Not the Marrying Kind (33 page)

All in the name of
keeping the family
together
.

Kat spat on the ground. She hated people who
preached values yet failed to see the truth beneath the surface.
Not all families were kind and loving. Not all families cared about
each other. Fathers didn’t always protect their children. Sometimes
they even hurt them—with words, with cruel looks, with heavy-handed
blows.

Not wanting to shout, she waved to get
Benjamin’s attention. For all she knew, Kendrick and his little
band might be following close behind her. If she didn’t return to
the ranch soon, they would probably come after her. As quickly as
possible, she had to get Benjamin to safety. She didn’t have much
time.

When he saw her, his freckled face lit up
like a sunny morning after a cloudy dawn. Warmth shone in his big,
trusting golden-brown eyes. Before he could call out a greeting,
Kat put a finger to her lips and shook her head.

Benjamin’s face screwed up. Obviously
confused, he wheeled the pinto around and rode toward her.

“Keep quiet and follow me,” she said as soon
as he’d drawn near enough to hear her whispered voice. Kat sucked
in a breath. Like it or not, there was only one place she could
take Benjamin, only one place where she could count on him being
safe. “We’re going to Cody’s. We have to hurry.” Worried still that
the men might be coming after her, she threw a furtive glance over
her shoulder.

“My father?”

Kat nodded. “I’ll tell you everything later.
Let’s go.”

They rode stealthily at first, their voices
hushed, their horses’ movements slow and steady. As they cleared
the edge of the Rocking P, Kat gave a signal, pressed her knees to
the mare’s flanks, and raced across the fields with Benjamin on the
pinto close at her horse’s heels. Side-by-side, they galloped
across the creek, splashing through the cool, clear water.

* * * *

Joshua heard the riders coming. Judging from
their breakneck pace, they were in one hell of a hurry…whoever they
were. He exchanged glances with Cody.

“You expecting anybody?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. Grabbing his
flat-brimmed hat and one of Cody’s pistols, he stepped from the
cabin.

“It’s Kat,” he called back to his cousin,
tucking the pistol into his belt. A cloud of dirt and sawdust rose
in the air. “Benjamin’s with her. Something’s sure as hell wrong.”
He hurried toward them as fast as he could, but his damned leg
slowed him down. When Kat jumped from the saddle and ran to him, he
greeted her with open arms.

“What is it?” he asked, holding her with an
iron-grip to steady her. He could feel the tremors shooting through
her body. “What’s wrong? Calm down,” he said. “Take a breath.”

“We need your help. Right now.” In that
moment, he sensed that all the anger, even the disgust and hatred
she’d held in her heart for him only three days before, no longer
mattered. She clung to him as though he were a lifeline.

Cody stepped up. He threw his arm over
Benjamin’s shoulder. “You know we’ll help. What do we need to
do?”

Panting and barely able to speak, Kat jerked
her head toward Benjamin. “His father wants him back.”

Joshua’s hands clenched, gripping Kat’s arms
tighter. “How do you know? Is he at the ranch?” He actually glanced
in the direction of the Rocking P as if he might somehow be able to
see across the distance.

“No,” Kat replied. “But Reverend Kendrick is
there. He’s been in touch with Mr. Brooks. Marshal Long is there
too. They’re wanting to take Benjamin away with them.”

Joshua’s dark brows arched. “Do you know
where his father is?”

“I’m guessing maybe he’s in Denver. Or maybe
he’s headed for Sunset by now. I didn’t stick around long enough to
hear all the particulars.”

Act first, ask questions later. Joshua had
learned that lesson growing up, and it had served him well. Most of
the time, anyway.

“What do you want us to do? How can we
help?”

“You have to hide Benjamin.”

“I’d be glad to take the boy in,” Cody said,
“but he wouldn’t be safe here. You know this is the next place
they’ll come looking.”

Kat nodded. “They’re probably headed this
way now. There’s got to be someplace he can stay, someplace where
no one will find him.”

“Cody, remember what you told me?” Joshua
asked. “You said Colorado had hundreds of caves. Are there any
close by?” He studied Benjamin. “You wouldn’t be afraid to stay
inside a cave, would you?”

“No, sir.”

