MB01 - Unending Devotion (18 page)

He supposed people would have talked anyway, even if she’d had her dress on. The fact was, he’d been alone with her for close to thirty-two hours. And in a town like Harrison, people would think the worst no matter what.

What difference would it make if he went to her bedroom door now and visited with her?

He made only three steps before the creak of the front door halted him.

“Ah, there you are!” came a muffled voice he knew all too well. The strident tone slammed into the spot between his shoulder blades and stiffened his back.

Slowly he pivoted. There stood his brother, muffled in an ankle-length sealskin coat with its collar turned up over his ears. He wore a fur-lined Scotch Windsor cap and heavy gauntlet gloves. Only his eyes showed between his collar and the brim of his cap.

“Tierney,” Connell said as his brother kicked the door closed. But there was no joy in the greeting, not even a hint of warmth for his only sibling. That had evaporated completely two years ago—if it had ever existed in the first place.

“Should have known you’d be here.” Tierney grinned and shrugged off his coat.

“You know me. I like to live it up.”

Tierney’s handsome grin widened. “Yes, you do.”

Resentment sloshed in Connell’s gut like fermented cider. But he ignored it, as he usually did. “How’s Mam?”

“Busy.” Tierney slipped off his hat and combed his fingers through his hair. “She’s been helping Rosemarie with the new baby.”

The new baby. The sourness in Connell’s stomach rose up until he could almost smell it. “What did she have? A boy or a girl?”

“Girl.” Unmistakable disappointment edged the word.

A twinge of satisfaction released the tension in his back. For once Tierney hadn’t gotten something he’d wanted. And it served him right.

His brother had gotten Rosemarie. And after he’d married her, it had only made sense for their dad to give him the supervisor position over the sawmill so he could stay in Bay City near his wife. Of course, Dad had built them a big house. Now Tierney was living a life of luxury and ease, part of the wealthy circle of timber-rich families, going to dinner parties, dances, and the theater.

“It’s too cold out there.” Tierney tugged off his thick boots.

Connell ground his teeth to keep from saying anything. Little did Tierney know how difficult it was to work in the bitterly cold wilderness day after day, doing backbreaking work, eating the same plain fare for every meal, sleeping in a tiny unheated room in a hotel, and sharing a frigid outhouse with the fourteen other men who boarded at the Northern.

Tierney had no right to complain about anything. Ever.

“I tried to convince Dad to let me wait to come up here until it warmed up,” Tierney said. “But he was pretty adamant that I head out to check on you.”

At Tierney’s words, Connell stiffened and had the brief urge to wrestle his brother to the ground.

As much as he wanted to clobber his younger brother from time to time, he figured it wouldn’t do any good. It wouldn’t change what had happened.

He returned to his spot in the corner and picked up his spectacles.

“Besides, it was past time for an update on production.” Tierney sauntered toward the fireplace.

Connell slid back onto the bench, his defenses rising like a wall. “You know we’re behind after last week’s thaw.” Why was it that the visits from Tierney and Dad always made him feel like a little boy who couldn’t live up to expectations?

Tierney tossed a log onto the fire. “We’re confident you’ll find a way to make up for the loss.”

Connell didn’t know which was worse, having Dad come and criticize him for every failure or having Tierney visit and act like the boss. Dad always said he’d leave the business to whichever of them worked the hardest for it. But Connell figured Dad was more likely to hand the reins to whichever son he liked the best.

And somehow Tierney always seemed to come out on top.

Tierney warmed his hands over the flames for a moment. Then he turned and gave Connell a wide grin, one that had a characteristic hint of devilish mischief. “Truth be told, Dad was in a hurry to send me up here because we got a report you were causing some trouble.”

Connell sat forward. “Trouble? What kind of trouble?” But even as the words left his mouth, he knew what Tierney was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it.

Tierney’s eyes glittered and his grin turned crooked with carnality. “We got word that you’re living with a whore.”

“That’s not true.” Connell jumped to his feet and hot anger tumbled through him, setting him off-balance.

Tierney laughed, but it was hard and crass. “Aw, come on, big brother. When I heard the news I was proud of you. I figured it was past time you made a man of yourself.”

Connell clenched his fist, resisting the urge to go after his knife. “I’m not living with a woman.”

