by Sandy James
Kayla’s brow furrowed. “But why wouldn’t I want to see you? You’ve shown me so much kindness.”
With a shrug, Sara chose not to reply.
“I ain’t saying the men who came here this morning ain’t nice guys,” Caleb said. “But I think you really oughta get to know a man better before you let him drag you to the altar.”
“Ain’t you one for giving advice you don’t take to heart,” Gideon said with an elbow in Caleb’s ribs.
“‘Without counsel plans fail,’” Drew said.
“‘But with many advisors, they succeed,’” Kayla retorted with a lopsided smile.
Drew clapped his hands as a smile lit his face. “A woman who can quote the Bible! That seals the deal. You must come and be with us, Miss Backer. I need someone who understands my love of quotes. The Bard. The Bible. Philosophers. Only Cassie Bishop and our darling Sara play that game with me, but now I shall have you close at hand. Tell me, my dear...do you enjoy the works of William Shakespeare?”
She nodded. “I wish I’d had the opportunity to read more, but I have only had the pleasure of reading Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.”
“Then come to our home,” Drew insisted. “You may use our library—”
“His library,” Gideon added.
“—at your leisure.”
“You have books?” Kayla was practically bouncing on her chair.
“I do,” Drew replied. “And when your duties are completed, you may read to your heart’s content.”
“We got a room on the other side of the kitchen,” Gideon said. “It could be yours if you wanted. Drew and me...um...we sleep upstairs.”
“Got a bed stored in the barn,” Caleb offered. “Cassie used it when she stayed here. Ain’t got no use for it now.”
“Cassie?” Sara tried to bite back the jealousy that threatened to close her throat. She sounded as though she’d swallowed a frog. “Cassie lived here?”
“For a while. A short while.” Caleb rubbed the back of his neck. “She was new in town. Didn’t have nowhere else to go.”
“Are you in the habit of taking in women, Mr. Young?” Kayla asked, her voice as strained as Sara’s. “First you live with this Cassie, then you marry Sara, both while knowing you’d sent for me? Perhaps it is for the best that you were already married when I arrived. I cannot abide by a man who cannot hold to his vows.”
Sara was still struggling with her jealousy. She’d never felt the like before. Envy, perhaps, when she saw another young woman with a fancy new dress or a particularly fashionable hat—things she could never afford.
But this jealousy made her miserable. Her stomach had dropped to her feet, her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and images of slapping Cassie across her pretty little face hit her from every angle. “You were betrothed to Cassie?” She whispered the question to keep herself from shouting her hurt and fury.
“Not betrothed,” Caleb said, his eyes settling on anything but her face. “Not...really.”
“She refused his proposal,” Gideon said.
“She lived here with you but refused to marry you?” Sara’s anger grew as she realized the insult they’d dealt Ty. Cassie was his wife. Had her brother taken Cassie as his bride to save her tattered reputation?
From what Sara had seen, Ty loved his wife. But he’d never shared the story of how he came to be married to her.
Nausea washed over Sara, and she swallowed hard to force the bile back down her throat.
Caleb came to her, settling his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me, Sara. Please?”
She raised her eyes to lock with his.
“I never lived with Cassie. She and Drew stayed in a cabin on the farm when they first got to town. That’s all. I asked her to marry me, but she wanted your brother.”
Although she was still confused, Sara felt her anger ease. Caleb’s sincerity was crystal clear, and just knowing he hadn’t shared a home with Cassie stole away the jealousy.
Love was tricky business and was turning out to be so different than she’d ever expected. Instead of the sunshine, roses, and poems she’d always believed represented love, she’d found worry, fear, and jealousy. Only when she was alone with Caleb, when he could speak freely of his feelings, did she enjoy the emotion and know what inspired the songwriters and poets. The rest of the time, love made her downright miserable.
Oh, yes, love was tricky business.
“You trust me, don’t you, Sara?” Caleb asked.
“I do.”
