“So why is it his right to come and take the mill from me now?”
“Because he didn’t live in poverty, but he didn’t live in excess either. And our choices, our indiscretions have stripped him of his true family.”
“Is that why you had Father take him on when he came for a job?”
“Your father didn’t need convincing. He’s a good man. Has stayed with me despite everything. Worked toward pleasing me ever since. He knows what I sacrificed as a mother, letting my child go for him, and even before then when I kept his house silently and alone.”
“Why didn’t I know this? Why don’t I remember this as a child? Or even you being with child.”
At those words, Beatrice gave a relieved chuckle. “I was afraid you did notice. Understand. But you were very young and had a nanny back then. You probably remember only her, and shortly after we sent you to the finishing school in London to protect you from the truth.”
Victoria didn’t respond. She began to sway slightly so Wall took her arm, and guided her to the chair to sit. He took a stance behind her as Beatrice turned her piercing stare on him.
“Now, young man. I know who you are, and I can see by everything here tonight that my daughter has at least taken a fancy to you. I expect you to treat her better than I was treated at the beginning of my marriage, and I also expect you to be out of my house before anyone notices you were here this late into the night.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wall gave her a single nod. In truth, and especially after tonight, he’d hoped taking her to his father’s ranch would open up something new inside of her. Show her who he was, and grow on her enough to make her love him.
“Mother,” Victoria chided. “Mr. Adair is well aware of the need to be gone before the sun, and furthermore we will not be forced into anything. Even by you, and how did you even know he was here?”
“Ms. Bates, of course. She misses nothing. You’d be smart to remember that in the future.” Beatrice lifted one condemning eyebrow at her daughter. “And I would think you’d have more sense than to succumb to lust before love. I assumed you’d already had an agreement.”
“There is no such thing, and I will not be bullied into it by you. I’m well set up here for my future, and in no need of a husband.”
Beatrice stood. “Providing for her well-being is not the only reason a woman needs a husband. I will expect you to allow me to announce the engagement within the next few months. When the time is right. In the meantime, young man, you can sleep in your own home or out in the loggers’ bunkhouse from now on.”
Like the queen of Great Mountain, she swished out of the room, leaving Wall alone with Victoria.
“I’m sorry about her,” she said, and stood to pace the room.
“The apologies are mine. I should not have stayed.”
She stopped, and spun around to face him. “Don’t worry about what she said. You are not obligated to bind yourself to me. I knew what I was doing when we started this affair.”
His heart twisted. Did she truly mean what she said? Did she not care for him as much as he was growing to care for her? He’d entered the arrangement not knowing what to expect from her, hell, from himself. But as the months grew, he’d discovered a need to be with her. Forever. Allowing her to dismiss what they had would never do.
Chapter 13
Wall and Victoria waited outside the boarding house as the early morning summer sun melted the dew from the grass on the other side of the white picket fence. Wall tried not to smile at the way Victoria held herself all stiff at the sight of the woman. Whether from years of training to act in such a way, or something more personal, he wasn’t certain. Either way it made him inwardly laugh.
She’d proven she could ride the river, but now they were about to enter cowboy country. How would she react then? And once she met his sisters.
Teddy’s sister, and her little two-year-old tow-headed son, clambered into the backseat of the rented buckboard as Wall jumped down to heave their single trunk into the back and close the tailgate.
“We appreciate the opportunity,” the woman said, her voice small and tired.
“It’s our pleasure, miss. Teddy says you can cook like you were taught by an angel. The old cook at the ranch has been getting on in years for a while now, and my pa has been talking about finding her some help.” Wall smiled reassuringly at the woman, and climbed in the driver’s seat, twisting around to view the company in the backseat.
“I’m Wall, and this is Victoria.” He motioned toward the silent and stiff woman warming his right side.
“Rose,” the woman said, “and this is Benjamin. Ben.”
The boy next to her buried his head into his mother’s side.
“Hello, Ben,” he said. “You must be, what, three?”
“Next month,” Rose responded.
Wall smiled at the mother, and focused on the boy again. “Once we get there, you’ll have to let my brother Jax and I show you the chicken who likes to swing.”
“What?” Victoria asked, her voice more curious than anything else, as the boy smiled but hugged his mother closer.
Wall turned and winked at Victoria as he took up the reins to snap them and send the wagon rolling.
“Is she nice?” The woman’s voice seemed to bounce down the road with the wagon.
“The cook or the chicken?” Wall tossed over his shoulder. “The cook is very nice, but the chicken will peck your hand if you try to take her swing, and your arm if she wants you to push her on it.”
Somewhere in the middle of the wagon noise, Wall heard the boy giggle. He shared a glance with Victoria who must have heard the small noise, and had also formed a smile of her own. Maybe the country would do Victoria some good after all.
“I’m certain Ben was thinking of the chicken, but I was talking about the cook.”
“Rose is such a pretty name,” Victoria said.
“Thank you. I was named after my grandmother.”
“I was named after my mother’s favorite queen.”
Wall chuckled. “Of course you were.”
