Ruby (Angel Creek Christmas Brides Book 3) Page 9

  As much as she wanted to obey Trevor and remain in bed, there was too much to do. Also, it was boring. There was nothing for her to do but either sleep or read. With everything going through her head, it would be impossible to read.

  Then there was the fact that Cookie was short help as the sick soldiers who’d worked in the kitchen were not allowed to return yet. The stern cook insisted they wait out their illness and ensure to be at their best before returning.

  Ruby understood his precautions. It would not do to have sick men around food, contaminating the meals and making more people ill.

  Beside, there was the troublesome matter of the narrowed-eyed Tarvis fellow to deal with.

  She’d not ever been the “wait and see what happened” kind of woman. Besides cowering would only encourage the man, whoever he was, to continue to taunt her. Tarvis knew she’d been frightened and now delighted in continuing his cowardly actions.

  She wished her circle of friends were there. Surely they’d go with her and confront the lout. But they were not and Ruby wondered how precisely to go about doing it without Trevor finding out.

  Her husband was so very tired and carried the heavy burden of caring for the sick men. Not only did he have the ill and injured soldiers to care for, but also the poor amputee who struggled to overcome his injuries.

  Yes it was up to her to deal with this situation. The last thing she needed to do was add to her husband’s list of responsibilities. Especially if it turned out to be something she could handle herself.

  Once she spoke to the man and found out exactly who he was and what he wanted, she’d speak to Trevor. If it was indeed Charles, whom she’d thought dead, she’d ask Trevor that they both speak to him together. That way Trevor would not have questions about her strange behavior.

  After all, it was not her fault Charles had not written or sent any kind of missive to her or his family about his whereabouts.

  Thinking about the past made her wonder what she ever found attractive about Charles Tarvis. He’d been more of a scholarly sort than a man’s man. With a slight figure, never quite filling in his clothing and thinning stick straight hair, he seemed to blend into the background whenever in a room.

  Charles was nothing like Trevor whose hair was thick and silky and his body, oh his body was so very well formed. The trickling of dark hair down the center of his broad chest added to the allure, inviting her fingers to touch and explore. His strong features and dark almond shaped eyes made him too handsome for words. Trevor would never blend into any background.

  Her lips curved at considering her husband’s body. She missed their intimacy since coming to the camp. Although the storm had been a bother, it had allowed for many a fun tryst between them.

  “My goodness,” Ruby sighed. It was best to sort her thoughts. At the moment any distraction, no matter how enjoyable could affect her ability to make sound decisions.

  Thankfully, she was able to stand straight without any dizziness and smooth the front of the dress. Wearing her cloak, gloves, and hat to protect from the weather, Ruby ventured out to find the troublesome man.

  Luck was with her because as she made her way toward where the covered wagon remained, along the back fence, she caught sight of him.

  Carrying two buckets, Tarvis walked to where the pigs were kept.

  It was not so far that if she had to call for help someone wouldn’t hear. However, the distance between the pens and the nearest building still worried her.

  It was best to get it over and done with Ruby decided as she hurried after the man.

  She’d almost reached the pigpens before realizing the pens were a bit further from the buildings than she’d expected. Ruby kept an eye on the man and turned to look over her shoulder gauging the distance she’d have to run for help if it came to that.

  Thankfully the snow had stopped falling, which made visibility clearer.

  “You want to know who I am.” The gruff statement took her by surprise. His narrowed eyes raked over her. It wasn’t Charles she realized.

  A cold chill crawled down Ruby’s spin, but she refused to let him know he frightened her. “Why do you taunt me so? I don’t know you sir.” It was true. He wasn’t her fiancé after all. Even with the scar across his face, she would’ve recognized him. “Are you related to Charles?”

  “Yes. We were cousins.”

  “I don’t understand. Why the animosity towards me?”

  “He died because of you.”

  The man was mad. She’d nothing to do with Charles dying. He’d been away at war. As a matter of fact, she’d tried to dissuade him from going in the first place.

  It was best to not argue with an obviously deranged person. Also, ridiculous to defend herself from such a ludicrous accusation.

  Ruby turned on her heel to return and had only managed one step before the man took her by the arm and swung her around.

  “He went to war because of you. To prove himself a man. To you and his idiotic family.” Tarvis’ lips twisted as he spoke. “He didn’t need to do that. I knew who he truly was. And he was perfect.”

  Realization dawned. She’d heard that sometimes men were attracted to other men. However, she’d never met someone who was. Then again, could it be that Charles and this man were...involved.

  “I don’t care to hear your senseless dribble sir. Release me immediately,” Ruby demanded. “Charles was a fine man, in that we agree.”

  When he took her other arm, she began to worry he planned to do her harm. “Release me. I have nothing more to say to you.”

  “You will hear me out. Charles...he was much too good for you. Look how soon you married. You’ve forgotten him already.”

  Annoyed and not wanting to discuss more with the man, Ruby purposely pretended to swoon swaying side to side. When the man’s grip loosened, she promptly kneed him in the private area.

  The startled man yelped and cupped between his legs with both hands.

  Knowing she had only a short bit of time before he would recover, Ruby dashed away to the back door of the kitchen.

