by Anthology
Horror darkened her eyes as Smith went on. “I was tried and convicted then shipped off to a prison in Kansas. Leavenworth County.”
She covered her mouth with a shaking hand. “That’s awful. Just as awful as everyone being told you were dead.”
“I’ll find out how that happened.” He wanted to sit beside her, hold her, but he stayed where he was, giving her a chance to absorb what was happening. Still, he didn’t release her, wasn’t going to.
“But...if you were in prison, couldn’t you have gotten word to your parents? Or me?”
“I tried. I sent out messages with guards and a couple of released inmates. Obviously none of my letters ever arrived.”
Her gaze slid over him, making his skin go tight and hot. “Is that where you were hurt? Prison?”
He nodded, unsure of how much to tell her. “I had a broken leg that didn’t heal right.”
“How did that happen?”
“Sometimes there were fights.” There was no reason to tell her he had been attacked simply because he was a new arrival. “But I’m fine, thanks to another prisoner. A friend.”
She swallowed hard, sadness creasing her features. “You served your time so they released you?”
“They released me, but not because I’d done my time. An Indian was arrested recently for rustling. When they brought him in, he had most of the valuables from that train robbery on him.”
“Then they knew it wasn’t you.”
“They weren’t totally convinced until the outlaw said I wasn’t part of his gang. The judge sent a marshal to Leavenworth straightaway and I was escorted over the Kansas border then released.”
“Why didn’t you send word to anyone?”
“I was afraid if I stopped to wire home, the marshal might decide a mistake had been made and I shouldn’t have been released. I wasn’t risking it. I rode hell-for-leather, getting as far from there as I could. I had to get home to you. Where I belong.”
She stilled, her gaze sliding away from his. “Wh-when did you arrive?”
“When you saw me at the school. I came here first.”
Something flickered in her eyes, but was gone so quickly he couldn’t identify it. “Your parents have been visiting Ivy this week. They’re supposed to be home tomorrow.”
He didn’t want to talk about his folks or his sister. He wanted to lay Caroline back on that sofa and make her his, the way he’d almost done before he left on the damned cattle trip that had cost him two years of his life. Two years of their lives.
He ran his thumb across her lower lip, drawing in her soft vanilla scent. “I don’t want to waste any time.”
She frowned.
“Our life was interrupted. I want us to get married soon, before Christmas, and start the family we’d planned.”
In the flickering firelight, it looked as if she went pale. Slipping from his hold, she rose from the couch and stepped away.
He got to his feet, ignoring the throb in his bad leg. “Prison taught me to take advantage of the time we have and I’ve already missed out on too much time with you.”
An odd look crossed her face. “You’ve only just returned.”
“Yes, and I want my life back. Our life.”
She reached into her skirt pocket then opened her hand. The engagement ring he’d given her glinted in the golden light.
“You’ve been carrying your ring.” He smiled. “Now you can wear it again.”
She stared down at the thin band.
He moved closer. “I don’t want to spend another minute apart from you. Our life has been on hold long enough.”
She closed her eyes, looking pained. “Don’t you need time to settle in? Let your folks get used to you being here?”
“No,” he answered slowly. “Do you?”
Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away.
“Caroline, what’s wrong?” Uneasy, he cupped her shoulders.
After a long moment, she faced him. Her skin was waxy, her eyes hollow in her chalk-white face. A sense of foreboding dropped over him like a weight.
Visibly shaking, she held out the ring. “I can’t marry you.”
Even over the hammer of growing dread, he heard the stark, cutting words and they punched the breath right out of him. This was every bit as unexpected and vicious as the attack in prison that had nearly ended his life.
Chapter Two
Smith stared at Caroline then at the diamond ring in her tiny hand. “You mean you can’t get married right now? Okay, when?”
“I mean get married, ever.”
He was dimly aware of the hiss and crackle of the low-
burning fire behind him, the scent of woodsmoke. Heavy silence hung between them.
It took long seconds before he could get a full breath. “What? We have plans.”
Her mouth tightened. “Not...any longer.”
“We’re going to build a house near the river where our kids can swim and fish.”
She just looked at him.
Heart thudding hard, he frowned. “When you fainted, I caught you before you fell, so I know you didn’t hit your head.”
But maybe he had because none of this made a lick of sense.
Caroline’s green eyes were dark with wariness and what appeared to be pain.
“You’re in shock from seeing me.” It was as though he were watching this happen to someone else. “That’s what this is.”
“Smith.”
“I love you, Caroline.” He folded her hand over the ring and covered her hand with his. “I came out of that hellhole for you.”
She winced. “Don’t say things like that.”
“It’s true.”
“But it shouldn’t be.”
What the hell? “I don’t understand. What’s going on here?”
“You’ve been through so much. You’ve only just returned home.”
“And?”
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then let me put that ring back on your finger.”
“I can’t.” Her face was ashen in the flickering light.
Frustrated, his voice rose. “Why not?”
