After the Ashes(78)

“All right. He’s going to kill you. How’s that?”

The topic of his death at Mulcahy’s hands was preferable to a discussion of his treatment of Lorelei. “That’s my problem.”

Corey glared. “No, that’s mine. Who in the hell do you think you are, using my sister like you have? She’s not some whore just hanging around for your convenience. How do you think she’s going to feel when you leave? You owe her, you son of a bitch.”

Braddock could do little more than stare at Corey, hating the fact that the boy was right. The argument that Corey had sent her to him in the first place was played out. Braddock had to take responsibility for what he’d done after that. “I’m not good enough for her.”

“You got that right. But you’re going to ask her to marry you just the same. It’s her choice if she turns you down.”

“Since when do you want me in the family?”

Corey stood up, knocking back his chair. “You’re not going to ride out of here making my sister feel like she’s not good enough for you.”

Braddock stood too. He grabbed fistfuls of Corey’s leather vest and jerked him hard.

The boy didn’t flinch. “Go ahead, big man. Take a swing. You’d just better make it a good one, ’cause I’m not going to back down. I’m not going to let you break my sister’s heart.” Braddock shoved Corey away from him. The boy quickly righted himself, his stance ready, his fists clenched.

Braddock ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “Sit down. I’m not going to fight you. Believe it or not, I do care about your sister.”

Corey righted his chair and sat in it, arms folded over his chest. “Yeah. That’s why you’re going to ride out of here, leaving her to fend for herself with your baby in her belly.”

Braddock gripped the back of his chair. “She’s not,” is all he could get past the rock wedged in his throat.

“Yet. You might think we’re some white trash Southerners, no better than we ought to be—”

“I don’t think that.” Braddock released his hold of the chair’s thin wooden slat before he snapped it in two. “I’d kill anyone who said that about Lorelei.”

“Yeah, but you’d leave her to explain when her stomach starts to swell.”

Braddock shook his head, refusing to look at the kid. I’m supposed to be doing the questioning, he told himself—but his thought rang hollow.

“Don’t tell me you weren’t doing what you shouldn’t with my sister. I see she didn’t get much sleep last night. And that grin on her face. What the hell did you promise her?”

Braddock glared at Corey. “Nothing. I didn’t promise her anything.”

The boy glared back with righteous anger that made Braddock want to hang his head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. But don’t think you’re anything special. Lorelei would love a three-legged dog. She’s just like that. She’s got a big heart.”

Braddock stared at the dust covering his boots. “Yeah,” was the only retort he could come up with.

“Yeah. And Lorelei gets hurt. Again. I’m sick of it.”

Braddock raised his head. Corey’s face was red. His eyes looked damp. How dare he look so damned wronged?

“I’m sick of it, too. So why don’t you stop acting like a spoiled brat and let your sister live her life?”

Corey stuck out his chin. “I plan to. But I’m going to get you, Braddock. You can’t treat Lorelei like you have and get away with it.” The soft fuzz that covered his jaw in sparse dark patches didn’t diminish his threat.

“Let me tell you something. If it weren’t for Lorelei you’d be swinging from a noose right about now. I’m taking care of her the best way I know how.”

Corey stared through him, calling him a liar without saying a word.

Braddock paced as he’d seen Lucky do in the corral beside the barn. They both wanted to run. Facing Corey was harder than he’d ever imagined. What had he been thinking last night? He couldn’t leave Lorelei to handle the consequences of his lust alone or expect some other man to take responsibility for a family Braddock had created. He thought he had left honor at West Point. But that was the kind of honor men made up. This was flesh-and-blood real. How in the hell did he think he could walk away from a child or a pregnant woman?

His thoughts pounded in his head. He had to grit his teeth to think about something else. “Where’s Mulcahy?”

“Specter Canyon,” Corey answered. He didn’t blink an eye.

Braddock was forced to sit down. He knew the canyon. It was in the middle of Apache country, narrow and impassable. Outlaws had hid there before, but were rumored never to come out.