Lorraine Heath (31 page)

“But this time I’ll keep your secret,” Jake said, watching relief wash over Sean’s face.

“I miss Jacob,” he said quietly.

Jake felt a tug at his heart, realizing no one except Frank had mentioned Reb or Jacob to him since they’d left.

“I miss him, too, but that’s hardly a secret,” Jake said.

“Me mum said I wasn’t to mention Jacob or his mother to you because it would make you sad. Did it?”

“A little, but it sorta warms me inside to think about him.”

“When’s he coming back?” Sean asked.

“He’s not. He and his mother went to live with a man who could make them happy.”

“Thought they was happy here.”

“Only on the outside, Sean. This man can make them happy on the inside, too, and that’s more important.”

Sean nodded. “Do you think Jacob misses his wagon?”

“Oh, I imagine he has a new one by now. Hard part will be finding a friend to pull him.”

“When I grow up, I’m going to go to Montana and visit him.”

“Sean O’Hennessy! Your mother’s looking for you!” Carrie called out as she trudged towards the two who were wearing guilty expressions.

“It’s our secret, right?” Sean whispered.

“Our secret. And anytime you want to talk about him, you just let me know.”

Sean held out a hand and Jake shook it before the boy ran off.

“Never took Rebecca for a fool,” Carrie said as she approached the fence.

Unfurling his body, Jake turned his attention to the ponies. “Don’t reckon she was.”

“You trying to tell me she had two good men fall in love with her when most of us are lucky if we get just one?”

Jake’s reply was silence.

“Have you heard from her?” she asked softly.

“Only that she arrived safely.”

Carrie placed a weathered hand on his back. “You’re a
special man, Jake Burnett. Don’t you ever forget that.” She walked away, leaving him alone to watch the horses.

Lifting his bride into his arms, Frank carried her across the threshold of their new home, straight into their bedroom. He set Arlene down, bringing his arms around her, his lips locking onto hers. Abruptly he ended the kiss, leaning back to study her.

“You’re trembling. Are you afraid?”

She moved her head slowly from side to side. “I could never be frightened of you, man. But I’m a wee bit nervous. I want to please you, Frank, but I don’t know how.”

He smiled. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” Drawing her close, he said, “All you have to do is remember how much we love each other.”

And it turned out to be that simple.

Walking through the house, Rebecca felt the way she had after Jacob had been bora, when tears came without warning. She stopped beside the large front window. Nature reflected her mood, as the rain fell in torrents. Although it was early afternoon, the clouds were so dark that the day resembled early evening.

Brett came charging out of the study. “Got a rider coming in,” he said as he brushed past her, depositing a quick kiss on her lips.

Stepping out onto the veranda, he waited while the man drew to a halt, handed him a parcel and headed back out. He studied it intently before stepping back into the house, his broad smile lifting up the corners of his dark mustache.

“It’s for you,” he said as he ripped open the end of the envelope, dumping the contents in his hand.

“Brett!” she cried, reaching for it.

He held it away, high above his head as he gave a cursory glance to the top sheet of paper. Then shoving the papers into her hands, he lifted her up, spinning them both around.

“Thank God! It’s your divorce! It’s final!” He lowered her, and his lips came down hard on hers, consuming her, as his hands ran rampant over her breasts and back. He
stilled, drawing her back. “We’ll get married tomorrow.”

Holding the papers in a trembling hand, she said, “I need time.”

Disbelieving, Brett released her, his eyes filled with anger. “What the hell do you mean you need time? You’ve had almost three months!”

“I need time to get ready. I want to look my best. I want it to be a moment we’ll remember. Can’t we do it Saturday?”

Pulling her into his arms, he said, “Saturday it is.” Gently, he brushed his lips against hers. “I know it’s been difficult since we left Texas, but everything will be all right now. You’ll see. You’ll be the happiest woman in the world.”

Grabbing his black slicker off the hook by the door, he turned back to face her. “I’m going into town to get all the arrangements made.”

“In this weather?”

“I don’t think you understand how much I love you. How much I want you to be my wife. I’d brave all the elements of nature at once to have you.”

Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked at the handsome man standing before her. He opened the door. “On Saturday, when we change your name, we’ll be changing my son’s name.”

Rebecca had expected that. She knew he’d want Jacob’s last name changed from Burnett to Meier. “Pick out a name you like.”

Taken aback, she asked, “You want his first name changed?”

“I do. I want no ghosts from Texas haunting our lives here. And when I get back, I want that damn ring off your finger as well.” He closed the door behind him without another word.

Rebecca went inside her son’s room, watching as he slept peacefully through the rain, knowing he would wake up soon from his afternoon nap. For the life of her, she could think of nothing else she wanted to call him.

She walked to her own room, closed the door behind
her, and drew a chair up beside the window. The curtains were pulled back, and the rain was hitting the glass and sliding down into a puddle on the ground. Shifting through the papers in her hands, she sought out the letter she had spied when Brett had shoved her mail into her hand, wanting desperately for the letter to be from Jake. With trembling fingers she pulled it out, her eyes scanning for the signature, disappointment reeling through her to realize it was from Doyle Thomas. But then why would Jake write? She began to read the letter:

The reason for the divorce? She had never looked beyond the lines where she’d applied her signature. She hadn’t realized they’d given a reason for wanting a divorce. Hurriedly, she searched the papers. When she found the reason, she was assaulted by a physical pain. Jake had given the one reason with which no one would argue, the one reason that would guarantee Rebecca her divorce—husband’s impotency.

“Oh, Jake, how you must have felt saying that to a man, knowing other men would read it. Why didn’t you put the blame for our failed marriage on me?”

