Wings of a Dove (32 page)

    "No, I"

    "I said go to your room!"

    His massive form quaking with barely suppressed fury, Jacob Case took another step toward his belligerent daughter. The threat in his flushed face succeeded in driving Sarah another step backwards, but she turned toward Delaney with a final word of defiance. "Don't worry, Delaney. I don't believe anything James said. And even if they make you leave here, we'll see each other again."

    "Sarah!"

    Turning on her heel, Sarah fled into the darkness of the hall. Waiting until her step sounded on the floor above them, Jacob turned back to Delaney.

    "I don't think I have to say any more, Delaney. It should be as obvious to you as it is to me that you can no longer live here as a part of this family. I'm sorry. Now that the time has come to make a choice, I find I truly have no choice to make."

    Nodding, Delaney turned toward his room. He had expected it would eventually come to this. He only had one true regret.

    Mr. Case's voice halted Delaney.

    "Before you leave, Mrs. Case would like to see you."

    Not bothering to respond, Delaney continued on down the hallway.

«» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «» «»

    His dark brows pulled into a hard frown, Delaney paused outside Mrs. Case's bedroom door, aware that James had followed and had paused a few steps behind him. He sent a contemptuous sneer in James's direction, experiencing immeasurable satisfaction as a new flood of angry color washed James's freckled face.

    The bastard. Dogging Delaney's heels, James had waited silently outside the bedroom door as he packed his few belongings. He had followed him to the porch and watched as Delaney had deposited his things outside the kitchen door. He had then followed a few steps behind as he had ascended the steps to the second floor to see the bedridden Mrs. Case.

    Delaney gave a short, bitter snort. He was wise to James's strategy. James was making very sure he made no attempt to see or talk to Allie. If he did, James would deliberately provoke him into a fight so that he might prove to the others just how right he was about a "prison boy" never changing his stripes. But if that was his intention, James was going to fail miserably. Delaney had no intention of giving James that satisfaction.

    It occurred to Delaney that he could have deprived James of the final victory of having him ousted from the Case farm. It would have been so easy to stop the whole scene in the kitchen with the announcement that he was leaving Cass County, but he did not regret adhering to his promise to tell Allie first. She had earned that right.

    Delaney's light rap on Mrs. Case's door was met with a weak response that tore at a spot deep inside him. Mrs. Case did not deserve the fate that had been allotted her. Two steps inside the door Delaney halted in his tracks. With great deliberation he hardened himself against the deterioration evident in the shadowed lines of her familiar face.

    A sound to one side of the darkened room made Delaney turn at the moment Allie stepped into the ring of light from the lamp. Her relief in seeing him was obvious in the moment before she looked back to Mrs. Case, her eyes visibly moistening.

    "Allie."

    Mrs. Case's low whisper brought Allie immediately to her side. Mrs. Case patted her small hand. "Allie, this is not a happy night for any of us. Although Papa Case and I are agreed    that it's time for Delaney to leave us, we are not happy with that decision."

    "Mother Case, you know it isn't true what James said. He was mistaken."

    "Dear, leave us now. Delaney and I want to talk. And please tell James not to worry. Delaney won't stay long."

    His gaze on Allie as she left the room, Delaney was called back to attention by Mrs. Case's soft sigh.

    "It is my one regret in life that Sarah, for all her beauty, has not discovered the secret of making herself loved, as that sweet child has."

    At Mrs. Case's summons, Delaney moved to her bedside.

    "Closer, Delaney. Pull the chair up beside the bed so I can see you better. We may not have a chance to talk again and there are things that must be said." Mrs. Case gave a short laugh. "I don't mean to mislead you with that statement, dear. I don't intend to die just yet, despite the fears my family seems to have for me. I think I have one or two more rallies left inside me. Rather, it's my thought that you probably won't be staying in Cass County much longer."

    The glimmer of surprise in Delaney's light eyes did not go unnoted by Mrs. Case.

    "Delaney, dear, I've never forgotten our conversation that first day in the church hall. You have an ambition. Although you've never defined that ambition to me, I've seen you work diligently toward it year after year, and it seems to me the time has come for you to strike out on your own."

    "You don't miss much, Mrs. Case."

    "No, I don't, Delaney. I've devoted my life to the people I love, and I worry for their future in these uncertain times. It is precisely for that reason that I allowed Papa Case to ask you to leave."

    Delaney's frown brought a look of concern to Margaret Case's face. "Whether you believe it or not, Delaney, I love you, too, and my concern for you is as deep as the concern I feel for the other members of my family."

    Delaney chose not to respond.

    "You are a very kind boy, Delaney. I seem to contradict myself, and you don't wish to call that contradiction to my attention. But you see, dear, what I've just said isn't a contradiction.

    It is truth, a sad truth, which I feel I must speak to you, whether I am right or wrong."

    Mrs. Case took Delaney's broad hand in hers and gripped it with surprising strength as she continued. "Delaney, I love you as a son, but I know you only too well. You were an angry and bitter boy. You maintained your guard, refusing to allow love to temper those harsh feelings, and your bitterness and anger have not dissipated now that you are a man. That bitterness is like a sore deep inside you. It robs you of joy, and it will rob those who love you of joy as well. Allie has always loved you without reservation, and she has suffered at the lack of feeling you evidence for those around you, as well as the criticism it calls down upon you. She is totally devoted to you, Delaney, and while you remain here she will be true to that devotion."

    Pausing to take a pained breath, Mrs. Case gripped Delaney's hand tighter, her faded eyes intent on his. "Over the years, Jacob and James often voiced their concern over Allie's devotion to you, but I saw what that devotion brought to Allie. She was a child, and it brought her security when she felt most alone, and love when she felt most abandoned. She needed you, Delaney, and to your everlasting credit, whatever your true feelings were, you were there for her."