Tierney only laughed again. “You don’t have to deny it to me. You know I don’t care.”

And the sad thing was that Tierney really didn’t care. That’s why every time he came to Harrison on so-called
business
, Connell had to turn a blind eye to the fact that Tierney spent more time in the brothels than in his business office.

“The truth is, Tierney—” Connell started. But the hot words died on his lips. What difference would it make if he finally got up the nerve to tell Tierney the truth? That Rosemarie was a sweet woman. That Tierney was treating her dishonorably. That if Connell had been the one to marry her, he wouldn’t have needed to find pleasure in the arms of any other woman. Rosemarie would have been enough.

What Connell really wanted to ask his brother was why he had wooed Rosemarie away from him when he hadn’t planned to give her the kind of love she deserved. But of course, Tierney hadn’t respected Rosemarie before they’d gotten married. Why would that change afterward?

“Look,” Tierney said. “I know Dad is boiling mad about the whole affair, but you can be honest with me.”

“Well, you can just take your sorry behind right back to Bay City and tell Dad there’s nothing going on.”

“Don’t worry. That’s what I was planning to do.” Tierney winked. “But in the meantime, you’ve got to figure out a way to be more private with your affairs.”

Connell growled out his growing frustration. “I don’t have anything to hide.”

The front door opened with a blast of evening air, and Stuart stepped inside. He rubbed his hands together and blew into them.

He greeted Tierney, who shook hands with him as if they were long-lost friends. That’s the way Tierney had always been—charming. And it irritated Connell that Tierney could so easily sway women and men into liking him. Even Stuart, the one friend who knew the struggles he had with his brother, had fallen prey to the charm.

“I had to stop in Averill on my way up here.” Tierney plopped down on the bench next to Connell. “Nothing like a couple drinks from the Red Keg to warm me up for the rest of the ride.”

Stuart laughed, and Connell couldn’t understand why.

“Stuart?” a soft voice called from the kitchen. Lily’s voice.

Connell’s heart flipped like one of Vera’s johnnycakes. He jumped back to his feet. Was Lily finally feeling better?

Stuart straightened and rubbed a hand over the thinning hair of his head, slicking it back.

Lily peeked around the corner into the dining room. Her hair tumbled in wild abandon over her shoulders and around her face. Her honeyed skin was paler than usual, but her eyes were darker and more luminous than ever. They were clouded with the traces of sleep, as if she’d just awoken.

When those rich woodsy eyes collided with his, they knocked the breath from him. He could only stare at her, witless, senseless, and completely speechless with the aching desire to be with her.

“Connell?” A welcoming smile curved her lips. “Where have you been?”

She stepped into the doorway then. She’d wrapped one of Vera’s quilts around her, but it couldn’t entirely conceal the white cotton nightgown she was wearing or the colorful striped socks upon her feet. “I’ve been waiting to see you.” She tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

His heart did another flip. “I’ve been wanting to check on you, but—”

Stuart cleared his throat.

Connell rushed. “But every night Oren’s been beating me away from your door with the butt of his rifle.”

Her smile widened. “At least he’s not threatening to shoot you.”

Connell grinned. “That’s a first.”

“And who is this lovely creature?” Tierney asked, glancing from Connell to Lily and back, his eyebrow quirking into a roguish slant.

A fierce and swift protectiveness gripped Connell. He scowled at Tierney, wishing he’d stayed back in Bay City where he belonged. He didn’t want Tierney meeting Lily. In fact, he didn’t even want him looking at her.

As if sensing the turmoil inside him, Tierney’s grin turned hard and his eyes brimmed with a lust that frightened Connell.

“It’s none of your business.” Connell moved into Tierney’s line of vision, blocking him from seeing Lily.

“Ah.” Tierney grinned up at him, almost laughing at him. “So this is your woman.”

The way he said
woman
insinuated a relationship far more intimate than friendship. Connell clenched his teeth and fought the urge to swing his knuckles into Tierney’s handsome face and disfigure him so that no woman would ever again fall under his spell.

“His
woman
?” Lily’s voice rose clear and strong. She stepped forward, her face tense and sparking with anger. “I’m not any man’s
woman.
”

Tierney’s grin only widened. “And I see you picked a fiery one. They’re the best kind.”

