In His Eyes: Blemished Brides Book 1, page 12
Perspiration beaded on Chantal’s forehead. Her usual controlled demeanor faltered, making her appear like a horse ready to bolt. For the first time, she looked scared.
“I want you gone from here, Trace Hawley,” she spat. “I want you off this ranch tonight. I should have gotten rid of you a long time ago. If you’re not gone within an hour, I will have you shot for trespassing.”
Trace grinned slowly. “I’ve already planned on leaving, Chantal. You’ve simply sped up my plans by a few weeks. You see, despite what you might think, I don’t need this ranch. I’ll leave tonight, but I’ll be back to collect my belongings.” He ran a hand through his hair, and moved around her and out of the barn. Outside, he turned and faced her again. “And I’ll be calling on Katie, too.”
He stepped out into the darkness and headed for the pen where his saddle horse was kept. He hadn’t anticipated leaving the ranch tonight, on such abrupt notice, but Chantal’s threat to shoot him was real. He’d unnerved her by telling her he knew all about the will, and her hackles were raised. She’d be just crazy enough to take a shotgun to him herself.
Trace glanced toward his cabin. He’d collect his belongings another day, like he’d said. It would give him a chance to talk to Katie, let her know he cared for her and wanted to court her. This evening sure hadn’t turned out the way he’d planned. He hadn’t even given her the birthday gift he had for her. He patted his shirt pocket. It was still there. Tomorrow would be just as good a time as any.
After saddling his horse, he rode from the ranch that had been his home for most of his life. For the last ten years, he’d worked for a boss who only cared about money, but he’d remained true to his former boss’ vision to breed a respectable line of racehorses. He’d made a name for himself in his own right for having good judgment in combining the right bloodlines to produce winners. His time to leave and strike out on his own had been long overdue, but something had always held him back.
He looked toward the big house, outlined by faint light in the distance, as he rode away. The reason he hadn’t left was somewhere in that house, and he’d do whatever it took to convince her that she belonged with him, just as her father had predicted all those years ago.
Chapter SIxteen
Katherine descended the stairs, and made her way to the dining room for some breakfast. Socializing the previous night had given her little time to eat, and she was famished this morning. She suppressed a yawn and rubbed her temples. Her feet still ached, but the thought of visiting with Trace again made her eager to start the day. She certainly didn’t look forward to dealing with her mother this morning, but she’d get that confrontation out of the way first thing.
After returning to the house last night with Wilma and Sebastian, she’d made the excuse that she wasn’t feeling well. Sebastian had continued telling anyone who would listen that he’d been attacked by someone who had then abducted Katherine. He emphasized that he’d been unable to do anything but come back to the house to enlist help. No one had, apparently, wanted to hear her side of the story when she’d tried to come to Trace’s defense.
As far as she was concerned, after the confrontation with her mother in the barn, the party was over, and she’d simply wanted to go to bed and reflect on what had happened with Trace. She’d lain awake for hours, smiling and reliving the evening’s events over and over in her mind. Her lips hadn’t stopped tingling from Trace’s kiss. She’d been too surprised at his actions to stop him, not that she’d wanted him to stop. Unlike Sebastian, whose advances had done nothing but leave a sour taste in her mouth, Trace had left her longing for more.
It had occurred to her only late into the night that Trace hadn’t given her the gift he’d said he had for her. Not that it mattered. The kiss had been the best birthday present she’d ever received, and she couldn’t wait for morning to see him again. Still, what could he possibly want to give her? Her lips curved in a smile and her heart fluttered with the thought that he’d even remembered her birthday.
Her mother’s voice echoed through the hall as she barked orders at Maggie. Katherine frowned. Why couldn’t her mother simply speak in a respectful manner to others? She seemed to thoroughly enjoy the power her wealth brought, and continually reminded those around her of her importance. Katherine shook her head. Her mother was to be pitied. She’d always be a lonely woman, in love with nothing but her money.
Will that happen to me, if I marry because of money, and not for love?
Her fingers touched her lips. She smiled. She did love someone, and she’d tell her mother that she didn’t want to marry Sebastian, regardless that Chantal had already betrothed her to him. After last evening, she was almost sure that Trace had feelings for her. She hadn’t simply misinterpreted his actions from the few times she’d been in his company. If he didn’t ask to court her today, she’d confront him and ask him what his intentions were.
“Good morning, Mother,” she greeted cheerfully when she entered the dining room, and took her seat at the table. Maggie brought her juice, and asked what she’d like for breakfast.
“I’m glad to see you’re in a bright mood,” Chantal said in her usual clipped tone. “After what happened last night.”
“Nothing happened last night,” Katherine said, mentally counting to ten. “If Sebastian had kept his hands to himself, Trace wouldn’t have hit him.”
Her mother scoffed. “Well, we can be glad that matter is settled. Sebastian is still eager to marry you. In fact, he and I discussed it and thought it best to move up the wedding plans. There’s really no need for a drawn-out courtship, is there?”
Katherine sat up straighter. “What do you mean, no need? I don’t even know this man. In fact, I’m sure he’s not the man I want to marry.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Katherine. We’ve been over this already.”