    Mrs. Case attempted a smile. "But Allie is a child no longer. And, my dear, I hope you will forgive me when I say this, but the devotion she feels for you is now as great a hindrance to her future as it once was a necessity for her survival. It's time for you to set her free to make a life of her own, Delaney. You have your ambition to give you what you need in life. Allie needs more. She needs security and she needs love, but she will never be free to seek them while she is bound to you."

    The protest that rose within Delaney brought with it a hot flush of color, but the concern in Margaret Case's pale countenance tempered his reply.

    "I'm just starting to realize that none of us gave Allie enough credit, Mrs. Case, including me. Allie has said many times that no one understands the bond between the two of us. I thought you understood it, but I guess I was wrong."

    The tears that glazed Mrs. Case's dull eyes caused Delaney a moment's regret for his outspokenness.

    ''No, Delaney, don't regret your words. I don't regret mine, and I hope I am wrong when I say I think it is beyond your ability to truly love. Bitterness is too consuming, and you seem to have devoted all the passion remaining within you to achieving your goal in life."

    Mrs. Case's smile appealed for understanding. "Delaney dear, I am trying to set you free. It's my thought that you hesitate to leave for Allie's sake, because of her attachment to you. I know you never needed Allie. It was Allie who needed you. She was the first to admit that."

    Mrs. Case paused again. "She doesn't need you anymore, Delaney. Whether you realize it or not, in the past few years the situation has slowly reversed itself. Allie has come to feel responsible for you, for your hard ways and the general distrust within you that turns people against you. She agonizes over the fact that others do not value you in the same way she does, because she very much wants you to be happy. Delaney, my dear adopted son, I know in my heart there is only one thing that will make you happy, and that is to achieve the status you wish to attain in life. For that reason, not because of the story James brought to us about the scene on Tillman Hill, Jacob and I are telling you to go."

    Mrs. Case momentarily lowered her eyes.

    "If I am to be totally honest, Delaney, I must say that our concern for Sarah also colors the decision Jacob and I have made today. Despite Sarah's fervent wish, she can never be the woman for you. She would need more from you than you would ever be willing to give. You have seen that from the beginning, but my very spoiled daughter has deluded herself into believing that her beauty and her obvious feminine attributes will bring you around. It is my hope that when you finally choose a woman, Delaney, you will choose one who will be satisfied with the part of you that you are willing to share, for only then will you both be happy. And I do wish you happiness, Delaney."

    Neither rejecting nor accepting Mrs. Case's words, Delaney started to stand up.

    "Not yet, Delaney, please. I have a final request to make of you." Mrs. Case did not wait for a response she knew would not come. "I know I ask a lot, but I want you to leave directly from here, without making an attempt to talk to Allie."

    Delaney maintained his silence.

    "Delaney, whether he was wrong or right about what he thought he saw, James believes he must protect Allie from you. His feelings are presently running at too high a pitch to allow peaceful settlement of the dispute between you. I'll talk to Allie after you leave, and I'll explain the reason you couldn't talk to her yourself."

    "You're asking too much, Mrs. Case."

    "If you care for Allie, you will spare her, Delaney."

    Mrs. Case was beginning to tremble. Her fine lips were turning a pale blue, and Delaney felt his resentment crumble and die inside him. He could not cause this woman any further distress.

    "All right." Delaney drew himself to his feet, his brows knitting in a frown as Mrs. Case made a gallant attempt to control her quaking. He paused with the realization that this woman had spoken as she had for the good of those she loved, that she had never been anything but kind to him, with little affection shown by him in return, and that he would probably never see her again.

    "Thank you for everything, Mother Case."

    A tear slipped into the gray hair at Margaret Case's temple.

    "'Mother Case.' I had despaired of hearing you call me by that name." Margaret took another uneven breath. "My dear Delaney, you are welcome."

    "Good- bye."

    "My very dear boy." Tears flowing freely, Mrs. Case motioned Delaney closer, then drew his head down and pressed her lips against his cheek. "Good-bye."

    Delaney straightened up and turned toward the door. Within seconds he was in the hallway. Sparing only a brief glance for Allie, who stood with James at her side, he descended the stairs and walked out of the house.

    Delaney sat on the edge of his rumpled bed and pulled on his boots. He was still angry. Mosley Rourke's glance had been too knowing when he turned in his horse at the livery the night before and said he wouldn't be needing it on a regular basis anymore. The memory of all that had gone unsaid behind those watery eyes still rankled.

    Standing up, Delaney cast an appraising glance around the room he had rented in Mrs. Porter's rooming house. The furnishings were Spartan a double bed covered with a handmade quilt, a mirrored dresser, and a night table supporting a single lamp but they would have been more than adequate if he had intended to stay long. He did not.

    Delaney stretched his powerful frame and took a deep breath. He didn't need to look in the mirror to see that lines of weariness marked his face or that his frown was so intense that his dark brows looked like a single slash over the clear ice of his eyes. He was exhausted. In the last twenty-four hours he had worked around the clock, had taken one major step in his life, and had made the decision to take another. The long ride back to town the previous night had been difficult. When he arrived at the boardinghouse door, he had been too tired to react to Mrs. Porter's raised brow and sniff of disapproval. He might have been amused by the speed with which word of the incident on Tillman Hill had spread if he had been in a better mood. As it was, he had dragged himself upstairs and fallen, fully clothed, onto the bed. But he had slept very badly. Unfinished business had tormented him.

    That unfinished business was Allie. He could not seem to forget the expression on her face as he walked past her and out of the house without a word. He also could not forget the spark of triumph in James's eye as he stood beside her.