“Send the brat to bed so we can have a nice little adult chat.”
Anna forced herself to smile agreeably. “That’s not a bad idea. Paddy, you be good for me and go to the bedroom. Don’t come out until I say. All right, sweetie?”
“All right, Miss Anna.” She lifted him to his feet in front of her, and he walked to the bedroom. She watched his retreat with an aching heart. They were both in danger if Joe wanted to make Carter suffer in a big way, and she had to find a way out of it.
“Close the door behind you, sweetheart,” Anna called to him. Paddy did so and Anna turned her focus to Joe. She scrambled out of her position on the floor and stood. Doing her best to sound calm and breezy, she said, “Can I make you some coffee, Joe?”
“Sure, sweetheart. You do that.” He sat in the middle of the sofa. He spread his arms across the back and opened his legs wide, unconcerned with manners in her presence.
Hearing him sneer the word “sweetheart” disgusted Anna. When Carter said it, she felt warm and happy, but Joe saying it made her feel like she needed a bath. She moved to the kitchen and lit the fire. She opened the drawer and picked up a spoon, making a note of the knife. She slowly spooned coffee into the pot and estimated in her head how long it would be before Carter returned. She realized with growing panic it wouldn’t be for some time. Occasionally, he would be home as early as an hour from then. Usually it was at least three hours. On two occasions he’d shown up around this time, but the first time it was because the weather had taken a turn, and the second time it was when he needed one of his mares from the barn to set up a new cowhand. That was the day he found her with Tuck.
Anna tried to steady her shaking hand as she poured the brewed coffee into a mug. Everything felt very wrong. She had never felt so scared in the presence of a man. She held the coffee out to Joe, standing as far away from him as possible while handing it over.
He took it and drank a gulp. He looked at her with revulsion. “This is almost as bad as the black water Carter makes at camp.”
Anna sat on the edge of the armchair across from where Joe was seated. “Joe, after you’ve had your coffee, I think you ought to leave. Carter won’t be happy to hear I’ve entertained a guest while he’s away.” This wasn’t true, but she hoped bringing Carter’s name back into the room would offer some authority to the conversation that she didn’t possess. It didn’t work. Joe’s face twisted scornfully.
“Of course you’re going to cry to him and tell him you entertained, aren’t you? That’s fine by me. You’ll tell him every last thing I do to you, but my name won’t come out of your mouth if you want to live to your next birthday.”
Anna panicked. Her voice became more insistent. “Joe, I would like you to leave. I have a lot of work to do.”
“Yes, you do.” Joe set the coffee mug on the table next to the sofa with a bang, causing some of it to splash out. “First you’re going to suck my dick.” He made a lewd gesture between his spread legs before he stood up and released the button on his trousers. Anna felt terror wash over her. She couldn’t keep the tears back after the confirmation that her instinct had been right.
“Joe, leave now,” Anna begged.
Joe lunged at her. He grabbed her by the arms as she screamed. “That wasn’t a very polite thing to say,” he snarled.
“Stop. Please!”
He threw her to the floor and straddled her. He grasped at the collar of her dress and tore it, exposing the top of one of her breasts.
“I’m going to show you how to be polite to a man, whore. Seems the big toad in the puddle hasn’t trained you properly.”
Anna’s heart broke into pieces at the next words that filled the room. They weren’t from Joe. “Miss Anna, are you all right?” Paddy stood in the frame of the bedroom door.
“Yes! Go back in the room, Paddy.”
Joe turned to the scared little boy. “Why, you little shit! Didn’t feel like listening to instructions, did you? First I’ll teach you a lesson, then I’ll teach the bitch hers.” He moved toward the child.
“Leave him alone,” Anna shrieked, scrambling to her feet.
