The Debutante's Secret: Western Historical Romance (The Debutantes of Durango Book 2)

by Peggy McKenzie

  Roxanne had hoped to share with Alex what Grace had told her, but when she left Jeremy and Grace eating supper to walk down to where Alex was still working, things had gone in a different direction. Not that she was complaining. There would be plenty of time for them to have that conversation later.

  The clock in the main room struck nine. She had just finished the breakfast dishes and needed to hurry Grace along. Alex told her early this morning he had business in town and invited her and Grace to ride along. Now that she and Alex appeared to be growing closer, she needed her cousin’s advice. What did the future hold for her here in Durango? And what would her parents do if she told them she had found her fairy tale ending with a little girl and her cowboy papa.

  As if her thoughts conjured him, she heard the carriage roll by the open kitchen door and stop out front.

  “Grace, your papa is here. It's time to leave. Go upstairs and get your bonnet and jacket.”

  She heard Grace race up the wooden staircase to get her things from her bedroom upstairs. Roxanne quickly finished tidying the kitchen and hung the drying towel on the wooden peg by the sink.

  She sensed Alex’s presence before she saw him.

  Her heart raced with anticipation at the thought of being near him again. She inhaled a deep breath to calm her excitement and turned to see him standing in the doorway. His shoulder rested against the door jam. His arms crossed. Her stomach fluttered at the sight. Tall. Handsome. Vulnerable. Just the kind of man she liked in her Prince Charming.

  “Good morning... again,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Where's Grace?” he asked as he stepped into the kitchen, his eyes never leaving her.

  “Um, Grace? Oh yes. Grace. She is upstairs getting her bonnet and jacket in case it should get chilly this afternoon on the way home.” Alex crossed the kitchen to stand next to her. He looked down at her with those eyes of his. It was clear to Roxanne exactly what the man had on his mind, and she was in full agreement with whatever he had in mind. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned down.

  “I can assure you, Roxanne, chilly is not a word I think about when you come to mind.” His breath caressed her face when he whispered his words sending ripples of pleasure across her skin. Her eyelids dropped and her lips parted of their own accord. It was as if they knew exactly what she wanted to do with this cowboy.

  She really should be ashamed of her behavior. Her mother had taught her to behave better, but when Roxanne was this close to Alex, she just couldn’t make herself care. Perhaps it was the solitude of their surroundings that gave her the freedom to behave so wantonly. Whatever it was, she craved it and thoughts of Boston slipped further and further away.

  Alex leaned in and kissed her. They were learning each other’s body with every kiss. She celebrated the feel of his hard body pressed against hers, and thoughts of sharing a quilt beneath the midnight blue Colorado sky filled with an endless blanket of stars, stole her breath away. Lying beside Alex, away from prying eyes, made her weak at the knees and heat pooled at her core.

  She pushed her body closer and reached her hand between the buttons of his shirt loving the feel of his chest beneath her fingers. She raked her hand through his coarse hair stumbling over one of his nipples. His groan rumbled in his chest and he deepened his kiss by ravaging her mouth with his tongue.

  They heard Grace's footsteps racing down the stairs. She pushed away first and turned toward the sink to gather her emotions before the little girl ran into the room.

  “Hi, Papa. I’m ready to go.” Grace announced running into the kitchen.

  “Well then, little girl. Let’s get you loaded in that wagon.” Roxanne watched him sweep his daughter up and sling her on one hip. Then he tossed her a look that promised there was more to come later.

  She offered Alex a shy smile. “You two get settled. I’ll go get my things and be right there.”

  Roxanne watched Alex and Grace turn to go. After this mornings…unexpected dessert…she needed advice from her cousin more than ever, and yet…she couldn't wait to return to the ranch and put Grace to bed.

  Now that things between her and Alex were obviously headed in a different direction than that of a mere employer-employee, she needed to send her father a telegram as soon as she got into town. She would explain to him that she needed more time to experience the adventures she had come to Colorado to find. Just a little more time to see where this thing between her and Alex was going.

