Ana Leigh - [The Frasers 4 - Jed] - One Night with a Sweet Talking Man (5 page)

“No, our house is pretty isolated. My uncle owned the property originally, and this was where we came when we left Virginia. Uncle Frank died five years ago and Father was his only heir. When the war ended, my father put himself in ‘dry dock’ as he says, and joined my mother and me.”

“So Garrett hasn’t had an opportunity to be around children his own age. What about schooling?”

“I tutor him.”

“You’ve done a great job. He’s a smart little boy.”

“And he’s not completely without companionship; he and The Buffer are inseparable. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t had any narrow escapes—Buffer has always looked after him.” She grinned at him. “He’s even more protective of Garrett than I am.”

“So The Buffer lives up to his name, is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly. He’s not only my son’s best friend and dearest companion, but also a buffer between Garrett and any danger. He’s always been a buffer for me, too: I always had peace of mind knowing that he was always looking out for Garrett.”

“I seriously suspect that this is leading into that
Providence
conversation again,” Jed said.

Caroline’s eyes lit with triumph. “Ah-hah! I think I’ve made a believer of you.”

“Not quite, madam. Where was The Buffer when Garrett walked into the path of that explosion? If I remember right, Garrett was calling out for him.”

“I’m afraid I’m to blame. I put Buffer into the office while Garrett was in the privy and called to Garrett to come to the office when he was through. I had heard that Bomber was going to blow stumps and wanted the two of them someplace where I knew they’d be safe. I guess Garrett didn’t hear me. I should never have taken Buffer away from the privy door.”

“This is all ridiculous. Your father takes the blame for the buggy accident, and—”

“Maybe he should! Father knew I think Garrett’s too young to drive it,” she declared.

“Just the same, he’s no more responsible for the buggy accident than you are for the other one. For someone who believes in Providence, you sure are contradicting yourself.”

Caroline looked confused, and they continued on in silence until they reached the house.

After Garrett bathed and had his hands properly bandaged, and Caroline’s and Nathan’s aches and pains had been soothed in hot baths, all the Collinses opted for an early bedtime.

Jed lingered downstairs for a smoke and walk in the garden before retiring. Now that the Collinses were all tucked away safely in their beds, he had a chance to reflect on the day’s events. This family had come to mean a lot to him in this short time.

He sensed that Caroline still distrusted him, though. Why? Despite her recent attempt at friendliness, there was still an undercurrent of wariness toward him.

You can’t win them all, Fraser.
Too bad, because he found himself looking forward to being with her. Or was it just the challenge to win her over?

Well, he was leaving tomorrow so what in hell did it matter? But not before he spoke to this local attorney, Vincent Calhoun, as he had promised Nathan he would. Something about this railroad buyout smelled like three-day-old fish.

Jed ground out his cigarillo and went up to bed.

B
right morning sunshine streamed through the ruffled curtains of her room, teasing Caroline awake. She opened her eyes and lay remembering the previous day’s activities.

It had been a frightful day and she couldn’t help fearing what the outcome might have been—and that was the rub. From the moment Jed Fraser had entered the picture, she had wanted him gone. Yet if he hadn’t been there…She fought back tears of relief.

Despite the threat Jed presented, she had to admit she found him interesting; she enjoyed the quiet conversations they had together. Given her dangerous attraction to him, it was a good thing he was leaving today.

At the sound of voices outside, she got out of bed and crossed to the open window. Her father and Jed were preparing to depart in the buckboard. Was he leaving so early? And without even saying good-bye? Garrett would be devastated.

As if feeling her stare, Jed glanced up and saw her. He smiled and tipped his hat. “Good morning, Caroline.”

“Good morning.” It was embarrassing being caught in the act of spying.

“I apologize for waking you.”

“I was awake,” she said. “Are you leaving so early? At least let me make breakfast before you depart.”

“We’re just riding out to see if we can salvage any of the buggy,” Nathan said.

“Oh, then you’ll be back.” Her heartbeat quickened.

“Of course!” Jed exclaimed. “Do you think I’d leave without saying good-bye to you or my little pal?”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll have breakfast ready by the time you get back.”

Caroline turned away and started to dress. As she brushed her hair, her thoughts continued to dwell on Jed Fraser.

He was an incredibly handsome man.
All
those Fraser brothers were handsome and personable. That was the trouble—and the downfall of any woman who met them.

She congratulated herself for not having buckled under that smooth charm. Within a few hours, he’d be out of her life forever. Caroline lifted her chin. “Told you I could do it,” she said to her image in the mirror, but her alter ego just stared back at her despondently.

Caroline tied her hair back with a ribbon, then went to wake Garrett.

Jed wore a worried frown after examining the shattered buggy.

