Bonds of Matrimony (37 page)

           
When
the voice spoke up, Chase was far enough away that Webb could only see a figure
on horseback and a cloud of dust.
 
Without even turning around, he recognized the voice from the saloon.

           
“Stockton,”
he greeted coldly, moving toward the shore to retrieve his clothes.
 
“I hope you weren’t hoping to join me
for a swim.
 
Duties call from the ranch.”

           
He
smiled greasily.
 
“No, of course
not.”

           
Webb
put his pants on, tugging hard to get them over his wet hips.
 
“I’m glad you stopped by,
actually.
 
This will give me a
chance to make you understand how we treat our women here.”

           
“I
apologize for the incident with your cousin.
 
I did not intend for her to get hurt.
 
One of my men lost patience with her
refusal to cooperate.”

           
“One
of your men?
 
That isn’t the story
Elisabeth tells.”

           
Stockton
had the arrogance to shrug.
 
“Well,
you know women.”

           
“Why
are you here?” Webb asked, trying to contain his anger.

           
“Just
exploring your ranch.
 
I told your
cousin that I knew you were hiding something.
 
And I’m going to find out what it is,” he promised without
emotion.

           
“I’m
a simple man, Stockton.
 
But I’m
not stupid.
 
Trust me when I say
that I know better than to tangle with you.
 
I am merely a rancher who is interested in minding my own
business…and seeing to it that my cousin is safe and happy,”
 
he added with a curt nod in the
Englishman’s direction.

           
“I
have apologized for my man’s temper.
 
And I am simply warning you, Mr. Webb, that I don’t trust you.
 
I will be watching you.”

           
“Well
then, I’m sure that will prove to be quite boring for you.”
 
He propped his hat on his wet head and
mounted his horse.
 
“You will
excuse me.
 
My ranch will not run
itself.”
 
And with that, Webb
turned his horse and rode back toward his home.
 
His hope was that their conversation was long enough to keep
Stockton from following Chase’s trail back to the Fairfax ranch.

CHAPTER 20

           
Chase
sat on the porch that evening replaying the two marriage proposals from Colton
Webb.
 
The bottom line was that she
was in love with the man.
 
She knew
that he could make her happy.
 
He
could also make her furious.
 
Life
would never be boring with him.
 
And she knew deep down that he was right, they were made for each
other.
 
The question was whether or
not she could marry a man she loved knowing he wasn’t in love with her.

           
“You
look deep in thought,” a whisper came from behind her.
 
She turned to see the silhouette of a
very pregnant Elisa outlined in the front doorway.
 
Her sister-in-law quietly closed the screen door behind her
and struggled to sit in the rocking chair on the front porch.
 
Chase was sitting on the front steps
and turned to face her shadow.

           
“He
proposed.”

           
“Yes.
 
Marcus told me.”

           
“Twice.”

           
“And
you declined the second time.”
 
It
was not a question.

           
“I
promised myself I would not marry.
 
If I want to maintain my own values, I cannot give in on this issue.”

           
“Even
if you are in love with him?” she asked softly and gently.

           
A
wry smile touched the corners of Chase’s mouth.
 
“
Because
I am in
love with him.”
 
Her voice trembled
and her throat tightened.

           
The
rocking chair creaked on the floorboards of the front porch, signifying that Elisa
was leaning toward her.
 
Her hand
found Chase’s shoulder, and she patted lightly.
 
“He’s a good man.”

           
“That
won’t
comfort
me when he breaks my heart.”

           
“Perhaps
you aren’t giving enough credit,” she suggested.

           
“I’m
giving him the credit he’s due.”

           
“I
meant you.
 
Perhaps you aren’t
giving
yourself
enough credit.”

           
Chase
sat puzzled for a moment and turned her face away from her.
 
She knew it was too dark for Elisa to
be able to see her tears, but she found the sliver of moon somehow
comforting.
 
“If I gave myself less
credit, I would marry him tomorrow.
 
But I have my pride, Elisa.
 
I have my stupid, stupid pride.”

           
“I
suppose that you have a difficult decision to make.”

           
“I’ve
made my decision.”

           
“And
your pride is more important than marrying the man you love?”

           
She
swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped her nose with the back of her
hand.
 
“He doesn’t love me,
Elisa.
 
And I can’t sacrifice my
being for a man who isn’t in love with me.”

           
Chase
heard her suck in her breath sharply.
 
She rocked back in her chair and let out her breath before saying, “I
think you’re wrong about this, Chase.”

           
“You
think I should marry a man who isn’t in love with me?” she asked.
 
