Rotating sideways in the saddle, Gabe faced his brother and asked, “And what the hell do you mean?”
“I mean, you’ve been playing with Birdie-Alice, stringing her along for years. We’ve all watched you tease her and tickle her. I even saw you kissing her at her sixteenth birthday party. And then, the other day, you hugged her like a man hugs a…a…woman he wants. It was way more than a brotherly hug, and you know it. I’d say you’re the one playing fast and loose.”
Gabe opened his mouth to deny the accusation but then clamped his mouth shut. He growled, turned away from his brother’s taunting, all knowing expression, set his sights on the mountains in the distance and reviewed his past behavior toward Birdie-Alice.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gabe and Van arrived back at the hot spring before Buck and Rafe. They helped Cornell and his father load up Mr. Redcoat and his two minions into the back of Buck’s rickety old wagon.
Cornell filled them in on the red coat’s plan to blackmail them into handing over the hot spring and the mine. “I think this clears up who was responsible for your cattle dying off and the reservation cancellations.”
Nils said, “I sent Cornell out to the canyon with orders to blast the west side of the canyon. I specified he leave the east side of the canyon undisturbed. I believe my orders were altered in transit. You can bet I’m going to fire that secretary of mine as soon as I get back in town, better yet, I’ll see him tossed behind bars with his cohorts.”
Gabe hoped to find Birdie, assure himself she hadn’t suffered any lasting hurts, but all the women folk had taken to their prospective beds for a rest. Doreen and Mrs. Millican left a plate of chicken salad sandwiches for the men on the table in the kitchen, but the house was silent.
Buck and Rafe rode in with two more to go into the wagon, and after they’d seen to that, all Gabe wanted was food and a tall glass of something cool. After he’d downed two sandwiches, washed up a bit and changed into clean clothes, he found out Cornell had gone to the pool for a dip and decided there was no better time than the present to have a word with the man.
He found Cornell in the pool, belly up and half asleep floating on the top like a big, overgrown lily pad. The sight of Cornell’s white belly, his black, hairy chest, and the serene, self-satisfied expression on his handsome face instantly irritated and ignited Gabe’s ire.
“You’re a chicken-shit bastard, you know it, right, Norquist?”
Cornell didn’t flinch. His lips twitched a bit into a smirk, and he fluttered his hands to stay afloat. “Can’t deny it, I am a chicken-shit-bastard. But…” He opened one blackened and bruised eye. Turning his head slightly to the right to sight in on Gabe, he said, “But, I think you should take a look in the mirror, Gabe. I bet if we examined your behavior for the past twenty-four to thirty-six hours the label chicken-shit-bastard might apply to you as well.”
Gabe didn’t blink, but he flinched. Damn, everybody thought him some kind of bounder. He couldn’t deny the charge. But going on the offensive, he asked, “So, from what I gather, you and Edditha were stopped and brought back here with your father. Where the hell were you going with my fiancée?”
Cornell rose up out of the water, tugged up his sagging drawers, and waded in toward the deck, rivulets of water streaming off his well-muscled chest, arms, and legs. He stopped with his hands on his hips within two feet of Gabe’s nose. “Oh, you want to know? Well, I’d like to know what the hell you were doin’ down here in the middle of the night stretched out on this dock with your hands all over my fiancée?”
Gabe sucked in a big gulp of warm air and nearly choked. He instinctively stepped back to avoid the almost certain blow to his nose.
Cornell wagged his head, chin out and said, “Yeah, that’s right. Edditha and I were walking and talking. I saw you and turned Edditha around before she could see what you two were doing. So, shut the hell up, Gabe. You don’t get to call me a chicken-shit.”
It took a moment or two, but Gabe shot back, asking, “So? What? You decided to steal Edditha from me out of spite? Is that it? Is this payback? Well, I won’t let you play games with Edditha, I won’t allow it.”
Cornell roared with laughter. He scrubbed his head with his shirt. “You really are a fool, Gabe. You don’t know Edditha at all. She suits me better than Birdie. We think alike. Birdie’s mule-headed, she’d end up driving me crazy. She doesn’t even like me.