  Chapter Ten

  “We’re brothers,” Pearson repeated to Trevor who’d yet to utter a single word. It wasn’t possible. Why did he feel so empty as if someone opened his chest and took everything, leaving only a void?

  He moved away from the bed on unsteady legs, gazes locked with the man on the bed. Someone spoke, but all he could hear was the thudding of his heart.

  “It’s not possible. I am sure you are not my brother.” He finally was able to speak, his own voice sounding utterly hollow. “I need fresh air.”

  Over the years in his profession Trevor had witnessed horrible and unimaginable things. Torn limbs, festering wounds, and injuries so horrendous it had caused him to get physically ill. Nothing had prepared him for the assault of emotion ravaging through him at the moment.

  As if drunk he weaved toward the covered wagon needing the privacy he’d only find there. There was nothing to be done at the moment, but to find a place to... What exactly he wasn’t sure. Grieve? Or perhaps come to grips that perhaps he’d finally met someone from his immediate family. The same family who’d abandoned and rejected him as a child.

  Just as he reached the wagon, he saw a woman racing away from the pens. He immediately recognized Ruby as she hurried away toward the back of the buildings where the kitchen was. She didn’t seem panicked. It was more as if she was in a hurry to get behind the buildings.

  He turned away from her to see what she rushed away from and saw a man. A soldier watching her, his arms to his sides with his gaze trained on her back.

  Whoever it was didn’t look familiar, but then again he was too far for Trevor to see clearly. Ruby disappeared behind the buildings and the soldier went back to his tasks.

  Why had she left their room? He’d specifically ordered her to remain there. More importantly, why was his wife rushing away from a man? There was no reason for her to have been out by the pens. The only explanation was that she
went there willingly.

  Did she know the man?

  Was the soldier the one who’d gifted her the handkerchief? It became impossible to control his emotions. Pounding temples made him squeeze his eyes shut and climb blindly into the back of the wagon.

  For a long while, he sat with his back to the wooden side looking straight ahead. It was quiet in there and peaceful. No one would think to come look for him there and it was precisely the right place to remain for the moment.

  When a wet drop plopped onto his hand it surprised him. Looking to the roof of the wagon, there didn’t seem to be any leakage. A tear trickled down his cheek and Trevor realized what had occurred.

  He’d not cried since waiting in the front room of the orphanage for his father to return. For an entire day he’d sat on a stool, refusing to eat or move while holding a tiny bundle he’d been left with. In it were an shirt, a crucifix and a faded note. The words scribbled on it were smeared.

  I can’t care for him.

  That was all his mother had thought to write. So careless and without emotion to not leave any kind of message for him. Not even his name or last name. He’d tried to tell them his name was Edward, but he couldn’t pronounce it properly. He was only three and not able to communicate effectively. For so long he’d been Trevor that he’d not thought of himself as Edward.

  Edward was someone no one wanted and no one would be tied to for long.

  Obviously Ruby already sought to find someone to replace him with. Was the man someone she’d known from back east? A man she’d loved. The man she’d given herself to?

  Trevor wanted to hit something, punch his fist repeatedly into something hard until his knuckles bled. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut forcing the rage inward.

  Outside the wind rustled through branches, the covering over the wagon vibrated and he fell over to his side not wishing to think while at the same time all kinds of scenarios raced through his mind.

  First he’d return to the infirmary and speak to his brother. Find out what he could about the past.

  Question after question came to mind until he pushed the heels of both hands against his eyes.

  In truth, Trevor didn’t care about what had happened to his parents. However, he was curious to know why Daniel had lived on the streets. Had he been abandoned?

  The issue with Ruby would have to wait. That his wife had decided to seek someone else should not have surprised him. Deep inside Trevor had expected that whomever he married would not remain, he was not the kind of person someone stood by.

  It had been folly to even try to form a family. It wasn’t like he knew the first thing about families, about normal life in a household.

  In his fantasies, he’d often dreamed of being a husband to a doting wife. There would be children of course that were loved openly and cherished. His children would never know the pain of abandonment and disillusion.

  A bitter chuckle erupted and Trevor shook his head. How stupid he’d been to try to make such a thing a reality. Like his mother, Ruby put up a good front but at the first opportunity had fled to another. That she hadn’t been a virgin should have given him an inkling.

  The story of a fiancé killed at war was probably a total fabrication.

  Voices sounded and he stilled. Two soldiers came to stand beside the wagon. Their conversation about duties and who’d do what next was light. It was obvious neither was overly burdened by much more than the cold weather, as they grumbled about how many hours they’d be forced to be outside.

  As the soldiers ambled off, Trevor realized he was quite cold himself. Although he did have protection from the wind and wore a thick jacket, the temperatures seemed to have dropped drastically.

  It was best to speak to Daniel, make plans for the man to come home with him to recover and alert Hank as well.

  As far as Ruby was concerned, he’d give her the option to remain there with her lover or return to town. However, either way he’d find a way to annul the marriage.

  He hated to ruin her reputation with claims of adultery, so instead he’d convince her to claim they were never intimate.

  No doubt she’d readily accept the offer as it would not work in her favor to be seen as an adulteress.

