Z
ach folded his coat around his extra change of clothing, then swept the small pile of his personal belongings off the bedside table and stowed them in one pocket. His supper tray still sat on the table, a silent reminder of all that had passed between him and Kate last night before she fled the room. In all the time he had been here, she had never once left his tray until morning. Her doing so now was testimony to how badly his proposal of marriage had rattled her.
As he started to roll the sheepskin, his fingertips grazed a rough spot, and he paused to examine two puncture holes. Fang marks. Those horrible moments down inside the well rushed back to him with harsh clarity.
Thanks to his damned mouth, things were in a dandy fix. If he'd had a lick of sense, he would have eased off Kate last night. But he'd kept pressing. And she'd fought back the only way she could.
Now what? He had no choice but to leave. But how would he explain to Miranda that he couldn't come back?
Zach sank onto the edge of the bed and cradled his head in his hands. He could apologize to Kate. Not that it would do much good. Once a man admitted his feelings to a woman, it either drew them together or wedged them apart.
He sighed and rubbed his temples. Then a strange sound made him look up. Voices. He turned his head to listen.
A man, and from the sound of it, he was fit to be tied.
Zach stood and moved slowly into the hall. The voices became clearer. He heard Kate cry, "That's preposterous!"
Then the man roared, "You're acting like a Jezebel. Everybody in town is talking."
It sounded as if Kate had her hands full. Zach strode along the hall, acutely aware of how weak he still was.
Nothing like going to a gunfight armed with a slingshot
. When he reached the foyer, he paused. Maybe he'd get lucky and the guy would stand five foot three and weigh no more than a hundred pounds. With that thought to bolster him, he opened the door.
There was no God in heaven.
The man who stood at the bottom of the steps was a strapping six feet if he was an inch. Even in a serge double-breasted sack suit, he looked broad across the shoulders, narrow of hip, and powerfully muscled. At six five, Zach was seldom intimidated by another man's size. But then his legs didn't usually feel as limp as wet straw, either.
The man's fedora hat, made of gray felt to match his jacket and neatly creased trousers, sat crookedly on his head, the dip of the crown angled over his temple instead of his brow. He didn't pause in his ranting when Zach stepped out onto the porch.
"I told you once, and I'll tell you again, I won't stand by and watch you ruin that child. I can't force you to marry me. But I can get custody of the girl. And that's exactly what I'll do if you won't listen to reason."
Kate stood resolutely on the top step, looking small, defenseless, and totally unnerved. Not that Zach blamed her.
As far as he could tell, the man hadn't made any threatening moves toward her, but his blue eyes glittered with rage. Leaning a shoulder against the porch post, Zach folded his arms, not at all certain it was his place to interfere.
The man's voice rang a bell. He frowned slightly. Then a vague memory came flooding back. A dream? Surely it had been a dream, conjured during his delirium.
"Who, may I ask, is this?" the fellow demanded to know and gestured toward Zach.
Kate's voice rang as shrilly as chiming crystal. "This is the neighbor I mentioned the last time you were here. Mr.
McGovern, the man who was bitten by rattlers while rescuing Miranda from the well." She glanced at Zach. "Mr.
McGovern, my brother-in-law, Ryan Blakely."
Zach inclined his head. As if from nowhere, memories popped into his mind.
I should beat you.
Then other words filtered in. Insane, all of it. Kate's body, weeping with lust? He'd happily await the moment, but he wouldn't hold his breath. If ever he'd met a woman with too much starch in her bloomers, Kate was it.
Knotting his hands into fists, Blakely moved up a level on the steps. Zach pushed erect. Weak or not, he'd have to take over if the stupid ass got any closer.
"So the rumors are true? He's still staying here? I can't believe it. Have you no sense of shame?"
Two bright spots of color flagged Kate's cheeks. "He's been ill, Ryan. Surely you can see that. Why, he can scarcely walk!"
