The Trailrider's Fortune (32 page)

She allowed Kent to
press a kiss to the back of her hand, then bade the men good night.

* * *

The following
morning Sparkle was up early. She dressed quickly and found her reticule,
intent on visiting the banker who handled Jace's trust fund. She met up with
Kent on the sidewalk in front of the LaFleur house. "Kent, aren't you due
at the hospital or your partner's surgery?"

"I confess I
was anxious to speak with you. I couldn't plunge into my day without knowing
whether you'd spoken with your br—" He flushed and offered a wry smile.
"Sorry, I still tend to think of Jace as your brother."

"He might as
well be. But he's still in bed, perhaps overtired from our trip to Texas."
Then a frightening though struck and she gripped Kent's forearm. "Is
something wrong? I know you two talked last night about his health."

"No, no. It's
nothing like that. This is rather embarrassing, here on the common walk."
He propelled her back toward the house. She led him around to the rear garden,
where they took seats on the graceful metal benches.

"He's doing
very well physically," Kent reassured her. "I wondered if you'd
spoken with him with regard to…Well, I was frank with Jace last night about
intentions. We came to an understanding."

Sparkle abruptly
shook her head. "Please, Kent, I think we—"

"Hear me out.
I told Jace of my desire that we be married soon. We agree next month, while my
parents are in town, seemed a sensible time."

"
What
?"
She'd murder Jace. How could he agree to that, knowing she'd been meaning to
discourage this man?

"I realize
this may seem a bit rash, but my father's business schedule would make it
difficult, if not impossible, for my parents to make another trip in the coming
months. I don't want to wait until next spring or summer. There's no point in a
delay." He caught her hand between his. "I'm certain this is what I
want, sweetheart."

"I surmised
you might broach this subject one day, but certainly not so soon, and not to
Jace before we'd talked. I'm sorry you spoke to him about this."

"Considering
the circumstances, I could hardly do less. You're living in the man's home as
his ward. I was obligated to make him aware of my intentions before I spoke to
you."

"His
ward?" After years of paying for Jace's nurse and expenses, she was being
described as some nuisance underfoot? "I'm not his
ward
,
Kent."

He arched a brow.
"Well, there's no genuine kinship between you. In essence, as I understand
it, you were his mother's ward. She was your guardian. Upon her death,
guardianship passed to Jace."

Sparkle opened her
mouth to contest that, but Kent plunged on before she could. "It's a moot
point, since Jace has agreed, and next month you'll become my bride. We'll have
a small ceremony here," he gestured at the house, "with only
immediate family. I won't have but a few days free, so we'll have to postpone a
wedding tour. But after the ceremony, we'll have a nice supper and go to the
opera with my parents. We'll make a gala evening of it."

A gala evening?
Sitting beside middle-aged strangers, listening to some woman on a stage shriek
as though someone's standing on her foot? How romantic, Kent! I'd dreamt of a
wedding tour to Paris—but what's a month in France compared to an evening at
the opera with your parents?

"Kent, I don't
know what to say. We—"

He impulsively
kissed her, cutting her off. "I know, Sparkle. It's sudden, but wonderful,
isn't it?"

That wasn't the
adjective she would have used. "But there are arrangements to be made. I
don't have a gown or veil, and there's—"

"We're not
talking a society nuptial with four hundred guests, Sparkle." His tone
sounded for all the world like he was chastising a wayward child.

Sparkle was
beginning to realize he truly saw her as one.

"Jace
explained you were only partly teasing about the saloons. While I don't hold it
against you, realizing you resorted to it out of economic necessity, I—"

"Hold it
against me? If I hadn't gone to work after his mother died, Jace would have
lost this house. Jace's aunt left the house to her family, but Widow Flowers
had been married to a common blacksmith from a small Texas town. She didn't
have any money to speak of. The trust fund she left to us isn't sufficient to
meet ongoing expenses. What was I supposed to do, Kent? You seem to hatch
brilliant schemes in a heartbeat. What would you have done?"

"Ah, perhaps I
didn't phrase that as well as I might have."

"Perhaps
not."

"I understand
why you went out to work. Still, your sketchy employment history precludes me
apprising my colleagues of our plans and making a grand affair of the wedding.
We'll have a simple, private ceremony, then you'll move into my home and we'll
quietly take up life together."

Sparkle was at a
loss for words. She'd never had anyone both flatter and insult her at the same
time.

Kent took advantage
of her momentary silence to pull her up from the bench and start back around
the corner of the house toward the street. "I must secretly confess you
looked quite…what's that word you used?
Inspirational
last night in that
saloon get-up. The image of you garbed and painted up, telling my fortune in
the privacy of our bedroom has a delightfully lurid appeal."

Cross out
flattered
,
Sparkle told herself.
Now he's just plain insulting
.

"Keep your
saloon dresses and tarot cards for the nights when I desire a wanton
gypsy."

She was about to
suggest where he might go find one when the front door opened. Jace flashed
them a broad grin. "I see you're having that little talk. Majesta was
thrilled with the news, as I knew she would be."

Sparkle tried to
keep her voice level. "Jace, I need to speak to you."

"Surely. But
we mustn't keep the doctor from his patients. We'll see you again tomorrow
evening, Kent. Come back inside, Sparkle. We'll chat while I have my breakfast.
Majesta just put the coffee on and brewed some fresh tea."

Kent doffed his hat
and disappeared down the lane, whistling, his stride positively jaunty. For
Sparkle, it was the icing on the cake. He was so clearly pleased with himself,
it made her instantly furious. Had she worried she'd never love him? She'd
never even be able to stomach being around him, now that she knew what he truly
thought of her.

