Cora's Deception (9781476398280) (29 page)

How dare he call their home such a thing.
All at once, Cora realized George didn’t own her. He meant nothing
to her, anymore. She didn’t have to take his abuse. She lifted her
chin and faced him. “This is the house my father built when we
moved here. Father and our neighbors.”

“Are you telling me you live in this?”
George’s emphasis on the last word left no doubt to his impression
of the house she’d come to love.

“Of course, we live here.” She spat out the
words while the realization George no longer intimidated her filled
her thoughts. She laughed. “I love our house, so don’t call it a
hovel in my presence.”

His expression softened. “I suppose life is
rather different here than what we’re used to. Even John and Vickie
live in a shack with which, for some reason, they seem quite
content.”

He wasn’t worth her time. Cora turned toward
the barn. She needed to rinse the slop bucket. His voice stopped
her.

“A dinner will be held in my honor at John’s
this evening. Of course, you and your family are invited to
attend.” He had the audacity to issue his condescending invitation
and then turn away from her. But he stopped with his hand on the
saddle of his fine horse. “Oh, and Cora, please do wear shoes.”

“Are you leaving without speaking to
Father?” Cora ignored his latest barb.

He turned a pointed look toward the bucket
still clutched in her hands. “We’ll visit tonight under better
circumstances.”

He swung into the saddle, and looking down
from his superior height, again covered his nose with his
handkerchief. “You do have the means of bathing here, don’t
you?”

Cora considered throwing the bucket at him
but was afraid she’d hurt the horse. She forced a smile instead.
“Certainly, the creek is nearby if I feel the need.”

She turned her back on his look of disgust
and went to the house.

~*~

Cora stabbed a green bean and buried it in
her mashed potatoes. Surely George could let someone else talk.

“I received honors for my class standing at
law school.” He caught her gaze across the table, and she looked
away. Pride brightened John’s face. Father wore his polite
expression. Mother smiled at George and spoke when he finally
paused for breath. “I’m sure your mother and father are proud of
you, George. You seem so young to be a lawyer.”

“Actually, I am. I was the youngest in my
class.” George puffed up, and Cora slapped her fingers over her
mouth to keep from giggling.

Poor Eliza had somehow ended up sitting
beside George. With a straight face, she stretched her eyes open as
wide as they’d go then her tongue darted out and back in so quick,
Cora barely saw it. Eliza took a sip of water, swallowed, and
grinned.

A soft snort escaped Cora’s nose. She
coughed to cover it and sipped from her glass, scarcely controlling
the urge to laugh. Eliza had said George thought he was the biggest
toad in the puddle. He’d just proved her right.

George smiled across the table. “Tell me,
Cora, aren’t you proud of your old playmate?”

Cora choked on her water, but brought her
coughing under control. She gave him a sweet smile and thought of
the poor little maid he’d ruined. “I was under the impression you
wouldn’t be going to law school until a year later than you did.
What on earth happened to cause you to rush things?”

George fell silent for the first time that
evening. A flush stained his cheeks. His throat worked as he
swallowed. Then he shook his head, and his superior smile returned.
“It is true my plan had been to wait another year, but the way
opened for me to go. When opportunity knocks, only fools refuse to
answer.”

Opportunity! Ha!
If she could wipe the self-satisfied look from
George’s face, she would. Instead, she turned away and filled her
mouth with beans and potatoes to keep her tongue quiet.

After dinner, Cora sat on the floor with
Eliza. She relished the warmth of Christopher and Nora cuddling
next to her. The whirl of Lenny’s and Nicholas’s tops calmed her
anger toward George. Nora crawled into Cora’s lap while Christopher
went to his mother. Cora held her little sister and listened to the
others talk, but she didn’t join in. Let George spout off his
accomplishments. She didn’t care. He was nothing more than a big
windbag.

Nora’s eyes drooped until they closed
completely, and her soft breathing evened. Cora loved the feel of
the baby in her arms. She could hold her for hours and not grow
tired of it. What she did grow tired of was listening to George’s
voice droning on and on.

Finally, Father yawned. “We need to be
getting on home, don’t you think, Mother?”

