by Carrigan Fox
They arrived at the train station to find that it was quite crowded. A number of people waited on the platform for the train. In the distance, the sound of the train’s whistle announced its arrival. In the station window, Chase caught sight of her dusty reflection. Her hair was tied back in a band; but her curls were nevertheless sticking to her neck. She lifted the hat she had permanently borrowed from Marcus and wiped the sweat off of her brow, smearing the dust and dirt of the ranch across her forehead.
“What are you staring at?” Marcus asked with evident irritation.
Chase turned and grinned at him. “A free woman,” she answered happily.
He scowled at her, but the corners of his mouth turned up. No matter how frustrated Marcus got with his sister for being strong-willed and bent on independence, he had once been forced to flee London in order to pursue the life he wanted with the woman he loved. In more ways than one, Chase believed that he understood completely her desire for freedom and her fascination with this new country they lived in.
The train drowned out all sounds on the platform as it screeched to a halt. Steam bellowed out of her smokestack, leaving a black cloud hovering above us. She stood waiting while passengers stepped off of her steps, making room for others to come aboard.
Further down the platform, the sound of men’s voices speaking without the slow Texas drawl of nearly every other person on the platform captured Chase’s attention. They were from England. There were between five and ten men, all dressed in work clothes, but free of the dust and grime that coated the bodies of her and Marcus. And from the center of the group, one man emerged, dressed in the clothes of a gentleman. His slick black hair and mustache were instantly familiar to her, though unfamiliar on this platform in this town. Because she hadn’t expected him, and because she was seeing him in this new setting, she almost didn’t recognize Jett Stockton.
Fewer than twelve hours after her liaison with Colton Webb, her heart was now racing for different reasons. She was frozen on the platform, unable to board the train or to turn away from them. All he had to do was turn his head slightly to his right and he would see her. Whether or not he would recognize Chase Fairfax was not a gamble she was interested in taking.
Marcus was about to board the train when she lunged forward and grabbed his arm.
“Wha—?”
“Ssh!” she hissed angrily, scowling at him before pulling her hat down over her eyes.
When he realized his sister was pulling him away from the train, he raised his voice over the sound of the train. “What are you doing? We’ve got to get to the city!” he hollered. He resisted, pulling his arm out of her grip.
She put her face within inches of his own, minus a bit of height, and threatened, “If you don’t shut your mouth and follow me immediately, one or both of us could get killed.” She didn’t dare raise her voice. Not only did she prefer to keep the other Slaughter residents from hearing her threat, Chase also didn’t want Stockton or his men to hear her voice and recognize her.
Her brother’s mouth opened slightly in surprise and anger, but to his credit, he followed her off of the platform and across the street into the printing press.
“Howdy!” George Wainwright greeted as they walked through his front door.
“Good morning, Mr. Wainwright,” Chase greeted with a forced smile. She heard the tremor in her own voice and felt it quaking her knees. Her stomach was turning sickeningly. If Jett Stockton was in town, there could only be one reason. But how he had found her and why he had gone to such great lengths to come after her had her baffled.
“What’s the matter with you? Have you lost your mind?! We’re running across that street and boarding that train right this minute. And our first stop in Midland is going to be the office of Dr. Burns,” Marcus announced.
Chase stood back from the window but watched intently as Stockton and his men marched across the street and disappeared. She could only assume that he had entered Chantal’s saloon, looking for a place to stay. She was beginning to fight for breath, feeling constricted. She was torn between hatred and terror. And she didn’t know how to explain to her brother. They hadn’t told him about the betrothals she and Reese had fled from. It had been an unnecessary detail, and one that neither was particularly eager to share with him. Chase wasn’t concerned that Marcus would honor such an outrageous arrangement. She was more concerned about him murdering the man and wanting to murder their father for trying to marry her off to him.
She turned her back to the window and reached for a stool beside one of Mr. Wainwright’s tables. “I need to sit—” she had barely gotten the words out before her legs buckled beneath her. Both men rushed to her side to keep her from hitting the floor. Marcus helped her onto a stool.
“I knew it,” he muttered between clenched teeth. “You need to see a doctor. You are not well.”
“I’m fine, Marcus. But there are things you don’t know about. There are things that we never told you about England.”
“About England? What are you talking about?”
“Father arranged for Reese and I to be betrothed to these two…” Chase hesitated and shivered visibly, “these two bastards. We tried to refuse, but you can imagine how that was received.”
“But wh—?”
“Allow me to explain!” she interrupted. Mr. Wainwright cleared his throat uncomfortably and disappeared through the curtain in the back of the shop. “Jackson Booth was to wed Reese. He was a philandering fool. He only agreed to take a wife in an effort to clear his name. He was named in a number of divorces. He had a liking for married women. And I was to wed a man named Jett Stockton. He—”
“Father would never arrange such a foolish match,” Marcus argued, this time interrupting her.
“So you’re familiar with him,” she sneered. “And Father did arrange such a foolish match. I begged him not to. But he did. The two of them were planning to announce the betrothal during the Season. When I tried to appeal to Stockton, he threatened me. I then learned that he had some substantial gambling debts. When I confronted him and threatened to tell Father, he attacked me.” She hurried to spit these words out before she could stop herself.
