Helene mockingly inclined her head, then, smiling, left the room.
Ryder asked Leah, “Are you ready?”
Seeing Cecil arrive with the last of the trunks, she replied, “I—yes.”
The two men faced each other for a silent moment, then Cecil said to Ryder, “I’ll help you carry these out.”
Leah followed.
As they drove away, Cecil watched from the porch. Leah held his eyes until they were out of sight. For the first time in her thirty-two years Leah Jane Barnett Montague had no one to rely upon but herself. Swallowing her emotions once more, she set her eyes on the road ahead.
After a long few moments of silence, she asked, “Has Helene always been such a viper?”
“Yes. She wielded a lot of power around here when I was young, but when the Faith Mine failed, so did her influence. Poverty’s forced her to take in boarders in order to make ends meet. Fancy Creole that she is, it’s killing her.”
“Monty told me he left that mine to you and Seth.”
“It went to Seth only.”
“But that isn’t—”
“How about we talk about something else?”
Leah quieted, then added, “We’re going to have this discussion eventually.”
He looked her way. “I know, but it won’t be now.”
Leah had no recourse but to accept his statement.
They were driving away from town via a road less than a plate wide that seemed to be climbing toward the mountains. The wide-open landscape was sparsely populated, showing only the occasional wood cabin and crudely built structures with tar-paper roofs. The carriage rounded a bend and on the side of the road stood a small, neatly kept cabin surrounded on every side by brightly blooming spring flowers. The riot of colors was a beautiful sight on such a tumultuous day. “Who lives there?” Leah asked.
“Lady named Miss Eloise. In the old days she was a laundress, now she tends her flowers and paints.”
Leah noted how his voice softened when describing the woman. “Is she a friend?”
“Yes.”
“Well, her gardens are beautiful.”
“I’m sure you’ll get to meet her.”
Leah thought she’d like that.
For the next hour and a half the ride took them through areas of tall, towering pines and meadows green with grass. Hawks and eagles circled above their heads while smaller birds challenged them shrilly. The sun came up, and for the first time, Leah saw the beauty of the land. Everything looked lush, healthy. The wildflowers seemed richer, the grasses fuller. She now understood why Cecil had talked so much about Colorado’s beauty. Basking in the sunlight, the land and mountains were transformed majestically.
They arrived at the border of his land a short time later. He drove them up a long winding cinder drive lined with big pines that stood like sentinels welcoming home a king. Then up ahead, the house came into view. The flat, low-slung roof sat atop a sprawling structure made of boulders, wood, and glass. It appeared to be two floors high, and the ground around the house’s perimeter had been paved with smooth flat stones. The stones gave the place a welcoming effect and added style to its overall appearance. There were well-constructed pens and sheds off to the right. Near them stood a large fenced-in corral.
Knowing that this was his home set off another round of uncertainties. What would be her role here? Where and who would she be in a year’s time?
The sound of him removing her trunks from the carriage’s boot brought her back to reality. She was just about to ask how long he’d live here when the door was flung open, and there stood Sam. He fussed, “It’s about time you got back here. I—”
The sight of Leah in the carriage seemed to render him speechless. Leah spoke first. “Hello, Sam.”
“Miss Leah?”
“Yep, it’s me. How are you?”
He was staring at her like he’d never seen her before. “I’m fine. What’re you doing here?”
Leah looked over her shoulder at Ryder. Would he explain or force her to do it?
Ryder answered. “She’s here as a guest for a few days, Sam.”
Leah hoped Sam couldn’t see how much difficulty she was having smiling.
He could. “Well, come on in then,” he said brightly.
He walked over and guided her down from the carriage. The smile Leah gave him was genuine. “Thanks.”
He nodded, then led her inside.
Chapter 4
The interior of the house was as grand as the man who owned it. She’d never seen a house made of such magnificent stones and wood before. The ceilings seemed to be sky-high, and the wooden beams that ran freely across it were thick and gleaming. The room that she followed Sam into felt warm from the heat of the huge fire in the massive fireplace. The grate was constructed of large stacked boulders and polished rocks that narrowed into a chimney that rose up the wall to the roof.
The black-velvet furniture was surprising, but fit the wide-open interior perfectly. She wondered if he’d picked it out himself. There were well-polished end tables and glass-faced sideboards holding delicate china and expensive-looking glassware. On each side of the fireplace was a pair of elk heads adorned with large full racks. They also seemed a perfect fit. The hand-hooked rugs on the floor held the muted but vivid colors and patterns associated with the Native tribes. What caught her eye more than anything, however, were the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one whole wall. She couldn’t imagine how much it must have cost him to have so much glass shipped here.
She didn’t realize she’d been staring around until she looked up and met Ryder’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I know better than to stare so rudely, but this a very grand place.”
“Do you like it?” Sam asked.
“I do,” Leah replied truthfully.
Sam gave Ryder a triumphant look, then asked her, “Have you eaten?”
Ryder asked Leah, “Are you hungry?”
“Maybe just something light. A sandwich?”
Sam nodded with a twinkle in his eyes.
Ryder said, “Come. I’ll show you your room.”
