To Love a Stranger (26 page)

Reed was silent a long time, staring glumly at Pierce. Pierce could tell Reed begrudged having to agree with him on anything. Fortunately, the sight of Hal humping his own sister had obviously disgusted Reed so thoroughly, he was forced to agree.

“Yeah, as much as it wounds me to agree with a Delaney, none of what happened here was Chad’s fault.”

They looked up as Zoey walked into the kitchen to fetch the kettle of hot water.

“What’s happening?” Pierce asked.

Zoey swallowed hard and shook her head. “It’s bad.” Then she turned and hurried upstairs, leaving the men to wait and worry.

Cora Lee’s body had expelled the dead fetus, but she still continued to bleed profusely. Mrs. Zigler had tried packing her with towels, but nothing seemed to help. Zoey feared for Chad’s sanity if Cora Lee died too. Not that Chad loved Cora Lee, but Zoey knew guilt over these senseless deaths was nearly killing him.

Pierce found coffee on the stove and poured them each a mug. It tasted like mud, but Pierce
welcomed the bitterness; for Chad’s sake he needed to keep a clear head. No matter what happened, Chad would need him when this was over. Delaneys always stuck together.

Chad merely stared into his cup, bile rising in his throat. Nothing would ever taste good to him again. He wanted to get on his horse and ride. Ride away from the ranch, away from the tragedy he’d witnessed today, and away from everything and everyone that reminded him of Dry Gulch and the Doolittles. One might say that today he’d lost his innocence, though Lord knew he was far from innocent. What a naive, arrogant man he had been. What a foolish, noble fool! Never again, he vowed. Never again would he act the gullible fool. He’d always suspected the Devil really existed, and today he’d witnessed his evil. Though not entirely her doing, Cora Lee had committed an unpardonable sin with her own brother. He’d never again underestimate a woman, Chad vowed. Or a man, for that matter. If he could, he’d live his life as a hermit.

Time passed. When Zoey returned to the kitchen, her face was pale and drawn. Pierce leaped from his chair. “How is she?”

“She’s dead,” Zoey said, more shaken than she cared to admit. She and Cora Lee weren’t friends, and she didn’t condone the horrible sin she had committed with her own brother, but the life of an innocent child had been lost. The loss had hit Zoey hard, for she suspected she carried Pierce’s child and would die if anything happened to it.

Reed pushed his hat to the back of his head and cleared his throat. “I reckon I’ll get on back to
town. Don’t look like Hal is gonna repay his debt to me.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “This all belongs to Chad now. He’s Cora Lee’s legal husband and the only survivor, far as I know. I’ll stop by the undertaker and have him bring out three pine boxes. When’s the funeral?”

“Tomorrow,” Pierce said when Chad appeared beyond speech. “I’d advise you to keep what you saw here today under your hat. Contact the preacher, ask him to be here at two o’clock tomorrow to conduct the funeral.”

Reed sent Pierce a mutinous look. “I don’t like you, Delaney. Never did. Don’t like your brothers, either. People are gonna wonder what happened here today, and I’m gonna tell them. The truth might be humiliating to Chad, but that’s the breaks. He got a ranch out of the bargain. That’s more than he deserves.”

Chad looked up at Reed through eyes as cold and bitter as sin. “I want nothing to do with the Doolittle ranch. I never want to hear that name again.”

Reed sent Chad a mocking grin. “Too bad. It’s yours now.” Turning on his heel, he left through the back door, slamming it behind him.

“Reed is right in that respect,” Pierce contended. “The ranch is yours now.”

Chad’s green eyes burned with unholy light. “Didn’t you hear me? I don’t want it! Sell it, burn it down, do whatever you please with it. I won’t be around, whatever you do.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? Where will you go?”

“Anywhere, as long as it’s far away from here.”

“You’re not thinking straight, Chad. None of this is your fault.”

“Isn’t it? I killed Hal, and that makes me responsible for everything that happened after that.”

Pierce knew he couldn’t stop Chad from leaving, and it made him mad as hell. From the corner of his eye he saw Zoey standing in the doorway. He turned and faced her squarely, his anger palpable.

“Are you satisfied now?” he charged. “No woman is worth the kind of anguish my brother is suffering now.”