“He attacked you? Did he…?”
“He would have. But his father walked in and ordered that he show me out of the house.” Chase paused and took a deep breath. “He made it clear that he was desperate. There was no way out for me. Grandmother was fully aware of the danger, and she was the one to first tell me about you being here. She suggested we run. She said that we could come to be with you. But it seemed impossible. We would have to leave Mother and Father behind. But they betrayed us. It was a simple choice.”
He stood speechless for a moment. “You should have told me. Are you sure you’re okay?” he whispered.
“He’s here, Marcus. He just got off that train,” she told him evenly and quietly.
“Who?” he asked idiotically.
“Jett Stockton. And he has a number of men with him.”
“You think they’re here for you?”
George Wainwright picked that moment to return to the room. He stood dumbly watching the two of them.
“Why else would he show up in Slaughter, Texas?”
“But that is simply too extreme,” he argued.
“He’s a desperate man, Marcus. I cannot tell you what lengths he will go to in order to get what he thinks he deserves. He needs to repay his debts.”
“What does he want with you?” Mr. Wainwright asked.
Chastity looked at him for a moment before deciding that he could be trusted. “He wants to force a marriage contract that was made back in London,” she told him. “Unfortunately, it’s a contract that my father agreed to and insists on honoring.”
“How did he know you were here?” Marcus asked, still trying to make sense of it all.
“Lord only knows, Marcus. But he’s here, all right.” Her fear and fury were making her lose patience quickly with her brother. Why was he so damned
slow?
“Where is he now?” Mr. Wainwright asked.
Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head. “He may be in Chantal’s,” she answered softly. “I’m not certain.”
Mr. Wainwright nodded and took off his ink-stained apron. “I’m goin’ over there. I’m goin’ to spread the word that this man is not to be trusted. We’ll send him on his way. He’ll leave here believin’ that there are no Fairfaxes in this town. The two of you need to get home and stay out of town. Send Tom if you need anything.”
“Thanks, George,” Marcus answered.
The portly man stopped in the doorway and placed a beefy hand on Chase’s shoulder. “You have nothin’ to worry about, Miz Fairfax. We’ll see that the bastard finds his way out of town. You’re too much lady for trash like that.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wainwright,” she answered with a genuine smile at him.
“George,” Marcus called out before the door closed behind him.
He grabbed the door and held it open, turning back to meet her brother’s now serious, cold eyes.
“Have one of the men bring our horses to your back door, won’t you? They’re tied up at the station.”
Mr. Wainwright nodded and let the door swing shut behind him.
Her brother took one of her hands in his own and squeezed it reassuringly. “This is a small town, Chase, but it’s full of good people. We watch out for each other in times like this. I’m sure this fool will be gone on tomorrow’s train.”
“Underestimating Jett Stockton would be a very foolish mistake, Marcus. When I say that he is a desperate man, I mean that he is dangerous. For whatever reason, he has his mind set on marrying me, and he will not stand by idly waiting for me to come around. He came all this way, and I don’t see him leaving peacefully when I refuse him.”
“I understand now why you’ve been so distracted. This must be a nightmare for you,” Marcus sympathized.
She did not respond. Instead, Chase thought of Webb and what he would say about this situation. Unknowingly, he had just complicated her life even more the night before. Marrying Stockton was no longer an option, not that she had ever considered it a possibility. He would discover on their wedding night that she had been with another, and he would make no bones about announcing the deception. In other rare instances, promiscuous women have had to forfeit their dowries or inheritances to the wronged husbands. The marriage would be annulled, and she would be ruined. Then Stockton would certainly want revenge…on her, her family, and Webb, too.
And as long as she refused to marry him, Chase put everyone she loved in danger. She had no doubts of what the man was capable of doing. She had only to remember their encounter in the library and the fury in his eyes. He was insane. There was also no doubt in her mind that he would do anything to get what he wanted.
***
Webb worked hard all day, hoping that he would stop thinking about Chase Fairfax with every new endeavor he took on. But he could still see her and smell her. And worst of all, he could still taste her and feel her body around his own.
She had taken him by surprise. He knew that she was a passionate woman, but he expected her to be more timid and shy. Instead, she had clung to his body and moved with him to bring even greater pleasure to both of them. Get her out of his system?
He snorted and quickly looked around to see if any of the men had heard him.
Webb couldn’t get her out of his mind, much less out of his system. He hadn’t made things easier. He had made things damn near impossible. And on some level, he had known all along that one time would not be enough. Instead, he only wanted her more. He felt the stirrings in his body and tried to focus on the work and shove Chase and the arousal she inspired out of his mind. But damned if she didn’t keep creeping back in.
He needed a nice cold swim at the pond to cool off and get her out of his mind. And unless he was prepared to endure this agony on a daily basis, he was going to need to keep as far away as possible from Chase Fairfax.
And with his very next thoughts, he found himself hoping she would be at the pond when he got there.