“What’s bothering you?” Nathan asked.

“It all happened so quickly, but let’s go over the chain of events. It began with the rear of the buggy collapsing, right?”

Nathan nodded. “I was pitched off it when we bounced off a rock, the buggy slammed down, and the rear collapsed.”

“That’s how I remember it, too,” Jed said. “Then the front of the buggy was dragged a few feet, tottered, and then tipped on its side, causing the tongue to break off and the harness to snap. So if all the resulting damage occurred
after
the rear collapsed, what do you think caused the rear end to collapse to begin with?”

“I assumed one of the rear wheels rolled off,” Nathan replied.

Jed shook his head. “That was my assumption at first, too. But take a look—both of them are bent or smashed from the crash. That means neither one rolled off, which means the rear axle splintered and caused the collapse.”

“I would say,” Nathan said.

“I took a closer look at the rear axle, and the broken ends are smooth—not splintered. That axle was sawn through almost entirely, and when the rear hit that rock, the axle snapped and broke
before
the buggy bounced back. Then it tipped over and the tongue broke off.”

After a brief examination, Nathan looked up at Jed, his eyes wide with shock. “My God, man, you’re right! Who would do such a thing? I can’t believe even Vincent Calhoun would be a party to such a dastardly deed. And who would even have access to do so?”

“Didn’t you stable your horses and the buggy in Napa when you went to San Francisco?”

“That’s right. Fortunately, we use the buckboard more than the buggy, so the axle didn’t snap until it hit that rock.”

“I think I’ll take a look at the underside of that buckboard,” Jed said. “Whoever did it to the buggy may have done the same to the buckboard.”

He slid under the buckboard, and when he was satisfied the axles hadn’t been tampered with, he crawled out from under it.

“Everything looks fine,” he said, dusting himself off. “I think we should leave the buggy as is and bring the sheriff out here to see it.”

“He took a prisoner to Sacramento. He won’t be back for another week.”

“Then we might have an additional problem to deal with. But if I were you, I’d still report this to the law. You all could have been seriously hurt—if not killed.”

Nathan looked so downcast that Jed went over and squeezed his shoulder. “There’s nothing more we can do here now, sir, so we might as well get back to the house.”

He salvaged the blanket and picnic basket from the buggy’s ruins and put them in the buckboard. “You realize, sir, for the sake of Caroline’s and Garrett’s safety, you’re going to have to make her aware of the danger.”

Nathan sighed deeply. “Yes, I see that now. I was hoping I could avoid alarming her, but I’ll have to tell her what’s happened.”

“Have you considered leaving the area until this issue with the railroad’s been resolved?”

“No. This is my property, and I won’t allow a weasel like Calhoun to drive me off it. And knowing Caroline, I think she won’t consider leaving, either.”

“Not even to secure Garrett’s safety? After all, Calhoun threatened both of them.”

“That might convince her, but even if she agreed, I don’t know where I could send them.”

“I could take them to my brother’s home, sir. They’d be safe there. But before we do anything, I’m talking to Mr. Calhoun. I’d like to sit in on this pot and find out what kind of hand is being dealt. And if it ends up a bust one, you’re all coming with me.”

Caroline clearly wasn’t thrilled when Nathan insisted she and Garrett accompany them to Napa.

“There’s no reason why we can’t say good-bye right here,” she declared. “I’m still aching from yesterday, and the thought of being jostled about in a buckboard is not appealing.”

“Caroline, there’s a very good reason for going with us,” Nathan said.

“What reason?”

“Do you mind if I talk to her privately, sir?” Jed asked.

Nathan took Garrett by the hand. “You come with me, and we’ll feed the stock and saddle Liberty for Jed to ride.”

“I don’t keep any secrets from you guys,” Garrett grumbled as his grandfather led him away.

“Jed, what’s going on here?” Caroline asked.

“Let’s take a walk.” He put his hand on her back and guided her out into the garden. “Your father and I discovered something very disturbing about that buggy accident. It wasn’t an accident.”

She stopped short and looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“We discovered the rear axle of the buggy had been sawn nearly through. It took just a bad jolt to make it break apart.”

“My God, who would do such a thing?”

“Your father suspects Vincent Calhoun.”

She looked incredulous. “Why would he think that? I know Father has always distrusted Mr. Calhoun, but I can’t believe the man would endanger our lives. Is this related to the railroad wanting to run that line through our property?”

“Yes. Nathan said Calhoun threatened that something might happen to you or Garrett if he didn’t agree to it.”

She paled in shock, and he led her over to a bench. “I intend to speak to this Calhoun before I leave today, and the Captain’s afraid to leave you and Garrett alone here. That’s why he insists you come along.”

