Rest Thy Head (4 page)

All true and very depressing, but Peyton couldn’t find it in her heart to regret her hasty decision. She didn’t trust Drew now, and she refused to marry a man she couldn’t trust.

Still though, she’d miss him. He had been a part of her life for two years. She couldn’t just forget about him in the course of one afternoon.
But I will
get over him
.
Eventually, I will
.

Chapter Three

Peyton didn’t know if it was the smell of coffee that woke her or the small maid who lackadaisically dusted the candles on the mantel, humming while she worked. Something about the girl’s uniform seemed old-fashioned. She wore a long sleeved gray dress whose hemline hit her well below the knee. A white apron covered the dress.

“Hello,” Peyton croaked. Oh, she needed something to drink. Her eyes still felt hot and tired from driving yesterday, but she forced them open to look at the maid. She had short, blonde hair, a turned up nose, and blue eyes with a kind expression.

The maid beamed at her and strolled over to the bed. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I did. Who are you?”

“My name is Annie. I’m one of the maids.”

Peyton yawned and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t mean to complain, but do you usually clean the rooms while the guests are sleeping in them?”

Annie laughed, a tinkling, silvery sound that somehow tickled Peyton. “I do it whenever I can, and this seemed like a good time to meet you. What brought you to Rest Thy Head?”

Peyton liked the girl, but she didn’t think she wanted to share confidences with a stranger. “Just a little vacation.”

Annie sat down on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed without an invitation. “I’ve been here for some time. I like Rest Thy Head.”

From somewhere in the background, maybe downstairs, Peyton heard a tremendous clatter. “What’s that!”

“Oh, I imagine Jason messed up again. He’s one of the cooks, but he’s awfully clumsy.” She smiled at Peyton. “Breakfast is better if you go early. I’d get dressed if I were you.”

“Yes, I will.”

“I’ll leave you to it then.”

Annie moved so smoothly over the floor it almost seemed as if she floated toward the door. Both Eleanor and Ashley moved gracefully, but Annie put them in the shade.

“I’ll see you later, Peyton.” Peyton blinked, and in that small moment of time Annie left the room.

What an interesting person! Peyton hoped they did have another chance to talk. She jumped out of bed and hurried to take her shower. The bathroom looked as lovely as the rest of the inn. Patrick’s brother had kept the old-fashioned charm of the room, which included a claw foot tub and retro black and white ceramic tile.

Patrick met her as she came down the stairs. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“I sure did. It must be this nice, fresh mountain air.”

“Yep, I bet it was. Come and have some breakfast?”

Peyton’s nose twitched. “Mmm, I will. It smells wonderful.”

Patrick smiled. “My brother Jake is in charge of the kitchen. He and Jason Simms do a lot of the cooking. The lady who’d been with us for years retired a few months ago, and that’s when Jake took over the cooking. He tries to learn one new dish a week. This morning we’re having Eggs Benedict, and he’s promised next week he’ll master a peach stuffed crepe.”

“I’ll try the eggs,” Peyton said.

The eggs tasted good, as did the rest of the food. As Patrick passed by her table, Peyton held out her hand to get his attention. “You’ll have to give my compliments to the chef.”

“I’ll do that. He’ll be glad to hear the eggs are okay.”

Peyton paused for the waiter to remove her plate. “Your brochure said you offer horse back riding.”

“Oh, we do. Are you interested?”

She nodded. “Yes, I love riding, but I’m not an expert by any means. I’d need a very tame, gentle horse.”

Patrick laughed. His eyes twinkled. “That’s the only kind we have at Rest Thy Head.”

Peyton laughed too. Patrick was so likeable.

He indicated the chair beside her. “May I?”

“Of course.”

He took an unused cup on the table and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot that the waiter left. “Did you see the stables when you got here last night?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Okay, you know where they are.” He added some cream to his coffee. “We offer two guided rides a day. One’s in the morning at ten, and the other’s in the afternoon at four. What time shall I get your horse ready?”

Peyton looked at her watch. “It’s nine-thirty now. I think I’ll go on the morning ride.”

He took his coffee and stood up. “Sounds good to me. I’ll meet you at the stable.”

