Tall, Dark, and Determined (43 page)

“Whether you like it or not, you have an obligation to this family.” His father wasn't asking him to stay out of affection or gratitude—in his mind it was about the family name. “I founded Granger Mills, and a Granger will run it after me.”

“My obligations are to God and my wife, and I've kept her waiting long enough. If you're set on keeping the company name for another generation, I suggest you track down cousin Billy.” Jake started down the porch steps. “I've got other plans.”

“You planned that picnic,” Braden accused. It might have fazed Lacey if he hadn't been caterwauling about the same thing for the past two weeks. “But you sit there and act like it's fine?”

“Absolutely.” She cocked her head to the side and surveyed the color in her brother's cheeks. He looked angry, yes, but on the balance he was more animated and healthy-looking in these past weeks since the picnic than he had been since they arrived. Even better, the picnic didn't stick in his craw purely because of the location. He objected to Cora going—and Lacey had a fantastic, sneaking suspicion it had something to do with her being surrounded by the eager bachelors of Hope Falls.

He still loves her
. Until relief overwhelmed her, Lacey hadn't realized that she'd begun to doubt Braden's affection for her best friend.
Why does he keep pushing her away? Why does he keep pushing all of us away? And how can I get him to remember the brother he used to be? The man I saw him grow into?

“Now you have the nerve to look upset?” He snorted.

“You'll find I have every bit as much nerve as I did when I was six and you dared me to climb the Wilson's oak tree.” The memory of her doting brother from back then made her smile.

“And every bit as gullible and foolhardy,” he grumbled. “If you'll recall, you fell out of that tree, sprained your arm, and got me stuck polishing all the silver in the house.”

“Backing down from a challenge isn't the Lyman way,” she reminded. “You knew that when you decided to test my courage. Now that we're older, you try my patience instead.”

“You beat my patience into the ground the day you dragged Cora to Hope Falls,” he snarled. “Then I thought things couldn't be worse, but somehow you keep proving me wrong. Advertising for husbands, scurrilous mongrels trying to sneak into the house in the middle of the night, murderers carrying you off into the forest, cougar attacks … every time I think you've outdone yourself, you demonstrate an even more heinous lapse in judgment than the one before. It's nothing less than a miracle Cora and the others have survived your scrapes so far.”

Now that's simply unfair
. Lacey brushed his list away.
The only thing in that whole litany that can be attributed to my poor judgment is the ad itself. Everything else would have happened in spite of me, or to spite me. But maybe it means something good that he worries so much. I worry, too
.

“Our survival isn't the miraculous one, Braden.” Her voice softened as she looked at the familiar face, once filled with confidence and happiness, now etched with misery. “It seems you overlook the fact
you've
been given another chance in your haste to make sure no one else makes good use of theirs.”

“It's not the chances you're given which disturb me. It's the chances you take.” He turned it back on her. “Of all the opportunities and places in the world, you bring yourself and the others squarely in the middle of danger and death.”

Lacey thought for a moment, but was unable to be sure of his meaning. There was nothing for it but to ask. “Do you mean Hope Falls itself, or are you referring to the picnic again?”

“Both! But most recently it is your cheery visit to the site of my ruination which grates against my thoughts.” His brows drew together, compounding his scowl into something epic.

“Pishposh. The land remains. We remain, and most of all we remain thankful that you were brought out of those tunnels alive. Even now your body heals.”
But your thoughts and mind remain in the dark, and we don't know how to pull you out
.

She stared at her brother, willing him to hear the truth behind the words she now whispered. “The cave-in didn't defeat you then; don't let it defeat you months later.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.” His throat worked, telling her that her brother wasn't just angry. For as long as she could remember, he'd done that. She privately thought he was trying to swallow away anything upsetting.

She'd tried it once. It didn't work.
Maybe that's what's wrong. He can't move past the bad things by wishing them away
.

“Then tell me.” Lacey laid her hand over his.

He looked at her hand, looked up, and looked right past her. Braden yanked away from her grasp. He turned to face the window. “Leave, Lacey.” His voice sounded hoarse. “Just … leave.”

“Come on.” Cora spoke from the doorway, and Lacey suddenly understood why Braden pulled away instead of answering her.

She wanted to reach out and grab the moment again, but knew it wasn't possible. Lacey stood, reluctant to leave but knowing she wouldn't be able to get anything more from her brother. Drained of his anger, there seemed to be nothing holding him up.

Maybe this will let him think clearly and come to his senses. I should have reached out to him sooner and not let his snapping keep me away
. Regret swam in her stomach as she followed Cora out of Braden's room and out of the doctor's house. Lacey tucked her hands in her pockets and rubbed the fabric between her fingertips, but the gesture didn't soothe.

