Bonds of Matrimony (39 page)

           
“Please
don’t, Marcus.
 
You need them.
 
We will take care of ourselves,” she
assured him.

           
He
gently pulled at the collar on her shirt to reveal the purple finger prints on her
throat, a less-than-lovely reminder of that man their father had promised her
to.
 
“Evidently,” he said
sarcastically.
 
“Chantal would
probably be willing to come and keep an eye out for you.”
 
He grinned.

           
“As
long as she brings her shotgun,” Chase smiled back.
 
“She is one tough lady.”

           
“In
her line of work, she has to be, Chase.”
 
He paused for a couple of minutes, long enough to plunge a few forks
full of food into his mouth.
 
“Did
any of Stockton’s men follow you home last night?”

           
I’d
been hoping he wouldn’t ask.
 
“I
don’t know,” she answered honestly.
 
In her rush to get Dr. Burns to Elisa, she hadn’t paid any
attention.
 
It wasn’t until the sun
was nearly up that Chase began to worry about the consequences of her
recklessness.
 

           
“He
knows you’re here in Slaughter now.
 
I mean, he knew before, but he didn’t have proof.
 
Now…he won’t leave until he finds you
and can take you back to England.”

           
“Not
necessarily.
 
He might just kill
me.”

           
“It’s
not a joking matter, Chase.
 
He’s a
dangerous man.”

           
“You
don’t have to tell me, Marcus.”
 
She
subconsciously put her fingertips to her bruised neck.
 
“But I don’t quite know what to do about
it.”

           
“I
think it might be time to call in the Marshall and see what he can do.
 
Stockton is posing a threat to our
family.
 
To every person in Slaughter,
truthfully.
 
At the very least,
perhaps we could force him out of town.”

           
“He’s
not giving up, Marcus.
 
He’ll only
sneak back.”

           
Since
neither of them had a solution, they finished their breakfast in silence and
hurried to check on Elisa.
 
Jacob
had just finished nursing and was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s
arms.
 
The two of them were the
picture of bliss.
 

           
On
their way out of the house, they met their Grandmother.

           
“Did
you have a nice walk?” Marcus greeted warmly.

           
“I
went for a ride, actually
,” she answered simply.
 
“How are Elisa and the baby doing?
 
I checked in on them this morning, but they were both still
sleeping.”

           
Chase
left the two of them chatting, feeling certain that Marcus would take the
opportunity to lecture her about staying safely close to the home.
 
Chase walked briskly down to the
stables, constantly surveying her surroundings and wondering if Stockton or his
men were lurking around and spying on them.
 
The way she figured, he would show up within a matter of
time.
 
Fortunately, she was spared
that confrontation for the duration of the morning.
 

           
At
noon, she excused herself and returned to the house to help her grandmother
make lunch.
 
Elisa was up out of
bed and moving slowly around the kitchen.
 
Reese was sitting at the table holding her alert nephew, and Elisabeth
was cooing over her shoulder.
 
The
arrival of this little boy had turned this household into a house full of
babbling women.
 
Unlike her sister
and Elisabeth, Chase prided herself on being strong and independent, but even she
was not immune to the tiny tot’s charms.
 

           
“Elisa,
how are you feeling?” she asked her as she wiped off her hands.
 

           
“If
I don’t get my body out of bed, I will sink into the mattress and suffocate.”

           
Their
grandmother smiled over her shoulder and said, “Somebody is getting a little
stir crazy already.
 
But don’t
fear, dear, we are keeping a close watch over her to make sure she doesn’t
overdo it.”
 
She carried a basket
full of bread over to the table and brushed past Chase.
 
Without making eye contact, she asked,
“Did Mr. Webb find you, Chastity?”

           
Her
stomach fell and she was afraid her gasp for breath was audible to the other
women in the room.
 
“No.
 
Is he with you today, Elisabeth?”
 
Chase hoped she sounded more nonchalant
than she thought.
 

           
“He
is,” she answered, studying the baby intently in an attempt to hide the
twitching corners of her mouth.
 

           
Chase
wasn’t sure what these women were so giddy about.
 
Marcus had already announced to the entire family that
Colton had asked to marry her.
 
Reese had been momentarily overjoyed.
 
Her sister’s sour expression calmed her excitement immediately.
 
Her grandmother had watched her with
interest, and Chase was fairly certain that she could read her mind.
 
Of everyone she knew and loved, her grandmother
understood her better than anyone.
 
But she also had warned Chastity about Colton Webb from the
beginning.
 
She wondered if her
grandmother would have welcomed news of their pending nuptials.
 
Oh well.
 
It was a
moot
point anyway.
 
There would be no wedding.

           
But
that didn’t give her any clues as to what Webb would want with her today.
 
Certainly he hadn’t grown so bold as to
greet her family and announce that he’d come to see her before racing to the
pond with her and making intoxicating love in the water.
 