  Roxanne grabbed her things from the bedroom and closed the kitchen door behind her. Alex helped her up and into the carriage. She and Alex shared the front seat while Grace was wedged between them.

  “I'm ready to proceed,” Grace announced.

  “Very good, Grace. I’m happy to see you are using the new word we studied yesterday. Well, then. I suppose we should... proceed.” She stole a look at Alex. He grinned at her and she grinned back. It took all of Roxanne's finishing school skills to behave as if nothing was happening between her and the little girl's father.

  Alex turned to his daughter. “Yes, I think we are most definitely ready to proceed.” He cut another knowing look in Roxanne’s direction, then slapped the reins against the bay mare’s rump and guided the carriage down the road toward town.

  Half an hour later, they stopped in front of Regina's home and Alex turned to her. “I assumed you would want to visit Regina and John and since I have some business to attend to, I thought it best to drop you off here first. I should be back in a couple of hours and I thought we could eat lunch at a restaurant or the hotel before we head back to the ranch. If that's alright with you, of course.”

  “I think that’s a lovely idea. We'll be waiting for you.” Roxanne tried to convey more meaning in that statement than her mere words implied. The heat in Alex’s eyes indicated he had received her message loud and clear. Her heart stuttered with excitement at the thought of being alone with him tonight.

  She allowed Alex to help her down from the carriage and his hands lingered on her waist. Then, he turned and lifted Grace down to stand beside them.

  “Grace, you mind Miss Roxanne, and I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours, okay?”

  “Yes, Papa.” Grace gifted her father with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Roxi watched Alex look at Grace with a father's love. “I love you, sweetheart. Now you have fun with Miss Roxanne, okay?”

  “Yes, Papa,“ Grace answered again. “Can I go to the school you told me about, Miss Roxanne?”

  “Of course. Let me say hello to Miss Regina and then I'll walk you down to the school. Will that be okay?” Grace nodded her approval. “Very well then, shall we go?” She extended her hand to Grace and the little girl took it and skipped along beside her up the side walk to Regina’s front door.

  She stole a quick look back to watch Alex drive away. Instead, she saw that he was still standing beside the carriage watching her. The look he gave her sent a jolt of desire straight to her core. He tipped his hat and climbed back aboard the carriage and disappeared down the street.

  “Can we go see Miss Regina now? There's so much I want to tell her about what I'm learning.” Grace pulled on her hand. Roxanne knocked on her cousin’s front door. “Yes, there is so much I want to tell her too.”

  Alex guided his fleet-footed bay mare down the street toward the telegraph office. He hoped like hell he had some explanation from his father as to why his money hadn't reach Durango's bank yet. His credit line with Mr. Collins was nearly gone and he had promised the mercantile owner that he would pay on his account within two weeks of their awkward conversation. His time was almost up and the money still hadn’t arrived from New Orleans.

  He tied off the little mare to the hitching post in front of the telegraph office and stepped inside. He saw the clerk behind the front counter. “Hello, I'm Alex Harp. I'm waiting on a telegram from New Orleans. Has anything arrived for me?”

  The clerk looked up from his work and focused on him. “Harp? Let me check. I think something did come in yesterday
afternoon.” The slight man with wire spectacles rose from his chair and rummaged through a bin of slots. Alex's heart raced as he anticipated hearing from his father. “Ah, yes. Here we go.” The man pulled out the slip of paper and handed it to him. “Let me know if you want to send a reply.”

  “Thank you.” Alex took the telegram and stepped outside to read it. He quickly scanned the words for the information he was looking for.

  Dear Son,

  Was confused to get your telegram. Stop. All funds in your account gone. Stop. Audit shows Kate withdrew the money the day she left for Colorado. Stop. Is everything alright? Stop.