“What if there’s another man who wants to court me?”
Chantal laughed. “You mean Trace Hawley? Don’t be silly, girl.”
“You just don’t like him, because you can’t control him,” Katherine replied.
“Trace Hawley always made things difficult for Frank and me. He was a troublemaker in his younger days, and I should have fired him years ago. Frank kept trying to tell me to get rid of him, but because I respected his father for being a good foreman, I kept giving him chance after chance.”
“But I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. He’s done a lot for this ranch.” Katherine swiped some loose strands of hair from her face.
“He bred the most expensive mare on this property to a stallion with a horrible pedigree. To say that Frank was livid would be putting it mildly. Trace Hawley does what he wants. He hasn’t changed one bit from his adolescent days. If it hadn’t been for him, your father might still be alive today.”
Katherine shook her head in disbelief. She’d never heard that Trace was somehow connected to her father’s death.
“That’s right, Katherine,” her mother continued, and patted her hand. “If Trace had followed your father’s orders that day, that tragic accident wouldn’t have occurred. The entire community speculated about it, but, of course, there was no proof. He hasn’t changed. He’s still the same hot-headed person he was in his youth, my dear.” Her mother’s cold hand squeezed hers. Chantal inhaled a deep breath, as if it pained her what to say next. Her voice even softened.
“Don’t you see what he’s doing, Katherine, dear? He somehow found out about that will, and now he wants to cash in. If he’s pursuing you all of a sudden, believe me, it’s purely for selfish reasons. A man like that doesn’t show interest in a blind woman except for personal gain.”
“Unlike the man you picked for me,” Katherine muttered sarcastically.
She squeezed her eyes shut. She would not fall apart in front of her mother. Was Trace truly only being nice to her because he wanted the ranch? She simply couldn’t believe it. That kiss had felt so real. Everything he’d done during the few times she’d spent in his presence, every touch, had been full of concern for her, full of tenderness.
Doubt nagged her. Experience had taught her that once people found out about her handicap, they treated her differently, either by avoiding her or by pitying her. Trace had done neither, but he also hadn’t said that he cared for her. Was she, literally, blinded by her young girl’s infatuation with him? She loved him, but she didn’t know if he felt the same.
“Let me tell you exactly how much your precious Trace cares about you,” her mother hissed through her teeth. “So much, that he left the ranch last night.”
“What?” Katherine’s heart sank. An uneasy feeling crept through her, making her limbs go weak.
“When I confronted him about his false interest in you, he became angry, and rode off. He’s gone, Katherine. If you don’t believe me, go and check for yourself.” She paused, and a china cup clanked against its saucer.
“Just be glad Sebastian still wants to marry you, after what you did last night. You’ve embarrassed us all. I think moving the wedding up sooner is in order before the rumors start to fly.”
“Pardon me, ma’am.” Maggie’s voice drifted from the dining room door.
“What is it?” Chantal snapped. She removed her hand from the top of Katherine’s.
“A telegram just arrived for you, ma’am. The courier rode all the way from town to deliver it.”
“Bring it here,” Chantal ordered.
Paper rustled, and Katherine waited. Her mind reeled. Her mother had lied to her plenty of times. She’d never had her best interest in mind, only looking out for herself. It was clear that she didn’t like Trace. She probably considered him a threat to her control of the ranch.
Katherine pushed her chair back, intent to leave. She had to find Trace and talk to him, and lay her nagging doubts to rest. Her mother’s sudden cursing startled her.
“I can’t believe this,” she nearly shouted.
Katherine frowned.
“What is it, Mother?”
“This telegram is from your grandfather’s nephew, Bob Hamilton. He found out about Frank’s death. It says he’s on his way here, and that he intends to claim ownership of the Red Cliff.”
A fist slammed against the table, making the china clatter. “Under no circumstances can we let that happen.”
“We’ll let him know that we are still adhering to the will. Simply tell him that I’m in the process of finding a husband,” Katherine suggested.
Chantal laughed scornfully. “Don’t be so naïve, Katherine. If you’re not married by the time he shows up here, he won’t care when your wedding is. We’ll be tossed out with only the clothes on our backs.”
Trepidation made her stomach churn. The last thing she wanted was for the ranch to be handed over to someone who would simply squander it away.
“When will he be here?” she asked.
“The stage comes through day after tomorrow.” Chantal reached for her hand. “Come along Katherine. There’s no time to waste. We’re going into town to see Reverend Sanders. Today is your wedding day.”
* * *
Trace stoked the fire in the hearth, the coals gleaming red. He rubbed his hands together as his breath swirled in a grey mist in front of him. Reaching for his cup of coffee, he held the hot brew between his palms until his stiff fingers tingled back to life. He held the cup to his lips and savored the hot brew as it slid down his throat.
He stood, and glanced around the small room. The cabin he was in needed work, a lot of work, hardly the place to bring a bride. Many of the wooden boards that made up the walls had gaps, allowing cold air into the room. It had been nearly impossible to keep the place heated all night. Although the days were warm, the temperature at night dipped quite a bit. The water pump was broken, which meant he had to fetch his water from the nearby stream, and there was a sizable hole in the roof.
