Mara McBain (7 page)

His tone was so serious she had to crane her neck around to look up at him. He winked and she giggled.

“All jokes aside, I apologize for my uncle. His comments on our private life were uncalled for and rude. Don’t judge the type of man my daddy was by his baby brother. He always said Grandpa was too tired to whip manners into the last one. I guess that’s what happens with six boys.”

“His attitude toward women is deplorable. And Cole calls you a caveman,” Gen said with a snort of disgust. 

“Trendy I’m not, but my mama and daddy made sure I knew how to treat a lady,” Trey said with a little chuckle. “My daddy would’ve taken a layer of hide off any of us boys if he’d heard us talk that way about a woman, and that’s if my mama didn’t get to us first.”

“They did a wonderful job with you.”

A slight blush actually colored her husband’s cheeks as he shook his head and looked away. “I’m not sure they would agree with that. I probably should’ve stayed here for more ass whoopings instead of going off to roughneck and cowboy in Texas. I could’ve used more polishing.”

“Did you leave on bad terms?”

His head whipped around in surprise, shaking before he could get the words out.

“No. I had their blessing to go to Texas. I wouldn’t have left without it.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not uncommon for sons to leave home to get out from under their father’s thumb. I just thought—”

“No. It wasn’t like that with my daddy and me. I wanted to see some of the world, and he didn’t stand in my way. I think it made it easier that I went down south and stayed with my mama’s family. They took good care of me and looked out for me,” he said, frowning at the memories. “I worked down there for seven years, and then Daddy got sick and I came back home to work the farm for him. When he passed we were all devastated. Growing up, I thought my daddy was invincible. He was my hero.”

Trey cleared his throat and studied the tops of the apple trees in great interest. He wet his lips and shook his head. Brutus shoved his wide head under one of his hands, and Trey stroked the dog idly.

“I met Catherine shortly after Daddy died. I built the house for her, thinking I would settle down, start a family and make Mama happy. That didn’t work out so well, and then shortly after I lost Catherine, Mama passed away,” he paused and swept his hat off as he squinted at the tree tops. “It was a lot in the course of a year and a half.”

Watching him work the hat’s brim in his huge hands, Gen couldn’t contain the tears that ran down her cheeks. Her heart broke for this strong and loving man. Slipping under his arm, she hugged him tight. Slowly, his strong arms engulfed her, and his chin rested on top of her head. His grip was crushing, and she could feel his chest heave in an effort to control his grief.

“Trey!”

Jerking away from her embrace, Trey took a couple steps in the opposite direction of Cole’s shout. He glanced heavenward and, in that brief moment, Gen was sure he was asking God for strength. As quick as it happened, it was over, and her husband’s mask was back in place. Jamming his Stetson back onto his head, he turned, wrapping her in his arm and urging her back up the path to greet his brother.  

Gen measured the cocoa out carefully. She’d been delighted to find the tin tucked behind some other things in the pantry. She smiled. There was enough to make a chocolate cake with icing. It would be a nice break from her assortment of apple desserts. Glancing out the window, she watched the sheets on the line snap in the wind. The mild weather they’d been enjoying seemed to be coming to an end. The temperature had been dropping all afternoon.

Thoughts drifting back to breakfast, she frowned. As much as she’d appreciated Cole’s concern for her well-being, she wished he hadn’t interrupted the moment in the orchard. It was the first time Trey had really opened up to her about his past and the pain he carried. Cole had said that his older brother would’ve ripped his heart out and laid it at his mother’s feet. The anguish she’d glimpsed in his blue eyes this morning made her think his parent’s death had done the deed for him.

Feeling eyes on her, Gen turned to look down at Lilly. Sleepy-eyed from a nap, the toddler was adorable with her inky curls.

“Do you want to help me bake a cake?”

Lilly stepped into her outstretched arms, and Gen swept her up to sit on the counter next to the mixing bowl.

 “Did you have a nice nap?”

Sucking on her thumb, the little one nodded shyly and leaned over to peek in the bowl.

