by Paty Jager
“You even brought the baby?” Clay patted their child’s round head.
“Why would we leave her home?” Darcy asked, stepping back and handing the wiggly bundle to Ethan. He looked down at his niece. Her round, pink face laughed back at him, and he fell in love. What would it be like to hold his own child? Holding this child and Shayla would be the closest he’d ever come to that experience. His stomach roiled and bile rose in his throat. He shoved the baby back to its mother and left the building.
He’d just about had everything a man could want and then—He’d been cheated more than if he’d lost his sight. After finally finding love, he had to ignore it and fulfill his family obligations. Why had he been the oldest? He wanted to be like Gil and ride off, striking out on his own. Or Zeke, carrying out justice. Where was the justice in being shackled to your responsibilities?
He wanted to shout his frustrations to the gloomy, November sky. He couldn’t. He was the role model, the one his father depended on to keep the family together. Damn responsibility!
The rock outcropping dividing the Miller mine from the stamp mill loomed in front of him. He didn’t know how he crossed the bridge and ended up here, staring blindly at the lights of the stamp mill. The sun had set long ago. The cold, dark night shrouded him, deepening his loneliness.
He leaned against the rocks and cloaked himself in despair as he hashed out ways to tell Aileen he couldn’t marry her, and he couldn’t see her any more. To see her would make him want her. He couldn’t string her along with maybes when he had no idea of what the future would hold for Clay.
****
Aileen grew tired of being fussed over. First Maeve and her insistence she get cleaned up and wash her hair so the doctor could look at the gash on her head, and then some feisty little woman claiming to be the wife of another brother came in and started bossing her around. The only consolation was the woman thrust a beautiful, dark-haired, dimpled child into her arms as she and Maeve talked in the corner.
Would a child from Ethan’s seed be this adorable? She glanced at the corner to make sure her thought hadn’t been said aloud. After asking her to marry him, she’d expected him to at least come check on her when the doctor left, but she hadn’t seen nor heard his wonderful voice in over an hour.
She didn’t plan to say aye to his proposal, but she could use the strength of his arms about her. Darcy approached the bed, her arms outstretched in invitation to her child. The baby smiled, giggled, and lunged toward her mother. Fearing the lassie would fall, Aileen moved to steady her, but the smaller woman was strong and agile, catching the child and smiling at Aileen.
“She’s a tough one like her ma.” Darcy winked and sat on the edge of the bed. “I understand Ethan and you are getting pretty close.”
Heat scalded her cheeks and the tips of her ears prickled. “That would be between the two o’ us,” she said, trying not to be drawn in by the woman’s innocent looks.
“I’m sorry, but in this family, nothing like that is between just the two concerned.” Darcy turned to the other woman in the room. “Right, Maeve?”
The tall, lithe woman Aileen had come to respect crossed the room, a wry smile on her lips. “I’m afraid once a Halsey sets his sights on a woman the whole clan rallies around and fights to help him keep her.”
Aileen gasped and leaned deeper into the pillows. “Ah dinnae want to be kept by a man.” She stared from one woman to the next, and they both burst out laughing.
“You don’t know these Halsey men. You can’t fight their allure.” Maeve placed a hand on hers. “And believe me, if Ethan is anything like Zeke, you don’t want to.” She winked.
Aileen’s breasts tingled thinking of the way her body responded to Ethan’s touch. And how he made her feel safe.
“If he’s so taken with me, where is he now?” There remained the problem. Though he’d said he didn’t think her capable of killing anyone, he still had his doubts. That had to be the reason he stayed away.
“Zeke went out to see why he’s staring at the stamp mill like a lost puppy,” Darcy said. “And you want to look so ravishing, that when he returns, he’ll crawl in this bed and take your mind off everything that’s happened.”
Aileen stared at the two women. She was at their mercy. But the thought of having Ethan slip into her bed and her arms—a tremor of anticipation crept through her. She gave in. She’d let them do what they wanted.
