“Please, I don’t want you to touch me. Just go back in there and decide what you are going to do with the horses, and leave me be.” She didn’t mean to be rude to him, but rudeness was rudeness, and since he was rude she didn’t have any other choice, and she felt that she had to be. She was hurting inside, and there were many things that she wanted to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come out. Part of her wanted to break down and tell him that she was in love with him, and all she really wanted was for him to tell her that he loved her back, but at the same time, she couldn’t get her pride out of the way.
Charity had always had a sense of pride in her life, and she had no intention of letting it go now. She had to prove to him that she didn’t just care about money, and though it was killing her to do so, she was going to stick with her word from the beginning, and not give in to what she really wanted. Chase looked at her with a hurt look in his eyes, and she could see that he really wanted to comfort her. But, there was something inside her that told her if he really wanted to do the right thing, then he would get rid of Annabelle for good, and not let the girl keep butting into his life the way he had been for the past couple of months.
“Charity, please don’t be unreasonable. I know that you are hurting, and I’m sure part of it is the fear you are feeling from leaving so soon, but I want you to trust me when I tell you that I don’t want you to worry about this. I am going to take care of the horses, and I am not going to let them force me to do something that I don’t want to get in to. Trust me, they might have the contract on their side, but I am in control over what happens on my estate.” Chase gave her a smile, and she could see that he was proud of himself.
But, it wasn’t enough. She didn’t want him to feel ashamed of himself, but it was as though he was doing everything he could to avoid talking about the thing that really was bothering both of them. She tried to keep it back, but the more she fought the feelings within herself, the more she felt as though she was going to explode.
“I’m sorry, Chase, but I really can’t talk about this anymore. I tried to tell you how I feel, but I don’t think I am doing a very good job of it,” she said quietly. He sighed and shook his head, and at first he turned to go, but when he reached the door frame, he paused.
“I’m doing my best, Charity,” he said. Charity didn’t know why, but hearing that only made her even angrier.
“I bet you are,” she said with a rather dry tone.
He stood still for a moment, then he slammed his hand against the doorframe and Charity jumped with a start. She wasn’t afraid of Chase, but she hadn’t expected him to do such a thing, and she was startled by the sudden sound of it all.
“Don’t you tell me what you think I am doing and what you don’t! I didn’t ask you for your opinion on the contract, all I asked was what you thought about the breeding of the horses—that is what I needed to know, now what you thought about what I was doing with my business partners!” Chase spoke with a lot of anger in his own voice, and Charity whirled around to face him.
“Oh, that is what you wanted advice on? That is why you had such a difficult time going to your father and finding out if it was okay for you to end the contract with them in the first place!” Charity didn’t mean to be so snarky, with him, but at the same time, she knew didn’t care if she was. She wanted to tell him so many more things than she was, and to say them in a much angrier way than she was as well.
“How dare you step in here and tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing? You have no idea what it is like to feel the pressure that I feel every day, and you certainly don’t know what it means to have to deal with someone like you all the while I am doing it!” He had turned around and came back into the room, and Charity shook her head as she looked the other way.
“Well, if I am such a burden, then why did you bother sending for me in the first place? Why did you bother sending that money to my parents, or why did you say that I ought to stay until your parents move? You know that it is better for you to have me here until they are gone, so they think that you are going to get married to me and we are going to live happily together after they are gone!” She crossed her arms and looked at him with a defiant flare in her eyes, and he shook his head.
“What do you want me to do, Charity? What do you want me to do!” he cried. “I have done my best to make sure you are happy here, and I have done all that is in my power to make sure everything you have wanted is given to you. I have even gone so far as to make sure that you are going to get the things you need taken care of when you leave, so what do you want me to do?” Instead of his voice growing with anger and passion the more he spoke, he was speaking with less anger.
It was as though he was finally letting out the frustration he had been feeling, and talking to Charity was really doing more good to them than it was harm. Charity herself was feeling better, letting the anger and frustration she had felt inside come out, and getting it all out where Chase knew what she was thinking. She hoped that they would turn the conversation to her feelings, but first, she had to tell him what she really wanted.
Inside, she wanted to tell him that she loved him and wanted to stay with him, but her mind and her mouth simply wouldn’t work together, and though she was doing her best to get it out, she just couldn’t do it. She shook her head after a moment, and Chase took a step back.
“Charity? I care very much about what you think, and I do want to end the contract with Annabelle. You’re right, I am afraid of what is going to happen, and I am afraid that I am not going to be able to make this estate work without them.” He shook his head, but Charity took a step forward and put her hands on his shoulders.
“Chase, you’re not scared. You just don’t want to have tension between you and the Jackson family, and I don’t blame you. But, it is time that you think about what you need to do, and what is best for you and your estate. I know you can do this if you just go for it, so what’s holding you back? Go for it.” Charity looked into his eyes with a smile, and Chase slowly nodded. He looked at her for a moment, then he turned to go.