Joshua eased his hold on Kat’s arms and
motioned toward her mare. “Don’t worry about Benjamin. We’ll fix
him up with all the supplies he needs, and we’ll make sure he’s
well-hidden. You’d better get back to the ranch.”

“What will I tell them?” She looked first to
Joshua, then to Cody, but it was Benjamin who spoke up.

“Tell them I’m gone. Tell them I’m never
coming back.”

* * * *

An hour later, Kat rode into the yard. Every
muscle in her body ached, and her limbs were stiff with tension. To
her dismay, her father, Reverend Kendrick, and the marshal still
waited on the porch, all of them grim-faced and silent. After
dismounting and leading Sadie to the corral, she took a deep breath
and turned toward the men.

“Where’s Benjamin?” her father asked. He
stepped away from the others and came toward her. Disapproval
showed in his tight-lipped expression and in his slow, deliberate
steps. “You’d better have a good reason why that boy isn’t with
you, Katherine.”

“I’ve got a very good reason,” she said,
closing the gate and latching it securely. She needed time…time to
calm down, time to catch her breath, time to steady her pounding
heart. Her knees were shaking and she could hardly stand, but she
wasn’t going to show any weakness. As much as she would have liked
to lean against the wooden fencing, she put her weight solidly on
the ground, planted her hands on her hips and stared back at her
father. This was the man who had raised her, the man who had taught
her to know the difference between right and wrong, to always be
truthful, to obey the laws of the land. “He’s gone,” she said,
remembering Benjamin’s words. But then a lie slipped out. “He must
have run off sometime during the day.” Unable to look her father in
the eye, she averted her gaze. It would be too easy for him to see
that she was not telling the truth. “I searched everywhere, Pa.
That’s what took me so long.” She swallowed and finally lifted her
chin. “I even went out to Cody’s place. I thought maybe I’d find
him there.”

Both the marshal and the minister had come
down from the porch. They exchanged a few words, then Long walked
over to stand beside Kat’s father. He tipped his hat toward
Kat.

“Thanks for all your trouble, Miss Phillips.
I doubt he’ll get too far in this country, so I’m sure I can round
up a few men to ride with me, and we’ll be able to track him down
with no problem.”

“No, you can’t!” Kat cried out. She couldn’t
go on pretending any longer. She’d had more than enough of lying.
“Benjamin ran away because he knew you wanted to take him back to
his father. He doesn’t want to go back.” She looked from one man to
the next, hoping to catch some glimmer of understanding, some
awareness or acknowledgment of the plain and simple truth. She saw
none. “Don’t any of you realize what’s going on here?” she asked,
throwing her hands up. “His father hurt him. He beat him and
whipped him.”

“You don’t know that for a fact,” her father
said. “Benjamin’s a child, and he’s got no right to run away. His
father is responsible for him, for his well-being.”

Virgil Kendrick spoke next, giving Kat a
sorrowful look as though she obviously didn’t have a brain in her
head. “Benjamin’s fed you a pack of lies, Katherine. You’re
gullible, of course. Most women are, especially where children are
concerned. I know you want to believe the boy, but he’s been
playing on your sympathies, tugging at your heart-strings, so to
speak.”

“At least I have a heart.”

“Katherine, that’s enough,” warned her
father. “I won’t have you speaking back to Reverend Kendrick.”

The minister placed a hand on her father’s
arm. “It’s all right. She’s upset. I know she didn’t mean anything
by it.”

Kat rolled her eyes. How could Kendrick be
so blind, so determined to see only what he wished to see? And
Marshal Long? Her father, too? She considered another retort,
informing the godly man how very much she
did
mean what
she’d said, but antagonizing him would do nothing to help her
cause.

“I’m only wanting to help.” Kat stared down
at her boots again.

“That’s all we want, as well.” Kendrick
said. “Mr. Brooks is distraught about the way Benjamin took off. I
agree, there must have been some difficulties in their
relationship, something that drove the boy to run away, but
problems can be resolved. It’s not right, Katherine, for a child to
make his father suffer so greatly. The sooner we find Benjamin and
reunite him with his father, the sooner the healing process can
begin.”

“Healing process?” Kat’s laugh was derisive.
She’d heard enough. She turned and marched toward the house. “You
won’t find him,” she tossed out over her shoulder.

