by Lisa Harris
Chapter Two
Catherine’s pulse hammered in her throat. Six feet in front of her, Emily clung to the railing. The ostrich danced between her and Corbin as if trying to decide which of them would be the greater threat. The bird dodged to the right then stopped again. Catherine forced herself to remain still. Her fingernails bit into her palms. Another five seconds dragged out. Corbin walked slowly toward the ostrich and held out his hat. The bird hesitated, cocked his head, and then moved toward the hat.
Corbin continued to bridge the distance between him and the bird, while Catherine tried not to focus on Corbin’s piercing gray eyes. Or his thick curly hair. Or the fact that he’d walked out on her all those years ago.
Catherine frowned. She had no idea why Corbin had returned to Revenge, but her heart told her it had nothing to do with her. The same way her heart once told her he was never coming back. Which was just as well as far as she was concerned.
Without a word, Corbin gripped the skin of the neck behind the bird’s head and lowered it toward the ground. Tomas ripped off his bloodstained shirt and rushed to the other side of the ostrich.
“Are you all right?” Corbin spoke to Tomas but kept his gaze on the ostrich.
“I’ll live.” Tomas started to slip the shirt over the bird’s head, but it jerked backward.
Corbin gestured with his chin. “Grab the other wing. We’ve got to get him back into the paddock.”
The men steadied the bird on each side then steered the bird toward the enclosure. A moan escaped the bird’s throat. The creature jumped, yanking himself free from his captors. Emily screamed. Catherine held her breath and started praying as Tomas once again attempted to slip his shirt over the bird’s head.
Another five seconds and it was over.
Catherine gulped a mouthful of air, rushed forward, and grasped Emily’s arm. Her sister’s normally rosy cheeks had paled to a pasty white. “Emily, are you all right?”
Emily’s mouth opened, but no words came out.
“Emily?”
Her hands shook. “I…I think so.”
Corbin latched the gate then turned toward Catherine as he set his hat back on his head. Beads of moisture dotted his tanned brow. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has.” One more glance at his familiar face managed to confirm the unavoidable suspicions. Seven years had managed to completely erase all the feelings she’d once held for him. As they should have—because she was a different person today than at eighteen, when she’d been too young to understand the true meaning of sacrifice. She tightened her grip on her sister’s arm and looked away. Right now her only concern was Emily. She had no time to stop and dwell on the complicated past that loomed between her and Corbin Hunter.
“Catherine, I…” Emily slipped toward the ground.
Catherine helped to hold her up, swaying under the extra weight. Corbin caught Emily and lifted her into his arms.
“We’ve got to get her inside.” Catherine raised the hem of her skirt and hurried toward the house. “Tomas, go find your mother. Have her bring some smelling salts and more hot tea, then make sure she takes care of your cut.”
The heels of Catherine’s high-buttoned shoes crunched against the pebbled ground as she hurried up the drive. The sun had already begun to dip toward the western skyline, casting gray shadows against a row of hemlock trees, while the rollicking yodel of a wren punctuated the late afternoon air.
Stumbling over a stone, Catherine glanced back at Emily’s motionless body in Corbin’s arms. If anything happened to her or the baby…
Two minutes later they had Emily settled on the sofa. Catherine waved the smelling salts beneath Emily’s nose until her eyelids flickered open. “Are you all right?”
Emily struggled to get up.
Catherine pressed her hand against her shoulder. “Don’t get up. Not yet. Just take some deep breaths.”
“I…I couldn’t breathe, then…then everything went black.” Her sister sank against the rose-printed fabric of the sofa. “Last time I fainted was at a church picnic when Willie Barton stuck a bullfrog in my lunch box.”
Color began to fill Emily’s plump cheeks, and Catherine let out a sigh of relief. At least she hadn’t lost her sense of humor.
Milena entered the room with a teapot and plate of cakes and set them on the parlor table beside them. Catherine poured a cup for Emily then made one for herself, thankful for something to do with her hands. It didn’t matter that the room was stuffy or the tea scalding hot. She needed something to calm her nerves. That attacking ostrich belonged on some open African veldt. Not in Revenge, Ohio.
