Bonds of Matrimony (41 page)

           
“How
is young Jacob?” Elisabeth’s sweet voice greeted.

           
Chase
glanced up quickly, both hoping her cousin would be standing beside her and
hoping that he hadn’t come.
 
She
was alone.

           
“He’s
doing very well.
 
I think he’s
preparing to nap.”

           
Even
surrounded by her family and friends, she had never felt so alone in her
life.
 
And she couldn’t get her
grandmother’s words out of her head.
 
Suddenly, with no conscious decision having been made, Chase pushed herself
to her feet and handed the baby off to Elisabeth.

           
“Where’s
Colton,” she asked sharply.

           
Elisabeth
gave her a quick glance and then waved absently to the field around them.
 
“He is here somewhere, Chase.
 
I last saw him speaking with some men I
didn’t know.”
 
She adjusted Jacob
in her arms and seemed to hesitate before adding, “Perhaps you shouldn’t go
looking for him right now.”

           
“Why?
 
Did he mention that he didn’t want to
see me?”

           
“No,
of course not.
 
It’s only that with
Mr. Stockton still looking for you, isn’t there a possibility that he’ll be
here today?
 
When I saw you sitting
here alone, I thought there might be safety in numbers, so I came to join you.”

           
It
was an argument they had had with Marcus the evening before.
 
He was certain that his sisters had no
business attending such a public event.
 
But Tom won him over in the end.
 
His ranch hand reminded her brother that the Marshall would be attending
the event.
 
Sure, there was a
possibility that Stockton would try to approach her today.
 
But they knew enough people from
Slaughter who would help to watch over their family, and the Marshall could
easily arrest him if he tried to hurt Chastity at the picnic.

           
“I’m
perfectly fine.
 
If Marcus and
Elisa come back, tell them I’ll return shortly.
 
I’m going for a small walk.”

           
People
greeted her easily as she wound her way through the small crowds.
 
She finally spotted Colton laughing
with a large man.
 
She recognized
him as the blacksmith who ran the shop next to Mr. Wainwright’s printing shop.

           
Chase
nodded to the blacksmith and turned to face Colton.
 
He eyed her without interest and tried to pretend she wasn’t
standing beside him.
 
“Mr. Webb, I
was hoping I might have a dance with you.”
 
She didn’t see the blacksmith’s face to know if he thought her
inviting a man to dance was too forward or odd.
 
Frankly, she didn’t care.

           
“I’m
sorry, Miss Fairfax, but I’m in the middle of an important business
transaction.
 
Please excuse us,” he
responded shortly.

           
“Don’t
be ridiculous, Webb.
 
I’ll come by
your ranch tomorrow afternoon to check those shoes.
 
We’ll get it taken care of,” the man assured him.
 
“Miss Fairfax,” he greeted.
 
“Have a beautiful day.”

           
“Thank
you.”
 
She waited until they were
alone before trying again.
 
“I’d
like to speak with you for a moment, Webb.”

           
“I’ve
said everything I need to, Miss Fairfax.”

           
“Stop
it.”
 
She made the demand through gritted
teeth.
 
“Stop with the ‘Miss
Fairfax’ and the stubborn foolishness.”

           
He
snorted.
 
“Stubborn?
 
If that isn’t the pot calling the
kettle—”

           
“I’m
in love with you, Webb,” she blurted out.
 
“I’ve been in love with you since I watched you smoke your cigar across
the poker table from me.
 
You are
arrogant and infuriating.”
 
He
opened his mouth to fire insults back at her.
 
“But you are honorable and genuine,” she finished, borrowing
words from her grandmother.

           
He
glared down at her in silence.
 
“Dance,” he finally muttered.
 
He grabbed her hand and roughly pulled her closer to the band
pavilion.
 
He didn’t stop pulling her
until they were in the middle of other dancing couples.

           
“Why
are you so angry?” she asked, getting angry herself.

           
“I
am damned tired of your games, Cochrane,” he growled quietly enough that none
of the couples nearby could overhear their conversation.

           
His
quiet voice did nothing to take the sting out of his tone.
 
Fear mingled with fury, and both
bubbled to the surface.
 
“You have
some nerve.
 
I just told you that
I’m in love with you, and you accuse me of playing games?”

           
“Yes.
 
Games.
 
It wasn’t enough that you had the pleasure of rejecting two
marriage proposals of mine.
 
What
are you playing at?
 
Are you aiming
for a third?”

           
“I
didn’t take pleasure from rejecting you.
 
That broke my heart!”
 
Chase
realized that she had raised her voice, and they had drawn the attention of
others.
 
His hand tightened over her
own.

