“I hated to bother you, but if you want to have your pie at Ellie’s, we need to get a move on. I want to get home in time to take care of the animals before it gets dark.”
Home. Meg looked up at him, wondering if her place was beginning to feel like home, or if it was just a chance choice of words.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to fall asleep.”
“Don’t be,” he told her, getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. “You needed the rest.”
Without even pausing, Meg placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. As she stood, her foot caught in the hem of her skirt and she stumbled into him. His arm went around her. All her senses were besieged by the essence of him. His unique outdoorsy scent. His touch. His strength.
One hand rested on his forearm; the other was against his chest. The muscles beneath her palms were rock-solid. She looked into his eyes and saw cautious awareness. Drawing in a shaky breath didn’t help. Instead of calming her, she inhaled the warm scent she always associated with him. She imagined she could hear the beat of his heart, but realized that it was more likely the blood thundering in her own veins.
“Where’s Teddy?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“He and my mother are on their way. She was trying to land a pretty big perch when I came to wake you.”
As if on cue, Teddy came running up from behind Ace, calling, “Mama. Mama. I caught a fish, but it was too little to keep.”
Relief warred with disappointment at the interruption. She forced a smile she hoped showed pleasure at his announcement. “That’s wonderful, Teddy.”
“Ace says we can fish another day before it gets too cold.”
“Good.” She looked from him to the other adults standing nearby. Nita was watching her closely. She bent to wake Lucy. “Let’s clear all this up and head back to town. I’m craving a piece of Ellie’s chocolate pie.”
Chapter Thirteen
The trip back into town took less than five minutes. Ace was tying the rig to the hitching post, and Meg and Nita were unloading the kids from the wagon, when a feminine voice spoke from behind them.
“Well, well, look who’s in town for a nice little family outing.”
Meg froze. She would recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to none other than her mother, Georgina Ferris. Meg cast an anguished look at Nita, who glanced at the newcomer and said, “I’ll take the children on inside if you like.”
“Please,” Meg said through stiff lips.
Nita held out her hand and Teddy obediently placed his into it, sparing his grandmother nothing but a brief glance.
“Oh, don’t take them in,” Georgina whined to Nita’s back. “Let me have a look at them. I haven’t seen them since right after Lucy was born.”
And that was just how Meg wanted it.
Nita paused, glancing from the older woman to Meg.
“Take them on in, please.” She glanced at Ace, who was standing on the other side of the gray mare, clenching his hands so tightly in the horse’s mane that his knuckles were white. The expression on his face resembled a dark thunderhead before a storm.
Meg gave him a shaky smile and braced herself for the scene to come. She turned slowly to face the woman who had given birth to her, but had never been a mother. The man who had taken her father’s place in her mother’s life stood beside Georgie. Tall and gaunt, the sack suit Charlie Green wore hung on his thin body and looked exactly like the sack from which it took its name. The two of them had always reminded Meg of what she imagined nursery-rhyme character Jack Sprat and his wife might look like. She smothered a nervous giggle at the thought.
Charlie’s gaze was fixed on Ace.
As usual, Georgina was dressed far too flashily for Wolf Creek. Her bright emerald green dress was sewn from satin and trimmed with delicate lace. Quick to indulge her every appetite, she’d always been overweight, but Meg thought her mother’s face looked thinner than the last time she’d seen her. Still, whatever style statement she hoped to make with the shelf bustle was undermined by the extra pounds it added. Meg was relieved to see that the bodice was made more or less decent by the lace tucker edging its low cut.
Her straight blond hair, so much like Meg’s, was twisted and curled into an elaborate style that was inappropriate for a woman her age. A satin hat, the exact color of her dress and adorned with a cluster of pink velvet roses and three pheasant feathers, sat at a cocky angle atop the tortured mass. A fake emerald hat pin held it in place.
Her face was dusted with powder at least a hue too light, and her eyebrows were enhanced by a charcoal stick. Bright color rode high on her cheekbones, and lip rouge in a deep carmine hue gave her lips a full, pouty look.
“Hello, Georgie,” Meg said, calling her mother by the name she preferred over “Ma.” Her voice held a definite chill as she acknowledged her mother’s companion. “Charlie.”
Addressing her mother once more, she said, “I heard you’ve been ill, but you’re looking...like your old self.”
“Can’t keep a good woman down,” Georgie said with a cheeky grin. “I heard you were in town, and I was hoping to run into you.” She held her arms wide. “Come give your mama a hug.”
Meg stood firmly in place. She didn’t think she could have moved to save her life. The small act of rebellion made her the focus of Charlie’s attention.
“You heard your mother, girl. Get over here!”
Without a word, Ace stepped around the hitching post and took his place beside Meg.
Georgie’s nostrils flared in anger, even though the green eyes that looked Ace up and down held a glimmer of admiration. Her mama had never failed to appreciate the attributes of an attractive man.
“I think we passed the hugging stage years ago, Georgie,” Meg said, praying that she could hold herself together for a few more minutes.
“Still have that mouth on you, I see,” Georgie said with a put-upon sigh.