****
“How come you’re not in checking on Aileen?” Zeke’s voice jerked Ethan out of his depressing thoughts.
“I don’t want to give her hope we have a future.” There he said it out in the open. Now he’d have to act on it not sit here like a coward.
“What are you talking about? You love the woman don’t you?” His brother leaned against the rock beside him.
“Yes.” That was one thing he knew for certain—he would always love Aileen. And no one else.
“Then what’s with no future? Seems to me you should be in there pressuring her for a date to get married.”
He stared at his brother. “Why?”
“Umm, she has children, and I have it on good authority that you two—you know…”
“What’s that got to do with getting married? I’ve known you to have lain with women before you married your wife. You didn’t marry them.”
Zeke coughed into his hand. “They were women who knew how to prevent getting with child.”
The words hit him as hard as if his brother had backhanded him. With child. He hadn’t even thought of the aftermath of making love to her. Could she be carrying his child? But how could he pull her into the mess he now had?
He hadn’t thought about it. Figured she was old enough she couldn’t get pregnant— after all she had two children and—Damn! Four years she’d been without a man. Could that make her more fertile? Less?
“What am I going to do? She doesn’t want to marry and I can’t. Not now.” He pushed away from the rock and paced in front of Zeke.
“Why can’t you marry her now?” Zeke crossed his ankles and his arms.
Ethan stopped and stared at him. “Are you that dimwitted? I have to take care of Clay. I can’t ask her to take on my responsibilities.”
“If she loves you, she’ll want to help.”
“I can’t ask her to do that. She has plans, places she wants to go. I can’t have her not go because we have to stay here with Clay.” Ethan waved his arms in the air. And when she moved to England, he’d never see her again. The knowledge churned his gut like a pint of sour milk.
“Ethan, you don’t have to shoulder all the responsibility. We can all take turns with Clay. And who knows? He may get his sight back and then you’ll have lost out on the woman you love.” Zeke pushed away from the rock and put a hand on his shoulder. “Forget about the rest of us.”
Ethan glared at him. How could he forget? Every day since his parents’ death he woke up knowing he was the oldest—the one to look after the family and each night when he went to bed, he was reminded again.
“I mean it. I want you to walk into that room, look the woman you love in the eye, and tell her you’re going to marry her, and if she doesn’t pick a date, you will.”
Zeke’s hand in the middle of his back pushed him toward the building.
“Besides, if you aren’t happy, none of us will be happy. Think about that.” Zeke pushed him through the outer door of the office and into a room full of people. He noted the smiles and nods of encouragement as Zeke maneuvered him down the hall, knocked on Aileen’s bedroom door, pushed it open, and shoved him in.
Aileen roused out of the light sleep she’d fallen into when the two women finally left her alone. Exhaustion from all she’d been through had finally won.
Staring at Ethan, her heart lodged in her throat. His eyes glowed with desire, but his lips didn’t curve into his devastating smile, and he leaned against the closed door. Tendrils of dread skittered up her back.
“Ye still believe ah’d kill
someone.”
His body jerked as if something slammed into his back. “No.” His emphatic word and quick shake of his head chased away some of her apprehension.
“Then what has ye holdin’ back?” She opened her arms, inviting him closer.
He took one step, then another, and sat on the bed, his calloused fingers gingerly touched her cheek.
“You. Me. My family.” The words came out in a hoarse whisper.
“Ah need ye. My bairn need ye.” She put a hand on his unshaven, dirty cheek. “And my heart needs ye.”
His arms circled her. The smell of dirt, sweat, and all the things she’d come to know as his scent filled her senses and made her heart light.
“I can’t have you any way but as my wife.” He pulled away but held her shoulders in his firm hands as his gaze searched her face. She returned his gaze, seeking answers of her own. The misery in his eyes squeezed her chest. His gaze dropped to her mid-section. “Especially if you’re with child.”
She sucked in air. Where would he get a notion—“Ah’ll no’ marry ye just to make ye feel ye did the right thing by me.” She pushed out of his arms.