“How about I mix the butter and eggs up, and then you can help me add in the dry mixture a little at a time. Would you like that?”

A smile brightened the child’s face, and she reached eagerly for the other bowl.

“Here’s a little scoop. You wait until I tell you, okay?”

Gen smiled, thinking of the times she had helped her mother as a child. The smell of baking made her miss her all the more. She’d always expected if she did find a man that would marry her, her mother would be around to help explain the ropes. Their discussions had always centered on the bakery. As she was quickly learning, there was a whole lot more than cooking and cleaning involved. If God ever blessed her with a daughter, she hoped that they would be able to talk about her hopes and dreams, or just the little things that had happened in her day.

“Okay, Lilly. Put a scoop in. Do you like chocolate?”

“Mmmm,” the little girl said, big eyes sparkling in delight.

“How about when we get this cake in the oven we take that left over cocoa and make us some hot cocoa with it? Would you like that?”

“Yeah!”

Gen laughed, catching a hold of the excited child as she bounced on the counter, arms waving. “Look out. Don’t dump the ingredients, sweetheart. I don’t have enough to start over.”

They had gotten the cake in the oven and just sat down with their hot cocoa when Rose burst into the kitchen, blue eyes wide and frantic. She swept Lilly out of her chair, sloshing the child’s drink.

“What were you thinking?” she cried at Gen, clutching her daughter to her. “I didn’t know where she was!”

“She came downstairs on her own. It’s okay. I thought she could help me and you could get a little more sleep. I’m sorry,” Gen said, trying to calm the hysterical woman.

“Lilly, you know better! What would your father do?”

The child’s bottom lip trembled, and fat tears trickled down her cheeks as her mother chastised her, shaking her firmly.

Gen grabbed her arm.

“You’re hurting her.”

“She knows better! You don’t understand. If Wade had seen her without me he would’ve taken her,” Rose screamed, still shaking the child.

Gen yanked the little girl from her mother’s arms. “Have you lost your mind?” she snapped, bouncing the crying child lightly on her hip. “Shh, you’re fine, baby.”

“You don’t understand.”

“We can both agree on that. Why don’t you calm down and try explaining it to me? Would you like some hot cocoa? There is a little left here.”

“You don’t know Wade. He likes things a certain way. Everything has to be perfect,” Rose whispered, letting Gen direct her into a chair.

“Men all like things their way. No one is perfect.”

“Wade is.”

Gen rolled her eyes, swallowing her opinion on that statement. Setting the steaming cup in front of the distraught woman, she sat back down. Cuddling Lilly in her lap, she pulled the half mug she’d cooled for her over in front of them.

“I’m sorry. Thank you for keeping her safe.”

“It’s okay. Why would it have been bad if she was with her father? Is Wade not good with children?”

“When my husband is angry he doesn’t just lash out physically. Last time I let Lilly out of my sight for just a moment, he hid her from me for two days,” Rose choked out.

“Where did they go?”

“I don’t know. He took Lilly somewhere and came back without her. He wouldn’t tell me where she was or if she was okay.”

Gen covered her mouth in a gasp. She couldn’t imagine the horror of not knowing where your child was. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Lilly’s been afraid of the dark since she got back. Bedtime is a nightmare, and Wade has no patience with her crying. I’m sorry. I know this all sounds crazy. I shouldn’t have said anything, but you’re being so kind to allow us to stay here and I screamed at you. I’m so sorry.”  

“Please don’t be. I’m sorry I was so sharp with you. I can’t even imagine how frightened you were to wake up and find her gone,” Gen said, squeezing the other woman’s hand.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask you this, but I’m begging you. Please, don’t say anything to your husband. He doesn’t like me. If he knew that I’d spoke to you like that—”

“Trey is a fair man. He may be able to help you.”    

“God, no. Please. You can’t tell him about Lilly. If Wade found out that I said anything, I don’t know what he would do.”