When Meg had gotten old enough to understand her mother’s behavior for what it was, she’d felt no qualms about taking Georgie to task about it. All it had earned her was a smack across the face and a moment’s satisfaction.
“I heard about Elton’s...murder.” Georgina coughed delicately into a lacy handkerchief and then cast a look of wide-eyed innocence at Ace. “Is this who killed him?”
Even from two feet away, Meg felt the coiling of angry tension that vibrated through Ace’s body. Without thinking, she reached out, her hand finding his unerringly. She meshed her fingers with his. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t return the pressure, either.
Georgina’s knowing gaze moved from their clasped hands to Meg’s face, a shrewd smile curving her painted lips.
“Do you speak?” Charlie taunted, ever the agitator.
“When I have something to say.”
“If you heard Elton was murdered, you heard wrong, Georgie,” Meg said, hoping to correct her mother’s impression and defuse the antagonism between the two men. She was pleased to hear that her voice shook only the tiniest bit. “But yes, Ace is the one who saved Sheriff Garrett’s life. And probably mine.”
Georgina shifted her gaze from Ace to Meg. “I did hear that you were hurt pretty bad, poor thing, but it looks like you’re doing just fine now. You need to put a little meat on your bones, though. You’re as skinny as a scarecrow. Men don’t like bony women.”
Once again, she shot Ace a sly glance. Heaving an exaggerated sigh, she shook her head in a display of sadness as fake as the emerald holding her hat in place. “I tried to tell you to think twice before you married Elton, baby girl. Those Thomerson men all have simply terrible tempers.”
“You may recall that there was a reason or two that I married him,” Meg reminded her, determined to hold her own with her mother. She pinned Charlie with a hard, accusing look.
&nb
sp; “Oh, yes,” Georgina said, tapping her lips with a long fingernail. “Teddy was on the way.”
She glanced at Ace, and when she saw no surprise on his face, she changed tactics. “So you’re sharing all your deep dark secrets now, are you? Well, bravo! I’ve always thought it best to get everything out in the open if you hope to have a good understanding with your man.”
Answering would be futile. Instead, Meg watched her mother warily.
Georgie’s cool gaze never left Meg’s as she waggled her gloved fingers at Charlie. “Run along and get the wagon, Charles. I’m almost done here.”
Meg’s heart began to race. Georgie had decided to stop toying around. She intended to draw blood. Who knew what she might say or do next?
Charlie’s glare moved from Meg to Georgina, but he did as she asked. No one spoke until he was on the other side of the street.
“I promised my children a treat, Georgie,” Meg said. “I need to go.” Never releasing Ace’s hand, she turned to do just that.
Before she could take more than a step, cruel fingers bit into her upper arm and hauled her back around. She inhaled sharply at the venom she saw in her mother’s eyes.
“Don’t go high and mighty on me, missy,” she said in a low, harsh voice. “You might fool the town with your little story about him—” she gave a jerk of her head toward Ace “—staying at the farm to help you, but you don’t fool me. Blood will tell, darlin’. You’ll always be that wicked Georgie Ferris’s daughter. Like it or not, you’re just like me.”
Meg’s blood ran cold at the thought. A trembling seemed to start in her very soul. “You’re wrong, Georgie. I’m nothing like you. I’ll never be like you.”
“Think what you will. Everyone knows the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.” Her eyes narrowed. “And let me tell you another thing. There may have been a lot of men in my life, but I never lowered myself to carry on with the likes of him!”
Her meaning couldn’t have been clearer to Meg. Georgie was saying she’d never shared her favors with an Indian. She released Meg’s arm, giving her a little shove that pushed her against Ace.
The curve of Georgina’s lips was an awful parody of a smile. She grabbed up the emerald satin of her skirt and stomped across the dusty street.
Meg was too stunned to do anything but watch her go. Georgie had always liked a grand exit.
* * *
As soon as Georgina Ferris walked off, Ace felt the tension in him begin to slip away. Standing there listening to the venom spewing from the loathsome woman’s lips and not taking up for Meg—and himself—was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, but something told him that handling her mother was something Meg needed to do herself. Besides, it wasn’t his place. He was only the hired help.
He pulled his hand free and took her shoulders so that he could turn her to face him. Faint tremors still shivered through her, the result of her anger and pain. As she looked up at him, a single tear slid down her pale cheek. Unable to deny himself the need to touch her, he reached out and brushed away the moisture with a calloused thumb. He ached to pull her close and offer her whatever comfort she would allow him to give and knew he couldn’t.
“Are you all right?”
She tried to smile and failed. “Not really.”
“Would you like to go home?”
She drew in an unsteady breath. “No,” she said with a defiant lift of her chin. “I’m choosing not to let my past shape my feelings or my life anymore. Today is a day for fun and treats, and I won’t let Georgie Ferris ruin that for me.”
This time her smile was steadier. She shook out her skirt, lifted her chin and smoothed back the silky strands of golden hair that had come loose from her braid. Then, looking as confident as her mother, but in a different way, she caught up her skirt and strode toward the wooden walkway, tossing him a resolute look over her shoulder.