Corbin stood not three feet away, dangling his black hat between his fingers like a schoolboy forced to face the headmaster for unruly behavior. Catherine stopped the smirk that threatened to erupt across her lips. At least he was as uncomfortable in her presence as she was in his.
She nodded toward a mahogany armchair. “You can sit down. Milena makes the best cake in the county.”
“Thank you.” He folded his tall frame into the chair and sat back against the upholstered cushion.
She’d forgotten certain details over the years. The hairline scar above his left brow. The deep timbre of his voice. How his presence overtook the room…All things she had no desire to remember.
“Is there anything else I can do, Miss Morgan?” Milena asked.
“Yes.” Catherine hesitated before shifting her gaze from Corbin to Milena’s round figure. “Have you had time to see to Tomas’s shoulder?”
“The gash is long, but not deep, ma’am. He’ll be fine.” Milena’s brow creased. “I’ve always warned him that those birds would end up hurting someone someday.”
Emily pressed her hand against her heart. “They’re normally so docile. We’ve never had trouble from them before.”
“She’s right.” Corbin spoke for the first time. “Ostriches, for the most part, are quiet and content creatures, but they can be a bit nervous. I have a feeling that when Tomas showed you ladies that egg, nature took over and the male was simply trying to defend his nest.”
Catherine took a sip of her tea, burning the tip of her tongue. The pain, though, was overshadowed by her surprise. The Corbin she knew had been more at home behind a stack of books than a flock of oversize birds. “You sound as if you know a thing or two about ostriches.”
His grin left a familiar dimple on his right cheek. “A few years back I worked on a couple ranches down in Texas—one where they raised ostriches—and managed to pick up a few things. Even rode as a drag rider in a cattle drive once.”
Catherine had wondered from time to time what he was doing, imagining him as a banker or a doctor. The Corbin she’d known had always preferred schooling over farming and outdoor chores. She studied him now and tried to imagine him breathing dust for days on end and dealing with stray cattle. Apparently, he’d decided to trade in his more polished attire for denim blue jeans, white button-up shirt, and a shadowed jawline that gave him a rugged look.
Tomas stepped into the doorway wearing a clean shirt. “I must apologize, Mrs. O’Conner. All this was my fault. I never should have tried to impress you. The other workers told me you like the ostriches, and I thought…well…I thought wrong.”
Emily shook her head, her hands wrapped around her cup. “What’s done is done. Thankfully the bird is back in the paddock and no one was seriously injured.”
Catherine wasn’t willing to dismiss the incident without a few choice words of caution. “Next time, the outcome might not be quite so fortunate.”
“I realize that, ma’am.”
Footsteps pounded up the steps, and Grady O’Conner burst through the front door. “I heard there was an accident—”
“Everything’s fine, Grady.” Emily rose to greet her husband, tottered for a moment on the edge of the sofa, and then plopped back against the cushions. “I was out near the paddock and one of the ostriches got loose.”
“Emily!” Grady rushed t
o his wife and knelt beside her. Though he was ten years older than Emily, it had been clear from the moment they met that she had lost her heart to the red-headed Irishman. And her sentiments had been just as quickly reciprocated. “You could have been killed.”
“Tomas was cut on his shoulder, but Milena said it’s not serious. It was this man who saved me, Mister—” Emily raked her silk fan in front of her face. “I’m sorry. In all the commotion I never got your name.”
“Mr. Hunter. Corbin Hunter.”
“Corbin Hunter. I remember you now.” Emily grasped her husband’s hand. “It’s been so long, I didn’t recognize you. If I remember correctly, you and Catherine—”
“It has been a long time.” Realizing the direction her sister was headed, Catherine jumped into the conversation, determined to evade any flood of inquiries regarding their relationship. “I’m sure you don’t remember much, Emily, as you were quite young when he moved away.”