CHAPTER 15
As Marcus and Chastity raced up the driveway, she tested a couple of different ways to break the news to Reese and their grandmother. She couldn’t even imagine how she would explain the situation to Webb. But to his credit, he had already rescued one woman from an undesirable betrothal.
They slowed and guided their horses to the stables. But before they could stop and dismount, two ranch hands rushed toward them yelling.
“Fairfax! It’s Lawson!”
Marcus dropped to the ground before his horse came to a stop. “What happened?” he asked worriedly.
The men quickly explained that Tom had been trampled by one of the bulls. “It looks like his leg is broke,” the taller of the two finished.
“Dammit!” Marcus cursed. “I need him today.”
“Bells already rode for Doc Burns. We helped Lawson to the house. Your sister and grandmother are tending to him. So we’re two men short today.”
“I can help,” Chase suggested, though even she knew that her help could hardly make up for the loss of Tom and the ranch hand, Bells.
“Have you checked on the infected cow?” Marcus asked, handing his sister the reigns of his horse. She dismounted and led both animals into the stables to be rubbed down and watered. They had ridden them hard in their hurry to get home.
“She was the same this morning.”
The sound of their voices faded as they moved away from the horse stables and headed for the cattle barn. Chase put Artemis into her stall and began to tend to Marcus’s horse. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but her mind kept returning to Jett Stockton and his reasons for sailing across the Atlantic and taking a train across a foreign country. He had traveled a long way, as she well knew from her own experiences. But she had chosen to take that journey out of necessity. She came to be with her family, who was already established.
In spite of the sweltering heat in the stables, Chase shivered and forced herself to think of other things. “Colton,” she whispered to herself. She needed to see him and explain her situation to him. On some level, she knew that he couldn’t possibly do anything to help her. But lying in his arms the night before, she had never felt safer in her life.
She remembered the day he had discovered who she was on the Mauretania. He had forced her against the ship’s railing, threatening to throw her overboard. She had hardly felt safe that day, Chase smiled to herself. From sharing a cigar and beer at the poker table to sharing their bodies in the hayloft, Colton Webb had never been predictable. But she knew without question that he would do what he could to help her.
But Marcus was missing two men. Chase wouldn’t have an opportunity to ride to Webb’s pond today. And if, as George Wainwright promised, the town of Slaughter sent Jett Stockton out of town on the morning train, she would try to ride to see him tomorrow. And hopefully by then, she wouldn’t need his help anymore.
“Chase!” Marcus called angrily as he swept into the stables. “We’ve got problems.” His face was red with frustration and anger. But his eyes still held the worry and concern that he’d shown since first hearing about Stockton.
“Is it Tom?” she asked.
“I haven’t even been to the house yet. It’s my cow. She’s getting worse. We need a doctor immediately. Bells is already on his way to Midland to get Dr. Burns. He might have medications that would help her, but that’s not a chance I can take. I can’t afford to wait for him to get here before I send for a veterinarian. With two of my men already out, I can’t send a third.”
“You need me to go?” she asked him.
“You can ride faster than most of my men anyway. I can tell you how to get there.”
“Of course,” she agreed, shoving aside the fear of running into Stockton.
***
Webb was still struggling to get Chase Fairfax out of his mind when her brother came racing across his f
ields. Terror immediately took control of his body. Something had happened to her, he was sure of it. He ran to meet him.
Fairfax was breathless and didn’t even bother to dismount. “I need your help, Webb, and Elisa says I can trust you.”
“What’s happened?” he asked, preparing himself for the bad news.
“Lawson has had an accident. Bells has gone for Dr. Burns. And a cow of mine has an infection. I sent Chase to Midland to get a veterinarian to treat the cow.”
“Why wouldn’t Bells take care of that?”
“He had already left. I didn’t have any other choice, I thought. But it was a stupid decision. Elisa has reminded me of that. As strong as Chase pretends to be, she is a woman. I don’t know how safe she’ll be riding into town alone.”
“When did she leave?” Webb asked, already running toward his stables.
“Not long ago. Elisa ran out yelling at me as soon as she left. I came here immediately. I didn’t know what else to do. Elisa told me you would help. I don’t know why you should lift a finger to help me, but Elisa thinks you’re a decent man,” Fairfax explained, riding beside Webb as he ran.
“Get back to your ranch. My men can take care of my place. I’ll catch up to her,” Webb promised him. He wondered if Marcus Fairfax had any idea that he wasn’t the one he was lifting a finger to help.
“Hurry. You’ve seen her ride,” he reminded. And then he was gone.
Elisa had been right. Slaughter was a small town with mostly good people. But Midland was a bigger city with bigger problems. No woman should be wandering around town by herself, much less one as naïve and beautiful as Chase Fairfax. He didn’t even know if she’d been to Midland before.
He practically hugged his horse, riding fast and low through fields, taking shortcuts that Chase wouldn’t know about. He weighed the chances of him catching up to her. Marcus hadn’t told him which route she was taking. And as he’d pointed out, Webb had seen her ride. She was an incredible rider…and not just for a woman.
