Winter Harvest (13 page)

"You can't push her off this farm. I know that if we get married, it'll be us against you, but we aren't out to take anything away from you." Traye knew Victoria would never take the land from her brother, but Andrew apparently didn't have the same loyalty to his sister.

Andrew scowled at him. "I can, and I will. How many times do I have to tell you that this is
my
farm? My grandfather wanted it this way, but my father has a soft spot for my sister -- and for you too, for some reason. I won't allow it."

"I won't let you dupe Victoria. She belongs here just as much as you do. This is her home. I might not have any claim to this land, but I know Tessie wouldn't want you to rip off your sister. Mark my words -- even if we don't get married, I'll always be here to protect her. You and I used to be great friends, and I would've done the same for you, but I don't know you anymore."

"Oh, man. I'm scared." Andrew scoffed at Traye. "Get over yourself. Once dad realizes that marriage won't happen, he'll throw you off this land to save face. You bagged his daughter. So you might as well pack up and leave now and save yourself the trouble."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Traye glared at him. "What happened to your idea that I'd be a great hired hand? If I leave, who'll do all the work around here?"

"I work just as hard as you do." Andrew lunged at Traye, but he stepped aside.

"Not lately. You're in this for wrong reason. I have my doubts now that you'd even be able to keep this place up and running without your sister or your father. Man, I wish I knew what happened to make you so pissed off at us. We all suffer from Tessie being gone."

"You think you know it all, Petersen, but you don't have a clue. I have a right to be angry."

"Why?"

"As if you seriously don't know."

"I don't."

"Doesn't matter. Once things go wrong -- and we all know that nine times out ten they do -- Victoria will see you for who you are, just like I have. She'll throw her hands in the air and walk away. Don't make this mess any bigger than it already is. Walk away while you still have some dignity left."

Traye didn't want to believe Andrew, but the way Victoria had jerked his chain lately, he didn't know what she wanted from him anymore. She certainly didn't want the flowers and candy. Had she finally woken up and decided she really didn't want or need him? Who'd believe in him now? He'd thrown away everything for one night of hot passion. Now he could only think of her and how much he loved and wanted her, and he couldn't bring himself to walk away again. That had nothing at all to do with Robert, although Traye still wanted the man's respect. He had to find a way to get Victoria back. He'd figure out what he could offer her after he did that.

"Andrew, give it up," he finally said. "Why do you always want to squash your sister? I can never figure you out. One minute you're this great supporter, and the next you act as if you hate us. What the hell do you want?"

"For her not to marry you." His eyes darkened. "Because you're wrong for each other."

"I don't believe you." Traye scrunched his forehead and narrowed his eyes. "I think you never wanted me to be a part of your family."

"Why can't you be satisfied with what you have? Why do you need to marry her? It's wrong."

"You're still not making sense. Even if I didn't love Victoria, I'd still respect your father and what he says. If he didn't want me to marry her, he wouldn't demand I do so."

"Don't flatter yourself. You touched his daughter, and you live on his land for free. Of course he'd demand you marry her, no matter how wrong for each other you may be."

"That's not true. I lo--"

"Oh, no. Don't say you love her. She's already made you into a sap. She'll have you wrapped around her finger and acting like an idiot. She's impossible. You'll never be able to please her."

"What has Liza done to you? Sounds like you're more worried about how
she'll
trap
you
instead."

"Liza is not going to trap me. Don't you see? I'm the one in charge, and she does what I say. I do what I need to do to keep her happy and in line."

"What kind of marriage is that?" Traye shook his head. "Your parents were equals. Who put this crazy idea into your head?"

"Who made
you
an expert on my parents' marriage?" He pointed a finger at Traye. "You act as if
you're
their son. I'm so sick of hearing you talk like you know what they want. You know nothing about my mother. Just because we let you live off of us for years, doesn't mean my parents respect and love you like a son. So stop telling me what my parents were and what my mother wanted."

"Tessie told me repeatedly I was part of this family, and she loved me like a son," Traye said. "Are you telling me she lied?"

"You were a kid with a rotten father." Andrew shrugged. "She wanted you to feel loved and wanted. Mom was like that with everyone. I think she cared for you, but I don't think she thought of you as a son."