His expression was so fierce, Zoey recoiled in horror. His rejection struck her like a physical blow. She knew he spoke from concern for his brother, but that didn’t make the hurt any less intense. She was a woman, thus he despised her. Cora Lee and her despicable brother had hatched this plot against the Delaneys, but Pierce was making her take the brunt of his hatred. He blamed her for meddling in his life. Everything that had happened from the day of their wedding to this tragic event was the direct result of their forced marriage.

“I don’t want to intrude on your privacy, but I thought you’d like to hear what Cora Lee told me before she died,” Zoey mumbled.

Pierce preferred not to listen, but realized it was something that had to be brought into the open. “Very well, what did she tell you?”

“She said the baby she carried belonged to her brother. That they had been … been intimate since she was fourteen. When she conceived, Hal told her to get you into bed and convince you that the baby belonged to you. When that didn’t work, Hal
became enraged and beat Cora Lee. She was so frightened of him that when he suggested Cora Lee blame Pierce for the beating, she went along with him. If you need a witness, Mrs. Zigler heard everything and can verify Cora Lee’s dying words.” She turned away. “Oh, one more thing,” she threw over her shoulder. “Cora Lee said she’s sorry. Good-bye, Pierce.”

Pierce laughed harshly, her good-bye all but lost on him. “Sorry! What good does that do now?” He didn’t try to stop Zoey when she left the kitchen. He was still upset over Chad’s decision to leave. Whatever was between him and Zoey could be settled later, after he had time to cool down. At this moment he regretted his marriage to Zoey more than he’d regretted anything in his life. Unfortunately, for the majority of men, women were a necessary evil. There were times when his need for Zoey was obsessive. When that happened he felt as if he’d compromised everything he knew and believed in.

“Aren’t you going after her?” Chad asked when Pierce made no move to follow Zoey. “You know you don’t want her to leave.”

“She’s not leaving,” Pierce said. “I’ll see her back at the house. Someone has to wait for the undertaker. Go on home, Chad. I’ll take care of things here.”

“I’m not going home, Pierce.” Chad’s calmness betrayed nothing of the turmoil roiling inside him. “I’m leaving … now. Tell Ryan good-bye for me.”

“You can’t do this!” Pierce shouted, desperate to change Chad’s mind.

“Good-bye, Pierce.”

Chad slammed out the door; Pierce followed. “When will you be back?”

“Maybe never. Don’t you understand? I killed four people. It’s going to be damn hard to live with myself after today. I’m going to ride as hard and far as I can.”

He mounted up.

“Chad, wait! Don’t go like this. Stick around. You’re bound to feel different tomorrow.”

Chad gave Pierce a look that made his blood congeal. “I’m not the same man who arrived here a few hours ago. I’m a killer of women and babies.”

Before Pierce could form a reply, Chad dug his heels into his mount and thundered off, raising a cloud of dust behind him.

Zoey left the Doolittle ranch, her heart aching. She knew what she had to do. Pierce didn’t want her, could barely stand the sight of her. He had no need of a wife, and she’d known it from the beginning. She never expected to fall in love with the stranger who had appeared in her root cellar, clinging to life by a slim thread. She had forced the marriage between them, and now must pay the consequences for her rash act. Pierce had too many things to contend with now; he didn’t need her around to reinforce his low opinion of women.

When she reached the Delaney ranch, Ryan came out of the barn to meet Zoey. He waited for her to dismount before asking, “Where are Chad and Pierce? They should have returned hours ago. What happened at the Doolittles’?”

Zoey hated to be the bearer of tragic news, but there was no help for it Ryan had to be told about
the tragedy that had taken place at the Doolittle ranch.

“The worst thing imaginable happened, Ryan.” Then she proceeded to tell him everything that had taken place as succinctly as possible. By the time she finished, Ryan’s face was ashen and he appeared visibly shaken.

“My God! Poor Chad.”

“There’s more,” Zoey said. “Chad’s leaving. He’s upset and devastated and not thinking clearly. He’s taking full responsibility for all four deaths.”

“Maybe I can change his mind,” Ryan said as he hurried away. “I’m going to the Rocking D.”

“Ryan, tell Pierce good-bye for me, will you?”

“Sure,” Ryan agreed, absently.

Zoey watched as he stopped to speak briefly to one of the hands before riding off. She fervently prayed he wasn’t too late to stop Chad from ruining his life. When Ryan had ridden out of sight, she headed toward the house. She couldn’t remain here. Not now, not the way Pierce felt about her. It was time she went home to the Circle F.

