Harnessed Passions (32 page)

"I still don't understand why this Sharon
would blame Julia for her sister's death?"

"I think it may have just been an outburst
at the time. Grief and pain I suppose, perhaps a way of getting
attention and sympathy. I really don't know. When we saw her at the
cemetery, Sharon swore she no longer blamed Julia for what had
happened. She said she'd grown up and realized Heather's death was
an accident. She told Julia she was taking over her family's land
and had arrived in Mayfield the day of Victor's funeral.”

“
Arrived? From
where?”

“
Heather’s family moved
away after her funeral. Her parents went to New York; stories were
that Sharon was sent to a special school after they moved. She said
she had decided to reclaim her parents’ land and claims to have
dropped by during your wedding, just to say hello."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"I'm not," the older woman admitted, sipping
on the red liquor. "I still remember her shouting at Julia the day
Heather was buried. She accused her of being a cold-blooded killer.
Julia was in a state of depression for months afterward. Julia
never forgot the pain of losing her best friend. Sharon Farnsworth
is a deceitful, hateful tramp. I don't trust her and I never
will."

"Do you think she still blames Julia?
Perhaps enough to attack her and try drowning her?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to accuse her of
anything so despicable. I wouldn't doubt she'd try and scare Julia,
perhaps cause her to have an accident, but to do it herself? I
don't think she has the guts for it."

Daniel sat back on the sofa staring off into
space. On top of worrying about Julia, he now felt he had to
concern himself with a woman he had never met; a woman who may very
well have a motive for wanting his wife dead.

The silence of the room was broken when
Thompson knocked softly on the door. Daniel watched the older man
come into the room, a look of stern disapproval on his otherwise
emotionless features. He cleared his throat as he began to explain
his interruption.

"I beg yer pardon, sir," he began, his deep
Kentucky drawl revealing his heritage. "But Miss Farnsworth is here
to see ya."

"Who?" Daniel asked, wondering if the ghost
of Heather had come by to pay a visit.

"Sharon Farnsworth, sir. She asks to see
ya."

"What does she want?" Louise snapped,
glaring at the older man as though he had sprouted two heads with a
fork tongue in each.

"I'll take care of this Louise," Daniel
insisted softly. He stood and straightened his jacket and shirt the
best he could, suddenly regretting the neglect of his appearance
and the growth of hair growing across his chin and upper lip.
"Please show our guest in." Thompson grunted low and soft, but did
as ordered, returning a few moments later with the woman, ushering
her through the library door.

Sharon was dressed in a soft velvet gown of
dark green, with an unfashionably low cut bodice that revealed the
swell of breasts and a tight fitted waistline. She smelled of
lavender and ascended in the room, as though she were floating on a
cloud. Her hair was pinned back in a wreath of pearls, with several
small dark ringlets framing her oval face and long slender neck.
Around her wrist she sported a bandage, barely peeking out from
beneath the white cuff.

"Mr. Browning," she cooed softly, stretching
a small delicate hand towards Daniel. "Can I call you Daniel? I'm
so pleased to meet you at last. I must admit though, my timing does
leave much to be desired."

"I should say so," Louise growled, but was
flatly ignored by their guest.

"I must apologize for my interruption. I
wasn't aware dear Julia had been injured. How dreadful. The stable
hands said she was attacked by a band of escaped criminals from
Texas."

"I'm afraid you've been misled and the
reports you've heard are highly exaggerated. My wife merely had a
fall and struck her head. It's nothing serious and I can assure you
it was only an accident." Daniel shook the woman's hand rather than
kissing it as Sharon had seemed to want, then led her to one of the
large wing back chairs, trying desperately to ignore the
reproachful look from his mother-in-law.

"Could I interest you in a drink?" he
offered, politely.

"Thank you, no. Actually I came by on
business. I'm quite interested in purchasing a few horses. I'm
afraid there's so dreadfully much work to do at the ranch and I
haven't anything to help. I was hoping a few work horses would come
in handy, since I've hired on two ranch hands to do the labor."