Leaving her cloak and muff with Sam, Leah followed Ryder around to the back of the house to a large open room. There were rugs spread out on the floor, and, like the other rooms she’d passed, this one also had a huge fireplace. Centering the room stood a big bed covered by a beautiful Indian-designed quilt. The bed and a stately armoire with a carved face were the only furnishings.
“I’ll get Sam to see about more furniture.”
“That isn’t necessary. This is fine.”
In fact, it was more than she’d expected, really. She hadn’t imagined she’d have a room of her own. The tall wide windows looked out over rolling acres of forest.
“For now, you can place all your things in my room.”
“I don’t mind living out of my trunks for a while.”
“I do.”
Again, Leah wondered where this would lead. “If you want me in your room, you should say so.”
“I want you in my room, but I can wait.”
Heat swept over Leah, a familiar, breath-stealing heat.
He told her, “Store what you can in the armoire, if you wish. Sam will take the rest to my room.”
That said, he left, and Leah let out her pent-up breath.
Leah was unpacking her gowns and suits and hanging them in the large armoire when Sam came in with her sandwich and a frosty glass of lemonade on a tray.
“How’re you coming with your unpacking?” he asked, placing her plate on top of the fireplace’s empty mantel.
“This armoire can almost hold all my gowns. He wants me to have the rest taken to his room. Once I have furniture, I’ll move everything back.”
Leah heard herself babbling, but couldn’t help it. She had no idea how much Sam knew about her circumstances, but she didn’t have it within her to explain it to him, at least not presently. What must he think of her if he did know the details?
His next words did much to reassu
re her. “You’re among friends here, Miss Leah. I certainly don’t condone Ryder’s methods, but you couldn’t go to prison.”
So, he was aware of the bargain she’d made. Leah’s lips tightened with emotion. “I know.”
“I’ll let you finish up. I’ll be in the kitchen starting dinner if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled and exited.
Leah ate her lunch seated on one of the wide window seats. With only the silence and her own thoughts for company, she began to relax for the first time since leaving the courthouse. It came to her that she needed to place her fears behind her and face the truth. This situation could be as bad or as pleasant as she made it. Now, if someone had told her that she would be bought and paid for, and have her innocence taken by a man she barely knew, she’d have checked to see if their drink had been spiked, yet here she sat on the verge of just that. He thought her an adventuress, but how would he react when he learned the truth? Would he be ashamed of himself for slandering her so? Leah didn’t know the answers, but gleaned a measure of satisfaction knowing he’d eventually have to eat crow.
Done eating, Leah gathered up her lunch dishes and left the room to find Sam. In reality she supposed she should be looking for Ryder, but knew time with him would come soon enough.
Down the hallway an open door showed her a formally furnished dining room, complete with an elaborate chandelier and expensive-looking table and chairs. Leah knew being nosy wasn’t polite, but curiosity drew her to tiptoe in farther. The interior’s size and elegance rivaled anything she’d seen back East. The beautiful curtains were as snowy as the covering on the long table, with its carved legs. She wondered how often he entertained and who his friends might be. She also tried to imagine herself seated at one end of the table while he sat opposite her at the head. Would people whisper about her being his live-in whore? Leah hastily turned her mind away. Leaving the silent room, she continued her walk to the kitchen.
Another open door showed her what appeared to be his office. The walls were paneled with dark wood upon which shelves upon shelves of books rested. She hadn’t had time to wonder about his education, but if all the books were any indication, he’d had a fine one.
A door down the hallway that circled back to the front of the house led to a room that held only one item: the grandest piano she had ever seen. She wondered if it were merely a showpiece or if someone in the household actually played. The beautiful gleaming instrument bore only a faint resemblance to the old out-of-tune piano sitting back home at the Swan. Leah left the room and made a mental note to ask Sam about it.
The kitchen turned out to be on the end of the house opposite her room. As she entered, Sam looked up and grinned.
“You found me, I see.” He was plucking a fat chicken.
“Yes I did,” she said, helping herself to a seat atop a tall stool by the door and looking around. Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was well-appointed and large. The stove and other fixtures looked fairly new, and there were enough cupboards positioned on the walls to make a cook think she’d died and gone to heaven. “I like your kitchen.”
“Only the best,” he pointed out, scanning his domain. “Did you take a peek at the rest of the house?”
Leah chuckled. “And here I was telling myself being nosy wasn’t polite.”
“Nothing nosy about wanting to know the lay of the land. I’ll have Ryder give you a real tour when he gets back.”
“Where’s he now?”
“Out looking for signs of the elk king.” Sam turned the chicken over and began plucking the back.
“The elk king?”
“Yep, biggest elk around these parts. Antlers like tree branches, stands almost tall as a man. Ryder’s been after him a long time. Only problem, and Ryder won’t admit this—elk’s smarter than he is. Only way he’s going to bring that elk down is if he convinces the King to turn the gun on himself.”
Leah chuckled.
“It’s the truth,” Sam swore. “Every year he chases that elk, and every year it gets away.”
Sam looked up, and said, “It’s good to hear you laugh.”