“Don’t say another word, Tierney,” Connell growled. He stepped toward his brother and shoved him.

“It’s no big secret anymore.” Tierney laughed.

“I don’t know who you are or what you’ve heard,” Lily said. “But you’re obviously misinformed.”

“Is that so?” Tierney peered around Connell and appraised Lily again, seeming to take in every detail from her thick hair to the lacy edge of her nightgown.

“Who are you? And why are you here?” she demanded. The fury in her eyes only made her more beautiful.

“This is my brother.” Connell narrowed his gaze at Tierney, hoping he’d take the clue to stop talking. “He’s come up from Bay City for a few days.”

The retort on Lily’s lips died, and the thin line of her brows lifted in surprise.

“Sometimes he doesn’t know how to take a hint and be quiet,” Connell added.

“And sometimes Connell doesn’t know how to speak his mind.” Tierney winked at Lily, laying on the charm like he usually did.

Connell’s fist tightened. His entire body revolted at the thought of Tierney attempting to woo Lily.

Lily regarded Tierney for a long moment, as though trying to see beyond his cocky grin.

Finally she looked at Connell. “He looks a little bit like you, but I’m guessing that’s where the similarity ends.”

She was right. He and Tierney had never had much in common.

“Now, Stuart.” She glanced around the dining room. “Where’s Frankie?”

Stuart shifted, and the mirth in his face dissipated. “I couldn’t get to her.”

“Why not?” Disappointment dripped from her voice.

“She wasn’t with the other girls,” he said. “And when I asked about her, no one would say anything.”

Connell wasn’t surprised. When Stuart had told him yesterday of his plan to travel to Merryville to look for Frankie, he’d warned his friend he would come back empty-handed.

But Stuart had insisted on going anyway—claiming he was planning to track down a couple of potential eyewitnesses to the jail fire while he was there. Connell suspected his real motivation in going was that he wanted to become Lily’s hero, for he surely would have earned heroic status if he’d returned with Frankie.

“Wasn’t there any way to sneak in?” she asked.

Stuart shook his head. “There were bouncers everywhere—at all the stairways and at all the doors.”

Lily’s shoulders slumped and she leaned against the doorframe, almost as if she were too weak to stand another second.

Stuart darted toward her. “I think you need to get back in bed. You’re still not well.”

“I’m fine.”

He offered her his arm, and when she took it, Connell had the urge to rush over to her, sweep her off her feet, and carry her to her bed.

But if he did that, he could only imagine what Tierney would say.

Instead, he held himself back, and after she was gone, he spun on his brother. “Don’t say anything more about her. Not one more thing.”

Tierney shrugged. “And here I thought you’d finally loosened up a little.”

“Just stay away from her.”

“Fine. If it makes you happy, I won’t interfere.”

Somehow, Tierney’s words only made him more uneasy.

“I won’t say anything else.” Tierney reached down and tugged off one of his thick wool socks. “Except . . .”

The word hung between them while Tierney pulled off his other damp sock. He tossed them over the line, heedless of the other socks that fell to the floor with the impact.

“Except,” he said again, “Dad wants you to stop living with the girl, which means you’ll have to find another place to board.”

“That’s ridiculous—”

“You’ve got to learn how to do this right, brother.” Tierney pulled a silver cigar case out of his vest pocket. “You can see her all you want. Privately. But you’ve got to learn to keep the rumors to a minimum.”

“And I suppose that’s what you do every time you go out carousing.” The sarcasm in Connell’s voice couldn’t compare to the acidity in his stomach.

Tierney clicked open the thin case and lifted out one of his custom-made cigars. “Nobody pays any attention to a man frequenting a tavern, even if it happens to have other amenities. But everyone notices when a man of your power and position fornicates publicly.”

Connell could only shake his head.

“Dad’s angry about what you’re doing.” Tierney snipped the cap from the head of the cigar. “He wants the rumors cleared up immediately.”

The irony of the situation mocked Connell. He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised by it, but he was, nevertheless. Somehow he’d ended up displeasing Dad when he’d done nothing wrong. And yet Tierney seemed to be earning more and more of their dad’s favor, even though he made a regular habit of committing adultery.