Face the Night, page 30
This time there were no formal tables, no glasses of cursed wine waiting to toast, just a collection of landowners standing together and waiting for someone to stand up and take the lead.
Baron Hernandez stepped forward and cleared his throat. “As you all know, the barons are the ones who vote to appoint the territorial judge. As we have not yet selected Judge Barber’s replacement—may he rest in peace with the Saints—I believe it is within our jurisdiction to vote on the choice of one of our peers.”
There was a general rumble of agreement.
Cat sucked in a breath as she realized what he was saying. A warm, swelling sensation filled her chest as if she’d taken a sip of whiskey.
“I am aware that Catriona Macgregor has a criminal record,” he continued. “However, as we heard from the cursed Saint himself, that would not have happened had Baron Caldwell not murdered her parents. Given the circumstances and her role in saving all of us from the Fallen Saint, I motion that we clear her of her crimes and reinstate her as the rightful baroness of the Macgregor Ranch. Those in favor?”
Tears burned behind Cat’s eyes as she watched hand after hand go up. Of course, there were several reluctant ayes and several abstains, but in the end, all that mattered was the outcome.
“Cleared of all crimes!” Baron Hernandez announced. He motioned for her to join him at the head of the room. She stepped forward, her legs shaking.
Baron Hernandez held out his hand. “It is a pleasure to welcome you home, Miss Macgregor.”
Cat finally let her tears fall. She reached out and shook his offered hand with a firm determination. “I promise to make you and the rest of Saelum proud.”
Baron Hernandez winked. “I’m sure you will.”
She turned to find Father Iggy rushing toward her. He threw out his arms and pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace.
“I told you, my dear,” he whispered in her ear.
Cat pulled back and squeezed his hands. “Thank you, Father Iggy. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Oh nonsense,” he said, wiping a tear from his eye. “This is my job.”
“A job which you excelled at,” she reminded him. “And if you ever want to start your own vineyard—a proper one, I would love to be a financier for such an endeavor. Apparently I am a landowner now.”
Father Iggy patted her cheek and winked. “We will definitely stay in touch.”
Next, it was Edith’s turn to embrace her. “Does this mean you aren’t going to be hanged?” she asked.
Cat laughed. “Yes. I’m not going to be hanged.”
Edith squealed with delight.
She looked up, and her eyes locked with Adrian’s, a thousand words hanging unsaid between them. She didn’t know where to start, and neither, it seemed, did he.
“There is a lot to figure out now, isn’t there?” he said.
Cat nodded, a lump forming in her throat.
He was right: there was still so much to figure out, to mourn and rebuild. But she didn’t fear the future anymore. She wished Amos could see her now, but she knew that somewhere, he was smiling down on her alongside the Saints.
Alongside her parents.
Chapter
Forty-Five
“No offense, Cat, but this looks like a piece of—” Soap started to say before Cat elbowed him in the stomach.
“Paradise? You were going to say paradise, weren’t you?” She arched an eyebrow at him.
Soap wheezed as he bent double, trying to catch his breath. “Yup,” he coughed. “Paradise. You took the words . . . right outta my mouth.”
Cat tilted her head as she considered the sight before them. Unfortunately, Soap was probably right with his initial unfinished assessment. What was left of the Macgregor homestead was the farthest possible thing from a paradise.
“It has . . . excellent bones?” Pedro offered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Cat let a heavy breath escape from her lips. It had been almost a decade since the fire had destroyed most of the main house. Though some of the original structure remained intact, what framing remained was charred black and overrun with sagebrush. A lone coyote scampered out from the ruins of the kitchen and into the hills upon their approach.
“That used to be my room,” Cat said flatly, pointing to a section of the second story that was still standing.
“How can you tell?” Pedro asked.
“I can’t really. I’m just going based off my memory, to be honest.”
“Well.” Soap finally caught his breath and clapped his hands together. “We got a lot a work ahead of us, but a right rich sponsor now, don’t we? Baroness Macgregor?”
