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Shattered Dreams

Midnight usually brought a sense of calm to the stable, with only the rustling of hay, the distant hoot of an owl, and the soft nickering of the horses breaking the silence.

Tonight, they were uneasy, stamping, and restless in their stalls.

The muggy, hot weather made it seem more like August than the beginning of June, and a storm was approaching.

The thoroughbreds could often detect such things even before the wind picked up or the first raindrop hit the roof.

But the most probable cause of their skittishness was the clandestine meeting near the front doors and the heated whispers disturbing their peace.

“You’re so beautiful, Rowie. I can’t wait to make you mine.”

The warmth of his breath against the side of her neck sent little spirals of desire coursing through her.

They intensified, becoming delicious shivers when he popped the buttons on her high-collared blouse and pressed his lips to the side of her neck.

She wanted to know what it would be like.

To see if the whispered rumors—good or bad—were true, but one of them had to be sensible.

“I want that too, Carson.”His tongue lapped at the notch at the base of her throat. She almost gave in then and there but forced herself to finish the denial. “But we mustn’t. Not before we’re married.”

“I asked. You said yes. What more do we need besides those vows?”

“A preacher?”she suggested, but with his mouth blazing a hot trail over her skin, her words came out more like a moan.

“As soon as Reverend Thomas returns to town on Saturday, I’ll make you my wife.

I promise, sweetheart. But what harm can there be if we anticipate the wedding night by a few days?

”His busy fingers undid more buttons. When one hand slipped inside to cover her breast, her thin chemise the only barrier, his passion flamed hotter.

His kisses became hard and insistent, his tongue thrusting almost frantically, cutting off her air.

She pushed at his chest with both hands, arching away to put space between them.

This wasn’t the romantic bliss-filled experience her friends had extolled.

But Carson paid her gasping protests and resistance no heed.

He bent with her, his lips unrelenting, and his arms tightened around her, trapping her against him.

At barely five feet four in her highest-heeled shoes and half his weight, she was no match for his solid, six-foot frame or strength.

It surpassed her own since he worked in the stables all day, handling the powerful thoroughbreds and hefting hay bales and heavy leather saddles like feather pillows.

Still, she tried—squirming and pushing and wriggling to get free—but he either didn’t notice her struggles or didn’t care.

“You taste sweet, and your body is soft against mine. When I’m deep inside you, with your heat surrounding me, you’re going to feel even better.

”He pulled the pins from the coil at the back of her head.

When her hair came down, he plunged his fingers into its thickness, pulling it in his eagerness, enough to sting her scalp and make her eyes burn and water.

“Please, this is too fast. You’re hurting me.”Her panicked cries rose in volume and echoed off the high ceiling of the barn, making the horses stamp and nicker nervously. Only then did her protests penetrate his lust-filled brain.

His mouth eased its pressure, and his hands lessened the tension in her hair. “I’ll slow down,”he murmured. “I don’t mean to scare you, but I’ve wanted you for so long, I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

He didn’t stop, but his kisses didn’t threaten to suffocate her, and his touches gentled considerably. Her panic subsided, and the little shivers started again until she felt cool air on her legs.

“Carson, stop,”she said more sharply, but he’d already lifted her skirt.

His searching fingers quickly located the slit in her linen drawers and slipped inside.

Her breath locked in her throat as, for the first time, a man touched her intimately, his fingertips sliding through the slick folds finding the bud at the front of her sex.

“Whore!”

The horrible word shattered the quiet of the stable like the crack of a rifle shot. The anxious horses whinnied in response, and the would-be lovers sprang apart. With her heart pounding, Rowie whirled to face Jael, her stepmother, who stood in the doorway glaring at her.

She’d been so involved in trying to breathe through her first open-mouthed kiss while fending off her fiancé’s hands that she hadn’t heard the sliding of the double doors.

“Mrs. Eldridge,”Carson began, moving in front of her to shield her with his body as he addressed the irate woman who was not only her legal guardian but also his employer. “Please, don’t blame Rowie. I lured her here and stole the kiss. I am at fault.”

“It matters not to me how it happened, Mr. Dunn,”Jael snapped, flipping a hand in her direction.