“Then trust me when I say I ain’t never felt about Cassie the way I feel about you.”
Her husband’s vow stole away the last of her jealousy. She gave him a nod and a wan smile.
“So...” Drew pulled Kayla to her feet. “Will you take us up on our offer?”
“Yes,” Kayla replied. “I do believe I will.”
***
“How did it go in town?” Sara asked as she helped Caleb out of his winter gear. “Where there a lot of men there to meet Kayla?”
“’Bout twenty,” he replied. “All of ’em were good and riled up. Had to break up a couple of fistfights. Reverend David got ’em settled down pretty quickly, though.”
Judging from the amount of snow clinging to him, winter had returned with a vengeance. She didn’t mind if they were soon snowed in. Their pantry was stocked, there was plenty of firewood and lamp oil, and she finally had her husband to herself again.
The drama had drawn to a conclusion.
Kayla’s arrival had frightened Sara more than she chose to share with anyone, especially in light of the woman’s beauty and grace. But Caleb’s intended bride was now with Drew and Gideon, and Sara had Caleb all to herself.
“Heavens. So they didn’t take the news well?” she asked as she draped his wet scarf and hat over the chair to dry.
Caleb snorted as he hung his coat next to hers. “Not very good at all. Dale Jacobs is still mighty angry he ain’t got her to himself.”
“You got her settled in with your brother and Drew?”
He nodded. “She’s outta our hair now, sweetheart.” After he shed the second heavy shirt he’d donned against the cold, he came to tug her into his embrace. “I’m so sorry about all this nonsense.”
“Why would you feel the need to apologize?”
“I’m the one who brought her here and dumped her in your lap.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “I’m sorry for that.”
“You couldn’t have known she’d arrive, Caleb. For all you knew, Reverend Hayes wasn’t a man of his word. So much time had passed since his message, you had to assume she was never coming.”
“I s’pose... Thank you for being so understandin’ about all of it.”
“Thank you for being so understanding. I’m very lucky to have you, Caleb Young.”
Caleb’s lips touched hers—a swift, short kiss that left her wanting more.
A shiver raced the length of his body. “I’m freezing. Let’s go to bed and share some body heat.” As he stared down into her eyes, he gave his eyebrows a suggestive waggle. “Can think of lots of ways to generate some warmth. All of ’em require you and me to be naked.”
Her love for him swept over her, making Sara breathe a contented sigh. Their problems were behind them now. The rest of the winter they could learn more about each other and wait for their child to be born. Life had taken a turn for the better, and she wasn’t a foolish woman. She wouldn’t dare risk this wonderful new life by sharing any of her worries with Caleb.
But she still harbored a few... All of them surrounding her time at The Palace.
Her past would stay firmly in her past. Caleb need never know she’d worked for Crazy Kate. The child Sara carried would be her husband’s by law if not by blood. Even if another man had planted the seed, this baby would only know Caleb as its father.
With a hard swallow, she tried to bury all the difficult memories deep inside her, wanting never to face them again.
Caleb lifted her chin with a crooke
d finger. “Sara? Sweetheart? What’s wrong?”
Pushing the last of her worries aside, she offered him a smile. “For the first time in my life, nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Chapter Nineteen
Spring was always Sara’s favorite time of year. The flowers would force their way through the cold ground, and shoots of green would remind her that the world was in a period of renewal. Rebirth.
A shame the Montana Territory didn’t understand that the winter season was supposed to change...
Sweeping last night’s dusting of snow off her porch steps, Sara stopped to arch her back and relieve the light cramp that had formed. Nearly eight month’s gone, she grew a little more uncomfortable every day. Seemed that all of her weight had shifted low on her hips, and she walked back on her heels like a duck. Caleb even teased her by making quacking sounds whenever she lumbered across the bedroom in the middle of the night to relieve her bladder yet again.
