A Cowboy Worth Claiming (22 page)

“I’m not guilty of any of it, Lizzie. Marissa’s lying through her teeth.”

Lizzie smiled sadly. For a few days, she’d been blissfully happy. She’d had everything she’d ever wanted. It crushed her to know it was all over.

She couldn’t let Chance go to prison for her. And she believed, from the things Chance had said about Alistair Dunston, he would be vengeful enough to send him to prison for a long time if Chance didn’t agree to leave with them. She’d seen the ruthless glint in that old man’s eyes. He meant what he said. He was too wealthy and powerful for Chance to fight him. “She’s beautiful, Chance.”

“That doesn’t make me the father of her child, Lizzie.”

Lizzie squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t blame you, Chance. Really.”

He backed away from her, shocked. His voice elevated. “You do believe her. You think I fathered her child!”

The look of betrayal in his face sliced her right down the middle. She couldn’t meet his stare. She turned away for a moment, trying to hold back tears, trembling inside. Once she gathered her courage again, she forged on, turning to look him straight in the eyes. “You and I… We both know what it’s like for a child to grow up without both parents. We’ve been through it. You, more than anyone—”

“Stop talking crazy, Lizzie. Just stop it.”

She’d never heard that pleading tone in Chance’s voice before. Pain seared through her stomach. “Y-you n-need to go with them.”

“What?” Chance’s eyes narrowed. There was pain on his face.

They were hard words for Lizzie to say, but once she’d said them she knew in her heart they were true. Alistair Dunston would make sure Chance rotted away in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. It was better to break it off now. To let him think she didn’t trust his word. To make him hate her. She lifted her chin. “I never thought you’d stay on here with me anyway.”

“I never said I was going anywhere else.”

“But you would have. Eventually. You wouldn’t have stayed and where would that have left me?”

“Lizzie, damn it. I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to protect me, but I don’t need your protection. I’m innocent. I won’t go to prison.”

“It’s better this way,” she said, ignoring his last statement. She’d have to ignore whatever he said and keep vigilant, while she was being ripped to shreds inside. “You need to go now, before… Well, I know I’m not with child. You don’t have any obligation to stay.”

He folded his arms across his chest. His face set with a stubborn expression. “I’m not leaving you alone here.”

Lizzie met his dark eyes, hating the next words she would utter, but there was no hope for it. Chance had to believe her. “I won’t be alone. I have Hayden. He’s much better suited for me, actually. We know each other so very well. He’ll make a fine husband. With him, I’ll never want for anything. He’ll make my life…easy. Your obligation to me is over, Chance. I’ll prove it to you.” Lizzie left the room for a few seconds, mentally fortifying herself. She was throwing away the man she loved and saving him at the same time. She had to do this.

When she returned, Chance was brooding. He looked ready to kill. “Here you go.” With a shaky hand, she gave him the box that held the ruby necklace.

“What’s this?”

“I think you know,” she said. “I got it back for you.”

Chance opened the box. His jaw dropped and his lips trembled when the necklace came into view. The hardness on his face softened. “How did you—”

“It was going to be my surprise to you, Chance. I wanted… I owed you this ruby necklace. When you told me you sold it to John Lancer, I knew Maisey would have it. The entire town’s been gossiping about the expensive gift John had given her. Maisey and I used to sing in the church choir as children. She was my friend and when she lost her folks, my grandpa was very kind to her and her brother. I paid her a visit the other day and told her what happened with the necklace. She’s going to marry John Lancer. She’s very glad of it, too. She offered the necklace back to me, but first she had to make sure John would be in agreement. He’s so over-the-moon about Maisey, he’d agree to just about anything. I promised to pay him back over a good length of time. And I will. So now, you see, we’re square. You and me. And I’m asking you to leave. Ride out of Red Ridge, Chance. I want you to go.”

Chance put his head down. He didn’t say anything for a long time.

Outside, she heard voices. The Dunstons were getting impatient.

