Chase the Wind (63 page)

Grace’s cabin was empty when she got back. The fire in the stove
had been banked, and Jenny threw a few pieces of kindling in to
get the flames going. When the fire had kicked up, she laid the
blade in the coals, and unbuttoned her shirt. There was a wooden spoon on the counter. She tested the strength of if by striking it against the counter, and then satisfied, put it in her mouth, placing the handle firmly between her teeth. The blade of the knife was
glowing red when she pulled it from the flames, and she took a
deep breath as she pulled her camisole down away from the R M
that was scrawled across her left breast. She laid the hot metal of
the blade over the scar, obliterating the detested initials as it burned
her skin. The pain made her stagger back, and she bit down hard
on the spoon, crashing against a chair and falling backwards on the floor of the cabin, the blade still gripped in her hand. Tears
stung her eyes as her nerve endings screamed, and blood began to seep down her breast. She spit the spoon out, the handle mangled
by her teeth, and drew in a long, ragged breath. Jenny heard Grace’s
light footsteps on the porch and tried to sit up, but only succeeded
in knocking the chair over.

Grace opened the door of the cabin and was immediately assaulted by the smell of burning flesh. “Oh my God, Jenny, what happened?” She was on the floor next to her at once, but Jenny
pushed her away and scooted back until she was sitting against the
wall. “What did you do?”

“Is it gone?” Jenny asked, afraid to look.

Grace looked at her with shocked eyes, her mouth agape as the
reality of what Jenny had done hit her. Chase’s knife was still
gripped tightly in her hand, and Grace gently pried her fingers from
the handle before she could do any more damage.

“Is it gone?” Jenny asked again, her head thrown back against
the wall as she fought the pain. Grace filled a bowl with water and
came back with a soft cloth. She laid the cold cloth on the burn,
and Jenny tensed in pain.

“I think it’s gone. Yes, I believe it is.” Grace sat back on her heels
as Jenny began to laugh. Grace began to have serious doubts as to her sanity while Jenny laughed through the tears that were flowing
down her cheeks.

“We can start clean now,” Jenny tried to explain. “Don’t you see,
it’s a clean slate.”

Grace smiled and gave her a hug, while trying to avoid the
burned flesh of her breast. Jenny grimaced in pain again when she
put her arms up. “How long do you think it will take for this to
heal?”

“I believe it’s already started.” Grace pulled Jenny to her feet and
settled her into a chair to put some salve on her burn, along with
a thick padding. They had just changed her shirt and set the other
to soaking when they heard rapid hoof beats outside.

Chase kicked the door of the cabin open so hard that it bounced
against the back wall before it slammed shut behind him. His face
was a mixture of fear and anger as his eyes settled on Jenny, who was sitting sedately at the table with her hands folded, his knife lying in front of her. He snatched it up and returned it to its sheath
before he placed his palms on the table and leaned over.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

Grace began to busy herself at the stove with the beginning of
dinner.

“Did you take my knife?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I needed it.”

“For what?”

“It’s personal.”

“You could have asked.”

“You would have said no.”

“Why did you need it?”

“Like I said, it’s personal.
”

Chase slammed his fist against the table in anger, which startled
Grace, who let out a little gasp. He swung his head around and
gave her a look that told her she would be better off leaving, but
she just smiled at him and went back to her work. “Damn it, Jenny,
what are you doing with my knife?”

“It was my father’s knife before it was yours, and like I said, it’s
personal.”

“I need some answers,” he bellowed.

“Be patient and you’ll get them!” she screamed back. Chase
straightened up and looked down his nose at her, but she didn’t
budge, just stared back with eyes that never wavered. Chase turned
on his heel and left, muttering under his breath about Duncans, and stubborn Scots, and how the wrong person wound up with
the red hair.

Chapter Thirty-two

Cat decided that planning a wedding was something she was born to do and took over all the preparations. Jenny and Chase wanted
something small and simple, with just their friends, but by the time
Cat was done, the whole town was invited. Chase agreed to a
church wedding because it meant so much to Jenny, and Jenny let Cat have her way because she knew it was a gesture on Cat’s part
to make up for all the misery she had caused. Finally, on a Sunday
afternoon in late October, the time arrived.

Jason was in the cabin making sure all was in readiness for the
couple to start their life together after the ceremony in town and the reception at the main house afterwards. The comer cupboard was full of dishes from his own kitchen, and a small table sat in
the opposite comer by the window. While the fireplace was good for warmth, it was a bit impractical for cooking, so they would continue to take their meals with the rest of the hands at Grace’s cabin until they could add on a room that would hold a stove and
sink. In front of the fireplace were two mismatched wingback
chairs that had been delegated to the attic when Cat’s mother had decorated the big house, along with an Oriental rug that had a hole
burned in one corner. The other end of the cabin was filled with
the big bed and wardrobe that had been Jenny’s when she first
arrived at the ranch. The cabin was nearly twice the size of the
room the bed had been taken from, but the bed it still seemed to overwhelm it, the fine mahogany finish of the wood at odds with the rough planks of the walls. The windows were covered with
white curtains, the fire was ready to be lit, a bouquet of fall foliage
brightened the table, and everything seemed to be in readiness for the happy couple’s wedding night. Jason shook his head at the big
bed, but it had been Cat’s idea, and he couldn’t see a reason not
to go along with it. It was covered with snowy white linens, a thick
bedspread and a quilt folded at the bottom in case they got cold.