“All I've done since I got here is argue with him,” she told Cora. “We fight about everything and anything, but I haven't asked him to tell me about the collapse until now.”

“It's not your fault.” Cora sat down on the bench running along the front of Lacey's store and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. “None of us expected to find him this way.”

“But I haven't done anything to help.” Lacey sank down beside her. “Spending all my time and focus on preparing for the sawmill doesn't do my brother any good. If anything, the progress we've made seems to aggravate Braden even more.”

“Everything aggravates him, and nothing pleases him.” Tears slid down her best friend's face. “I kept thinking we'd see an improvement, but time goes by and he stays the same. Lacey, he says he doesn't want me anymore…. You've heard it, you've seen the way he acts. I'm starting to believe he's lost our love.”

Dread overtook Lacey's feelings of regret. Cora had been so strong, always standing by Braden and refusing to give up. Her friend's constancy was Braden's last hope.
But no one can go on being rejected forever. Cora needs assurance, too
.

“Don't think that.” Lacey wrapped one arm around Cora's shoulders. “He slipped today that he was angry you went to the picnic. When we talked about money, he asked about what I'd done to see you settled. Whatever he tells us, Braden always comes back to what's most important to him—and that's you.”

“You're wrong, Lacey.” Cora drew a deep breath. “He pouts about the picnic, yes. But when he asked about provisions for me it's because he hopes I'll no longer hold him to our engagement. He doesn't love. All this Braden cares about is himself. As soon as he's able, he'll leave Hope Falls, and us, far behind.”

    THIRTY-SIX    

C
hase's search remained at a standstill. Despite his well-laid plans, he'd made no progress in the two weeks following the picnic.
And it's all Lacey Lyman's fault
. He'd been avoiding the woman and the confusion she caused, but she still threw a spoke in the works. At least, her overeager suitors managed it on her behalf.

It started at dinner, the same night as the picnic. Lawson's round glasses looked nowhere but Miss Lyman, Williams, and then Chase. After the incident with the ladder and the way Miss Lyman's attention was monopolized by the burly lumberjack during the picnic, Lawson's courtship of Miss Lyman hadn't been progressing nearly as well as the man so obviously hoped.

The light reflecting off the engineer's owlish lenses made it impossible to tell what the man was thinking, but Chase suspected Lawson was calculating his chances with Miss Lyman. No surprise if he considered both Williams and Chase a threat.

But Chase couldn't prepare for the way Lawson went about minimizing that threat. When the man left his sister to join their table, he'd not suspected a scheme. The conversation turned to the progress being made on the sawmill. With the site cleared, first by cutting down the trees then by removing their stumps, the men could move on to the next important project.

“We need to map the route of the flume before we go about deciding the orientation of the sawmill itself,” the slighter man mused. “I need input from one of the team leads as to the feasibility of the proposed route. If the trees or the landscape present too much trouble, I'll need to adjust the schematics.”

It didn't mean much to Chase until the engineer turned to Williams and requested his assistance. His apparent eagerness to work alongside his rival set off alarm bells—but too late. The moment Williams agreed, Lawson roped Chase into the project by claiming he could make use of a guide's “geologic understanding of the region and familiarity with the landscape hereabouts.” The women bought the twaddle hook, line, and sinker.

It couldn't have been clearer that he'd planned to make sure Williams and Chase didn't have the opportunity to get near Miss Lyman while he wasn't in town. And within five minutes, he succeeded in trapping both of them. Chase played peacekeeper for tense, tedious days as Williams gave orders and thinly veiled threats and Lawson made detailed riverbank sketches.

This afternoon marked the first opportunity he'd found to head out to the mines and poke around—but first he had to circle back and check on the women. Since the picnic, Williams doubled his efforts, edging out any other man who got near Miss Lyman.

Williams hadn't forgotten the evening he'd been humiliated by Miss Lyman's ability to recall his empty boasts. That the entire thing centered around his failure to win the cook provided a further blow to his ego—something bullies didn't take well. As time went by and he made no progress with his attempts to woo Miss Lyman—who'd given him no encouragement that Chase could discern—Williams might well try to take matters in another direction and force her to accept his proposal.

It wouldn't be difficult
. Chase disliked admitting it, but Williams had the kind of sly cunning to recognize the way to make Miss Lyman bend to his demands.
If he threatens one of the others, she'll sacrifice her own happiness to protect them
. But the wily lumberjack would know he couldn't accomplish that while the ladies were surrounded by his fellow workers. He wasn't the type to push ahead when he knew he'd be outnumbered.