A glance around revealed not a single hope-inspiring spot of green rising from the blanket of snow. April was nearly over and still the snows came. Would the chill never end? As her pregnancy progressed, Sara’s tolerance of the cold plummeted. She draped a shawl around her shoulders constantly, even when the fire burned high, and she’d started wearing two pairs of socks to bed every night. Even Caleb’s warmth couldn’t banish the cold.
Oh, how she wished spring would find its way to Montana.
She glanced up at the sounds of hoof beats, shielding her eyes from the bright morning sunshine that brought little heat with its brilliant rays. Ty was riding a Bay up the long road to her home. She finished sweeping away the snow, propped the broom against a post, and waited for Ty to dismount.
One look at his face told her something was wrong. While Ty wasn’t much for smiling, the scowl he wore today was worse than his usual cynical expression.
“What’s happened?” she asked before he’d finished tying up his horse. “Is Cassie ill? Is Diana ill?”
“Cassie and the baby ain’t sick.” The anger she’d seen in his eyes was now fixed firmly on her. “Just heard there’s a new man in town.”
“I fail to see how a new resident of White Pines has you so distressed.”
“He’s asking about you.”
“Me? Who on earth—?” Sara’s heart leapt, slamming against her ribcage so hard she could barely breathe.
“Don’t know,” Ty replied. “Ain’t seen him yet. I’m ridin’ to town to find out but figured you’d want some warning. The bastard rode into town yesterday. Adam Morgan talked to him. Told me about him this morning because Adam thought he was so peculiar. The man was askin’ all around about a woman. He ain’t using your name, but—”
“Then how do you know he’s searching for me?”
“He’s looking for a dark-haired woman who came from Denver last autumn named Princess.”
Princess. The name Crazy Kate had chosen for Sara to use with the customers. It had been an insult heaped on her the day Jean-Claude had sold her to the madam. Kate wanted Sara to realize how far she’d fallen in the world so she could keep Sara under her boot heel.
Sara’s mind whirled and twirled so fast she suddenly found herself lightheaded. Gasping for breath, she leaned heavily against the post, knocking down the broom.
“Sara?” Ty grabbed her arm. “You gonna swoon?”
“I–I don’t know.” She slowly bent her knees until she could sit on the porch step. “No...I...I...”
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to try to regain some control. The baby was kicking hard, as though he could feel her panic. She rested her hand on her burgeoning belly, trying to soothe her child. And herself.
Her world had come crashing down around her. The past had somehow managed to resurrect from the grave where she’d assumed it would stay buried. Now, it was lumbering at her like one of the undead she’d heard about when a girl from New Orleans, a Creole, worked at The Palace. The stories had frightened Sara to the point of nightmares.
Seemed her nightmares were now coming true. There weren’t people rising from their tombs. No, her past was the zombie that would relentlessly search her out and threaten the life she now lived. Should Caleb discover her secret, that life would be coming to an end.
Dear God, what will I do?
“Sara?” Ty crouched down to bring his eyes level to hers. “What are we gonna do to fix this?”
“We?”
His anger visibly grew. “Of course we. You’re my sister, ain’t you?”
She nodded even though she knew there was nothing Ty could do to help her.
“We’ll fix this,” he said, his tone worthy of a vow.
She nodded again despite her fears and then tried to stand. Her bulk made the task difficult, but he helped her to her feet with a gentle hand on her elbow.
“If I can find Caleb, I’ll bring him back with me. We can talk to him about what the man wants from you.”
“No! Caleb can’t know!”
“Think, Sara. Ain’t it better coming from you than hearin’ about your past from gossips?”
Although Ty was right, she couldn’t imagine confessing to her husband. She’d lose him. For good.
Why had this man come? Why now, when her life was magical and perfect?
Who was he anyway?
A face flashed in her mind, and she suddenly knew exactly who’d come to White Pines.
Drake. The man she’d robbed.
Oh, yes... Her theft of his payroll had prompted him to hunt her down. Not that she blamed him. It had been a healthy sum. But the patience and persistence it must have taken to find her were staggering to the imagination.
