Читать книгу Hawk's Way: Rebels: The Temporary Groom - Joan Johnston - Страница 9

CHERRY STARED at the back door of Billy’s house—now her home, too—trying to work up the courage to go inside, wondering, absurdly, if she should knock first.

She turned and stole a glance at Billy’s rugged profile as he drove away, pondering what it was about him she had found so beguiling. He had rescued her, listened to her troubles, and shared his in return. She had felt his desperation and responded to it. Now he was her husband. She twisted the cheap gold ring that confirmed it wasn’t all a dream, that she was, indeed, Mrs. Billy Stonecreek.

Good grief. What had she done?

Cherry had gone off half-cocked in the past, but the enormity of this escapade was finally sinking in. Surely it would have been better to face Zach and Rebecca and explain the truth of what had happened at the dance. How was she going to justify this latest lapse of common sense?

She felt a surge of anger at Billy for abandoning her at the door. It wouldn’t have taken long to introduce her to Mrs. Motherwell and explain the situation. So why hadn’t he done it?

Maybe because he’s having the same second thoughts as you are. Maybe in the cold light of day he’s thinking he made a bad bargain. Maybe he’s trying to figure out a way right now to get out of it.

If the back door hadn’t opened at that precise moment, Cherry would have turned and headed for Hawk’s Pride.

But it did. And Cherry found herself face-to-face with Penelope Trask.

“I saw you standing out here,” Mrs. Trask said. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“I, uh… Is Mrs. Motherwell here?”

“She packed her bags and left this morning.”

Cherry stood with her jaw agape, speechless for perhaps the first time in her life. Had Mrs. Trask already managed to gain legal custody of Billy’s children? Had their marriage been for naught? She wished Billy were here.

“Don’t I know you? Aren’t you one of those Whitelaw Bra—” Mrs. Trask cut herself off.

Cherry knew what she had been about to say. The eight adopted Whitelaw kids were known around this part of Texas as the Whitelaw Brats, just like Zach and his siblings before them, and Grandpa Garth and his siblings before that. Cherry had done her share to help earn the nickname. She was proud to be one of them.

She met the older woman’s disdainful look with defiance. “Yes, I’m a Whitelaw Brat. You have a problem with that?”

“None at all. But if you’re looking for your missing sister, she isn’t here. I have no idea what my no-account excuse for a son-in-law has done with her.” She started to close the door in Cherry’s face.

Cherry stuck her foot in the door. “Wait! What are you talking about?”

A flare of recognition lit Mrs. Trask’s eyes. “Oh, my God. You’re the girl, aren’t you? The one Billy kidnapped.” She stuck her head out the screen door and looked around. “Where is he? I have a few things to say to him.”

“Kidnapped?” Cherry gasped. “I wasn’t kidnapped!”

“Your parents reported you missing late last night.”

“Why would they think I was with Billy?”

“Your date wrapped his car around a telephone pole, and when he kept mumbling your name the police called your parents, thinking maybe you’d been thrown from the car. At the hospital, the boy told your father that he’d left you at the stock pond with Billy, after my son-in-law ran him off with his fists.

“Your father couldn’t find you at the stock pond, and when he came looking for you here in a rage, Mrs. Motherwell called me. Your father seemed bent on strangling someone before the night was out.”

Probably me, Cherry thought morosely.

“Of course I came right over,” Mrs. Trask said. “All I could tell your father was that I wouldn’t put it past my reckless son-in-law to kidnap an innocent young woman.”

“Mrs. Trask, I wasn’t kidnapped.”

“I suggest you go home and tell that to your father. He told the police Billy must have kidnapped you, because you’d never go off on your own like that.” Mrs. Trask smirked. “Of course, that was before he found out you’d been expelled from school earlier in the evening.”

Cherry groaned.

“You’re in an awful lot of trouble, young lady. Where have you been? And where’s Billy?”

Cherry put a hand to her throbbing temple. Zach and Rebecca must be frantic with worry. And disappointed beyond belief. She didn’t want to think about how angry they were going to be when they heard what she had done.

“May I please use your phone?” It was her phone now, so she shouldn’t have to ask. Except, this didn’t seem the right moment to announce that she and Billy had run off to Las Vegas to get married.

