"Funny thing about that," he said, pulling her forward and into his arms, “Home is that way.” He nodded toward the direction of Gold Sky. “You want to tell me where you’re really going?”
* * *
Julie remained silent the entire ride back to Gold Sky. Wedged as she was between Forrest and the pommel of his saddle, she kept her gaze down when they encountered curious looks from the townsfolk along the way. She knew their interest was piqued because while Gold Sky had expected to see Forrest riding into town at any time given the uncertain nature of his work, it was quite another thing for Julie to be with him when he did so.
Julie only turned to look at Forrest over her shoulder when he directed his horse towards the sheriff’s office and not the lane that led toward the ranch.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To check in with Will,” he said, looking down at her with a frown. His normally bright blue eyes were clouded now, full of an emotion that Julie couldn’t quite place, but she had an inkling that it was akin to betrayal.
“I can stay here,” she said, toying with the cuff of her gloves. Anything but look up and meet those troubled eyes of his.
“Rather you not.” Forrest rubbed a hand along the bridge of his nose and reached up for her with a pinched look on his face.
“But—”
“Not going in without you and that’s final.” His big hands closed around her waist, pulling her close. He didn’t trust her. It was all over his handsome face, and Julie found it broke her heart to see.
“Very well.” Julie tipped her chin down. She was content to follow Forrest up the stairs, just a step behind him, but he surprised her when he caught her hand and tugged her close, a calloused thumb rubbing the back of her gloved hand. She looked up at him at the tender gesture, but Forrest’s eyes focused on the door ahead of them, his jaw firmly set, so she said nothing and entered the sheriff’s station with him.
Julie wasn’t sure what she would feel when she looked at Will. She hadn’t anticipated ever doing it again, having feigned sleep when he had set out for work that morning. It had been torture to have the last image of him, in her memories, being of him in conversation with Rosemary. She had thought she might be angry with him, but she wasn’t.
Instead, Julie felt an overwhelming sadness when she took in his handsome face. He drank a cup of coffee at his desk with a stack of reports in one hand. A smile spread over his face when he saw Forrest, Julie looked away before she could see what his face would do when he saw her. She didn’t have it in her to take it if his smiled faltered even in the slightest. It was torture to analyze a husband’s expression for evidence of real affection, and Julie found she had no taste for it after the week she had tried her hand at it.
“Forrest! Wasn’t expecting y’all’d be off the case this soon. You just missed the dance.” Will set his coffee cup on the desk with a jovial smile. “You go by the house already?” he asked, his eyes going to Julie, who still avoided looking at him.
“No," Forrest sighed, rocking back on his heels, “hadn’t had the chance just yet. Barely got into town just a few minutes ago.”
“Well, lucky you ran into Julie on the way in.” Will came to stand beside her. “You feel better after a good night's sleep? I didn't wake you this morning, did I?”
“Ah, yes.” Julie nodded, eyes darting up to his face for a moment before she looked away again. “Much better. Thank you.”
“She hasn’t been sleeping?” Forrest asked, his eyes moving over her face like he was inspecting her for damage. "What's wrong?"
“Just under the weather,” Julie said, keeping her voice even. She wouldn’t bring up her pregnancy, not yet. “And the dance, it’s been tiring.”
“That was last night.” Will waved a hand. “I expect she’ll settle back into herself soon enough.”
Forrest crossed his arms. “There a trip planned in that settling?”
Julie barely dared to breathe at that, but said nothing while Will frowned in confusion.
“Trip? What trip?” he asked, his gray eyes moving to her in question. Julie took a small step away from the men as Forrest spoke again.
“I’m not sure on the particulars of that, to be truthful.” Forrest turned so that he faced Julie. “Though Julie does.”
“Wha-what is he talking about?” Will asked finally, taking in the uncomfortable posture Julie had assumed. She crossed her arms and sidled away from the pair of men, opting to put the desk between them as she spoke.
“I just thought a change of scenery would be beneficial.”
“What?” Forrest and Will asked in such perfect union that Julie had to stifle a pained sigh.
“Came home and found her on her way out of town with a bag of clothes,” Forrest said with a nod at Julie. A look of disbelief crossed Will’s face at the news. "Took her right off the coach. If I hadn't, she would be halfway to Butte City by now."
“Where were you going?” Will asked. The question was like a dagger through her heart. He sounded concerned, worried even, so much so that Julie let out a nervous giggle at the preposterous thought.
“Home. I was going home.”
“This is your home.” Will waved an arm around the sheriff's office. “You belong here.”
“No, I do not,” Julie shot back, finally daring to meet her husband’s eyes. “I belong back home in New York City and that—that’s where I was going until—”
“Until I found you and ruined your plans to run off?” Forrest had both hands on his hips as he glared at her. It was startling to see such a hard look on his face, so tender were the looks he usually gave her, that she took a half step back.
“You don’t understand,” she told him, fingers twisting in her skirts.
“Then tell me,” Forrest said, rounding the desk to stand before her. “When I left things were rough. That's true enough, but that doesn’t mean you run from us.”
