This was the first time he’d really opened up about his wife, so she didn’t dare interrupt now that he was talking. She waited patiently for him to find the words to explain it.
“She hated it here. I met her when I went out east for a few weeks with my mother to visit family. My pa had died a couple of years before, so I didn’t like her going off on her own. We went after harvest was done, and my younger brother stayed back to look after the livestock.”
He shook his head as he laughed bitterly. “I was a young, country hayseed who’d never been outside of Promise. When I met Arlene, I’d never seen a woman so sophisticated, and I didn’t stand a chance. She was going through a rebellious phase with her wealthy parents and wanted to punish them.
“I know now that’s all it was, but I was naive, and after spending two weeks with her, I thought I was in love. I convinced her to marry me, and for some reason, she believed I was like the wealthy farmers who lived around the city where she’d grown up. She was excited for some grand adventure out in the country.” He stopped and shook his head, laughing bitterly. “My mother was so angry with me, but I wasn’t thinking straight, and I thought this fancy city woman was truly in love with me too.”
Kathryn suddenly felt guilty that Colt thought he needed to explain this all to her. She knew how hard it had to be.
“I’m sure she must have been in love with you, at least a bit, to agree to marry you and move out here.” She hated to think the woman had never had any feelings for the man she married.
He laughed harshly. “Oh, I think she thought she was, in the beginning. It was a whirlwind. She’d shown her parents they couldn’t control her, and she was the first of her friends to be married. She thought it was quite exciting.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the railing by the step. “That is, until we arrived home and she saw where she’d be living.”
“But it’s so beautiful here, surely she must have been excited to start her new life.” Kathryn couldn’t imagine feeling any other way about this little community.
“We tried to make it work, but she never had any interest in learning how to live out here. Shortly after the twins were born, she almost convinced me to move back to Chicago and give up my life here. By then, her parents had pretty much disowned her, so she was stuck with me because there was no way she could take care of herself without her father’s money.”
“Oh, Colt. You would have been miserable. I can’t imagine you living anywhere but here on your farm.”
He glanced over at her and smiled. “I would have been, but truthfully, I didn’t know what else to do. She was angry all the time, she had barely any interest in the children, and even told me one time during one of her many tirades how furious she was to be tied here now because of them.”
Kathryn gasped softly and shook her head sadly. “Surely she didn’t mean it.” The words were spoken so quietly, she wasn’t sure if he’d even heard her.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. All I do know is that she became more and more miserable, until the day the traveling theater came to town. I thought it would be something that would excite her and couldn’t wait to take her to a show.”
Kathryn’s heart sunk as she realized what he was about to say.
“They stayed in town for a week, putting on shows every evening for people from all of the surrounding communities to come and watch. Arlene made friends with one of the women in the show and would go into town during the day to spend time learning everything behind the scenes. By the time they were set to leave, she came and told me she was going with them, believing she’d found something that could truly make her happy. She told me she would never have that as long as she was stuck on this farm, with children she’d never wanted, and a husband she didn’t love.”
Thunder rumbled quietly in the distance, the only sound between them as Kathryn moved closer to Colt, unsure how to offer him the comfort he needed.
“I know it’s hard to understand why things happen the way they do sometimes, but you always have to believe there is a reason. Even though things might not have worked out for you and your wife, at least you have Delia and Owen. If not for her, you wouldn’t have the wonderful children you’ve been blessed with.”
He smiled sadly and nodded. “I thank God every day for those children. But I also worry because I know I can’t give them what a mother can. They deserve better than what they’ve gotten. They’re always going to be those children whose mother chose to leave them.” His jaw moved like he was holding his anger back. “And I’m the man who couldn’t give his wife enough to make her want to stay here.”
“Colt, it’s not your fault Arlene couldn’t see what she had here. She had a beautiful home, children who loved her, and a husband who tried everything to make her happy. You can’t blame yourself for the problems that were within her. If she couldn’t appreciate everything she had, then you’re far better off without her.”
His eyes lifted to hers, and she realized she was now standing so close to him she could hear every breath he took. Suddenly, she had a question she needed to hear the answer to.
“Do you still love her?”
The words were whispered, and her heart pounded so hard in her chest, she was afraid she wouldn’t hear the answer.
How could she have asked him such a personal question? And why did she care so much?
He kept his eyes on hers and slowly shook his head. “I worry every day that I’ll never be able to love a woman again. And if I do, she won’t be able to love me, or be happy with what I have to offer.”
She swallowed, unable to speak as his breath touched her face. Without noticing, he’d brought his head closer to hers, and before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers.
Even as her mind was yelling for her to stop, knowing this wasn’t appropriate behavior for a single schoolteacher, her body rebelled and moved closer. When his hand gently reached up and cupped her cheek, while his other arm wound behind her back and pulled her against him, she knew nothing her mind said would convince her to pull away.