“Do you know his name?” Sara asked.
Ty shook his head. “Adam didn’t say.” Heading back to his horse, he threw himself into the saddle before glaring down at her. “Don’t you go thinkin’ about going into town on your own. I’ll go for Caleb first, then I’ll hunt that other rascal down.”
“The stranger’s name is Drake. I’m sure it’s Drake.”
“How do you know that?”
“He has a good reason to come for me. I–I...” Tears blurred her vision. “I stole his payroll, Ty. That’s how I paid my way to get here.”
“How could he find you?”
“I don’t know... Crazy Kate? She always told me the walls had eyes and ears. Perhaps she told him my plans.”
“You must’a stolen a lot to make him come all this way.”
“He had the payroll for his whole staff.”
Ty let out a low whistle. “Where’s it now?”
“Spent some of it on the train and stage coach. I buried the rest in my flowerbed.”
“Well, dig it up. We’ll offer him what you’ve got left and find a way to pay the rest.”
“You’ve got to get to Drake first. He can’t talk to Caleb.”
Thankfully, she saw no condemnation in her brother’s eyes. “I’ll find him...and I’ll shut his damn mouth. I promise, Sara. I’ll protect you. But you’ve gotta come clean with Caleb. It’s the only way to make things better. Don’t let him hear it from that Drake feller.”
She dropped her gaze to where her hand rested on her belly. If she let Ty see her eyes, she worried he would realize any promise she made to stay put would be a lie. She had to dig up that money and find Drake first, to talk to him, to show him there was more at stake than money.
How could she possibly pay him back? It wasn’t as if she could go to her husband and tell him she was not only a whore but a thief and that she needed money to pay off her last customer for stealing from him?
No matter what Ty said, she couldn’t tell Caleb. She just couldn’t.
“I’ll be back before sundown,” Ty said. “Where’s Caleb anyway?”
“He’s at Gideon’s. Their mare was having a difficult time foaling. He went to help. He was going to go into town after to... Oh, God. Drake will tell him! He’ll find Caleb and tell him!”
“I’ll ride for Gideon’s
to try and find Caleb first.” Without a farewell, Ty reined his horse around and headed back down the road.
Sara watched him leave, shivering in fear and dread.
She wanted to be sure Ty was gone for good before she did what she knew needed to be done. Time passed in agonizing slowness until his image had disappeared. Only then did she move.
She was going to dig up the money from the flowerbed and find Drake first. It was the only solution. She would find him and promise to pay him back. Somehow. He’d agree. He just had to. There was too much at stake for him to refuse. She’d find a way to make him understand.
First, she ran to the barn. She was so upset it took it forever to find the spade. When she did, she went straight to the flowerbed that was currently nothing but a snow-covered patch of bare ground.
Cassie was going to help Sara plant marigolds when it turned warmer. And then tulip and crocus bulbs in the fall. Seemed karmic that the little area was nothing but barren—the same thing her heart would be should she lose Caleb.
The dirt was frozen. She found that out when she tried to stab the spade into the dirt. The metal barely scratched the snowy surface. Again and again she tried to force the spade to move the earth. Each time it refused.
Sara tried one last time. Lifting the spade high in front of her, she slammed it into the dirt with both hands. At least this time it pierced the surface, but this would be a long, difficult process at best. There had to be a better way.
She let out a frustrated cry, clenching her hands into fists and wanting to hit something. How was she supposed to fight the frozen flowerbed when it refused to yield?
Whirling on her heel, she hoped Caleb had a pickax in the barn. Three running steps away, she slid on a patch of ice and went down. Hard.
Flat on her back, Sara gasped for breath. She’d struck her head on one of the mountain stones she and Caleb had used to line the path to the barn. Pain crashed over her entire body in waves that seemed unrelenting, and the world swum in a vortex of twisting colors and cold winds.
Lifting a shaking hand, she felt for the injured spot on her head but stopped when another sensation appeared. Something hot and wet rushed between her thighs.
