Harnessed Passions (41 page)

"She told me before you were married; she
said she made you agree to keep your distance. I told her it was
useless."

"Why? Do you think I'd abuse her the way
your father did your mother?" The pain showed in his voice and
Jeremy knew it was more for his sister's confidence than the
subject of their relationship.

"I don't want her hurt that's true, but I
also knew you had very deep feelings for her. I knew you'd never be
able to comply with her restrictions for long." Jeremy glanced back
toward the house. "She's too beautiful for any man to resist, let
alone her own husband. It's just her insecurities that made her
conceive such an agreement. She remembers what it was like with
father; I think it’s easier to put up boarders than to endure the
pain of losing the man she loves. She's always been too embarrassed
to talk to anyone about sex; at least no one except Heather.
Whenever mother would broach the subject, she would turn red and
cover her ears. She would leave the room and insist it was not a
proper subject to discuss." Jeremy's voice trailed off again as
more memories echoed through his mind.

The two men fell into silence. Both knew and
understood a little bit more about Julia than they had a day ago.
She had too much guilt consuming her to let anybody near her.
Daniel understood now why she pushed him away and planned to help
her rectify the situation the first chance he got. At least now he
had the incentive he needed to go slow - if he had to.

They walked over to the spot Daniel had been
avoiding all evening. He hoped to find some physical proof that
would link Julia's ghost to the real world, but then again he hoped
he didn't find anything. He just wanted to put all of this out of
his mind and help Julia to forget it as well.

"What are we looking for?" Jeremy said,
noticing the way Daniel was searching the area.

"I don't know for sure. I saw a young woman,
maybe sixteen years old, standing right here when your mother told
me Julia had gone into the barn. The smoke blocked her departure,
but I know she wasn’t a ghost. I don’t believe Julia saw Heather
Farnsworth tonight or the last time at the swimming hole."

"What makes you so certain?"

"There were other footprints there besides
Julia's. I know she thinks she saw her, but I think what she saw
was very much alive."

“
And you think whoever it
was at the pond was the same one tonight?”

“
I don’t know for sure; but
the description was the same. Only the
ghost
tonight was wearing a blue
dress; I saw that much. The one at the swimming hole was wearing
white.”

“
I may not have paid much
attention in Sunday school,” Jeremy said with a frown. “But I don’t
remember anyone ever saying spirits changed their
clothes.”

“
That’s what I said. Maybe
the girl tonight didn’t have a chance to change when she saw the
fire; or maybe the one at the pond had more time to plan. Either
way, I want to find the truth behind this and put an end to
it.”

They continued searching, but found nothing
out of the ordinary; no foot prints, no lost clothing, no signs of
life at all. There were a couple of horse prints, but considering
the evening and the events, it seemed unlikely there would be any
spot on the whole ranch that hadn't been trampled and stomped.

"What are you going to do now?" Jeremy
asked, after abandoning their search.

"I'm not going to leave Julia alone again,
that's for sure. I don't know what's been going on, but I'm damn
well going to find out. Until then, Julia isn't going to get in the
path of whoever is doing this again. I’m not letting her out of my
sight for a minute."

Julia had bathed, washed her hair and was
snuggled in a warm bed by the time Daniel came in. She kept her
eyes closed hoping he wouldn't try to wake her. She heard him take
his boots off and set them in the corner by the dresser; the
buttons of his breeches popped open, echoing like gun shots in the
quiet room. He discarded his pants on the floor near the bed,
tossing his dirty, smoky sweat soaked shirt on the pile along with
his socks. Julia listened as he walked softly into the wash closet.
The door closed and the sound of water splashing could be heard
through the barrier, indicating he had chosen to use the bath she
left for him. She smiled as she remembered how cool the water had
been over an hour ago when she had finished bathing. By now, it
must have been like bathing in ice.

