A Love to Last Forever (22 page)

“But with the right person, you might very well enjoy living as I do.”

She shook her head. “What kind of life is that for a lady?”

“Then what if I told you I would give up my job? I could find something else to do with my life and settle in one place.”

Beth wished he would just give up. She wanted to tell him to go away—to forget about her—but how could she do it in a polite manner that wouldn’t seem cruel?

The sound of a wagon approaching drew Beth’s attention. They weren’t expecting a stage, yet one was clearly making its way around the curve of the road.

“Oh dear,” she said, hurrying for the door. “Gwen, we have a stage.” She rushed inside. “I don’t know how many people are on board, but there’s at least the driver and his shotgun.”

Gwen jumped up from the table. “Lacy, put on some more coffee, then get out the leftover roast and we’ll slice it for sandwiches. I’ll get some more bread.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Beth, you greet the visitors and show them to the table.”

“Can I help?” Adrian asked.

Gwen shook her head. “I believe we’ll have everything under control shortly.”

Beth went back to the front porch just as the driver set the brake and jumped down from the stage. “Howdy, Miss Beth. Guess you’re surprised to see us.”

“I’ll say. We weren’t expecting another stage until evening.”

“We had so many passengers heading to Butte, we had to make the extra run.”

“Well, we’re making ready for you. How many passengers do you have?”

The driver opened the door. “Six. Two are staying on here.”

Beth turned back to the house and called out to her sister, “Gwen, there are eight total for lunch.”

An older man handed a young boy down to the driver. Beth thought the child looked to be nine or ten. He wore a suit of brown serge and looked quite uncomfortable. The man followed after the child and looked around him as if trying to figure out where they were.

Beth smiled sweetly. “Welcome to Gallatin House. We have a meal just about ready for you.”

“I’m looking for someone,” the man stated rather curtly. His expression betrayed a heavy burden. Dark smudges circled his eyes, making the man look sickly.

“I know most everyone in the area,” Beth answered with a smile. “Perhaps I can help.”

The man shook his head. “I’ll need a room for the night.”

“Would you like separate beds for you and your son?” Beth asked.

“The room is for me. The boy will be staying with his father.”

Beth looked behind the man as the others debarked the stage, tipping their hats as they passed her. They were sweaty and dirty but still saw to the proprieties. None stopped, however, to claim the child. Beth turned back to the man and boy. The child was watching her as if to judge her importance in his life.

“Hello. What’s your name?”

He frowned. “Justin.” He pulled on his collar and looked away.

Beth smiled. “Are you hungry? We have some applesauce cake for dessert. Of course, you would have to eat something more substantial first, but at least it would give you something to look forward to.”

The boy’s frown faded. “I like cake.”

Laughing, Beth nodded. “I do, too.” Beth looked to the older man and then back to the boy. “Why don’t you come on inside? You can introduce me to your father. We’ll make sure he doesn’t mind if I cut you an extra-large piece of cake.”

The boy’s frown reappeared. “I don’t know my father. He’s a no-account, and I hate him.”

“Justin!” The older man’s exclamation immediately quieted the boy.

Beth looked at the man in confusion. “I’m sorry. I presumed the boy’s father was onboard the stage.”

“No,” the old man said, shaking his head. “His father is Nicholas Lassiter. He’s the man I seek.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“We’ve got trouble,” Simon told Nick.

Nick joined his brother at the open door. “It’s just an unscheduled stage. It won’t be any problem. I’ll get the team unhitched and you bring up the fresh horses.”

“It’s not just the stage.” Simon took hold of his brother’s arm. His expression left Nick feeling suddenly cold inside.

“What is it?” Nick turned and looked across the road to Gallatin House. The first thing he noticed was Beth. She stood speaking to a man and small boy. But it was the man who stood directly behind her that caused Nick to drop his jaw.

“What’s he doing here?”

“I was just wondering the same thing.”

Nick shook his head. “He’s got some nerve, coming here.”

Simon turned to his brother. “What are you doing to do?”

“Well, hopefully Beth will have told him the truth about us.” Nick felt a wave of concern. Beth had assured him she didn’t have feelings for Adrian Murphy. Surely his appearance here wouldn’t change things. But what if she told Murphy and he didn’t listen?
Then I’ll just take things into my own hands
and tell him my own way,
Nick decided.

“Did you hear me?” Simon asked, looking at Nick oddly.

“I . . . uh . . . I guess not. What did you say?”

“I asked you why Beth should have anything to do with this.”

“Well, she did just agree to court me. If Adrian Murphy thinks he can just waltz in here and steal Beth away, then he’s going to have a fight on his hands.”

“What are you talking about? What does Adrian Murphy have to do with this?”

Nick looked at Simon and shook his head. “You’re the one who saw him first.”

“I wasn’t talking about Murphy.” Simon turned Nick around and pointed across the road just as the man standing in front of Beth moved to face them. The distance closed in, and Nick felt a band tighten around his chest.

“Claude Foreman.”

The past came rushing at Nick like a winter storm blowing over the mountains. In his mind, he was sixteen again and Annie Foreman was telling him that she was pregnant.

“I’m sorry, Nick.”
He remembered her eyes had been red-rimmed from crying.
“I’m so scared.”

