Marriage at Any Price

by Lauren Canan

  Pauline nodded enthusiastically. “Sure will. Thanks Mrs.—Ally.”

  Still smiling, Ally headed up stairs to find Seth. He was in his makeshift office, still on the phone. He had a file in front of him, and from what she could tell he was having an argument. He switched lines and talked to someone else then switched back. There would be no lunch for him today.

  She returned to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. She wanted to talk with Ben Rucker and figured while she was in town she’d stop by the sheriff’s office to see if anything new had surfaced regarding the break-in. Holding the apple between her teeth, she hopped inside the truck and backed out of the parking place.

  Ben had someone in his office, but Ally decided to wait when his secretary assured her that he shouldn’t be long. But two minutes soon turned into twenty, and Ally decided to come back another time. She’d only wanted to assure him her dispute with the Masters brothers had been resolved. She was now certain they hadn’t taken her ranch. Seth might have already spoken to him, which was fine.

  Her next stop was the county sheriff’s office. The officer who had come out to the ranch was not in, but she was assured they considered the case open even though nothing new had come to light. Thanking them, she next headed for the feed store to order grain for the new horses. The owner had left a list of what they were accustomed to. She never liked to switch their feed immediately. If she didn’t like what they’d been given, she would change to another supplement slowly, over several weeks.

  “I figured I would find you here eventually,” said a voice behind her as she left the feed store.

  “Wayne.” The very last person she wanted to run into.

  “How ya doing, sweetheart?” His smile of greeting had a cruel edge to it.

  Ally brushed past him and headed for her truck. She had nothing to say to this man.

  “Aw, come on. Don’t be mad. I had to leave. I left a note.” He was following her.

  “I have nothing to say to you. I don’t want to see you again. Leave me alone.”

  “That rich guy is gonna drop you. Then where will you be?”

  Ally kept walking, refusing to be drawn into any kind of conversation with the man.

  “Dammit, listen to me.” He grabbed her arm, and she yanked it away, finally turning around to face him.

  “Don’t touch me,” she spat out.

  “Look, I’m sorry I left. I had some important things I needed to see to.”

  “No, you didn’t. You snuck out of the house in the middle of the night. But you know what? It’s in the past. Leaving was the best thing you could have done for me. I’m glad you left. Don’t bother me again.” She continued to walk toward her truck.

  “What about what we had? You and me?”

  She ignored him and unlocked the truck.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Save your bull for someone else. Whatever you think you left behind has long since died out. Now back off and leave me alone.”

  She got into the truck and tried to slam the door, but Wayne grabbed the handle and refused to let go. “You’re going to give me what I want, sweetheart. You can make it easy on yourself, or we can do this the hard way.”

  Ally turned to him and glared. “There’s nothing between us, Wayne. I want nothing from you. And there is nothing I have to give. Release the door or I’ll call the police.”

  “Aw, baby, can’t we at least be friends?”

  “Stay away from me.”

  His cold stare should have frightened her but instead served to make her furious. She grabbed her phone from her purse and quickly dialed 911.

  “You bitch,” he snarled. “You haven’t seen the last of me. You can try hiding behind that rich bastard, but if you do, just remember accidents happen. Either way, you’re mine.” He slammed the door shut and walked off.

  “Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”

  “I’m sorry, I called by mistake,” Ally said, locking her doors.

  After another five minutes of assuring the operator there was no longer an emergency, she terminated the call and dropped the phone back in her purse. She put the truck in Reverse and backed out of her parking spot. She drove straight home, not bothering to stop back by Ben Rucker’s office.

  The encounter with Wayne had taken her by surprise and left her more than a little shaken. She tried to shrug it off on her way back to the ranch but hadn’t completely stopped shaking from pure rage by the time she pulled into the driveway.

  She remembered how Wayne used to love to fight. Had he been serious when he threatened to do harm to Seth? She couldn’t let that happen. Seth was a different kind of person. Refined. Intelligent. He fought with words, not his fists. And while Seth might carry a gun, Wayne was a crack shot.

  He’d changed since he left over a year ago. His actions and crazy talk reminded her of someone who was afraid of something. She knew behind all that bravado there lurked a coward. What she’d ever seen in that man she would never know.

  There was only one person who could tell her what was really going on: her neighbor, Sam Shepherd. He’d been Wayne’s friend for the two years Wayne had lived here. Without considering her actions, she backed out of the driveway and turned to the north and the Big Spur Ranch. She would find Sam. He would know what was going on.

  She found him moving cattle on horseback. He closed the gate just as Ally drove up. He took off his cowboy hat and wiped his brow on his long-sleeved shirt, giving her a long, hard stare. He muttered something under his breath and walked toward her truck.

  “Ally,” he greeted her. “Long time no see. What’s going on?”

  “Wayne. Why is he here?” She got straight to the point. “What does he want?”

  For a long moment, she didn’t think Sam would say anything. He looked back over his herd like he was about to ignore her questions. But he didn’t.