Joe continued in Paddy’s direction. Anna grabbed the poker by the hearth and brought it down as hard as she could as Joe grabbed Paddy by the collar. The blow was on his shoulder, and it wasn’t as hard as it needed to be. Like an injured grizzly, it only enraged and empowered him. Snarling and still holding Paddy in the air by his shirt, he backhanded Anna, sending her to the floor. He grabbed the poker and raised it in the air to strike her. Anna screamed and covered her face with her arms.
That was the scene Carter opened the door to find—Joe holding his son roughly by the collar and Anna screaming on the floor, cowering in anticipation of being struck.
Through the fog of her terror, Anna heard Carter’s voice yell a phrase she would never have imagined him using in her presence, “What the fuck!” It filled Anna with more relief than she’d ever known. Joe dropped Paddy and the poker at the same time and made a run for it.
Anna heard the sound of scuffling and a fist connecting with bones as she crawled to the stunned child on the floor. Gathering Paddy into her arms, she said in his ear, “Your pa’s here now, baby. Everything will be all right.” She held his face against her chest so that he wouldn’t be able to see what was happening. Still on the floor, she pivoted around on her knees. Carter was smashing his fist into Joe’s face. After the third punch, Joe slumped and fell to the floor. He was either knocked out or dead, and Anna didn’t much care which. Blood covered Joe’s face and Carter’s knuckles.
Carter rushed to Paddy and Anna. After wiping some of Joe’s blood off his hand onto his shirt, he picked up Paddy, whose arms were outstretched to him. Carter looked him over. “Are you hurt, son?”
Paddy only cried.
“He’s not hurt. You got here in time,” Anna said. Still on her knees, she put her face in her hands, trying to settle her sobs. She heard a tormented noise escape from Carter’s throat, and the next thing she knew she was being carried. One of Carter’s arms was under her back, the other under her legs. Carter sat on the sofa with her in his lap and hugged her to him. Paddy sat next to them. He leaned into his father, and Carter wrapped an arm around him.
“Oh, honey,” he said to Anna, his voice sounding devastated. He moved the torn piece of her dress to cover the exposed part of her breast. “Can you tell me what happened, or do you need to rest?”
Anna held a hand to her chest to hold the piece of fabric in place and shifted to sit next to him while Paddy took her place in his lap. Carter reached to take her free hand. She looked down at his bloody fist. In a monotone, shaky voice, she related the events of the afternoon. The whole time she spoke, she looked down at Carter’s hand. She told him every small detail because her mind wasn’t working well enough to filter out what was important and what wasn’t. Her shocked state prevented her from giving an orderly timeline of events, so she skipped around and Carter had to figure out the order for himself. He didn’t interrupt once, only listened.
She explained how many spoonfuls of coffee grounds she used to make Joe’s coffee in the same way that she explained how he had backhanded her. She repeated Joe’s words about the rumor that she was Carter’s whore. She told him how high Paddy stacked the blocks and about her mental list of weapons. Every word from Joe’s mouth came out of hers in the same lazy fashion, even the word he used to describe his manhood and her as a female dog. When she was finished telling Carter everything that happened, she looked over at him.
He was shaking and looking at the ground. Joe moaned in the corner and tried to get off the floor. His attempt was unsuccessful and he slumped back down.
“Anna,” Carter said, his voice as shaky as hers had been. He looked at her. “You were so brave, my love. So very brave.”
Anna wiped the back of her hand under her eye to remove some tears. “It wouldn’t have made a lick of difference if you hadn’t shown up, Carter. Why did you come back so earl
y? I thought you wouldn’t be home for hours. It would have ended badly.”
Carter grimaced. “I can’t bear to think of it. I came back because I couldn’t find that piece of shit,” he said, indicating Joe. “He wasn’t with my men at the range.” He stopped short. “I’m sorry, Anna. I don’t wish to curse in front of you or my little man here.” Carter bent and gave Paddy a kiss on the top of his head.
Anna laughed without humor. “I don’t care, Carter. Really.”
“I thought Joe might have injured himself on the ride out without anyone noticing. I also knew he was sore at me, so part of me worried he was up to something, though I never imagined…” Carter sucked in a breath. “I returned to the bunkhouse without seeing him and decided that while I was around, I might as well ride the mile out to see you and Paddy.”