“I have a high regard for Edditha—she knows a woman’s place. She laughs at my jokes. Birdie never laughed at my jokes. I want Edditha, and by God, I’ll have her, but I don’t need to take her from you. She was never yours, not really. We talked and talked, and laughed. She listened, and I listened. We want the same things,” Cornell said, buttoning his shirt.
“We’re going to travel.” He stepped into his trousers. “See the world. Neither one of us is ready to settle down with a passel of brats, not yet anyway. She’s bored, Gabe. And I think scared of marriage. Her desire to please her mother had overshadowed her own dreams and desires. We talked about our dreams, our desires, Gabe. I’d wager you never asked her what she wanted.”
Gabe snorted and took a step forward. “You’re full of bull—you know that Cornell? What about Birdie, what about her dreams and desires? You ever stop blowing hot air long enough to listen to what she wanted? To really pay attention to her desires, her dreams? No. No, you were just going to ignore her wishes and make her marry you anyway.”
Tucking in his shirt, Cornell shrugged off his accusation. “It’s what my old man wanted. Edditha and I, we’ve that in common, we want to please our parents. They’ve done a lot for us. We want to make them proud.”
“Running off with Edditha will make your old man and Edditha’s mother proud?”
Cornell fastened his belt and shook his head at him. “I don’t know why you’re pissed, Gabe. You should thank me. Edditha won’t charge you with breach-of-promise. You can ride herd on your wildcat, Birdie-Alice, stay right here on this sad piece of dirt and grub out a living to raise a pack of snot-nosed hellions. Happy endings all round.”
Gabe wanted to poke him in the snout, but they both heard Edditha call out, “Cornell,” from the path.
She moved into the open, stopped, hesitated a moment before saying, “Hello, Gabriel. Van told me I’d find Cornell here. We’re all relieved you and Van were able to bring Jo and Birdie back safe and sound.”
Gabe stood lost for words and nodded.
She let him off the hook by addressing Cornell. “Your father’s looking for you, Cornell. I tried to explain things, but I think I made the situation worse. He was patient with me, polite and gracious, but he’s in pain and in no mood to listen to a woman.”
Cornell went to her, took her by the elbow, guiding her back to the path. “He shouldn’t get excited. He took a beating. He’s too old for all of this. Where is he?”
“I left him in the cabin next to ours, the one with the red door.”
“We’ll go talk to him together, try to get him to calm down. Everything’s going to work out fine.”
Cornell started to walk away with her, but Edditha put a hand on his chest to stop him. “I’d like to talk to Gabriel a moment. There are some things I need to say.”
Cornell hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. He sneered and glared at Gabe before he strode off up the path.
Edditha cautiously approached, her eyes searching his face. She extended her hand to him, then folded it to her waist. “Gabriel, I wanted to…”
“Don’t, Edditha, don’t. You don’t have to say a thing. I don’t need any explanations. It’s me. I have some apologizing to do too.”
She drew closer, her hand went to his chest, the light in her eyes begged for his understanding. “We are a silly pair, aren’t we? We both have been doing what everyone expected us to do, but we haven’t been listening to our hearts. I admire you, Gabriel. I…I do love you. I care for you…but I don’t…you don’t…we don’t.”
Her complexion
had gone bright pink. She put her head to the side, and her nervous fingers fiddled with his shirt front. Taking pity on her, he said what needed to be said. “You love me, but I don’t inspire passion.”
She fluttered her pretty lashes and peeped up at him, a tentative little smile tugged at her lovely, rosy lips. “I never wanted passion. I really had no idea what it was. It all sounded rather frightening to me the way Mother explained it. But I do want passion, Gabriel. I’ve found it here, at Hoyt’s Hot Spring of all places, but not with you, but with Cornell.
“Gabriel,” she said, her voice soft and sweet, “we are friends. Friends can love one another…I think.”
He touched her cheek. “Friends most assuredly can love each other, and care for each other. I want what will make you happy, Edditha. I want the best for you. I’m not sure Cornell is the best, but if you think he is, then it’s enough for me.”
She patted his chest. “Good, then it’s settled. And you don’t need to punch Cornell in the nose. I was afraid that’s what you’d come down here to do.”