Several minutes passed by before the door
opened again and Daniel stepped into the room. So far so good; he
still thought she was asleep, even though the vision of him naked
and wet, made her blood race and her palms itch to touch him. She
imagined him covered with goose bumps and droplets of water that
danced in the soft mat of hair that covered his broad chest. The
picture of a wet powerful giant invaded her mind and she remembered
how that giant had felt, holding and caressing her just a few short
hours ago. She could see his long damp hair against his neck and
shoulders. The urge to soothe the chill and dry the dampness from
his bronzed skin, nearly made her moan.

The bed next to her sagged when Daniel
climbed between the sheets, but it wasn't until his arm slid around
her slender waist, did she realize just how much she had needed his
touch. That was the real reason she had stayed awake, and now as he
hugged her against the cool damp wall of his chest she could feel
the need for other things erupt inside her aching soul.

"Are you still angry with me?" he asked her.
Julia gasped realizing her charade hadn't been as convincing as she
had hoped.

"Why should I be angry?" she asked,
struggling against his arms. She didn't want to be this close to
him; didn't he realize how it made her feel when he held her?
Didn't he realize how nervous she became whenever he touched
her?

Daniel tightened his hold on her easing her
struggles as he gently nuzzled her neck with his chin. The light
stubble from the day's growth of beard tickled her neck, causing a
warm chill to race across her flesh.

"I'm sorry I upset you," he whispered near
her ear. "I didn't want to make you mad Princess, I was just
worried. I don't like to think about you in danger."

"I wasn't in danger Daniel," she insisted,
feeling his arms relax around her when her useless struggles
ceased. "You were there; I knew you'd help me."

"To your rescue again, my Princess?" he
teased, kissing the soft skin beneath her ear. Julia leaned her
head back against his strong shoulder, feeling the warmth of his
breath as he nibbled her ear lobe.

"Always my knight in shining armor, aren't
you?" her voice was soft and seductive, like a gently purring from
a new born kitten.

"Do you object?" he whispered again.

"I'm not sure any more. I just wish I could
make you believe me, Daniel. I did see Heather. She was standing
there staring at me and it was her at the pond that night."

"Julia," Daniel hesitated. He really didn't
want to go into all this again, especially when he held her so
close to him. "Are you listening to yourself? Do you hear what
you're saying? You're talking about ghosts. The dead do not come
back to life seeking revenge on innocent people. You didn't do
anything for Heather to want to kill you over."

"But I did," she argued, turning around in
his arms. "I left her there. I didn't keep my promise to her. I
should have been there, Daniel, but I wasn't. Heather wasn't a very
good swimmer and she was afraid of the water. If I had been with
her, she would never have drowned."

"So you think her ghost wants you to pay for
her being a bad swimmer? Julia that's crazy."

"I knew you'd think I was insane. I knew I
couldn't trust you to believe me," Julia offered Daniel her back as
companionship. He leaned up on his elbow gazing at the dark braid
disappearing beneath the covers. He was too tired to argue with her
and too emotionally involved to listen to her ranting.

"What if I can prove to you, you didn't see
a ghost either that night, or tonight? What if I can prove what you
saw was someone playing a very nasty trick on you? Would you stop
thinking Heather had come back for revenge?"

"Can you?"

"Go to sleep Princess," he assured her
softly. "When you're feeling more up to it, we'll talk. Perhaps
together we can help find out who's behind all of this." Daniel
kissed Julia's cheek, lifting her braid across her shoulder and
laying his head on the pillow next to hers.

He had to bring an end to all of this and
put Julia's mind to rest, but he just didn't know how. He had a
couple of ideas to work on. Sharon's accusations for one and the
mysterious woman Victor had written about in his journal. If only
he could prove they were all connected. If Sharon's story of when
she returned is correct, than there was no way she could be
responsible for what had happened at Turner Stables, before
Victor's death, but Daniel knew there had to be a link somewhere,
something that would tie everything together. And what about the
girl he saw tonight? Who was she and how did she fit into all of
this and how did she get a dress that so closely matched the one of
Heather’s that it fooled Julia?