Leah lowered her eyes.
“Long as you’re here, everything will be all right.”
Leah didn’t know if she believed him, but she did believe in his sincerity. “So, when will he return?”
“Probably not until dinner. Said he wants you to dress.”
Leah’s chin rose.
“Don’t like taking orders, do you?” Sam asked.
Leah met his eyes. “No.”
“Neither do I. You’ll be good for him.”
She didn’t want to be anything for him. “We’ll see.”
“Chicken okay with you?”
She nodded.
“Squash?”
Leah found his efforts to please touching. “Yes, Sam. Whatever you feed me will be fine.”
“You sure? Don’t want to fix something you don’t like.”
She grinned and shook her head. “I’ll be pleased by whatever it is as long as its not rhubarb. I’m allergic.”
“Now see, you needed to tell me that. I don’t like rhubarb either, but if I’d made a pie or something it would’ve gone to waste.”
She shook her head again and slid down off the stool. “I’m going to take a walk. What time is dinner?”
“Five sharp. Don’t get yourself lost.”
“I won’t, and when I get back, I’ll dress for dinner.”
Sam smiled his approval.
She was almost out the door when she remembered. She turned back to ask, “Sam, does anyone really play that beautiful piano I saw?”
He nodded. “Yep. Ryder does.”
A surprised Leah left him to his pots and pans.
Outside the air was warm and the sky bright. Leah stopped for a moment to bask in the heat of the sun on her face. She hadn’t felt the sun so intensely since last summer’s slide into fall. How warm did it get here? she wondered. Were the seasons as sharply defined as they’d been back home? She had no answers, however, so she began to walk. Sam’s advice and common sense dictated she stay within sight of the house until she learned her way around, so she held to that.
Her wandering steps took her down near the pens. In them were pigs and chickens, a thick-coated ram and two playful black-and-white goat kids. She watched their antics for a moment, taking time out to scan the peaceful pastoral surroundings. If one could set the ocean somewhere nearby, the spot would be perfect.
Leah headed off once more; this time on a quest to see just how far she could walk and not lose sight of the house. By the time she had her answer she’d walked a good thirty minutes and was standing on a tree-covered bluff looking down at the house below. Because of her hiking and climbing, the hem of her skirt was caked with dirt and mud, she’d lost the little spool heel on one of her fancy city shoes, her hair was a mess, but she felt wonderful. The air was clear as a bell and scented with the smells of earth and pine. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d explored a stand of woods. Had she been thirteen years of age or fourteen? Her memory was fuzzy, but she did remember being forbidden to join her gaggle of male companions on adventure treks after she’d gotten her first cycle. Reba explained that Leah could no longer jump off cliffs or search the woods for arrowheads or race around now that she was a young lady. At the time, Leah was convinced Cecil had had a hand in her being reined in. Only as she got older did she realize it had been done for own good.
Now, she was a female full grown and she planned on exploring forests, kicking up piles of dead leaves, and catching her hair on branches anytime she chose. She liked it up here. Surrounded by nothing but the sky and the trees, she felt insulated from the tribulations plaguing her life. This was a perfect place for silence and reflection. She pledged then and there to come back to this spot as often as she could.
The positioning of the sun in the sky told her it was time to head for the house. Dinner would be se
rved shortly, and she still had a half an hour’s walk back. It was a bit awkward trying to walk on a shoe with no heel, but it helped that the path was downhill. At least she thought it helped until she hit a slick patch of moss and found herself on her backside sliding down the slippery incline at a fairly good clip. The ride took her down and around, over rocks and roots. Watching everything around her go flying by so quickly was thrilling, exhilarating, scary. She found herself screaming with joyful terror until she reached level ground again and came to a thudding stop. Still laughing hysterically, Leah threw back her head and froze. Towering above her sat Ryder Damien mounted atop the biggest horse she’d ever seen. He did not look pleased.
With as much dignity as a mud-covered woman could command, Leah slowly got to her feet. Her attempts to brush her skirt free of the twigs and forest litter made little difference to her overall bedraggled appearance, but it gave her something to do beside look up into his stony face. “Hello,” she said.
“You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were in trouble.”
A guilty Leah lowered her eyes. He must think her mad. “I—my apologies. I slipped, and next I knew I was on a carnival ride.”
She could see him scanning her mud-covered shoes, bird-nest hair, and dirt-smudged face.
He asked, “Is that why you were screaming?”
“Yes, it was the surprise I think.”
Ryder shook his head. Had he inadvertently bought himself a hellion? “What’re you doing out here in the first place?”
“I was taking a walk.”
“Some walk,” he quipped. He took a moment to survey her grimy appearance again. “If I wasn’t sure Sam would tan my hide for being late for dinner, I’d make you walk back because you’re far too dirty to ride up here with me.”
“Then I’ll walk.”
“Not in those shoes you can’t.”
Leah looked down at her feet, then back up at him. He reached down his hand. The tight-lipped Leah took hold of it and let herself be placed behind him on the horse. As much as she wanted to stand and argue with him, it wouldn’t accomplish anything, and she didn’t wish to be late for dinner either.