He shook his head, ashamed he couldn’t hide his smile of relief. She flicked his ear, laughed, stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips, the first kiss she’d ever willingly given. Taken aback, he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up off her feet for a big hug.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Birdie saw Cornell coming toward her on the path and waved. “Have you seen Gabe?”
“Yeah, he’s down at the pool.”
Birdie halted, thinking she should say more. Shading her face from the late afternoon sun with her hand, she offered Cornell a sarcastic little smile. “I think you and Edditha are perfect for each other.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said giving her a firm nod.
She wanted to kick him but relented and decided to wave the flag of truce with a bit of truth. “I would’ve made you miserable,” she said, turning a little to get the sun out of her eyes and to access the bruises on his face. They were glorious. She had to smile.
He laughed and nodded. “True, we would’ve made each other miserable. Well, Edditha said my father wanted to see me. He’s recovering, but still in a lot of pain. I need to have it out with him. He’s not happy that you and I have called it off. Edditha will sweeten him up once he gets to know her and her mother.”
“Oh, I hope he’s not too badly hurt. I understand he took a beating. And I’m sure that once your father gets to know Edditha, he’ll be glad you found her. She’ll be the perfect wife and daughter-in-law.”
“I hope so. My father can be bullheaded. He won’t give up the notion of you and me, not easily. It’s a matter of business.” He started to walk away, heading for the road and the house.
Birdie took a couple of steps, stopped to ask him, “Edditha? Is she at the pool?”
Cornell turned his head and said, “Yeah, I left her talking with Gabe.”
Reason told Birdie she had nothing to worry about, but the green monster in her head urged her along the path at a faster pace. Gabe said he loved her, wanted to marry her. Cornell and Edditha, they’d become friendly, taken off together. Cornell hadn’t acted at all concerned Edditha was alone, in a secluded spot, with the man she was formally promised to.
When Birdie came out into the open, she found Edditha locked in Gabriel’s arms, kissing and laughing. She snapped, rushed forward, and pushed Gabe, the big jerk, into the pool.
Edditha, unfortunately, had gotten in the way of the whirlwind and landed on her backside on the deck. Birdie turned to her to say, “I’m sorry, Edditha, I didn’t mean for you to get hurt. Let me help you up.”
Edditha hesitated to take her hand.
“Really, I’m sorry,” Birdie said. “Gabe was my target, not you.” Edditha offered her hand and Birdie yanked her to her feet. Birdie turned to cast daggers upon the man floundering in the shallow water of the pool.
Her hands on her hips, she said, “No I don’t blame you, Edditha. You’re as much a victim of this bounder’s charm as I am. No, I know exactly who’s at fault here, it’s you, Gabriel Buxton. You’re a fickle, lying, cheating womanizer, is what you are. Mother warned me about men like you. She warned me.”
Gabe, huffing and puffing, soaking wet found his footing, his boots full of water. “Why you little termagant, I’m gonna put you over my knee and give you a good spanking. I’m gonna do it this time.”
Birdie got up on her toes to get in his face. “Gabriel Hoyt Buxton, you are a fribble, a beast.”
He fired right back at her. “Fribble? What kind of word is fribble? Bet you picked it out of one of those gushy, fancy-ass, lord this and lady that, novels you and Jo read.”
“Yes, you are a fribble, a fool, a bounder. The word is perfect—it describes you to a T.”
“Edditha,” she said over her shoulder, “you don’t know how fortunate you are to find out now before you tied yourself to this…this fickle heart.”
Birdie shoved a finger in Gabe’s wet chest and shouted, “I hate you, Gabe. I hate you.”
Unable to stop the river of tears from streaming down her cheeks, Birdie stumbled off toward the path. She couldn’t see very well through her veil of tears, but she could hear just fine. And she heard Gabe coming up fast, shouting her name and cursing her. She picked up her pace.
“Birdie. Birdie you come back here. Stop, you little idiot.”
She heard him running after her. She could hear the water in his boots making squishy noises, and she started to trot. She’d almost made it to the road where she intended to break into a run when something grabbed her skirt. When she heard the fabric tear, she squealed in anguish.