“Still, we owe you our deepest thanks, Mr. Hunter.” Emily’s husband took off his hat then reached out to shake Corbin’s hand. “Name’s Grady O’Conner. I was told that if you hadn’t shown up when you did, my wife could have been seriously injured. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“There’s no need. I’m simply glad I could help.”
Tomas had vanished, but Milena still hovered in the doorway. “I am sorry for my son’s actions, Mr. O’Conner.”
“I will speak to the boy later.” Grady tossed his hat onto an empty chair and melted into the settee beside Emily. “For now, I just want to ensure that my wife is going to be all right. Has one of the workers sent for the doctor?”
“I’m fine, Grady.” Emily tried to sit forward again, but Grady stopped her.
“I intend to make sure, darling.”
“It was nothing more than a fright that made my heart race—”
“Milena? Have someone fetch Dr. Morrilton.” Grady obviously wasn’t convinced. “I want him out here as soon as possible.”
Milena nodded as she slipped from the room.
Emily’s lower lip jutted out. “Catherine, please talk some sense into this man. He’s prone to treat me like an invalid instead of a joyful mother-to-be.”
Catherine set her half-empty teacup back on the tray and shook her head. “I learned many years ago never to interfere in the business of a married couple.”
“A complete evasion of the subject, Catherine.” Emily tugged on her husband’s forearm. “I really am fine.”
“Now, Emily, enough. We’re neglecting our guest.” He squeezed his wife’s hand. “You’ve yet to tell us why you stopped by, Mr. Hunter.”
Catherine leaned forward and caught the lemony scent of the cake. Any other afternoon she would have enjoyed another sampling of Milena’s cooking, but today she was anxious to hear Corbin’s response. She had a list of questions herself. The first one being what had brought Corbin Hunter back to Revenge?
Corbin stiffened in his chair. “I was on my way into town, but thought I’d stop by to see a friend who used to own this property. Lawrence Lowery.”
Catherine caught Corbin’s gaze. “Things have changed since you left. Mr. Lowery died four years ago.”
Corbin stared into Catherine’s pale blue eyes that had, years ago, set his heart to racing. But as much as he regretted what happened between them way back then, he hadn’t come back for her. Once, he’d planned to stay in Revenge, marry Catherine, and live out his days working at the general store. But life had pushed him in another direction and now too much time had passed between the moment he’d left and today.
He swallowed the lump of pain and focused instead on the memory of his old friend. “I’m sorry to hear Mr. Lowery passed away. He was a good man.”
“Yes, he was,” Mr. O’Conner said. “Came down with a case of cholera. We lost several from town and the surrounding area during that time.”
Corbin expected to find the small town changed. Revenge was still no larger than most of the small towns dotting the Ohio landscape, but that didn’t take away the sting of reality. He’d been back a mere thirty minutes and already discovered Lawrence Lowery had passed away—and the woman Corbin had once given his heart to no longer looked at him with longing in her eyes.
He let out a slow breath. Not that he’d expected Catherine Morgan to have pined for him. More than likely she had a husband and a passel of children by now, which was perfectly fine by him.
Corbin pressed his hands against his thighs and stood. “I’d best be going if I’m to make my appointment in town.”
“How long will you be staying in Revenge?” Mr. O’Conner asked.
“Only temporarily.” Corbin hesitated at revealing the truth, but the whole town would know by noon tomorrow. “I was called to fill in for Sheriff Lansing until he recovers from his accident.”
“So you’re our new sheriff.” The color had returned to Emily’s cheeks. It was hard to believe that the Emily Morgan he remembered with pigtails and freckles had become a wife and expectant mother.
“As I said, just temporarily.” He rotated the brim of his hat between his fingers, trying to gauge Catherine’s reaction.
Mr. O’Conner slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the gang robbing banks through the surrounding counties.”
“That’s partly why I’m here.” Corbin stood, ready to leave. “The governor wants to make sure each town is adequately prepared. We will catch them.”
Mrs. O’Conner leaned against her husband. “Mr. Hunter, before you leave, you must agree to join us here tomorrow night at seven. We’re celebrating the birthday of our sister Audrey’s fiancé, Harrison Tucker.”
