The Guilty Proposal (Heroes of Hays Book 1)

by Barbara Goss

  “Nice to see you, ladies,” he said, removing his hat and bowing. “Would you like to join me in enjoying an ice cone?”

  Both women smiled. He looked at Evaline and his heart began to pound as it usually did when he saw her.

  “I’d love one,” she said.

  “But Evie,” her sister pouted, “you promised to take me to get fitted for a dress.”

  “Oh, I did. I’ll tell you what. Travis and I will drop you off at the general store and pick you up there after we enjoy the ice cone; I’m parched,” Evaline said, fanning herself with a colorful fan.

  “Oh, all right,” she said with a pout, “but don’t be too long.”

  Travis escorted both women to the general store and then walked to the corner with Evaline to the ice cone stand. There were benches set up around the stand, and Travis seated Evaline before leaving her to buy the cones. He was glad he still had some money on him after buying the ring.

  He sat down beside her and handed her a red ice cone. He couldn’t help but notice her fine clothing and sophisticated hairstyle. Her hair was swept up in bun on top of her head. A few soft strands hung loose at the neck. Travis thought her neck looked provocative and he longed to touch his lips to it. Evaline began to speak to him and he cleared his thinking and tore his eyes from her neck.

  “Have you and my father finished your cattle business?” she asked.

  “Yes, we have. He gave me a fair price, too.”

  “Why were you selling them?” she asked. She licked the cone delicately.

  Travis tried to look anywhere but at her eating that cone. It seemed everything she did set him on fire. He envisioned those lips pressed to his, rather than on the ice cone.

  He turned and looked out at the traffic going down the street‒it was a much safer view. He took a huge bite of his cone, swallowed it, and felt pain at the back of his neck. He gasped.

  “Are you all right, Travis?” she asked.

  Travis rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I tried to eat my cone too fast, is all.”

  Evaline laughed. Even her laugh was beautiful. It sounded like the tinkling of fine crystal. This was making him uncomfortable. He didn’t know where to look: the back of her neck, or her lips sucking that cone?

  Finally, she took a small nibble of the ice, and that nearly did Travis in. Strange he’d never experienced feelings like this with anyone before.

  “I’m not usually this bold, but I wonder if you might do me a huge favor,” she said, blinking her big, emerald green eyes at him.

  “I’ll try,” he said, hoping she wasn’t going to ask him for something that would cost money, because he was now broke.

  “The Madisons in Victoria, are having a masquerade ball next week. I wondered if you’d escort me?” she asked, shyly.

  “Me?” he asked and then felt dumb for asking—of course, him.

  She nodded with downcast eyes.

  “I would, but I don’t have a costume to wear,” he said, wishing he did, because he hated to pass up a chance to get to know her better.

  “Oh, you don’t need a costume. Most of the men just wear a domino.”

  “A domino? What’s that?” he asked.

  “It’s a black mask that just covers your eyes and nose,” she explained. “The women are usually more creative, but you can wear your Sunday clothes and a domino. I’ll even provide you with the mask. So, will you?”

  He wondered why a beautiful woman like Evaline Radcliffe would need to ask him, a lowly cowboy, to a fancy dance, yet he couldn’t pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity, now could he?

  “All right, when is it?”

  “Next Saturday. I’ll have a messenger bring you the domino and the time to pick me up.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” he said, smiling at her. When she smiled back, his heart started to flip-flop again. Could his heart manage a whole evening with her? Maybe, after spending more time with her, the novelty of being with her would wear off and give his heart a rest.

  “We’d better get to the general store. Ellen’s waiting,” she said.

  Travis filed Ellen’s name away in his head in case he needed it again, but all his thoughts were on Evaline.

  Libby smiled when he walked into her room. As usual, Ned was already there, sitting in a chair by her bed. Travis pulled his chair up close to them.