“I’ve got some work that I have to do, but thanks for your advice,” he said. Charity watched him go, silently wishing she could find the words to say to him. But, he walked out the door and left her alone with her thoughts, but they were running through her mind so quickly, she didn’t know where to even begin focusing.
Charity walked back to the table and picked up her book, then she sat down on the chair and slowly opened it. She wanted to be able to help Chase more than she felt that she was, and she hoped that she really had given him good advice. All she wanted to do was give him the courage to go through with ending the contract with the Jackson family, but she knew at the end of the day, it had to be his own decision, not hers.
She flipped through the book until she found her place once more, and she took a deep breath, looking for where she left off. It was going to be hard for her to think of anything but Chase and what he was going to do with the contract, but she knew she couldn’t merely focus on that. Charity had enough of her own problems to work out, and they weren’t going to work out themselves.
Just as Chase was going to have to handle his problems, she was going to have to take care of hers. It didn’t matter what either one of them wanted. What mattered was what was best, and that is what she had to focus on—what was best for her. No one else mattered.
Chapter 28
Chase stood with his arm resting up on the top of the windowpane, his other hand in his pocket. He was dressed nicer than he did most nights, but he was going to handle actual business tonight, and he wanted to look nice when he did it. Chase had thought a lot about the conversation he had had with Charity, and he had let a lot of it go to his heart. It was going to be difficult telling Annabelle that he didn’t want to engage in the contract with her family any longer, but it was something that had to be done.
Chase hadn’t said much to Charity since their conversation, but she knew that she wasn’t an
gry with him any longer. The two of them had a lot of frustration, and he was glad that they were able to get it out. It was nice for Chase to be able to talk to her—she was the first person he had ever met that he was able to freely talk to, no matter how badly he wanted to keep everything to himself.
He tried not to think about how hard it was going to be when she was gone. Sure, he knew that it was unlikely that he wouldn’t ever find another woman to fall in love with, but he knew for a fact that he would never find another woman to love as he loved Charity. She was the only woman to have ever touched his heart and his life the way that she had, and he knew that it was going to be very hard to find someone else who was able to do that.
If there even was anyone else.
Though the world was full of women, and he knew that he could put another ad in the paper to find another young woman to come marry him, Chase didn’t at all like the thought of that. He didn’t want to have another girl in his life. He wanted Charity, and only Charity. But, she hadn’t wanted to even have a hug from him that afternoon. He was having a difficult time getting out of his mind the look on her face when she pulled back from him and told him that she wanted him not to touch her.
There had been many times in his life when he had imagined such a moment, and she was happy when he pulled her into his arms. He was going to think about it further, but suddenly, he saw what he had been watching for out the window—a carriage coming up the road in the distance. Chase felt his heart flutter and his stomach tie in a knot when he saw the dust rising, and he knew that it was Annabelle.
He had been waiting for her all afternoon, and though he knew that she was going to be coming around dinner time as she always did, he thought that it was taking longer for her to arrive than usual. It was rare for her to appear to be late, as it seemed to him that she came on the dot every single day—twice a day. He had wanted to tell her to stop many times before, and now was his chance to finally do so—but this time, he wasn’t going to tell her that he didn’t want her to come at a certain time—he was going to tell her that he no longer wanted her to come to him at all.
He was through with her visits, and he was going to let her know that he was through with the contract. As difficult as it was going to be, he was going to do as Charity had encouraged him to do, and he was going to tell her that he didn’t need her or her horses to make his own estate work. It was going to be so nice to cut ties with the Jackson family once and for all, and he strongly looked forward to getting to do so.
But, as she drew near, he felt his heart start to pound in his chest even more. He knew Annabelle a lot better than he liked to admit, and he knew that her hearing the news wasn’t going to go very well. She was going to be angry, and he had long since hoped that he would never see the woman angry again. But, he was going to stick with what he said, and he was going to go through with ending the contract, no matter how upset she was with him when he did it.
Chase picked up the glass of water he had on the nightstand in his room and drained the rest of the glass, then he took a deep breath. He grabbed his hat and headed out the door, his footsteps echoing in the hall as he walked to the stairs and down to the bottom floor of the house. He paused once more when he reached the doorway, not wanting to be outside when she arrived.
The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was waiting for her in any way—though that is exactly what he was doing. When the carriage pulled to a stop, he counted to three in his head, then he opened the door. Annabelle turned with a broad smile when she saw that Chase was outside, and she jumped down the side of the wagon.
“How good of you to meet me. And how rare! Did you miss me?” she asked with a playful look. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and put his hands in his pocket, looking at her with a grim smile on his face. Chase didn’t want to frown at her, though he wasn’t at all pleased to see her. This was going to be difficult, but it was something he knew he had to do.
He walked down to the carriage and pulled his hands out of his pockets, looking at Annabelle with a stone cold face. “We need to talk.”