Nick had taken her in his arms. He longed to give her the reassurance that everything would be all right, but he had no hope of that for himself. Her father and brothers would be livid when they learned the truth, and he’d be lucky if they didn’t come gunning for him.

Shaking the memory away, Nick saw the child turn to stare at him. He was the spitting image of his mother, with his own coloring. Nick’s breath quickened. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. He looked to Beth, who held an expression of complete confusion.

Nick ran his hand through his hair. “I have to explain this to her. I should have told her a long time ago.”

“I think you’re going to have to deal with Foreman first,” Simon said. “He’s coming this way.”

Nick could see that much for himself. Annie’s father looked so much older than he remembered. The years had obviously been difficult for him, and he walked with a slight limp.

The boy—his son—trailed behind his grandfather. He didn’t appear pleased to be here, nor even remotely interested in meeting Nick. In fact, he looked quite angry, but how could Nick blame him?

I’ve never been a part of his world. He’s never known me, and I
can only imagine what his grandparents have told him.

But knowing how the Foremans felt, Nick couldn’t understand why Claude would suddenly come to Gallatin Crossing, much less bring Justin.

“Do you want me to go?” Simon asked.

“No. Stay. I’m not sure I can do this alone.” Nick drew a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Pray.”

Nick gave one last glance to where Beth stood. But she was gone. So, too, was Adrian Murphy.

Claude Foreman halted some five or six feet away and looked Nick up and down. He then glanced over to Simon. “I’m certain this is a surprise to both of you, but I had no choice in the matter.”

“Would you like to come in the house and sit?” Simon asked.

Nick could see that the old man wasn’t well. “We could offer you something to eat and drink.”

“No. I think I’d rather stay right here and have my say.”

The boy peered around his grandfather at Nick and Simon. He seemed to be sizing them up—maybe even trying to decide which one was his father. Nick noted again how much the boy looked like his mother. He had Annie’s mouth and nose—a rather pert nose that would hopefully take on a more masculine look as he aged. It was the boy’s dark eyes that pierced Nick’s heart, however. It was like looking into his own soul.

“Regina passed on a few weeks ago,” the man began. “Just before her death, the doctor told me I have a cancer. He gives me a couple of months at the most.” He looked at the boy. “Regina and I talked it over before she died and decided it would be best for Justin to come and live with you.”

“Why?” Nick asked. He felt a rise of bile along with bitterness. “You threatened my life because of what happened with your daughter. You wouldn’t let me marry her, even though I wanted to make things right. You said she was ruined—that there was no way to make it right.” Nick narrowed his eyes. “We weren’t the first ones to make a mistake—to give in to temptation. Yet when she died giving birth, you put her brothers on me like I was some kind of common thief.”

Justin looked at Nick but said nothing. It was clear he was considering the conversation, however. Nick had no desire to cause his son pain by relaying the issues of the past, but he felt confident the child had never been told the truth.

“I loved Annie,” he continued. “I might have only been sixteen and her fifteen, but we loved each other with all our hearts.”

“You were children.”

Nick raised his hand. “We might have lacked the years of experience you would have preferred we have, but we knew what we felt. We had great hopes for our future, but instead of being happy for us and working with us, you were against us. If you hadn’t caused us so much grief, Annie might not have died.”

“You have a right to be angry,” Claude said, surprising Nick. “We did you wrong.”

The boy looked to his grandfather. “What’s he talking about, Grandpa?”

The man looked down at the boy and shook his head. “There’s too much to explain just now. In time, though, I hope you’ll come to understand. Your grandmother and I did what we thought was best for your sake. But we didn’t handle things very well at all. In fact, we led you to believe your father was no good, but that was a lie.”

“You
lied
?”The boy looked back at Nick. “Why would you lie to me?”

The old man looked to be in pain. “You’re too young to understand. We did what we had to do—what we thought was best for you.”

The boy refused to take this as an answer. “But you lied?”

“I’m sorry, Justin,” his grandfather said, shaking his head. “It seemed right back then. You were a baby, and Nick was just a boy. We’d lost your mother, and our grief was too great to deal with.”

“But that’s no good reason. You said my father didn’t want me. You said he ran off.” The boy’s eyes were wide in challenge, daring his grandfather to correct him. “Why did you do that?”

Nick felt his anger ebb. The old man was sick and looked so sad to have upset his grandson. Teachings from the previous Sunday’s sermon came back to haunt Nick. The verses had been from Matthew and spoke of forgiveness. Nick couldn’t remember exactly where they’d been, but he knew the heart of the passage had been about reconciliation. For the sake of his son, Nick would attempt to do just that.

“They wanted to protect you,” Nick said softly. They were the first words he’d addressed to his son since leaving him in the care of his grandparents.

“We went about it all wrong, but your father is right,” Claude Foreman said, taking hold of the boy’s shoulder. “We did want to protect you—to love you. I wanted to talk to you about it on the trip out here, but there never seemed to be the right time. I’m sorry, Justin.”

“I hate you,” the boy said, wrenching away. “I hate you both!” He ran back in the direction of Gallatin House.

“Justin, wait!” his grandfather called after him.

“Let him go.” Nick shook his head. “This isn’t going to be easy for either of us.” He considered the complications this was going to cause between him and Beth, but worse still, he thought of the little boy who had come into the world upon the death of his mother. The boy Nick hadn’t seen since his birth. His son.