With a heavy heart, she went back to the letter.

Dropping the papers on her lap, she leaned her head against the pane, feeling the rain beating down on the glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small slip of paper float down to the floor. She recognized the handwriting before she picked it up, having seen it many times on lists of supplies that were needed. She ran her fingers over the lettering.

Dearest Reb

Dear Rebeeea

Reb

Thank you for letting me know you got to Montana safe. Thought you’d want to know Maura gave birth to a girl. Tiny little thing. Brian’s chest is so puffed out with pride, he doesn’t need his bellows in the forge to heat his fires. Frank and Arlene are getting married—probably be married by the time you get this letter. I’m building a house for them and ordered some furniture for you to give them. Thought you’d want to do that for Frank after all the two of you had been through together.

I think of you and Jacob often.

I miss

My love

Love

Your friend

She read the letter until she could see it with her eyes closed, every word written, every word scratched out for fear he’d reveal more than he wanted her to know. Finally, unable to decide on the best words, he must have given the scrap of paper to Doyle Thomas so he could convey the message. She could envision Doyle, who would lose his glasses if they slipped to the end of his nose, adding Jake’s
thoughts to the end of his own letter and then shoving Jake’s note into the envelope along with the other papers.

She watched the papers wither where her tears splashed upon them. Her marriage to Jake was truly over. Her life in Texas, her marriage to the man with the velvet brown eyes and the endearing smile, was now in her past. It was time for her to begin her new life, her life with Brett. Come Saturday, she would marry Brett Meier, the man she had fallen in love with so long ago, who had made love to her beneath the stars on a moonless night, who had given her a son and searched the country until he found her. It was time to sever all ties, all memories of Jake. She lifted her hand, grasping the ring as her face mirrored the pane beside her, the tears of Mother Nature, the tears of a woman washing away the pain.

In the early morning hours it was difficult to believe that before the sun set that evening, it would attempt to scorch every living thing on the earth, green, brown, or otherwise, plants and animals alike. It had been trying all summer with a great deal of success since rain had been scarce. Jake’s cattle had been spared suffering because the barbed wire fencing had protected his waterholes from marauders, and his windmills drew the precious liquid out of the earth.

Lying on the hill that had once been blue, leaning up on an elbow, Jake pulled a reed of grass out of the earth and inserted it between his teeth, gnawing absently, tasting the bitter and the sweet. He didn’t think he’d ever be free of the ache in his heart, but at least it had lessened. Having Doyle Thomas draw up his will had helped considerably, given him a reason to climb out of bed in the mornings. He hoped one of Rebecca’s children would see fit to run the ranch, but even if they sold it, he had no reason to complain. He wanted his years of work to be worth something to someone when he was gone, and he could think of no one else that meant as much to him.

He smiled, wondering if Rebecca was already carrying another child. He imagined she was pregnant five minutes after she stepped into Brett’s hotel room. After all, she loved the man, she had no reason to deny him. He assumed
she was not carrying his own child since he had only heard from her the one time. There were moments, usually late at night when he heard a lonesome howl, that he regretted denying her his seed that last night. But then he would feel the dull pain associated with thoughts of Jacob, wondering if he was walking, if he had spoken his first word, if it had been “Papa” directed towards Brett, and he would be grateful that there were no other children.

Removing the grass from between his teeth, he stood, lifting his arms up and stretching his lean frame, squinting as the sun hit his eyes. He mounted his horse, deciding to ride along the fence line. He had experienced little trouble of late, but still, it didn’t hurt to check. He couldn’t afford to have cattle wandering off. With the heat spell, he wanted to keep them close to known watering holes.

Spotting an unfamiliar group of longhorns, their hides rangy from lack of care, he slowed his horse and cautiously approached the band that was lazing around before a small grove of trees. To their right lay his fence, part of it cut, part of it torn down, but he could see no one minding the cattle. He retrieved his rifle and dismounted, then ran a hand over the flank of one of the steers. No brands marked the cattle. Moving to the fence, he swore under his breath. The fence was used to keep the cattle from going into the ravine that ran along the land. He’d have to find the owner of the cattle and tell him to get the cattle off his land or sell them to him. And he’d have to get the fence fixed immediately. He had already had three cattle wander off down this ravine and fall, injuring themselves. His men had been forced to shoot the animals to relieve their suffering.

The sound of a rifle being cocked caused Jake to curse himself as he slowly turned around. The last person he wanted to see was Ethan Truscott, and there he was, with half a dozen men behind him.

“It’s against the law to cut fences,” Jake said.

“Only if you’re caught.”

“Look, Ethan. I don’t want any trouble. Just get your cattle off my land, and I’ll overlook the mess you made here.”

“I’m not moving my cattle. By all rights, this land should be mine. Now, you just set your rifle down and remove the holster, and I’ll think about letting you live.”

Jake slowly shook his head. “Ethan—”

“Take him!” Ethan shouted.

Jake had no opportunity to defend himself before he was battled to the ground. Once subdued, he was lifted back up to his feet, two burly men holding onto him.

Ethan smiled. “Take his shirt off.”

Jake was like a madman as he broke free, taking a great deal of satisfaction in feeling his fist land squarely on Ethan’s nose. It took four men to pull Jake off as Ethan came up spitting blood and holding his hand over his face, the blood trailing down his arm.

“You broke my nose, you bastard! You’re going to regret that. Get his shirt off!” He stomped over to the fence and began yanking on the barbed wire, his thick gloves protecting his hands. When he had a lengthy piece pulled free, he extracted a pair of cutters from his hip pocket, and clipped the wire free, dragging it behind him as he moved towards Jake.