“I’m not going to be your sugar mama, Soap.”
“What about mine?” Pedro asked, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Cat swept off her hat and beat it against Pedro’s shoulder. He actually smiled and took his beating with exceptional grace.
“What am I going to do with the pair of you?”
Soap grinned. “Take care of us for the rest of our long, lazy lives, of course.”
“Hell no. I’m putting you both to work. Immediately.”
They both chuckled. She hated to admit it, but she was so grateful to have them with her. If her birth family couldn’t be here with her, the family she chose for herself could be.
“Find anything worthwhile, priest?” Soap called over to where Father Iggy was digging his hands into the dirt several yards away.
The priest lifted some of the soil and rubbed it between his fingers. “Yes, I think it will do nicely. The earth is rich enough, and if I can import some different varieties, we can have some fine vineyards planted by spring.”
“What about cattle? Rebuilding the house?” Cat worried her lower lip between her teeth. She didn’t even know where to begin on such matters. Her parents had left behind some substantial funds tied to the Macgregor estate, another reason Baron Caldwell had likely been eager to get his hands on it. She would never allow the aurium on her land to be mined. But even without it, she had enough money to reestablish the ranch and get it running again . . . with a few improvements. Such as Father Iggy’s new vineyard. He planned to sell his own wines—as a private endeavor not in any way tied to the church, of course.
“We will need to hire some builders from Saint’s Landing to help with the main house, and that will take a while. I suggest putting up a smaller establishment for you to live in the meantime. As for cattle, we need to begin purchasing a herd and preparing the pastures.”
“Will you help me?” Cat implored the priest with wide, desperate eyes.
“Of course, Catriona. I have been with you every step of the way and I don’t plan on letting you down now.” He waved a hand as though the thought of him not helping was preposterous.
Cat’s throat tightened, and she gave him a watery smile.
“What happened to your fancy boy?” Soap asked, kicking at the dirt. “I thought he’d be here by now, begging at your feet for you to marry him.”
Cat shrugged and tried to pretend she didn’t care, but the reality was, it had been almost a week since the events of Saint’s Landing, and she hadn’t so much as gotten a letter. And it wasn’t like they lived all that far away from each other now. Adrian could come over anytime he wanted, but he clearly didn’t want to. The last time she’d seen him was back in the courthouse. After her charges had been cleared, the barons had started over with the vote—Cat and Adrian both speaking for their respective ranches—and selected Baron Hernandez as their recommendation for the new governor of Saelum Territory. It was a role Cat believed he’d serve in well. She’d watched as he and Adrian spoke at length after the vote. They’d been too far away for her to hear their conversation, but she could have sworn she saw Adrian say “Evangeline” more than once.
Could that be why he’d distanced himself ? She knew he had his own matters to sort out as the new Baron Caldwell, managing the cattle ranch, settling up his father’s substantial debts . . . debts that might require him to marry another wealthy landowner’s daughter to cover. A wealthy landowner’s daughter like Evangeline Hernandez. Perhaps he was doing what he had to, or perhaps he’d come to actually care for her. Evangeline was well bred, beautiful, and had a genuinely kind heart. She had seen that for herself. And Cat . . . well . . . Cat had lied to him for weeks about who she truly was. Just because they had a history together, it didn’t mean he owed her any kind of future. She was a little rougher around the edges and came with more vinegar than honey when it came to her personality. Adrian probably felt guilty or wanted to protect her feelings by staying away. Cat crossed her arms across her chest and squeezed, pretending the empty, aching feeling was just about what had become of her once fine home and nothing whatsoever to do with Adrian.
“He’s probably just busy taking care of things.” Her tone was casual, but she didn’t miss the way Soap eyed her with disbelief. “If he wants to come see me, he knows where to find me,” she added for good measure.