Majesta went out
the back door to tend her vegetable garden. Sparkle watched her clearing out
dead leaves and pruning from the kitchen window, then turned back to accept the
steaming cup of tea Jace held out.

"You and
Majesta are thrilled," Sparkle began. "Did it occur to you that I
wouldn't be? You know I don't want to marry him, Jace. I distinctly recall
telling you I had mixed feelings about Kent. I told him about the saloons to
stop him from calling on me. I knew what a snob he is. I'm not certain I'd ever
agree to marriage, but I'm certainly not going to rashly jump into it next
month! You're insane if you thought I would."

"Sparkle, you—"

"I mean it,
Jace. When he comes back tomorrow evening, I'll talk sense into him. He'll wait
until I'm ready, if indeed the time ever comes. But knowing he thinks I'm
some…" Her words trailed off as Jace's demeanor went from pleasant to
forbidding.

"You'd better
listen closely," he warned, "because I mean what I'm about to say,
too. Majesta and I had a long talk yesterday afternoon. About the Texas money
and other things. She reminded me of something that had slipped my mind. She
has suspicions about your relationship with that fellow Conley. A particular
conversation you and I had some weeks ago crystallized in my thoughts."

"Oh, for
pity's sake."

"Don't try to
deny you and Conley were lovers. You admitted it to me, in very graphic
terms."

"I know, Jace,
but—"

"That was
months ago. Plainly the man has no intention of doing the honorable thing.
Therefore, I see nothing wrong—indeed, I can see only every conceivable advantage—in
allowing the young doctor to wed you, instead."

"Except for
the fact I don't love him, and it's unfair to both of us if I pretend I
do."

"You're still
like a sister to me, and you always will be. Mother raised us together, took us
to Sunday services, read us the scriptures. You know what you allowed to happen
was sinful. You may have been swayed in later years by the tainted environment
of the cow towns, but you're finished with that now. It's time to take your
place in decent society."

"Are you
finished lecturing me, Brother Dear?"

"No, I'm not.
Kent Barlow can offer you security and a respectable life. He's a professional
man. He doesn't know you've been compromised." Jace colored slightly.
"I'll leave it to you to decide how you'll handle the situation, come the
wedding night."

"Why leave
anything to me? You've made all the other decisions."

"Stop this,
Sparkle. Any woman would be proud to have Dr. Barlow for a husband. I want you
to have a solid future. I owe you that, after all your years of sacrifice.
Don't you think I still feel beholden? Dividing the Fire Thorn profits
sixty-forty still doesn't balance us out, and you know it."

Sparkle said the
first heartfelt, completely honest words she'd uttered to Jace in a long time.
"I did it because I loved you, Jace. I'm not sure you ever understood
quite how much. I knew you weren't my brother, but I loved you all the
same." She fought to control her voice. "Don't repay that by forcing
me into—":

"Neither of us
could hope to find a better match. I'd willingly throw myself down the steps
all over again to regain my memory and give you this chance for happiness.
We've finally put our past where it belongs, behind us. You'll be better off
with the doctor than some uncouth cattleman."

At her involuntary gasp,
he added, "Don't misunderstand. I liked Conley. But even you must see Kent
Barlow is by far the better man."

"I see where
you would think so."

"Anyone with a
lick of sense would!" Jace's voice rose. "I'd forgotten how
ridiculously pig-headed you can be. Comparisons between the two are beside the
point. You need a husband, and—"

"No, I do not
need
a husband," Sparkle snapped. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after
myself. I'm not pregnant. I don't need Dr. Barlow's income. I'm sorry if my
past embarrasses you. If I'm inconveniencing you and Majesta, I can find a room
n a boardinghouse."

"Pregnant or
not, you've been compromised. I will not stand by and watch you throw away this
opportunity. The man can give you everything. He's assured me he will. Majesta's
taking you to a dressmaker tomorrow to begin fittings. Despite your qualms, I
believe one day you'll thank me."

"Maybe you're
right."

Relief flooded his
features. "Very wise," he nodded, giving her an affectionate squeeze
around her shoulders before he moved stiffly to the back door. "If you'll
excuse me, I think I'll see what's keeping my dear wife."

Sparkle waited
until he'd gone out, then went upstairs to pack.

The weathered sign
suspended over the rutted drive announced Sparkle had reached her destination.
Crockhead
Rest
. Rafe said he spent winters on his brother's ranch. She sensed his
presence the moment her carriage left the main road and started up the fork
toward the ranch house. He was here, all right. She took a deep breath to calm
her nerves. She'd be face to f ace with him in a manner of moments.

Coming here to see
him hadn't seemed insane when she'd made her decision back in Kansas. On the
verge of being pushed into a marriage she didn't want, this made perfect sense.
She should try to clear the air, find out if she and Rafe still had a chance
together. It made perfect sense in Kansas.

Now that she'd
actually arrived in Colorado, she wasn't feeling nearly so confident. What
would Rafe say? Would he listen and understand why she felt she had to see him?
To settle the lingering unanswered questions once and for all? Even if they had
no future, she needed to be certain of that, so she wouldn't always wonder what
might have been. Rafe would understand. A man still trying to right a wrong
from years past would understand.

Jace and Majesta
hadn't. There'd been another heated row with Jace. Forced to go slinking off
like a thief in the night, Sparkle had left a sealed letter behind for Kent. It
explained that upon introspection, she concluded she wasn't of his social
status. She'd written a very apologetic missive for the most part, allowing
herself a small victory. With a devilish smile, she'd penned the closing line.
She hoped his parents wouldn't be too disappointed attending the opera without
her.

The rig dipped
again, jolting her back to the present. The driver pulled to a halt beside a
broad open porch. The wide ranch house sat on a gentle bluff overlooking the
drive.