Cora didn’t wait for her mother to answer.
She stood with Nora. “I’ll go on out to the wagon and settle Nora
if it’s all right, Mother.”

“Yes, that’s fine, sweetheart. Thank you.”
Mother didn’t stir from her chair. She tired so easily since Nora’s
birth.

Cora gave her a smile and carried her
sleeping sister outside into the darkness of night. She started to
lift Nora over the sideboard when she sensed another presence. She
turned with a start, almost bumping into George. She gasped, and he
laughed.

“What are you doing out here? I thought
you’d stay inside with your admirers.”

“Ah, Cora, are you angry with me?” George
reached for the baby. “Here, let me help you with your sister.
She’s just as cute as you were when you were little.”

Cora’s arms tightened around Nora. “How do
you remember what I looked like? You weren’t much older than
me.”

She turned her back to George and lay Nora
on the blankets Mother had brought. The baby stirred, but didn’t
open her eyes.

George didn’t seem to notice her slight.
“The question is, how could I ever forget anything about you, Cora?
And of course, the answer is, I couldn’t. I still love you.”

Rather than draw her like in the past,
George’s soft, caressing voice grated on Cora’s nerves.

“You love me?” She repeated and gave a short
laugh. “You’ve never loved anyone but yourself, George
Merrill.”

“Oh, you are angry with me.” George touched
her arm. “You know I’d have come for you if I could. How can I make
it up to you?”

Cora pulled away. “There’s nothing to make
up.”

“That’s my Cora. You’ve always been
forgiving. You’re still as sweet and unspoiled as I remember.” He
grabbed both arms, and she couldn’t escape, although he held her
with a gentle touch.

She looked toward the house.

George’s smile flashed in the moonlight.
“Don’t worry. They’re busy talking about some Fourth of July party
being held in a barn, if you can imagine such a thing. It’ll be
awhile before they come outside.”

The condescension in his voice was as
offensive as his hands on her person. She cringed from both. “The
only barn around here big enough for a party is Bill Reid’s. You
might understand why they admire his barn if you saw it.”

George’s brows met and lowered over his
eyes. “What’s come over you, Cora? First, I find you wallowing with
hogs and now you’re defending someone’s barn. Surely this place
hasn’t changed you that much.”

Cora let her gaze travel over George’s face,
pale from his life indoors. At one time she would’ve admired that,
now he looked ill. Once, not so long ago, she thought the sun rose
and set at George’s command. How wrong she’d been.

She relaxed, allowing a smile to cross her
face. “Yes, this place and the people in it have changed me. It’s
been two years, George. I’m not the same girl you once knew.”

“Oh, you think not?” A wicked gleam came
into his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

His grip on her arms tightened, and he bent
his head to capture her lips. Cora turned to the side, but she
hadn’t seen his intentions soon enough. His mouth covered hers,
possessing her. His arms slipped around her, crushing her against
him with one hand, the other holding her head in place. She wanted
to scream but had no air. He kept her arms pinned so she couldn’t
fight.

Just when she thought she’d lose
conscientiousness, he released her and stepped back, an arrogant
smile on his lips. “I usually get what I want, Cora. You know that.
I want you, and I intend to have you.”

The urge to slap the smirk from George’s
face possessed Cora, but she resisted. He obviously hadn’t changed.
He would hurt her if she fought too much. She wiped her mouth with
the back of her sleeve. “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last
man on earth. I’m betrothed to a wonderful man right here, and this
is where I intend to stay.”

George’s eyes widened at Cora’s news. “You
must be jesting.”

“I’m very serious. Aaron is everything you
are not. I love him very much.” She took a step back as George
reached toward her.

He stopped and turned toward the house at
the sound of Father’s voice. Cora’s breath rushed out before she
realized she’d been holding it. The others were coming. Lenny ran
across the yard with Eliza following. Cora stepped around George to
be closer to her family.

