A Week From Sunday (27 page)

“Like hell you are,” Quinn snarled. “You’re not taking her anywhere if she doesn’t want to go.”

“Stand in my way, and you’ll regret it until your dying day. I have influence in this state, and I’ll use every bit of it to ruin you. I’ll send you to prison for holding her against her will.”

“You can try.”

“I’ll take you to court.”

“I doubt you’ll make much of a showing with a broken nose and no teeth.”

“What’s this all about?” Gabe asked.

“Adrianna Moore is under my protection,” Richard explained looking directly at Gabe.

“Why does she need your protection?” Gabe asked. “What are you protecting her from?”

“Men like you, who would steal her fortune.”

“What fortune?” Quinn asked.

“I’m not surprised that she didn’t tell you about it. She would be leery of telling men of your caliber that she is rich.”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Quinn slammed Richard Pope into the wall with all his might, the force of the blow rattling a picture frame. Rage held him in its grip, refusing to let go. Pinning the older man with his muscular forearm, he cocked his fist ready to knock his head through the wall. Through it all, Richard stared back at him impassively, his eyes utterly devoid of fear.

Quinn’s fist literally trembled, so strong was his desire to strike. However, before he lost control and slammed his fist into the smug bastard’s fat nose, rough hands grabbed him from behind, desperately trying to pull him away. Gabe knew that a blow from his friend’s fist could shatter the bones in the man’s soft face.

“It is not worth it,
mon ami,
” Gabe argued as he tried to hold Quinn still.

“The hell it isn’t!”

“You would be wise to listen to your backwoods friend,” Richard sneered as he straightened the lapels of his suit coat. As he shot his cuffs, he added, “Even in this poor excuse for a town, I believe the law wouldn’t take very kindly to your striking a man of my social position.”

“I don’t give a goddamn about your position.” Quinn’s curse echoed off of the walls. The space wasn’t much, with a rickety old table, a pile of thumb-worn magazines, and three mismatched chairs, and it made him feel caged. His forced nearness to the stranger from Shreveport had been fraying his nerves.
Hell! I disliked the man from the moment I first laid eyes on him.

After Adrianna had collapsed limply in his arms, confusion and fear had filled Quinn’s head. When Richard had run toward him, demanding that he hand over the semiconscious woman, his first instinct had been to slug him. Instead, his concern for Adrianna had taken precedence, and he had scooped her up and made a beeline for the doctor’s office. The overbearing ass had trailed along behind. Once they had managed to wake Dr. Bordeaux, she’d shooed them into the waiting room and taken Adrianna to the examination room. Now, after listening to Richard describe himself as Adrianna’s husband-to-be for the last ten minutes, Quinn had finally had enough.

“You have no business putting your hands on me like that,” Richard spat.

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want with you,” Quinn barked, pointing an accusing finger at the cocky bastard. “You come to this town throwing your weight around and spewing your lies, you’ll be lucky if all you get is a fat lip!”

“Lies?” Richard echoed incredulously. “What would you know of the
truth
? What do you know of her life in Shreveport? Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said? Adrianna is to be my wife, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

“I think there is.”

“She is ill,” Richard snapped, taking a step toward the bar owner as if he were daring him to react. “Her father, the man who had cared for her all of her life, has recently passed, and the emotion of her loss has overwhelmed her. She has always been a frail young woman, and I am all the greater fool for having taken my eyes off her long enough for her to abscond. It is a mistake I will not repeat. As her future husband, it will be my duty to be ever vigilant. Not yours!”

Quinn stared at him with malice. His fists and jaw clenched and unclenched. As much as he detested the high-brow tone with which Richard spoke, it pained him to admit that there was a grain of truth to what the man was saying. He knew that Adrianna had recently lost her father. He’d suspected that she’d come from a family of means in Shreveport; she certainly comported herself differently than any other woman he had ever met.
Is it possible that some of what this no-good son of a bitch is saying is true?

“I can understand that you might have fallen for her, I really can. She is a charming woman,” Richard continued. “But do you really believe that she could be happy living in this backwoods town with a man such as yourself? Your station in life is simply too far beneath her.”

“That is enough,
monsieur,
” Gabe interjected, trying to stave off an attack by Quinn.

Richard’s eyes never left Quinn’s, and he paid no heed to the Cajun’s words. He stepped ever closer to his adversary. When he finally spoke he was mere inches from Quinn’s face.

“This isn’t the end of it. You’ll see.”

Never in his life had Quinn wanted to strike another man more than he did at that very moment. His muscles coiled to attack, his hand clenching into a tight fist. However, before he could so much as move, something stopped him. Instantly he knew what it was.

With a deep breath, Quinn allowed the tension to leave his body, his hands falling easily to his sides. His gaze held Richard’s for a moment longer, the fire of hatred still burning in his gut. Finally, he turned on his heel, threw the front door open and stepped outside.

The early morning light showed in the east. Above him, thin wispy clouds covered the sky like gauze, and a few birds wakened from their night’s sleep floated on the soft breeze. All in all, it was another day much like the one before it. He wouldn’t have been able to count how many mornings exactly like this one he had seen in Lee’s Point, but something about
this
morning was different. He realized that if what Richard was saying proved to be true, if Adrianna was to be taken from him, his life would be different from that day forward. He had not realized how deeply he had fallen in love with her until now. The thought that she could leave him cut him to the quick. She had become so deeply embedded in his heart that it was hard to believe she had come into his life less than a week before. He remembered his mother saying that God made a woman for every man, and if you were lucky enough to meet her, you should never let her slip away.

“Do not pay him any mind,
mon ami
. Wait and hear what Adrianna has to say.” Gabe came out of the doctor’s office to join him. He stood beside Quinn, and they both stared up at the sky as it slowly turned crimson. “It’s intended only to get a rise out of you. That man is nothing but a
trou du cul
.”