Her father cleared his throat. “I apologize
for my daughter, gentlemen. I suppose the two of you might as well
go on. Obviously Benjamin’s not here, but I suspect Katherine knows
exactly where he is. I’ll have a little talk with her, get the
truth out of her, and I’ll let you know where to find the boy.”

Kat listened to his words with disdain. How
presumptuous of him! Yes, he knew she’d fibbed, but it would take
more than a little fatherly chat to get to the truth. Besides, she
had no idea precisely where Cody and Joshua had taken Benjamin. She
couldn’t tell what she didn’t know.

She shook her head when her father
approached her. Staring off into the distance, she watched Kendrick
and the marshal ride away.

“Sorry, Pa, but I don’t feel much like
talking.”

“I know your heart’s in the right place,
honey,” her father said, drawing a few steps closer, “but there are
some matters that are best left to the Lord.”

“Is that a fact?” she asked, with no
inflection. It was more of a sarcastic statement than a legitimate
question, an indirect way of telling her father his words and his
actions weren’t ringing true. How could anyone talk about the Lord
and all the while be trying to help an abusive father track down a
son who’d managed to escape from harm?

All he’s told you is a pack of
lies
.

“How would you, Reverend Kendrick, or anyone
else know whether or not Benjamin is telling the truth, Pa? You’ve
hardly spent any time with him. Did you even look at the bruises on
his arms when we first found him? Did you see the scars from the
whippings his father gave him? No, you never bothered to pay him
any mind at all.” She opened the door and stepped into the
kitchen.

“Now, Katherine, don’t you see the truth?
This just goes to show how much of a woman you are.”

“What are you prattling about now?”

“You’re too soft, honey, but I mean that in
a good way. All women are like that, always wanting to take care of
others, help others out. But you have to watch yourself. You can’t
overstep the bounds. As much as you care about that boy, you can’t
control his life or his future. That’s his father’s
responsibility.”

“And I suppose it’s your responsibility to
control me and my life, isn’t it? Just like you consider it your
responsibility to see me married off to Reverend Kendrick so you
can get what you want. You think because you’re my father, you’ve
got the right to meddle in my life and my affairs.”

“Honey, I’m only—”

“Only trying to help me,” she finished,
cutting off his words. “Or were you going to say that you’re only
doing what you think is best? I’ve heard both of those claims a lot
over the years, Pa, and I’ve finally figured out what they mean.”
She fisted her hands on her hips and turned to stare at him. “It
means you’re going to do whatever the hell you want, and never mind
how I feel about things. It means you don’t give a damn about me or
my feelings.” Without another word, she turned and stormed toward
the stairway. When he called after her, she refused to look
back.

“You can’t interfere in other people’s
lives, Katherine,” he shouted after her.

“And you can’t interfere in mine. Not any
more, Pa. I’ve had enough.”

Kat refused to come out of her room for
supper that evening, and no amount of cajolery could persuade her
to change her mind. When a knock sounded at her door shortly before
bedtime, she steeled herself against it. In no mood for any of her
sister’s babblings, or for her mother’s common-sense talks, she
folded her arms and stared at the door.

“Katherine?”

Her head jerked up at the sound of her
father’s voice. “Go away. I’m tired. I don’t feel like
talking.”

Nothing her father had to say could be of
interest to her. Most likely he wanted to lecture her again on the
folly of her ways, perhaps preach to her about her duties as a
daughter, and read a chapter or two of scriptures. She wasn’t
interested.

“I came to say I’m sorry. I know what I did
was wrong.”

Kat’s mouth fell open. At the same time, her
spine stiffened, and her muscles turned rigid. She couldn’t move,
didn’t dare even try. If she shifted her body even slightly, this
moment would end and she’d find out it was all her imagination.

“What did you just say, Pa?” she asked, her
breath catching in her throat.

“I said I’m sorry, Katherine.”

His wholly unexpected admission of guilt
left her reeling.

“Are you really sorry, Pa? Or are you just
saying that?” At once she turned contrite. Now she owed him an
apology. “Of course you’re sorry or you wouldn’t say it.” Her
father had pulled a few shenanigans, but he’d never told her an
outright lie. Not ever.