"You're a liar, Andrew." Traye scowled. He hadn't imagined Tessie's love. She wouldn't have told him lies as she lay dying, all skin and bones. He knew in his heart that Tessie and Robert
did
think of him as a son. "I know what your parents mean to me, and you'll never make me believe they didn't love me. So get over yourself and accept it. The only one I didn't believe was Victoria, and now somehow I'll make it up to her. I owe her that. I owe
Robert
that."

"Marrying my sister is not the answer. Dad will come around, I promise. Don't sentence yourself to a life of hell just to earn his respect. You deserve better than that."

Traye cocked his head. Andrew had him so confused. He couldn't decide what the guy was up to, even though it really didn't matter anymore. He had to do what he thought was right. He wanted Victoria, and he knew she'd come around. She'd been chasing him for years. Why would she stop now?

"Victoria just needs a little more time. If I feel she has seriously moved on, I'll back off. Then you can call me a loser all day long."

"You're a fool, Petersen."

"Maybe. I don't know. I do know I have to try, though, because I love her."

"This is going to end so badly -- but hey, it's your life. Your mistake. I just hope you can live with the consequences."

Traye did, too, especially if Victoria continued to refuse him. His gut told him they were meant for one another. He just wished he could have figured that out sooner, because now he could be too late.

Chapter Ten

The annual dart tournament at Jerry's drew a large crowd from Russet Grove and the neighboring towns. The proceeds went to a charity for kids struggling with cancer. Jerry, the owner, had a son who had been in remission for years, making this an important event for him. He took it very seriously, and everyone had a good time while helping the victims the only way they knew how. Only this year, Victoria wished she could simply donate some cash instead of participating so she could stay home. She didn't want to talk to anyone or pretend to be happy. Unfortunately, Abbey wouldn't let her bail out of their annual day of fun.

She checked herself in the mirror one more time. She hadn't taken much effort with herself today. A faded tee shirt and jeans suited her just fine. She pulled her hair away from her face in a smooth ponytail and added a light coating of makeup to hide the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't been to Jerry's since her last drunken fiasco. Hopefully everyone's memory was shorter then hers.

Knowing she didn't plan to touch liquor for a long time, she drove herself to the bar. She dodged muddy puddles from the melting snow as she made her way to the door. Shouts and laughter echoed from inside before she even opened it. Spotting Abbey and her man at the bar, Victoria headed toward them. Luke, her savior from that awful drunken night, came into view, and her cheeks heated.

"Hey, looks who's here -- and she's walking straight." Luke grinned at her.

A smile tugged at her lips. "Shut up."

"Glad you survived the night."

"Glad you made it home in the storm." Standing next to him, she couldn't help wondering why she couldn't fall for him instead of Traye.

"No thanks to you. I could have beaten the storm if you hadn't made me drive all the way out to that cabin."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." She ducked her head. "That became the biggest mistake of my life. I'll buy you a drink tonight to make it up to you."

He raised a brow.

"I'm sticking to soda today." She crossed a finger over her heart. "Promise."

"I think that's wise. I don't want a repeat of that night." Luke nodded, his eyes serious.

She smiled at him. "No babysitting me today. I'm here only to support a good cause."

"Good." His lips twitched.

"What a drag. Baby, you and I'll never be that boring." Ron grabbed Abbey's waist and yanked her close.

"Leave her alone, Ron." Abbey pulled away. "This fundraiser means more to her than a drink."

"Whatever." Ron shook his head.

Victoria looked at Luke. He tried to hide his grin, but failed. She could tell he knew where her thoughts about Ron had gone. The guy couldn't help but be a jerk. Not a bad boy, just a jerk. What could Abbey possibly see in the guy? Shaking her head, Victoria ordered two sodas and handed one to Luke just as Andrew, Liza, and Traye walked in. She closed her eyes. She'd hoped Traye would stay away.

"You okay?" Luke asked.

She opened her eyes and turned back to Luke. "Yeah."

She sneaked a glance at Traye. Hopefully he'd stay on the other side of the room. She tried to be discreet, but still met his eyes. He tilted his head and flashed her a weak smile. It melted her heart but at the same time strengthened her resolve to keep her distance.

