Always a Lady (4 page)

"Is that scar on your face the only one? Mind you, it's hardly noticeable. Especially on a woman built as fine as you, honey."

"I don't think it's any of your damned business," Lily shouted, and slammed the door behind her.

She couldn't believe she'd just done that. She'd lost her temper and composure in a heartbeat. It wasn't like her to be so unladylike. She was still shaking from shock and anger when Case stormed into the kitchen.

"What the hell did Lane Turney want up here?"

Case had been on his way to the house to make a phone call when he'd seen his hired hand leaving the yard and Lily making a hasty exit from the porch into the house. The streak of anger that had swept over him at the sight of her consorting with one of his men spurred his angry question.

Lily spun around, fury in her every gesture at the manner in which he'd asked. He acted as if she'd invited the man to linger about and shirk his work.

"For starters," Lily said quietly, anger turning the green in her eyes to a dark jade, "he wanted to know if I had scars anywhere else on my body besides my face."

Case sucked in his breath. The hurt in her voice tugged at his heart and conscience. It was not what he'd expected her to say, and he wished that he had counted to ten before he'd opened his mouth. He knew how he'd sounded, and he knew he was wrong. But it was too late to take back what had already been said. Before he could apologize, Lily stunned him as she continued.

"I'll tell you, like I told him. It's nobody's damned business. I cook. I don't fraternize. I don't want to. I hope I've made myself abundantly clear."

Case watched her gathering her wits about her like a queen. She straightened to full height, tilted her head back until the scarred portion of her face was in plain sight, and dared him to make another remark.

"I'm sorry, Lily," Case said quietly. "And I can promise that won't happen again. I'll talk to the man myself."

He walked out of the door with purpose in his step and left Lily standing in the middle of the kitchen. He was going to tear a strip off of Lane Turney. And then he thought, who's going to tear a strip off of me? He deserved it and he knew it. Case wouldn't admit, even to himself, that the feeling he'd experienced was jealousy, not concern that his hired hand was shirking his assigned work.

Lily watched the door slam shut and turned away from the gust of wind that came with it. The wind was hot, an echo of her emotions. She tried to take a deep, calming breath, but when it came out, it sounded more like a sob. A strand of hair fell across her eyes, and she lifted her hand up to tuck in back in place. As she did, her fingers grazed across the tender area on her cheek, down the slow-healing gash. She began to shake. The kitchen walls began to close in on her. The hallway leading toward her bedroom beckoned. Solitude! It was just what she needed.

Tears welled. She squeezed her eyes shut, fiercely trying to block out the pain of Lane's question and Case's angry accusation. It didn't work. For the first time since her accident and her fiancé’s betrayal, she wished she'd just gone home and let her father and brothers take care of her world. Right now, she didn't think she was able to do it herself.

She staggered down the hallway to her room and fell onto the bed. The inviting homespun decor did not soothe her spirit, nor give her any feelings of comfort. It was nothing more than a place to hide. She buried her face in the curve of one arm, clutched the coverlet with her fingers and let out the pain.

It was then she cried. At first there were tears, silent, swift, and sudden. But then came the sobs that deepened into gut-wrenching painful gasps for air.

She cried for the unjustness of life that had changed her world from happy and safe into life-threatening and pain. She cried for the loss of a love that had obviously never been true. She cried for the comfort of her family's arms that were too far away to help. And she cried because if Todd had been the man she'd imagined, today would have been her wedding day.

And then she was lifted from her bed, gathered against a wall of muscle, a fiercely beating heart and strong arms and gentle hands that held her tight and kept her from flying apart.

Lily was too far gone to realize she was being held and, when she did, too distraught to care. All she could concentrate on was the comfort she was receiving and the knowledge that for a moment, someone made the hurt lessen.

The sound of her crying had pulled him down the hall. And when he'd stepped into her room, it had pulled him apart, a piece at a time. The heart-rending sound of her pain was overwhelming. He'd never been so helpless and so furious all at the same time, knowing that he was partially to blame. Dear God, but he wanted to take away her hurt. He wrapped his arms around her trembling body and cradled her gently, whispering softly against her ear as he bore the brunt of her weight against his chest.