“Why didn’t Father warn us? When I think of how we let Garrett run free with only Buffer as protection…”

“That hound is as good a protection as an army would be. And don’t blame your father. He had no way of knowing if Calhoun was merely bluffing, so he didn’t want to alarm you unnecessarily. And with the sheriff out of town, he didn’t know who he could trust. I trust your father’s judgment, Caroline. I’ve seen him in battle before.”

“He still should have warned me. I would have kept a closer eye on Garrett. Look at yesterday’s accident at the mill—”

“We can’t blame Calhoun for that, Caroline. Garrett just wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Seeing her pallor and fear, he gathered her hand between his own. “Honey, he’s still got a lot of growing up to do. You can’t protect him from genuine accidents.”

“I know, but I can’t help trying.”

“Then come with me. I believe the railroad should be informed of Calhoun’s threats. If he’s done it to you, he’s most likely done it to others, too. I suggested to your father that the three of you come with me to my brother’s. You’ll be safe there until this situation is resolved.”

Surprisingly, she looked even more distressed. “What did my father say?” she asked.

“He refuses to be driven from his land, but he’s concerned about your and Garrett’s safety.”

“I’m remaining with my father.”

“That will be keeping you and Garrett at risk, Caroline.”

“I’ll make certain we remain close to the house.”

Jed shook his head. “For how long? You have no way of knowing the amount of time it will take to resolve the situation.”

“It can’t take much longer; it’s been an issue for almost a year now.” She drew a deep breath. “Look, Jed, I appreciate your concern. If necessary, we’ll hire a couple of men to protect us. We can use the help anyway—the barn and fences need some repairs. We’ll be just fine.”

“Your father’s showing more common sense than you are, Caroline. At least he acknowledges the danger.”

“I’m not making light of the danger, but we can hardly go hide without knowing how long it will take to resolve it.”

“And you’d risk your life or Garrett’s waiting to find out? You’ve got more common sense than that.”

“Exactly. I was shocked and frightened when you first told me, but the more I think about it, the more outrageous it sounds. We’re assuming Calhoun’s behind it all, but the buggy accident might have had nothing to do with the railroad issue.”

“Get your head out of the sand, Caroline; it
wasn’t
an accident,” Jed exclaimed, exasperated.

“I’m not implying it was. But it could also have been caused by a disgruntled employee Father fired, or a spiteful suitor that I turned down.”

“Do you have anyone particular in mind?”

“Yes. Gabe Ryan was furious when Father fired him for drunkenness that almost cost the life of one of the loggers. He told Father that he hadn’t seen the last of him. And when I turned down a marriage proposal from a former neighbor, Ben Slatter, he said an ‘ungrateful whore’ like me was making a big mistake and that I’d be sorry when I didn’t have my ‘daddy’ around to take care of me and my ‘bastard’ son.”

“I’d like to meet this Slatter,” Jed said grimly.

“It no longer matters. The bank foreclosed on his land, so he’s no longer a neighbor. He’s just a bigmouth drunk.”

Jed nodded thoughtfully. “Do you believe either one of those men would seek revenge by harming a child?”

“I don’t know. But anyone familiar with us knows that we don’t allow Garrett to drive the buggy or buckboard. So if Garrett wasn’t their target, damaging the vehicles would make sense.”

“Would you gamble his safety on that?” Jed asked quietly.

She turned away in despair. “I want to believe it.” Tears glistened in her eyes when she turned back to him.

Her agony was so real, so raw. Jed gathered her into his arms and leaned his forehead against hers. “I know you do.”

When he pressed a kiss to her temple, she drew back. For a long moment they stared into each other’s eyes, then he gently wiped away a tear sliding down her cheek, lowered his head, and claimed her lips.

Sizzling sensation surged through her, and she felt the loss when he broke the kiss. Too breathless to speak, they stared at one another.

Surprise and shock was on her face from the excitement his kiss had generated.

Bewilderment was on his, as to why he should be so shaken by a kiss.

“I won’t say I’m sorry, Caroline,” he finally said. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.”

“I understand. It’s been an emotional time for both of us. And since we may never meet again, it was only natural that we’d kiss good-bye. I’ll never forget you, Jed. Every time I look at my son, I’ll remember how indebted I am to you.”

“Then do me a favor and come with me to my brother’s.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Nathan called from the doorway, “Ready to leave anytime you are.”

Jed released his grasp on her, and she slipped from his arms.

When Jed rejoined them for the trip to town, Garrett was sitting between Nathan and Caroline on the buckboard seat. Buffer was stretched out in the bed of it, and Jed tossed his seabag next to the dog. Buffer raised his head, sniffed it, then stretched out again.

Jed mounted Liberty, and as they rode away, he turned to look back at the Collins’s house, feeling an odd sadness to be leaving.