  “Wayne’s bad news. He’s up to no good. You need to stay away from him, Ally. If he shows up at your house, don’t answer the door. Call the police if you have to.”

  “Why?”

  Sam spit tobacco off to the side. “Because he got himself into some trouble with the wrong sort, and he’s running scared. I heard he’s into them for some fifty grand. These are not people who extend payment terms. If he don’t pay, they will take him out of the game permanently.”

  “What does he want with me?”

  Again Sam hesitated. “He’s looking for two gold and silver belt buckles he won at Nationals. He stashed them somewhere around your place. Figures they’re worth a few thousand.”

  “There are no buckles at my house. I don’t know anything about that.”

  If Wayne thought she had them, he was probably the one who’d broken into the house that night.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Ally. If you don’t have those buckles, he must think you already found them or you’ve got money. Or access to it. He was by here last week. Said you’d gotten married to one of the Masters brothers. He figured fifty grand would be nothing to you or your husband. Past that, I couldn’t tell you what he’s up to. I told him he’d better get ideas like that out of his damn head, but he just laughed and walked out. Haven’t seen him since.”

  Sam spat again, and his eyes narrowed in serious contemplation. “You and your husband need to clear out of here for a while, Ally. Wayne’s desperate. He got him a gun, and there’s no telling what he’ll try. He spent some time in prison for theft and found him a whole new set of friends. It changed him. That’s all I know to tell you. You need to leave here for a while as soon as possible. The police have him on their radar but haven’t found him yet.”

  Her first thoughts were of Seth. She had to convince him it was time to leave. Wayne was an arrogant man who could become mean with little coaxing. And he now had an agenda. Who knew when he would come back and try again? She brushed away t
he tears at the idea of Seth leaving, but he had to be safe. That was all that mattered.

  She thanked Sam and turned her truck toward home. She couldn’t let Seth be dragged into this situation. No matter how badly she wanted him to stay, she had to make him leave. She knew if any of Wayne’s threats got back to Seth, Seth would not back down. She had to prevent that from happening.

  Would Seth be hurt when she asked him to leave? Maybe. Or perhaps he wouldn’t care. Would he ever come back? He had his brothers here. Maybe he would come back to see them but stay clear of her. Or would he walk in and want to pick up where he’d left off? Would he expect to be forever friends after what they’d shared? Probably not after she asked him to leave.

  Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She needed to bring the police up to date. She turned her truck toward town and the county sheriff’s office. When she got there, she explained who she was and what she wanted. The deputy who came to the front counter was aware of the break-in at her ranch and quickly put two and two together. He confirmed there was a warrant out for Wayne’s arrest but no one had seen him as yet. Ally was asked what felt like a hundred questions but nothing seemed to help. The deputy finally urged her to return home assuring her they would put extra patrols in her area.

  This was a nightmare. It was making an already bad situation into something much, much worse. It was already going to be hard to say goodbye, only now she had to find a way to make Seth leave to try to save his life.

  As soon as she walked through the front door, she could hear Seth upstairs talking on the phone. From the sound of his voice, he was not happy with something the person on the other end was saying. Then his voice dropped low and she couldn’t understand his words, but clearly he was talking about the research center project.

  She went into the kitchen, stopped to grab a soda and made her way out the door to the barn. She’d let her guard down with Seth. She’d fallen in love with him. She knew that now. And now she was about to pay for it. Wayne returning only made the situation worse. Time and events changed a person. Wayne proved that. Once Seth was gone, would they ever see each other again? Probably not. She crossed her fingers that the police would capture Wayne before anyone was hurt. Especially Seth.

  And Wayne... She wasn’t sure how seriously he took her demands that he leave her alone, but he’d better figure it out. She didn’t handle threats well, and Wayne had clearly threatened her this afternoon. Worse, he’d threatened Seth. She had nothing of Wayne’s and she wanted nothing from him. She wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe she should be, but she wasn’t. What could he take? Only one thing made any sense: Seth really had to leave.

  Entering the barn, she grabbed a brush and unlocked Denim’s stall, closing the gate behind her. She’d forgotten to bring carrots, but he stood still for her as she began to brush his shiny coat. As much as she’d told herself not to fall in love with Seth Masters, she’d done exactly that. He must never know. He would soon be off on his next adventure as if nothing between them had ever happened, and that’s the way it had to be. And once again she would be left to pick up the pieces of a broken heart.

  * * *

  Seth found Ally out back working one of the horses in the circle arena. If she saw him, she gave no sign. He approached the fence and stood watching her. Finally she pulled the colt to a stop and gathered the lunge line.

  “Pauline left something that smells great on the stove. Are you about ready to eat?”

  “No. You go ahead.” She didn’t turn to face him.

  “I’ll wait for you. It’s only six o’clock on the West Coast. I still have some calls I can make.”

  She didn’t respond as she ran her hand over the silky neck of the horse.

  Something was clearly wrong. He didn’t have a guess what it could be. He was due to leave in a couple of weeks, but they hadn’t talked about it. He wanted to come back and see her every opportunity he got. Maybe that’s what she didn’t want.