  “Today, we’ll start Treasure Island,” he announced, “but before we do, I have an announcement: I’ve sent for a special doctor from Kansas City to evaluate your injuries, Libby. He’ll be here sometime next week.”

  “Really?” her eyes sparkled. They hadn’t done that in a long time.

  “Really.” Travis opened the book and began to read, closing the book after reading two chapters.

  “I have some work to do at the ranch today. We can read some more tomorrow,” Travis said. “Ned, could I speak to Libby alone for a few minutes?”

  “Sure.” Ned jumped up from his chair and left the room.

  Travis moved his chair closer to Libby. “I guess I forgot the most important thing about getting betrothed. It’s my first time.” He laughed, reached into his pocket, pulled the ring out, and held it up for her to see.

  “Oh, Travis! It’s lovely,” she exclaimed and held out her hand for him to place the ring on her finger. Instead, he turned her hand over and laid the ring in her palm.

  “Well, glad you like it. Now I have to run.”

  “But Travis,” she said, “you’re supposed to ask me again if I’ll marry you and then place the ring on my finger.”

  “Oh, sorry.” He took the ring back. “Will you marry me, Libby?”

  “Yes!” she squealed, and held her hand out once again.

  Travis placed the ring on her finger, smiled, and stood.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow to read some more. I’ll send Ned back in.”

  Libby nodded, still gazing at the ring, smiling in a dreamy way.

  Chapter 6

  Robert Radcliffe himself delivered the domino. He came to the door just as Sadie was putting a stuffed and roasted chicken on the table.

  “Sadie, I’d like you to meet Robert Radcliffe from Victoria. Robert, this is Sadie, our housekeeper,” Travis said.

  “How do you do?” Sadie asked.

  “Just fine, madam,” he said, holding his hat as he stood by the door.

  “Well, come on in,” Travis said. He was about to ask him to stay for supper but Sadie beat him to it.

  “You just set yourself down, Mr. Radcliffe,” Sadie said, patting the back of a chair.

  “I really shouldn’t, but it smells heavenly,” Radcliffe said. He handed Travis the domino and winked.

  “I won’t take no for an answer, Mr. Radcliffe. I’m filling your plate now,” Sadie said.

  “Well, you talked me into it then,” Radcliffe said.

  “I’ll bring my father in to eat. He’s recuperating from pneumonia, but he’s been coming to the table lately,” Travis said as he walked to his father’s room.

  He helped his father to the table. Travis thought him a bit pale, but the coughing had stopped.

  Travis made the introductions. The conversation around the table was about cattle breeding.

  “You see, Mr. Grayson, I know little about raising cattle, but it’s always been my dream to have my own ranch and livestock. I still have a lot to learn. I’m disappointed that many of my friends and neighbors don’t share in my dream. They spend their time doing leisurely activities, as they did in England. They started a Victoria Hunt Club, a cricket club, dances, and even built a racetrack. They aren’t working the fields hardly at all,” Radcliffe said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid the whole community will soon fall apart instead of grow.”

  “I heard you people brought over some Aberdeen cattle from across the pond. Any chance I could buy one?” Edward Grayson asked.

  “I have several breeding right now. I'll be sure to save you one when they’re born,” Radcliffe said.

  “I c
an help you with anything you need to know about cattle raising. My family's been doing this for years, Mr. Radcliffe.”

  “Oh, please, call me Robert.”

  “You can call me Edward and stop by anytime. As you know, I’ve had to sell a good number of my calves because we’re bringing a special doctor in to evaluate a good friend who was crippled after being trampled by a horse.”

  “That's very generous of you,” Radcliffe said.

  “Well, it’s a long story,” Edward said, looking at his son. “It’s Travis’s story to tell.”

  Radcliffe looked at Travis. “I couldn’t be happier about you taking my daughter to the ball.”

  Travis returned his smile. “It seems I’m the fortunate one.”

  The night of the ball, Travis donned his Sunday's best and put the domino into his pocket before hitching a horse to the family’s buggy.