"I'd like to help you, but Turner Stables
deals in race horses and thoroughbreds. We haven't any labor horses
here, but I will keep my ears open. I understand there's a
gentleman in Graves County who has come upon some hard times and is
interested in selling his stock. If you'd like, I'll check into it
for you?"

"Would you? You're such a dear. I'm afraid I
haven't much of a head for figures. I'd probably pay way too much
and get jackasses, rather than horses."

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Farnsworth."

"Do call me Sharon, please, and I don't know
how to thank you. I'm sure you'll make the best choice for me."
Daniel smiled so freely Louise had to look twice to make certain
she saw it. She was furious at the way the man was acting. They had
only moments before been speaking of this woman, considering the
possibility of her being behind Julia's attack and now here he was
acting as though they were long lost sweethearts.

"Do you think I could see Julia before I
leave? I would like to convey my best wishes to her." Sharon asked,
standing up from her seat.

"I'm afraid the doctor has given her strict
orders to have no visitors, though she is not happy about it. I'm
sure if you came by in a few days, she'll be back to her spirited
old self and more receptive to seeing you."

"I'll do that then. Well, thank you again so
much, Daniel. I just don't know what I'd do, if I didn't have such
wonderful neighbors," she purred seductively, smiling sweetly to
the older woman. Daniel walked Sharon to the door leaving Louise to
brood in silence. When he returned some ten minutes later he found
his mother-in-law in a state of a full-blown fury.

"What the hell was that all about?" she
demanded. "How dare you treat that woman as though nothing has
happened? Don't you realize she could be the one behind Julia's
attack?"

"Calm yourself, Louise," Daniel insisted,
seeing a definite trait between mother and daughter; both quick
tempered. "I'm not losing my mind. If it is Sharon Farnsworth who’s
behind what's happened to Julia, it wouldn't be wise to make her
suspicious. This way, if she thinks Julia is fine and had only a
slight accident, she may become nervous and hopefully slip up. We
don’t want to tip our hand and reveal that we suspect her of
anything until we have proof."

"I suppose you're right." Louise felt a bit
calmer after having been explained the situation, but even an
explanation did little to ease her irritation.

"The nerve of that...that...person," she
snapped. "Actually asking to see her; assuming we have common
horses on this ranch, and you, how dare you invite her back here?
If she is the one who attacked my daughter she may try again.
What's to stop her from hurting Julia worse the next time?"

"I am. I have no intentions of leaving Julia
alone with that woman. That's why I invited her back. If she knows
she's welcome here, she won't try and sneak in when nobody's
looking."

"Daniel, I don't like any of this. I don't
like feeling as though my daughter's life is being used as
bait."

"It's not Louise, trust me. Julia isn't
going to get out of my sight again. I have every intention of
making her a very protected woman; regardless of her
objections."

"She's going to have plenty, I can assure
you. She's not going to like being guarded."

"She won't even know there are eyes watching
her." Daniel smiled, thinking about how easy it would be for him to
keep his eyes focused on her. He watched her when she slept and
when she was awake, when she ate and even when she yelled. He loved
to watch her and the idea of doing more of it didn't exactly
distress him much. The only problem was, the watching usually
caused a much hotter reaction on his part. A reaction he swore
would never again cause Julia any discomfort.

Nearly a week had passed since Julia's
accident, yet she still hadn't awoken. Her nightmares became a
regular occurrence and she continued to plea with Heather, begging
for forgiveness. Twice she called to her father, mentioning
something about the fires of hell chasing after her before
rendering again to the unconscious state of sleep.

Daniel was growing anxious for her to wake
and grew weary of soothing her sleep filled terror. He knew she
couldn't hear him, though he continued to stay with her, comforting
her as best he could. He sat next to her every day, waiting,
talking, pleading, arguing with her, but with no success. When
fatigue would overtake him, he would lie on the bed beside her and
sleep, though lightly so he could hear her when she woke.

