“You’re very clever,” she said, mainly to distract herself from how solid his presence was beside her.
He smiled. “Committed to your cooperation, I believe, is the appropriate description.”
She laughed. “That, too.”
* * *
Castillo walked into the dining room with Caroline on his arm and received a roomful of surprised looks...again. Tanner was at the head of the table in deep discussion with her aunt about something—probably politics—but he paused with a hand in midgesture. Emmy and Hunter had equally baffled expressions. A grin spread across Prudence’s face from one ear to the other when she saw Caroline on Castillo’s arm. This plan was going to be easier to execute than he’d thought. It seemed as if they already had one person willing to believe the ruse.
Castillo had debated avoiding walking her downstairs that morning because, well, because he’d wanted to see her. Obviously, after their discussion the previous night, he needed to keep her in his sight at all times. But he couldn’t deny that he wanted to keep her in his sight for more than logical reasons. He wanted her, and that wasn’t a feeling he could indulge. This arrangement between them needed to be kept cold, a simple exchange of words and gestures to fool her family. He couldn’t slip up and let himself think that it was anything more, because it could never be more. Not with the price on his head. Not with her plans to return to Boston.
A spread of delicious-smelling food had been set out on the buffet for them to prepare their own plates, so Castillo led her in that direction.
“Good morning, dear,” Prudence said.
“Good morning,” Caroline said to the room, and received a chorus of greetings in response.
Hunter had lowered his paper just enough to glance over the top and pinned Castillo with a look that clearly demanded to know what the hell was going on. It was tinged with disapproval. Castillo hadn’t had a chance to go over the finer details of their arrangement last night. He’d have to see to that soon.
As her father greeted the group, Caroline let go of Castillo’s arm and grabbed a plate. She filled it with a poached egg, sausage and some of the strawberries left over from last night. He waited for her father to go ahead before filling his own plate and following them to the table. Everyone seemed to be watching him, waiting to see where he chose to sit. He inwardly grimaced and followed Prudence’s not so subtle glance indicated that he sit at the empty space next to Caroline. Caroline smiled at him as he sat. It was genuine and free of artifice. He couldn’t help but wonder how it might feel to be the recipient of those smiles every day.
“Did you sleep well?” Prudence asked no one in particular. After getting a handful of remarks, she said, “You’re looking well, Samuel. Have you recovered your health?”
Caroline’s father murmured a reply in the affirmative, and Prudence nodded before turning her attention to Caroline. “You look radiant. I love what you’ve done with your hair. I don’t think I’ve seen you wear it that way since the night of the Higginbotham’s musical.”
Caroline blushed at the compliment, pink staining the apples of her cheeks. Had she fixed her hair for him? “Thank you. I wear it like this from time to time. Mary offered to do it, so I accepted.” She glanced to him before taking another bite of her breakfast and he thought that maybe she had. An unexpected warmth swelled in his chest. What if he’d never met her on the train and this ruse hadn’t been necessary? How would this morning be different? Would they have flirted? Would they have realized they liked each other? Would she have wanted him to court her?
Prudence didn’t miss much, and her narrowed gaze took in her niece and then Castillo. “Good morning, Castillo.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Williams.” Castillo gave her one of his most charming smiles. “You’re looking lovely this morning.”
She smiled at his compliment, but her calculating gaze landed on Caroline. “Not nearly so lovely as Caroline.”
He paused and turned the full force of his attention on the woman sitting next to him. She blushed even more. He allowed his gaze to make a slow sweep across her face and her hair, and down to her bosom, which was tastefully covered for the morning hour. But he remembered how she’d looked last night. She’d been covered but her wrapper had been thin and shown far more to him than she probably realized.
Her lips parted as she drew in a ragged breath, drawing his gaze back to them, and he nearly smiled at how he affected her. Maybe it could be fun pretending with her. “She is very lovely,” he agreed. For a moment there was heat in Caroline’s gaze. Then he turned his attention back to her aunt. “And I told her as much upstairs.”
“Oh?” Prudence perked up and looked to Caroline for an explanation.
Caroline shifted as if she was uncomfortable, and then her foot kicked him under the table. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to get his attention. He smiled and brought his coffee cup up for a sip. Apparently when she’d proposed that he court her, she’d meant for him to do it at her direction.
“We met in the hallway on our way downstairs,” she explained.
“Oh.” The look of disappointment on her aunt’s face was so comical, Castillo couldn’t help but snicker. It seemed as if the woman was in favor of her niece’s plan, whether she knew it was a plan or not. He wondered what Prudence knew of her brother’s intentions to have Caroline married off and if she supported it.
The thought sobered him. It had started to bother him that Caroline didn’t have anyone in her corner advocating for her. She was clearly intelligent, and her family had the funds to pay her tuition and had apparently helped to foster her ambition by allowing her to train with her father. It seemed unfair that they’d try to curb her ambition now.
After a moment the conversation continued around them. Castillo offered a random comment here and there, and nodded politely where appropriate, but when he glanced at Caroline he could tell her eyes were troubled. He wondered if she was second-guessing this plan of theirs.
