She watched as several men ran to help Adam. He stood and brushed them away as he brought the horse back under control. He kept shooing everyone away from him and he looking on the ground, as if he’d dropped something. Even high above him, she could see the anger in his stance. He would not be pleasant company this evening, probably sulking about the loss instead.
But it didn’t really matter, since Mark and Chance Creek Ranch would have the two hundred dollars. For the first time in a while, she felt a glimmer of happiness kindle inside of her.
***
Mark waved at the crowd again. He had won. But he would be glad when all the attention was over. In another few moments, he would have the horse in the livery, wash him down, and give him a good meal.
He handed the reins to Charlie and Isaac, who ran to take the horse from him.
“Stand still!” Howard Worth, the newspaper photographer commanded, taking another shot. “Your picture will be in the next edition,” he said.
“Hey, what’s wrong with Patriot?” Charlie asked, pointing to the horse’s left side.
Mark stared at the large cut on Patriot’s shoulder. That was why the horse had veered so sharply near the end of the race, almost causing him to lose control. There had been nothing between the two steeds. Had something flown up off the road to hit him?
Maybe a sharp stone kicked up by a hoof. Or maybe someone had tossed something from the side, although it seemed unlikely to have happened.
“Look what I found just under the sidewalk.” One of his nephews spoke up behind him. Mark turned and looked at the object Isaac held. It was a small whip with a short wood handle. And buried in the tip of the wood was a sharp spike.
He took it from the boy and stared. Zimmer had used a lash like this one on Warrior. Had he lost it when the horse threw him? More importantly, had he used it on his competitor’s horse first?
He poured more water on the wound, cleaning it out. But no water would put out the fire that burned inside of him. Zimmer had done this. And somehow, he was going to pay for this kind of cheating. That would be a hard price to exact from a man who could protect himself from such accusations.
How much did cheating buy him in life? He had everything. Money, prestige, charm, and most of all, he had Addie. How could she love a man like him?
Chapter 32
Addie stood outside the door of her father’s study. It was half open and she could see the four men inside. Her father, dressed in his usual blue trousers and white shirt, was back in his invalid chair, his feet propped up. Sheriff Warner, leaning back in a ladder back chair from the kitchen, had a cigar in one hand, his cards in the other. Adam had brought him in for the afternoon game. The new ranch foreman, Jim Hilton, at her father’s invitation, had started arriving about three o’clock every afternoon this last week, his hard-earned pay in hand. Did her father wish to win back the man’s wages? The thought sent an uneasy wave of worry through her.
Why did men like her father and Adam, men already privileged to have so much, seem so dissatisfied, always wanting more? And worse, why did they think it necessary to take from those less fortunate than themselves? It seemed a flaw in their character that they could take pleasure in their actions.
She cringed as Papa went into one of the coughing spells that had plagued him the last few weeks. His nurse rushed to his side, handing him a handkerchief before patting his back. Addie shook her head. The man needed to be resting, not playing a game of chance.
She accidentally rattled the door knob, but not one of them noticed. Their attention was lost in the cards they held. For a hobby, it seemed to take all of their time concentration. But she was beginning to understand that this game was much more than a hobby.
She wandered to the big windows that looked out the front of the house. It was hot, but the sun was out and the sky was blue. Surely Adam would like to go for a buggy ride. She sighed. There was no use suggesting it. He hadn’t seemed to do much of anything enjoyable since he lost the horse race last week. She had never seen a man so childish about a loss for so long. Certainly, no one in town was speaking of it anymore.
He was reacting badly about the entire thing, she felt. If she had suffered any guilt about cheering for Mark and Patriot, Adam’s attitude had certainly cured it.
“Why don’t you go out and do something, Addie? Take a ride,” Birdie suggested as she walked from the dining room. “It’s too nice to stay inside watching them play that wretched game.”
Birdie was right. Why should she waste her time waiting around for him? Addie nodded. “I might just do that.”
“Good,” Birdie smiled. “I’ll help you change. And I know just the perfect trail for you to enjoy.”
***
Mark whistled as he threw the line into the creek. It was too warm for the fish to bite, but it was a relaxing way to spend the late afternoon. And, for once he had managed to sneak out alone. He considered this his private retreat. Nestled just below the ridge on the back of the property, no one would know where to hunt for him. He settled himself on the bank and waited for an improbable nibble.
The scent of late summer grass wafted in the warm breeze. A pair of ducks across the creek sidled into the water and took off downstream. He sighed. Maybe the sight of ducks would not always make him think of Addie Fleming.
He leaned back on the damp bank and stared at the tree above him. An apple tree, almost ripe fruit hanging from the branches. He couldn‘t ever eat another apple without thinking of her, either. All it would take is for another woman to walk into my life, Lord. A woman I could care for the way that I do Addie.
Sugar snorted and sounded a soft nicker. He turned and looked in the animal’s direction. Addie, astride Pepper, was making her way toward the creek. So much for a peaceful time to think things out.
She waved as she approached. “Hello,” she said.
He nodded and took the reins as she rode up beside him. “Good afternoon, Addie.”