And she knew Webb’s pride would not
permit him to propose again and risk a third rejection, no matter his noble
intentions.
 
Perhaps he had spoken
with Stockton and convinced him to leave town somehow.
 
As charming as he could be, she had a
strong feeling that he could be equally formidable.

           
“We
rode here.
 
He’s probably with the
horses in the stables.
 
You must
have just missed him,” Elisabeth informed her.
 

           
All
four women stared at her intently, not bothering to disguise their curiosity,
wondering how long it would take her to go running after him; but Chase Fairfax
would
never
run after
any
man.
 

           
“Can
I do something to help with lunch?” she asked, smiling to see their faces fall
with disappointment.
 
They were as
curious as she was about why Colton Webb was here looking for her.
 
Her grandmother tried again.

           
“He
looked quite serious, Chastity.
 
We’ve got lunch almost ready.
 
Why don’t you go help with the horses and find out what he wants?” she
suggested.

           
“There’s
nothing that Mr. Webb could possibly want to discuss with me that can’t wait
until after lunch.”

           
“Actually,
I would like to speak with you for a short while, if you wouldn’t mind.”
 
His masculine voice surprised her.
 
She hadn’t seen him or heard him slip
in the back door.
 
He looked
fantastic standing there in Elisa’s kitchen.

           
“I
was just telling these women, Mr. Webb, that we don’t have anything to
discuss.”
           
“Don’t
be rude, Chastity.
 
Mr. Webb rode
all this way to speak with you.
 
Your parents raised you to be more polite,” her grandmother scolded.

           
“They
certainly
tried
to raise me to be
more polite,” she retorted.

           
“Listen,”
he interrupted angrily, “I only wanted to give you this.”
 
He slapped a small dark pistol onto the
tabletop.
 
“If you aren’t going let
me keep you safe, then at least learn how to take care of yourself.
 
I heard about your run-in with
Stockton, and it is clear that the man would have killed you if he’d had the
opportunity.”

           
She
didn’t know what to say.
 
The
entire room full of women was silent.

           
“Do
you know how to shoot one of these?” he asked impatiently.

           
“No,”
she answered in awe.

           
“Your
brother can show you, I’m sure.
 
And that’s all I wanted.
 
I
just want you to be able to protect yourself since you’re being so damned
stubborn about not letting me take care of you.”
 
He scowled at her and then at the floor before turning to
his cousin.
 
“Are you ready to head
back?”

           
Elisabeth
sensed the seriousness of the situation and quickly rose to her feet and
followed him out the back door, with a small wave to the rest of them.

           
The
silence that filled the house after their departure was overwhelming.
 
Chase looked at the pistol lying on the
table, and she felt tears burning her eyes and the back of her throat.
 
Elisa sighed heavily.
 
“He’s fallen in love with you,” she
whispered.

           
Reese
smiled sympathetically at her sister.
 
Her grandmother busied herself with finishing the lunch
preparations.
 
She wanted to run
after him and throw her arms around him.
 
She didn’t care if Marcus and the others saw.
 
She didn’t care about being strong and independent.
 
He cared enough to want her safe above
all else, even if it meant sacrificing his damned pride.
 
And he trusted her to be able to take
care of herself.
 
Suddenly, she
couldn’t remember why she had refused to marry Colton Webb…twice.
 
He was perfect for her.
 
And she couldn’t imagine loving someone
more.

CHAPTER 22

           
His
advice was sound.
 
And that
afternoon, Marcus first showed her how to shoot a pistol.
 
For such a small little piece, she was
surprised at the kick it had.
 
Fortunately, she learned that she had inherited her father’s good eye
and steady hand.
 
He had always
been a voracious hunter, and his disappointment in his son’s mediocre shooting
had always been evident.
 

           
“Father
would have loved this,” Marcus grumbled, watching his sister aim and shoot at a
tree behind the stables.

           
A
part of her wanted to show off her natural talent.
 
Another part of her just wanted to see Colton Webb
again.
 
And when she was truly
honest with herself, she knew that she wanted to make love to him and hear him
propose marriage again.

           
It
had been two weeks since he had placed that gun on their table and walked out
the back door.
 
And she dug her
heels into Artemis’ sides and hugged her neck, wishing she would move even
faster.
 
She was heading to the
pond.
 
It was hot.
 
It was a perfect day for a swim.
 
And with two weeks and no word from
Jett Stockton, it was far from safe for her to be riding farther from her home
and family and closer to the Webb ranch, where Stockton had shown up a month
before.
 
But she had her pistol
tucked into a holster on her ankle—a small gift from her
brother—and she felt that if she didn’t see Colton soon, she would go out
of her mind.
 
Chase rubbed the side
of her horse’s neck in an attempt to encourage her to pick up even more speed.