Her hands stayed on his shoulders as he stared deeply into her eyes. He didn’t want to think of anything except how content he was at this moment. She could have been screaming and kicking him and trying to run away, but instead, she stayed in his arms. He liked that more than he should.
“Will you enlighten me as to why you felt the need to kidnap an innocent woman?” She tilted her head slightly. “Now that I know the truth about you, I’m surprised you would still want to spend time with me.”
“My lovely Hannah.” He caressed her cheek again. “You don’t know the whole truth about me, but I can honestly say that I’ve not been able to think of anything else since Bryan took you away from me.”
Her throat jumped as she took a step back and out of his arms. “I just want to know why you have brought me here.”
He motioned toward the house. “Then let us proceed inside so I can explain things to you.” He offered his arm for her to take, but instead, she gave him a quizzical look before shaking her head and walking ahead of him.
It didn’t take much to catch up with her since his long legs shortened the space between them. They walked up the steps to the wrap-around porch, and he opened the door for her to enter.
She lifted her chin and walked inside. He wasn’t impressed with her high-and-mighty attitude, and yet, the cute little twinkle was still in her eyes. Was she playing with him somehow? He hoped she was because he enjoyed the challenging game.
“Would you like some tea or lemonade?” he asked, closing – and locking – the door behind him.
“All I would like, Mr. Easton, are some answers.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but my cook doesn’t know how to make those types of cookies.”
The corner of her mouth tugged into a grin for a brief moment before she changed her expression to a more serious one. “Answers, please.”
He moved closer to her, but she didn’t move. He took that as a good sign, so he slid his arm around her waist and guided her toward the sitting room. She was a taller woman than he’d been with before, but he liked that he didn’t have to bend way down just to kiss her.
When they reached the couch, she sat, and he joined her, sitting close to her. In rebuttal, she scooted toward the edge, but then he just followed. Finally, she came to the very end and had nowhere else to go, so she folded her arms and glared at him. Once again, he could see this wasn’t how she truly felt. It appeared that she was just doing this for show. She wanted him to think that she was very upset, but he knew deep inside her, she was as anxious as he was.
“The truth, Mr. Easton.”
“Yes, of course.” He sighed and leaned his shoulder against the back of the couch as he stared at her stiff profile.
“To put it bluntly, you are not the woman Bryan should marry.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. For a moment, Maverick detected a tear in her eyes, but then it disappeared. He could now see that his statement had hurt her.
“Hannah, it’s not what you think.” He patted her arm, but she yanked it away from him.
“Then please, tell me what I should be thinking right now because the thoughts running through my head is that you don’t think I’m good enough for your brother. But I assure you, he picked me to be his mail-order bride. And although you probably think the worst of me because of my past, I assure you, I am a lady. I can be the perfect hostess and wife, and I’d make a wonderful mother... if only someone would give me a chance.” Her voice cracked, and a tear slid down her cheek.
His chest clenched. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, seeing that he had was killing him inside. “No, my sweet, Hannah.” He took hold of her hands, and although she struggled to pull away, he wouldn’t let her this time. “That’s not what I meant. You see, Bryan needs to marry Coralie. My stubborn-headed brother doesn’t realize that he’s still in love with the girl he’d known as a young man. And well, Joel and I are trying to steer Bryan in the right direction.”
She inhaled slowly, and her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Why did he put an ad in the newspaper for a mail-order bride if he was still in love with Coralie?”
“When they were young and experiencing first love, her wealthy parents didn’t like the idea of their only daughter falling in love with a poor boy.”
“But... you are all wealthy now.”
“True, but we weren’t back then.”
“Does she live around here? She should know that Bryan isn’t poor.”
“Because I work with the loggers, I heard one talk of Coralie’s family who had lost everything. You see,” he leaned closer to Hannah, “the tables are now turned. Coralie is the one who is down on her luck while Bryan is living the high life. He doesn’t know that Coralie is only two towns north of us.”
Hannah rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. “I still don’t understand.” After a few moments of taking deep breaths, she looked at him again. “If you want Bryan to marry his childhood sweetheart, then why didn’t you stop him from sending away for a mail-order bride?”
“We didn’t know until this morning. Joel noticed that Bryan was wearing nicer clothes and looking quite often at his pocket-watch. Joel finally got Bryan to confess. While Joel was stalling Bryan from leaving, I came to get you. I honestly didn’t know what exactly you and Bryan had discussed, but when I realized you thought I was him, I decided to play along.”
She didn’t say anything, but the longer she stared at him, the deeper her frown became. Soon, her eyes filled with tears.
“Maverick,” her voice broke again. “I was open with you and told you about my past. You know about my hardships. Being a mail-order bride is the only way I’ll find a husband.”
Seeing her tears flow down her cheeks tugged painfully on his heart. Her agony had suddenly become his downfall.
Not wanting her to cry anymore, Maverick took her in his arms and pressed her body against him. He stroked her hair, cooing softly to her. Had he ever felt hair so silky? He knew he’d never seen such a lovely dark color.
“Shhh...” he hushed, pressing his mouth against her forehead. “Don’t cry.”