He was growing irritable with time,
frustrated beyond actions and found himself snapping at anyone who
dared to approach him. He hadn’t left the house since the night he
and Jeremy had returned from the swimming hole. He hadn’t thought
of much beyond seeking out Dourn, but wasn’t all that anxious to
leave Julia to do it.

Sometime after noon on the eighth day, he
found his hunger unbearable, growling savagely in the pit of his
stomach. He had barely eaten more than a few bites from the meals
Bridget or Louise would bring up to him, though he made the attempt
to satisfy all concerned and keep up enough strength to continue to
wait. The hunger in his stomach, however, was nothing compared to
the one in his heart. He needed her awake. The doctor insisted that
each day was a good sign, but not having her awake was killing
him.

Jeremy had come in earlier that morning and
refused to leave, making Daniel's irritation grow thicker. He would
sit next to Julia and talk with her when he was alone, breaking the
monotony and fear raking his own conscious, but with Jeremy there,
he couldn't do much more than pace in silence. He had twice barked
his complaint to the boy when Jeremy insisted he sit down, or go
downstairs to the dining room and eat. He argued about leaving
Julia and insisted it was his place to stay beside her. She was his
wife and he would care for her, nobody else.

When his stomach snarled
its censure for food again, Daniel was forced to accept Jeremy's
offer to sit with Julia, but only long enough for him to grab a
quick bite to eat. Except for his investigation of the swimming
hole, he hadn't left Julia’s side for more than a few moments to
relieve himself. Leaving her now was not an easy task and he felt
like a weasel abandoning her out of the selfish need for
self-preservation
, as
Jeremy called it.

Daniel hurried out of the room, but not
before giving a list of orders to his brother-in-law. He was to
continue speaking to Julia - a fact Daniel said was important - he
was to make certain Bridget filled the pots full rather than three
quarters as she had been doing lately, and Julia was to remain
covered under the tower of blankets, even though she had been
gaining enough strength lately to try and kick the blankets
off.

After the younger man promised for the third
time to call if she woke up, Daniel finally headed down the stairs.
He hadn't slept more than a few hours a night since all of this
occurred, his bloodshot eyes and stiff limbs reemphasizing the
fact. His chin was now completely covered with a beard and
mustache, his hair hung loose about his shoulders, desperately in
need of washing. But nothing, even his own appearance or smell from
sitting in a steaming hot room mattered to him. His only thought
was of Julia and what her needs were.

Downstairs, Louise quickly fixed a plate of
bacon and eggs, fresh blueberry muffins and fried potatoes, then
ordered Bridget to draw Daniel a bath. She insisted he should smell
at least halfway decent when his wife awoke, or he would never get
within three feet of her.

Daniel couldn't resist chuckling at the
older woman. Although Julia was still in her bed, the thought of
the danger nearly being over had lifted the spirits of all who
occupied the large old house. In the past few hours Julia actually
behaved as though she were sleeping, rather than unconscious. Her
breathing had returned to normal, her fever had broken two days
before and the attitudes of those occupying the house were slowly
changing from fear and dread, to optimism. If you listened hard
enough, one could even hear Mrs. Lester barking orders every now
and again, rather than the whispered requests she had been doing
the past week.

Daniel devoured his meal in silence, anxious
to return to Julia's side. The doctor promised to return by supper
and he was determined to be there when he did. The last two visits
the old man had made, he allowed Daniel to remain in the room while
he conducted his examination and he was in no way ready to concede
to leaving again.

"You're awfully quiet Daniel," Louise
observed, feeling the man's intense emotions bouncing around the
room. Daniel glanced up and smiled softly. "Is Julia alright?"

"Yes Louise, she's fine. I was just thinking
about everything that's happened," he said softly. "First Julia's
assaulted in her own home, then she's nearly scared to death by a
snake in her wash closet and now the attack at the swimming hole.
Either it's coincidence, or Julia's living under the unluckiest
sign I've ever heard of. "