Oh, joy… Nothing like having his handicaps pointed out to his opponent right before a scuffle. Zach shot Kate a look. She didn't intercept it.
"Tell him how weak you still are, Zachariah. He thinks— Well, it's obvious what he thinks." She finally met his gaze, hers filled with appeal. "Say something, won't you? Tell him his accusations are groundless."
Zach shifted his gaze to Blakely's fists. Women. Sometimes, he didn't think they had the brains God gave a gnat.
"I've been in better shape," he offered.
"Better shape?" she wailed. "You can barely stand." She lifted her hands. "Ryan thinks we've been—that I've—
that you and I have—" She broke off and blinked. "The very idea is outlandish."
Zach met Blakely's gaze. Possessiveness shone in the other man's eyes. They slowly assessed one another.
Blakely straightened his shoulders and tightened the muscles across his chest. After so many weeks in bed, Zach was none too sure he had any muscle left to flex.
Kate made an exasperated little sound. "Zachariah? Say something! Tell him nothing indecent has occurred between us, that we haven't even entertained the notion!"
Maybe Kate had never entertained the thought. Zach had. On more occasions than he cared to count. And he felt fairly certain Blakely knew it. "You heard the lady."
Clearly frustrated by his lack of support, Kate cried, "That's all you can say in my defense?"
"A lady doesn't need defending. Her word should be enough." Zach glanced at Kate, then back at Blakely. "And a finer lady I've never met."
Blakely curled his lip and shook his fist. "You'd better think over what I've said! I won't turn my head and ignore this! I'll take that child away from you, as God is my witness."
Kate flinched. Zach stepped closer. "It might be a good idea if you calmed down a hair, Mr. Blakely."
Nosy came running out onto the porch, lip snarled, teeth bared. As much as Zach could have used some reinforcements, he didn't want the dog getting hurt, and ordered him to sit. The animal growled, but dropped obediently to his haunches. Zach glanced toward the open doorway, hoping Miranda wasn't hiding nearby and overhearing all this.
"And you!" Blakely cried, leveling a finger at Zach. "She's got you fooled. A lady? It amazes me how blind all you people can be."
Seeing as how he had just implied that the entire town was gossiping about Kate, Zach found that observation interesting. Clearly not everyone believed the worst of her.
"Well, you can't fool me." As Blakely spoke, he thumped his chest. "I know what kind of woman you really are.
Just like I know what really happened to my brother. People will laugh out the other side of their faces when I find proof! And so help me, I will. If I have to dig up every square inch of this property!"
Kate's face went bloodless. If it hadn't been for the fact that he could see how upset she was, Zach would have laughed. What was this lunatic accusing her of, anyway?
He couldn't stand by and let this continue. "What the hell are you saying, mister?"
"I think that's obvious!" he retorted.
"Damned right, and I'll tell you something else that's obvious. You're crazier than a coot." Zach gave Kate a measuring glance. "She couldn't kill a man if she tried. Even if she had it in her, which she sure as hell doesn't, she isn't big enough to do it."
Blakely snorted. "Naturally, you'd defend her. As far as I know, you might have helped her hide his body." To Kate, he said, "Is this the kind of sterling character you allow to be around your child? Language suitable only for a barroom, I swear. And you standing there, allowing it to go on."
Zach agreed; this had definitely gone on long enough. He moved down a step and placed himself in front of Kate.
She touched his sleeve, a silent warning to keep his temper, he felt sure. As if he needed one. Getting his ass kicked wasn't exactly high on his list.
"I think maybe you'd better make dust, Blakely."
Blakely jabbed a finger at Zach's nose. "You'll burn in hell for lusting after that little whore. Mark my words."
That cut it. Zach planted a fist square in the man's mouth. Blakely toppled like felled timber, landed flat on his back, and then just lay there for a moment, staring blankly at the sky.
"Oh, dear God!" Kate cried as she hurried to join Zach on the lower step. "Oh, dear God, Zachariah, look what you've done!"