Joe cried out and sat up with some success before he fell back over. Carter stared at him, still shaking.
“I’ll never forgive myself for this. I didn’t know what kind of person he is. I knew he was rough, but I didn’t know… I should have known! You being employed here made you prey to bastards with leaky mouths repeating obscene things about you. You! Of all people! Our arrangement wasn’t proper after people saw us at the restaurant together. I’ll never forgive myself for letting you work here after that.”
“Carter, you didn’t do anyth—”
“I did. By allowing your employment to continue after that day, I allowed this to happen. You don’t understand.”
Carter was right. She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand at all, and she felt like the incident had ruined her entire life. The way that Carter was speaking, it sounded like he regretted all of the months she’d worked for him and all of their wonderful moments together.
Carter looked for some time at Joe, still shaking with rage, then cleared his throat and locked eyes with Anna. “I need your help right now. Can you help me with something?”
“I’ll do anything, Carter. What do you need?” Anna reached over and touched his cheek, which was rough with its usual stubble. The look in his eyes scared her. She saw anger and remorse, but also something else, desperation.
“I need you to tell me not to kill him. Because if you don’t, I’m going to.”
Anna wrapped her arms around his neck. She bent her head to his ear and said, “Don’t kill him, Carter. He’s not worth it. Take him to the marshal.”
He held her face in his hands and gave her a short, tender kiss. “Thank you, angel.”
His words and kiss comforted her. Maybe he didn’t regret their time together after all.
Chapter 12 - Doubt and Heartbreak
Carter tied Joe over a horse and took him to the marshal. He dropped Anna and Bella off at the farm. The following day was Sunday, Anna’s day off, and he felt relieved that she would be safe with her parents while he made arrangements. Carter told her she was to go to church with them and not stay home alone. Anna agreed without argument, though he knew she hated church. During the day that she was away, he asked Grace if she’d mind Paddy at her and Ben’s cabin while he tended to the ranch, and she agreed. Now he could end Anna’s employment, once and for all, and move forward with his plan to court and marry her.
Monday morning, Carter awaited Anna’s arrival by standing on the porch outside. He leaned against a beam with a mug of coffee in his hand. After a minute, he spotted her on Bella trotting toward his place down the path. He felt pride watching her confident and skilled movements on horseback. Anna waved to him and slowed to a walk. She entered the barn still seated on Bella’s back.
Minutes later she strutted toward the house. She wore the split-skirt riding outfit he’d bought for her and a cowboy hat she’d bought for herself. She was the prettiest cowgirl he’d ever seen.
“Hello, buckaroo. You’re looking mighty fine on that horse.”
“Thank you, cowboy,” she said, climbing the porch stairs to him. She was a bit winded and her voice was breathy. “I’m getting better and better. Next you must teach me to canter. I want to go faster.”
“Definitely. All in good time.”
Anna removed her hat, revealing her unshaded flushed face and the top of her blonde head.
“You’re such a beauty, Anna.”
“Thank you,” she said, flashing him a smile.
Carter splashed the remaining cold coffee from his mug onto the dirt. “I need to talk to you about something. Let’s go inside.”
They settled on the sofa, and Carter got right to the point. “I’ve decided it’s time to end your employment. You’re not to be here anymore as my employee. I will visit you at your parents’ farm.”
Anna’s jaw dropped. “But I don’t want to stop coming here. I like it here.”
“That doesn’t factor into my decision. I want you to leave here today unburdened by chores. I want you to have the freedom to experience the better parts of life. For instance, I want you to experience what it’s like to be courted by a man.”
Carter watched the blood drain from her face. He frowned. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Anna’s expression went from confused to hurt to enraged in the span of a few seconds. She rose to her feet and spat her words down at him. “How could you not want me here? How could you make me think…” A sob caught in her throat. “All those things you said…” She couldn’t finish a sentence. She stormed to the front of the cabin with Carter quick at her heels.