“I don’t think they’ll have any need for this,” Jason said to himself
as he ran his fingers over the quilt. Something about it tugged at his mind, and he flipped the fold over to see more of the pattern.
His fingertips traced the blue of the interlocking rings, noticing the
worn threads and the few stains that had not come out after Grace had washed it. Jason recognized it as the quilt they had brought
Jenny out of the house in, the quilt that had belonged to her
mother, but there was something else about it. He lifted a comer
to turn to the backing, and was interrupted by the sound of boots
on the stoop.

“Something to keep their strength up,” Zane said as he placed a basket of food on the table. “Grace packed enough provisions to
keep them holed up for a week.” He pulled some candles out of
his pocket, along with some mismatched candlesticks. “This was my idea.” Jason laughed as he watched Zane arrange the candles
on the mantel and one on the bedside table next to the carved
angel box. “It’s not the hotel, but it will do.” He smiled in satisfac
tion.

Caleb stuck his head in the door. “Do you think it would be all right if I left my present for Chase and Jenny here?”

“I don’t think they would mind,” Jason said.

Caleb laid a package tied with string on the table. “It’s a picture of the three of them,” he explained a bit self-consciously.

“I’m sure they will love it.”

“I put it in a frame, too.”

Jason put a fatherly arm around Caleb as they went out of the cabin. Ty had already driven the women to church, and the men
were waiting for Chase and Jamie to finish dressing. Chase was
having trouble with his tie, and they had gotten tired of watchin
him do it over and over again. They all applauded when he made his appearance in his black suit and white shirt, and couldn’t resist teasing him about second thoughts and last-minute nerves. They rode to the church in high spirits, Zane filling Chase’s head with his proven techniques on making a woman happy, and Jamie threatening him every few minutes if he messed up.

“Here they come.” Cat was watching from the window of the schoolhouse next to the church. Jenny tried to look over her shoulder, but Cat pushed her back. “It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony.”

“I think we’ve had more than our share of bad luck. It’s time for some good.” Jenny swished away from the window.

“Don’t you worry, darling. You’ve got nothing but good in front of you,” Grace assured her. “Now let me fix your hair.”

“I don’t think I have any hair left.” Jenny sighed as Grace pushed her down into a chair while Cat held her skirt up to keep her from wrinkling the fine fabric.

Cat and Grace had fussed over her hair and dress all morning until Jenny felt as if she would scream, but she patiently bore it all, knowing that it gave them pleasure to do so. They had pulled her hair up on top of her head and left a few soft tendrils down that danced along the back of her neck where a soft blue ribbon was woven among the strands. Her dress was white, as they had insisted, with a high neck and long sleeves and a series of ruffles over a multitude of petticoats. She wore pearl earrings that Jason had given her, and carried a lace handkerchief that was a present from Grace. “Something old,” Grace had said when she pressed it into Jenny’s hand, explaining that it had belonged to her grandmother.

A rap at the door announced Jamie’s presence, and Jenny rose from her chair as Cat let him in. The two women arranged Jenny’s skirts one last time and gave Jenny’s cheek a kiss for luck before they left, leaving her alone for a minute with her brother.

“Wow,” he said as he grinned at her. “You clean up pretty good.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” He was wearing a new brown suit, along with shiny new boots, and had a fresh haircut that did nothing to stop the mass from flopping down over his eyes. Jenny reached her hand up to smooth it back, and he took it in his own, bringing it to his lips. His eyes brimmed over as he softly kissed it.

“You are so beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Jenny looked down, her own eyes becoming moist.
“I wish Dad and Momma could be here.”

“They are, they’re watching.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do, and I know they’re happy.”

“I am. I love Chase so much.”

“And he loves you.” Jamie placed her hand in the crook of his
arm. “Let’s go get married.”

Jamie led her out of the schoolhouse to where Grace and Cat were waiting to help carry her skirts, and soon they were on the steps of the church, waiting for the organ music to start the procession. The doors opened, Grace went down the aisle, followed
by Cat, and Jenny took a deep breath as everyone stood. In the
front of the church she saw Jason standing at the podium. As they
stepped through the door, Jamie ducked his head under the frame,
and then Jenny saw Chase step into the aisle, looking very civilized
in his suit, but still savage with his long dark hair flowing down
his back. She did not remember how she got to the front of the
church. She just knew she was now standing next to him, her hand in his, and words were being spoken to which she answered. When
she looked down, her mother’s carved silver wedding band was
being slipped on her finger. She looked up at Chase in surprise
and saw Jamie grinning at her over his shoulder.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Jason said with a smile,
and Chase bent to kiss her. The world stopped spinning as their
lips touched.

“Will you two settle down?” Jamie whispered as Jason loudly cleared his throat. The church broke into happy applause as Jenny
and Chase looked around, blinking like owls. A moment later, they
managed to find their way down the aisle and out the door.