Annabelle’s smile briefly faded, but she was quick to recover. Glancing about the house, her eyes rested on one of the windows for a moment, but Chase merely waited. He knew she was stalling for time—perhaps stalling to think of something else to say, or merely stalling because she wanted to take up as much time from him as she could. Even when he was courting the girl, he noticed that she liked to take as much time as possible when she did anything, and he always assumed it was for the most attention she could get possible.
But, he wasn’t going to fall for her trick, and he maintained his steady gaze as she turned her attention back to him.
Annabelle herself had been discreet when she glanced up at the house, and Chase knew she, too, didn’t want to be obvious with the way she looked around. “About what?”
Annabelle spoke with a sweet voice, and Chase thought that her voice sounded like it was dripping honey. The sound of it made him feel quite sick, and he wanted to tell her to leave right then. But, he had to be far more formal than what he wanted to say, and he was going to stick with it.
“Annabelle, I regret to inform you that I am going to break the contract. Thank you so much for your time and the energy you have invested in this, but I don’t think that it is in the best interest of the estate to continue with this contract in spite of what I have decided to do with my own breeding stock.” He spoke in a cold, direct tone, and Annabelle looked at him with an icy glaze to her own eyes.
“Chase, you have to be joking, what is wrong with you?” she asked with a smile. She glanced up toward the window once more, but was quick to turn her attention back to Chase. Chase merely shrugged as he looked at her.
“I don’t know if I can make it any clearer than I just did. I’m sorry, but I am not going to be able to work with you any longer. I will return the horses to you that we were going to purchase, and you are going to be free to take them whenever you like. I am going to use my own horses for breeding, and if you would like to use my stallion, you are welcome to do so for a fee.” Chase watched her with the same expressionless face, and he waited.
Annabelle looked at him without saying anything. Her jaw dropped open, and she looked down at the ground, as though she was trying to find the answer to her problem down there. She shook her head and stuck her tongue in her cheek before looking back up at Chase with a wild look in her eye.
“Do you mean to tell me that you are going to break the contract with the Jackson family? The one that your father signed right in front of my own father—the one that is supposed to last at least through this year and likely into next?” Annabelle put her hands on her hips, and she glanced about with a haughty air as she spoke. Chase took a deep breath and also looked down at the ground for a moment, doing his best to remain calm in spite of the fact he could see that she was getting worked up.
It was clear that she was going to be every bit as upset as he thought she was going to be, and he was starting to brace himself for what was going to happen next. The last thing he wanted was for there to be a fight between them, but he was going to stand his ground and stay firm in what he said, no matter what she said or did to him in return.
“Do you realize that you can’t just break the contract? There are legal terms that you have to abide by, and that includes sticking with the contract until the end of the terms are met—I know you don’t have much experience with this kind of thing, but let me assure you, I know what I am talking about when it comes to the legality of these contracts, and I am going to fight until you deliver what you are supposed to deliver.” She had taken a few steps forward, and she was now standing right in front of Chase with her hands on her hips. Chase looked down at her, silently wondering if she had changed, or if he had been really naïve the last time he had been courting her.
“I looked over the contract, and I assure you that I know what I am doing. There is always room to break out of a contract if
you know how to do it properly, and I assure you, I do. I am not going to just let you come in here and take over my estate, and sadly, that is what much of the contract is outlining.” Chase held her gaze, and Annabelle laughed as she shook her hair. She was doing her best to be as flirtatious as possible, and Chase knew it.
“Well, it looks like someone is learning how to do business the right way. But, Chase, do you really think that I am going to believe that you don’t want the contract anymore because of the money? Your father has more money than you are ever going to know what to do with, and my father has proven that he doesn’t need anyone to support him. I think there is more to this than you are telling me.” She looked at him with the same pouty face she always adopted whenever she sensed she was losing the battle.
Chase looked around the yard, taking in a deep breath and letting it out again slowly. He didn’t want to argue with the girl, but at the same time, he knew that she was smart. As a matter of fact, there was more going on than what he wanted to tell her—but the problem was, she was wrong. It had nothing to do with her as she thought that it did—it had everything to do with Charity instead.
“Annabelle, I know that you want to believe that you and I are going to get back together one of these days, but I want you to know that we aren’t. We tried that in the past, and it didn’t work for us. I’m sorry, but I don’t love you anymore, and I am not going to try to court you again. We agreed then that we aren’t going to be together, and we aren’t going to go back on what we said now.” Chase couldn’t help it any longer, he had to tell Annabelle what he was thinking, and now that it was out in the open, he felt a lot better.
Part of him wished that Charity had been there to hear what he had to say, but he knew that she was going to be happy with him when he told her about it at dinner. He braced himself for Annabelle to start shouting and yelling, but nothing could prepare him for what she really did.
Mail Order Bride: A Bride's Unexpected Love: A Western Romance Book Page 19