In Love's Territory

  Chapter 12

  Sam tied Racer to the post outside the fence, crossed the slate path that cut across the yard, and slowly went up the steps to the front door of Carter’s house. There were lots of unpleasant things that he’d had to do—only a few months earlier he’d been up to his shoulder inside one of the cows when she’d had problems birthing a calf—but coming to smooth things over with Carter topped the list. Still, he didn’t see that he had much of a choice. There was no way he was going to let Carter bully Kate when she was entirely blameless, and it had been pretty clear to him that that’s what had happened.

  Actually, it had been pretty clear to everybody. Carter’s voice had easily carried to the dining room the night before, and it had been an uncomfortable place to be as they listened to the tirade, followed by Kate wordlessly going up to her room and closing the door. Carter had probably just misunderstood exactly what had happened and once he heard an explanation from Sam, he’d let up on Kate. Either that, or there was more to the story, but Sam meant to put a stop to it regardless.

  The housekeeper was a woman he didn’t know, but based on the frown that seemed to have been permanently installed on her face, he was glad for it. Bad moods had a way of infecting other people as well, and that was something Sam just didn’t need. On the other hand, maybe it’s not her fault. If I worked for Carter I might have the same expression.

  Instead of inviting him in to wait, the housekeeper had Sam stay on the porch while she went to find Carter. Not that he minded; it was a pleasant afternoon and he’d already seen the house, so he wasn’t even curious about the interior. Three years before, a couple of lead miners had died in an accident. Both had been badgers, living in hand-dug caves, and when Carter’s father had discovered that neither man had a suitable place to hold a wake, he had insisted that his home be used. Sam was pretty sure that Carter would be shocked to learn that his fancy house had once been filled with grimy diggers tromping around, paying respects to the two dead men in the parlor. He was also pretty sure that if there were another accident, there would be no repeat of the whole affair. The apple seemed to have fallen pretty far from the tree in that regard.

  He turned to watch as Carter’s gardener appeared from around the corner of the house and proceeded to the hedge that lined the edge of the yard. He began to carefully trim the shrubs, turning the leafy growth from an untamed bushiness to a flat, sharply edged boxiness. Maybe someday I’ll have enough money to pay somebody to force unnatural shapes on my shrubs too, Sam thought.

  “What are you doing here, Hall?”

  Sam turned to see Carter in the doorway, his shirtsleeves rolled up and a white linen napkin still tucked into his collar.

  “Mr. Carter, sorry to bother you during your supper,” Sam said, stepping forward and throwing his hand out.

  Carter glanced down at Sam’s hand, then pulled the napkin free from his shirt and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. “What do you want? You can see I’m busy.”

  Sam withdrew his hand. “Well, I just wanted to talk to you about what happened with Kate,” he said. “You know, when those men attacked her.”

  Carter glanced behind and then stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door shut. “I think I’ve heard all about that already,” he said. “Unless you’re here to apologize for laying your hands on my fiancée, I doubt that you have any new information for me.”

  Sam stared down at the porch’s wooden planks, trying to keep control of his tongue. “I did what I thought needed to be done,” he finally said, fighting with himself to speak evenly and calmly.

  “You thought it was necessary to have your hands all over my fiancée while you paraded her down Main Street on your horse?”

  “I had to get her out of there as fast as I could,” Sam said, the heat rising within him. “Kate—”

  “And that’s another thing,” Carter said. “Where the hell do you get off calling her by her Christian name? She’s your employer. You’ll call her Miss Taylor from now on.”

  “Fine, whatever,” Sam said. “Miss Taylor was in trouble and I helped her out. I just came over here to explain that there’s nothing more to it than that. And there’s absolutely no reason to take your anger out on her.”

  “Johnson!” Carter shouted, and his gardener turned to face the house. “Go work on the back hedge. You can finish this later.” When the gardener had walked out of sight, Carter turned back to Sam.

  “Did Miss Taylor put you up to this?”

  “No, I came here myself. She doesn’t even know I’m here.”

  “What goes on between me and Miss Taylor is our business,” Carter said. “You’d best stay out of it. It has nothing to do with you.”