  He returned to the house and went straight to his office. He sat down in his desk chair and stared blindly out the window. They needed to talk. Their temporary situation had turned out a lot differently than he’d ever thought it would. He hadn’t expected to grow so close to her. Have feelings for her that were a lot more than friendship.

  Still, what could he offer her? He didn’t believe in marriage—or at least real marriage. He’d come close one time. He’d even proposed, only to discover his fiancée was seeing another man and together they were plotting to get the money he’d worked hard his whole life for. It had been a close call. Too close. And he’d vowed right then never to trust a woman. Never get married. Never have kids, because kids were the ones hurt by it all. He knew that firsthand, too. He’d been raised by a single mother who loved a man who wouldn’t marry her. He hadn’t seen his father very often growing up. There was no love. There was no affection. There was money if they needed it, but that was all his father ever offered until the day he died.

  Not that he believed Ally was like the women he dated back in California. Or like the woman he’d almost married. Ally was as honest as they came. He believed she had every intention of paying him back for the small amount he’d spent on furniture and lumber for the barn. At least she would try, but he wouldn’t accept the money, because it was a gift. She had never given any indication she expected any more from him. She understood from the beginning that this was a marriage of convenience, and she knew it was drawing close to the time for him to go.

  Suddenly he wasn’t hungry. He would wait for her to come back to the house and they would talk. If she was ready for him to leave, he could go immediately, as if business required it. When the time was up, she could file for the divorce and it would be over. He planned to be generous and leave her a healthy trust fund to ensure her future would be good. He was determined she would never want for anything. It was the least he could do.

  It was almost ten o’clock when he heard the back door slam. It had to be Ally. He finished his call and hurried down the stairs. She was there, drinking a glass of water.

  “Looks like we will need to warm the stew,” he said. “The rolls as well.”

  “You go ahead. I’m not really hungry.”

  “Ally, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me.”

  “I don’t need to talk to anybody. And nothing is wrong. Good night.”

  She brushed past him, and he listened to her footsteps as she headed upstairs. What in the hell is going on? He released a sigh. He would give her the night to cool off and maybe she would talk with him tomorrow. He hoped it was nothing he’d done. He hoped it was not about him leaving.

  Because he had no choice.

  * * *

  Seth awoke the next day to find Ally already gone. Pauline didn’t know where she was, just that she’d said she had some errands to run and would be back later. He pulled out his cell and speed-dialed her number. No answer. He hung up without leaving a message, not sure what to say. He poured a mug of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. This was getting stranger and stranger. First she had seemed angry last night and wouldn’t talk to him, and now this morning she was gone, no one knew where, and wouldn’t answer her phone.

  The house phone rang, and Pauline answered it.

  “Mr. Masters,” she said. “It’s the feed store in town. They’re calling for Mrs. Masters.”

  “I’ll take it.” Seth stood and walked over to where the phone hung on the wall.

  “This is Seth Masters. Ally isn’t here right now. Can I help you?”

  “Ally was in the store late yesterday,” said the shop employee. “She placed an order then left before we could get it to the truck. I need to know what she wanted us to do with it.”

  “Grain?” Seth asked.

  “Yes, sir. Ten bags.”

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes and pick it up. Thanks for calling.”

  Seth hung u
p the phone and poured the remains of his coffee in the sink. “I guess you heard, Pauline? I’m going to the feed store. If Ally gets back, tell her to please wait here for me.”

  Once he got to the store, the grain was loaded in the back of his truck in no time. Ally still hadn’t been there. The owner said it was strange the way she left after ordering the feed.

  “There was a man standing near the truck. I saw them talking. Then she got in her truck and drove off.”

  “Do you know who it was?”

  “He looked vaguely familiar. If I had to give a name, I would swear it was Wayne Burris, but he’s been gone a while now. Ally looked upset. If it was Wayne, I can understand why. He’s no good.”

  Fourteen

  Seth got back in his truck. Why would she have been talking to Burris? Did they go somewhere together? Did they arrange to meet someplace? He didn’t have a clue where to look. He turned the truck toward the Masters Ranch. Maybe she’d gone over there to talk with Chance about his breeding program. It was a far-fetched idea, but the only one he had.

  Ally wasn’t there. Chance hadn’t seen her since the day Seth had picked his horse. Chance’s daughter had been sick for the past week, and he’d been preoccupied with taking care of her.

  Seth thanked him and started back toward Ally’s ranch. Should he be worried? Could something have happened to her? He recalled the break-in. Surely that had nothing to do with Ally going missing.

  He tried once again to call her. Still no answer. He drove around the area hoping to catch a glimpse of her truck. Finally out of options, he headed for the ranch house.

  As he pulled up, he immediately spotted her truck. She was standing in the yard. He jumped out of his truck, slamming the door behind him, and rushed over to her with long, angry strides.

  “Where in the hell have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Want to tell me where you’ve been?”