Peyton ran to her room and changed her clothes. Annie must have returned to make up her bed because the room looked neat and clean. All of the linen in the bathroom had been changed too. She paused a moment to admire the plush, white towels. She needed to get some of those for herself.

Running a brush through her hair, she grabbed her sunglasses and made her way to the stables. Rest Thy Head looked as spectacular in the sunshine as it did in the moonlight. She made a mental note to explore the gardens she’d spotted behind the inn. Bet they looked as wonderful as the rest of the place.

She entered the barn, a big white structure with a center aisle and stalls on either side. Just inside the door she saw a dark-haired man dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved, plaid shirt brushing a pretty chestnut mare.

“Hi,” she called.

The man half turned toward her; wow, he had blue eyes to die for. The blue was so intense that it reminded her of a blue diamond she’d seen at the jewelry store. Oh, and look at those shoulders. If there was one thing she loved, it was a pair of nice shoulders. Yummy. He was just yummy. “Yeah?” he asked, his voice abrupt and snappy.

“I’m Peyton O’Malley. I’m supposed to meet Patrick for a ride.”

“He isn’t here yet. You can sit on the bench under that tree outside and wait for him there.”

Instead of leaving the barn, Peyton stepped toward the man. “What a beautiful … horse.”

The man quickly averted his face, but Peyton had seen the dreadful red scars that covered the entire left side of his face. They looked like burns. “I told you to wait outside,” he growled, scowling at her with the good side of his face. “Get moving.”

Peyton’s lips pressed together in a thin line. How dare he speak so rudely to her! Anyone would have looked twice when they first saw his scars. She stalked outside without another word.

As she waited on the bench for Patrick, she spent the time imagining clever retorts to the man’s rudeness. By the time Patrick got there five minutes later, she’d come up with some good comebacks. Too bad she couldn’t use them.

“Are you ready for that ride, Peyton?” He smiled as if taking a ride with her made his day. “I’ve got a great little mare in mind for you.”

“Yes, I’m ready.” Let the scarred man be unfriendly to someone else. She didn’t have to bother with him.

“I’ll get our horses.” Patrick went into the barn and returned leading two horses, one glossy brown and the other a spotted horse with a brown and white coat.

“She’s beautiful!” she cried, patting the spotted horse on his neck.

“I’m glad you like her. She’s the one I picked for you. In case you don’t know, a brown and white spotted horse is called a pinto.”

He helped her mount the pinto and adjusted the stirrups on her saddle. “Your horse’s name is Reggie. Are you ready to go?”

“You bet.” She took a deep breath of clear, mountain air. “Are we the only ones riding this morning?”

“Yes, we are.” His eyes twinkled. “I’m glad of it. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”

Peyton’s heart burned. Patrick Douglas was super cute, and he was flirting with her.
Oh, Drew!
Why couldn’t you have loved me? Why wasn’t I enough for you?
At this point, she guessed it didn’t matter. Whether she had wanted it or not, her life with Drew was over. It was time to move on.

Patrick and his horse led the way along a trail that first wound its way through a large meadow filled with wildflowers in shades of yellow and white, some of which Reggie ate as she walked by them. “Uh, Patrick, who was the man brushing the other horse? The one in the barn.”

“That was my brother, Jake. Did you meet him?”

The wary expression on Patrick’s face told Peyton she wasn’t the only one Jake had been rude to. “I…no…he…”

Patrick sighed. “Jake was in the marines, and a couple of years ago they sent him to Afghanistan. His unit was involved in a firefight with the insurgents. He got burned on the left side of his body.”

Remorse for all the hard thoughts she’d had toward Jake flooded Peyton. “That’s awful. I… I hope I didn’t make him uncomfortable. He must have seen that…”

“Yeah, I know.” Patrick grimaced. “The first time you see him, it’s startling.”

Peyton allowed Reggie to stop so she could feed on a clump of grass. “I feel bad for him.”

Patrick’s voice hardened. “Well, don’t. He wouldn’t want you to, and for goodness sake don’t offer him your pity. He really can’t stand that.”

“Pity him?” Peyton’s eyes widened. “I think he’s a hero, not someone to be pitied. He didn’t give his life for his country, but he gave a lot.”

Patrick favored her with a warm smile. “That’s exactly what I think.”

