charity turned quickly, and the horse jerked its head and whinnied.
“Look what you made me do! I scared him. Poor boy,” she said with a bit of a dry tone as she looked back over her shoulder at the horse.
“Never mind the horse—you could get yourself hurt, or even worse if you play around animals that large,” Chase said as he walked up. Charity took a step back from the corral but gave him an irritated look.
“I told you I know how to manage myself around horses,” she said with a rather flat tone to her voice. He looked down at her as he reached through the corral, trying to convince the animal to come back over. But, the horse was too worked up by what had just happened with Charity, and refused.
“Then you should know that it isn’t at all a good idea to be around one that is as volatile as
this, especially when you don’t tell anyone that you are going to be out here. I’m looking out for you, Charity, really, I am,” he said with a smile. She gave him another look, clearly, not believing his intentions.
“I thought you were in there discussing whatever it is you were talking about with your parents,” she said hotly. He shook his head with a sigh.
“Things aren’t going to be as smooth as I thought they were going to be, but it’s nothing more than just a bump in the road. Trust me, if I am going to be the owner and manager of this estate one day, I am going to have to get used to this sort of thing. Anyway, I thought you said that you had a letter you wanted to post in the mail. I’m heading into town, so why don’t you come with me and you can see to that?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, he merely gave her a smirk and a nod of his head, then headed toward the barn.
Charity didn’t often know what to make of the man. There were times when he seemed so caring and almost loving toward her, then there were other times when he was nearly impossible to get along with. She could see in him that he really did want to do what was right for the estate and the property, but at the same time, he was bound by the ways of his parents—and it certainly didn’t make things any easier for him.
She knew she had to be careful, or she was going to develop feelings for him—and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Charity had her mind made up, she wasn’t going to stay on this estate, no matter what- and even admiring Chase for his courage and hoping that he would get what he wanted in life wasn’t enough to change her mind.
But, he was right, she did have a letter she wanted to send to her family, letting them know that she was alright and settled into her new life. She would mail it, but not tell them how to reach her again. One day, when she was settled into her new life she would send them another letter and explain everything. But not yet—it was too soon for any of that, and she knew it.
She suddenly turned and began walking toward the barn—perhaps she could lend a hand to Chase as he got the buggy hitched for their ride to town. The more she got to know him, the more she had to admit she respected and admired him. Even if she didn’t want to marry the man, she could see that he was better than the men she had known back East.
But then, there was another twinge in her chest—a twinge that told her she perhaps cared for him more than she wanted to admit—perhaps she really did have some sort of feelings for him, no matter how small they happened to be.
Charity didn’t want to think about it, so she gathered her skirts in her hand and hurried toward the door.
Chapter 12
Chase was lost in thought as he brought the horses around to hitch up the buggy. He felt trapped. He wanted to do so many things to the estate, but with his parents arguing with him and making it difficult for him every step of the way, he didn’t know how he was going to make it happen. Above all, he wanted to make them proud of him, but when they were constantly telling him to do things that he didn’t want to do, or pointing him in the direction he didn’t want to go in, he wasn’t sure how he was going to keep the peace with them and still be able to be the effective business owner that he wanted to be.
Chase wished that Troy was around—at least, around enough for him to talk to him about everything that was going on. Though Troy was the younger brother, he was able to give Chase good advice every now and then about how he was feeling, and what he should do when it came to working with their parents and managing the estate. Of course, his brother didn’t and wouldn’t have the same knowledge and experience that their parents would have, but he did provide someone to talk to that made Chase feel that he was at least trying to do something right.
“Can I help?” the sound of Charity’s voice filled the barn, and he looked over at her with raised eyebrows.
“I’ve hitched up a team a hundred times before, I can manage,” Chase replied. She didn’t seem at all deterred by what he had to say, and walked over to him.
“So have I,” she replied.
He looked at her with a bit of a confused look on his face, then he shrugged and took a step back, watching her as she worked. Chase had to admit, he was surprised at how she was able to manage the horses so well—though they were the calm horses in the barn, he knew that they needed someone who knew what they were doing to take care of them, or they would fight against it.
“Well done,” he said when she had finished. She gave him a rather haughty look, and he had to smile in spite of himself. “Shall we?”