Now that he was no longer in charge of the Red Cliff, he’d have plenty of time to get this place fixed up, and by the time it was finished, perhaps Katie would consent to marry him. He certainly couldn’t offer her the kind of home she was accustomed to, but unlike her mother, Katie didn’t care about money. She cared about the horses.
He ran his hand across his whiskered jaw, then drained his coffee cup. Time to get cleaned up so he could head back to the Red Cliff and make his intentions known to Katie. He smiled. Kissing her last night had left him wanting more. Her response had given him hope that she’d be agreeable to a courtship. All he needed was time to convince her that they were right for each other.
She was a remarkable woman - beautiful, strong-willed, and independent. With every day since she’d returned home, her old self had started to emerge a little more, shedding her stuffy New York skin.
Grabbing his hat from the peg by the door, he headed outside, squinting into the morning sun. His horse whinnied a greeting from the nearby make-shift pen he’d erected a few days ago. Along with improvements on the cabin, he’d need to get a barn built before winter to house the mare and her colt.
Trace glanced around the clearing in front of the cabin. Rolling hills covered in lush grass stretched for miles in all directions. Pine trees dotted the landscape. He smiled. Grazing was good here for horses, and a stream meandered nearby that supplied water year-round. The place lacked barns and corrals, but it was a start, and it belonged to him.
The horse pricked its ears and whinnied again. Hoof beats pounded in the distance, and a rider on a galloping horse quickly materialized over the rise leading to the cabin.
“Sally?” Trace called before his sister brought her mount to a sliding stop in front of his cabin. A jolt of dread hit him. He lunged for the horse’s bridle, and helped his sister from the saddle. “Is everything alright?”
Sally’s chest heaved, and she gulped in a couple of breaths of air before she spoke. Her eyes were wide with panic. “Chantal is taking Katie to town to marry her to that Sebastian fella. Wilma just told me when I got to the ranch. I didn’t know she fired you last night.”
“Damn that woman,” Trace cursed. Anger rushed through him, making his head pound. “When did they leave?”
“They were gone when I got there. If you hurry, you can stop the wedding.”
Trace ran for the horse pen. He tossed his saddle onto his startled mount, and yanked the cinch tight. Clenching his jaw, he leapt onto the animal’s back.
“I have to get something at the Red Cliff first,” he said, and nodded at his sister. “Pray I won’t be too late.”
Trace kicked his horse into a gallop, and raced in the direction of the Red Cliff Ranch. If he hurried, he might still be able to make it to town before the vows were spoken in church. He didn’t, for a second, believe that Katie had gone along with this willingly. He must have scared the tar out of Chantal last night for her to act so quickly to get her daughter married off.
Cursing repeatedly, he urged his horse to greater speed. He hated what he had to resort to in order to stop Katie’s wedding to another man, but Chantal had left him no choice. If he wasn’t too late, and Katie still wanted to marry Sebastian, he wouldn’t stand in her way, but he had to at least talk to her first.
Several of the ranch hands stared at him when he rode past the barns and brought his horse to a stop in front of his former cabin.
“Someone saddle me a fresh horse,” he shouted over his shoulder, then leapt up the porch steps. He pushed the front door open, and rushed into his father’s old bedroom.
Yanking open several drawers at a time to his father’s old desk, Trace found the old ledger his father had kept for John, documenting bloodlines. He flipped it open and produced an envelope stuck between the pages. His hands trembled when he opened it and pulled out a piece of parchment. Unfolding it, he scanned the writing. He’d known about this piece of paper since the day his father died, but he’d never actually read it. This might be his only hope for making a case to stop Katie’s wedding.
His father’s words to him, when he lay in bed with the sickness that would claim his life, came back to him.
“I know you were angry at John and me when you overheard us talking about you and Katherine. I hope you’ll forgive two fathers wanting what’s best for their children. We thought it would be in everyone’s best interest if you and she married someday. John was a smart man, and he wasn’t going to let his wife ruin this ranch if anything ever happened to him. Thanks to him, you’ll always have a place here.”
His father had handed Trace the parchment he now held, and continued, “If you ever change your mind about Katherine, and by some miracle the two of you find out that John was right that you were meant to be together, here are his final wishes. It’s notarized and everything.”
Trace stuffed the paper back in the envelope, and into his shirt pocket. He rushed from the house. Luke stood at the bottom of the porch, holding the reins to a fresh horse.
“What’s goin’ on, Trace?” Luke asked, his eyes wide and round.
“I’m about to stop a wedding,” Trace said through gritted teeth, and leapt into the saddle.
Luke grinned widely, his white teeth gleaming in contrast to his dark skin. “I knew you’d come to your senses eventually. Miz Sinclair and that pansy left not an hour ago with Miss Katherine. Wilma Rodgers come down to the barns, lookin’ for ya, screamin’ like her skirts was on fire.” He chuckled. “That woman’s got some sense to her, after all.”
Trace merely nodded, turned the horse, and kicked it into a run. A carriage was much slower than a horse running at full speed, but an hour was a big head start. He could only hope that he’d make it to the church in time.
