by Sandy James
Grace struggled to get off the table so she could flee.
Adam put restraining hands on her shoulders. “Not so fast. I need to know you’re not going to faint again. Your face is as white as a sheet.”
How could she explain everything? How could she tell him about her connection to Stephen?
Adam would despise her. She couldn’t lose him. Not when she loved him so very much.
Hysteria threatened to consume her. “I want to go home! Please take me home! Please!”
Emily came back from the kitchen, carrying a glass of water. “Here, Grace. Drink this.”
Grace accepted the glass with a murmured thanks and shaky hands. Forcing herself to take a few sips, she struggled to mask the terror.
Sweet Lord, she couldn’t face the bastard now, not here in front of her husband, in front of all her friends. She’d lose Adam. She’d lose everything.
The front doors swung open again, and Matthew came strutting in. “Victoria! Heard you were back.”
Stephen turned around, and Matthew’s eyes flew wide before his face flushed red. “You son of a bitch!”
With an angry snarl, he rushed Stephen, fisted the black jacket in one hand and repeatedly drove his other fist into Stephen’s face. Stephen’s knees buckled, and Matthew followed him to the floor, still beating him.
Jake reacted first, grabbing a hold of Matthew’s arm to try to stop the rain of blows.
Victoria stayed at Grace’s side, clutching for her hand. “Stop this!”
“Matthew, stop! Please!” Grace shouted.
Dear God, this was all her fault.
Adam stood, intending to separate the men and find out just what in the hell was going on when the man who’d followed Stephen into the saloon pulled a gun. He shifted it in his hand and hit Matthew’s head with the butt of the weapon. Both Victoria and Grace screamed. Matthew’s eyes rolled back before he collapsed on top of Stephen.
With a disgusted grunt, Stephen pushed Matthew off onto the sawdust-covered floor and crawled several feet away.
“Matthew!” Victoria hurried to him, dropped to the floor, and rolled him until she cradled his head in her lap. She smoothed her hands over his cheek. “Wake up, Matthew. Please wake up.”
Adam crouched next to them and ran his hand over Matthew’s skull. “Doesn’t appear anything’s broken, but he’s got a nice goose egg that’ll probably give him a hell of a headache. Just out cold for now.”
Standing, he frowned at Stephen, who was being assisted to his feet by the man who’d followed him.
Stephen grabbed a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his split lip before holding it to his bleeding nose. “I want that man arrested. Trey, go get the marshal.”
Stephen’s man scurried out of the saloon.
The moment Adam had heard Stephen Shay’s name, warning flags soared. It was no coincidence that Grace’s nightmares were haunted by a “Stephen” and one had followed Victoria home—where Grace lived.
He leveled a hard stare at Stephen, ready for some answers. “Why would Matthew attack you?”
“I have no idea. I hardly remember the man,” Stephen replied.
“When did you meet Grace and Matthew?”
“Many, many years ago in San Francisco. I was a…friend of their father.” Stephen pointed an accusing finger at Matthew again. “Tie that man up.”
“No!” Victoria squealed. “Leave him alone. Can’t you see he’s hurt?”
Just when Adam thought things couldn’t get any further out of hand, a glass shattered. Whirling around, he saw Grace’s trembling hand and the glass she’d been drinking from laying in shards on the floor. “Gracie?”
Her quivering finger pointed to Emily, who now stood in the kitchen doorway, a small puddle of water at her feet. “I think the baby’s coming.”
Chapter Nineteen
Grace’s head was still spinning at Stephen’s arrival, but she scooted toward the edge of the table. Her fear for Emily and her grandchild outweighed her fear of Stephen.
Adam hurried to help her down. “You all right?”
She wasn’t sure she’d ever be all right again.
Pushing all other concerns aside, she focused on the one thing that couldn’t wait. “I need to help Emily. You need to see to Matthew.”
Jake hurried to his wife, picked her up in his arms, and mounted the stairs. “Send for the doc!” They disappeared into the shadows up the hallway.