“I need... to get married, Maverick.” Her breaths were shaky. “I don’t know what else to do with my life, otherwise.”
It was on the tip of his tongue... He really should ask Hannah to be his wife. After all, he needed to marry, thanks to his controlling grandfather. But first things first – Bryan needed to find Coralie and marry her.
“I’ll help you... find something to do with your life,” he said finally.
A big sob gushed forth, but then she straightened, pulling out of his arms. “You don’t understand... Oh, Maverick, I shouldn’t tell you this, but I have no other choice.”
“What is it?” He wiped the tears from her cheeks.
From outside came the thundering sound of horses’ hooves. He grumbled under his breath. How had Bryan discovered his missing bride already? Maverick needed more time.
“Someone is here.” He jumped up from the couch and hurried to the window, but his older brother wasn’t one of the four men on horseback. Instead, it was Fred, the drunken cowboy that had accosted Hannah after she’d left the stagecoach. “What is he doing here?”
Maverick waited for Fred to come up to the porch. Maverick swung the door open and scowled at the other man as he stepped out of the house. “I thought I told you to sleep it off, Fred.”
“Ya did, but I decided I’m tired of ya tellin’ me what to do all the time.”
Maverick tried to process the slurred words from the cowboy’s mouth, but nothing made sense. “What are you talking about?”
“Ya order me around a lot.”
Maverick rolled his eyes. “That’s because you’re a logger, and I’m your boss.”
Fred raised his arm, pointing his pistol at Maverick’s face. His heart sank. Why hadn’t he seen that before now?
“Fred,” Maverick said slowly, “you don’t need to shoot me. I’ll stop ordering you around so much.”<
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Fred’s serious expression took a few seconds to change to one of victory. “What’s this? I actually have the bossman shakin’ in his boots?” He laughed loudly. “It’s too bad the others can’t see ya now. I’d bet they’d think ya were a weaklin’, just as I do.”
Maverick didn’t know how he’d do it, but he was going to make sure Fred couldn’t go around threatening people with his pistol again. The man was dangerous when he drank too much.
“That doesn’t matter, Fred. You can tell anyone you want. But I think you’d better leave my property now.”
“See, there ya go again, orderin’ me around. I’m not an obedient dog, ya know.”
“Believe me. I don’t think of you as a dog at all.” Drunken Fred was more like a rat – the kind that needed to be slaughtered. Normally, Maverick wasn’t the killing type, but if threatened, he’d do anything to protect his life and those he loved.
He took a deep breath, hoping for the courage to get rid of this man before he blew a hole in Maverick’s head. As he studied the man still chuckling, Maverick realized that the drunkard swayed and appeared not to be focused. Maverick could take him. The cowboy’s reflexes were probably poor, and Maverick could knock him down with a feather. At least he had to try.
Fisting his hands, Maverick prepared to lunge at him, and if he needed to throw a few punches to knock the man out, so be it. But just seconds before he made his move, he heard a horse riding from around the back of the house.
“I’ve got her!” the rider shouted.
Immediately, Maverick noticed an unconscious Hannah lying over the man’s lap as he rode away from the house. Fred turned to scamper off the porch while the other three men kicked their horses into a run.
Panic filled Maverick, and he acted quickly. He jumped on Fred, knocking the drunkard to the ground. The pistol flew from his hand. Maverick grasped it and then hit it against Fred’s forehead. Seconds later, the man was out cold.
Maverick jumped off the porch and ran to his steed, which somehow had wandered to the other side of the house. He cussed and ran as fast as he could to get his horse. Finally, he was able to mount. As he urged the horse forward, he prayed he’d be able to catch up with the men who took Hannah. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.
FIVE
Hannah’s head swam with dizziness, and her stomach lurched. The side of her head throbbed painfully. Groaning, she raised her hand to feel what was causing so much turmoil. When her fingers brushed against the lump on her skull, she cringed as another pain shot through her.
What in tarnation had happened to her? The last thing she remembered was hearing Maverick’s worried voice as he talked with the person on the porch. She had left the couch to see what was going on when something struck her head.
Who had done this to her? And, would Maverick come to her rescue? Because as she looked around the meager shack as she lay on the floor, she knew she wasn’t in Maverick’s home at all.
As she tried to sit up, her head pounded harder, making her stomach lurch again. It was a good thing she hadn’t eaten anything, or it would be on the floor next to her any minute now. Another pain in her body confused her. Why were the muscles in her belly, hurting?
She placed a palm over the spot where her unborn child would soon show itself. Had something happened to her baby? And yet, all that ached were the muscles. She prayed her baby was still healthy, and that no damage would come to the child.
But now... Hannah needed to figure out where she was, even if it made her sick to open her eyes and to listen to the voices echoing in the shack. Yet, after a few minutes, she still didn’t recognize any of the voices. Then again, she’d only been in Stumptown for a few hours and had only talked to a handful of people. Why would she recognize anyone’s voice?
Silently, she prayed for strength. Since she was the only one in this pitiful looking room, that meant nobody was keeping an eye on her. She could try and escape... if only she could sit up.
Once again, she tried to maintain her balance and lift off the floor. The swimming in her head increased, and she dry heaved. All right, so maybe now was not the time to leave.