"Is that Traye?"

"What?" Victoria jerked her head back to Luke. "How did you--"

"You still have the same lovesick eyes you did back in February. Be honest. That's really where I dropped you off, isn't it? At his place?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

"No. Ron has a big mouth."

"I see. Apparently Abbey does, too."

Luke nodded. "Didn't turn out well, did it?"

She shook her head. "Disaster with a capital D. Learned my lesson on that one."

"You sure? You still seem pretty nuts over him."

"I'll get over it. We're done. So no more talk about Traye. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Luke looked over her head with a grin. "Hey, Evan, you made it."

Victoria let out a heavy sigh. For a minute, she'd thought Traye had come over. Instead, she turned to face Evan, who stood a foot taller than she and had a shock of red hair. His sparkling blue eyes held a hint of mischief, while his easy smile pulled her in.

"I did." He shook Luke's hand and turned to Victoria. "Hello." He glanced at Luke over his shoulder. "Where's your manners, bro? Who's your friend?"

"Smooth, Evan. This is Victoria, a native of Russet Grove." He smiled at Evan, then patted him on the back. "Victoria, this is Evan."

Victoria shook his out stretched hand. Something about the guy put her at ease. He had a firm handshake, showing he had confidence, with no arrogance like Ron. She liked him the minute their hands met.

"Where's Ron?" Evan looked around the bar.

"Hopefully far away." Victoria hadn't even noticed he and Abbey had moved away. Ron didn't like her any more than she liked him.

"Not a Ron fan?" Evan's eyebrows rose.

Luke snickered behind Evan.

"There's no kind way to say this, so no."

Amusement shining in his eyes, Evan nodded. "Yeah, he gets that reaction a lot. He's a good guy. Really, he is. He just rubs people the wrong way."

"I'll say. Luke is a great guy, and I can already tell you are, too. So I guess I have to ask how you ended up with a friend like him." Victoria pointed across the room to Ron.

"We just learned to look past his arrogance. He's a lot of fun."

"If you say so." She couldn't imagine having any fun with the likes of Ron.

"Abbey obviously thinks so." Evan jerked his head toward the two loved birds.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Not sure what the connection is there. I have a feeling it's not that serious."

"Nothing wrong with that." Evan stuck his hands in his pockets.

She looked past him to Luke. "Please tell me I wasn't wrong about him, and he's not like your friend Ron."

Chuckling, Luke slapped Evan on the back. He stumbled forward and caught himself by grabbing Victoria's arms. Her hands landed on his trim waist. She enjoyed his touch, even though fire didn't shoot up her arms like it did whenever Traye touched her. That surprised her.

"Evan's nothing like Ron. He's just very forgiving."

Evan smiled and took his hands off her arms to grab her hands. He gave them a squeeze. She smiled back, and he released her.

"I promise I'm harmless."

"Good."

Her attention was drawn to Jerry who had a microphone in his hand. He thanked them for coming and gave them the tournament rules. The crowd gathered to see which teams would shoot first, and then the tournament started.

Between games, Victoria found herself talking and laughing with Luke and Evan. The more she got to know Evan, the more at ease she became and the more she liked him. She hadn't had this much fun or let herself relax this much in weeks. Evan's easygoing manner soothed her battered soul and eased the tension of Traye's presence. She caught him looking at her a few times, but pretended not to pay him any mind. His scowl and stiff stance told her he didn't like to see her enjoying herself. He'd been eliminated almost from the beginning.

Why didn't he just leave?

Abbey and Victoria made it almost to the last round but got knocked out by an ace team. The loss didn't hurt Victoria's feelings. Instead, she surrendered the throne to them. Her arm was sore, and she was sick of playing. She put her darts away for another year.

Even though Evan didn't play, he kept her entertained. She'd never met a man who could make her laugh so much. Why had she wasted so much time trying to get Traye to notice her? She loved him, no doubt. She always would, but he wasn't worth her effort anymore. Evan held her attention now, and she kind of liked it. Talking to him came so easy. Although no spark flared between them, maybe after all the hell Traye had put her heart through, he wasn't the one.