Gen bit her lip in uncertainty, but finally nodded. “If you really don’t want me to say anything, I won’t.”

“Thank you,” Rose said sincerely. “I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but your husband is terrifying!”

Gen shook her head with a shiver. She’d rather face Trey’s honest anger than deal with a man that would use a child to play mind games. 

Trey avoided the pumpkin guts on the cellar steps and sighed as he set the bushel basket down. He didn’t need to ask who was responsible for the mess. Working with Wade was worse than a child. Not even Nate had been this bad. If their daddy had been forced to explain the same thing over and over, he would’ve been explaining it with a strap. Cole met his eye as he carefully lined squash up on the cool floor. Wade was staring at the shelves full of canning jars.

“You have heard of grocery stores, right?”

“There are things that we buy at the store, but Mama and Daddy always prided themselves on the fact that our farm was pretty self-sufficient. Why pay higher prices for things we can raise right here?” Trey asked with a shrug.

“Most people would say for convenience sake.”

“And I would say those people are lazy,” Trey said flatly. Stepping over the mess again, he climbed the steps. “Clean this shit up before one of us slips in it.”

“Is he always this demanding?” Wade asked with a huff.

“Sometimes he’s worse. He was actually pretty patient today,” Cole said with a little shrug.

“I don’t know how you tolerate the way he speaks to you.”

“Just used to it I guess.”

“I’m sure your father wouldn’t have approved of it.”

“He sounds just like Daddy,” Cole said with a bark of laughter.

“I think he takes his responsibilities as the oldest a little far. As partial owner of this farm, you should have a say in not only the way it’s ran, but in how the profits are spent. Your brother doesn’t seem to be the most open-minded when it comes to business opportunities.”

“Technically, the place is his now, and he can do what he wants with it. I’m as free as you are to leave if I don’t like it.”

Dismay flashed over Wade’s face and he shook his head in disbelief.

“That can’t be right. As hard as you worked today I would say that you have a right to contest that. He’s taking advantage of you if he expects you to do that kind of backbreaking work for mere room and board.”

“Trey makes sure I have what I need,” Cole said slowly. He glanced toward the stairs watching for his older brother. “I’d get that cleaned up before he gets back if I were you.”

“Have you actually seen it?” Wade asked, scraping the stringy remnants into a newspaper.

“Seen what?”

“Were you permitted to look over your parent’s final will? Your younger brother is a lawyer. Did he review it?”

Cole straightened and looked at him, his eyes narrowing.

“What’re you suggesting?”

“As your uncle, I was just—” 

“Less yapping, more working. I’m hungry,” Trey grunted, bringing down another armload.

“When aren’t you?”

Trey gave him a wry smile and a shrug. “I can’t argue that. Would chocolate cake make you move any faster?”

Cole snatched the basket from his brother’s arms. “What’re you waiting on?”

Genevieve gratefully took her husband’s arm as they joined the crowd filing into the church. She glanced up at him and he gave her a reassuring nod. He removed his hat as they stepped through the doors into the crowded vestibule. Heads turned in their direction, eyes widening in surprise. She stiffened at the stares, trying to ignore the whispers that started in their wake. Freeing his arm from her grip, Trey wrapped it around her instead. He escorted her through the throng, his imposing size clearing a path. Placing his Stetson on the hat rack, he helped peel her coat off and hung it beneath the hat. Turning, he ran his hand through the long waves of his hair, looking as uncomfortable as she felt.

Ignored by her husband, Rose struggled with removing her wrap in the close confines, and Gen reached to help her. Wade shot them both a look of annoyance as he pushed past to the coat rack. Rose lowered her gaze before her husband’s glare and then her head jerked around. Panic filled her blue eyes as she turned awkwardly, trembling hands covering her rounded stomach.

“Lilly?”

Gen’s heart leapt to her throat at the fear in her new friend’s whisper. Her eyes darted around them for the black velvet of the little girl’s coat.
Nothing.
She tried to turn, only to catch a sharp elbow in the back. Bending her knees, she peered through the forest of trousers and skirts.