Damn but she's soft! And there isn't a curve out of place on this lady. She feels just about perfect in my arms.

His wandering thoughts startled him. He had no business letting his imagination run riot like this. It didn't seem right to be enjoying this when she was so unhappy.

"Stop," Case begged, as he held Lily's shaking body in his arms. "Please, Lily. Stop crying. You're going to make yourself sick. I'm sorry. I swear to God I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and as for Lane, it'll never happen again."

The quiet strength of his voice soaked and soothed her hysteria. Her sobs lessened, her shaking quieted, and the tears fell slower until they finally ceased to exist. The arms holding her loosened gently, and Lily felt her face tilted upward. She opened her eyes into a blaze of blue and tried to turn away, suddenly reminded of the view Case Longren had of her.

"Don't turn away from me, Lily," he whispered. He cupped her face in his hands, caressing the tender curve of her cheeks with rough, callused palms as he wiped away the last of her tears with his thumbs. "Talk to me about this."

The soft, gentle manner in which he traced her face lessened the embarrassment Lily felt as he touched her so intimately.

But then she shrugged out of his arms, shocked at the way she'd clung to him only moments before. She turned away in confusion.

Case watched her wrap her arms around herself and knew that she was gathering strength to continue. She was some lady, his cook.

"There's nothing much to talk about," Lily finally answered. She turned to face him and stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide their tremble. "I went to a bridal shower. I started home and a drunk driver changed the shape of my face . . . and my life . . . forever. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Her words were angry and defensive. Case ached for her.

"Is that why you wanted this job? Because your life took such a drastic change? Or are you hiding from your life by coming halfway across the country to take a job you're obviously overqualified for."

"This job, as you call it, is little more than what I did for the last twelve years of my life before I finally moved away from home. My mother died when I was thirteen. I became chief cook and bottle washer for my father and four older brothers. They all had jobs and I didn't. Feeding them became my job. In the beginning, I wasn't very good at it, but I got better. Daddy let me falter and helped me along the way. My brothers never complained about my failures. It took me several years to realize that they'd given me that job to help me get through the emptiness I felt when my mother died."

"Is that where you were living when you had your accident?" Case asked.

Lily hesitated. Now it got sticky, and she wasn't certain how much of her private life she felt like revealing.

"No, I was living in L.A., remember? I grew up outside of Laguna Beach."

Case felt her reticence. There was more; he could tell.

"So what did you do in L.A.? Surely you weren't a cook?"

"I worked as a legal secretary in a law firm."

Case watched the pain growing as her lips tightened and the fury in her eyes turned them back to that darker shade of jade he'd noticed was a signal of her anger.

"And . . ." he coaxed.

"And I had my accident, and I left to come out here," she answered.

It was too pat and too quick.

"And there was no one in L.A. who tried to stop you? Surely you had friends, Lily. Couldn't you go back to your old job?"

Anger exploded, surprising Lily as much as it did Case.

"My fiancé wanted his ring back because he didn't want to walk down the aisle with a bride who had a face like this. I couldn't go back and work in the same office with a man who hated the sight of me, now could I?"

Case grabbed her hand as she gestured angrily toward her face. His eyes narrowed until they were mere slits of blue.

"Are you telling me that a man who claimed to love you wouldn't marry you because of that little scratch on your face?"

Little scratch!

She caught her breath and blinked back a fresh set of tears. She'd be damned if she cried in front of this man again.

"Well, Lily Brownfield, if you ask me, which you didn't, I'll tell you one damned thing is obvious as hell. You're the luckiest woman alive that the bastard dumped you because he doesn't deserve the ground you walk on."

Lily stared. She couldn't help herself. Case was furious, and if man could have breathed fire, she'd have sworn she saw smoke pouring from his nostrils.