The name shot through Corbin like a bullet from a Colt .45.
“Harrison Tucker?”
“You sound as if you know him,” Mr. O’Conner said.
Corbin swallowed hard. He’d heard of him all right. If his informant was correct, Harrison Tucker was the man who had murdered his father.
Chapter Three
Catherine locked the front door of the general store then flipped the CLOSED sign, thankful Mrs. McBride had finally left. That woman was impossible. After sorting through the store’s entire stock of notions, she had the nerve to leave, saying she would find what she wanted the next time she was in Lancaster. Which meant Catherine would have to spend her afternoon reorganizing the woman’s handiwork.
Halfway toward the back of the store, Catherine stopped to run her hand across the smooth olive green fabric of one of the dresses she had for sale. She’d learned quickly that keeping a limited stock of fashionable attire and fine ladies’ accessories paid off. Even those who couldn’t afford the lavish designs still often chose to shop at Morgan’s General Store over Ed Harper’s Dry Goods & Grocer just so they could take a peek at the latest fashions from back East. In the end, they more often than not walked out the front door with a parcel of sundry items, which suited Catherine just fine.
She rubbed the silk between her fingers. The design was stunning with its princess lines and slimming panels. She’d already sold a similar one to Priscilla Masters, who no doubt would flaunt her recent purchase at the church meeting come Sunday.
Catherine frowned and reminded herself that storing up treasures in heaven was far more valuable than a closet full of the latest fashions, even if the divine cache didn’t come with long suede gloves and silk stockings. Besides, since when did she start worrying about things as shallow as evening dresses and dinner costumes?
Since Corbin Hunter walked back into town.
Catherine’s sigh depleted her lungs of air at the thought of him seeing her without a husband, or even a viable suitor. Not that there was an ounce of shame in the fact that she’d never married. Better to have stayed single than to have married the wrong man. And besides, for all she knew, Corbin had a wife and children back home—wherever that was.
Brushing the material with the back of her hand, she let out an unladylike humph. Tonight
was Harrison’s birthday party and the beige garment she’d pulled from the wooden wardrobe earlier today suddenly seemed as exciting as P.T. Barnum’s traveling circus without its extraordinary exhibitions. Of course, by tomorrow morning no one would remember what she’d worn to the party. Instead, they would return home with stomachs full of the hors d’oeuvres Milena had spent the past week preparing. A fancy dress from back East paired with a dozen fashionable ostrich feathers could never smooth over her and Corbin’s turbulent past.
She hesitated before leaving the storefront, her lips pursed. Emily was right. Her tastes were old-fashioned and outdated. Didn’t being a spinster prove it?
“You should wear that dress tonight. It would look perfect with your new hat.”
Catherine spun around. Her youngest sister Lily stood in the back doorway with a lopsided grin on her round face. Lily Morgan’s dark brown eyes sparkled in the reflection of the dipping sun that flooded through the store windows. At seventeen, Catherine’s youngest sister yearned to see the world beyond the small town of Revenge. So far, family, and perhaps John Guild, her current beau, had stopped her from leaving. For now, anyway.
Catherine turned away from the dress. “I couldn’t justify such an extravagance for myself. Besides, it’s far too fancy for a simple birthday party.” She cleared her throat, ready for a change of subject. Two sisters reminding her of her status in life in as many days were enough. “Is John coming to pick you up for the party?”
A pink blush drifted across her little sister’s high cheekbones. “He’ll be here at half past six in his buggy. You’re welcome to ride with us if you’d like.”
“I would, thank you.”
Catherine turned back to the dress and studied the detail in the oriental lace. In truth, it was exquisite. She lifted layers of fabric on the skirt then watched them flutter back into place. The dress was her size; the color perfect. With a few wisps of hair framing her face, she could soften her normally severe style. Corbin would be forced to take note that not only was she a successful businesswoman but a charming and fashionable lady as well. Not that it truly mattered what he thought.