The marshal came hurrying into the saloon.
Will was right behind, red-faced and out of breath.
“What in the hell happened here?” the marshal asked, putting his hands on his beefy hips.
Stephen wiped some more blood off his face and nodded to Matthew. “That man attacked me.”
Without even asking anyone else to corroborate, the marshal turned to Will. “Well, then… Gotta take him in. Help me drag him down to the jail. I’ll lock that hoodlum up good and tight ’til the judge comes back ’round.” He reached down to grab Matthew’s limp arm.
“You’re not taking him anywhere!” Victoria smacked the marshal’s hand away and leaned forward to cover Matthew.
Adam’s gaze kept shifting between Matthew and Stephen. “I need to know why Matthew hit him,” he whispered to Grace. “Can you trust me?”
Now wasn’t the time to spill her story, but she had to protect Matthew. “I–I do trust you, but I can’t explain it. N–not right now.”
“Grace…”
She clutched for her husband’s hand, begging with her eyes for his understanding. “Please, Adam. I have to go to Emily.”
A frown bowed his lips. “They’ll take Matthew to jail unless you speak up.”
After everything Matthew had done for her, she couldn’t let them throw him in a cell. “No. Please don’t take him to jail.”
“Of course, it could give him some time to cool off,” Adam added.
“Grace!” Jake shouted from the upstairs.
Although she didn’t like the idea of Matthew spending even a moment in a cell, she nodded. If the whole sordid tale was going to come out, she needed Matthew at her side, calm and collected rather than confronting Stephen again. His reaction to seeing their tormentor wasn’t at all surprising, but that blind anger wouldn’t help either of them.
Her life was falling to pieces and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it. “I’ll slip away when I can to talk to you and Matthew.” She inclined her head to her brother. “Please go with him. Make sure he’s safe, that Victoria’s safe. Then send someone for the doctor.”
Adam took a few long moments thinking it over before he nodded.
“Grace!” Jake shouted again.
Her husband gently nudged her toward the stairs. “Go upstairs, Gracie. I won’t leave until you do.”
Grace crossed to the stairs and hurried up them. She ducked aside to hide in the shadows and wait until Adam left. She had to discover why Stephen was there and why he’d sunk his talons into Victoria.
Adam helped Will get Matthew up, and they braced him between them. The marshal, Ty, and a distressed Victoria followed them out the front doors.
Swallowing her fear, Grace stepped out of the shadows.
As if knowing she waited for him, Stephen turned to stare up at her. “We need to talk, my sweet.”
It took every ounce of courage she had to walk down even one step. Each footfall was the pounding of another nail in her coffin. The moment she reached the floor, his hand shot out, grabbing her upper arm and squeezing until tears formed in her eyes.
She refused to flinch, knowing it would only give him pleasure.
Between gritted teeth, she said, “Let me go or I’ll scream.”
“Scream and I’ll have you arrested.”
She tried to jerk her arm away.
He tightened his grip. Yanking some folded papers out of his pocket, he waved them in her face. “This is an arrest warrant. I hand this to that ridiculous marshal and you’ll be sharing a ja
il cell with your brother.”
Had it only been her own fate at stake, she would have gladly surrendered to the marshal, hoping Adam would one day understand why she’d shot Stephen. With God’s grace, perhaps her husband would even forgive her for the mistakes she’d made in the past.
But it wasn’t just her now.
There was a baby to think of—and sweet Lord, she was still having a hard time swallowing that. Simply knowing she carried a part of Adam with her gave her strength as she faced her tormentor. “Why did you come here?”
His smile was as cold as harsh winter wind when he tucked the papers safely back into his pocket. “Why, to continue courting Victoria of course. The moment I met her, it was…love at first sight.”
“There’s no way I’ll let her have anything to do with the likes of you.”
“No?” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Then I suppose I need to have a long talk with your…husband. Perhaps he’d like to know all about the…virtuous woman he married.”