She sounded almost happy to see him. Had she finally forgiven him?
“It’s a nice afternoon, isn’t it?” she said, taking the reins from him as her feet touched the ground. She dropped them, allowing Pepper to wander at will.
He pushed his hands into his trouser pockets. “It is. Hot in the sun, but not so bad in the shade.” He struggled to think of something to say that didn’t involve the weather, but failed.
She laughed and took the hat from her head. “I guess you wonder why I’m out here.”
He watched her hair swing free. He could still feel the softness of it woven in his fingers the day he kissed her. He swallowed hard. No time for those thoughts, now. “I guess you’re just out for a ride.”
“Yes. Birdie said this was a nice way to go.”
Birdie? She was the only one that knew he came here. He had seen her often take late afternoon walks on the ridge above. Had she sent Addie to see him on purpose?
“So how have you been?” she asked, settling herself on the bank as he retrieved his pole.
“Fine. I guess you’re making a lot of plans?” Best get the subject right out there. No need to avoid it.
She shrugged and pulled up a blade of grass, rubbing it between her fingers. Her answer didn’t match his question. “I guess you’re still enjoying your notoriety from the race.”
He laughed. “I haven’t thought much about it.” Maybe that wasn’t exactly true. It was in his thoughts a lot. Not the actual race, but what Adam Zimmer had done to Patriot. He was still debating on whether or not to confront the man, but it was best to let his temper die out before he did. In the end, it was probably best to let it go. Zimmer had lost the race. The right thing would be to forgive the man and go on. No words he spoke to him would change the way the man played any situation, whether it was cards or life.
“I’m glad you won.”
Astonishment coursed through him. “Addie. . .I. . .“
“What?” she asked, with equal surprise.
“Zimmer is your fianc
é,” he pointed out, not quite sure how to put what he was trying to say into words.
She shrugged again and looked away. “I know.”
He watched as she stared across the water, the dapples of sunlight streaming through the tree above left streaks of gold across her hair. He could sit and look at her for hours, for all the good it would do him. But it was the expression on her face that had his attention. She doesn’t love him.
He kept his voice quiet and calm. She needn’t know that he could see through her pretense. “Why are you going to marry him?”
She turned to him, her eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
He studied her, praying for the right words to say. “Why would you be glad I won instead of Adam? That doesn‘t seem right.”
She stood at once, barely wiping the dry grasses from her skirt. She took a few steps toward the creek, her face away from him. “I don’t know what you mean. You. . .you needed the money is all. Adam has plenty.”
That was true. But she should still have cheered for the man she loved. The man she was supposed to love.
He stood and walked to her, his hand catching her elbow, spinning her around to face him. “You don’t love him, do you?”
She stepped back, jerking her arm from his grasp. “How dare you say such a thing?”
He watched the anger on her face mingle with the reality of his words. He was right. “Don’t marry a man you don’t love. It will never work. Especially to a man like him.”
She laughed. “I suppose you’re some sort of authority on marriage?”
It hurt bad enough that she wasn’t in love with him, but to think she would sentence herself to life with a man like Zimmer was more painful. What were the right words to convince her? Maybe just speaking the truth would get to her heart. “He’s a gambler, Addie. That’s how he makes his living. You can fool yourself by saying he’s a rancher, or a business man. But the truth will always be there.”
“You don’t know anything about him!” she accused, walking back towards her horse.
Mark followed. He knew so much more about the man than she did. Things he would never tell her. “I’ve known him longer than you have. And I know one thing. He’s not the man for you. He’ll take all you have, waste it, and then leave you, Addie. Trust me.” Men like Zimmer always left a trail of destruction behind them, never looking back, never caring about the broken lives they caused.
“Trust you!” The words were sharp and hateful as she spun to face him. “I guess you’re the man for me is what you mean. A dirt poor rancher. Yes, that’s so much better than one with a little bit of class and money.”
The words were a slap in the face. Heat rose in his throat and slowly burned to his forehead. Was that how she still saw him? He swallowed hard and kept his words slow and even. “I never said that I was the man for you. Just that he isn’t. Everything he has is something he’s taken from others at a card table. He didn’t work for any of it.”
She shrugged. “It’s not like anyone forced them to gamble away their money. He took it in an honest game.”
She couldn‘t really see it like that. Her heart knew better. He shook his head. “More like a game of desperation. Unless they’re professionals, most men play because they need more money, not less. It is a foolish decision for them, but it’s not any honor on Zimmer’s part. He’s good at what he does and that means taking advantage of others. Is that really what you want, Addie? Knowing everything you have comes from the misfortune of others?”
She grabbed Pepper‘s reins and pulled the horse close to her. “You and your self-righteous preaching! You don’t know anything about me or my life, Mark Murphy!”
“Addie, wait!“ He held on to the reins. He had to try. Reaching up, he grabbed her hand. “Addie, I. . .I do love you. I know it’s not the time to say it, but you don’t have to marry a man that has no respect for you. You’re setting yourself up for a life of misery. I can’t bear to see that happen to you. Stay here and talk to me.”