Cora blinked her eyes to keep the tears at
bay. George had been her life at one time. As obnoxious as he’d
become, she couldn’t hate him, but their lifelong friendship died
with his arrival today. She would mourn the memory of a little boy
who’d been her companion and friend through many happy years.
Tonight she’d seen George with new eyes. No longer was she blinded
to the evil streak in him. As she wiped an errant tear from her
cheek, she rejoiced she’d severed his hold over her. The girl who
bowed to his every wish was gone. In her place had been born a
woman strong enough to give her love to a real man—a man of honor
and integrity—Aaron Stark.

~*~

Cora held Aaron’s hand as they strolled from
the house after supper. It’d been a week, and George hadn’t come to
visit, no doubt thinking to punish Cora by his absence. She shook
her head at his audacity. Then she looked at Aaron and rejoiced
that she’d been spared George’s presence. She dreaded seeing him
again, although she knew she wouldn’t escape.

Aaron lifted Cora’s hand and kissed it.
“Hey, are ya still with me?”

“Always.” She laughed. “You can’t get rid of
me, Aaron Stark.”

His laughter joined hers. “It ain’t like I’m
wantin’ to, Cora.”

They walked through the dusk of evening
toward the woods. Aaron stopped a few yards from the house. “This
is far enough. Wish I could take you on home with me, but that
cabin’s a mite crowded yet. I might kick Ralph out to make his own
way, but I can’t do that to Ivy.”

“I know, Aaron. It’s all right. We’ll find a
way to be together soon. Ivy’s very pretty. I imagine she’ll find a
young man of her own before long. Maybe even at the party
tomorrow.”

“That’s right. Tomorrow’s the Fourth, ain’t
it?” He cocked an eyebrow and tapped his chin. “Reckon I’d better
plan on getting’ up early to get things done, so’s I can spend some
time with my best girl in the evenin’.”

She smacked his arm. “Best girl? How many
others have you got hidden in the woods?”

He laughed and pulled her close. “Not a one.
I promise you’re the best and the worst both.”

“Aaron!” Her objection became lost in his
kiss. Her heart melted, and all thought vanished in his arms.

He pulled back and gave her a quick kiss on
the forehead. “I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow night. We’ll ride
in with the Hanson’s, but I’ll see ya home, Cora. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Aaron.” One more kiss and
he turned away with a backward look.

Cora stood alone and watched until he
reached the first line of trees before she turned toward the house.
She could scarcely wait until the party when she’d be with Aaron
again. The only thing that could dampen her happiness would be if
George decided to lower himself from his self-made pedestal and
join the lowly natives for a barn dance.

That concern stayed with her through the
night and into the next day when early in the afternoon, George
showed up with Vickie and John.

Vickie hugged Mother. “Hi, we decided to go
with you to the big celebration.”

“That’s wonderful.” Mother hugged Vickie and
the little boys.

John took care of his horses, and George
ambled close to Cora. His fingers closed around her elbow before
she realized his intentions. He spoke in a low tone for her alone.
“I expect to have a good time tonight. I’ll be riding with you as
your escort.”

Cora tried to pull away from him only for
him to tighten his hold. Further resistance would bring pain, so
she relaxed. Surely, she could put up with him for the short ride
to Bill Reid’s. He could do nothing once she was with Aaron.

Still, she wouldn’t let him think she agreed
to his attentions. “You’re mistaken, George. I already have an
escort. Aaron Stark is my intended as I’ve already told you. He
will be at the party tonight, and I will be with him only.”

After one bruising squeeze, George released
her elbow and smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting your friends,
Cora. In fact, this should be a very entertaining evening.”

Cora climbed into the wagon, but George
followed. Was there no getting away from him? He sat close to her.
“These wagons are quite crowded, don’t you think? We must make room
for everyone.”

Indeed, they were crowded. Cora shoved
against a box of food for the potluck dinner. She’d be pushed
against George the entire distance to the Reid farm. When his arm
slipped around her waist and tightened, she cringed and whispered.
“George, please remove your arm.”

George laughed. “Don’t pretend with me. You
know as well as I do you aren’t still angry. You never could hold a
grudge.”

“Of course, I’m not angry with you, George.”
She forced the sweetest smile she could while looking into his
face. “How could I be angry with someone I care nothing for?”