Married to Claim the Rancher's Heir Page 14

  Marilee laughed. “Well, they’ll be tested, that’s for sure. You’ve met my daughters.”

  Janette giggled in response. “Yes, and they are adorable.” The three girls were older than Ruby—five, seven and eight—and delightful. All three of them had been interested at first, but shortly afterward the younger two had ventured outdoors to play with the neighbor children while the oldest had gone to help their father in the store. Another bout of missing Ruby assaulted.

  “I’m so glad you stopped in the store today,” Marilee said. “And I suppose I should apologize for keeping you here for so long, but I’m not sorry.”

  “I’m not sorry either,” Janette said. “I’ve enjoyed myself.” She had. It had reminded her of the afternoons she and Anna used to share, sewing together and gossiping. She’d told Marilee about her dress shop and about traveling to Texas to collect Ruby. Of course, she hadn’t mentioned Gabe, mainly because she’d tried to keep from thinking about him.

  “Thank you, Melvin, that’s her.”

  Janette choked on her own breath. She’d know that voice anywhere. Blinking at how her coughing made her eyes water, she spun around and was met by a stormy glare.

  “Gabe Callaway, it’s been ages since we’ve seen you,” Marilee said.

  “Yes, it has,” said Melvin, who stood beside Gabe in the doorway. “And you didn’t mention your guest was Gabe’s wife.”

  “Wife?”

  Janette’s stomach sank as she flashed a forgive-me glance toward her newfound friend. “I guess I forgot to mention that.” An afternoon that had been full of fun and laughter suddenly turned awkward. Hoping to ease the tension, she said, “I do that when I start sewing, just forget everything else.”

  “She can be absentminded.” Gabe crossed the room to stand beside her, and though he was smiling, it wasn’t a real smile. “She even forgot to mention to me where she was going this afternoon.”

  Janette wanted to say she hadn’t forgotten but settled for telling him. “I didn’t plan on being gone so long.”

  “That’s my fault,” Marilee said. “I asked her to draw me a pattern and it led to us sewing several items. Forgive me, Gabe—”

  He held up a hand. “No harm done, but we do need to get back to the hotel.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Janette mustered up enough grace to say farewell and collect her packages before making her exit, but once on the boardwalk, she hissed, “Why did you tell them I was your wife?”

  “Because you are,” Gabe answered.

  His lack of emotion increased her fury. “Not really, and there’s no reason for anyone else to know.”

  “Why? Does it embarrass you?”

  Too mad to claim otherwise, she said, “I’d think anyone forced into a marriage would be embarrassed.”

  “What embarrassed me was not knowing where my wife was,” he snapped. “I already had one wife run off. I won’t let that happen again.”

  His anger came through bright and clear, and that increased hers. “What wife? Anna? The two of you weren’t married. She said you’d never even asked her.”

  “No, I hadn’t asked her,” he said. “But it was implied.”

  “Implied?” she repeated. “Implied. So because of something implied, you decided to hold a grudge against your brother, your own flesh and blood for years.” Anger still raged inside her. “Well, let me tell you something, Gabe Callaway. I will never let a man dictate my life. Not implied or otherwise. Judge Schofield may have married us, but that was only in the eyes of the law.”

  “Those are very big eyes.”

  “Wha—” She clamped her mouth shut when she realized Judge Schofield was walking toward them.

  “I see you found her,” the judge said.

  “Yes, she was over at Melvin’s, teaching Marilee how to sew,” Gabe replied. “Thanks for your assistance.”

  The judge shook a finger at her. “You should have let someone know where you were going. Any number of things could have happened.”

  Her cheeks burned at being chastised. “I apologize, Your Honor.”

  He nodded before turning to Gabe. “I’ll let Barnes know you found her.”

  “Thanks.”

  She waited until the judge was several feet away before asking, “You asked the judge and sheriff to help you find me?”

  He took her arm again, forcing her to walk beside him. “The case after ours was for a murder. A woman.”

  A shiver rippled inside her. “But they caught her murderer?”

  He shrugged. “Some claim the man on trial is the wrong man, and I wasn’t sure what to think when Sy said he hadn’t seen you and your room was empty.”

  Another man approaching them said, “Glad to hear you found her, Gabe.” Tipping his hat toward her, he added, “Mrs. Callaway.”

  She nodded in return and waited until the man was out of earshot before saying, “You told everyone I’m your wife?”

  “Only those I had to, the others already knew. Word of a wedding travels fast.” Holding her elbow as they crossed the street, he said, “Half the town was looking for you.”

  “I simply went shopping.”

  “This isn’t Kansas City, Janette. If you aren’t worried about your own safety, you should be worried about Ruby. How she would feel if something happened to you.” Gabe wasn’t sure why he was trying to hold his anger. Other than they were still walking down the street and the people watching all knew they’d gotten married this morning. When Sy had told him she wasn’t at the hotel, he’d insisted upon checking her room himself. The empty room had left him chilled. After changing his clothes earlier, he’d gone to the sheriff’s office, where he’d learned about the murder of a saloon girl. A brutal murder.