“Lilly!”Rose called, her voice rising in alarm.

Unmindful of the press of bodies, Genevieve spun, looking for her husband. “Trey! We lost Lilly.”

Trey’s head jerked up at her voice. He immediately started to scan the crowd from his vantage. Thankfully, it only took a moment. Easily shouldering people out of his way, he bent and stood with the adorable toddler in the crook of his arm. Gen’s heart skipped a beat as he wiped away a tear from the plump cheek and graced the child with a lopsided grin that made her giggle. He pointed to Rose over the crowd and Lilly crowed in delight, waving from her new perch. People that had, a moment before, cursed his abrupt push through their midst now stared in wonder up at the long-haired man and the raven-haired cherub that wrapped her chubby arms around his neck.

Trey met her gaze as Lilly pressed her cheek against his. Beaming her pride, Gen couldn’t resist blowing him a kiss. He looked startled for a moment and then his broad face split in a smile that lit the room and set more tongues to wagging. Trey pointed toward another set of double doors and turned away. A hand on the small of her back made Gen stiffen.

“Just me, little sister. Let’s go find our seat.”

Relaxing, she offered Cole a smile and allowed him to guide her into the sanctuary with Rose and a rigid Wade trailing them.

“You keep looking at him like that and his ego is going to be impossible to live with,” he whispered.

Gen’s head snapped around to look up at her grinning brother-in-law.

“How was I looking at him?”

“Like he’s ten foot tall and bulletproof,” Cole chuckled.

“He’s pretty near,” she whispered, her gaze going to her husband’s broad back.

“You’re starting to sound like a woman smitten.”

“Your brother is a good man, Cole. He has given me a life that I could barely dream of before. Would it be so horrible if our marriage became something more than just an arrangement, even if the feelings are only one-sided?”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s one-sided if that glare is anything to go by.”

Trey had stopped and was looking back at them. A frost had lightened his blue gaze and his lips were pressed into a firm line behind his goatee. He motioned her into the pew, but planted a hand on Cole’s chest with a solid thump that stopped him in his tracks. Gen looked back worriedly, but Trey slid in behind her. Cole stood to the side letting Rose and Wade precede him, but his shoulders shook in what looked suspiciously like laughter.

Rose tried to take Lilly from Trey, and a squeal shattered the quiet murmur of the sanctuary. Lilly spun to cling to his jacket. He grimaced as a sharp knee found tender territory.

“Shh, Lillian,” Rose chastised, trying to pry the child’s arms from around Trey’s neck. “Come to Mommy. Don’t pull cousin Trey’s hair or he will be mad.”

“Get out of the way,” Wade snapped, pushing his wife down into the pew and grabbing their daughter.

Lilly’s squeal this time threatened to shatter the stained glass windows.

Trey pulled his head back to frown at the child and growl, “That’s enough.”

The noise stopped and she stared at Trey wide-eyed.

“Act like a little lady,” he ordered, and the child shyly tucked her head under his chin. “If it’s okay with you, Wade, she can sit here if she behaves herself. It’ll give you a break.”

Wade glared and Gen held her breath. Trey waited. Gripping his daughter’s arm, Wade wrung a whimper from the child.

“You behave for your cousin, young lady. Don’t embarrass me again today,” he snarled, before straightening his jacket and dropping back into his seat.

Trey rubbed the little girl’s arm with his thumb and turned her around to sit on his right thigh, closest to Gen. He glanced at his cousin’s wife.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes of course. Thank you for your assistance,” Rose whispered gratefully. 

“What’s family for?” Trey asked as the pastor stepped to the pulpit and greeted the congregation.

Gen stood at a gentle, but prodding, pat from her husband’s hand as the rest of the congregation rose from their pews in a wave. She glanced down the row. Her stomach knotted. Rose’s fingers were trembling as she picked up her bible. Wade still looked furious. Trey had been stiff with Cole earlier, and his ever stoic face remained unreadable throughout the church service. Was he mad? Surely Cole didn’t count in the list of men she was not supposed to talk to. She bit her lip and second guessed herself in a brief bid of worry. What if he did?

