“Elena,” he moaned. “There’s nothing more I want right now than to make you my wife in truth.”
Her eyes were dewy, and shiny. Feminine desire directed at him.
Tobias closed his eyes lest he accept the invitation. “But we both need to be sure that’s what we want.”
He opened his eyes to see a small crease in the center of her forehead.
“Tobias, can’t you tell that…” Her voice trailed off. A rosy bloom washed over her cheeks. She dropped her hand and fiddled with the button of his shirt. “Can’t you tell that I want you?”
Fire engulfed his head and he drew in a steadying breath. “I can tell but I want us both to be sure.”
“I’m sure right now,” she said and her arms reached up once more. He stopped her before she could embrace him fully. He knew if she did, he’d be utterly lost.
“What happened here wasn’t something we discussed or talked about. It was started by our emotions. When we decide to make this a real marriage, we should do it because we want to, not because we reacted to the dictates of the flesh.”
He stared down into her eyes. She was so beautiful she made his heart ache just at the sight of her. His gaze dropped to her swollen mouth, made so by his hungry kisses. He caressed her lips with the pad of his thumb.
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Elena.”
She gasped at his admission. “Tobias!”
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman that I thought I would never find. But I have. I want to make this marriage real because part of me…well, let’s be honest, all of me, wants to keep you at my side forever.”
He sighed and reluctantly drew his arms from around her. “But that has to be a decision you make. You asked me for a marriage of convenience. I am asking you for a marriage of love.”
She stood up and he followed her. The air between them arced with the tender feelings he’d admitted. Did she feel the same way?
“Tobias, you’re nothing like the man I thought you would be.” Her hand reached up and gently caressed the side of his face. He shivered at her touch.
Her eyes held a shining light. “You would be so easy to love,” she whispered.
He grinned a little. “You already are.”
Inhaling a shuddering breath, he took a giant step back. “Think about it tonight, Elena. Or the next night, or the night after that. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“All right,” she said, “I’ll think about it.”
Tobias couldn’t resist adding, “But please not for long.”
“No.” The look in her dark eyes deepened. “Not for long.”
He had to get out of here. Now. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”
The sweet song of their embrace followed as he went to sleep to be inundated by dreams of things he once thought impossible to attain but were finally in his grasp. Visions of little girls with hair black as ink and round, apple cheeks danced in his mind.
Until the next morning the song ended in a discordant tune when, directed to go to her room to get the list of ranches they were to visit, Tobias found a white box with a giant, wedding ring and a white envelope addressed to Mrs. Mace Thorne.
CHAPTER NINE
Elena stole another glance at the terse, rigid man by her side. Tobias was a whole other person than the tender man who almost made her his wife the night before. This man wouldn’t even look her way but kept his gaze focused on the road as they turned down a side street called Redfern which led them out of Silverpines and onto the path to White Oaks ranch.
The clang of the assortment of tools he’d been commissioned to either make or repair for Max Winters was the only sound that broke the tense air between them. Elena didn’t understand what had happened. When she woke up this morning, she’d awaken with a feeling of wellbeing. She was loved by the most perfect, the most wonderful man the world
And she loved him.
The memories of his kisses still made her tremble. He’d done it in such a fierce, gentle way. It showed his passion but also his lack of knowledge. That didn’t matter to her. When she got up to get dressed to begin their day, she knew that tonight, they would learn together.
She sent a silent prayer upward that this day would go by quickly so she could hurry and end it in his arms.
That was until he came out of the house as she waited for him to return to the wagon with the list of ranches she had made out that they were to visit. His face had been a hard, unreadable mask. A vein throbbed along his temple.
He’d handed her the paper, and then got in the wagon and with a, “Giddyup, Chip,” that had been the only words he’d spoken.
At first, she thought maybe he was embarrassed by his declarations from the night before. She could understand that. They had both spoken words they never thought they’d say. So, she sat contentedly for the first little while in silence, enjoying the activity of nature all around them.
But then, as the sun grew brighter in the sky, the intangible air of gloom intensified all around Tobias. So potent was it, she felt the hairs along her neck and arms become erect. His mood grew blacker although he still said nothing to her.
That was when she realized that her husband was in a rage. A boiling, sizzling rage.
She opened her mouth to finally confront him when the sign for White Oaks ranch came into view. Stuffing the words back down her throat, she pasted on a smile as Tobias slowed the wagon down. Max Winters came to meet them.
“How are you doing, Tobias. What an unexpected surprise.”
Her husband jumped easily down from the wagon and returned the man’s handshake. Unsure of her husband’s mood, Elena chose to alight from the wagon, unassisted. If she fell flat on her face then so be it.
It turned out she had nothing to worry about. Max came over to her and helped her alight from the wagon.
“Mrs. Clayborne, so good to see you again. I was talking to Laura two days ago about how good it was the forge is fired up again. We need some things repaired and some new tools. With as busy as the ranch is, we weren’t going to get into town until next week.”