The two of them climbed into the buggy and he took the reins, driving the horses out of the barn. They were lively, eager to head out of their stables and get going. Charity held onto her bonnet and smiled, clearly enjoying herself.
There was a smile on Chase’s face as well as they drove along the road. Although the couple did have their differences, he enjoyed seeing her happy, and it always made him feel good to see when she was indulging in the warm air. The breeze carried the rich scent of the fields to them, and Charity took in a deep breath, clearly relishing every second of the ride.
The tension that was usually present between them seemed to vanish while they were on their buggy rides, and for the moment, both of them could let go of the expectations and rules that largely governed their lives, and for the time being simply enjoy being together, no matter what their relationship was or where it was going to end up.
Chase drove the buggy in silence for a few minutes, clearly lost in his own thought. Charity looked at him with raised eyebrows, as though she was expecting him to start a conversation with her, but he said nothing. Chase tried to think of something to say a couple of times, but before the words could reach his lips he simply dismissed the thought as foolish or unworthy of being voiced. He enjoyed his conversations with her, but at the same time, he didn’t want to open up to her about things that only truly mattered to him.
Once they parted ways, it would no longer matter to Charity what became of the estate, or what his parents wanted him to do with it. Certainly, there would still be a part of her that cared about him and likely there would always be, but at the same time, she would once again become a stranger to him, and there was no need to let strangers in on business that was not their own.
As the days passed and the two of them spent more time together, Chase had to admit that he had come to think of the girl differently than he had in the past, and it was going to be hard to see her go. Though there was so much he wanted to tell her and share with her, and there were many things he wished he could ask her advice about, he knew that doing such things would only make it harder for him in the long run when she finally did leave.
From what he could tell, she didn’t want to stay with him any more now than she ever did, and he wasn’t going to say or do anything that would show her that he was having second thoughts about what he originally said. They had made their agreement in the beginning, and though his emotions had changed and he believed he was starting to have feelings for her, he wasn’t going to open up or share that with her in any way.
It was bad enough knowing that she was going to be leaving eventually anyway, he didn’t want to add more pain or trouble to it hearing that she didn’t care for him the way he cared for her.
She had every right to do as she pleased, and he had no right to tell her that she couldn’t. As difficult as it was, if she was going to fall in love with someone eventually, he was merely going to have to let her go or watch it happen—unless he was able to claim her affections for his own.
He shook his head and sighed, lost in thought.
“What is it?” Charity asked, and he shook his head once more, this time giving her a smile.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really.” He looked over at her and was going to ask about her day, but at that moment, something on the road caught his eye. Another buggy was being driven toward them, and being a private road on the property, he knew that the driver would be looking for him specifically. At first, he couldn’t make out who the man was, bu
t as the buggy drew closer, he recognized the horse and his heart sank.
It was Annabelle’s father.
Chase could feel Charity’s eyes on him as they pulled closer to the buggy, and he felt his palms growing sweaty. He hadn’t seen Annabelle’s father since he had ended his courtship with the man’s daughter, and he didn’t know what he could possibly be doing there now. Of course, there would be no way for Annabelle to have learned about Charity, and he liked to think that her father wouldn’t care to bother him even if she had, but at the same time, he couldn’t think of another reason why he would be there.
When the two buggies drew near to each other, both he and Mr. Jackson pulled back on the reins, bringing the horses to a stop.
“Good day, Mr. Jackson, is there something I can help you with?” Chase looked at the man with a smile, but it was clear that he was fighting to maintain the composure in his voice and his stance. Mr. Jackson smiled and tipped his hat to both him and Charity, and Chase could sense that Charity felt the tension that was between the two men.
“I hear that you are investing in some horse stock, and I was coming to see if I might be of service. My mares through a lot of fine looking animals this past spring, and they are the perfect age for you to make your choice now.” Mr. Jackson watched Chase as he spoke. Being a businessman, he knew how to watch and see the kind of reaction Chase was having to what he was saying.
Chase squirmed in his seat for a moment. He was very uncomfortable with the conversation, but he didn’t know how say so. He knew that Mr. Jackson—that the entire Jackson family—bred some of the most beautiful horses in the territory, but there was a reason he didn’t want to purchase from them. After he quit courting Annabelle, he didn’t want anything to do with any of the Jackson family.
Mail Order Bride: A Bride's Unexpected Love: A Western Romance Book Page 8