It didn’t matter how old his father was or what the man was dealing with, he was going to rise to the occasion, and he was going to tell Chase what he needed to be told, even if it was going to rob him of all his strength to do it. At last, he looked at his son and reached out his hand once more. Chase took it and held it in his own, looking at his father with an intense stare.
“What is it?” he asked, and Mrs. Cunningham finally spoke.
“Son, I know that you are going to do great things with this estate. I know that you are already working hard, and I trust that you are going to be able to turn it into something great one day. I know that you want what is best for this place, and I trust that you are able to make that happen, even if it isn’t what I would do, I know you’ll make the right decision. Trust me, I know it when I say that this is going to happen, and I am proud that I am your father.” Mr. Cunningham smiled, and Chase patted his father’s hand with a touched smile of his own.
“Thank you, Pa,” he said. Chase wasn’t often emotional about things, but when his father told him that he trusted him, he didn’t know what else to do. It was what he wanted to hear from his father for as long as he could remember, and now that he had, he felt like he was on top of the world. Suddenly, Chase realized something. The moment his father said that he was proud of him, the only person he wanted to talk to was Charity.
He wanted to run out of the room and go find her, give her a hug, and thank her for giving him the courage to go in and talk to his father. Though he had always been close with the man, it was her encouragement that led him to believe it was a good idea to talk to him himself, and he wanted her to know it. Chase leapt to his feet with a newfound enthusiasm, looking down at his father with a gleam in his eye.
“I am going to make you proud, Pa, I am going to take what you have done, and I am going to turn it into something even greater. Your grandchildren are going to own this estate one day, then their grandchildren. You started something great, and I am proud that I get to carry it on.” Chase puffed himself up as he spoke, eager to prove to his father that he was going to carry on the estate with pride and dignity, and his father once again told him that he had faith in his ability to do it.
Chase felt his heart pounding when his father told him that he was proud of him, and once again the only person he wanted to talk to was Charity. At last, his father leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes, looking exhausted.
“You should get some rest, Pa, I am going to go take care of some things, and I’m sure Ma is going to be up in a bit with your tea.” Chase pulled the blanket up over his father, then turned to go. He thought his father had fallen asleep, but when he reached the door, Mr. Cunningham stopped him once more.
“That isn’t all I wanted to talk to you about, Chase,” he said. Chase paused, his hand on the doorknob, then he turned back to his father. Mr. Cunningham once more motioned for his son to come over to the bedside, and Chase obeyed.
“How are things going with you and that young Miss Stevens? What do you think of her?” he asked. Chase felt his heart racing. There were so many different thoughts running through his mind at once, and he really didn’t know how to answer his father. He wanted to tell him all kinds of things about her, but he feared in the back of his mind if he did, he was going to love her more than he knew he did already.
Like Charity, Chase feared what was going to happen when the day came that she left, and he didn’t want to get into too many details about her. But also it was difficult for him not to. Every time he thought about her, a million different thoughts and emotions swept over him, and he could only think all the more how much he cared about her and wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.
“I think we are getting on just fine. She told me the other day that she is very happy here, and I took her out riding this afternoon. I think that things are going quite well, to be honest.” He smiled, and Mr. Cunningham clasped his hands over his son’s. He smiled up at him, and Chase couldn’t hide the smile in return. He knew that his emotions had to be betraying him, but there was finally a part of him that no longer cared.
“I am glad to hear it,” Mr. Cunningham said, and Chase pulled his hand back with a smile.
“Me too. I hoped she would be happy here,” he said. Mr. Cunningham had a sly smile on his face as Chase turned to go, and he took another deep breath before continuing.
“I am glad to hear it because your mother and I both want nothing more in life than for you and your brother to be happy. We told you when my health was starting to fail that we wanted you to settle down with someone before we set off for England, and I have to admit that I am surprised that you have been so successful at the charge.” He paused and Chase gave him a teasing look.
“But, the biggest reason I wanted to ask, as well as the biggest reason I wanted you to come up here, was because I have some very big news to share with you—and that is that your mother and I have worked out all the details, and we are going to be setting sail for England.” Mr. Cunningham smiled, but Chase felt his own face fall.
“Are you certain? You have it all worked out? When is it going to happen?” He was speaking quickly in spite of himself, and his father smiled once more as he held up his hands to calm his son.
“We are going to be leaving in three weeks from tomorrow—heading on the train to the East. When we get to New York City, we are going to board a ship and go from there to England.” Mr. Cunningham smiled as he leaned back on his bed, but he was now exhausted, and he could no longer keep his eyes open.
He swallowed hard. His father would want an answer, or he would wonder why Chase left so quickly. “I’m going to miss you, Father, but I am so happy that you are going to be feeling better again.”