“Glad to hear that,” she said, pleased her idea of visiting the local ranches wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “Tobias completed your order.”
She looked up to meet the coldest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen. They reminded her of ice. Sharp, pointy ice shards.
“Here you are,” Tobias reached into the wagon and retrieved the sack which contained the tools.
Max took the heavy sack easily enough and hefted it over his shoulder. “Thanks, Tobias. Since you’re here, let me show you a few things we may need your help on. Mrs. Clayborne, Laura, Caro, and Dawn are all in the house if you’d like to visit for a few minutes.”
With barely a glance in her direction, Tobias strode off with Max. Those shoulders still carried a whiplash of anger. Her own ire was starting to rise the longer she was kept in the dark from him.
She went up to the house and was greeted by Laura’s housekeeper Dawn, a lovely Indian woman with long, silky hair and kind eyes. Laura and her daughter Caro were at the table eating breakfast and she was invited to join them.
They enjoyed a delightful visit, catching up for the better part of an hour when Max walked into the kitchen.
Alone.
“Mrs. Clayborne, your husband said you all have to get going on your rounds. He wanted you to meet him at the wagon.”
Elena’s face flushed with heat. How dare he send a messenger to tell her to come to his bidding when he could have come get her himself!
It was time to find out what in the world was going on.
She said her goodbyes to the happy family and then started down the path. Each step which drew her closer and closer worked only to strengthen her rage. By the time she made it to the wagon, she was so angry, Tobias wouldn’t need a kiln to heat up metal.
He waited by the wagon, the same brooding, angry look still on his face.
“Tobias,” she began, “what’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer. Just stood there and stared at her with cold eyes.
“You’ve said nothing to me all morning and then you treat me disrespectfully in front of the Winters. I want to know, right now, this second why are you so angry?”
Tobias stared at her, not saying a word. The lines of his face had hardened considerably and the cords of his neck protruded. And the dark air about him grew denser. It was like watching the beginning of a torrential rainstorm.
Rigidly, he walked over to her. “Get in the wagon,” he ordered curtly.
Her mouth dropped open. He never spoke to her like that before. “I’ll not move one step until you—oh!”
Without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her effortlessly over the wheel and onto the seat. It had happened so fast she barely had time to catch her breath. Then he walked around and got in on his side of the wagon. He clicked his tongue and the wagon was moving again.
“Tobias, what’s wrong? Why are you being this way?”
Where was the gentle lover from the night before? The one that kissed her so sweetly and spoke beautiful words to her. Where was he?
The wagon jostled them as they went over the dirt roads and on to the Wylde ranch, owned and operated by a pair of brothers. Still, Tobias said nothing.
When they reached the marker that showed they were on Wylde territory, Elena could take it no more. “Is everything you said last night a lie? Did you whisper those things in order to humiliate me?”
“I’m not the liar,” he said, the words heavy with scorn. “You are!”
“Me? Tobias what on earth are you saying. I didn’t lie to you last night?”
“Oh really? How about telling me the truth—how did a woman like you become the wife of Mace Thorne, the very man who killed my best friend Henry and his wife!”
If it was too good to be true, then it probably was. He should have heeded those words when he first laid his eyes on Elena almost two weeks ago. Elena was too good to be true and as it turned out, she was nothing more than a liar, a manipulator, and a cheat.
How could he have fallen in love with Mace Thorne’s wife? It wasn’t possible. All this time, the woman he had been searching for in order to get his revenge for Henry and Cora was, right there, under his nose.
And he’d drank from her sweetness, thinking all this time, she was as untouched and chaste as he was.
Stupid, stupid! He should have known. You can’t trust a woman. You can never trust a woman.
When he’d thrown the accusation at her, all the blood had drained out of her face. She looked like chalk. “What did you say?”
“You heard me the first time, Elena. You’re the wife of Mace Thorne. The notorious gunslinger that kills for pleasure.” Visions of Henry and Cora’s deaths, which he had finally started to set aside and not dwell on as much, flashed in his mind in cruel repetition. How could he have sunk so low.
“Tobias.” Her voice shook. “Please listen to me. You have to understand—”
A harsh laugh escaped his mouth. “Understand. What do I have to understand? You lied to me about everything.”
“No, I didn’t. I’m not Mace Thorne’s wife!”
A sick, sinking feeling gutted his stomach. “You’re not? Then why are there several letters in your drawer at the house, all of them address to Mrs. Mace Thorne?”
“Tobias, please listen to me—” She tried to grab his arm. He didn’t want her to even touch him. He pulled out of her reach, at the same time pulling Chip’s bit and sending the poor animal in the wrong direction. It took a couple of seconds to get the horse back on the right track.
“I don’t want to hear it,” he told her in no uncertain terms as they traveled up the pathway to get to the front entrance of the ranch. “You’ve lied to me about everything. Why did you do this to me?”
“I can understand why you’re angry, Tobias,” she said, her lip trembling. “But if you’ll just listen to me, I can explain.”