“I wasn’t running,” Julie said, but there was no conviction in her words. She had been running scared, and they all knew it.
“Then what do you call being on a coach with a packed bag on your way to the railroad depot?!” Forrest exploded. Julie gasped in shock and backpedaled so quickly she stumbled when the heel of her boot caught on the lip of an uneven floorboard.
“Forrest…” Will surprised her when he stepped between them and put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Take it easy.”
“No!” Forrest shoved Will’s hand off with a scowl, a scowl that pinned Julie to the spot where she leaned against the wall for support, her heart beating fast in her chest.
“Where did you think you were going?! You would—” His voice cracked, and he ripped the hat off his head with a shuddering breath. “You would be gone if I hadn’t seen you in the window,” he finished a slightly calmer voice.
“Yes,” Julie swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, I would be.”
“But why, little bird?” Forrest dropped down onto the desk beside him with a thud. “Why are you trying to fly away from us?”
“I don’t belong here,” Julie whispered, her eyes on the floor. “It would be better, for everyone, if I left. If we annulled the marriage.”
“Why would you say that?” Forrest demanded, lifting his head through his shoulders still slumped in defeat.
“I told you—I don’t—” she began, and the blond man waved a hand at her.
“If you say you don’t belong here one more time I will lose my damn mind, Julie.” He clenched and unclenched his jaw. “When I left, you were happy, things were going well, we were—we were starting to be happy. All of us.” He paused and looked at Will then.
“What happened? What changed that?” he asked the other man.
“Nothing.” Will sighed crossing his arms. “I thought,” he shook his head, “I thought I was making her happy. Doing what was needed to make her happy here.”
Julie’s cheeks burned hot. There it was again. What was needed. She was a duty to be managed, an o
ffering to Forrest that needed to be maintained in his absence while Will denied his own desire for another woman.
“Well, you are relieved of your duty, sir," she said with as much pride as she could manage. “I aim to board the train in Butte City as soon as possible and return to New York City.”
“The hell you are," Will told her with an arched eyebrow.
“You cannot presume to tell me what to do.”
“I can and I will. We will.” Will jerked his head between himself and Forrest before he said, “You aren’t going anywhere, Jules. That's final.”
Julie blanched at his order and straightened her posture.
“I do not have to listen to you," she said, her voice icy.
“That’s not what the law says about wives,” Will shot back, making her gasp in outrage.
“How dare you!” she yelled at him, throwing as much venom into her glare as possible, but the effect made Will throw his head back and laugh.
“You’re beautiful when you’re riled. Even more so when you think you’ve got a fighting chance against the pair of us.”
“I am leaving for New York, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it,” Julie spat back, already bustling toward the door with a haughty toss of her head. “Good day, gentlemen. I trust you’ll send along my things when it’s convenient.”
“Get back here this instant, little bird,” Forrest growled, standing. Julie didn’t listen and threw open the door. It was now or never, and she didn’t aim to allow the men to stop her a second time.
She descended the stairs, already working out how to pull her bag down from where Forrest had secured it on the saddle when a strong hand caught her wrist.
“Let go of me!” Julie jerked her arm back, but before she could gain any ground, she found herself being swung up and over Forrest’s shoulder.
“Unhand me! Put me down!,” she screamed, attracting attention from the other citizens staring at their school teacher and sheriffs’ display of less than blissful matrimony.
“It’ll be a cold day before I let you go, little bird," he told her, striding back into the station. He kicked the door shut behind him and set her down on her feet. Forrest jerked the deadbolt of the door in place and hiked a thumb at the empty jail cell in the corner.
“You keep trying to make a run for it, and I'll put you in a cell. Don't make me do it, Julie.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she gasped in outrage.
“Oh, I would, if it means keeping my wife safe and not running off to God knows where without me,” Forrest thundered back at her.
“New York isn’t God knows where and it’s certainly more civilized than this town!”
“Not setting a foot outside of Gold Sky without us and that’s final.” Forrest took a step toward her and Julie willed herself not to move as he did so. She was angry with him for stopping her, for ruining her plans of escape, but she was also struggling not to burst into grateful tears and throw herself into her beautiful husband’s arms, because he had come for her. He had stopped her. He refused to her let her go, and as much as Julie knew it wasn't fair of her to cling to the hope it gave her, she did with a fierce desperation.
And it was all she could do to stop herself from crumbling, to become weak when faced with those summer sky eyes that begged her for an explanation, that willed her not to say she wanted to leave, that reminded her that she loved him and vice versa.
It was a tall order, but she managed. She barely pulled it off with a glare and would have challenged him to make good on his threat to lock her up if Will hadn’t spoken.
“You’re not going any place with our child in you.”
She snapped her mouth shut and focused all of her hurt from the night before at him. Suddenly, all the emotions she had been holding back escaped in a rush.
Julie let out a bitter laugh. “Do not pretend to care.”
“I do,” Will began, walking toward her now that Forrest had stumbled back half a step with a dazed expression on his face.
“You’re with child?” he asked, voice full of wonder in a way that made Julie's heart ache.
“I—yes—I’m not sure.” Julie shook her head, choosing to answer Forrest’s question rather than meet Will’s steady gaze.