“No.” He ran a hand over his face. The scratching of his whiskers eased her fighting spirit. The man had been through the devil, he didn’t deserve her spitting at him.
“I don’t want to marry you because you might be with child. I want to marry you because I can’t imagine a day without you in it.” He grasped her hands.
“And what about this family thing, ye mentioned?” She squeezed his hands, forcing him to keep eye contact.
“I didn’t want to make you my wife and then say, ‘here help me take care of my blind brother’.” He smiled crookedly. “I didn’t want to make more work for you.”
“And now?”
He shook his head. “Zeke enlightened me. He says it’s a poor excuse. He seems to think there’s enough Halseys that one shouldn’t have to take on all the burdens.”
“He’s right. Yer a large clan. Ye dinnae have to always be tellin’ people what to do.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
His shoulders squared as though a weight had been lifted. He reached out, grasping her by the shoulders and pulling her toward him. His lips landed on hers with possessive firmness. She forgot all her worries. She never wanted to know what it would be like to go another day without his kisses.
Ethan’s heart rammed against his ribs. He could let his family responsibilities go. He wanted this woman, her children and any they might make together. Let his grown brothers shoulder some of the tasks he’d been hogging.
He deepened the kiss. Aileen sagged against him, clutching his dirty clothing. “Is this a yes?” He drew his lips only inches away from hers, gazing into her dazed eyes and watched as his question took shape in her head.
She closed her eyes and gave a firm nod. “Aye. Yer brother’s wives told me a little about ye Halsey boys.”
“Lord, I can imagine they filled you full of all kinds of contrary ideas.” His brothers had married well. Their choices the best fit for each of them, but they were two high-spirited and feisty woman.
He gazed down at his angel-kissed woman. She came from the same mold.
“Nae, no’ contrary ideas, only when a Halsey man loves ye, ye cannae get away.”
“There’s truth to that.” He slid his arms around her to prove he planned to keep her.
Chapter 34
Ethan stood in Myrle’s dining room waiting for his bride to enter on the arm of Orin Healy. He still couldn’t believe how fast his brothers’ wives and Myrle had pulled the whole wedding together. It had only been a week since Miles blew up the mine.
No one had seen the man since. Most speculated he either became buried in his own mishap or he’d hightailed it, knowing no one in the area would hide him after what he’d done.
Colin was developing into a different young man than the one he’d first met. When Aileen told him Miles’ confession about killing Miller, the boy had wept. Today, he sat in a chair beside Ethan, as his best man, waiting for his mother.
His brothers and their families all sat in the first row of chairs beaming as if they were the ones waiting for the bride. They’d given him their blessings, even Clay, who had taken the longest to realize Aileen wasn’t a monster.
“She’s comin’ ain’t she?” Colin’s voice wavered with concern. The preacher also watched the parlor door intently.
Ethan peered down at the boy and smiled. “She’s coming. Women just like to look their best on their wedding day.” As he said it, he hoped that was the reason. And not that she’d changed her mind.
The door to the parlor burst open and a flustered Myrle ran straight to him. “He’s got her and says he won’t let her go until he sees the boy.”
Ethan’s gut twisted with dread. “Who has her?” Zeke and Maeve still hadn’t found the man they followed to Sumpter.
“Some man. He knocked out Mr. Healy and grabbed Aileen. He’s got a knife, and he’s wild looking.” Myrle rushed to him. “He’s talking foolish. Something about Roderick and finally got the right one.”
His brothers surged forward. “Gil come with me,” Zeke started for the front door. “We’ll try to get behind him. Ethan, you and Maeve go into the parlor and keep his attention.”
Colin started to get out of the chair.
“Hank, keep him in here.” Ethan put a hand on Colin’s shoulder. “You coming in there is only going to make things worse for your ma. You know she’ll do anything, and I mean anything, to keep you safe.”
Colin nodded.
“Where’s Shayla?” Ethan’s heart stopped. The plan was for her to walk in ahead of her mother.