He might as well have sunk a blade into her heart. All she could do was shake her head.
“So you haven’t told him…everything, have you? Does he know anything about our past…relationship, about the kind of woman you really are?”
She hated the way he drew out pauses when he spoke, giving certain words special emphasis—words he knew hurt people.
She wanted to turn and rake her fingernails down his face. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Ah, so somehow you’ve convinced yourself that your shamefully wanton nature isn’t what you and I both know it is. You threw yourself at me. You seduced me.”
“Seduced?” The word came out in an indignant shriek.
“You can lie to yourself, Grace, but you could never lie to me.”
The man had lost his mind. She refused to argue the past with him, knowing he’d never understand what kind of monster he really was. “Why did you tell Victoria you barely knew Matthew?”
“I don’t wish for her to know about our past…involvement. She’s a fresh start for me. A breath of fresh air. After chasing a woman I was lovesick for, I finally found a woman I can…respect.”
Grace pulled in a ragged breath, wishing God would mercifully strike her dead. If Adam learned all about her past, if he knew about Stephen…
Yet how could she protect Victoria if she had to keep up Stephen’s charade? Thoughts spun out of control as she tried to figure the whole cursed situation through.
Her suspicions worked overtime. “You rescued Ty. How convenient that he’s Adam’s son.”
“Simple serendipity, my sweet. By stumbling across that robbery and thwarting those ruffians, my good deed was rewarded by the Fates giving me a woman more deserving of my…attentions. An honorable woman.”
Jake’s voice bellowed from the second floor. “Grace! Emily needs you!”
“Decide, my sweet. Do you play along that we’re nothing more than casual acquaintances and let me court Victoria? Or do I head over to the jail and have a long talk with Adam Morgan while I hand my papers to the marshal?”
“Matthew won’t go along—”
“If he wants to protect you, he’ll do exactly what you tell him to do.” Stephen finally released her arm, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a shake that rattled her teeth. “Decide. Decide now, or so help me—”
“Fine. Get your filthy hands off me.”
His victorious smile almost pushed her over the edge. How she wished that Derringer still rested in her pocket. Even if it meant she’d roast in hell, this time she wouldn’t miss his black heart.
“You’ll talk to your brother?” he asked.
She nodded and tried to pull away from him. His grip tightened and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “She’s not you, Grace, but she’s just as sweet, every bit as untouched as you were. Tell me, does your…husband please you as I did? Is what you share half as warm as what we shared?”
It took every ounce of her willpower not to spit in his face. She gritted her teeth and swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. “Let me go.”
With one of his bone-chilling chuckles, he released her.
Grace grabbed her skirts and hurried up the stairs.
Chapter Twenty
Adam knocked softly on the bedroom door. After a few moments, Grace answered. Wanting a moment of privacy, he reached out to gently grasp her hand and urge her into the hallway.
She tossed a reassuring smile back at Emily. “I’ll be right back.” She pulled the door closed.
He stroked her shoulders. At least she was only a little pale now, but her wan complexion couldn’t overshadow the determination in her eyes. “How are things going in there?”
“Slow but steady. How’s Matthew?”
“He’s awake, but he won’t say a word about what happened ’til he talks to you. I’d like to find some time to talk to you too.” An incline of his head at the door. “But I know now’s not that time. How’s she holding up?”
“Emily’s a trooper. Is the doctor coming soon?”
He was afraid she’d ask that. “Doc’s been…delayed.”
Grace’s face blanched even more. “Delayed? How long?”
“Um…he’s going to be a bit…late.”
A blatant lie.
Doc King’s message said he wasn’t coming for a good long time.
Adam didn’t want his wife to panic. “Listen, Gracie. There’s been an accident. Jed Moore broke his leg and might have some bleeding in his belly. Doc needs to stay with him. He’ll try to get here when he can.”
If he can...
Grace’s frantic eyes searched his before her mouth sank into a frown. “He’s not coming, is he?”