Mrs. Trask hesitated, then pushed the screen door open wide. “Come on in, if you must.”

As soon as Cherry’s eyes adjusted to the dim light in the kitchen, she saw Raejean and Annie standing together near the table.

They wore their straight black hair in adorable, beribboned pigtails, and stared at her with dark, serious brown eyes. Their noses were small and their chins dainty, like their mother, but they had high, sharp cheekbones that reminded her of Billy. They were tall for six-year-olds and dressed exactly alike in collared blouses tucked into denim coveralls and white tennis shoes.

“Hello, Raejean,” she said, addressing the child who had her arm wrapped comfortingly around the other’s shoulder.

The child’s eyes widened in surprise at being recognized. Then she said, “I’m not Raejean, I’m Annie.”

The other twin’s mouth dropped open, and she glanced at her sister. Then she turned to Cherry, pointed to her chest with her thumb, and said, “I’m Raejean.”

“I see,” Cherry said. They were both missing the exact same front tooth. No help there telling them apart. Billy had said Raejean was the confident one, so Cherry had assumed it was Raejean who was giving comfort to her sister. But maybe she had been wrong.

“I need to use your phone,” she said, moving toward where it hung on the kitchen wall.

Cherry felt the girls watching her while she dialed.

“We don’t need another housekeeper,” the twin who had identified herself as Annie said. “We’re going to stay at Nana’s house until Daddy gets home.”

Cherry felt her heart miss a beat. She turned to Mrs. Trask and said, “Billy went into town for supplies. He should be back any time now. There’s no need to take the girls anywhere.”

“I’ll be the best judge of that,” Mrs. Trask said. “Go upstairs, girls, and finish packing.”

The twins turned and ran. Cherry heard their footsteps pounding on the stairs as the ringing phone was answered by her sister, Jewel. Of her seven Whitelaw siblings, Jewel was the sister closest to her in age. Jewel had been adopted by Zach and Rebecca when she was five—the first of the current generation of Whitelaw Brats.

It had taken Cherry a while to straighten them all out, but now she could recite their names and ages with ease. Rolleen was 21, Jewel was 19, she was 18, Avery was 17, Jake was 16, Frannie was 13, Rabbit was 12, and Colt was 11.

Of course Rabbit’s name wasn’t really Rabbit, it was Louis, but nobody called him that. Jewel had given him the nickname Rabbit when he was little, because he ate so many carrots, and the name had stuck. Colt was the only one of them who had been adopted as a baby. The rest of them had all known at least one other parent before being abandoned, orphaned, or fostered out.

“Is anybody there?” Jewel asked breathlessly. “If this is the kidnapper, we’ll pay whatever you ask.”

“It’s me, Jewel.”

“Cherry! Where are you? Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I’m at Billy Stonecreek’s ranch.”

“So he did kidnap you! I’ll send Daddy to get you right away.”

“No! I mean…” Cherry had turned her back to Mrs. Trask and kept her voice low thus far, but she figured there was no sense postponing the inevitable. “Billy didn’t kidnap me. Last night we flew to Las Vegas and got married.”

She was met with stunned silence on the other end of the line. Which was a good thing, because Mrs. Trask gave an outraged shriek that brought the two little girls back downstairs on the run.

“Nana! Nana! What’s wrong?”

“I have to go now, Jewel,” Cherry said. “Tell Zach and Rebecca I’m okay, and that I’ll come to see them soon and explain everything.”

“Cherry, don’t—”

Cherry hung up the phone in time to turn and greet the twins a second time. Again, she identified the twin taking the lead as Raejean, which meant the one standing slightly behind her was Annie. “Hello, Raejean. Hello, Annie.”

“I’m Annie,” Raejean contradicted.

Before Annie could misidentify herself as Raejean, Mrs. Trask snapped, “Don’t bother trying to tell them apart. They’re identical, you know.”

“But—” From Billy’s descriptions of them it was so obvious to her which twin was which. Couldn’t Mrs. Trask see the difference?

“What’s wrong, Nana?” Raejean asked. “Why did you scream?”