“Whatever is wrong, Anna?” He put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off and ran out the door without looking at him.
Carter stood on the porch watching her retreat at a sprint. He was stunned. Why did she feel so bad about not working for him anymore? Didn’t she know that her time away was temporary, since he said he wanted to court her? Surely she knew that meant he wanted to marry her and move her to his place for good. He shook his head, completely confused. There was no way she was that unfamiliar with how these things worked.
He wondered if he had made a grave mistake somehow, but he couldn’t for the life of him reason what it might be. A desire to give chase came over him, but he stood in one place until he convinced himself it was the right decision to send her away, even if she was upset about not being at his place for a while. He thought perhaps he should give her some time to herself, but it was clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to stay away long. Even waiting a week would be torture, since after ten minutes it took everything in him to keep from running after her.
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Anna ran the whole way home. By the time she arrived, her lungs were burning and she could hardly breathe. She welcomed the searing pain in her chest and side. She wanted anything to distract her from Carter’s words, but his voice still boomed in her head. Nothing he said made sense to her. How could he want her to leave and be courted by another man? Why didn’t he want her there with him and Paddy anymore? Her mind spun. She tried to think what she could have said or done to make him reject her. A murderous rage came over her. She wished she’d let Carter kill Joe. Everything went to hell after that evil bastard accosted her and changed Carter’s mind about her employment there.
Anna let out a wail without realizing it and sunk to her knees on the grass outside her family’s cabin. She buried her face in her hands and cried like she had never cried before. Deep, uncontrollable sobs took over, and her whole body shook.
“Anna!” Paul was standing in front of her. “Anna, what happened?”
He grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. She continued to sob into her hands. “Oh, Pa,” she said.
Paul shook her. “Tell me what’s wrong. Is someone hurt?”
“No,” she wailed. “It’s Carter. He sent me away. He-he doesn’t want me.”
“Get ahold of yourself, girl. Calm down and tell me what he said.”
Anna couldn’t calm herself. She cried and hung in his arms. Paul led her to the picnic table in their front yard, where she collapsed and buried her head in her arms. Anna’s mother st
epped out from the cabin and rushed toward them. Anna had always been a crier. She was more sensitive than most, and Margie had spent many hours comforting Anna after various minor traumas. But Anna had never cried like this.
“What happened, Paul?” she asked, fear in her voice. She sat by her daughter and put a hand on her shaking back.
“She thinks Carter sent her away,” he said. “But she won’t calm down long enough to explain.”
“You-you don’t understand,” Anna stammered. “He said things to me that made me think he wanted to.... I let him…” She felt too ashamed to continue. If her parents knew that she had let Carter kiss her without proposing to her first, they would be disappointed in her. And oh! If they knew she had been partly naked over his lap getting a spanking, how shocked and ashamed would they be? They could never know. She couldn’t understand how this had happened. How had she been wrong about how he felt about her?
“I thought I knew how he felt about me,” she said. She grew too weak to continue crying. She wanted only to sleep.
“What did he say?” Paul demanded.
Her sobs were gone, and left in their stead was a quiet, broken languor. Her words were quiet and devastating to her own ears. “He said he wanted me to leave and to experience what it’s like to be courted. He wants me to be with another man.”
Paul frowned. “I’m not sure that’s what he meant. But he’s as shy of brains as a horse is of feathers. That’s for sure.”
Paul regarded Anna for a moment before continuing. “I made a promise to Carter that I’m regretting keeping right about now. Let me ask you something. If he were to come here tomorrow and say he wanted to marry you, would you want that?”
She let out another wail. The thought about what might have been shattered her. “He won’t, Pa. He regrets ever hiring me. He wanted me to leave. Those were his words. ‘I want you to leave’.” She gasped suddenly, remembered something else Carter had said.
The Unbraiding of Anna Brown (Lone Star Love Book 2) Page 9