  J. Harp.

  Alex's heart dropped to his toes. He felt sick and there was every indication he was going to lose his breakfast on the boardwalk outside the telegraph office. Kate had emptied his bank account. But how? He hadn't given the bank authority to release funds to her. In fact, just the opposite. When they first got married, he had made the colossal mistake of allowing Kate to withdraw funds at will. It didn’t take him long to figure out that was a huge mistake. She nearly drained his life’s savings in a matter of months. When she couldn't explain where the money was going, he set her up an allowance and she had to come to him to get it. He had personally called a meeting with the bank’s employees and instructed them not to give her any money without written permission from him. Kate had been livid and made quite the scene about town, but he stuck to his guns and told her to rein in her spending habits. So what on earth could have gone wrong?

  The reality of his situation kicked him hard in the gut. Without that money, he couldn't pay his bill at the mercantile store. Or pay Jeremy or Roxanne. He couldn't buy supplies and worse, he couldn't hire an attorney to divorce Kate. His life had come to a complete cataclysmic hard stop. What in the hell was he going to do now?

  Thoughts of Roxanne pummeled his already troubled conscience. He knew he was falling in love with her, but how could he allow his relationship with her to deepen when he was still a married man... and without a dime to his name, he wouldn’t be able to keep the ranch.

  He looked at the telegram again. His father said Kate took the funds out of his account the day she left for Colorado. But she didn't come to Colorado, so where was she? He was almost certain she wasn’t in New Orleans or someone would have seen her by now. How could he find out?

  He stuffed the telegram from his father into his vest pocket and went back inside the telegraph office. “I'd like to send a reply to that telegram now.”

  “I'm ready.” The clerk sat down at his desk, pencil in hand.

  Mr. Jarvis Harp, New Orleans, Louisiana.

  Father, Kate never came to Colorado. Stop. She sent Grace alone. Stop. Need to find her and my money as soon as possible. Stop. Please help. Stop.

  Your son, Alex.

  “How much will that cost?”

  He watched the clerk count the words. “That'll be two dollars.”

  Alex dug into his pocket and laid the money on the counter.

  “How long will that take to get to New Orleans?”

  The man stabbed the piece of paper he had written Alex's message on a nail sticking out of the wall. “I've got a couple of messages to get to before I can send yours, but if the lines are working and I ain't got no more customers in the next few minutes, I'd say it'll be received within the next half hour or so. Now, how fast you get an answer will depend on what’s goin’ on at the other end. I ain't got no control over that.”

  “I understand. I'll be in town for a few more hours. Will you send a messenger over to John Kingston's house if a reply should come back this afternoon, say before four o'clock?” Alex dug into his pocket for another dollar and placed it on the counter. “I'll pay another two bits when the message is delivered.”

  “I'll have my son bring it to ya—iffin it comes today.”

  “Thank you. It's real important that I get that message right away, you understand?”

  “Yes, sir. Mr. Harp. I understand. Every message that comes through here is important to someone.”

  Alex understood the man's position, but he doubted very seriously if the little man had any idea what that message from his father could mean to Alex. His ranch. His life. His future. Roxanne.

  He nodded and left the man to do his work. He needed to go to the bank and talk to the banker about getting an extension on his current loan and he needed another one until he figured out what the hell he was going to do.

  Alex didn’t plan for Kate’s underhanded trickery. He hoped he was in good enough standing with the bank to get the money he needed until he could find out where the hell Kate was and what she had done with his money.

  Sick at heart, Alex left his mare and carriage tied up in front of the telegraph office and walked the few blocks down to the bank. He entered the cool quiet interior. It was such a contrast to the warm, crowded streets outside. Only a few customers stood at the counter conducting business. Good. He didn’t want any nosey customers listening in on his business.

  Alex's gut pushed bile in his throat every minute he stood in line waiting for his turn at the teller’s window.

  The man in front of him concluded his business and Alex stepped up to the counter and spoke to the clerk, “Could I have a moment of the bank president’s time? I need to talk to him about my loan.”

  The man shook his head. “I'm sorry, but he left town two days ago to take care of some family business. He said he might be back next week sometime. I can set up a time to meet with him then if you’d like?”