“You know, I am proud of you, my dear, for no longer running from your past. But Adrian is part of that past too, you know. You don’t have to run from him either,” said Father Iggy, jumping into their conversation.
Cat rolled her eyes. “You still have the bet going on with the other priests, don’t you?”
Father Iggy sputtered. “That—that is neither here nor there!” He became suddenly very interested in the state of the soil again.
“I dunno. If I were him, I’d have swept you off your feet by now and ridden off into the sunset,” Soap said.
Cat snorted. “Well, we aren’t all hopeless romantics like you, Soap.”
“Emphasis on the hopeless part,” Pedro added.
“And who says I even want that?” Cat fiddled with Almond’s reins. “If that’s what he wanted, he would have made that known by now, which means he must want something else.” She’d heard rumors of “preparations” for an event happening at the Caldwell Ranch from one of the riders delivering supplies, and preparations clearly meant one thing. Why else would he be keeping such a careful distance between them?
“Oh, don’t pretend you aren’t in love with him, Cat,” Soap teased. “I know love when I see it, and you’ve got it bad for Mr. Fancy Pants.”
“Don’t call him Mr. Fancy Pants,” Cat snapped. But she didn’t contradict him about loving Adrian. She knew she did, but a fat lot of good it did her if he was going to end up marrying Evangeline.
So instead of dwelling on it, she threw herself into her work, sparing only an occasional glance toward the river that marked the boundary of their lands. Each horse that rode up with news from Saint’s Landing or with supplies made her heart leap until she saw that none of them were Adrian.
By the last morning of that week, they had a decent camp set up that would serve as a home base during the rebuilding phase, and Cat had given up any hope of hearing from him. She was pouring herself a cup of hot coffee from the pot hanging over the fire when the sounds of hoofbeats reached her ears. Soap and Pedro were still asleep in their tents, and Cat didn’t even look up, expecting it to be another delivery for Soap or a messenger with another bid on pricing for lumber. But the sound of a little girl’s voice snapped her attention to the newcomer.
“Cat? Are you here?” came Edith’s familiar tone.
“Edith?” Cat jumped to her feet. “What are you doing here? Are you . . . on a horse by yourself?”
And so she was. Cat’s jaw nearly dropped to the dirt, especially when she noticed the carpetbag Edith had tied to the saddle.
“Yes. I came by myself. I decided I am moving in with you.” Edith tossed the small bag onto the dirt and then dismounted, spreading her arms wide as though proud of herself.
Cat nearly choked on her coffee. “Moving in? With me? Why?”
“Well, Adrian is so busy and he’s trying to get me another governess, but I absolutely refuse. You were the best one I ever had. He told me you had your own place to live now, though, so I decided that if you can’t come to us, then I would come to you.”
Edith’s words lanced through Cat’s chest like an arrow. She “had her own place to live” now, did she? So much for offering her a place to call home with him. Perhaps Evangeline wasn’t comfortable with their past together. Considering the feelings Cat had for Adrian, that was probably for the best anyway.
“Yes, I have my own place now, but I’m pretty sure Adrian will mind you leaving.” Cat quirked the corner of her mouth into a half smile. “Not that I would mind having you here.”
“Then why can’t you just come back and live with us?” Edith pressed. “You haven’t even come back to visit! Do you not like us anymore?”
“Edith, you know that’s not true at all. I’ve just been really busy.”
“That’s what Adrian says. That I just need to leave you alone and let you get settled. But it’s been a whole week! Are you settled yet?”
Cat glanced around at the canvas tents she, Soap, and Pedro had erected along with the campfire that was serving as their kitchen until the main kitchen was in better shape. “Not exactly settled. But we should probably get you back home, sweetheart. Does Adrian even know you’re here?”
“I don’t mind sleeping in a tent. I promise. And I can be a very hard worker if you need me to! Please don’t send me back yet!”