A handful of neighbors showed up the following day for the funeral. All three Doolittles were buried in a plot behind the house. If people thought it strange that Cora Lee’s husband wasn’t present, no one mentioned it. After the preacher prayed over the pine boxes, no one returned to the house for refreshments, which was the usual custom. They drifted back to their homes, and the preacher returned to town immediately. Only Otto Zigler and his wife remained to speak with Pierce.

“What does Chad intend to do with the ranch?”
Otto asked, gripping his hat in his sweaty hands.

“Sell it, I suppose,” Pierce said. He didn’t care what happened to the place. He hadn’t been home since the deaths and was anxious to leave this accursed place.

Otto cleared his throat. “I’d like to lease it. I know the land and ranch house have been neglected since Ed fell ill, but I have several sons, any one of whom can work the land and make it productive again. I’m not rich, you understand, but perhaps we can work something out.”

“Come see me in a few days, Otto, and we’ll discuss it. Chad gave me permission to handle things in his absence.”

The Ziglers left a few minutes later. Ryan approached, leading both his horse and Pierce’s. “Let’s go home, Pierce. Maybe Chad changed his mind and is waiting for us at the ranch.”

Pierce shook his head. “That won’t happen, Ryan. You didn’t see Chad. He was profoundly shaken by what had taken place here.”

“I wish I’d gotten here in time. Maybe I could have changed his mind.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. All we can do now is pray that he comes to his senses soon. I hate to think of him wandering around the country in the frame of mind he’s in.” He sighed regretfully. “I couldn’t reach him, Ryan.”

They rode home in silence. When they reached the ranch, Pierce’s thoughts turned to Zoey. Vaguely he wondered why she hadn’t shown up for the funeral. Not that he blamed her. The funeral had been an ordeal from start to finish. Throughout the brief service Pierce could sense the unspoken
questions hanging in the air, the accusatory looks, the curious stares.

They rode into the barn. One of the hands came up and took their mounts. From the corner of his eye Pierce noted an empty stall, and something cold slid down his spine. “Where’s Zoey’s horse?”

The hand, Rick Bowman, shrugged his shoulders. “She lit out of here yesterday, boss.”

Pierce went still. “She left? Did you see in which direction she rode?”

“No, can’t say as I noticed. Maybe she went into town. I figured she was going to join you and Ryan at the Doolittles’. Terrible thing,” Bowman said, shaking his head. “Ryan told me what happened before he left yesterday.”

“A real tragedy,” Pierce agreed. “Did you notice if my wife’s saddlebags were packed when she left?”

“Sorry, boss, can’t rightly say.” Having nothing more to add, he walked away.

“Wait a minute!” Ryan said, slapping his forehead. “In all the excitement I forgot. I don’t know if it means anything, but Zoey told me to tell you good-bye.”

Pierce was more shaken than he let on, and couldn’t understand why. He hadn’t made a secret of the fact that he didn’t want a wife. Everyone knew he wasn’t a marrying man. What happened at the Doolittle ranch had been a grim reminder of the trouble women could bring into a man’s life. It was inevitable that he and Zoey would part one day. He had neither the time nor the inclination to complicate his life with a permanent relationship. Without Chad pulling his weight with the chores, the ranch needed him, and that was what was important
to him now. When Chad returned … if he returned … he would need the support of both his brothers, and Pierce intended to be here for him.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Pierce,” Ryan continued, “but I was so worried about Chad, I couldn’t think straight.”

“It’s all right, Ryan. I knew Zoey was going to leave. It’s not as if this comes as a surprise.”

“Go after her, Pierce.”

Pierce shook his head. “No, this is what Zoey wants. Her land and ranch mean as much to her as our land means to us.”

“She loves you. She confessed as much to both me and Chad.”

Pierce gave a derisive laugh. “Love? It doesn’t exist. Zoey used me. We used one another. She saved my life, and in return I made it possible for her to keep her land.”

“Don’t tell me she wasn’t a real wife to you, because I don’t believe that. I heard the noises coming from your room.”

Pierce flushed. “I don’t deny it. That’s the only part of our marriage that was real.”

“Look, Pierce, you know I’d never try to tell you what to do, and Lord knows I’m never going to be saddled with a wife myself, but dammit, man, I think you should go after Zoey. What if the ‘real’ part of your marriage produces a child?”