He stared at the trail of blood on her gown. “I’m sorry.”
She followed his gaze. Her cheeks flamed red, and she covered the fresh spots of blood with her hand.
“I thought you’d been with another man,” he said, his voice hoarse. “You said your reputation was ruined.”
“One does not have to be guilty to be convicted.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, now tight with tension. “I’m sorry.”
She tipped back her head as a tear streamed down her cheek. “Stop saying that.” She started toward the door.
He grabbed her wrist. “Like it or not, we are bound together now.”
“Nothing binds us except business. I’ll stay to the end of the summer or until you can arrange to find someone to take care of the boys.”
He ground his teeth. She wasn’t going anywhere. “You could be pregnant.”
Shock widened her eyes. Her hands flew to her flat belly. For an instant joy flashed in her eyes. “That’s not possible. It was only one time.”
“Once is sufficient,” he said more tersely than he’d intended. “Take my word for it, there could be a baby.”
She shook her head. “There isn’t. I’d know if there was.”
“How the hell would you know? Do you have the second sight?”
She lifted her chin, again the proud city woman. “I just would know.” Wouldn’t she?
Annoyed, he ground his teeth. “Well, I’m glad you’re so all-knowing but you’ll have to excuse me for being a little slower.”
The menace in his voice triggered alarm bells in her. “What are you talking about?”
“Until I know for certain you aren’t pregnant, you’re not going anywhere.”
“I can take care of myself. And my baby if need be.”
His temper held on by a thread. He needed time to think and more time to fix this mess he’d created. “No other man is ever going to raise my child. I take care of my own. You’re not leaving this ranch until I know for certain that you’re not carrying a child.”
“You said you didn’t want any more children!”
“I don’t. But I’ll stand by any I make.”
Her eyes looked wild, desperate. And it tore at him that he’d robbed the sparkle from her eyes.
“You can’t keep me here,” she said.
His resolve, like forged iron, was unbreakable. “Watch me.”
Chapter Twelve
He’d called her Elise!
Still hurt two days later, she stared out the kitchen window watching the boys who were poking a stick in a rabbit hole. She enjoyed the boys and had been growing to love them as her own. But since that night in the barn she’d realized she had been fooling herself. They weren’t her children and never would be. They belonged to Elise. Just as everything else in this blasted cabin belonged to her.
Abby sighed as she ran a soapy washcloth over a tin plate. She had only herself to blame for this mess. Mr. Barrington had been clear about his feelings from the start. He had said he had loved his first wife with all his heart. He had said he didn’t have room in his heart for love. But she’d thought if she worked hard enough, hoped hard enough, she could make everything come together. She thought she could change him. How wrong she’d been.
She’d been such a fool.
Tears glistened in her eyes and she tilted her head back so that they wouldn’t spill.
She and Mr. Barrington had barely spoken since that night. He’d left at first light the next morning, determined to track the bear and begin rounding up the horses. He’d told her it could take a day or two before he returned. Reminding her to keep the rifle close, he’d left.
She rinsed the dish and laid it on a drying towel by the sink.
The one ray of hope to rise from this disaster was the possibility of a baby. She imagined cradling the child close, savoring the soft scents of milk. Her baby. She tried to imagine what their child would look like. Likely black hair like Mr. Barrington and the boys. Fair skin.
Someone to love her.
Abby gave herself a mental shake. A baby would also complicate things far too much. A baby would bind her to a man who could never love her. She’d not come looking for love but she realized how much she wanted it now.
She quickly finished the dishes and turned her attention to the rising bowls of dough on the counter. She had two loaves cooling, two baking and three more to set up. Holden’s first coach full of passengers was due sometime today, and she wanted to be ready for him. A thick stew simmered on the stove, and she’d made cheese and butter yesterday.
Abby thought about the hard cash she’d earn today. How much would she make and how long would it be before she could buy a train ticket out of Montana?