Mr. Cunningham opened one eye, and Chase could see that he was almost surprised to see that Chase was still standing in the room. It was hard to see him like that, but Chase knew once he was in England, things were going to be a lot better for him.
“I’m happy, too, Chase, I really am. But I want you to know that nothing makes me happier than leaving and knowing that I am leaving you in good hands.” Mr. Cunningham spoke softly, and Chase knew the man was about to fall asleep. He turned to walk out the door, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.
“I wish you were leaving me in good hands,” he muttered to himself as he slipped out into the hallway. He jammed his hands in the pockets of his trousers as he started down the stairs, frustration and anger filling his heart as much as the pain and sorrow that Charity was going to be leaving.
“I really, really wish that you were.”
Chapter 25
Charity sat in the sun room, her feet draped over the side of the chair. She had a book in her hand, and she was enjoying the peace and quiet of the late afternoon sunshine. Most days at this time Mrs. Cunningham was up in the upper rooms with Mr. Cunningham, and Chase was out with the hired hands tending to the things on the property that needed to be tended to.
She had always felt strange doing it the first couple of weeks that she had stayed at the house, but the more she did it, the more comfortable she became, and the more she began to look forward to it. Charity began to view it as the time she got to spend with herself, even if one of the maids did pass through, or on the rare day when Mrs. Cunningham was also in the room.
She was pleased to find that the room had been empty that day. Knowing that Annabelle was coming back later that night was enough to make her feel tense and stressed, and she wanted to have a few minutes to herself to take a deep breath and lose herself in a book.
Charity felt she had read most of the books in Mr. Cunningham’s library, though she knew in reality she had barely started to scratch the surface of the titles he had in there. Mrs. Cunningham had told her to help herself, and had assured her more than once that the books were going to remain when the two of them left, which made Charity happy—though it was a short lived happiness when she realized that she herself wouldn’t be there to enjoy the
books regardless.
She was so engrossed in the book she was reading that she didn’t hear Chase come in, and she started with fright when he said her name. He laughed, and she could see by the playful look on his face that he wanted to tease her about it.
“Are you still scared that some bear is going to sneak up behind you and get you?” he asked with a teasing look in his eyes. She sighed as she shook her head and playfully smacked at his arm with the book that was in her hand. She had grown very comfortable with him in the months she had spent on the estate; he was easily one of the closest friends she had ever had. She especially loved it when he teased her as he was doing now.
“No! I just don’t like it when anything sneaks up on me. For all I know it could be some outlaw who broke into the house and wants to steal away the bride of the heir.” He laughed, and she couldn’t help but join in.
Charity could see there was something in Chase’s eyes though that told her something wasn’t quite right. He was doing his best to mask how he felt, but Charity could see through it.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, and she could see his face change drastically. She could sense that he didn’t want to tell her what was wrong, but the more he kept silent, the more she feared that something really was the matter. She put the book down on her lap and sat up on the chair more, swinging her feet to the ground and leaning forward.
“Tell me,” she prompted. He smiled down at her, and she could see that there was more emotion in his face than he wanted to share with her. He took a deep breath and sat down on the opposite chair, clasping his own hands together and looking at her with sadness in his eyes.
“I talked to my father a couple of days ago, and I wanted to tell you about it,” he said, and Charity smiled. She didn’t know why that would be something that would make him upset, but she was willing to listen to find out.
“What did he say? Did you tell him about the contract with the Jacksons and what you want to do about it?” She looked at him with wide eyes, and Chase took a deep breath. He nodded when she asked him about the contract and smiled as he reached over and put his hand over hers.
“Thank you so much for giving me the courage to talk to my father about that. He told me that he does trust me judgement, and that is exactly what I needed to hear. I am going to look at the contract that I have with them and see what I can do about it. I don’t have to just sit back and let them do what they please with this—I will fight back.” Chase had triumph in his voice as he spoke, and Charity couldn’t help but smile at him. She was happy to see that he was so confident in what he was able to do, and she had all confidence that he could do it.
“So what’s wrong with that? It sounds like it went well,” she prompted, and he shook his head.
“I guess you could say that it went well enough, but that wasn’t all that he said.” Chase took a deep breath and let it out again, and Charity felt her heart sink. She had no idea what it could be that bothered him so greatly, but the way he was approaching the topic made her feel that something was very wrong.
“He told me that they have worked out the rest of the details that they needed to figure out, and they know when they are going to be leaving,” he said. He was speaking quickly, but when he told her, Charity felt her heart sink. Her stomach tied into knots, and she thought she was going to be sick. She felt her lower lip quiver, but she wasn’t going to show him how affected she was by what he had just said.
“And when is that?” she asked with a sweet tone, and he sighed once more.