“I don’t want any explanations.”
Tobias continued up the pathway, reeling from the shock he’d received. Finding out that he kissed and gently caressed the wife of his adversary was almost more than he could take.
What tortured him the most was the thought of Mace claiming her body as his own. His humiliation due to his untried body was complete. She must have been with Mace plenty of times and thought the true nature of himself pathetic.
There was no time for any more conversation as they pulled up in front of the homestead. Two lean, tall men came to meet them. They knew Elena on sight so she took care of the introductions and the reason for their call. The men’s eyes lit up with joy and they led him to the shed where they spent the next long while going over the equipment.
This time, there was no place for Elena to visit so she waited in the wagon.
When he got back from the shed, he carried in each hand some ranch equipment that needed mending. He threw the equipment into the back of the wagon. He searched for his catalogue so he could keep track of the orders and who they belonged to when he saw Elena had already made the notations.
Back in the seat, he continued on the journey to the next place on their map.
“Tobias, please listen to me. Mace Thorne is not my husband. He says that I am because it’s his own way of trying to control and use fear to keep me in line. That’s all there is.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that? No man in their right mind…or even in their wrong ones, will ever try to do what you’re saying. Mace is a scoundrel but he’s also a man.”
They traveled on in silence to their next destination. According to the list Elena had made, they were visiting six ranches and farms today. Tobias tortured himself thinking of the ways she had used him.
“You’re just like my mother,” he spat out after they climbed back into the wagon from visiting a farmer. “She used people in order to get what she wanted. Smiles, sweet nothings, coy glances, it didn’t matter. Whatever she wanted, she did what she had to do to get it.”
“I am nothing like that! Tobias, you aren’t listening to a word I’m saying.”
“Why did you have to make me fall in love with you. Couldn’t you have left my heart alone? Wasn’t it enough you had my name?”
The look in her eyes was wounded. Despite the fact he wanted to hurt her as much as she hurt him, he knew he couldn’t do it.
“It’s amazing to think the woman I had been searching for all this time to lure Mace to Silverpines was right next to me.”
She stiffened by his side. “What did you say?”
Too late, Tobias realized his error. He’d revealed his own shameful secret.
“Forget I said anything.”
“I will not. You said you were looking for Mace Thorne’s wife in order to lure him. So, you were just using me?”
When she said it like that—
“At first—”
“No wonder you so readily agreed to a marriage of convenience.” Her mouth fell open, face contorted in dismay. “You had no intention of staying or helping me. You were just using me to get to your real objective…revenge!”
“Well, what was I supposed to do?” He shot back at her. “Mace killed two people I cared deeply for. I was going to simply do the same thing he did to Henry…use his wife. Unlike him, I wouldn’t have killed her.”
Her full lips thinned into a flat line. “Then what would you have done to her?”
“I was going to…kidnap her…you. And then send word to his last known location that I had his wife.”
“For the last time, I am not married to Mace. My brother gambled with him and lost. In order to save his own skin, my brother offered me up as a prize. Either my brother would pay off the debt owed to Mace, or Mace would get me in return.”
Tobias found that hard to believe. “Your brother sold you? Slavery ended thirty years ago.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tear
s. “You’re just like them, aren’t you? Just like my father who made my mother fall in love with him. Then when they married, he took all her money and wasted it on the gaming tables. You’re like my brother—succumbing to the fever of your own desires and then making me bear the brunt of your mistakes.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “You’re using me like everyone else in my life has. For their own personal gain. Never because of love for me. Never because I may actually want to feel as if I’m worth the effort. Never because maybe I want to love and be loved in return.”
An invisible fist punched his gut. Did she really think that? “Now you’re twisting my words.”
“Why did I think…” she stopped and closed her eyes as if in pain. “Why did I ever think I could trust you?”
“Funny,” Tobias scorned. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
For the rest of the day, they visited the properties on the list until they finished the last one. In privacy, their hostility boiled against each other. But even in the midst of this, Tobias was grateful Elena didn’t let that affect their round. This idea she had turned out to be a winner. He had requests for repeat work from several of the owners. He was certain there would be more.
The return trip home was made in complete silence. Resentment seethed between them. When they stopped at the house, Elena turned.
“Like every other man in my life, you only care for yourself. You’re no longer welcomed here.” She folded her arms. “Leave and don’t ever come back.”
Tobias stared back at her cold, defiant face. “Fine then, I will.”
Her face crumbled, her cleft chin trembling and shaking. Swiftly she turned her head but sobs wracked her body.
Despite everything, Tobias hated the sound of her tears. When his mother cried, she used delicate little sniffles that grated on his ears because he knew all she was trying to do was get her way. As soon as she got it, her tears dried up like the desert after a hard rain.
Elena didn’t give delicate little sniffles. She wailed as if she were being beaten. It tore at his heart.
He longed to be the man to dry her tears.
But that honor belonged to Mace Thorne. A man who had no idea what honor was. Who caused more tears than anyone he’d ever known.
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