She hesitated. “I’m keeping company with someone.”
He froze for a moment. “Because you thought I was dead. Now that I’m here, you can call it off.”
She shook her head.
His free hand curled around her waist and he eased her closer. She’d said “can’t,” not “won’t.” He was trying to understand even as his gut tangled like rusted barbed wire. “You belong with me and you know it.”
“You’ve been gone two years, Smith.”
“I know every damn minute of how long I’ve been gone,” he gritted out, his hold tightening on her. “You still love me. You kissed me not ten minutes ago.”
“I shouldn’t have done that.” She flushed and he knew she was turning that rosy-pink all over. “I’m thrilled and grateful that you’re alive, that you’re home, but I forgot myself.”
His head started to pound. “Are you telling me that you’ve moved on?”
“Yes,” she said raggedly. Her eyes were tortured. Bleak.
He could see she meant it. “This is crazy. What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m trying to explain.” She tugged at the hand he still held, but he refused to release her.
“Are you angry because I was gone so long? I told you I had no control over that. And I did try to get word to you.”
“It’s not that,” she said hoarsely. “It’s just that...there’s someone else.”
It was as if he’d been kicked in the head. He understood the words; they just didn’t mean anything at first. Then realization sliced through him. “Are you in love with this other man?”
Her gaze skittered away and something sharp shoved up under his ribs. Another man? That couldn’t be right. “Caroline, tell me.”
She squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Yes, I’m in love with
someone else.”
“You’re lying.” He just didn’t know why. Expecting her to fumble around for a name, he challenged, “Who is it?”
Without hesitation, she said, “Ethan Galloway.”
Galloway! Smith reared back. He knew Galloway, liked him! The cattleman was honest, hardworking and a damn good judge of stock.
Well, he couldn’t have Caroline. “You’re not in love with him. You can’t be.”
“I’m sorry, Smith,” she said thickly.
The knot in his gut coiled tighter. Disbelief edged into anger. “We had plans for a life together.”
“I’m not saying this to hurt you.”
He uttered a curse she had never heard him use before.
“You deserve to move on, too.”
“Like you have,” he said bitterly. “You want me to fall in love with another woman?”
She looked down, tugging again to free her hand and this time he released her. She wrapped her arms around herself.
The walls of her small house closed in, suffocating him. “This is bull.”
She shook her head. The anguish in her green eyes said she was telling the truth. He’d endured two damn years, wondered night after night if he would ever see her again, hold her. Marry her. Now he was here—finally—and she wanted to be with someone else.
His lips twisted. “How long did you wait before you decided to move on?”
“Just...this year.”
“How long have you been seeing Galloway?” he demanded.
“About two months.”
And this relationship was already strong enough that she no longer felt for Smith what he felt for her?
He wanted to hit something. “Did you ever want to marry me?”
Though she winced, she met his gaze. “Of course I did.”
“Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it.” Furious and hurt, he jerked up his coat, gloves and hat, limped toward the door.
“Smith!”
He stopped, hoping she would say she had changed her mind, hoping she wouldn’t let him walk out.
When she didn’t speak, he looked over his shoulder. She held out the ring. The sight snapped the little restraint he had left. “I’m not taking your ring.”
That she still wanted him to went through him like a spear. “You’re not the woman I thought you were.”
He yanked open the door and went out, slamming it behind him.
The icy winter air did nothing to cool his blood. He pulled on his coat, slammed his hat on his head then swung into the saddle, ignoring the bite in his bad leg and the sting of frigid leather on his backside. He paused, glancing at the window to see if she was watching, but she wasn’t.
He turned his horse toward home. He wanted to hit something and keep hitting.
They had been the one thing he’d believed he could count on. The thought of them had gotten him through endless nights of cold and sleeplessness and pain.
And now they were over.
* * *
You’re not the woman I thought you were.
Two days later, Smith’s words still circled around in Caroline’s head. He had no idea how right he was. She wasn’t the woman he had left behind. She wasn’t even a whole woman and she never would be again.
She had barely managed to keep from running after him and confessing everything. Instead she had sunk down onto the sofa and sobbed. Her eyes still burned from all the crying she’d done since then.
Watching him walk out had been like losing him all over again. Even knowing she was putting his happiness ahead of hers didn’t ease the searing ache in her heart.
She would never forget the look of betrayal in his eyes, the utter disbelief and hurt. Like she’d ripped off a strip of flesh.
And she hadn’t even told him everything.
She had to stop thinking about him. What she’d done was the best thing for him and she couldn’t second-guess herself.
Pushing away thoughts of him, she turned her attention to the conversation she and Ethan were having with her friend and former schoolteacher, Della Whitaker. The three of them stood between the church and schoolhouse. Distracted, she heard Ethan compliment Della on her newest hat.
Caroline fully expected Smith to attend church today with his family. Everyone in Mimosa Springs was champing at the bit to see him and she knew he would want to see them as well. The anxiety coiled the tension in her shoulders tighter. Restlessness sawed through her like a dull blade.