  Alex's hope sank. What choice did he have? “Yes, I guess that will be alright. Send word to me at the Bar H Ranch when he's available, please.”

  The clerk jotted down the information. “Can I tell him what it's about?”

  “Just make sure you tell him its Alex Harp from the Bar H Ranch. He'll know what it's about.”

  “Very well, Mr. Harp. I'll give him the message just as soon as he gets back in town.”

  He still had an hour and a half before he planned to pick up Grace and Roxanne and take them to lunch like he promised. He would try to avoid Mr. Collins at the mercantile store as much as possible. At least until he either got an answer back from his father or the banker returned sooner than he was expected.

  Alex hoped his father would read between the lines and offer him a loan, but he doubted his father would be that generous considering he was adamantly against Alex's decision to leave New Orleans in the first place.

  He turned to go when a voice called to him over his shoulder. “Mr. Harp, if I remember correctly.” He turned to see Mr. Godfrey sitting at a desk writing out a deposit slip. “Yes, that’s right. And you are Mr. Godfrey, John’s investment friend.”

  “That’s right. I apologize, but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation with the teller. Is there a problem I could help you with?”

  Alex studied the man for a moment and nodded his head. “Yes, Mr. Godfrey. There might be. You see, I’ve run into a situation that has left me strapped for cash and the bank’s president won’t be back until next week.”

  “I see. Well, why don’t we take a walk and talk about your situation, shall we?”

  Alex didn’t want a partner in his horse breeding operation, but if it kept him from losing the place altogether, he needed to at least talk to the man.”

  “Sure. I’d be willing to at least listen to what you have in mind.”

  “Good to hear, Mr. Harp. That’s a really nice piece of property you have there. Have you considered cattle?” Mr. Godfrey picked up his hat and ushered Alex to the bank’s front door.

  “No, sir. Raising cattle has never really interested me.” Alex admitted and followed the man out of the bank and on to the streets of Durango. “It’s not something my Uncle Zach cared for either.”

  “Well, son. Sometimes you gotta change things up when the need arises,” Mr. Godfrey pointed out.

  “Yes, sir. I know that’s true, and I certainly have a need right about now, but I could ne
ver do anything to betray my uncle’s trust in me to keep the ranch intact. It was his dream and now, it’s my dream.”

  “Dreams are good, Mr. Harp. Dreams keep us hoping for a better future when things get tough. But dreams aren’t going to save your ranch. Only money can do that. And that’s where I can help…but we’ll have to come to an understanding that benefits us both.”

  Alex kept in step and listened to the man who had the power to save his ranch and his dreams for a future with Roxanne by his side. But he prayed for a last minute miracle so he wouldn’t have to choose one over the other.

  Chapter 10

  Roxanne spent the morning catching up with Regina over tea and cookies. They talked about everything from the latest fashions to how Regina wasn’t going to be able to add more children to her children’s care school without more teachers.

  “I was hoping I could entice some teachers to this area with the advertisement I ran in the Denver newspaper, but so far, I’ve only had two responses. That’s a start I suppose.”

  “Perhaps if you advertised in the Albuquerque newspaper as well. It is a bit closer than Denver and it might result in more teachers from Texas,” Roxanne suggested.

  “Yes, that’s a thought, but right now, I’m more interested in hearing about a certain handsome cowboy and how you two are getting on.” Regina cast a sly look in her direction.

  “I think you know my answer to that question. Alex and I... and Grace are getting along just fine.”

  “Just fine, huh? That sounds kind of boring. Is it?”

  “Is it what?” Roxanne fended off the question, but she knew what her cousin was getting at.

  “Is it fine or is it very fine? Come on, Roxi. Don’t play coy with me. How are things between you and Alex? Really,” Regina pushed.

  “I'm enjoying my time at the ranch. It's quiet. And peaceful. And I have time to write in my journal and read the books I've been dying to read—”