Her thoughts were cut short as Trey seized her hand and wound his thick fingers through hers in a secure grip. Much like before, her husband shouldered his way through the crowd with a surprising amount of grace and ease. However, their progress was stopped short outside. A swarm of people loitered at the bottom of the steps, and as soon as they descended, the cluster closed in like a pack of hungry wolves.

Pressing close to her husband’s back, Gen squeezed his hand. He pulled his Stetson back on, the brim shadowing his face. The pastor seemed undaunted as he shook Trey’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder.

“It’s good to see you and Cole at services again, Trey. You’ve been missed. Genevieve it’s lovely to see you. It looked like your pew had a few extras in it this morning. What a blessing.”

Her husband didn’t answer, just nodded.

“I hear that congratulations are in order,” a sharp dressed gentleman said, offering a smile that never reached his eyes. “Is this the new Mrs. McCade then?”

“What a beautiful child.” A woman said, reaching up to stroke Lilly’s curls.

Trey shifted away, his cool gaze stilling the woman’s hand. He turned, motioning politely to his uncle.

“This is my daddy’s youngest brother, Wade, his wife Rose, and their little girl, Lilly. They’re staying with us for a while,” he said.

Wade offered a confident smile and shook hands with those that offered, trading a word here and there about his departed brother.

Gen felt Trey sigh before he pulled her forward, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her again. Realization kicking like a mule, she fought the sick twist in her stomach. He didn’t want to introduce her. His reluctance was palpable. She looked around at the curious faces and it hit her like a brick. These people had known Catherine. They were her friends, maybe even her family, and she was an outsider, a poor substitute. She wet her lips nervously and straightened her shoulders. Slipping an arm around his waist, she tried to ignore the hammer of her heart.

“This is my beautiful new bride, Genevieve, formerly Kelly of New York City,” Trey said firmly, his icy gaze sweeping the assembly with a hint of challenge.

Gen held her breath at the change in his demeanor. Had he just called her beautiful on the church steps? Her face split in a smile that she was sure spread from ear-to-ear. She felt his regard and looked up. The corner of his mouth turned up in the lopsided smile she already loved, and he gave her a slow wink that made heat swirl through her. She couldn’t hold back the giggle or the color that flooded her face. His smile seemed to release the crowd from their stunned silence, and people pressed forward to make her acquaintance. She smiled and shook hands from the secure curve of his arm, languishing in the heat of his body and his proud smile.

The crack of flesh on flesh reverberated through the quiet house, accompanied by the high pitched wail of a hurt child. After the joy of standing with Trey on the church steps today, they’d come home to a sick tension that had built all day, to this. Tears rolled down Gen’s cheeks, and her fists clenched in the quilt. God, where was Trey? How long could the nightly chores take? She’d seen the way he was with Lilly today. He would stop this. Wade’s voice rose in anger down the hall. She couldn’t make out the words, but his rage was clear. Lilly’s shrill scream sounded again and Gen lurched from bed. She couldn’t sit here and listen to him beat a child.

The polished wood was cold on her bare feet as she hurried down the hall. She flinched as another blow fell, and Wade’s words were drowned out by the tinkle of broken glass. Heart hammering, Gen reached the door.

“Please. She’s learned her lesson,” Rose sobbed on the other side of the barrier.

Lilly wailed in fear and Gen rattled the door. It was locked. The baby’s scream ripped through her heart. She slammed her shoulder against the door with everything she had. It barely shuddered. Pounding her fists on the solid wood, she screamed in fury.

“Leave her alone!”

“This doesn’t involve you,” Wade snapped. “Go back to bed and I won’t mention your interference to your husband.”

Gen kicked the door, his arrogance lending fuel to her fire. Let him tell Trey. She’d take a beating for Lilly.

“Come out here and smack me you worthless coward!”