The meadow gradually gave way to a small woodland. “The horses know where they’re going, don’t they?” Peyton observed as she gave Reggie’s neck a pat.

“Yeah, they ought to. They’ve done it often enough.”

The woods petered out. For a mile or so they ambled along a dirt road that provided a feast for their senses. They’d had a shower overnight, and the air smelled fresh and clean. Birds sang in the trees as if celebrating the beauty of the morning. Wild daisies bloomed everywhere. “What’s the name of that white looking weed?” she asked. “The one blooming on the bank behind the daisies.”

“Oh, that’s Queen Anne’s Lace. Jake and I used to dye it.”

“Dye it?”

“Yeah, we put the flowers in food coloring, and they’d suck it up and turn pretty colors.”

Her mother would never have allowed such a thing. For one thing it would have messed up her kitchen, and for another, this plant was a weed. Weeds were not welcome in Eleanor’s house any more than honeysuckle was.

The dirt road led into a highway. “Is it safe to ride on the main road?” Peyton asked as a truck roared past them.

“We aren’t going on the highway. We’re cutting through this gate.”

Peyton looked at the emerald green pasture on the other side of the road. “Does this belong to you?”

“No, but Mr. Banks and I have a nice agreement. As long as I don’t let his cows out we’re free to cut across the pasture.”

They finished their ride fifteen minutes later at the barn. She looked around for Jake, but she didn’t see him. “I had so much fun I hate for the ride to end,” Peyton enthused as Patrick helped her to dismount.

“If you feel that way, you can groom Reggie while I do my horse.”

“I’d love to.”

Reggie turned and butted Peyton with her head. “I think she’s glad I’m helping.”

“Yeah, but she probably wants a treat too.” Patrick went to a box on the wall and pulled out a carrot. “She always gets a carrot after a ride.”

Peyton held out the carrot which Reggie daintily accepted. Her jaws crunched loudly.

A sense of well-being made Peyton’s heart sing as she loosened the girth on Reggie’s saddle. “It’s been forever since I had such a good time.”

Patrick took the saddle from her and carried it to a room near the center of the barn. “Want to talk about it? I figured you had a story.”

“Why would you think that?”

Patrick laughed. “Just a guess. Something in your expression maybe.”

Peyton thought for a moment. “I don’t suppose it would hurt to tell you.” As they worked on their horses, she told him about Drew and her escape from the church.

“Way to go,” Patrick cheered. “Drew’s a jerk who deserved what he got.”

“Yes, he did. My sister told me he threw my wedding ring across the sanctuary and hit one of the guests in the eye.”

Patrick roared with laughter. “That’s a good one.”

“Why, I think so too,” Peyton exclaimed, and she laughed along with him.

They finished with their horses and took the path back toward the inn. “Would you like to tour the kitchens?” Patrick invited as they reached the back door. “We could grab a snack if you like.”

“I would like.”

Patrick opened the door, and a pot sailed through the air, barely missing him. “I hate you!” a feminine voice screamed. Another pot sailed through the door. “I wouldn’t work for you if you paid me a million dollars! I’m sick of your snotty attitude. You got that? I’m sick of you!”

They heard a clatter in the kitchen after which several ladles flew through the air to join the pots. A moment later, a heavyset blonde stormed out the door. She saw Patrick and threw an apron at him. “I quit!” she yelled. She strode across the yard to a small car, gunned her motor, and tore down the driveway.

Peyton giggled. “Having trouble with the help?”

“Evidently.”

“I guess I’ll forget about a snack. You’d better see what happened.”

The look of relief on his face made her laugh.

“Thanks, Peyton. I appreciate it. Lunch is at twelve thirty.” He blinked. “Well, it usually is.”

“I’m sure you’ll get everything under control. I’ll see you in a little while.”

Happiness faded when she reached her room. She should call her mother now and get it over with. Nobody knew how much she dreaded it, but she couldn’t avoid Eleanor forever. Dialing her mother’s number, she crossed her fingers for good luck.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mother, it’s me.”

Eleanor didn’t speak.

“Mother?”

“What do you want, Peyton?”

Peyton willed her voice not to crack. “I’d like to tell you what happened yesterday.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me anything. I know exactly what happened yesterday.”

Peyton felt a brief stirring of hope. “You do? Did Ashley tell you what I overheard?”