Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (26 page)

“Max!” Martha said scornfully. “Alex is
perfectly safe with Ty, you’re over reacting as usual,” she hollered in
exasperation to his retreating back.

Trying to keep pace, she sprinted beside him
along the hallway only coming to a stop when they reached Alex’s door together.

Looking poignantly at her and then the door, he
said, “It’s closed, Martha.”

“That’s impossible! I checked it before I went
to bed!” She looked accusingly at Frank through narrowing eyes, suspecting the
door hadn’t closed on its own. Max was up to his old tricks again. Emma knew
it, she had warned her the last time she’d phoned.

Martha, putting two and two together, was
beginning to see what Max was up to and it stuck in her craw.

“What’s all the yelling about?” Sam queried,
gliding out of her room still tying the sash on her blue satin robe. Sam gasped
at the sight of Max and his companions standing on the landing, unable to
comprehend why he was at the ranch.

“Well?” Max said looking expectantly at Frank.
“Break ‘er down!” he hollered.

Max pushed everyone back so Frank could do his
job.

“But it’s not locked.” Frank pointed out,
reaching to turn the doorknob, but froze in his tracks when Max bellowed, “Just
break it in, damn it!” He shook his head in frustration at Frank.

“Don’t you dare, Frank! That’s my door!” Sam
threatened.

Suddenly understanding that Frank was going to
do it, regardless of whether it was locked or not, jolted Sam out of her
stupor. She stepped forward to stop him but Max blocked her path.

“Sorry Miss Sam, but he pays my paycheck. For
now.” Frank raised his foot and slammed it against the door.

Max rushed through the now splintered frame,
rapidly followed by Frank and the gentleman in black.

Sam and Martha entered, noting the look of
shock on the faces of Alex and Ty; having only moments before been awakened by
the load crash of the door colliding with the wall. They were stretched out on
the queen bed, watching everyone pile into the room. Alex turned to stare at
Ty, looking at him as if she had never laid eyes on him in her life.

As for Ty, he was obviously contemplating new
ways to murder Max, judging by the way he regarded him he was contemplating
very excruciating and leisurely ways to kill the man.

Alex raised herself up into a sitting position,
swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress as she shoved the hair out of
her eyes. Still trying to grasp why everyone found the need to be in her room
and what on earth made them kick in the door?
I must have hit my head a lot
harder than I thought.

Looking over her shoulder she saw Ty propped up
on his elbows with his shirt off and the sheet covering his partially
unbuttoned jeans. She grappled with the knowledge that he had slept next to her
all night, caring enough to watch over her.

“Max, did you need something?” Ty said calmly.

Ty slid back against the headboard, casually
arranging the pillows to cushion his back, waiting for Max to start his usual
tirade.
Being deprived of my morning coffee and being subjected to Max’s
ranting first thing in the morning is not how I like to wake up
, he thought
sarcastically.
Although, Alex in her over sized men’s shirt is causing me
and my body to wake up faster than coffee ever could
, he thought raising
his eyebrows at her exposed legs.

“Oh, I want something all right, you
philanderer!” Max said pulling the man in black forward. “Ok, hit it. The long
version. I have a feeling this could take awhile. And whatever you do, don’t
stop unless I tell you to, got it? Oh, and skip the ring part.”

Nodding, the man opened the book he was
carrying. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this
woman in the holy bonds of matrimony,” the priest started. He didn’t even stop
as Martha and Sam gasped in alarm. Max wore a smug look on his face as he made
eye contact with Ty. Leaning on his cane he turned to cast a wicked smile on
the spectators of his debauchery.

“I’m not marring him! Are you nuts?” Alex said
breathlessly, scrambling to stand. When she realized all she had on was a long
shirt she slumped back onto the bed, trying to keep the sheet around her bare
legs to save what remained of her modesty.

Sam, panicked by what was happening protested,
“Max, you can’t do this!”

Alex sat frozen like a statue on the bed, not
comprehending why he would do this to her.

“Emma will have your head for this!” Martha
threatened angrily.

“What’s going on?” Parry said yawning as he and
Ridge wandered into the room just ahead of Steven. They were dressed in jeans
and t-shirts and were still barefoot, as if they had each dressed in a mad
dash.

“Are we interrupting something?” Steven asked,
trying not to laugh at what was taking place.

The priest, ignoring the newcomers, just kept
on going, reciting the bonds of matrimony. Steven glanced at Ridge, who was
obviously in the same boat as Steven; trying not to laugh his head off in front
of their bosses.

“Well, I guess the gang’s all here,” Ridge
said, tongue in cheek. Trying desperately to keep a straight face while looking
around the room, Ridge watched his boss lay there on the bed as if nothing out
of the ordinary was going on. “Need any help Boss?”

“No. I think I’ve got this one covered,
thanks,” Ty said sarcastically. He knew Ridge wouldn’t help him anyway, even if
he could. His employees were obviously enjoying the show Max was putting on.
Alex’s face was deathly white and she was clenching the sheet in a ferocious
grip.
Max has gone too far with his antics this time
, he thought.

“I won’t marry him! This is insane Max, will you
listen to reason?” Alex declared in desperation.

“If anyone here can show just cause as to why
these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever
hold their peace,” the priest said humorlessly. He glanced perfunctorily around
the room to see if anyone else would object.

Alex looked at Sam, willing for her to speak up
for her, and saw her eyes were full of laughter at her predicament. Her younger
sister was looking at her hopefully, as though she knew she wouldn’t let her
down.

As Sam began to speak, everyone turned to
regard her. “Sorry kiddo, you always hurt the ones you love,” she stated,
actually laughing at the look of stunned disbelief that spread across Alex’s
face. She watched her eyes turn to saucers as she realized Sam wasn’t going to
help but had joined in on Max’s scheme.

