It was Matt’s only chance to talk to the man who had been his friend, who had apparently betrayed him completely. Jeb had become a monster. Matt needed to understand why. The question had danced around in his brain all night long and he had to ask it.
More than likely, Jeb wouldn’t give him what he needed. He had to try anyway. There were so many questions Matt needed to ask. The most important one would come first; then he would ask where Benjy was. There was a break in their circle of eight, and although his wife was amazing, he wanted his little brother back.
Hannah stepped out on the porch wearing a shawl. Her braid sat on one shoulder, curls sticking out as if she’d done it up in a hurry. As she walked toward him, he held up his right arm and she tucked herself underneath it. Her warmth seeped into his bones and he felt better almost immediately.
“You took your bandage off.”
He kissed the top of her head. “It was making me itch.”
“It was keeping your wounds clean so you can heal.” She put one arm around his waist and leaned into him. “You need a bath.”
Matt barked a laugh. “I need a shave, too. I’m sure I’d scare small children and dogs looking like this.”
“Your smell would, too.”
When they’d met, he hadn’t realized she had a sense of humor or how outspoken she was. Hell, the woman had practically run from him when he’d spotted her across the turnips. She’d proven to be a treasure beyond his imaginings.
Now he understood what his parents had had, why his father would give up everything for his mother. Matt had thought him less of a man for it, but the truth was, Hannah made him feel more of a man. His heart ached with the overflowing feelings his voice couldn’t express.
The bald truth of what had happened at the Stinson ranch, how she had saved him, should have shamed him. It didn’t. He was proud of her and how much grit she had. Most women would have simply given in, but she’d dug in and fought.
He loved her.
Matt’s vision went a little gray around the edges as the realization hit him.
He loved her.
He’d never believed it would happen to him, fought against it from the second he suspected he had feelings for Hannah. It had taken a brush with death for him to realize what he had was love.
As he was trying to figure out a way to tell her without sounding like a fool, he heard the sound of horses approaching. His romantic notions tucked away, Matt waited, vibrating with a kettle full of dark thoughts. When the men finally appeared, he stepped away from Hannah and waited on the steps to meet them.
Armstrong held the reins of both horses. Jeb had been tied to the saddle horn and his feet tied to the stirrups. It gave Matt an evil pleasure to know if Stinson did try to escape, he couldn’t even get off the saddle.
“Here we are, Graham. Say what you gotta say and we’ll be on our way.” Armstrong tipped his hat to Hannah. “Mornin’, ma’am.”
“Morning, Ranger Armstrong.” Her head was high although her face was a rainbow of bruises. Matt swelled with pride at the way she stood her ground, shoulders back and chin up. Hannah was a hell of a woman.
“Isn’t anybody going to say good morning to me?” Jeb’s smile bore only a slight resemblance to a real one.
“I’ve got things to say to you, but they sure as hell ain’t good morning.” Matt put his hands on his hips and stared at his former friend. There were so many reasons why Jeb could have chosen the right path, now was the time to find out why he’d chosen the wrong one. “Let’s start with why. Why the hell did you do it, Jeb?”
“Do what, Matthew?” His pretended innocence made Matt want to rip his arms off.
“You killed my parents.” Saying it out loud made Matt’s stomach almost meet up with his throat. “And you took Benjy. Why?”
Hannah reached for his hand and he held onto her, grateful for her strength.
“Matthew. Are you asking me why men do the evil things they do?” Jeb shook his head. “I don’t have an answer for you.”
“You son of a bitch.” Matt’s hand tightened on Hannah’s as rage coursed through him unabated. If he’d had a gun, he would have ended Jeb right then and there.
“Most assuredly, that I am. Can’t you see that greed is what drives most? You and your happy clan have little and aspire to nothing. You’re less than a man, Graham, and it’s you I pity.” Jeb made a tsking sound with his tongue. “Stuck with a cow for a wife, and a tiny little plot of land. No future, no money. Nothing.”
Matt’s anger gave way to a bitter acceptance. Jeb would never tell him what he needed to know, likely took pleasure in playing games over it. “Armstrong, I appreciate your bringing him by. Hope you have a safe trip to Houston.”
Armstrong tipped his hat to Matt and Hannah, then kneed his horse into action. As they started to move away, Jeb squawked.
“Wait, what? I haven’t answered your questions.” Stinson fought at his bindings. “Don’t leave yet. I-I’m not done.”
“Oh yeah, you’re done.” Armstrong’s grin was feral and colder than his blue eyes. “Now shut up or I’ll gag you.”
They rode off into the grayness, leaving Matt with a hollow feeling inside. No matter what happened, he sure as hell would never understand why. Jeb was a greedy piece of shit who simply took what he wanted, no matter what the cost. That was the truth Matt had to accept.
He’d likely never find Benjy. That was a truth that would be excruciating to accept. Somewhere deep inside, he’d always hoped Benjy had been given to some farm couple to raise, as a last act of cruelty to the Grahams. Now he had to face the possibility Benjy was dead or worse.
It was a dark day for everyone.
The day after the ranger took Jeb to Houston, Hannah was teaching the girls how to sew when a knock came at the door. Matt wasn’t allowed to ride or work yet so he was sitting in the kitchen with them. He met her gaze with a frown.
Matt walked to the door while the Graham women watched him. He opened it at the second knock and looked surprised to see Frederick Stinson there. Hannah stood to greet the rancher and was as surprised as Matt by the older man’s appearance. He’d aged twenty years in only a week, with sunken cheeks, larger patches of gray in his hair, and pain-filled eyes. Even his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Please come in, Mr. Stinson.” Hannah gestured to the girls to go. Rebecca, Catherine, and Elizabeth listened and took the sewing down the hallway. Olivia remained with them, sitting at the table since walking was still difficult for her to do without pain in her knees.