  When he knocked on the Radcliffes' door, a cute fairy princess answered it. She was wearing a blue, sparkling dress and a domino that had been embedded with rhinestones. He thought it was Evaline at first, but her voice when she greeted him wasn’t the soft, sweet tone he'd grown so fond of.

  “Ellen?” he asked.

  “Yes, come in. Evie will be right down. She’s still fussing with her makeup,” she said. She led him to the sitting room. “Have a seat.”

  “Who's the lucky man escorting you, Ellen?” he asked.

  “Just Glenn Morgan. He lives two doors down,” she said. “He’s all right, I guess.”

  Travis just smiled, wondering what "all right" meant.

  Then Evaline came down the stairway leading to the sitting room and Travis gasped. She was dressed in all white, with feathery wings and a beaded, white domino. She looked heavenly enough before, but now…Travis was speechless.

  He stood as she floated into the room; he was still speechless.

  “We can walk to the ball‒it’s being held in the hotel ballroom,” she said.

  They walked to the door and Travis said, “I don’t have to dance, do I?”

  “Of course. That’s what you do at a dance, silly.”

  “I only know how to do country dances—you know, barn dance stuff.”

  “I’ll only make you dance the waltz with me. It’s very simple. I’ll show you right now.” She pulled him to the cinder path and showed him the steps. Then she put her arms out and he took hold of her waist and held her hand. They moved together, in step.

  “It’s easier when there’s music.”

  “I’ll give it a go,” he said. He loved the waltz because he got to hold Evaline loosely in his arms. It was an improvement over the skipping and twirling of the country barn dances.

  “Put your domino on, then,” she said, and they walked to the hotel together.

  Travis was once again at a loss for words when he walked in. Lanterns had been hung all over the ballroom, and streamers had been hung from the ceiling. The ballroom was already filled with people in glittering costumes, and the small orchestra‒consisting of a piano, violin, and trumpet‒was just warming up.

  Evaline couldn’t believe Travis was so affable. He went along with everything, even though it was all new to him. He didn’t feel out of place, as far as she could see. He looked so handsome, even behind the domino. She was glad it failed to hide his sparkling hazel eyes.

  The first song was a waltz. She didn’t bother to ask Travis to dance. Instead, she just went into his arms and he led her to the dance floor.

  “We’ll take it slow, all right?” he said.

  She nodded. How she wished they weren’t in this crowded ballroom, but alone somewhere, so she could rest her head on his chest and hug him. He was so likable.

  “You’re doing well with the steps‒you didn’t step on my feet even once,” she said, smiling up at him.

  “I did bump into someone, though,” he said.

  “That always happens. It’s the norm.”

  When the dance was over, he led her to the refreshment table and scooped them each out a cup of punch.

  “So, we danced…now what?” Travis said as he leaned against the wall.

  “It’s warm in here, don’t you think? Let’s take a walk outside,” she suggested.

  She led him to a set of double French doors that led out to a large patio. They stood there, drinking their punch.

  “Hays has nothing this fancy,” Travis said.

  “As for fancy, this is the only thing in Victoria that is,” she said with a frown.

  “You don’t like it here?”

  “I love the London boutiques, the parks, the balls, but suddenly I’m liking Kansas very much,” she said with a few blinks of her eyes.

  “So, is this fellow, Roger, from England, coming here?”

  “Yes. My father said he spoke with you about it. Now that I’ve met you, I hope he does come,” she said, setting her cup down on the patio railing.

  Travis also set his empty cup down. “You do?” he asked.

  “I’d love to be kidnapped by you,” she said flirtatiously.

  “Would you, now?” Travis said, catching on, flirting right back.

  “Listen, Travis: they’re playing another waltz,” she said, slipping into his arms.

  Travis pulled her closer than he’d dared inside the ballroom. She laid her head on his chest. He forgot Libby, the special doctor, and Ned. Evaline was all he could think about; his own angel.