“She disappeared before the man showed up,” Myrle said, wringing her hands.
“Darcy and Myrle go outside and see if you can find her. We don’t want her walking into this mess.”
Darcy wrapped Clay’s arms around the baby and turned to her brother. “Jeremy, you come too.” The two headed out the door with Myrle.
Ethan nodded to Hank, then he and Maeve strode to the parlor door. It wasn’t latched. He pushed it open and stepped through the threshold. The tall, wild-eyed man clutching his soon-to-be bride swung his head their direction. One eye twitched.
“Who are you?” the man asked, tightening his grip on Aileen and poking her with the knife point.
“I’m her husband.” Ethan noted Healy starting to move his head and drew his gaze quickly back to the disturbed man harming the woman he loved.
“Not yet.” The man’s laugh grated. His gaze darted around the room, his face held no remorse. “I finally found the righ’ boy. Give ’im to me or you’ll never marry ’is ma.” The knife pricked Aileen’s side. Drops of blood marred her wedding dress, but her eyes begged him not to say a word about Colin.
The abductor’s wild gaze scanned the room. “’is mot’er getting married an all, I know ’e’s ’ere. Bring ’im to me. I’ve been waiting a long time to collect.”
Maeve stepped forward. “Surely you heard of the mine that was blown up. The boy was in the explosion.”
The man gaped at Maeve and shook his head slowly. “There wouldn’t be a wedding if the boy died.” He nodded to Aileen. “She wouldn’t ’ave married bein’ in mourning.”
“Look at the way she has eyes for only this man. Look at this man. Do they look like they care about anything but each other?” Maeve moved forward as she talked.
Her words rattled the man, but he wasn’t close enough for Ethan to make a move. As Maeve continued forward, the man backed up, the knife digging into Aileen. He wanted to shout for all of them to stop.
The window behind the man shattered and someone screamed as Zeke and Gil burst through the opening. Aileen catapulted into Maeve’s arms. Within seconds, Gil and Zeke wrestled the man to the ground. Ethan barely opened his mouth before Maeve shoved Aileen at him.
Aileen wept in his arms. He smoothed her hair and hugged her tight. He’d come
close to losing her, again.
He walked her into the other room. Darcy and Myrle had Shayla between them. She ran forward, clutching her mother’s legs. Colin struggled under Hank’s hand to get up. Ethan escorted Aileen to her son.
She wrapped her arms around him and rocked him back and forth murmuring words he didn’t understand. Ethan picked Shayla up and crouched beside the mother and son. They both put an arm around him, pulling him into their world.
Maeve strolled forward. “Gil and Zeke have Roderick’s man under control. Come on, we have to make a wedding happen.”
Aileen stared up at the woman. “Ah’m to shook up. And look at Ethan; he’s white as a ghost.”
“All the more reason to get this over with. He can keep you where he can see you.” Maeve helped her to her feet. “Myrle could you find some bandages? We need to wrap her wounds. Darcy, run up to my room and get my cinnamon colored gown.”
Ethan watched as his sisters-in-law pulled a stunned Aileen into the parlor.
Orin stumbled out of the room and the men all surged forward, catching him before he fell to the floor.
“He’s in no shape to give the bride away,” Hank said, pressing a kerchief to the man’s head.
Colin stood up, leaning on his crutch. “I’ll give my ma to Ethan.” His eyes pleaded forgiveness.
“I think that’s a great idea.” Ethan couldn’t stop his chest from swelling. The boy shot him a bright smile and clunked down the aisle to the parlor.
****
Darcy stepped back. “Oh, you look lovely! Ethan’s going to be speechless.”
“I hope not!” Maeve laughed.
Aileen turned to look at herself in the mirror Myrle had brought down from her bedroom. She couldn’t believe the woman looking back at her still existed. She hadn’t dressed so fine or made her hair this fancy in years.
Colin hobbled through the door on crutches. “Ma! Ma!”
Her heart lurched, something else had gone wrong.