  “I would think that would make you happy,” she said. “Then you’d have just what you want.”

  The hold on her arm increased as he forced her to keep up with his fast footsteps. Gabe also forced himself to not respond. Upon seeing the empty room, he’d confirmed no one in the hotel had seen her before he’d set out to find her. His first instinct had been that she’d gone to see her lawyer, and that’s where he’d gone. The court had recessed and Judge Schofield, having just heard testimonies about the saloon girl, had instantly sent people out looking. Her trail had been easy to follow once Barnes had discovered she was on a shopping spree.

  Gabe had taken it from there, and when he’d found her unharmed, he’d been so relieved he’d wanted to hug her. He hadn’t. Partially because he told himself he didn’t care that much. She didn’t mean that much to him.

  “It’s almost time for supper,” he said, using that to point out how long she’d been gone.

  “I’m not hungry,” she said, lifting her chin as they walked through the hotel doorway.

  Sy was already rushing around the desk. “You found her!”

  “I didn’t need to be found, Sy,” she said. “I was merely shopping.”

  “All day?” the man asked.

  “She was down at Melvin’s, showing Marilee how to sew,” Gabe said.

  “Marilee Clark doesn’t know how to sew?” Sy asked.

  “Yes, I was just showing her some other stitches.” She patted Sy’s arm. “Thank you for your concern. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  Sy’s face turned a bit red, but then he asked, “Say, why didn’t you mention you were getting married?”

  “We wanted to keep it simple. No fuss,” Gabe answered as he steered Janette toward the stairway. “If you’ll excuse us.”

  “Oh, yes,” Sy said with a tee-hee in his tone. “You two go on up.”

  Gabe ignored Sy’s giggles. He’d dealt with people’s responses to him having gotten married all afternoon.

  At Janette’s door, he waited for her to pull the key from her pocket. Taking it from her hand, he unlocked the door and pushed
it open, standing aside so she could enter.

  “Is this why you asked if I’d eaten?” she said, not crossing the threshold.

  Peering around her, he saw a table, covered with a cloth and hosting a vase of sunflowers. He shook his head. “I had nothing to do with that.”

  He followed her into the room, stopping at one of the two chairs flanking the table. “It appears the hotel will be sending up a meal for us.”

  She nodded, but her eyes never left the note that said “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Callaway.” The unimpressed expression on her face didn’t surprise him, nor did her silence.

  “I’ll go tell Sy to never mind,” he said.

  “No. Please don’t. Not after I worried him so.”

  “Changed your mind about not being hungry?”

  “No.” She bowed her head in an almost-shameful way. “I’ve heard crow is easier to eat warm.”

  “Have you? I’ve heard warm or cold it sticks in your throat.”

  The little huff she let out almost made him smile. Almost because the insolent glare she sent his way already had him smiling.

  She turned around in order to set her packages on the bed. “I am sorry for not telling anyone where I was going today. I didn’t plan on being gone that long. I was merely going to talk to Mr. Sutherland.”

  He stepped up behind her. “Why? He won’t be any help. Judge Schofield had made up his mind before we ever walked into the courtroom today.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I know Schofield. Family means everything to him.”

  “And it doesn’t to you?”

  “I didn’t say that.” But he had thought about that today. Of family. Of how his parents had continually spoken of future generations living on the ranch. Of how they’d claimed that someday both he and Max would find wives who would love the ranch as much as they did. He’d forgotten how heavy a burden that had been, especially right after his father had died. It had been his focus, right up until the blizzard had hit. Saving the ranch had taken precedence then.

  Janette spun around. Unprepared, he couldn’t back up quick enough and she bumped into him. Leaping backward, she then bumped into the table. He grasped her upper arms to steady her. The moment their eyes met, everything seemed to stop, including his mind, except for the thought of kissing her.

  Her lips had to be soft as flower petals and as sweet as sugar. Warm, too. A groan rumbled silently in his throat. As if knowing his thoughts, she licked her lips. He shouldn’t kiss her, wouldn’t, but it would be so easy, especially as she swayed toward him. He bent his head downward, slowly, challenging her as much as he was himself. If she pulled back, he’d stop. If she didn’t...

  His lips were almost touching hers when a clatter had him pulling back and twisting to glance over his shoulder.

  Sy stood there holding a tray. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said a bit sheepishly. “But you left the door wide-open.”

  Janette went rigid, stone stiff, and Gabe let his hands fall away as she backed up and then spun around.

  He turned the opposite way and walked to the door, which was indeed open. “Thanks,” he said, taking the tray from Sy. He kicked the door shut while backing into the room. When he knew the table was near, he turned about and set the tray down.

  Janette had crossed the room, now stood near the window with her back to him, but he could see how hard she trembled. He didn’t hold any regrets. Or maybe he did. Maybe he did regret not kissing her.

  This was new for him. He couldn’t seem to find the wherewithal to put his feelings first. What the ranch needed had always come first to him. That had been easy. This wasn’t.

  Flustered, he lifted the plates of food off the tray and set them on the table. “We might as well eat before the food gets cold.”