Mr. Stinson walked in and took off his hat. “I wondered if you would slam the door in my face, Graham. I probably would have.”
“It’s not your crime. I’m not going to make you pay for it.” Matt gestured to the table. “Sit down. Coffee?”
“I’d be much obliged. It was a dusty ride.” Stinson sat and looked at both Hannah and Olivia. “I needed to come by and apologize to the two of you.”
After everything that had happened, Hannah had contemplated going to see Mr. Stinson but Eva had told her not to. “He is a hard man,
hija.
When he is ready, he will come to us.” Since the housekeeper seemed to know people well, Hannah took her advice. Judging by Mr. Stinson’s appearance, she was glad she had.
Hannah poured him a cup of coffee and returned to the table. As she set it down in front of the man, she was surprised to see his hand shaking.
“I don’t know why Jeb turned bad or why he would hurt our neighbors. I taught him nothing but good things.” He shook his graying head. “He wouldn’t tell me what happened. Wouldn’t even talk about what happened to Margaret.” His chin wobbled and his normally steely eyes filled with tears.
“What about Margaret?” Olivia finally spoke although her face was as hard as the table.
“Nobody’s seen her since the day Jeb did what he done.” He ran his hands down his face, the scrape of the whiskers on his hand loud in the quiet room. “I looked for her everywhere, but she’s disappeared.”
Hannah saw the shock on Matt’s face. No one would ever have suspected Jeb would do something to his own sister. She covered Mr. Stinson’s hand with her own.
“I’m so sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?”
“No, but I thank you for the offer.” He looked at Matt. “I didn’t know what you went through. Now I’ve lost everything I had.”
Matt finally sat down and his shoulders relaxed. “No, you haven’t lost everything. You’ve still got neighbors.”
Hannah’s chest swelled with pride in her husband. Given how much pain Jeb had caused the Grahams, it took a big man to still offer his father friendship.
“I appreciate that. I surely do.” Frederick wiped his eyes with the heels of his palms. “You folks don’t owe me a thing.”
“That’s the good part about being a neighbor. You never worry about owing.” Matt’s gaze reflected his own pain. She knew he’d been pacing at night, unable to sleep.
Stinson pulled a folded paper from his shirt pocket. “I asked Elliot Barnum in town to take a look at the map. He told me it’s all legal.”
Matt frowned. “I didn’t lie to you, Stinson.”
“I know that now. I’m gonna sign over that two-mile patch of land to you and Angus.”
Hannah gasped along with Olivia.
Matt’s frown deepened. “Why would you do that?”
“I don’t have any use for it. And after everything Jeb did to your family, I couldn’t keep it.” Stinson got to his feet. “I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
He shook Matt’s hand and nodded to Olivia and Hannah. With a shuffle that appeared to be that of an old man rather than a forty-five-year-old, he left the house.
The three of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments after Stinson left. Hannah noted his untouched coffee on the table. The legacy of what Jeb had done would affect the Grahams, the Stinsons, and all the other families he’d attacked. Frederick Stinson would live with that burden the rest of his life, and more than likely, die a lonely old man. She truly hoped he would find Margaret. If not, the man had lost his entire family in one day.
“Poor man.” Olivia shook her head.
“He was a hard man. He gave his children everything they ever wanted and look what that brought him.” Matt stared at the closed door. “I hear his wife died giving birth to Margaret and his second wife left him. Now he is completely alone.”
“You were kind to him.” Hannah had seen a new side of her husband today.
“He didn’t do anything beyond being a lousy father. I meant what I said. Jeb will answer for what he did but his father shouldn’t have to.” Matt got to his feet and kissed Hannah’s forehead. “I’m going to the barn to check on Winston.”
He left the two women alone and shut the door gently behind him.
“My brother can be stubborn,” Olivia offered.
“I’ve noticed that.” If they were going to move past the tragedies the Grahams had suffered, Hannah had to find a way to break through the walls her husband had erected around himself. She loved him, but she needed to help him.
Matt woke before dawn after a fitful night’s sleep. He was going to go riding, come hell or high water. There was no reason he shouldn’t—he certainly felt well enough. He missed his early morning rides, that time to himself when he could think.
Three weeks married and he hadn’t made love to his wife in a week. She’d been nearly killed because he couldn’t protect her, same as his parents and his brother. Matt had failed her, as he’d failed his family. For that, he couldn’t forgive himself.
He stepped outside and took a deep breath. The warm air felt good as he walked to the barn. The smell of new wood was still strong, another gift from the neighbors after the old barn had been burned. There had been gifts in his life he would never forget. Hannah was the best of all. He didn’t deserve her if he couldn’t take care of her.
Winston whinnied the moment Matt got near his stall. The gelding had obviously missed him as much as he had missed the horse. The morning rides were special for both of them.
After he’d saddled the horse, he led him out of the barn and stopped in his tracks. Hannah stood on the porch wearing a white nightdress, her hair unbound.
His body tightened up like a bow string at the sight. She was incredible, so sexy and tempting, he almost turned around and brought Winston back into the barn. As she walked toward him, the wind picked up her hair and it fluttered behind her. He’d never seen anything more beautiful, and damned if his eyes didn’t prick with tears. She’d turned him into a fool, but it didn’t matter.
He loved her.
Matt knew he needed to tell her, too. As she got closer, her nightdress billowed in the warm breeze, making her laugh. Her smile made his heart skip a beat.
“Going for a ride?” She kept her voice low.
“I go in the morning before anyone else is up. Well, I guess you are now.” He thought about all those early morning rides alone. Then he realized this time he didn’t want to be by himself. “Come with me.”
Her eyebrows went up. “You want me to ride with you?”