“Tell us more about this hacienda of yours. Jameson here says it’s the best cattle ranch in Texas,” her father said, drawing his attention to the older man.
The last thing he wanted to do was talk about his family with these people. He wanted to keep that part of himself separate from Tanner and from this ruse. Except he had no choice but to open up a little. “My grandfather came from Spain as a young man to build it. It was his dream to own the greatest cattle ranch in middle Texas. For a while, it was one of the best,” he acknowledged.
“Cattle’s a hard business, I’m told.” Samuel wiped his mouth on his napkin and folded the square of linen back over his lap. He did it meticulously and with concentration, just as he seemed to do everything.
Castillo nodded. “Indeed. Fortunes have been lost to disease and rustlers.” That’s what had happened to his grandfather’s fortune. Bitterness and anger welled within him, but he forced it down. Derringer was close, and Castillo would find him and settle the wrong. He gripped his cup to take another sip, but Willy swept in with fresh coffee in a silver pot. She gave him an affectionate smile as she stopped to refill his cup, and he nodded his thanks.
“It’s true. I’ve heard stories of men losing everything. Didn’t Hamish follow the cattle markets, Prudie?” Then he turned to Castillo and added, “Prudie and her husband lived in Chicago for some time early in their marriage.”
“Oh, Samuel, you know I dislike discussing business at the breakfast table. It’s quite rude,” Prudie chastised him, but her tone was playful.
Samuel shrugged as if he was clueless when it came to social graces, and he went back to talking to Hunter about his stallions. “Tell me, Hunter, how often do you breed a female with a stallion for a season?”
Caroline nearly choked on her coffee. Animal husbandry definitely wasn’t appropriate breakfast conversation.
“For heaven’s sake,” Prude
nce said. “I’m going to need whiskey with my coffee for this conversation.” Everyone laughed while Caroline’s father shook his head in resignation.
“Maybe we should save the specifics until we’re in the stable. We have three foals already this year,” Hunter said, leading the conversation into safer territory.
“Forgive my father.” Caroline surprised Castillo by leaning over slightly to talk to him in a low voice, treating him to the scent of her lavender perfume. Her arm brushed his, making his nerve endings come alive. She smiled as she gave her father a fond glance. “As a physician he’s fairly liberal in his discussion of reproduction. He never seems to understand why others aren’t. Once, when I was a child, he sent my mother fleeing from the room because he’d taken the time to answer my question about how babies are made.”
Despite his best effort, an image of her splayed out naked in his bed as he took her flashed through his mind. His entire body immediately tightened in response. Clearing his throat, he couldn’t stop himself from teasing her. “I could clarify if he left anything out of his explanation.”
She drew back, the smile dropping from her face as she seemed to realize what she’d just said to him.
From some distance away, a bell rang. “Ah.” Hunter folded his newspaper and stood. “I believe our first guests have arrived.”
Chapter Seven
Mr. and Mrs. Bonham had arrived with their three teenaged daughters as breakfast was coming to an end. They were friends of Tanner Jameson’s from another part of the territory. They’d spent the night in Helena before getting up early to make the ride to the ranch. Caroline was torn between welcoming the distraction and mourning the fact that more people meant she’d have less time to spend getting to know Castillo.
The activity for the day was a ride to the river where they’d have a picnic. It took over an hour to get everyone ready to go and then a little bit longer to get them mounted on horses. A wagon was brought around for the children. Emmy’s sisters, Ginny, who had proudly proclaimed herself almost thirteen when Caroline met her, and Rose, who was a few years younger, climbed into the back of the wagon, which had been filled with hay. The three Bonham children climbed in behind them. Hunter held the reins up front with Emmy beside him and, once everyone was settled, set off at a sedate pace across the field. Mr. Jameson rode on his horse beside them.
“Thank you,” Caroline said to the stable hand who brought out a beautiful chestnut-colored mare for her to ride.
“I’ll take her, Jim.” Castillo came up beside him and took the reins.
The boy, who couldn’t have been more than fifteen, nodded his thanks and ran back into the stable. On the tour Hunter had given them when they’d arrived, Caroline had seen a few men working the stables and the corral beyond, but today they were all gone, leaving the boy to do all the work of getting their mounts. Hunter had even helped him hitch the wagon. It made her wonder if their absence had something to do with Derringer’s possible presence.
Castillo led the gentle horse to the mounting block where he held her steady. “Her name’s Cinnamon.”
Caroline smiled her thanks and took his outstretched hand as she mounted. Even through the leather of their gloves, the electricity found a way to spark between them. Instead of lingering, she focused on getting herself settled in the saddle and withdrew her hand.
“She’s a beauty,” she said, running a hand over Cinnamon’s neck. The horse gave her a look before nudging Castillo for a treat. He laughed and obliged by taking a sugar cube from his pocket and holding it out on his palm. Then he ran his hand affectionately down her nose while murmuring something in Spanish. His touch was gentle and confident, as if he knew exactly how to touch her. An irrational pang of jealousy tore through Caroline. “Cinnamon likes you,” she added, to cover up her envy. She refused to be jealous of an animal.