Alex swung her gaze to Martha. “Love to help
honey, but Max is right. The door was closed.”

“Nothing happened! I was asleep!” she shouted
swinging her clenched fists in the air. “I didn’t even know he was in the
room!” she shrieked, kicking the bed under the covers.

She knew she was throwing a tantrum, but she
refused to marry Ty because of a misunderstanding. Turning to Steven, hoping he
would help her, she could see from his face that his sense of humor was getting
the better of him.

“I guess the better man won. No hard feelings.”
He inclined his head toward Ty as he struggled to keep from smiling, trying to
look like he was losing his best friend.

There was no way he was going to object and
have Ty take his head off. Not in this lifetime. Ty didn’t seem fazed by what
was happening, he wasn’t objecting like Alex was. Steven suspected that he just
might take advantage of the situation. Maybe the man wasn’t as dense as he
thought. Steven was beginning to see that Ty really did care for her. If he was
smart he would use this as an excuse to claim her. This was what Alex needed
but she would never admit it.

Steven watched Alex’s face heat up as she
glared at him, and laughed at the look along with everyone else in the room.
Alex raised herself up, getting ready to claw Steven’s eyes out; Ty grabbed her
shoulders and pulled her back onto the mattress, forced to physically restrain
her.

Ty could see she wasn’t happy about being
thrown to the wolves. He was surprised, however, that Steven hadn’t object to
the marriage. The only thing that had stood in his way was the feelings she had
for Steven. But if he could just stand back and let her marry another man then
he didn’t really love her. Alex would be better off without him.

“Parry?!” Alex wailed disparately, not
believing that her own family had betrayed her.

“Oh no, you can just forget it little missy!
I’ll probably lose my job because of you! You stole my gear, or don’t you
remember?” he refreshed her memory.

Ty raised his head to fire off a look at Parry
that confirmed he was correct. He was going to have to start looking for a new
job. “See! Damn it!” he said pointing at Ty. “And now you won’t give me a job
either! Do you know how hard it is to find work in this economy?” Alex looked
over her shoulder to glare at Ty who reluctantly released her. She could see
the clearly hostile look that he was sending Parry for letting her get her
hands on his equipment.

“Do something!” Alex ordered him in
exasperation, silently blaming him for the catastrophe they found themselves
in.

She couldn’t understand why Ty was just sitting
there, calmly, not railing against her grandfather like she was. Ty looked down
at her, seeming unaffected by what was happening.

“Do you, Alexandria Emma Stone, take Ty Andrew
Phillips as your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and obey? Forsaking
all others?” The priest looked expectantly at her.

“I do not!” she declared, swinging around to
look smugly at her grandfather. “You have no say in who I marry.”

Ty wondered how Max was going to make her marry
him. He needed her consent to the marriage and she wasn’t about to give in to
his high handedness.
I hope he has an ace up his sleeve,
he prayed as he
folded his arms behind his head and leaned back against the headboard,
I
really want to see him pull this one off
.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as
Max looked at Alex.

“Okay honey. You don’t want to marry him, I
understand. I would never make you do anything you didn’t want to do. You know
I just have your best interest at heart, but you have to understand, finding
the two of you alone in a room with the door shut would make any grandfather
suspect foul play,” Max said softly, looking defeated. “Do you have an
explanation for why Ty was in your room, honey?” he asked gently. “Well, do
you? Do you?”

“I do!” Alex said passionately.

She heard everyone in the room groan as she
spoke but she didn’t understand why until Max turned back to the priest with a
Cheshire cat grin.

“Continue if you please,” Max instructed with a
triumphant look on his face.

Alex tuned red in frustration at how stupid she
had been after realizing Max had tricked her into saying yes to marrying him.
Max wasn’t even listening to her any more. Everyone else was laughing at how he
had done it. She even heard Ty’s soft laughter from behind her. She turned to
look at him and she saw him just sitting there, still unruffled.

“And do you, Ty Andrew Phillips, take
Alexandria Emma Stone as your lawfully wedded wife?” the priest continued,
looking at Ty.

He remained quiet, waiting for the old buzzard
to start in on him.

“Well, what’s it going to be my boy? Gonna fish
or cut bait?” Max taunted.

Ty raised his hands and crossed them over his
chest. He looked over to where Alex sat looking like she was going to pass out.
She couldn’t understand how he had done it, and so easily too. Watching her
raise her eyes to his, she knew he held her fate in his hands. He could see
that she thought there wasn’t a chance he’d go along with Max’s plan. She still
believed he didn’t want to get married to anyone. Ty would have agreed with her
if he hadn’t almost lost her the night before. She needed a keeper and he
decided he would take the job. He just wasn’t going to give in to Max that
easily.

“What changed your mind?” he asked lazily.

He turned away from Alex’s apprehensive eyes to
regard Max with a cold, hard stare. Ty could see everyone in the room was
holding their breath, waiting to see how Max was going to get Ty to agree to
the marriage.

“Who’s said I’ve changed it?” he asked
confidently, rocking on the soles of his feet and leaning on his cane,
regarding Ty smugly.

Max thought he had him backed into a corner. Ty
could tell everyone in the room was puzzled by their exchange.

“I don’t want this job, it’s too demanding,” he
said casually as he shrugged his shoulders, sending a speaking glance to Alex.
He was silently reminding her of her midnight jaunt. He could see from her eyes
that she felt stupid for falling down the canyon, but that wasn’t really what
he was upset about. He didn’t like knowing she had been in danger and he hadn’t
been there to keep her safe. He hadn’t had a say in her actions.

“Just think about all the lovely money,” Max
returned.

“I don’t give a damn about the money,” he growled,
swinging his attention back to Max. “I won’t take one cent beyond the money you
owe me for this job,” he said tersely.