His lips moved while his fingers moved up into her hair at the base of her neck, slowly caressing the skin and leaving a trail of heat everywhere he touched.
He groaned low in his throat, while he kissed her with an urgency that left her breathless. Just when she thought her legs were about to give out, he pulled his head back and looked down at her. Her lips were still parted, and it took her a moment to get her senses back.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
His voice sounded hoarse as he struggled against the emotions of what had just happened.
Suddenly, he turned his head and his eyebrows pulled together. “Can you smell smoke?”
She shook her head, trying to get rid of the cobwebs as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying.
He stepped back, and walked down the step, sniffing in the air loudly.
“Something’s burning.”
The scent of smoke finally reached her, and she stepped down beside him. “I can smell it. Where is it coming from?”
He turned and scanned the area, stopping as he faced the trees separating the property in the distance from Constantine and Mercy Brown’s.
The sky just above the tree line was orange, and with a sudden realization of what was happening, Colt took off running.
Kathryn didn’t know if she could keep up, but she wasn’t going to be left behind.
As they raced through the long grass toward the smoke she could now make out billowing high in the air, she sent up a prayer for her friend and her unborn child.
“Please, let Mercy be all right.”
Chapter 20
As soon as he made it across the field separating his property from Brown’s, Colt knew from the location of the flames that it was the barn on fire. With the lack of rain they’d had, he also knew that everything around the area was now at risk too.
He ran straight toward the fire, not even sure what he was going
to do, but the sound of Mercy’s screams coming from just outside the doorway terrified him.
When he got closer, he could see her trying to get inside, screaming her husband’s name.
“Mercy, get back! Go up to the house.” He turned and saw Kathryn not too far behind him, so he pushed Mercy toward her. “Take her to the house.”
“Constantine is inside. I tried to get in, but the flames are so high…”
“Come on, Mercy. Colt will take care of everything here. Let’s go.”
Colt knew Kathryn would look after Mercy, so he turned his attention to the barn. He knew there was no way he could get this under control on his own, but he had to try.
And as much as he hated Constantine Brown, if the man was inside the burning barn, Colt had to try and save him. He looked around and saw a large pail by the pump, so he raced over and started filling it with water. Even knowing it wasn’t going to make much difference, he hoped it would at least give him something to use as he made his way inside.
Pounding hoofbeats came from the other side of the house and another neighbor hollered to him.
“I’m going to go in and get some men from town.”
“Constantine is inside.”
The other man cursed as he tried to keep his horse under control. “Wait until I get back with some help. Don’t be going in on your own.”
As the neighbor raced off toward town, Colt ran back to the barn with the full pail of water, almost running straight into Kathryn who was heading the other way with an empty pail.
“What are you doing out here? I told you to take Mercy to the house and look after her.”
“She’s inside, but I need to help you. She promised to stay in the house.”
Colt didn’t have time to argue with the woman right now, so he just shook his head and continued to the fire that now had the entire building engulfed in flames.
He threw the bucket of water at the open doorway then turned and almost knocked Kathryn over. “Here, take this one too.” He grabbed it from her and tossed it on the fire.
The water eased some of the flames near the doorway, so he ran toward it, putting his arm up to shield his eyes from the sparks.
“Colt, no! Don’t go in there!”
Kathryn was screaming from behind him and he could make out the fear in her voice, but he needed to get inside now while he still could. He quickly pulled his collar up and tucked his face down enough to keep the smoke out a bit.
His skin burned as the heat of the flames licked at him, and he had to leap over a burning board that had fallen to the floor. He squinted his eyes as he scanned the area to see if he could find Constantine. Even though he’d covered his face, his lungs heaved as he struggled to breathe.
Finally, in the far corner, he could make out the figure of the man slouched on the floor. He dodged falling debris and sparks as he made his way over to him.
Constantine was unconscious, so he just grabbed him and lifted him up over his shoulder. It would have been easier to drag the man, but there were too many burning boards to get over before they made it back outside.
Every breath he took hurt, and Colt started to think he wasn’t going to make it back to the open doorway where Kathryn stood throwing another bucket of water at the fire. He had a moment of guilt knowing if he didn’t make it out of here, that he hadn’t let her know how much he cared about her.
When she finally saw him coming back through the flames, she dropped the pail and started to step inside, reaching out for him.
“Get back.” His voice was hoarse, but knowing she was about to put herself at risk gave him the final bit of strength he needed to get out before she was hurt.
He came outside and gulped for air as he took a few more steps to get far enough away before dropping the man to the ground. Colt fell down beside him on his hands and knees, coughing violently as he tried to get the fresh air into his lungs he so desperately needed.
Kathryn kneeled on the ground beside him. “Colt, are you all right?” Her voice was loud even with the noise of the burning building behind them.
“I’m fine. But, I’m not so sure about him.”
He lifted his head and looked at Kathryn, who was already leaning over the other man to listen for his breathing.
“Constantine!”