It was just going to take time to sort out
the details and even more patience trying to keep Julia safe and
out of harm's reach. None of this was going to be easy, and the
feeling of anticipation weighed heavy on Daniel's broad shoulders.
His heart ached for Julia; his arms tightened around her and his
lips nuzzled her neck. She was his and it was up to him to protect
her if he could. Even to the point of risking and offering his own
life in exchange.

Breakfast was ready and waiting when Daniel
entered the dining room. The thought of the work that lay ahead
forced him out of bed earlier than he would have preferred. Julia's
arms were too inviting to leave, but as the sun began to shine
through the curtains he knew it was pointless to be lazy.

He dressed and shaved as quietly as possible
hoping not to wake her. He kissed her softly on the cheek and
headed down the stairs to find Jeremy was already waiting.

As Daniel gulped down his meal, eager to get
started, the sound of a heavy step echoed down the hall as Rally
Overton hurried into the room. He eyed Daniel momentarily before
smiling, removing his dirty hat.

"We's got a problem down at
the stables," the older man replied, much to Daniel's irritation.
Just once he'd like to hear something besides,
we's got a problem
, from the
man.

"What is it Overton?" he asked; last night’s
events made his words seem sharper than he would have
preferred.

"We's found three dead hosses in the
pasture," Rally explained briefly.

"How?" Daniel snapped.

"They's been shot clear through the 'ead.
I's say they's been dead since the fire."

"Damn," Daniel cursed slamming his fist on
the table. Three more dead horses meant a great loss to the
stables, but to have them shot on private land, was
unthinkable.

"There's more Mr. Brownin'," Rally
continued, reaching inside his jacket, pulling out an old whiskey
bottle with the remains of a charred rag stuffed inside. Daniel
looked the bottle over and frowned as the foreman began again.

"We's found seven of them there bottles and
they's all been burned real bad."

"Where did you find them?"

"With the ashes. It weren't no accident them
bein' there. They was under the hay stacks 'n tucked way back in
the back of the barn. We's found two outside near the rear door.
I's be bettin' that fire weren't no accident, Mr. Brownin'. I's
stake my last dollar it were deliberate."

"Arson?" Daniel asked, mentally running
through a list of names of anyone who could be responsible.

"It's lookin' that way."

"Anyone see anything?"

"No sir, ain't nobody see nothin'. We was
all busy helpin' to put out the fire."

"Where was Dourn last night?" Daniel asked,
receiving a frown from the older man.

" Dourn?"

"Yes Dourn," he grumbled irritably. "Where
was he when the fire broke out?"

"It weren't Dourn, Mr. Brownin'. I's swear
ta that. He were with me, runnin' Roustabout. He weren't nowhere's
near the stables. But some of the men, they's say they's seen a
woman with dark hair, just a'fore the fire broke out. She were
riding away from the barn on a brown mare."

“
I thought you said nobody
saw anything?” Jeremy asked with a deep frown.

“
Well, I’s be meanin’
nothin’ other than that. That there lil filly has been seen a might
number of times.”

“
Who saw her?” Daniel
asked, a frown matching his brother-in-law’s creased his
brow.

“
Some of the new hands,”
Rally said shuffling his feet.

Daniel frowned at the man; Rally Overton had
never defended a man so eagerly, as he did Dourn, then to mention
the sighting of the mysterious woman, after insisting just seconds
ago no one had seen anything out of the ordinary. It was as though
Rally was deliberately making excuses for Dourn, even to the
extreme of accusing an unknown woman - their mystery woman.

"Check out everything and everyone and I
want a full report on this mystery woman, whoever she is. I want to
talk to everyone who saw her, myself." Daniel made his orders
clear, pushing his plate aside. Rally nodded and turned to leave.
"Rally," Daniel said, stopping the man before he could reach the
door. "I think you'd better call in Sheriff Patrick. And keep an
eye on that Dourn fellow. I want him watched for a few days."

"Yes sir," the man replied, leaving the room
with Jeremy and Daniel inside. They listened to the heavy footsteps
as they disappeared down the hall and then the back door closing
before discussing the news they just learned.