Something hit the wall and Lilly squalled.

“No, no, no! Damn it!
Open the door!” she screamed, throwing herself at the door.

“Gen!”

Trey’s voice thundered through the house just as the door jerked open, and she found herself at Wade’s feet. The seething man grabbed a handful of her hair, and his hand swept back in a sinister arc. His chest was heaving. He smiled. His eyes held a deranged glint. Trey’s heavy footfalls hit the hall. Wade shook his head and dropped his hand. He picked up his daughter just as Trey stepped into the doorway.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Your wife doesn’t know how to keep her nose out of other people’s business,” Wade said coolly.

Trey’s hard gaze swung back to her. Gen shook her head, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

“He was beating Lilly. She’s just a little girl.”

“A man has a right to discipline his children. I guarantee you’ve felt worse growing up in Thomas’s household.”

“It’s not discipline when she’s that little. He was hurting her, Trey. It’s abuse. Please,” Gen argued.

Trey swiped a hand over his goatee and glanced around the room. “Are you okay?” he asked Rose for the second time that day.

“Yes. Thank you,” she said, offering a tremulous smile. “Lilly needs to understand she can’t defy her father. I’m afraid I tend to spoil her.”

Lilly sniffled against Wade’s shoulder, her tiny form shaking in a heaving sob as her father rubbed her back gently.

“Lilly’s a dramatic child. In Genevieve’s defense, I’m sure it must have sounded worse than it was,” Wade said, giving Gen a small smile. “Women are tender hearted if a bit misguided, and Genevieve is headstrong. It’s a good thing she has a strong husband to help her know her place.”

Gen’s eyes narrowed at Wade’s pompous words, her nails digging into her thighs.   

Trey’s lips firmed and he snapped his fingers sharply at her. “Let’s go.”  

Gen stood slowly, her eyes begging Trey to reconsider. His face didn’t soften. Rose wouldn’t look at her. Knees shaking, she slipped past him into the hall. Her hands balled into fists as she made the seemingly long trek back to the master bedroom. She turned uncertainly at the side of the bed, clasping her trembling hands behind her.

“Trey, you didn’t hear her screams. He was—”she tried to explain, but he cut her off.

“Get dressed.”

She blinked at him. Dressed? She frowned.

“
Now!
”

She jumped at his deep roar, scrambling across the bed on her hands and knees in a bid to get to the closet without risking his reach. Fumbling, she found an old skirt and sweater, pulling them on over her night gown. Stealing a glance at her angry husband, she didn’t bother with stockings. Wringing her hands, she tried again.

“I couldn’t just sit here and let him beat a child.”

He stepped into the hall and motioned for her to precede him. Biting her lip, she squeezed past and scurried down the stairs with him on her heels. She faltered at the bottom, glancing back in question.

“Get to the barn.”

The barn? Her stomach clenched. Stumbling through the kitchen, she pushed her feet into boots and stepped out the open door. Her legs felt like lead, and she prayed they wouldn’t betray her now. She stumbled and Trey caught her arm, his fingers engulfing her bicep. Still he didn’t say anything. She peeked up at him. His face was grim. Lips moving in a desperate prayer, she reminded herself that she’d done this for Lilly. She knew what it was like to be small and afraid, to be hurt by one of the people that you should be able to count on to care for you. She’d done the right thing.

The light was on in the barn. Her terrified brain stumbled over his choice of the barn. Why not the bedroom? The answer was obvious wasn’t it? She wasn’t a child to warrant the relative kindness of his hand, and he didn’t feel a belt was sufficient. She prayed harder and, for the first time in years, contemplated running from punishment. She closed her eyes. There was nowhere to run. She was his wife. Her bottom lip trembled, and she sank her teeth into it. He steered her through the barn doors and into a small room. The smell of hay and leather assailed her, and she shuddered staring at the assortment of straps and whips hanging amid saddles and tack. He yanked her over to a saddle stand. A coiled whip gleamed wickedly inches from her nose. He pushed a blanket into her chest.