Chapter 24

24

" C olby, hand me the halter," Josiah said.

"Sure thing, partner."

The words bit hard, and Josiah flinched. They shared the business, they shared the work, and now he would give up his wife. Seemed too big a leap. Were there not enough women in the world that Colby had to fall for his wife? And yet he needed Colby. There was no way he could run a ranch this size without his expertise.

For months now, he had both loved and hated this man. This brother. They worked so well together, it was unfathomable they had this unvoiced monstrosity between them.

All spring they had labored side-by-side in the birthing and nurturing of the new foals, the groundwork training, and the breaking in of some of the finest stock yet to grace the ranch. The operation ran seamlessly.

Josiah should be on top of the world. Instead, his life was crumbling. Everything that gave him purpose—wife, dream of family, hope of an heir to pass on his legacy—was gone. What was the point?

He had to hand it to Colby. He had a knack for the training. His gentle dance of halter, then saddle, then the weight of his body came naturally. Horses loved and trusted him, much like Josiah's wife. At the mere thought, his hands clamped down on the fence rail so tightly, splinters pierced into the flesh. Fury filled his head and rippled down. He had to get away from the man or bust him in two.

"I'm heading to the house." Josiah plunked his cowboy hat back on his head.

"I thought we were going to work Victory next. You said you wanted to take charge of the colt."

Josiah turned and waved toward the horse. "All yours." As he walked away, he couldn't help mumbling. "Everything that matters will soon be all yours."

"Josiah." Jeb called out.

Josiah turned to see Katherine's pa barreling toward him. The last thing he wanted was a conversation with anyone, especially his father-in-law. He had to cool down.

"Do you have a moment? There's some things I've been meaning to tell you for a long time."

"Can it wait?"

"I'm afraid not. It concerns Katie's childhood. She's going to ask you if it's all right she travel to Richmond with her mother and sister. After I explain, you'll understand why you have to keep her here."

Josiah intentionally missed the supper hour that evening. He didn't want to run into Katherine for a myriad of reasons, the biggest being the need to remain far from her lure. He should never have touched her. What a fool. She haunted him enough in the day. With a mere unlocked door between them at night, he was going crazy. One minute he wanted to squelch all feelings and end his tortured marriage. The next, he craved anything she was prepared to give.

He slipped into the kitchen for the meal Delilah kept warming on the stove and slid into a chair at the table.

"Josiah."

He started at the sound of Katherine's voice and looked up to see her across the room. She must've been waiting for him.

"I need to talk to you when you're done eating." Her hands fidgeted with the front of her dress, clenching and unclenching the material. At what point had she reverted back to being uncomfortable in his presence? Why did it matter?

He swallowed his bite and forked another. "Go ahead."

"Amelia and Ma are going to Richmond to meet Grandmother and Grandfather Brunson."

"I'm aware of that."

"I'd like to go with them. I told Ma you wouldn't care, but she insisted I ask you."

"What makes you think I wouldn't care?"

Her face blushed beet red. "What I meant to say is that you're always working, and you wouldn't mind if I were gone for a few weeks."

"I mind."

Her hands lifted to her hips as she approached until she stood a mere foot apart. Judging by the color of her cheeks and the jut of her chin, her temper was about to flare.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means just what I said. I mind." He was frustrating her, but he cared more than she would ever know. He cared that soon she'd no longer be his wife and he'd spend a lifetime missing her. He cared that she had more in her past than she could imagine. He cared that her parents, rather than face the truth, had lied to her for years. He shouldn't care, not with the paperwork he had sent away for, but he did.

The heat of her stare bore down as he shoveled his food in.

"Please."

He raised his head to a set of dejected iridescent eyes.

Her parents should never have placed him in this position. He would've given her the moon if he could've, especially when she looked at him like she was now. He choked on the words he was forced to say. "It also means no."

Teardrops pooled on her thick lashes. Her eyes, deep and haunting, blinked, and tears splashed down her fine alabaster skin. She looked fragile, like a bruised flower.

A mad sorrow squeezed his heart. He would have much preferred her anger.

The desire to gather her close and tell her the truth overwhelmed him, but, knowing the circumstances, he bit his tongue and shoveled another bite into his mouth. It tasted like sawdust. When he looked up, she was gone.

He slammed his fist on the table so hard his skin split open.

Katie ran into the evening rain, stepping through the mud puddles pooling in the yard. She didn't care. The hem of her gown turned as heavy as her heart.

She headed to the barn, and when she stepped inside, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the waning light. Her gelding nickered and lowered his head to nuzzle as Katie moved close. She threw her arms around his neck and let the sobs flow. Tabby circled around her feet, rubbing up against her.

She started at the weight of a hand on her shoulder and whirled around.

"Colby, you scared me."

"You're scaring me, running through a torrential downpour without a shawl. Come, we have to get you warm." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the tack room and closed the door. He shrugged out of his coat and placed it around her shoulders. The walls of the small room closed in, and the dwindling evening light cast them into almost complete darkness. He lit the nearby lantern and turned toward her. When he held out his arms, she walked straight in.

Since that night in the garden a month earlier, he had ignored her and she him. Without words, they both understood why. It was one of the reasons she'd wanted to leave for a while…to regain control and sort her jumbled feelings. How could she want Colby one moment and her husband the next?

She soaked in his warm embrace. With her ear pressed against his chest, she heard the hammer of his heartbeat through the muscled wall. They stood quietly for a long moment.

"I just wanted to go to Richmond with Ma."

"I know. I overheard the conversation." His hands soothed a gentle path down her back, and he pulled back enough to look into her tear-stained face. "Katie, it was strange. I walked in after you left, and Josiah asked me to go find you. He said you'd need comfort. When I told him that was his job, he told me he was no longer the one you needed. That I was."

Waves of guilt pounded through her tortured soul. "But we never talked about?—"

He placed a finger on her lips.

"It's no use denying the obvious. We've skirted around the truth for too long now. Josiah knows how we feel about each other, and he doesn't seem to care."

The tension mounted as she raised her head to look deep into his eyes. Did Josiah really not care? Should she finally give in to the tenderness Colby offered? His head bent toward her waiting lips.

The door opened.

Katie's heart leapt to her throat at the man's form filling the frame. "Pa." She jumped back from Colby's embrace.

He stood without moving. His head dropped. "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." The sadness in his voice was palpable. His weathered brow bunched as he held the door open. He waved at Colby. "Out."

"Yes sir." Colby moved with lightning speed.

Katie's indiscretion burned like a live coal in her stomach.

"Katherine, you and Josiah have some business to discuss. Either you tell him, or I will." With that, Pa walked away, his shoulders slumped and his head down.