Their Wayward Bride(34)

When I heard the front door open and close, I smiled, thinking one of them had returned to make good on their promise to bend me over the sofa. When I stood and walked across the room to meet them, it was not Brody or Mason, but Mr. Palmer.

I froze in my tracks and my hand came up to my chest. My heart pounded in my chest at the sight of the man. "What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"Claiming my bride," he said. His voice was nasally and weak.

"Your bride?" When he continued to stare at me, I added, "I'm already married. You'll have to find yourself another woman."

"I heard about your wedding. It's the talk of the town. Turner and I looked mighty embarrassed after coming out here looking for you and all. You were hiding somewhere all along." He shook his head slowly, his jowls shifting as he did so. "It doesn't matter if you've given yourself to another man or not. I don't want a different woman. I want you."

I pointed at myself. "Me? Why are you so keen on me? As you said, I've already given myself to another." He didn't allude to the fact that I was married to both Mason and Brody. Clearly that knowledge did not reach town.#p#分页标题#e#

He pursed his lips. "I don't want you. I want your land."

What? I frowned and shook my head. "My land? I don't have any land."

"You own the entire Turner parcel and it was to be mine."

His eyes narrowed and he moved a step closer. I retreated keeping the distance between us as great as possible.

"That land is not mine. It belongs to my father."

He closed his eyes briefly and clenched his hands into fists. "Your father had a gambling problem and I won the property in exchange for monetary debts."

"What?" My father was a rich man, wealthy enough to keep me at a fine boarding school for thirteen years. His house was immense and surrounded by Turner land as far as the eye could see.

"He gambled and owed me more money than he had in the bank." He shrugged. "So I claimed his ranch...and you, in exchange."

"I'm not for sale."

"No, you're not for sale, for you were won fair and square."

I took another step back.

"There must be some mistake."

"The only mistake is allowing your bastard father sign all of his property over to you in his will."

"He...he did what? He doesn't even like me. I haven't seen the man in over ten years!"

"Doesn't matter. He made you the beneficiary of his estate."

Where were Brody and Mason? How I wished I wasn't alone right now! There was nothing to do but try to escape this man for he was clearly irrational, so I tried to run past him but he caught up with me in the hallway, grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.

"I'm married to Mason. You can't have me!" I tugged against his tight hold.

"I can." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "A marriage license that says we were married two weeks ago. You are Mrs. Palmer."

I shook my head. He was crazy.

"No, that's not true. It's not real. We were married in a church."

"It's real. The circuit judge signed it, therefore your supposed marriage to the Bridgewater man means nothing."

Means nothing? My marriage to Mason...and Brody meant everything. They were the first people to see me as a person, as a woman, not a pawn or a tool to someone's advantage. They hadn't married me then sent me off somewhere. I knew now what it felt like to be cared for, for someone to care about me. They'd shown me what love was.

"No." I shook my head. "No. You need to talk to my father. If he signed the ranch over to me, just have him change it. I want nothing to do with this. As I've said, I barely know the man, so why would he listen to me?"

His grip tightened on my arm at the mention of my father.

"I know him rather well, actually, and he can't change it if he's dead."

I stilled in his hold. What did he mean? "Dead? My...my father's dead?"

Something dark and evil flared in his eyes and he grinned. "He tried to cross me, to keep me from getting the land that rightfully was mine. From you. He was stupid to think he'd get away with it. Of course he's dead. I shot him...right...between...the...eyes." He tapped a finger to his forehead. "Just like I’m going to do to you."

He'd killed my father and now I was alone in the house with him. The wild look about him had me panicking, fighting against his hold.

"I can't help you with whatever your plan is if I'm dead, too." I needed to escape! Being alone in the house with him was not going to keep me alive. He'd plotted this all along. When they'd come to the ranch the other day, Palmer had been the one in control. My father only wanted to find me because he owed Palmer.#p#分页标题#e#