Cat pulled the little girl into a hug. “I’m sure you are a very hard worker. You are more than welcome to visit me anytime. Tell you what. Why don’t you stay for breakfast and then we can get you home, okay?”
Edith grumbled but situated herself by the fire while Cat baked some drop biscuits in a skillet. They munched in silence, listening to the gentle rhythms of Soap snoring in his tent until the sound of more hooves approaching caught Cat’s attention. This time, she did choke on her coffee.
Adrian rode up, his face frantic with concern. His hair was disheveled, and he’d missed a button on his wrinkled shirt. He practically jumped off his horse in his haste to approach them.
“Edith!” His voice was low and dangerous. “Where. Have. You. Been?”
Edith gave her brother a sheepish smile. “I told you I don’t want a new governess. I want Cat. So I came to live with her.”
Adrian ran a hand through his hair, making the ends stick up even worse than they already were. “Edith, we talked about this.”
“She’s settled! Look! They have tents up and everything!”
Soap chose that particular moment to stumble out of his tent, completely shirtless. Adrian looked between him and Cat, his cheeks turning crimson.
“Well, they obviously seem very settled, so let’s leave them be, Edith . . .”
“Ah, Mr. Fancy Pants finally returns,” Soap proclaimed, helping himself to a biscuit. “You gonna propose now, or what?”
Adrian’s eyes went wide. “I—What? What do you—”
Cat shoved Soap back toward his tent. “Nothing. He doesn’t mean anything.”
“Cat! Aren’t you going to tell him you love—”
“Time to get dressed now, Soap!” Cat said very loudly.
Adrian looked at Cat, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
“Sorry. It’s nothing. I’m sure you need to get back home. I’m so sorry about Edith, I told her she’s welcome to visit anytime, but she definitely needs to ask first.” Cat lifted Edith by the elbow from where she sat on a log by the fire.
Edith yanked her arm back. “I don’t want to go back without you!”
“I don’t really have a place there anymore, Edith.” Was it her, or did Adrian flinch when she said that? It was true though. If he was going to marry Evangeline, it wouldn’t be proper for her to be at their house.
“It’s, um, good to see you, at least, Catriona. I mean Cat.” Adrian cleared his throat as though he was uncomfortable.
Soap groaned from somewhere inside his tent. Cat’s face was on fire. Despite how badly she had wanted Adrian to come visit, now she wanted nothing more than the Caldwells to go home before she burned to a crisp in embarrassment.
“Yeah, it’s . . . good to see you too. How is . . . everything?” Why did it feel like she’d swallowed a swarm of moths instead of coffee and biscuits for breakfast?
Adrian shrugged. “Just familiarizing myself with my father’s affairs. Making preparations. That sort of thing.”
“Oh.” Cat paused. “How are the wedding preparations going?”
Adrian blinked at her. “Wedding preparations?”
“For you and Evangeline, of course.”
To her surprise, Adrian started laughing.
A flicker of irritation sparked inside her. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m . . . not marrying Evangeline. Is that what you think?”
“I saw you talking to her dad after the vote! You haven’t so much as said hello since everything happened, and one of the supply runners said you were busy with preparations!”
“Preparations for my father’s funeral, not for a wedding,” Adrian said, catching his breath. “Is that why you haven’t come to visit? You thought I was marrying Evangeline?”
Cat crossed her arms across her chest. Now she felt like a fool. Anger prickled hotly along her cheeks now, burning away the embarrassment. “Well, you could have come to visit too, you know.”
“That’s what I said,” Edith grumbled.
“I didn’t want to impose, especially if you were getting settled. I just wanted to give you time to . . . you know, figure out what you want.”
“She wants you,” Soap called from his tent.
“Oh my Saints.” Cat covered her eyes with her hand.
“Is that true?” Adrian asked, taking a step closer.
The burning in her cheeks intensified to an almost unbearable level. But she couldn’t find it in her to admit the truth.
“We never made any promises to each other, and we didn’t get much time to talk about things after what happened.”