  “Maybe not,” Sam said. “I just hate to see the girl suffering through no fault of her own.”

  “That’s too bad for you. And in the future, if you can’t keep your hands off her, you’re going to have more trouble than you know what to do with.”

  “I told you, all I did was give her a ride home after those men attacked her, nothing more.”

  “You think I’m blind, Hall? You think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play dumb,” he said. “I know you’ve got feelings for her. But let me tell you something. I don’t want to see you around her ever again. When she’s around, you make yourself scarce, understand?”

  Sam stared at him. For the first time, he realized that Carter was ridiculous. He was physically the same man he’d always been, but after everything that had happened in the last couple of days, Carter had finally revealed himself to be utterly ridiculous.

  Sam laughed, and one corner of his mouth crept back as he watched Carter.

  “You know what, Carter? You’re right,” he said. “I do like Kate. I like her a hell of a lot.”

  Carter’s eyes flared and his neck began to grow pink, but Sam went on.

  “But I never let her know about that because she already made her choice. She chose you,” Sam said. “And I have too much respect for her to complicate things by butting in. At least, that’s what I used to think. But now I’m thinking differently. Now I’m thinking maybe she should know how I feel.”

  Carter stepped close, leaning forward as if to plow Sam out of the way with his chest, but Sam stood firm. The two were nose to nose, but Sam didn’t budge.

  “You’re going to be sorry you said that,” Carter whispered, so close that Sam could feel the puffs of air as he spoke. The blood had drained from his face and the soul had drained from his eyes. “I promise you.”

  “You don’t deserve Kate.”

  “Get off my property,” Carter said, low and quiet. Before Sam could answer, Carter spun on his heel and stepped back into the house, slamming the door closed.

  Sam walked out and untied Racer, hopped into the saddle and turned back toward town. His hands shook on the reins, and he had to close his eyes for a moment, trusting Racer to the road. Another tribe had a saying that Sam tried to remember at times like this: a smart man won’t poison himself with his own anger. Sam took a deep breath and exhaled it all in a burst, as if that would sweep out the rage that had built up within.

  Racer snorted at him as well and turned his head to look back at Sam.

  “Don’t mind me,” Sam said. “Let’s just go on home now.” He snapped the reins lightly and Racer turned his attention back to the road ahead. Sam studied the blue sky as he rode, the clouds drifting along peacefully. It was still a nice day, warm and breezy, and nothing that idiot Carter had said could change that.

  Actually, there was nothing he could say that would change anything. Katie was still a beautiful, attractive woman and he was still crazy about her. Nothing new there. About the only thing that had changed was that Sam could now see that Carter really didn’t deserve her. It wasn’t a question of jealousy—at least not anymore. He just wasn’t a very good man, and Katie deserved better.

  He spurred Racer
on a bit to pick up the pace. Maybe I should tell her how I feel. He thought back to the sharp words he’d heard Carter throw her way the night before. There was no way she had deserved that, not what with she’d been through, regardless of whether Carter had his story straight or not. Carter had been mean and disrespectful. He’d been a bully, and if there was one thing Sam couldn’t stand, it was a bully.

  Almost without thinking, he dug his heels into Racer’s sides again, moving him up to a trot as they headed up Main Street. The last time Sam had been this way, Kate had been with him, clinging to him like a burr on a blanket. Or maybe he’d been clinging to her. It was hard to say.

  He had realized that night, as he rode back to the farm with her in his arms, that he had acted entirely without thinking. Not that he would have stopped to ponder the matter, of course, but he had seen her in danger and just leaped in as if…as if he’d had no choice. That was the truth of the matter. When she was in trouble, he had no choice but to protect her.

  So why aren’t you trying to protect her now? The question popped up out of nowhere, but it was as if a smoldering log had just burst into flame, burning away the shadows. Everything had suddenly become clear.

  As they crested the hill overlooking town and started down the long slope that would eventually lead them to Taylor Farm, Sam leaned forward in the saddle and spurred Racer on at a gallop.

  Of course he had to tell her. And there was no time like the present.