Footsteps squeaked on the floor, coming from another room. The person stopped in front of her, but she didn’t dare open her eyes. However, a scent drifted around her, and she smelled... freshly baked bread? No, that couldn’t be right.
“Hey, Miss.” The man’s boot pushed against her shoulder. “Are ya hungry?”
Her stomach growled, and she was certain he heard it.
“Well, here’s some soup and bread.”
He placed a tray in front of her and then left the room. She opened her eyes. True to his word, there was a bowl with steaming broth and vegetables inside, along with two slices of bread. It would be difficult to eat lying on her side, but she had no other choice, since sitting up wasn’t an option.
It took her a few minutes to create the awkward movement from dipping the spoon in the bowl and then bringing it to her mouth without spilling on the floor. Soon, she didn’t care what she looked like and moved the bowl very near to her chin so that she could slurp the danged soup.
The food helped to soothe the dry heaves a bit, thankfully. Hannah closed her eyes again and rested her still throbbing head on her arm. Her belly wasn’t full, but a little food was better than no food.
How much time had passed as she drifted in and out of sleep, she wasn’t sure, but soon, the voices from the other room became louder. They were angry about something. She didn’t care, just as long as they didn’t try and involve her again. For a moment, she wondered if they just wanted to use her as ransom. After all, she was supposed to be marrying one of Stumptown’s wealthy bachelors. The man who’d come to talk to Maverick hadn’t sounded very happy, so there must be more of them.
Slowly, she rolled to her back and opened her eyes fully. The lump on the side of her head didn’t throb as much now, and the pain wasn’t as fierce, either. The small room only had one window, and by the look of it, the sun was starting to descend on the horizon. Would Bryan know she was gone? He probably suspected Maverick of taking her, and of course, if he went to Maverick’s house and she wasn’t there, the two brothers would come to look for her, right? But if that were the case, why was she still here?
The angry voices in the other room grew quiet for a moment, and then came the sickening sound of a body being beaten. Squeezing her eyes closed, she tried not to focus on what she heard, but it brought back memories she had wanted to keep hidden – memories she wished had never happened. Luca McMillian was the reason she left the traveling group of actors. He was a sweet-talker, but when he consumed too much whiskey, he turned violent. She had been with him during one of these episodes, and she left with only a few bruises on her face and a sprained wrist. She’d been lucky that it hadn’t been worse.
The footsteps shaking the floor as they came toward her were louder this time, and there was more than one person. She glanced in the direction of the sound. Two men were dragging in an unconscious man. They stopped not far from her and threw the man face-down on the floor.
She waited for them to say something to her, but they didn’t. Instead, they took the tray that had her empty bowl on it and carried it back into the next room. She looked at the man on the floor again, this time trying to study him. Suddenly, recognition struck as his tan shirt, and black vest looked familiar.
Gasping, she crawled to him. The movement made her head pound faster, but she didn’t care this time.
“Maverick?” she said quietly as she shook his arm.
He lay motionless, and panic filled her. Why had they gotten to him, too?
Gently, she rolled him over on his back. The moment she noticed the bruises on his face and his bleeding nose and lip, she cringed. Without another thought, she pulled up her dress enough to rip a portion of her slip. She used that material to remove the blood under his nose and lip. Thankfully, he wasn’t still bleeding.
Taking special care not to
hurt him, she lifted his head and scooted closer so that his head could rest on her lap. Tears stung her eyes as she stared down into his battered face. “Oh, Maverick. What have we gotten ourselves in to?”
Gingerly, she ran the pad of her fingers over his face, making sure not to touch his bruises or cuts. He had strong features, but it was his kissable lips that she mostly stroked. Not to mention the cute dimple in his chin.
Hannah couldn’t fathom why she found him so irresistible. He’d outright lied to her, making her think he was the Easton brother she was going to marry. She should be extremely upset with him, and yet, she recalled how easy he’d been to talk to. She especially remembered how her body had warmed from his touch, and her heartbeat had flipped crazily. Even thinking about it now made her breathless. When she’d seen him at the front door earlier this afternoon, she’d been so excited.
Now, he was the man who was going to stop her from marrying his brother. Hannah understood that Bryan should marry the woman he loved, but since this love affair had happened years ago, did the man truly want Coralie? Or would he settle on marrying Hannah?
However, Hannah didn’t want anyone to settle on her. True, she needed to find a husband quickly, but she also wanted to believe there might be a chance to love her husband eventually.
Sighing, she drew the tips of her fingers over his lips again. Could she convince Maverick to marry her? Earlier, she’d felt impressed to tell him the truth about her unborn child. She didn’t know if that would help or hinder the situation. At the very least, maybe he could find her a man who didn’t mind that she came with extra baggage. Yet... she wouldn’t mind having Maverick for her husband.
A small groan escaped his throat, and his head moved slightly. She hitched a breath, praying he would awaken soon.
“Maverick?” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”
His forehead furrowed, and he grimaced. “Ma?”
She rolled her eyes. Did her voice really sound that old? “No, I’m not your mother.”
Hannah's Hardship Page 4