He smiled up at her. It was a smile that momentarily lightened the heaviness in his eyes, giving her a glance at the man he might have been without this horrible tragedy hanging over his head. “She’s a good horse. Stroke her the right way, give her a little sugar and she’ll follow you anywhere.”
Caroline had to look away, afraid that her face had turned red. She was sadly aware that it wouldn’t take much more than that to make her forget her scruples and follow him anywhere he asked her to go, and she barely knew the man.
“Are you coming, Caroline?” Mrs. Bonham laughed as her horse, eager for exercise, trotted after the wagon. She was an astute horsewoman, though, because she easily controlled her enthusiastic mount, and her husband caught up with her.
“Yes, coming,” Caroline replied. “Aren’t you joining us for the picnic?” Caroline called to Aunt Prudie who stood perched on the porch steps.
“No, I’m staying behind. Your father has challenged me to a game of chess and I cannot let him go on thinking the last time he beat me proves anything.”
Her father laughed from his rocking chair on the porch. “The only thing you have to prove, dear sister, is that you can maintain your grace in losing. Have a good time, Caroline.”
Caroline smiled. “I will,” she called back and started off behind the Bonhams. Though she’d barely cleared the stable yard before she was looking back to check on Castillo. Just as she did, he came riding out of the stable on a beautiful chestnut. He hurried to catch up to her but slowed his mount to ride beside her.
They rode in amicable silence for a little while. Caroline took in the big mountains in the distance, rising up to meet the even bigger sky. She’d never seen anything so beautiful. She loved Boston, the people, the variety, the culture. But this was different. It was what she imagined heaven might be like. Everything was so green and fresh, like it was created brand-new every morning.
“It’s so beautiful. I can understand why Hunter prefers it here over Boston.” She swung her gaze over to Castillo to see that he was staring at the mountains before them, his shoulders a little tense. Alert.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places on Earth,” he agreed, his eyes roving over the hills in the distance. A little bit of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders.
Their horses waded through the knee-high grass that swayed in the cool breeze blowing in over the hills. Butterflies fluttered happily from one bluebonnet to another. The girls’ excited voices could be heard from the wagon far ahead, but it was tranquil where they were. Quiet enough to allow her to ponder the man beside her.
Caroline hadn’t considered his life outside of the train incident and the Jameson Ranch. He’d told her last night about his mother and his grandfather, but she hadn’t considered that he had an entire ranch back in Texas. For some reason, the conversation at breakfast had made her heart drop into her stomach.
“Is Texas as beautiful?”
“It’s different. Flatter. With blue sky as far as the eye can see.” He gave her a little smile before looking ahead again. “It’s home.”
Something passed over his face. It was difficult to tell from his profile, but the corner of his mouth tipped downward and she thought it might be sadness. Was he thinking of his grandfather and all he’d left behind in Texas? Did he have a woman waiting for him? He’d said that he wasn’t married, but maybe he was involved with someone. Maybe she was waiting for him to complete his vow to find this criminal and then return home and marry her. A twinge of guilt for forcing him to play this charade twisted in Caroline’s chest.
What sort of man would devote years of his life to chasing the man responsible for the death of someone he loved? She found the quality admirable and decided she’d try to learn more about him in their brief time together at the ranch. When he caught her looking at him, his gaze dropped to her lips, making them tingle almost as if he’d touched them. She licked them and looked away. Best to keep her interest purely on the side of intellectual curiosity. Anything more would be too dangerous. “Will
you tell me about your grandfather?”
He looked away, and she wasn’t certain he’d answer. She certainly had no right to ask him anything so personal, but she wanted to know what would push him so far for justice. He’d apparently been hunting this killer for years, when most men would’ve given up.
“My grandfather was a good man,” he finally said. “Devout in his faith, tireless in his work, uncompromising in his character and demanding when it came to instilling those same values in me.”
“He sounds...formidable.” He sounded harsh.
Castillo laughed at her word choice. “For-meed-able?”
She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the way he stumbled over the pronunciation. It was endearing the way he drew the word out into three distinct syllables, and pronounced the ih as ee.
“That means difficult?” he asked.
“Yes, and tough, intimidating.”
He nodded with a smile. “He was all of those things, yes. I’m certain he never met anyone who wasn’t a little afraid of him.”
“Then he taught you well. That describes you, too.” She noted the rifle in a saddle holster and that his coat bulged like he might have a gun holstered there. Between all the men being gone from the stables, Castillo’s tense demeanor and his weapons, she was beginning to wonder if something might be wrong. If he’d had word that Derringer was, indeed, targeting the ranch.
He followed her gaze to the rifle before looking back at her. “You’re not afraid of me.” The sunlight caught the gold in his green eyes and made it shine.
She was afraid of him, but not for the reason he might think. She’d experienced his gentleness with her on the train, and even in her room last night when he could’ve been harsher than he had been. She was afraid because she felt so many things that she couldn’t even name with him. She should call off this ruse and be done with him, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry mouth and throat, she said, “I am.”
A Marriage Deal with the Outlaw Page 8