At that moment, he realized he’d never be able to lie to his pretty little wife. “No, darlin’. He’s not. Said any woman would know what to do.” He reached for her hand. Her fingers were ice cold. “I could send for the reverend’s wife. Maybe Mary or one of the ladies from church who’ve already had babies would know how to help.”
“Emily wants me.”
“But you’ve never had a baby.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek when she frowned again and glanced away. “Yet.”
The frown changed to a weak smile as her gaze returned to his. “We’re having a baby, Adam.”
“I know, darlin’, and I couldn’t be happier.” He nodded at Emily’s room again. “We’re asking an awful lot of you to bring Emily’s baby into the world when you’ve never even seen a birth before.”
Grace looked at the floor, clenched his hands, and shuddered. Then he saw the steel in her spine. Straightening her shoulders, she raised her eyes to his. “I’ll be fine.” A quick glance back. “So will Emily. Is Victoria coming? Emily’s asking for her.”
“She will, but first she wanted to be sure Matthew woke up. Then she’s getting Stephen settled in at the boarding house. I don’t want him anywhere near the ranch.”
Adam caught her whispered, “Thank God.”
“We need to talk. I know that man frightens you, and I’m pretty sure I know why. And with the way Matthew laid into him… I know there’s something bad going on, more than the fact you’ve both met him before. Can’t you tell me—”
She pressed trembling fingertips to his lips. “After. We’ll talk after. There’s too much to do right now. Emily and Jake need me, and I need to slip out to see Matthew. I’ll wait ’til Victoria can sit with Emily.”
“Then you’re in luck, ’cause here she is.” Victoria hurried down the hallway. “Matthew’s asking for you.”
Grace opened the door and called softly, “Emily? Would you mind if I go to see Matthew? Victoria’s here to sit with you.”
“No,” Emily replied. “Go on, Grace. Just please don’t be gone long.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
Victoria skirted around them to go into the bedroom. He closed the door as his daughter took a seat next to the bed.
“I’ll walk you over.” Adam led G
race down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs where it was still dark and private. He turned her so he could pull her into his embrace. Her whole body shuddered as she tucked her face into the crook of his neck. “It’s okay, Gracie. Let it out.”
Her words tumbled out slowly. “What if Emily has trouble? I won’t know what to do.”
Patiently waiting as she spent her fears, he held his wife close. “Everything will be fine.”
She eased back. “I’m sorry.”
“Nonsense.”
“I’m a coward.”
He hated her defeated tone. With his knuckles under her chin, he lifted to make her look at him. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that again.”
“But I’m so frightened—”
“Being frightened doesn’t make you a coward. We’re asking a lot of you, and you’re rising to the challenge. Have you ever delivered a child before?”
“Heavens, no. You knew that.”
“Yet here you are, helping Emily.”
Grace shrugged. “She’s family. I can’t let her go through this alone.”
“I know you’re frightened by Stephen…”
Her gaze dropped to his chest.
“But you’re still here. You haven’t run away. I know you probably wanted to jump on the closest horse and ride as far away from the man as you can. You’ve been doing that for a long time, haven’t you, darlin’?”
“Please…n–not now. I can’t talk about him now.”
Adam brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Not now—but soon. Don’t be afraid. You know I’ll protect you. I’ll always protect you.”
Her eyes searched his, and for the life of him he wished he knew what thoughts were flying through that busy head of hers. He was fairly sure of at least some of what happened between her and Stephen Shay in the past.
Why in the hell that bastard had ended up in White Pines with Victoria remained a mystery, although Adam had his suspicions. He’d listen to Victoria’s story and then he’d talk to Ty.
Yet another part of this puzzle he’d have to work on.
At least Victoria hadn’t argued that Stephen should be a guest at the Twin Springs, so Adam hadn’t found himself having to refuse her. No way he’d let that man anywhere near Grace again. At least Victoria didn’t seem to feel any affection for Stephen. When she’d gone to Matthew after the fight, she’d let everyone know where her loyalties lay.