Finally, he lifted his head and the look of regret and rejection in his eyes scarred her for life. “I’ll go, Lizzie. If that’s what you want.”

“It is,” she said without pause. “We’ll both be better off.”

With that, Chance nodded slowly. Then he took a last look into her eyes before turning on his heels and walking away.

Chapter Sixteen

S
he was dead in her heart, one hundred times over. The pain of Chance’s leaving sent her to bed for two full days, during which she soaked the bedcovers with tears. She couldn’t eat or sleep. She kept reliving their time together, both good and bad and branded those memories inside her head. Mourning the loss of her love, she vowed not to forget a moment of the time she spent with Chance.

After she’d given herself those woeful days to wallow in heartache, she forced herself out of her physical slump. Lizzie had learned early on that life went on, no matter the pain and suffering. She had a ranch to run and that meant hiring part-time help. It meant pretending to the world that she could do this on her own—that her life wasn’t completely in ruins. That her hopes hadn’t been shattered by the whim of a coldhearted, powerful old man.

Lizzie pulled biscuits out of the oven. They were burnt around the edges, the dough dry. She hadn’t put much effort into her baking. It didn’t matter. For the past week, nothing much tasted good to her anymore. She ate her meals because she had to in order to survive.

She smiled sadly. Chance had told her she was strong, a survivor. But Lizzie didn’t much feel that way now. A part of her would rather just curl up into a ball and wither away.

The knock came at precisely noon. She knew he would come. Yesterday, she’d run into him in town and he’d asked if he might stop by for a visit. She moved to the entrance slowly, steadying her breath, and then opened the door to his familiar face. “Hayden. It’s good to see you. Come in.”

“Afternoon, Lizzie. Thank you for the invitation.”

Hayden had taken one look at her forlorn expression at the Roberson’s livery and had insisted on seeing her today. He’d offered to bring over a meal so they could talk in private. Lizzie had too much pride to allow him to bring his own food, so this afternoon she’d made a sorry attempt at supper. “It’s not much. Fried chicken and gravy. Biscuits are a little burnt.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Hayden stepped inside the house and took off his hat. He followed her into the kitchen where she gestured for him to take a seat.

He didn’t sit, though. Instead, he helped her dish up the meal and put it on the table. Then he turned to her. “I’m awfully sorry for what happened between us. I shouldn’t have presumed that you and me…that we were more than friends. I shouldn’t have kissed you that way.”

She gulped air, remembering her shock at Hayden’s kiss. “I was surprised, is all.”

“I know and it’s my fault. I thought… Well, now I know how you feel. I care for you, Lizzie. That will never change and I shouldn’t have said we weren’t friends anymore. That was my pride talking. I’m sorry for all of it. If you’ll have me as your friend again, I promise to always honor our friendship.”

He stared at her with genuine concern and Lizzie felt a measure of blessed relief. “Oh, Hayden,” she whispered. “I want us to be friends again, too.”

Hayden opened up his arms just like he did when they were children and Lizzie stepped right into his embrace. “It’s been so h-hard,” she said softly, against his chest. “With Chance gone.”

“I know, Lizzie. I know you loved him. I guess I should have seen that all along.”

“I sent him away,” she said, tamping down guilt. She knew Chance couldn’t fight Dunston’s ruthless lies. “I had to.”

Lizzie poured out her heart to Hayden, explaining how her feelings for Chance had grown into something she couldn’t deny any longer. She told Hayden everything from start to finish, leaving nothing out about Chance’s life and the awful man who had blackmailed him to come home. She told him about Marissa, too, how beautiful she was and how much trouble she’d always been for Chance. Then she blurted, “I laid with him, Hayden. You can think I’m terrible for it, but nothing felt more right in my life.”

His face pinched tight and hurt entered his eyes. But his words, when they were finally uttered, soothed. “Ah, Lizzie, I’d never think terrible of you. Never. I promise.”

“You really mean that?” She pulled back to look deeply into his eyes.

“Yes.”

