Until September

by Brenda Jernigan

  She batted her eyelids a couple of times before they finally snapped open. Her eyes held confusion in their depths.

  Claire tried to focus as she found herself gazing up into warm brown eyes that looked very concerned for her. She felt as though she’d been transported on a soft and wispy cloud. Then she remembered what had happened.

  Billy simply took her breath away. Everything about him was electric and untamed. She found herself extremely conscious of his virile appeal when he was so close to her. Her body ached for his touch, but Claire quickly realized that such an attraction would be perilous. She felt embarrassed that she’d fainted. He probably believed she was a weak female. Before she could say anything in her own defense, she heard horses somewhere in the background, and somebody shouting her name. She mustn’t be caught in Billy’s arms.

  “I—I’m so sorry, will you help me sit up?” she said softly.

  Once she was in an upright position with her back to the tree and not sprawled all over Billy, she could see Heath approaching with their horses behind him. “How did our horses get away?” she asked Billy.

  “Evidently, they don’t like gunfire,” Billy said and then nodded toward the rider, “Who’s that?”

  Slowly, Claire got to her feet “My oldest brother, Heath.”

  “What happened?” Heath demanded, his tone sharp as he dismounted. He didn’t bother to tie the horses; instead he held the reins. “Your horses came back to the stables. Were you thrown?” And then Heath focused on Billy. “Who is this?” But Heath didn’t give his sister a chance to say anything. “If one of the hired hands has taken advantage of you—” Heath was so angry he choked on his words.

  Billy looked Heath over from head to toe. This hot-headed city slicker needed to be brought down a notch or two. He gave the man a daring look, hoping he’d take the bait and then Billy could beat the shit out of him. Maybe a good fist- fight would get rid of some of this pent up energy. When that didn’t work, Billy said, “Why don’t you ask me who I am? Since I’m standing right in front of you.”

  “Why you—” Heath gritted out and took a step toward Billy.

  Billy grinned. Come on, I’m more than ready.

  But the first punch never came because Claire jumped between them.

  Heath’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on here? I want an answer. Now! ”

  “Nothing is going on,” Claire snapped.

  “Don’t tell me that” Heath cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Look at you. I ride up and find you in this stranger’s arms with your hair down, and your clothes half off.”

  “They are not!” Claire’s hand flew to her throat, and she felt the open buttons, which surprised her. “Oh,” she squeaked. Then she glanced at Billy.

  Heath glared at Billy. “I’ve got a good mind to punch you in the mouth.”

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Billy drawled, not scared in the least, as he added, “If you think you can, do it.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Heath tried to take a step toward him, but Claire shoved him in the chest as Billy’s hand hovered above his gun, poised and ready.

  “You bull-headed moose!” Claire yelled. “If you’ll shut up for a few minutes, I’ll explain what happened.”

  “I’m listening,” Heath said, easing his stance only slightly.

  "This is Billy West The man Uncle Ben sent to escort me West Didn’t Mother tell you?”

  “I’ve not been by the house,” Heath answered curtly, “but if you think that we’re going to let you go across the country with the likes of him, then you had better think again.”

  “So, why didn’t you volunteer to take your sister?” Billy shot back.

  “I’ve had enough,” Claire said flatly as she put her hands on each man’s chest and shoved them apart “Both of you be quiet” She looked at her older brother. “My blouse is unbuttoned because I got choked and fainted, so Billy loosened the buttons. And the reason I choked was because Billy saved my life from a snake that was coiled and ready to strike. I didn’t see it” She watched as her brother’s face reddened. “I am going out West and there isn’t much that any of you can do about it Billy is right You could have gone with me, but not knowing the country you probably wouldn’t be much protection.” She planted her fists firmly on her hips. “Now, I expect you to apologize to Mr. West right this minute.”

  Heath frowned. Billy could see that Claire’s reprimand didn’t sit well with Heath, but this time he had little choice but to eat crow. Billy liked that. He tried to suppress a triumphant grin.