Colt closed his eyes as he heard Mercy’s anguished cry behind him. As the woman dropped to the ground beside them, she glanced at Kathryn. “Is he…?”
Kathryn looked at Colt, and he knew without her saying a word that Constantine Brown was dead.
And the sobbing that filled the air just as the sounds of hoofbeats indicated more help had arrived, told Colt that Mercy knew too.
Kathryn watched out the window as the skies finally opened and threw down the rain. A crack of thunder startled her just as the sky lit up, illuminating the figures of the men who’d been working tirelessly for the past hour to keep the fire contained to the barn and not spread farther. She had just about given up hope that they would ever get the fire out, so thankfully, her prayers had been answered.
She walked over to the door of the bedroom where poor Mercy was finally getting some sleep. Thankfully, Doc Jacobs had shown up to fight the fire and had some medicine to help the new widow get some rest.
She peeked in to make sure her friend hadn’t been woken up by the thunder, then pulled the door closed, knowing the men would be coming inside once the fire was completely out. As long as the rain kept up for a while, hopefully the last of the embers would be doused and nothing else would be lost.
The past couple of hours were a blur in her mind as she finally sat down in the rocking chair by the window. Even though Kathryn had only met Constantine a few times, and didn’t really know him well, her heart ached for her friend.
She’d heard a few things from Colt and some others in town over the weeks, that gave her reason to believe Constantine might not have been a good man, especially when it came to his treatment of his wife. But she also knew the grief her friend was feeling was real. Not only had she lost her husband, she was left with a baby on the way, and a future she wasn’t sure of anymore.
Kathryn’s heart ached for the pain and hardship she knew Mercy was now going to be faced with in the months ahead.
As another flash of lightning lit up the sky, her eyes found Colt’s familiar figure among the other men around the barn. The rain was still coming down, leaving a pile of charred rubble and gray ashes on the ground where the fire had once raged. There were still areas with small flames under some of the boards, but within a few more minutes of rain, everything would be put out.
She got up to put some water in the kettle to make the men something warm now they’d be soaked through to the skin. She was still in her nightgown, but Mercy had offered her a tattered dressing gown, so she could cover herself up before any of the men could see her.
Of course, Colt had already seen her that way, but for some reason, it didn’t really bother Kathryn as much as it should. In her heart, she knew she could trust him to not take advantage of her, and he would never make her feel like she’d been improper.
Her cheeks warmed as she remembered their kiss. Even just thinking about it made her heart skip a beat. But as soon as the feeling had hit her, she was slammed with the reality that she’d kissed a married man.
How would she ever be able to look him in the eye again?
She jumped as the door opened, and she dropped the kettle onto the wood stove with a bang. Colt walked through, water dripping from his shoulders, and right behind him were Caleb, Doc Jacobs, and a couple of other men who’d been helping.
“The fire’s pretty much out now, so the rest of the men have headed back home. I’m going to stay here for a bit longer and make sure the embers don’t flare up if you want to get Doc here to take you home.”
Kathryn shook her head and pulled the dressing gown tighter around her. “No, I’m going to stay here with Mercy until she wakes up. I don’t want her to be alone.”
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Caleb nodded as he walked over and grabbed a towel from beside the washing bowl, then started to dry his neck. “That’s likely a good idea. I’ll get Fae to come here first thing to take over sitting with her so you can get home.”
Just then, the door slammed open, and Mrs. Pembrooke burst inside. “I just heard all the ruckus around town about the fire out here. Where is my nephew? Where is Constantine?”
She was disheveled and soaking wet from her ride out to the farm as she looked around frantically at the people inside the house. Her normally perfectly coiffed hair hung limply beneath her sleeping bonnet, and the coat she’d thrown over her nightdress had been hastily tied with one side higher than the other.
Doc Jacobs went over and put his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. “I’m sorry to tell you, Mrs. Pembrooke, but Constantine was inside the barn when it caught fire. He didn’t make it out.”
She glared at them one by one. “Why didn’t you save him? What were you all doing?”
“Mrs. Pembrooke, Colt was the first one here, and he did go in and try saving him, but it was too late.”
But she wasn’t listening to any of them. It looked like rage was now fueled by her grief, and she didn’t want to hear anything they said. She walked over to Colt, her eyebrows pulled together in anger, pointing her finger at his chest.
“You did this. You never liked my Constantine, and you were always trying to take his land. I heard you even fought with him a couple of weeks ago in town, right in front of everyone. It seems very suspicious to me that you were the first one to arrive. How do we know you didn’t set the fire on purpose to get rid of him?”
“Mrs. Pembrooke! You can’t be accusing people of things like that, especially ones who have just spent the best part of the night outside fighting the fire. And, risking their own lives.” Poor Doc Jacobs was trying to calm her down, but she was too angry.
“And where is my nephew’s no-good wife? Maybe she was involved too.”
Love is Patient Page 10