  He bent down, kissed the top of her head, and almost poked his eye out on her halo. She looked up and smiled. He felt encouraged by her smile and kissed her lightly on the lips, as if testing to see if she would object.

  “Come on, Travis, you can do better than that. I kiss my father goodnight like that.”

  “How about this, then,” he said, placing his lips on hers and kissing her passionately. She returned his kiss with the same degree of passion. He thought he’d died and gone to heaven—with his own, personal angel.

  He pulled her even closer as the passionate kiss grew more intense. They broke off the kiss and she laid her head on his chest again.

  “Now, that was a kiss!” she said. “I just want to stay here like this, Travis.”

  They stood there for a good ten minutes, just holding each other. Travis couldn’t believe someone as beautiful and as cultured as Evaline Radcliffe could ever be romantically interested in him, a cowboy and a rancher.

  Just as the feathers of her wings threatened to make him sneeze, she pulled away.

  Other people wandered out onto the patio for some fresh air. Evaline took Travis’s hand.

  “Let’s go for a walk.”

  He simply followed her. She led him to a dark area, hidden from the patio. There was a bench, and she sat down and pulled him to sit with her. She laid her head on his shoulder.

  “I liked kissing you,” she said, looking up at him.

  Travis tried to act calm, as if he’d done this a million times before. “Oh, yeah? Well, there’s a lot more where that came from.”

  “I don’t believe you could possibly recreate that kiss again,” she almost whispered.

  He put his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed her with all the emotion he'd built up inside him. His heart was beating so hard he thought it might stop. He knew, at that moment, in the middle of their kiss, that he was in love.

  Now, what was he to do? He was promised to someone he didn’t love at all.

  If her returning his kiss with as much passion as he had wasn’t enough, she suddenly slipped her hand between the buttons of his shirt and ran her hands over his bare chest. It was more than he could bear and he broke the kiss.

  “I think we’ve gone as far as we can go, Evaline,” he said, softly.

  “Oh, no,” she said, “I could kiss you like this all night.”

  Travis threw his head back and laughed. “I couldn’t.”

  “Why ever not?” she asked, her voice louder than her usual whisper.

  “Because…it will lead to things that only married people can do,
” he said.

  “Then let’s get married,” she said, with an excited smile.

  Travis wasn’t sure if she was joking with him or not. Holy Mackerel, what should he say now?

  Chapter 7

  Travis felt confused as he walked Evaline home. He already knew he was in love with her, and if she was serious about marriage, he was all for it. Then there was Libby to think of. So many times he’d asked God why that accident had to happen.

  When they reached her front door he held her hand and thanked her for a wonderful evening.

  “Won’t you come in?” she asked.

  “No. It’s a long, dark ride back to Hays,” he said.

  “You could stay here and go back tomorrow,” she said.

  “No, my father would be worried. I have a lantern on my buggy. I’ll be fine.

  Before Travis knew what had hit him, she threw herself into his arms. “When will I see you again, Travis?”

  He opened his mouth to finally tell her about Libby, but she pressed her lips to his before he'd had a chance. Floating on a cloud of love, he returned her kiss with all the passion he had.

  “Oh…Evaline!” he practically panted. “You sure do know how to kiss.”

  “I love the feel of your lips on mine and your arms around me, Travis. Can we do this again, soon?” she practically purred.

  Travis decided not to tell her about Libby just yet‒his desire to be with her was stronger than his urge to be truthful.

  “Can I ride out to your place and see your ranch sometime?” she asked.

  “Anytime.”

  “One more kiss?” she whispered.

  This time the kiss was heated, made even more so when she once more slipped her hand inside his shirt. He pulled away. “Goodnight, Evaline.”

  Evaline waved at Travis’s retreating form until she could no longer see him. She felt like crying. She missed him already. Was there such a thing as falling in love that quickly?

  She entered the house and leaned against the closed door. Her father was sitting in an armchair reading.