“What kind of pie do you think Ellie has today?”
* * *
There wasn’t much talk during the trip back home. The children were exhausted from their exciting day. Always planning ahead, his mother had brought some quilts to make a pallet in the back of the wagon, where she snuggled with Teddy and Lucy, since the temperature dropped steadily as the sun slipped toward the horizon.
Meg sat next to Ace on the front seat, lost in thought. That was good, since he had a lot to say and it wasn’t the time to say it.
His heart felt as if it had been shredded. He’d known that reality would set in sooner or later, and on some level, he’d suspected that things would become clear to her when they showed up in town together. He’d never imagined it would be Meg’s mother who would point out the very obvious truth.
The encounter with Georgina proved beyond a doubt what he’d been trying to make Meg see about his background and how people would treat her if they allowed their feelings for each other to grow into something strong and lasting.
She’d had enough heartache and pain in her life, and as much as he knew he loved her and wanted nothing more than to make a life with her and her children on her little farm, he knew it was impossible. He’d hurt enough people he loved in his lifetime, and he refused to add Meg to the list.
It was time to move on. He’d done pretty much everything he’d promised to do. Maybe he’d implied he’d stay longer, but there had been no set time frame. She was much better physically, and with his mother around to help with things, Meg would be okay.
The only thing left to do was decide when he was going.
* * *
Well, Meg thought, staring down at the hands clasped in her lap. Today had certainly been one for the books! A wonderful day in many respects, but the run-in with her mother had almost ruined everything.
She thought of Georgie’s insinuation that there was more between her and Ace than him helping her through a bad spot. Did the fact that she and Elton had been forced to marry incline other people to believe the worst of her? For the first time, she began to really consider how a person’s actions, both good and bad, could affect not only their lives, but also the lives of everyone they knew. Like the way her mother’s sordid life had colored her own decisions. How her mistake with Elton would be talked about even when her children were grown.
Sometimes even good things had bad results. Irishman Yancy Allen had loved a Cherokee girl enough to marry her, yet the world had looked down upon that union and the child born of it. Those things had influenced Ace. Poor Yancy had had no idea that something as simple as loving someone would cause heartache years later for his own flesh and blood and a woman he didn’t even know.
Meg sighed and knew without looking that Ace had shot her a curious glance. She knew him well enough by now to know a lot of things about him, like the fact that Georgie’s comment about Meg “carrying on” with him was a weapon chosen to inflict pain on them both. Her mother knew—had always known—what to say to cut Meg to the heart.
When would she stop letting Georgina Ferris hurt her? When would she find the courage to rise above her past and stop thinking of herself as inferior? Ace said she was courageous, that she had done well at making the best of things, but she still felt shame every time she thought of her mother’s way of life and the way Elton’s escapades would be fodder for the town’s gossip mill for years to come, bringing misery to her and their children.
Ace said he didn’t want her to suffer the way he and his family had suffered. Well, today should have shown him that his past was no worse than hers. She was beginning to understand what he meant when he told her she needed time to heal and to make certain she didn’t need anyone before choosing to share her life with another man. She had no desire to rush into anything. She’d done that once. She needed to talk to Ace about what she was feeling. Really talk.
* * *
When they reached the farm, Ace unhitched the mar
e and took care of the evening chores while Nita sliced bacon and fried it for their dinner. Lucy was whiny, and Teddy was cranky. Meg got them ready for bed early and fixed Teddy a quick sandwich with the bacon and the leftover biscuits, while Nita fried Lucy an egg.
After the children ate, Meg brushed their teeth and tucked them in. They were both asleep by the time Ace finished outside. Like the ride home, the meal was mostly silent.
It wasn’t until he finished and went out to his bed in the barn and Meg and Nita were cleaning up the supper dishes that the older woman finally turned to Meg and said, “Maybe it’s none of my business, but I’m curious about what happened after I took the children inside Ellie’s.”
Meg finished drying a plate and turned to face her. “My mother did what she’s so very good at doing. She made me feel small and unimportant and...dirty.”
“She must have hinted that there was something going on between you and Ace,” Nita said.
“How did you know that?”
“No offense to you, but I’ve known a few people like her during my life and they all seem to think alike and act alike. Deep down, they’re unhappy, and everything they do is meant to make someone else feel bad so that they can feel better about themselves.”
Nita’s comment gave Meg pause. She’d never considered the idea of her mother being unhappy, especially when everything she did said otherwise. “She told me I was just like her, that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Because of Elton, I guess, and what she thinks is going on between me and Ace.”
Instead of taking offense, Nita laughed. “I’ve only known you a short time, child, and I can say with no hesitation that you are nothing like your mother—if she’s anything like the rumors about her.”
Urging a half smile to her lips, Meg turned to stack the plate with the others. “Thank you, Nita. And let me tell you...she’s all and more that you’ve no doubt heard.”
“Well, that’s too bad for you. But it’s even worse for her.”
Meg gave Nita a sharp glance. “What do you mean?”
Wolf Creek Widow (Wolf Creek, Arkansas Book 4) Page 18