Zach rubbed his knuckles, feeling unaccountably proud of himself. Just look, indeed. Not half bad for a man who could scarcely walk.
Blakely regained his senses and rolled to his feet. Spitting blood and dirt, he dusted wildly at his pants, clearly beside himself with rage. Nudging Kate aside, Zach braced himself for a charge, knowing full well that he couldn't hold his own if Blakely came at him.
"That's it!" Blakely fumed. "That does it, Kate! I'll be back, next time with the sheriff. I'll find Joseph's body, or die trying, and with the law on my side, you won't be able to stop me."
Kate clutched Zach's arm. In a frantic voice, she cried, "I could lose Miranda if he starts stirring trouble. Oh, Zachariah, what have you done? I've no way to prove he's lying."
Even though Zach couldn't imagine anyone's listening to such craziness, he couldn't discount Kate's terror. By striking Blakely, he supposed he had tossed fuel on the fire. Still, the thought of backing down didn't sit well.
Blakely had called her a whore, and where Zach came from, words like that got shoved back down a man's throat.
"You'll rue this day!" Blakely scrambled for his hat.
"Apologize," Kate pleaded.
"Apologize?" Zach gaped at her. "The son of a—" He broke off. "He called you a—"
"Just apologize, please. Oh, please, Zachariah."
"Damn it to hell," he said under his breath. "And I get accused of having a filthy mouth? I can't believe this."
He watched Blakely stumble in the direction of his horse. Kate tugged frantically on his sleeve. Zach swallowed.
Apologize? He'd be damned if he would. She tugged again. He refused to look at her. He knew if he did, he'd lose his resolve.
"Zachariah…" she wailed.
Zach finally turned to look at her. She looked back at him through sparkling pools of tears.
"Please?"
He heaved a disgusted sigh. "Hey, Blakely?"
The man whirled.
"I sort of lost my temper there for a minute." That was sure as hell the truth.
"There'll be more than tempers lost around here!" Ryan sputtered. "We'll see how quick you are to throw punches with the sheriff standing by."
"Why bring the law into it? We're all reasonable adults." Zach clenched his teeth on that. "Kate's got nothing to hide. You can dig to your heart's content."
"You've got that right!" he cried, emphasizing each word with a jab of his finger. "And I will. The likes of you certainly won't stop me. My brother's whoring wife is going to pay for what she's done."
This second slur on Kate's character heated Zach's blood all over again, but out of regard for her, not to mention his trembling legs, he didn't run down the steps to deck the crazy bastard. Instead he resorted to sarcasm.
"Well, don't talk it to death. Start digging! To plant a man, a little gal like Kate'd have to find an easy spot to shovel." Assuming a thoughtful frown, Zach glanced around the farm. "That narrows the possibilities considerably. The vegetable garden, maybe? The earth's well-turned there. Or why not try the rose garden? That'd be easy digging."
Kate gasped. Zach took one look at her and grabbed her arm to steady her, afraid she might faint.
His blue eyes glinting maniacally, Blakely threw a disgusted glance at the flower bed. "As if you'd point me in the right direction!"
With that, he staggered the remainder of the way to his buckskin horse. After one false try, he dragged himself up onto the saddle. Wheeling his mount, he cried, "I'll be back. Next time with digging implements!"
"I'd say. If you think I'll let her lend you a shovel, think again!" Zach retorted. As Blakely rode off, sending up a cloud of dust behind him, he whispered, "Crazy bastard." He turned toward Kate, concerned by her chalky pallor.
"Come on. Let's get you inside."
"Why couldn't you simply apologize?" she cried.
"Because I would have choked on it."
"You've no idea what you've done!"
"I know what I didn't do. I should've knocked his teeth down his throat."
As if in a daze, she allowed him to lead her up the steps and into the house. Zach aimed for the kitchen. After seating her on a chair, he stepped to the sink and pumped her a glass of water. When he turned around, he saw she had her hands cupped over her face and was shaking violently.