  For a few more minutes, he sat in the quiet of the wagon feeling like a simpering fool. Any man would be hard pressed to act as if all was normal given the situations he’d just faced.

  Finding a long lost family member and seeing his wife rushing from a lover was not an every day occurrence.

  He’d finally found his brother. It was supposed to be the day he’d often fantasized about. The many scenarios he’d thought of didn’t come close to how he felt at the moment.

  As much as he wanted to concentrate on what happened with Daniel, he couldn’t. Not with what happened between Ruby and some soldier. What she was doing, whatever it was, proved he’d been right all along. Women were not to be trusted. Ever.

  When Trevor entered the infirmary later that day, Daniel was sitting up and eating. By the slow deliberate way he ate, it was obvious he fought not to become sick. His brother’s gaze lifted to him as if instantly sensing his presence.

  There was a stirring in Trevor’s chest as he neared.

  “Strive to eat everything in the bowl. Once your stomach is filled, it will become easier to keep food down,” Trevor told him. He looked to the bandage on what was left of Daniel’s left arm. “Once you eat, we’ll wait a bit before changing your bandages.”

  Instead of eating, Daniel cleared his throat. “You have questions. I can see it in your eyes. I do as well.”

  There was no use in denying it. Trevor lowered to a chair. “Eat.” He wasn’t sure where to start, so he began at the question that stood out to him the most. “What happened after I was deposited at the orphanage?”

  “She was going to leave me there as well. But changed her mind at the last minute. I was confused and kept begging to go back and get you. Instead, she refused to speak about it.” Daniel took a tentative spoonful of soup and ate it slowly.

  He swallowed and continued. “After returning to the hovel we used to live in, she left me there. After two or three days, I am not sure how long exactly, Father showed up and told me she had been killed.”

  A whoosh of air left his lungs at hearing this. Had their mother left them because she was dying? Why had she not taken them to family or left both with their father?

  “Go on.”

  “He didn’t stay long. Gave me a few dollars and told me I could go to the orphanage or fend for myself. Said he was a wanted man and was most certainly going to be jailed.” Daniel looked straight ahead, his eyes locked forward as he saw everything in his mind’s eye.

  “Thankfully the proprietor kept me on. He let me live in a tiny room and in exchange I ran errands and such since the old man was barely able to walk. To eat, however, I had to make money or steal food.”

  “You had to be about six. How could he just leave you to fend for yourself?” Trevor was furious for his brother’s sake. “The bastard deserved to go to jail for that alone.”

  Daniel shrugged. “All in the past now.” His gaze was warm upon meeting Trevor’s. “And now I’ve found you.”

  “Doc, Thomas seems to be getting better. He just ate.” Hank looked from him to Daniel. “I think he’s finally coming around.”

  “It’s good timing. I’ve informed Captain Beauregard we are departing in two days.” Trevor stood, knowing he had another matter to deal with. “Daniel, you are returning to Angel Creek with me to recover. I refuse to take no for an answer.”

  His brother’s lips quivered, whether because he was emotional or fought not to smile, Trevor wasn’t sure. “Suits me fine. Perhaps, I can find work there and begin anew. Being cattle ranching is not in my future, I’ll sell my land.”

  By Hank’s wide grin, he was ready to return home as well. “I’ve been meaning to ask when we were returning. It’ll be good to see my Ma and Pa.”

  “And Beatrice?�
� Trevor kidded the young man whose face turned an alarming shade of red.

  It was nice to have a moment of lightness given what he faced in a few minutes when he confronted his wife.

  Chapter Eleven

  Corporal Smith and the other soldier were too busy preparing the next meal to pay her much attention. Ruby remained in the back corner of the kitchen mixing the ingredients for dinner rolls while attempting to keep from crying. How horrible a situation to have found out the man out at the pigpen hated her so much and blamed her for Charles’ death. Her hand trembled as she lifted her arm to use it to move hair away from her face.

  “Keep that up and you’ll have flour all over your face.” Cookie had materialized without her noticing. “I hear you’ll be leaving us in a couple days.”

  “Trevor informed me, yes.” Ruby smiled at him. “I must confess, I will miss you and Corporal Smith. I’ve become used to spending time with the both of you.”

  The older man’s face softened. “Is that what has you so somber?” It was pleasing to find that beneath the hardened exterior, was a caring person.

  Of course a tear instantly slid down her cheek. “No,” Ruby whispered. “Someone from my past happens to be here. He hates me.” She darted a look to where the two soldiers continued conversing as they prepared the food.

  Cookie shook his head. “There’s always someone who doesn’t like us Ruby. It would be impossible to live a good life if we try to make everyone happy.”

  Ruby leaned toward him. “He is a cousin to the man I was engaged to and blames me for his death. Claims it was because of me he went to war. Quite the opposite, I begged him not to go.”

  A ragged sigh escaped at the guilt assailing her. “I don’t believe he has full control of his mental faculties. He’d deposited a handkerchief that I’d gifted to my fiancé in my room, wrapped like a gift. It scared me horribly. I thought perhaps my fiancé was alive. To make matters worse, I haven’t shared any of this with my husband.”