Victoria gave him a glare that would shut up any man. “Which is why she had said she sent me to learn in England… Of course I learned differently as of late, but that’s not important. Mother said she saw the brilliance coming out of the country during the queen’s reign. Truly even you can admire that much at least, Wall.”
“There is a lot of expansion and industry coming out of England—and America as well, but I wouldn’t trade my childhood on the ranch for all the summers learning machines. What I do is all self-taught. I tinker.”
“Your tinkering is going to save my company.” Victoria leaned closer to him until her heat penetrated through his shirt sleeve. “I can now target areas where I don’t need a river leading to the mill.”
“Pardon me,” Rose interrupted. “Is it a long ride to the ranch?”
“Another two hours.”
“Would you mind if we climbed in the back and took a nap. We haven’t had much sleep lately. The boarding house was overbooked, and we had to share a bed with another woman.”
“Do you need me to stop?”
“No. We should be able to manage, as long as we don’t hit any big ruts in the road.”
“I’ll try my best.” Wall studied the road to keep a steady roll as the noise of Rose and her son settling in the back rustled around them until they quieted so nothing but the wheels on the ground could be heard.
Wall glanced back, but the ranch’s new cook’s and her son’s chests rose and fell with signs of a deep sleep.
“I thought we might start with some of the smaller ranches that I know need some trees cleared. Maybe get a start there, and then go after the places with major timberland up high in the mountains. I’ve also made an offer on the side of the mountain opposite where the Great Mountain Lumber camp used
to be. As long as it’s not burnt up by the fire, we’ll be set for wood.”
“You did?”
“I was going to wait until I heard something back before I told you, but I figured I should probably tell you since it will be for Great Mountain use. A partnership of sorts.”
“What?”
He couldn’t tell if she was happy or angry. “It’s not final. I put in a bid, but I’m waiting to hear back to see if it went through.”
He left out the part where Nichols was rumored to have designs on the same land. If he got the bid, though, it wouldn’t matter.
“You bought land for me?”
“Well, for us. If Great Mountain goes under then I don’t have a job to go to in the spring and summer.” He tossed her a playful grin. “What would I do for fun if you lost the mill?”
“Logging is fun to you? And I thought you quit.”
“Yes, ma’am, and I’d never quit on you. I’m the kind of man who likes to use his body. Isn’t afraid of hard work. The kind who can handle a woman like you. Not many men can, and that’s not an insult.” Wall winked to ensure she didn’t mistake his intent.
“Whether or not you intended that as an insult, I take it as such. I’m not a hard person to love.”
“I didn’t say you were. That’s not what I was referring to.”
“Sshh.” Victoria snuck a peek at the sleeping guests in the back. “You’re a wicked flirt, Mr. Adair.”
“All the good men are.”
She gave another one of her genuine grins. Meant only for him. Once he talked to his father, straightened out the whole ordeal with Great Mountain and the governor, then perhaps he would be able to persuade Victoria to marry him. When nothing would be in place to stand in their way or convince her otherwise. When she had to make a choice only for them. Because they were good together. In more ways than one.
The silence grew serene between them as she sat and swayed with the wagon while Rose and her son slept. How tired they must be from all of their troubles in life. He only hoped they could find solace in Hartland the way many people before them have.
The road to the town where his ranch lay miles on the other side of Bonner. They passed the small mill town, and the crossroad to Hartland came into view so he prepared the reins in his hands for the turn.
Victoria perked up as the wagon took the corner. “Oh, we’re going through Hartland?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Why? Do you have some business here? A friend you’d like to stop and see?”
“No, no. The man I met at the café owns a ranch around here. Well, from what father says, he owns the whole town.”
Wall swallowed hard and his heartbeat kicked up. “What did you say this man’s name was you met with?”
“Laughlin Hartman. He owns a large ranch and pretty much the town.”
“He does, does he?” In truth, he did. Sort of. Laughlin Hartman, Wall’s pappy—his mother’s father—oversaw the small town, and had at one point owned and operated the Lazy Heart. Not so much the second anymore as he’d since turned it over to Wall’s father, and soon Wall himself would take over the family business.
Now Pappy barked orders from the backroom, and spent his days playing Mr. Fix-it for the town gossip’s problems, and on occasion acted as middle-man for a rancher or two with a beef. Which Victoria apparently hadn’t learned while talking to his grandfather in the café.
“According to Father, Mr. Hartman is the man to see to get the rights for the trees around Hartland.”
“But your first meeting didn’t go well with him?”
Victoria frowned. “No. He shut me down. Said the trees were important for the cattle. I don’t understand these cowboys like you do. Why can’t they see we can equally benefit one another? There’s more than enough trees to go around.”
“Not all ranchers think like Laughlin Hartman. I can guarantee you as much.”
“Do you really think so?” She dropped her gaze to her hands where she toyed with her gloved fingers. “I need to find trees. I went over my books before we left. I have enough to meet this year’s contracts, but if I don’t produce more land, more trees, Great Mountain is done for by the beginning of next season.”