Forrest shook his head as if waking from a dream with a smile spreading over his face. “This is a miracle.” He laughed then, his eyes dropping to her stomach, though he froze a second later. “Oh, Christ! I threw you over my shoulder. The baby!” His hands went to his head, and he pulled on his hair in frustration. “I’m so sorry, are you all right? I didn't hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” Julie told him, unable to stop the smile on her lips at his reaction to the news. “I’m not even sure if I’m pregnant. I could be just sick.”
“You’re pregnant,” Will told her with a sure look.
Julie raised an eyebrow in challenge. “How do you know?”
“Experience,” was all Will said with an impassive look on his face.
“Clarissa?” Julie asked before she could stop herself, and if she had thought herself proficient in understanding Will’s reactions, she was wholly unprepared for the look of fury that crossed Will’s face as she uttered the name.
“What did you say?” he asked in a deathly quiet voice.
Julie looked to the side to see that Forrest hadn’t heard her question or Will’s answer. In fact, the other man gazed up at the ceiling with a wide grin on his face as he laughed to himself. “A baby!”
“I said, what did you say.” Will took a step toward her.
“I, ah.” Julie swallowed hard and cursed herself for not thinking before she spoke. “I asked if it was because of Clarissa.”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Rosemary,” Julie whispered, feeling like prey caught in the stare of a predator. Will paced toward her, his body rigid, and she was nervous as to what he would do next.
“Last night, I just, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought her up.” Julie lowered her eyes, not wanting to meet his gaze. Forrest’s arms wrapped her up and pulled her against him.
“You want to see your Ma, don’t you?” he asked with a gentle look on his face. “That’s why you wanted to go home, wasn’t it?” Forrest’s eyes were warm, understanding, and Julie hurt at the sight.
“Forrest…” She bit her lip and looked away from her husband’s earnest gaze.
“It’s okay to be scared, but we’ll make sure you’re safe. Gonna take care of you and, the little one. Whatever we need to do to keep you healthy and happy. The both of you.”
“Forrest, please, I have to go back to New York.”
Forrest gave her a smile and kept speaking, ignoring Julie’s protest. “I know the doctors out here aren’t usually the best, but we’ll fix that. I don’t care if I have to put one on private retainer.”
“No, Forrest.”
“Darlin’ it won’t be any trouble to do it. And—”
Julie put her hands on his chest and pushed him back an inch. “I cannot stay here.”
“Julie—”
“No!” The outburst startled even her, and she pressed a hand against her mouth with a ragged breath. “No,” she said again, “I want to go home.”
“I don’t understand.” Forrest gave her a confused look. “This is your home. What are you not telling us?”
His wounded blue eyes pierced Julie to her core, but she shook her head, forcing herself to stay resolved in her campaign to leave Gold Sky as soon as she was able. She couldn’t stay here another minute with these men, or she wouldn’t be able to do it.
“It’s because of me,” Will said, stepping forward next to Forrest. He put a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “She’s leaving on account of me.”
“What? Why?” Forrest looked at Will in surprise.
“She found out about Clarissa.”
Forrest’s eyes briefly closed and he let out a silent curse. “How?”
“Rosemary told me," Julie supplied q
uietly.
“She had no right,” Forrest snapped, his eyes hard. “It’s not what you think, little bird. We swear it.”
“I don’t care that Will was married before, or that he—he has experience with,” she paused, bit her lip, and gestured to herself, “knowing when a woman is with child because of it. That isn’t why I’m leaving.”
“Sister was a midwife," Will curtly cut in, his lips turned down in a frown. “That’s how I know about women and babies.”
“Oh.” Julie nodded dumbly at that new bit of information.
“Oh,” Will shot back with a tip of his head.
Forrest rolled his eyes and held up a hand, breaking the staring match the other two engaged in. “Now tell us again. Why are you leaving?”
Julie dragged her eyes from Will’s unwavering stare and said, “I have never been one to keep someone from what they truly desire.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Will blurted out.
“You know what it means,” Julie shot back, earning a snort from Will.
“The hell I do, woman!”
This time Julie rolled her eyes. “You very well know what I mean, William.”
“Oh, William is it? We’re back to that?”
Julie opened her mouth to retort, but Forrest waved his hands, breaking up the sparring match between his spouses.
“She means Rosemary, goddammit. Stop being so damn obtuse, Will."
“What?” Will frowned in surprise and Julie’s mouth snapped shut. He looked at her when she said nothing else. “Jules?”
“What?” she asked, eyes still looking anywhere but at him.
“You’re running off because of Rosemary?!” Will asked incredulously. A beat of silence passed before Julie sighed and met his eyes.
“Yes.”
“That’s—that…” Will took a quick step forward as he struggled with his words. “That has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Julie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Pardon me?”
“That woman isn’t anyone to me,” Will told her, still closing the space between them even as Julie continued to back up.
“She bakes you pies.”
Will shrugged, taking another slow, measured step forward. “Got a sweet tooth. Everyone knows that.”
Heart and Hand: Gold Sky Series Page 20