Mrs. Trask’s face looked more like a beet or a turnip than a human head, she was so flushed. It was clear she wasn’t sure exactly what to say.

“Your grandmother was just excited about some news she heard,” Cherry said.

“What news?” Annie asked.

“It’s a surprise I think your Daddy will want to tell you about himself when he gets home,” Cherry said.

“We’re not going to be here that long,” Mrs. Trask retorted. “The girls and I are leaving.”

“Not until Billy gets back,” Cherry said firmly. “I’m sure Raejean and Annie want to wait and say goodbye to their father.” Cherry turned to the girls and asked, “Don’t you?”

Raejean eyed her consideringly, but Annie piped up, “I want to wait for Daddy.”

Mrs. Trask made an angry sound in her throat. “I hope you’re happy now,” she said to Cherry. “My grandchildren have had a difficult enough time over the past year, without adding someone like you to the picture.”

Cherry reminded herself that Mrs. Trask was always going to be Raejean and Annie’s grandmother. Throwing barbs now, however satisfying it might be, would only cause problems later. Zach and Rebecca would have been astounded at her tact when she spoke.

“I’m sorry we surprised you like this, Mrs. Trask. I know Billy will want to explain everything to you himself. Won’t you consider waiting until he returns before you leave?”

“No.”

Of course, there were times when being blunt worked best. Cherry crossed to stand beside the twins. “I’m sorry you have to leave, Mrs. Trask. The girls and I will have Billy give you a call when he gets home.”

Cherry saw the moment when Mrs. Trask realized that she had been outmaneuvered. She wasn’t going to make a quick and easy escape with Billy’s children. Cherry was there to stand in her way.

Billy chose that moment to pull open the screen door and step into the kitchen.

Annie and Raejean gave shrieks of joy and raced into his wide open arms. He lifted them both, one in each arm, and gave them each a smacking kiss. “How are my girls?” he asked.

Raejean answered for both of them.

“Some man got mad at Mrs. Motherwell because she didn’t know where you were and Nana came and Mrs. Motherwell packed her bags and left and Nana said we should pack, too, and go live with her until you came back home, only this lady came a little while ago and said you were coming home really soon and we had to wait for you because you have a surprise for us. What’s our surprise, Daddy? Can we have it now?”

Cherry had watched Billy’s narrowed gaze flicker from his daughter to Mrs. Trask and back again as Raejean made her breathless recital. When Raejean got to the part about a surprise, his gaze shot to her, and she thought she saw both panic and resignation.

“What are you doing back here so soon?” Mrs. Trask said. “I was told you were going into town for sup plies.”

“I got stopped by the police long before I got there and arrested for kidnapping,” Billy said.

“Then why aren’t you in jail?” Mrs. Trask demanded.

Billy’s lips curled. “I showed them my marriage license.”

“Who got kidnapped, Daddy?” Annie asked.

“Nobody, sweetheart,” Billy replied. “It was all a big mistake.”

“Then, can we have our surprise now?” Annie asked.

He knelt down and set them back on their feet. Keeping an arm around each of them, he said, “The surprise is that you have a new mother.”

Annie’s brow furrowed. “A new mother?”

Raejean frowned. “Our mother is in heaven.”

“I know that,” Billy said in a sandpaper-rough voice that made Cherry’s throat swell with emotion. “I’ve married someone else who’s going to be your mother from now on.”

Raejean and Annie looked at each other, then turned as one to stare with shocked, suspicious eyes at Cherry.

Raejean’s head shot around to confront her father. “Her?”

Billy nodded.

Raejean jerked free and shouted, “I don’t want another mother! Make her go away!” Then she ran from the room.

Annie’s eyes had filled with tears and one spilled over as she stared at Raejean’s fleeing form. Cherry willed the softhearted child to accept her, but Annie paused only another moment before she turned and ran after her sister.

Cherry met Billy’s stricken gaze. She felt sick to her stomach. The two charming and innocent little girls she had married Billy to save from harm, didn’t want anything to do with her.