“We’ll find something, and if luck is on our side then I’ll get the bid for the land on the other side of Seeley Lake.”
“Yet you don’t sound confident in the plight.”
He pinched his mouth tight, before responding. “There’s politics involved. It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping if I jumped first I can secure the land.”
Victoria glared. “And by politics do you mean Luther or the territorial office?”
“I suppose they’re one and the same, but in this instance I mean the territorial office.”
She exhaled deeply. “Sometimes I wonder if they sat in their holes waiting for me to take over so they could pounce. Like they knew I was weaker than my father.”
“You’re anything but weak,” he said, and then raised his chin at the row of buildings ahead. “Hartland. Unless you need to stop for anything, we’ll ride through to the ranch.”
“How far out of town?”
“We’ll go about a mile out and then turn. It’ll be another twenty-minute drive until we get to the Lazy Heart.”
He waved at the town folks who recognized him as they traveled through town, garnering Victoria’s playfully accusing stare. “You’re quite notorious here.”
“No, I’m loved here.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. His heartbeat dominated every sound around him as he waited for her reaction.
She smiled and he knew he’d won her heart, at least for the moment.
He turned the wagon down his road, and tucked her hand under his arm, keeping her near. Enjoying the silent ease in which they could now spend time. Not needing to talk, but comfortable in each other’s company.
He knew she liked him enough to dally and flirt, but did her feelings extend further? Or was he alone in his regard for the woman he was bringing home to his family?
At the end of the road, the daily buzz of the Lazy Heart brought peace to his soul. His family’s large white home sat proud surrounded by a barn aligned by fence. Behind the house, the chicken coop and bunkhouses dotted the field, and beyond that a large stream ran along the base of the mountain.
In front of the house, three of his sisters worked on some project of theirs, while to the right his fourth sister and mother bent over their garden.
The familiar sounds of the chickens reached his ears as he pulled the wagon up. In the barn door, his father and brother emerged, followed by a few ranch hands.
“This is your home?” Victoria said in awe.
Behind him, the sound of Rose and her son rustling around reached him as he brought the buckboard to a halt, and secured the break.
“Yes, ma’am.” He faced Victoria, raising one eyebrow in a mischievous expression. “You should probably prepare yourself.”
* * * *
“Prepare herself for what?” Oh goodness. Victoria hated surprises. They always ended up throwing her into a flurry of chaos, and she hated chaos.
As the initial shock of his words began to wear off, the women she’d spotted in the yard assailed the wagon, followed closely by the men from the barn. All chattering at the same time, and gathered around Wall.
Loved indeed.
The man was worshipped.
Victoria had no more than stood to struggle off the wagon when Laughlin himself stepped before her and reached out to help her down.
“Mr. Hartman,” she said breathlessly. Not that he affected her ability to breathe the way Wall did whenever near, but because his presence was so unexpected.
“Miss Harrison.” He tipped his hat and helped her to the ground as Wall managed to wade through the sea of women and round the wagon toward her.
/>
She used his familiar scent to ground her to the moment. “I didn’t expect to see you here, sir.”
“No?” The older man gave her a grin, and then slid the same to Wall. “And here I thought you’d taken me up on my offer.”
“What offer was that?” she asked.
“To stop by the ranch, of course.”
“Oh.” She blushed.
“Sorry, Pappy.” Wall stepped closer to her. “She’s come with me.”
“Pappy?” she questioned, but the men ignored her.
Laughlin raised an eyebrow at Wall, who shook his head. “Business.”
“It’s always business with you, son.”
“Pappy?” she questioned again, louder this time. Hoping one of them would get the message to answer her question.
Luckily, Laughlin did. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No.” She turned an accusing glare on him. This time not playful like the one she’d given him earlier. Why hadn’t he told her he was Laughlin Hartman’s grandson? He’d let her chatter on, struggle for logging contracts when all he had to do was speak up.
“She never asked.”
“A person doesn’t need to ask for you to give them important information,” she chided.
“I like her,” a woman said, coming up from behind. “She’s spunky and doesn’t put up with your bullying.”
Victoria watched an older woman she assumed was Wall’s mother escort Rose and the boy behind the house while four women, a young man, and a group of men gathered around them. Only in ballrooms had she been surrounded by so many people focused solely on her. Her chest tightened the slightest of bits.
“Victoria, this is my sister Willa.” He pointed to the woman who’d spoken. “She’s the one you need to watch out for. She’ll get you in trouble.”
“I will not.” Willa turned her attention to Victoria, and locked arms with her. “I’m honest as the day is long. He’s the one who’ll go and get you caught in a snowstorm in summertime.”
“Don’t listen to a thing he says,” another woman said, taking a stand on Victoria’s other side, also locking arms with her. She let her eyes grow wide, but her heartbeat sped. She didn’t fare well with people of the female gender. Never had. They generally found her unpleasant to be around, and to be honest, she didn’t much care for them either. “Wall is the one who can’t be trusted to tell the truth about us. Whatever he’s told you, don’t believe.”
Fiery Passion Page 17