She noticed that she spoke a little too
loudly, and she quickly lowered her voice to a whisper to avoid drawing the
attention of the other family members on the other side of the doors.
 
“Could you honestly say that you would,
if you were in my shoes?”

           
“I
think you’re wrong about Colton.”

           
“You
think he’s in love with me?”
 
Chase
paused to consider the possibility and then silently chastised herself for
daring to get her hopes up.
 
“If
that was true, he would have told me.”

           
“Like
you told him?” she laughed softly.
 
Chase heard a noise from her direction that sounded out of place.

           
“Are
you okay, Elisa?” she asked.

           
“Fine,
Chase.”
 
Her chair creaked quietly
as she moved back and forth slowly.
 
“I think that you need to be intelligent about this decision.
 
Marriage is not an issue that should be
taken lightly.
 
You are in love
with the man.
 
I happen to think he
has some very real feelings for you.
 
I think he might even be in love with you.
 
The difficult decision is not whether you should marry him
or not.
 
The difficult decision is
whether you should put your heart on the line and tell this man you love
him.
 
And while you’re weighing
your options, you could go tell your brother that he needs to fetch a
doctor.
 
It would seem his wife is
about to give birth to their first child.”

           
It
took a couple of seconds before Chase registered what her sister-in-law was
telling her.
 
She was still
considering the possibility of professing her love for Colton.
 
It suddenly dawned on her that Elisa
was telling me that the sound I’d heard was her water breaking and spilling
onto the floorboards beneath her.
 
She had continued rocking to hide the sounds of her breathing.
 

           
Chase
launched herself through the front screen door hollering for some help.
 
“Marcus!
 
Grandmother!
 
Reese!
 
The baby is
coming!
 
The baby!
 
Help!”

           
All
three of them met her in the front hallway.
 
Her grandmother quickly and efficiently took control of the
situation.
  
She stepped
outside and assessed Elisa’s condition.
 
“Rosalie, you and I shall go prepare the room for the delivery.
 
Marcus, help your wife into the
house.
 
Chastity, you should get
yourself to town as fast as you can.
 
I ran into Dr. Burns today at the general store.
 
He was on his way to the Milner ranch.
 
One of the ranch hands needed his
assistance.
 
He may be in town
still.”

           
Chase
nodded and raced out the front door.
 
She leapt off of the front porch and sprinted to the stables.
 
Once there, she saddled up Artemis and
mounted her.
 
She dug in her heels
and forced the horse in the direction of town.
 
Chase knew nothing about childbirth, and she had no idea how
long Elisa had.
 

           
She
arrived at town in record time and flung Artemis’s reins around the post in
front of the saloon.
 
Without
considering the ramifications, she rushed through the doors and scanned the
smoky room for signs of the doctor.
 
When she didn’t see him immediately, she cried out, “Dr. Burns?!”

           
Twenty
hat-covered heads turned in her direction.
 
One of them responded.
 
“He’s staying above Wainwright’s place tonight.”

           
Without
pausing to thank the man for his assistance or God for our good fortune, Chase
ran from the saloon and through the street.

           
“Chastity
Fairfax!” a voice bellowed from behind.

           
Until
that moment, she had completely forgotten that Jett Stockton was still in town
and waiting to find her.
 
In an
effort to come to her niece’s or nephew’s rescue, Chase had unwittingly handed
Stockton her head on the proverbial platter.
 
She stopped in her steps as though he had a gun aimed at her
head, and she turned slowly to face him.

           
He
approached her slowly, head held so high that he had to literally look down his
nose to see her.
 
“I’ve been
traipsing all over the world in search of you, you little bitch.
 
Your father and I had an
agreement.
 
You belong to me,” he
spoke slowly, enunciating.
 
“You
tried to fight me, even though I told you that would be a mistake.
 
You tried to reject me.
 
And when none of that worked, you fled
and publicly humiliated me.”
 
He
was standing before her now, and she didn’t remember that he had been so much
bigger.
 
“Now it’s my turn.
 
It’s time for you to open your pretty
eyes and see that it’s a man’s world.
 
It’s my world.
 
You are
nothing.”

           
Chase
looked into his face and grimaced at the sight of spittle gathering and
stretching between his dry, sneering lips.
 
“Then it would appear you have come a long way for
nothing…wouldn’t it?” she spat defiantly.

           
His
arm came down quickly and the back of his hand caught her on the side of her
head.
 
The blow flung her to the
ground.
 
Even as he lunged toward her,
she was skittering away from him and attempting to get back to her feet.
 
           
“I’ve
come to get what’s mine, you stupid cow,” he growled.

           
“This
isn’t England.
 
I am
my own guardian here
, and you have no agreement or contract with
me
.”