And Lizzie knew then what a wonderful friend she had in Hayden. She gave her head a little shake. If she and Hayden were to be close again, she needed to tell him the rest of it, so that there would never be any doubt as to her feelings. “I told Chance I was going to marry you, to get him to leave the ranch. I told him all the ways you and me are more suited. I had to make him believe that his leaving was what I wanted.”

Lizzie stepped out of his embrace. Hesitantly, she raised her eyes to his. “It was a lie. Even if you would have me, I couldn’t marry you or anyone else.” Tears welled up as she whispered on an unsteady breath, “Not ever.”

“You love him that much?”

“I do, Hayden. So very much.”

Hayden closed his eyes for a second, absorbing that, and then opened them again with determination. “I’ll always be here to help you, Lizzie. Just remember, you’re not alone.”

Hayden made her feel better and after they ate their meal, Lizzie told him her plans of hiring on part-time help at the ranch. Warren Roberson had two cousins who were just old enough to know ranching and just young enough that Lizzie didn’t have to pay them adult wages. Having them around would give her time to fashion her dolls. Hayden would sell them on consignment in his shop and put them in a catalog he was planning on dispersing to neighboring towns.

That night, she made peace with Hayden and as good as it felt to have her friend back, once he left the ranch, Lizzie’s heartache surfaced again.

It seemed to always return, due to her ever-present loneliness.

* * *

“It’s nice to have you home and at our table again, Chance.” Belinda Dunston gave him a warm smile as a servant filled the dinner dishes with meat, potatoes and creamed corn. The two older Dunstons sat at opposite ends of the rectangular table while Marissa and Chance faced each other.

Marissa’s mother didn’t have the foggiest notion about the scheme Marissa and Alistair had cooked up to get him to come home. Chance was a prisoner here, for all purposes, but he was sure Belinda didn’t know that. She’d been sugary sweet to him since he’d returned, believing that he fathered Marissa’s child. Chance suspected even Alistair didn’t know the extent of his stepdaughter’s lies.

For one week, Chance had given Belinda different excuses as to why he couldn’t dine with the family in the main house. But he’d run out of them by day eight. Tonight, they received the best of his winning personality.

“I’m here, at the table. Don’t know how nice it is.”

Alistair glared at him.

Belinda looked a little confused and Marissa’s back went up.

Chance returned the old man’s glare, watching him stuff his mouth with creamed corn.

The Double D wasn’t home. It never would be, but Chance had too much anger inside to think of any place as home anymore. He put Lizzie out of his head, for about as long as he could hold his breath. Then thoughts of her came flooding back and crowded his mind. He worked overly hard every day as foreman with the notion of falling into an exhausted sleep at night to gain some peace. Still and all, her image entered his head the moment he woke every morning. He was angrier at her than he was at any of the Dunstons. When he thought Lizzie the one person in the world he could trust, she’d betrayed him. She’d given up on what they’d had.

Belinda was now determined to make Chance part of the family. For years, she’d only seen him as a threat to her daughter’s place in the Dunston household. Now, she’d repeatedly said that for the baby’s sake, they should all try to get along.

The baby that wasn’t his.

The minute the meal ended, Chance rose and excused himself from the table. All eyes were on him as he strode out the door. Once outside, he took deep breaths to tamp down his fury. The sun was beginning its descent and a sense of peace, when the workday was over and the livestock were quieted, had settled on the ranch. The distant horizon looked like an unattainable dream now. He toyed with the idea of running. Of getting on his horse and taking off for Colorado or Nevada, but the notion of having to hide out the rest of his life didn’t sit right.

Chance couldn’t live the life of a fugitive. No doubt, Alistair would falsify an even bigger crime against him and hire his own posse to find him. But the real reason Chance didn’t want to leave, the reason that resonated in his gut and took hold with force was that he wanted Lizzie to be able to find him, if she ever needed him.

Fool that he was, if Lizzie should ever seek him out, he’d move heaven and earth to help her, despite his bitter anger at her.