“Just about three weeks.” He spoke with a dry tone, and Charity felt her heart sink further. She didn’t know what to say, and she desperately hoped that he would tell her that he wanted her to say. But, he merely took another deep breath before he let it out once more. After a few moment of waiting for him to ask her, she began to think that he didn’t want her to stay after all.
“Well, then I guess I better start looking around and finding out what I am going to do next, too,” she said with forced cheerfulness. He looked at her with raised eyebrows, and she held his gaze. She wanted so badly to tell him what she was really thinking, but she was too proud to tell him that she was wrong, and she desperately wanted him to break and tell her what he thought.
Good or bad, she wanted to know if he wanted her to stay, or if he wanted her to go. But, it was clear that he wasn’t going to say anything about it—he was just going to wait for her to make the decision.
“Alright, then just let me know what you want to do, and I will be happy to give you whatever you need to get where you’re going.” Chase smiled as he rose, but she could see that there was a lot of things he clearly wanted to say but wasn’t. She wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she felt trapped herself. She couldn’t swallow her pride—she wouldn’t.
She didn’t want him to think that she was in it just for the money, and she feared if she did, he was going to say that the money had changed her—that he was right about poor girls who had been given money. But, she also knew if she didn’t say anything, she was going to have to go through with her own plan and move out of there as soon as his parents were gone. She sat silently in her chair as he walked out of the room, the sound of the door closing echoing throughout the room.
There was hollowness to the sound that made her feel even emptier inside, and though she tried to ignore it, she didn’t think that she could. She was going to have to figure out now what she was going to do next—and how she was going to get there. Sure, Chase had told her that he would give her the money that she needed to get there, and she figured he would likely also give her the money to get established in her new location, but she didn’t know where to begin.
It seemed so much harder now that she was going to have to make the real decision—so much harder now that it was all real. It wasn’t something that was going to happen someday when his parents left, this was something that was now going to happen in just a matter of weeks, and she was going to have to be ready for it. Charity sighed as she tried to get back into her book, but she couldn’t. Her thoughts wouldn’t focus on the words on the page any longer, and she eventually gave up on it.
Now, all her thoughts were going to be consumed with what she was going to do next, and how she was going to make it all happen. She had thought that he would be more help for her when the time came, but with the way things had developed between them, and the way she had feelings for him—she didn’t know if she even wanted to have his help with her leaving. The more help he gave her with getting out of the house, the more she would feel that he wanted her to be gone.
And, the more she would wonder if he really did want Annabelle all along. Charity rose from the chair and walked over to the window, looking out across the grass that was blowing in the breeze, and she sighed. Annabelle flashed through her mind once more, and she felt another twinge of jealousy run through her heart. She didn’t know why the girl was the only thing that was on her mind now—perhaps because she knew when she was gone Annabelle would no longer have anyone standing in her way.
Either way, she knew that she was going to have to go through with the decision she had made in the beginning, and Annabelle or not, she was going to have to be a woman of her word. She wasn’t going to say anything to her parents about the situation, and after she left, she wasn’t going to say anything to Chase. She didn’t want to think about how hard it was going to be to live without him, and she certainly didn’t want to think about having any communication after she left.
It would be hard enough knowing that she wasn’t ever going to see him again, she didn’t want to also know when he did find someone that he would fall in love with and marry. Then again, she didn’t want him to know when she found someone else, either.
If she found someone else. Charity couldn’t bring herself to even think about finding someone else to fall in love with. In her mind, she didn’t think that there ever could be anyone else out there who could touch her heart in the same way Chase had. He was
the only one out there like him, and he was the only one she really wanted.
It no longer mattered to her how much money he had or where he lived. She just knew that she wanted him—but she feared she would never have him.
Chapter 26
Chase sighed as he looked over the paper that was on the table in front of him. He had written down the names of his best mares, as well as the potential mates he wanted to use for each one. When he was a boy, he had thought that breeding horses was easy, assuming that there was little more to it than choosing two horses that he liked the best and hoping for a foal out of them.
But, now that he was a man who was trying to make a decision in regards to the estate, he knew that he had to be careful about the horses that he chose to breed—especially since he was growing all the more resolute in his decision to break the contract with the Jackson family and tell them that he was going to use only his own stock for breeding.
Chase had put together a chart that was now on the table in front of him, and he hoped that by doing so, he would be able to better see which horses he wanted to breed together—but with all the names on the table, he felt even more indecisive than he had before. His father had always made it look easy, but then, it had always been his father’s estate, and he didn’t have to live up to someone else’s expectations of the animals he produced.
“This would be a lot easier if Troy was here to help me,” he muttered as he scratched out two of the horses he had paired together. Suddenly, there was a light knock on the doorframe, and he looked up to see Charity looking into the room. He smiled and motioned for her to come in, and he could see she was pleased.
Mail Order Bride: A Bride's Unexpected Love: A Western Romance Book Page 17