  * * *

  Janette held her breath, hoping that would help. Her heart was racing, her skin tingling, as were her lips. It was as if someone had just handed her something, something unique and precious, and then pulled it away before she got a chance to see what it was, which filled her with a great sense of disappointment.

  “It’s steak,” he said. “It’ll toughen as it cools.”

  She wasn’t hungry. Not for food. She wasn’t a fool either. And should be glad. Very glad he hadn’t kissed her.

  Willing herself to pretend as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred, she turned about. “That happens to steak.”

  “It does,” he said.

  The way he watched her, it was almost as if he dared her to cross the room. To step close to him again. Now was not the time to back down. There was even more at stake than before. Her first few steps were nearly impossible with such weakened knees, but she managed to walk all the way to the table. He stood next to a chair, waiting for her to sit in it, so she did, and she mumbled a thank-you while he pushed it closer.

  He sat down, directly across from her, which wasn’t far because it was a very small table. A very small room. The food was before her, so she ate a few bites, having to swallow hard to make each forkful go down and swallow again to make it stay there.

  She tried not to look at him, which was impossible. It was somewhat of a relief to see his head down, his eyes on his plate. Or was it? He was avoiding her. Ashamed of what had almost happened.

  He should be ashamed. So should she.

  “You should be hungry after all the shopping you did.”

  She took a drink of water, just to make sure she wouldn’t choke on the green beans she’d just eaten before answering. “I purchased material to sew clothes for Ruby. Things she will need until her other items arrive.”

  “Other items? Did you order her new shoes or something?”

  She hadn’t thought about shoes, but now that he mentioned them, Ruby would need a new pair of those, as well. Ruby was the reason she was here, and she would not forget that again. “The items I’m referring to are those I had shipped from Texas to Kansas City.”

  Feeling eyes on her, she looked up through her lashes. His expression was serious, thoughtful and made her heart hammer. Thankful for enough self-control to look back down, she stabbed another bean, but then set her fork down. There was no sense taking chances on choking to death.

  “You’ll have to wire your assistant, tell her to ship them to the ranch,” he said while setting down his fork.

  “No, I won’t.”

  “Ruby’s not going to Kansas City.”

  “Yes, she is.” Janette folded her hands together to keep them from shaking. “I will speak to Mr. Sutherland tomorrow morning and ask him to petition for a divorce. Then I will—”

  “Schofield won’t grant us a divorce.”

  “We won’t know until we ask,” she insisted.

  “It will be a waste of breath,” Gabe said. “And Ruby’s not leaving my ranch.”

  “It appears, Mr. Callaway, that this marriage we were forced into has not solved our original issue whatsoever.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “That’s where you are mistaken. We no longer have an issue. You are now my wife and will live at my ranch, with Ruby and me.”

  “Repeating a few words does not make someone a wife. Furthermore, it’s impossible for me to live out here. I have a business. People who depend on me. Ruby and I will live in Kansas City.”

  He was silent for so long, she could hear her heart beating in her ears. She had no idea how divorces were acquired, but had heard they were becoming more popular. Easier to obtain. It seemed the only reasonable answer.

  “A divorce isn’t the answer,” he finally said.

  “I believe it is.” She waved a hand toward the open window. “Listen? You hear that music? It’s coming from a saloon. This town is full of them. It’s not a safe place to raise a child.”

  “Ruby won’t be living in Hays.” He leaned forward
and leveled one of his dark-eyed stares on her. “She’ll be on my ranch, where she’ll be far safer than in your beloved Kansas City.”

  “Kansas City has very little crime. I rarely hear of any and—” She paused as he grabbed his hat off the floor and stood. “Where are you going?”

  “Out.”

  “But I’m not done. We haven’t—”

  “I am.” In one step, he was at the door. “Lock this behind me.”

  She didn’t reply. There was no reason to. He was already gone. If he wasn’t willing to listen to reason, they’d never get anywhere. She pressed both hands to her temples. Oh, he was an infuriating man.

  The door opened. “I said lock it.”

  She pushed away from the table and stood, but stopped before collecting the key off the dresser. “Sy will be along shortly to collect the plates.”

  “Then you’ll unlock it for him.”

  A nerve snapped inside her. “You expect your every command to be followed, don’t you?”

  “Yes. And now that you realize that, remember it.”

  If she’d had something in her hand, she may have pitched it at him. As it was, seething, she grabbed the key and dang near broke it off by shoving it into the lock so forcibly. She had obeyed orders for most of her life and had hated it. Hated it.

  She was still seething when a short time later a knock sounded on the door and Sy announced himself. In her state of mind, their names eluded her as Sy introduced her to his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. The younger girl stacked the plates on a tray and carried it out while the daughter-in-law carried out both chairs and Sy hoisted the table off the floor. Janette found the wherewithal to thank them for the meal and accepted their congratulations. Sy then told her about the bathing room down the hall and promised to haul up hot water shortly, stating he was sure she’d want to use the amenities.

  Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she nodded.

  “That reminds me,” he said while stepping out the door. “A telegram came for you earlier. That’s how I knew you weren’t in your room and started to worry. I plum forgot all about it. I’ll bring it up in two shakes.”