Marissa caught up with him outside the stables. He took a look at her emerald gown, her fashionable hairstyle and her beautiful face, and hated the sight of her. “Go away, Marissa.”

“Chance, you’re being unreasonable.”

“
I’m
being unreasonable? You’re lying like a sinner at the gates of heaven and I’m the unreasonable one.”

“I know I’ve been awful to you in the past, but this time it’s serious.”

He glanced at her stomach, growing with another man’s child. “You should take it up with the baby’s father.”

“Shush,” she said, lowering her voice. “I wish I could.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Is he married? A man of the cloth? Why can’t you—”

“No! Of course not. But I can’t tell you anything more.”

“What do you want from me, Marissa? Why’d you follow me outside?”

“My mama’s expecting us to announce…” she began, then swallowed before finishing. “To announce our nuptials.”

Chance had expected as much. Marissa wanted him to perpetuate the lie. “Sure thing, I’ll get right to it…after I spit shine my boots.”

“Chance…please.”

He looked into Marissa’s eyes. The shades of green were profound, the darkest one a rich tone of jade. Yet Chance found no beauty there, just desperation. He sighed wearily. “You know it might have been different between us if you hadn’t been so conniving. We could have been like a true family. I would’ve looked out for you, Marissa.”

She met his stare, stunned. “Oh…I, uh, I never thought—”

“You never thought of that, did you? That I might be a true brother to you? That I might be your friend? Everything had to be a competition between us. You spent your time casting me in a bad light to Alistair. You did yourself proud on that.”

She drew in her lower lip. Her face blanched. “I’m sorry. I truly am, but there’s nothing I can do about this.”

“You can tell the truth. To your mother and Alistair…you can do the right thing, Marissa. What kind of man walks away from his responsibility anyway? What kind of man allows another man to raise his child?”

Marissa let go a sharp gasp, shaking her head. “Alistair would disown me if he found out and would do even worse to…to—”

“He really doesn’t know you’re lying?”

Marissa took a gulp of air. “No and I have to go now. Mama’s expecting me to read with her tonight.”

With that, she picked up her skirts and rushed into the house.

* * *

Two nights later, Chance lay on his bed, peering at the ceiling in his bedroom. He’d counted the tiles up there at least a dozen times already, trying to fall asleep. The room was one of twelve in the three-story main house and large enough to fit three big beds. Bitterly, he recalled wanting so desperately to live in this house as a child, but Alistair said a boy needed to earn his keep and that eventually he’d have a place here, once he’d learned enough about ranching. For a time, Chance thought Alistair was grooming him for a position running the empire, but that was a short-lived notion and one that had broken his heart when he realized he would always be living in the bunkhouse with the other ranch hands.

Every so often Chance’s eyes would drift shut, then an image of Lizzie would pop into his head and he’d wake with a start. Restless, he rose and strode to the window. He unlatched a lever and as the shutters opened a soft breeze blew in. Stars filled the sky, twinkling over the vast Dunston empire, stretching as far and as wide as he could see. A soft knocking broke his thoughts and he moved to the door. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Marissa,” she said softly, but with urgency.

“Go to bed.”

“I can’t.” Her excited whispers reached his ears. “I really need to speak with you. Please…Chance… Open the door.”

“Ah, hell,” he muttered. He opened the door and she came rushing through, her skirts brushing his leg as she whirled around to face him. “What now?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“So talk,” he said, turning up the lamp a bit, casting them both in dim light.

Marissa took a moment, seemingly to gather her thoughts. “The other day, when you said you’d have been a true brother to me, did you mean that?”

Chance blew out a sigh. “Yeah, I did.”

Marissa’s eyes drifted downward. “I regret that now. I didn’t see it. I was selfish and wanted Alistair to love me. I wanted to be his favorite.”

“You succeeded.”

Her eyes lifted to his with genuine apology. “I’m sorry for it, Chance. I really am.”

“Yet you continue to torment me.”