  “It seems I jumped to the wrong conclusion, Mr. West I apologize,” Heath said. “We have always been protective of Claire.”

  “I can see that,” Billy said with a nod. He looked at Claire. “Tell me. Am I going to run into any more like him?”

  Claire laughed. “I’m afraid I have two more brothers. However they are not as hot-headed as Heath.”

  “I resent that,” Heath said as he handed the reins to Billy.

  Sometimes the truth hurts, Billy thought but decided he’d had enough excitement for today. He was damned tired from traveling, and Claire appeared tired, as well.

  As they rode back to the stable, Billy asked. “Tell me, Claire, do you have these fainting spells often?”

  “No,” she quickly replied. “You can rest easy. I guess, with the excitement of the snake and then the cough, it surprised me. I feel perfectly all right to travel,” Claire assured him.

  Heath glanced at her, and she gave him the keep-your-mouth shut look. She would be fine on this trip. She was sure of it

  After Billy had returned to the house, Claire went to find Heath who was in the tack room with Albert.

  Heath glanced up at her when she walked through the door. “You should probably go to the house and rest.”

  “Do please be quiet,” Claire stormed, immediately liking the shocked look on Heath’s face. She’d been babied until she was sick of it.

  “What’s got her in a twist?” Albert asked.

  “I’ll tell you,” Claire volunteered. “Your brother was rude and very unpleasant to Billy West.”

  “He’s your brother, too,” Albert pointed out “Not if he keeps acting like a jackass.”

  Albert chuckled, gaining a glare from Heath. “I was not out of line,” Heath told her. “I was worried sick that you’d broken that pretty little neck of yours when your horse returned without you.”

  “I was just fine.”

  “I could see how fine you were lying in that man’s arms.”

  “What man?” Albert asked.

  Claire glanced at Albert “He is my escort. You’ll meet him tonight at dinner.”

  Albert cocked a brow at her. “He just arrived today and you are already in his arms?”

  “See.” She raised her arms in exasperation and let them fall to her side. “You are just as bad as Heath, jumping to false conclusions.”

  “Were you not in his arms?” Heath asked.

  “Yes.”

  Albert started toward the door. “Where is the son-of-a-bitch?”

  Claire reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute.” Then she told Albert about the snake and her fainting.

  “I think you’re being a little hard on Heath,” Albert finally said. “I’d probably have done the same thing. Now, why don’t you two kiss and make up?”

  “I guess he’s right, puss,” Heath said pulling her to him and squeezing her in a great hug.

  “I want both of you to promise me that neither of you will tell Billy about my condition.”

  “He’s bound to notice,” Heath pointed out. Claire shook her head. “Uncle Ben told Billy that I had been sick. He didn’t tell him that I still was, and I don’t want him to know. I want to be treated as normally as possible.”

  “I think he should know,” Heath protested.

  Why her brother had to be so set in his ways, Claire didn’t know. “Please.”

  “All right,” her brothers agreed reluctan
tly. “We’ll keep your secret.”

  Claire started to walk off. “And do try to be nice to Billy.”

  Heath frowned. “That’s asking a lot”

  “Well, I’m looking forward to meeting him,” Albert said. “Anyone who can get under Heath’s skin so quickly must be one hell of a fellow.”

  Billy had been told that Fredrick had gone to his parents’ home and would be back in two days. So Billy decided that they would leave on Thursday. The sooner they were out of here, the better. If the other two brothers were anything like Heath, Billy wanted to spend as little time as possible in this household.

  Once he was downstairs, the maid showed him to the dining room. Billy saw that everyone had already been seated at a large oblong table. There were three candelabrums: one on each end of the table and another in the middle. Two maids, dressed in black with little white aprons, stood on one side of the room.

  “Come, sit beside me,” Claire said, gesturing toward the empty seat.