"Well," she muttered in shock and embarrassment. "Thank you . . . I think."

"You're damned well welcome," Case snarled. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I think I'll probably be just fine. All in all, I think I'd rather be feeding your crew today than having a wedding anyway."

Case's silence was deafening.

"Today was to have been your wedding day?" he asked quietly.

Lily nodded, afraid that speaking would call back the pain.

"If you'll excuse me," Lily finally said, walking quickly past him. "I've got to get busy or dinner will be raw. But the way the men eat, I doubt they'd notice."

She was nearly running by the time she got to the kitchen. Case walked out right behind her and through the kitchen door before she had time to take another breath. She watched the stiff thrust of his shoulder as he pushed his way through the opening and shuddered as he slammed the door so hard behind him that the glass rattled in its frame.

She heard him start a litany of curses that lingered in her head and heart long after she'd lost sight and sound of her boss. It did her soul a tiny bit of good to think that someone besides herself damned the ground Todd Collins walked on.

A couple of hours later, the men entered in their usual boisterous fashion and Lily's attention was claimed by the hustle and bustle of feeding the starving crew. Case was in and out so quickly Lily wouldn't have even noticed were it not for the fact that he asked for some aluminum foil with which to wrap his food.

"I want to take this with me or I'll have to skip the meal altogether," Case said. "Fix one for Duff, too. We need to go check on a herd of cattle on the back forty and see if we missed any weaning calves. I don't want to have to repeat this job at a later date."

Lily wouldn't look him in the eye. She quickly prepared the sandwiches and wished she'd kept her mouth shut. At least when no one had known, they hadn't had to feel sorry for her.

"Lily," he ordered softly so that none of the other men could hear, "don't ever turn your face away from anyone again. Do you hear me?"

Lily glared. He had no right.

Case glared back. He didn't know what it was going to take, but before she left, he'd see a smile in her eyes as well as on that sexy mouth, or he'd die trying.

"Oh," he said as he started out the door, "tomorrow is Saturday. After breakfast, just leave the fixings for sandwiches or the like. Make up a list of what you'll need for the coming week, and I'll have someone take you into Clinton to shop. Buy what you need. I trust your judgment. I have an open account at the supermarket. Just tell them you work for Longren. They'll know what to do."

Lily nodded and watched him disappear with the sandwiches. In spite of the remaining men and the constant noise, the room felt empty. Lily bit her bottom lip and turned away from the window. She wouldn't stand like some love-starved pup and watch him walk away. She had no intention of ever putting her faith and trust in a man again, no matter how kind he pretended to be.

Just after breakfast Lane Turney appeared at the back door with his hat in hand and a soulful expression on his face.

"Miss Lily," he said, looking everywhere but at her, "I'm to take you to town to do the shopping just as soon as you're ready."

Lane held his breath, hoping that she wouldn't challenge him and refuse to go. He'd overheard Case's orders yesterday and wanted this chance to make time with the fancy cook. He'd been mad as hell yesterday when the boss had jumped all over him for coming to the house. Where did the boss get off telling him what woman he could and couldn't see? And Lane didn't care if she did have a gash down the side of her face. Her beauty almost made up for it, and her body damned sure did. He'd heard Case tell Duff to take her to town within the hour. If his luck held, they'd be gone before Duff ever made it to the main house.

Lily was confused. She knew that Case had been very angry with the way Lane had talked to her yesterday. She couldn't imagine his expecting her to ride all the way into town with a man who'd insulted her. She stared long and hard at Lane, watching his downcast manner and refusal to meet her eyes and decided that Case must have given him quite a downdressing.

Lane realized that he'd better do some fast talking or he wouldn't get to first base with this one. He shuffled his feet childishly and mumbled, "I'm real sorry about yesterday, miss. I didn't mean nothin' by what I said. I'm not too good with words, but I meant to pay you a compliment, not hurt your feelings."

When she didn't speak, he ventured a quick glance up and caught a quiet, watchful expression on her face.