           
He
pulled her closer and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
 
“Well I’m glad to see you’ve recovered
so well.”

           
“You
are an ass,” she whispered in response.
 
“You didn’t propose love.
 
You proposed duty.
 
You
didn’t
want
to marry me.”

           
“True.”

           
The
hand resting on his shoulder balled into a fist.
 
She wondered how the town of Slaughter would respond if she
punched a man at a holiday festival.

           
“And
you didn’t want to marry
me
.
 
You made that plain when we first
started our affair.”

           
“I
didn’t want to marry
anyone
.
 
But I’ve changed my mind.
 
Is that so difficult for you to believe?”

           
“You
changing your mind?
 
It’s not so
hard to believe, no.
 
You’ve been
changing your mind regularly since the moment we met.”

           
“That’s
not true,” she argued.
 
“If anyone
has been inconsistent in this relationship, it has been you.”

           
“I
haven’t been inconsistent.
 
I’ve
been trying not to fall in love with you.
 
But you are so damned stubborn and beautiful and independent,” he
growled.

           
“You
say that like those are good things,” she spat.

           
“They
are, you foolish tart,” he hissed.

           
She
suddenly could feel the heat radiating from his body.

           
“I
tried like hell to resist you, but I have failed. You win,” he sighed in
resignation.

           
“Even
though I’m stubborn and independent?”

           
He
pulled back and pushed a strand of hair roughly away from her eyes.
 
“
Because
you’re stubborn and independent.”

           
“So
you don’t view me as a soulless cow without a mind of her own?” she asked,
trying to keep from smiling.

           
His
eyes grinned, and his sexy lips followed suit.
 
“Not remotely.”

           
“Webb,
I’d really like for you to propose to me again,” she whispered.

           
“I
know you would, sweetheart,” he answered.

           
Chase
waited in anticipation, but he only watched the other couples while they moved
in time with the music.
 
“Well?” she
prodded.

           
“It’s
not going to happen.”

           
“What
do you mean?” She felt her heart racing and her face flushing in humiliation
and anger.
 
At the same time, a
knot worked its way up into her throat; but she refused to cry in front of this
son of a bitch.

           
“A
man’s pride can only take so much rejection.”

           
“But
I won’t reject you this time!”
 
Even she couldn’t deny the whiny tone of her voice.

           
“That’s
right.
 
Because I’m not
askin’.”
 
He smiled down at her
with enjoyment over her growing frustration.

           
With
a huff, she turned on her heel to storm away from him, but he held tight to her
hand and brought her body back against his own.

           
“Bein’
a strong and independent woman, Chastity Fairfax, I’m sure you’ll get over me,”
he taunted, infuriating her even more.
 
The prospect of merely punching him was no longer satisfying.
 
She wanted to maim him.

           
Chase
took a deep breath and shoved him away from her.
 
“Fine,” she huffed.
 
“Then if you aren’t a big enough man to put your pride aside and
propose, I will.”
 
She forced the
words out through her clenched teeth.
 
They hadn’t avoided a scene entirely so far, and she knew that if she
dropped to one knee, both of them would be scandalized.
 
He must have realized this at the same
time, because he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms again before she
could kneel before him.

           
An
angry and embarrassed flush colored his cheeks.
 
“Woman,” he began.
 
“You have stomped on my pride more than once, and I will be damned if I
let you make me the laughing stock of all of Texas by letting you propose to
me
.”
  

           
“You
are leaving me no other choice.”

           
He
danced rigidly, body tense with emotion.
 
The crowd around them tried to appear as though they weren’t watching their
strange dance.
 
“I’m not proposing
again.
 
And I’m not letting you
propose.
 
And that’s final.”

           
“You’re
not
letting
me?
 
If I want to propose—”

           
“You
are more stubborn than any person I’ve ever met.”

           
“I
can think of one person who’s as stubborn,” she hissed.

           
“We’re
going to have to work on this business of compromise if we’re to have an ounce
of sanity in our marriage.”

           
“What
marriage?”
           
“No
proposals.
 
Just vows and
marriage.”

           
“Is
that an order?
 
Or a proposal?”

           
“Neither.
 
It’s a suggestion.”

           
Trying
to suppress a grin, he nodded shortly and pulled her body closer to his to
finish the dance.

           
“All
right.
 
But I will only agree on
one condition, Webb.”

           
His
smug expression faltered, and he looked down at her with exasperation.
 
“Now what?”

           
“Understand
that if you ever call me a tart again, I will castrate you while you sleep,” she
threatened.

***

           
She
leaned closer to her betrothed’s warm body and laced her arm through his.
 
He held the reins of the horses firmly
in one hand while putting his free arm around her shoulders.