  Billy nodded and made his way over to her. “Evening, folks.” Why did he feel like he was walking into a courtroom and he was the defendant?

  Immediately, a servant appeared and pulled the chair back as he approached. Didn’t these damned people do anything for themselves? He wasn’t sure he could ever get used to having a handful of strangers living in his house. Evidently this was the way rich people lived, and hadn’t he always wanted to be rich?

  “Gail, you may serve,” Margaret instructed the maid, placing her napkin in her lap.

  Upon that instruction, two maids came through a swinging door with bowls of soup on trays and served everyone. As soon as Mrs. Holladay reached for her spoon, everyone else followed her lead.

  Billy tried his soup and found that the odd- looking brown stuff tasted like onions. It was very good. At least they ate well in these parts, he thought

  “It’s a pleasure to have you in our home, Mr. West,” Margaret said. “Let me introduce you to my family.” She gestured toward the end of the table. “My husband, Donald.”

  Mr. Holliday nodded, then said, “My brother speaks highly of you, Mr. West. We appreciate you taking our Claire out to visit her uncle.”

  Evidently, Donald Holladay didn’t know that Billy was being paid handsomely to do a job, so he’d just keep that information to himself. Donald went on talking, and Billy realized that Claire’s three brothers were staring holes through him.

  “And we have complete trust in you,” Donald Holladay finished.

  Billy almost choked on his water. You might, but your sons look like they could string me up to the nearest tree. Finally, Billy nodded at Mr. Holladay.

  “My sons,” Margaret said. “Heath, Albert, and Robert.”

  “Mr. West,” they all said on command.

  At least they were better mannered than the family he came from, where nobody did anything together unless they had to.

  “Do you work for our uncle, Mr. West” Albert asked.

  “Please call me Billy. I’m not used to formality. And yes, I do work for your uncle. I ride shotgun on the stage.”

  “Sounds exciting,” Robert said. “I’d like to do something like that.”

  “Forget it, young man,” Mr. Holladay said. “We have a horse farm and a shipyard to run.”

  Robert frowned. “I know, Father. But Claire is getting to go. I thought.. .just maybe.”

  As the Yankee pot roast was being served, Billy said, “It does sound exciting, Robert, but when you’re being shot at you might have a different opinion.”

  Robert’s eyes widened. “They actually shoot at you?”

  “There is a reason they call it the Wild West.” Billy chuckled as he cut into the juicy roast meat “It isn’t anything like what I’ve seen, so far, in the East. Out there, they would sooner shoot you as look at you.”

  “And this is where you want to go, Claire?” Albert asked.

  “The very place. I intend to write articles on the stage and my travels for the magazine,” Claire said as she picked up her goblet of water.

  Billy glanced at her. “You work for a magazine?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “For Harper’s. ”

  “I’ve seen copies of Harper’s Weekly once or twice,” Billy commented.

  “You can read?” Heath asked.

  Billy knew Heath had been quiet for too long. Too bad, Heath had finally found his voice. Slowly, Billy placed his fork down beside his plate. He could tell that he and Heath were like two bulls in a pen and there just wasn’t room for both, even if Billy was the visiting bull. Trying very hard not to lose his temper, he took a deep breath before answering, “And write, as well.”

  “Heath!” Margaret’s voice held a sharp reprimand.

  “It was just a simple question, Mother. I’ve read that most people out West can’t read.”

  Billy wondered for a moment if this was how Thunder had felt when people called him a half- breed. “Heath does have a point, Mrs. Holladay. I was just lucky to have had a good teacher who was determined I would be educated.”

  “Well put,” Donald Holladay said, “My brother said you were sharp. I see he wasn’t wrong. Ben also said you were thinking about buying into a stage route and starting your own horse farm.”

  “That’s correct.”

  A maid entered the dining room with dessert. She placed a huge piece of yellow cake with chocolate icing down in front of Billy. His mouth watered.