She tugged back the fabric of her red and white gingham dress. “Now look what you’ve done, you’ve torn my dress, my favorite dress. You’ve ruined it. Damn you, Gabe,” she cried and stomped her foot.
He had her by her arms now. She stood pounding at his chest, her tears blurring his face—her rage overriding good sense. “I love this dress. Now you’ve ruined it. You’ve ruined everything—everything. Why did you have to come back? I could’ve gone on, lived with my fantasies, but no, you had to come back and ruin the dream. I hate you, Gabe.”
He tried to pin her arms down to her sides to pull her into his chest. She wiggled and squirmed hell-bent on resistance.
Gabe gave her a good shake and bellowed, “Listen. Listen to me, Birdie. Open your eyes, and listen to me. Look at me, Birdie.”
She didn’t want to. She wanted to stay mad at him, hate him, and never look at his face again, ever. He gave her another shake, and she looked. She looked right at him and knew her heart lost forever, broken, lost forever.
“Good,” he said and smiled at her. Oh, how she hated his smile. His lips, he had a wonderful mouth with strong lips, those lips could send her over the edge right into paradise.
“Now, listen carefully, Birdie, you little fool. I love you…”
“Ha! Like hell!” She waggled her shoulders to get free, vaguely aware of Edditha, who passed them to go directly to Cornell, who stood at the head of the path with his arms outstretched to her.
“Men. All of you. You’re evil—I hate you all. Love me? Kiss me. Kiss Edditha. Marry me. Marry Edditha. Men, you’re all heartless, jumping back and forth, first Edditha then me, then Edditha? It’s a dance to you, isn’t it? Just a silly dance, do-si-do, change partners. Swing your lady. You don’t know what you’re doing. Well, my heart is not a toy, this is not a game, a dance. I won’t allow you swing me around, in and out of your arms, back and forth. No sir, I’m gone. Count me out of this stupid game of yours, Gabe. I don’t want to play anymore. I’m all grown up, too old to play. I won’t play anymore. And I’m not waiting for you to wake up to the fact I’ve grown up, not one more minute. I see now I’ve been wasting my time on you.”
To punctuate her resolve, she slapped him soundly, which startled him into loosening his hold on her.
»»•««
Buck heard the screaming from the yard i
n front of the house and made his way to the pool. Adella and Doreen emerged from the house and followed him. Rafe and Van came out of the barn and fell in line. On the road, Cornell, a grin on his face, his arm draped around Edditha’s shoulder, stood witness to the ensuing battle.
“No one but you, Birdie, there’s no one else in the world for me but you, Birdie. I’ve been stupid and blind, I know it. All along, it’s been you and only you. My heart, my soul, are yours. I tried to love someone else, but I can’t, because my heart is yours. I gave it to you long ago, when you were in diapers and took your first step right into my arms, and I was eight. You stole my heart, Birdie, Curly-Birdie. I love you.”
Buck read the mutinous look on Birdie’s face. She was as mad as a hornet, itching to sting and sting and sting. This battle wasn’t over, not by a long shot.
“I don’t believe you,” she said. She kicked Gabe in the shins and folded her arms across her chest in defiance.
“Ouch!” Gabe grabbed his leg and hopped in a circle.
Buck pulled in his lips to keep from bursting out laughing. Beside him, Van didn’t bother and let loose a loud guffaw. Doreen had her hand over her mouth, but Buck heard her groan and knew she could see shades of herself in her daughter’s antics. Rafe stood quiet, a scowl on his big face. Buck figured he was probably commiserating with Gabe, all too familiar with the irrational female Bollo temperament.
»»•««
Limping a little, Gabe balled his fists and set his jaw. Birdie, too late, realized perhaps she’d overreacted.
Gabe’s eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched. He threatened, “I’m definitely going to spank you now, Birdie. I don’t care. You’ve gone too far. You’ve shoved me in the water, slapped me and now you’ve kicked me. That’s all the abuse I’m going to take.”
Alarmed and huffing with indignation, Birdie said, “You try it, you try it and I’ll…I’ll…”
“You’ll what? What else will you do?”
“I’ll bite your ear.”
Do-si-do Page 16