She swung up on the horse and pulled her fingers from his grasp. “I’ve said all I have to say to you. I‘m not sure why I even bothered to stop and speak to you.”
He stared after her, fighting everything inside of him to resist mounting Sugar and following. But there was no use. She would have to be honest with herself before she acknowledged the truth of who Adam Zimmer really was. He could only pray that it wouldn’t be too late for her when she accepted the facts.
Chapter 33
Still trembling inside from the conversation with Mark, she left Pepper at the barn for one of the hands to unsaddle. The kitchen door squeaked as she pushed it open and stepped into the darkened room. Birdie was seated at the kitchen table, a teapot and two cups sat in front of her, as if she had been waiting for Addie‘s return.
“Please sit down,” she indicated the chair across from her.
Addie bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was have a conversation with anyone. Mark’s words had left a burning hole inside of her, not only because part of it – the part about not being entirely happy, for instance – rung true with her. But Birdie so seldom spoke, that it seemed rude to decline the offer.
The ancient woman poured slowly, offering Addie sugar and cream. She declined both.
Birdie sat back down and took a sip from her cup. Then she turned her eyes to Addie. “Did you have a nice ride?”
Addie nodded. No need to mention Mark. “It was hot, but I rode along the ridge and creek as you suggested. The air was a lot cooler coming off the water.”
Birdie nodded. “Did you see anyone?”
Addie stared at the sharp, dark eyes. “I think maybe you thought that I might, didn’t you?” She must have sent her there on purpose.
Birdie shrugged and smiled.
“You like him, don’t you? Mark Murphy, I mean.” I do love you, Addie. Those words would echo inside of her forever.
Birdie appeared to study her tea. Then her eyes met Addie’s. “He is a nice young man. Honest and trustworthy. He will make some woman a good husband.”
Addie stared the table, running her fingers over the gnarled knots and wavy pattern of the wood. Birdie’s fingers covered hers and she snatched them away, turning her eyes to the woman’s face.
The woman’s voice was shaky and cracked as she spoke. “Are you still determined to marry this Zimmer man?”
Addie gritted her teeth. Birdie really was meddlesome for a housekeeper. “I don’t see how that is any of your business, Birdie. But. . .I am not sure exactly what I am going to do.” Her words surprised even herself. Until this moment, she had every intention to marry the man whose company she had steadily accepted these past few weeks.
Had seeing Mark, hearing his words, changed that decision? Had something he said about Adam – about herself – been more true than she had wanted to admit?
Birdie sighed. “I asked you to sit down because it is time you know the truth of who you are. I have waited for Samson to tell you, but he is too ashamed. I found that he has burned the painting of your grandparents. But he cannot run from the truth forever.”
He lied about who he was. Mother’s words floated through her head. All those years of wondering. Was she finally to know their meaning? Addie felt her hand tremble as she set her cup back on the table. “Ashamed of what?”
“Of us. Himself included,” Birdie said. She cleared her throat. “Adeline, I am your great-aunt. Your grandmother was my sister.”
Addie stared. “But that would mean. . .” she swallowed hard. She had always thought her mother meant the secret her father kept was about the success of his ranch, or lack of, at the time they married. But now. . .
Birdie leaned forward and pressed her hand to Addie’s. “It is no shame to be one of the people. We are proud of who we are. And your father has had a good life. His father, your grandfather, was never ashamed of us.”
Addie shook her head. “But how can he hide it? Others must know if our family has been here so long.”
Birdie nodded. “There are many here with such ties. Most conceal the truth, as your father does. It is rarely spoken in public.”
Addie stared at her hand. So that explained her olive complexion, the dark eyes that stared back from her reflection. Mark’s confusion the day she asked him about Birdie. He must know. Everyone must know.
Why hadn’t her mother told her? She blinked back the tears that stung her eyelids. Her mother had been ashamed, too. All those years, the shame must have been there every time she looked at her own daughter. She had been ashamed enough of her husband’s true heritage to leave his home.
“I don’t–”
Loud shouting and laughter from the other part of the house sounded. Her father’s deep voice was the one shouting. She could only guess that it was Adam laughing.
Birdie turned her head in the direction of the voices. “Maybe we had better see what is going on.”
They arrived in the foyer as her father, using the cane he had recently advanced to using, came hobbling from his study, following Adam. His face as red as a raging grass fire. The foreman and sheriff followed close behind him. The sound of voices engaged in argument filled the space around them.
Adam, upon seeing her, grabbed her round the waist and spun her in a circle, his hat flying from his head. “No need to build a new house, now, Addie,” he said. “We’ll just live here. How does that sound?”
She had never seen him look so happy, so joyous, yet she pulled away. “What are you talking about?” she asked, confused.
He glanced at her father and laughed. “I just won the ranch, Addie. Now Blue Seven Ranch is mine, as well as Silver Ridge. Your fiancé is even richer than you thought. And don’t worry, we’ll let poor old Papa live here, too,” he grinned. Then his eyes met hers. “On second thought, maybe there is no need to marry you. Maybe I can find some other pretty woman to share my home.”
Chance Creek Brides (Volumes 1-3 & the Stagecoach Bride) Page 33