“You’re a fool, Billy,” Mrs. Trask said, grabbing her purse from the kitchen counter. “I don’t know what you hoped to accomplish with this charade, but it won’t work. I’m more convinced than ever that my grandchildren belong with me.” She gave Cherry a look down her nose. “I’ll see you both in court.”

She made a grand exit through the doorway that led to the front of the house. Cherry and Billy stood unmoving until they heard the front door slam behind her.

“She’s right,” Billy said. “I always intend to do the right thing, but somehow it turns out wrong.”

“This wasn’t wrong, Billy. If I hadn’t gotten here when I did, Mrs. Trask would have taken the children and been gone before you returned. At least Raejean and Annie are still here.”

“And angry and unhappy.”

“We can change that with time.”

“I hope so. It won’t help much to argue in court that I’ve got a wife to take care of my children, if my children hate her guts.”

“We have a more immediate problem,” Cherry said.

“What’s that?”

“Zach Whitelaw.”

“What about him?”

“He’s going to kill you on sight.”

Billy gave a relieved laugh. “Is that all? I thought it was something serious.”

“Don’t joke,” Cherry said. “This is serious. Three years ago a boy tried to force himself on Jewel at a Fourth of July picnic. I’ll never forget the look in Zach’s eyes when Jewel stood crying in his arms, her face bruised and her dress torn. He took a horsewhip to the boy and nearly flayed him alive. Both families kept it quiet, but you know how that sort of thing gets around. None of us girls has ever had any problems with boys since then.

“That’s why it surprised me when Ray… If Ray hadn’t been drunk, he would never have done what he did.”

“And we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Billy said. “I won’t let any man whip me, Cherry. If your father tries—”

“I’m only telling you all this so you’ll understand why I have to go home and explain all of this to him by myself. Once he understands I was willing and—”

Billy shook his head. “We go together, or you don’t go at all.”

“Zach’s going to be furious with me.”

“All the more reason for us to go together. You may have been his daughter yesterday, but you’re my wife today. No man is going to threaten my wife. Not even her father.”

Cherry stared wide-eyed at Billy. She supposed she should have told him that no matter how angry Zach got with her, he would never raise a hand to her. In the past she had been sent to her room without supper, or been forced to spend a day alone thinking about the wisdom of a course of action. But the Whitelaws had always used reason, rather than force, to teach their children right from wrong.

Billy wouldn’t have to defend her, but she reveled in the thought that he was willing to do so. Of more concern to her was the possibility that the two men might provoke one another to violence. She already knew that Billy liked to fight. Zach would be more than willing to give him one.

“I’ll let you come with me on one condition,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“We bring the girls with us.”

Billy frowned. “What purpose would that serve?”

“Zach won’t be able to fight with you—or yell at me—if he’s busy meeting his new grandchildren.”

“Raejean and Annie don’t even like you. What makes you think they’ll take to your father?”

“Trust me. Zach Whitelaw could sell snow in Alaska. He’ll have Raejean and Annie eating out of his hand in no time. Besides, we have no choice but to take them with us. Mrs. Motherwell is gone.”

“I forgot about that,” Billy said as he headed toward the door that led upstairs. “Damn. All right. Let me go get them. We might as well get this meeting over with.”

“Billy,” Cherry called after him. When he stopped and turned to her, she said, “We can still call the whole thing off.”

He walked the few steps back to her and lifted her chin with his finger. “Buck up, kid. You’re doing great.”

Cherry felt tears prickle her eyes and blinked to keep them from forming.

Billy leaned down and kissed her mouth. His touch was gentle, intended to comfort. “I’m sorry, Cherry. I shouldn’t have left you here alone and driven away. It’s not easy to admit it, but I was scared.”

Cherry searched his eyes. If he had once been afraid, the fear was gone now. If he had regrets, he wasn’t letting her see them. She wished she knew him better as a person. Could she rely on him? Would he be there for her when the going got rough?

When he pulled her into his arms and hugged her, she felt safe and secure. She knew that was an illusion. Her father had made her feel safe, too. But they had been torn from each other. It was better not to try and make more of this relationship than it was.

Before she could edge herself away from Billy, the screen door was flung open. Billy threw her aside to confront whatever danger threatened them.

Zach Whitelaw stood in the doorway.