“He might be an asshole,” Quinn admitted, “but that doesn’t mean that what he’s saying isn’t partially true.”

“What do you mean
?”

Quinn turned to look his friend right in the eye. “We don’t know anything about her life before she slammed into the pickup.”

“That’s not the way I see it,” the Cajun said, shaking his head. “I cannot tell you how many people have stood on the other side of my bar,
c’est la vérité,
but if there is anything I have learned over the years, it’s how to judge someone. Now that
petite fille,
the only thing I can see she has in common with
Monsieur
Pope is that they both come from Shreveport.”

“But what abou—”

“But, nothing,” Gabe cut him off. “You have seen the way she is with a man such as Roy Long, a man who’s own mother might have trouble giving him the time of day. She also has had no reservations caring for Jesse. Tell me,
mon ami,
is she anything like Richard Pope?”

Quinn knew there was truth in what Gabe was saying. In the short time she had been staying in the Baxter home, he’d noticed a change in Jesse; a small change, but he was different nonetheless. In Adrianna’s own way, regardless of whether she was talking about his legs or his education, she was eager for him to get better. Her compassion was real. From what he had seen of Pope, Quinn doubted that the man had
ever
felt a moment of compassion in his entire life. Still, he didn’t know the entire story. He had to wait and hear what Adrianna had to say.

“He could be telling the truth,” he said reluctantly.

“There is only one person who can tell you what the truth is,” Gabe said as he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “All you have to do is go and ask her.”

Adrianna woke from a fitful rest, a dream about sunflowers drifting away from her as if they were smoke. She blinked slowly, her vision still clouded around the edges. For a brief moment, she thought about staying at the Baxter house, playing the piano at the Whipsaw, and even the sweet, tender kiss she had received from Quinn. All of this had happened in just a few short days. Her life had changed forever.

Richard Pope has come to Lee’s Point!

“We’re making a habit of this.”

Adrianna turned her head slowly, a tremor of dizziness passing behind her eyes, to see Dr. Bordeaux where she had been on her first visit, right at the side of her bed. The woman looked tired, there were dark circles under her eyes, but she smiled warmly.

“What . . . what happened?” Adrianna spoke, her mouth dry.

“You fell ill at the Whipsaw and were brought here,” the doctor explained. “You’ve awakened from time to time with stomach cramps and had to vomit, but you have been sleeping soundly for a couple of hours now.”

“What’s the matter with me?” Adrianna started to sit up but fell back against the pillows.

“What have you been eating? Something that you ate didn’t agree with you. It could have been anything. Either way, let’s hope it’s run its course. In any case, you’ll need to spend some time in bed.”

Adrianna took in all that the doctor had to say. She had to admit that she felt as weak as a newborn kitten. Her stomach still rolled and reeled, but it now felt more like a spring shower than a summer gale. Whatever had struck her, the worst seemed to have past.

“Is . . . is Quinn here?” she asked cautiously.

Dr. Bordeaux nodded. “He hasn’t left since he brought you here. He’s out in the other room with Gabe.” She paused for a moment, throwing a glance to the door, before adding, “There’s . . . another man with them.”

“Oh, no!” she moaned.

“He’s been rather insistent that he should be let in here with you,” the doctor explained, “but I haven’t allowed it. It really doesn’t matter if you are going to marry him or not, you need your rest.”

Dr. Bordeaux’s words cut into Adrianna’s mind. “He . . . he . . . said that he was my future husband?” she finally sputtered.

“That he was engaged to you, yes,” the other woman said, the look on her face one of obvious confusion. “I have to admit that it was a bit surprising to hear since you said you were not married. Is this the man you were telling me about when you were here after the accident?”

“Yes. He’s the man I was running away from.”

Slowly, Adrianna’s hand made its way to her mouth, which was still agape with horror.
It was a nightmare!
Richard hadn’t only pursued her, he’d spread his horrible version of events amongst the acquaintances she’d made in Lee’s Point. If she didn’t put her foot down, if she didn’t offer her side of the story, his lies could be believed!

“Is something the matter?” the doctor asked.

“He’s lying,” Adrianna answered, her voice strong.

“Why is he saying this?” the other woman asked.

Drawing up all of the strength that she had left, Adrianna sat up in the bed and looked at Dr. Bordeaux with plaintive eyes. “Quinn,” she said with conviction. “I need to speak with Quinn, right now!”

Dr. Bordeaux brought Quinn back to the room where Adrianna was resting. She’d needed to shoo Richard away from the door over his loud protest. Even now, with the door closed, Adrianna could hear him bellowing about the injustice of being kept away from his fiancée. The sound of his voice made her skin crawl.

For several long moments, Quinn and Adrianna stared silently at one another. As she looked at him, she was amazed at how much had changed between them from the first time they had been in that very room. On that occasion, he had been loud and aggressive, belligerent to the point of frightening her. Now, all she could think was how handsome and strong he was.

“Annie,” he began, finally breaking the silence, “I don’t know what’s going on between you and that man—”

“Please, Quinn,” she cut him off. “Let me say what I need to first.”

He stared at her intently before giving a slight nod.

Taking a deep breath, she began. “I don’t know what Richard told you about his relationship with me, but I can assure you that most of it is not true. His professed love, his infatuation with me, he’s not lying about that, but I can assure you that his feelings are not returned.”

“He says that you are engaged to be married.”

“That is his intention, but it isn’t mine!” she defended herself. The thought that Quinn believed the lies that had come from Richard’s mouth both horrified her and made her angry. She couldn’t allow the charade to last even a moment longer. “He came to me after my father’s funeral and simply told me that we would be married. He never asked for my hand but, even if he had, I would
never
have accepted it!”