Now the owner of the town’s general store, Della had children older than Caroline, yet her age was indeterminable. Slightly plump, the woman’s dewy skin was unlined and smooth except for laugh lines around her mouth. Her hair was coal-black with no hint of gray.
The older woman’s penchant for hats was well-known. Today, she wore a black velvet bonnet, ordered from New Orleans. It was decorated with loops of rose-colored ribbon that bunched together on the brim. A small decorative bird perched in the nest of ribbon.
Holding his flat-brimmed hat, Ethan grinned at her. His blue eyes twinkled. “I saw a raven circling your hat a while ago, looking for a place to light.”
Della swatted at the brawny rancher. “You rascal.”
Caroline laughed, her gaze skimming over the several inches of snow on the ground, blinding in the Sunday morning sunlight. The few bare patches around the school where people had scooped up snow and staged snowball fights were nearly covered by the snow that had continued to fall yesterday and last night. The hills and evergreen trees beyond were blanketed in white, which also coated the leafless oaks and maples.
Della glanced at Caroline. “Are the children behaving? I imagine they’re itchin’ for the holiday. This is their last week of school before Christmas, isn’t it?”
“Yes. They’re excited, but aren’t causing mischief. Not yet anyway,” she added.
The other woman lowered her voice. “How are you doing, dear?”
Beside her, Ethan stiffened. Caroline had known Della would ask about Smith’s homecoming. She had expected Ethan to ask questions after she told him about Smith’s visit, but he hadn’t.
Caroline gave a small smile. “I’m all right although I admit I was overcome with shock when I first set eyes on him. If I hadn’t seen him—” or kissed him “—I wouldn’t believe he was alive.”
The rattle of wagon wheels and jingle of harness announced the arrival of more people for services. A crow squawked overhead as neighbor greeted neighbor.
“I want to see the boy for myself,” Della said. “Everyone’s talking about his return.”
Word had spread though Caroline didn’t know how because she had told only Ethan. Perhaps Smith himself had shared the news although she hadn’t seen him in town.
“It sure beats all I’ve ever heard.” Ethan ran a hand through his brown hair. “Locked up in prison for two years, for something he didn’t do.”
Though his tone was neutral, there was a tension in his voice. Until now, Caroline had only focused on how Smith’s return from the dead affected her. For the first time, she wondered what the man beside her thought about it.
“In prison?” Della exclaimed. “Whatever for?”
Caroline explained quickly.
“Oh, no.” The older woman shook her head. “When Emmett and Viola return, they’ll be over the moon to find him alive and home.”
“Yes,” Caroline said quietly.
An abrupt silence fell behind them. A sudden chill skipped down her spine and she went still inside. Smith had arrived. She knew it.
Her friend’s brown eyes filled with tears. “There he is. I declare.”
With a sniffle, the older woman moved past Caroline and Ethan as they turned.
While Smith looped the reins of his Appaloosa over the hitching post in front of Della’s mercantile, people surged toward him. Everyone spoke at once, their voices rising and falling in excitement.
Sheriff Newberry was the first to shake Smith’s hand. Then Dr. Stephen Miller and his wife,
Kate, greeted him.
Helpless to look away, Caroline kept her gaze locked on the man at the center of attention.
Yes, she’d already seen him, but she still felt a jolt of surprise and joy. And a familiar quiver low in her belly.
Though he had lost weight during his absence, his deerhide coat skimmed shoulders that were still as wide as a door and opened to reveal a white dress shirt flattened against a muscled chest. Dark trousers sleeked down long powerful legs. The memory of being held against his strong body sent a flush of heat through her.
He shook hands and spoke to everyone gathered around him.
Amid all the hugs and back slapping, someone tugged on her elbow. She looked down to see a sandy-haired boy.
“Good morning, Miz Curtis.” Ten-year-old William Dorsett was one of her best students.
She smiled. “Hello, William.”
The boy glanced across the street, his blue eyes growing wide as he watched Smith. Awe was plain on his thin features as he breathed, “Ben Wallace said Mr. Jennings was back from the dead, but I didn’t believe him.”
“Now you’ve seen him with your own eyes.” Because Caroline had conjured up her former fiancé so many times, she wouldn’t have believed only her eyes. But he had kissed her. The hard steel of his arms around her, the firm pressure of his mouth and the feel of his big body against hers had proven he was very real.
Favoring his right leg, Smith slowly worked his way through the crowd and reached his former schoolteacher. He swooped Della up in a bear hug.
“Smith Jennings, you really are alive!”
“I am.” He carefully set the older woman on her feet. “And you’re as pretty as ever.”
She smiled, stepping back to give him the once-over. “Your parents were due back from Ivy’s yesterday. Did they make it?”
“Not yet. I figure the snow held them up. It didn’t stop until late last night.”
She patted his cheek. “You need some fattening up.”
He grinned, his attention shifting as Ethan walked up to him, extending a hand.