  “Tell cook she outdid herself on this cake,” Albert said. He wiped his mouth and looked at his sister. “I saw David today. He said to tell you hello.”

  “That was nice of him,” Claire said, but Billy heard an icy tone in her voice.

  “I still can’t believe that you broke off your engagement. You two have been promised forever,” Robert added.

  “He broke it off with me,” Claire corrected her brother, although she’d never told them it was because she was sick. She knew it would make them furious. She glanced at Billy. “They are talking about my ex-fiancé.”

  Must have been a damned fool, Billy thought.

  So far, he liked Claire and that, in itself, was unusual. Of course, this was the first day, and he was sure in a day or two she’d become just as boring as the other females he’d encountered. But she had a fiancé? Interesting. Did she still love him? Billy frowned. And why should he care? A stab of jealousy stirred inside him. The knowledge that the woman beside him could stir such emotions didn’t sit well with him at all. As a matter of fact, it irritated the hell out of him. It was as if he had been turned upside down since setting foot in this house, and he had only been here a day. He’d be plumb loco by week’s end.

  He was used to calling all the shots. Therefore, his next words were sharper than he meant. “We leave Thursday. I assume that you’re already packed.”

  “I’m afraid that will not be possible,” Margaret spoke firmly, drawing Billy’s attention to the other end of the table. “We are giving Claire a going away party. We don’t know how long she’ll be out West, or if we’ll ever see her again.”

  Billy thought he heard a catch in Mrs. Holladay’s voice before she continued.

  “So we want to give her a large party, to which you are invited, of course. I’m sure it isn’t necessary that you leave on Thursday, since I had a wire, just yesterday, from Ben who said that you could take all the time you need. He also wanted to wish Claire well with her party.”

  Damn. Billy felt his jaw clench, knowing there was no way out of the situation. Worse, he had to attend a party. Finally, he nodded. “Then we will leave Saturday morning. We should get the tickets for the train.”

  “Good.” Margaret smiled. “I’ll take care of the tickets. Claire has to go into the city tomorrow. You can accompany her and be fitted for your formal wear. The tailor has already been notified, so there will be no problems. I’m sure you want to look your best when we introduce you to all our friends.”

  Billy leaned back in his chair and shrugged. He could not care
less what their friends thought of him. But attempting to be cordial, he didn’t say his thoughts. He wasn’t used to this. He felt as though they were squeezing the air from his lungs. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. But it was only for three days, he quickly reminded himself... he could survive anything for three days... he hoped.

  “I bet you’ve never been around big ships and harbors,” Claire said softly.

  Surprisingly, the sound of her voice took the fire out of him. “No, I haven’t.”

  “Good. We can go by the docks tomorrow.”

  Billy got to his feet and stood, then said to Claire, “Until tomorrow.” Then he turned and addressed Mrs. Holladay. “Supper was wonderful, thank you. I’m going to call it a day.”

  Claire watched Billy leave the room. He stood tall and carried himself in a way that simply took her breath away. If only things were different... Billy West wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, Billy found he was looking forward to seeing New York City as he left his room and started down the hallway of the sprawling house the Holladays called Oak Hill. He’d heard many tales about how high the buildings were in New York and how crowded the city was. After living in the wide-open plains dotted with the occasional small towns, he thought Denver was a large town. He couldn’t imagine larger. However, if this house was any indication of how they built things in the East, nothing should surprise him.

  When he reached the bottom of the staircase, Mrs. Holladay was passing through the foyer. She turned and called to him, “Good morning, Mr. West. Excuse me, I mean Billy. You’re looking much better this morning.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that I looked pretty rough yesterday?”

  “No—no, not at all,” she rushed to assure him.

  “I was just teasing you, ma’am,” Billy said with a smile. “Have you seen Claire this morning?”

  “Certainly. She is waiting outside on the veranda. She wanted to enjoy the fresh air this morning. I do believe that you’ll have a lovely day for a trip into the city.”