“This was much more than a stolen kiss. Look at her blouse; its half undone, and her skirt is twisted and wrinkled where, I can only assume, your hand has been. Her hair is mussed and tumbling down her back in that vulgar shade of red. If I arrived ten minutes from now, she’d have been on her back in the hay with her legs spread while you rutted inside her, in a sinful display like one of the women in any of the bawdy houses downtown. ”

“Now see here,”he protested at the same time Rowie exclaimed, “It was only a kiss!”although they both knew rutting was his intention.

“I know your kind,”Jael sneered. “Undisciplined, wanton, immoral girls. A handsome face and a charming line too easily turns your head. One thing leads to another, and soon, you’re fornicating without the sanctity of marriage.

As for him, once he got what he wanted, with no vows said, he would be on to his next conquest. Had I not interrupted, in a few months, your belly would be swollen with his bastard. ”

“It isn’t like that. Carson and I are in love; we plan to marry.”

She snorted inderision. “If you believe that, you’re not only a whore but a stupid one.”

“Let’s not be insulting, please,”he urged, a tremor in his voice.

Jael crossed her arms and stared down her nose at them. “Suppose what he says is true. He’s a stable hand. How do you propose surviving on the paltry $5 a week he earns? If he can find another job, that is. Because he is no longer employed here.”She signaled to someone behind her.

A large man moved up beside her. He was so massive, he blocked out most of the moonlight and appeared in a shadowed silhouette.

But she recognized Big Ben Haskins. He’d worked for their family for years and was called upon in situations like this when someone who might prove difficult needed an escort off the property.

“Remove them,”her stepmother ordered. “At gunpoint, if necessary.”

“This is my childhood home,”she protested, pushing in front of Carson. “You can’t throw me out!”

“Can’t I?”Jael retorted, malice dripping from her voice. “Your father left the estate to me, stupid chit. I can do whatever I want.”

“Fine," she snapped. "I’ll take my inheritance and be glad to quit your company for good.”

Her laughter echoed through the stable. “Your money is gone, fool.”

Rowie stiffened in alarm. “How can that be? My trust contained a small fortune.”

A smug smile twisted her lips as Jael eyed her up and down. “A fortune you threw away these past three years on satins and silks, and trips abroad with your frivolous friends.”She gestured to the stalls lining both sides of the stable.”And most of it you wasted on your foul-smelling horses.”

“But I thought that you—”

“Silly, foolish girl. You can’t think my funds paid for a scrap of cloth or an inch of lace.”

“Father wouldn’t have wanted this!”

“If that’s the case, he should have put someone who cared in charge of you and your money.” She motioned to Mr. Haskins. “I want them gone, and be quick about it, or you can go with them.”

Big Ben sent Rowie an apologetic look before agreeing, “Yes, Miz Eldridge.”

Her cruel decree issued, her stepmother turned to leave.

“Wait,”she cried, rushing toward her. “I need to gather my things! Since my funds were used to purchase everything, I’m not leaving anything behind, especially the horses.”

Jael shrugged as though she didn’t care, but the thoroughbreds were worth thousands.

“You have one hour to get your foul-smelling beasts off my property, or I’ll let them loose.

Then I can get rid of this dilapidated old stable.

Next to the new one, it is nothing but an eyesore. A single match should do the trick.”

Her stepmother had the new stable built to house her carriage horses. There was plenty of room for the thoroughbreds but she refused. “I suppose my money paid for that, too,”Rowie snapped.

“How unusually astute of you,”Jael said snidely.

She waved her hand dismissively, clearly having not remorse at using funds that weren't hers.

"As for your things, I won’t abide a whore under my roof another night.

I'll have the servants box everything up and leave it on the porch. You can come back for it in the morning. You have until noon. After that, it will be donated to the poor or burned. I care not which.”

“An hour isn’t enough time to make arrangements for the horses,” Carson protested. “We’ll need to find someplace to board them and pack the equipment.”

“That isn’t my problem.” When Jael's eyes narrowed, her calculating expression all too familiar, Rowie braced for more of her trickery. “In respect for your father, who loved them for some reason, and you, his beloved child, turned harlot—oh, how he must be spinning in his grave—I’ll board them, but not for free.”