Bewitching Bret Read online

  Her father’s child.

  Instead I pasted on a tight smile and grasped her hand while her father did the other to assist her as she jumped from the bed. As one unusual family, we all paraded onto the porch to welcome my sister.

  Come what may.

  I traced a sweaty palm over my tight-fitting jacket and picked at my skirt until the horses appeared around the edge of the barn. The yard filled with the sounds of jangling harnesses, rumbling wagon wheels, and nickering ponies happy to be home once again. But the rush of the pulse in my ears drowned out the noise of everything else.

  Until a familiar and completely unexpected voice rose above it all.

  “Miss Estella!”

  I almost collapsed right where I stood on the porch at the astonishing sight of the woman sitting high atop the wagon seat next to Evan. “Mrs…Mrs. Barker?” My eyes blinked twice before I was certain neither they nor my ears had deceived me. “Mrs. Barker!”

  The moment the wagon pulled to a stop, the old Davies family cook climbed down from her wagon perch. She didn’t even bother waiting for Evan or Cole to assist her before she was waddling toward the house, arms outstretched and tears tracking down her dusty cheeks.

  I hadn’t realized I’d released Meghan’s hand until I was racing down the porch steps to join her in the yard. I never expected to ever again see this women, who was more a mother to me than my own had been, as she enveloped me in her generous embrace. We laughed and cried together before she pulled apart to cradle my tear-stained cheeks between her palms.

  “Let me looka you. My-oh-my, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Miss Estella?”

  Laughter rolled from deep inside my belly as I took in the older and still so familiar face before me. Lines and wrinkles were emphasized by the days of dust accumulated on the trail. A bit more gray peeked out from beneath the faded bonnet since I’d last seen her.

  But oh, that smile. It lifted my heart to see the familiar sight again after believing I never would.

  “This is such an unexpected surprise.” I wrapped my arms around her as if she might disappear if I let go. “But a truly wonderful surprise nonetheless.”

  She dashed at her tears after pulling a well-used hanky from her sleeve – just like I always remembered. “Well…it was a somewhat hastily made decision on my part.”

  “Whatever possessed you to travel all this way?”

  Her chin firmed in a stubborn way I knew only too well. “After watching yer precious face disappear into the distance on that train all them years ago, and then hearing all the things those letters of your’n didn’t rightly reveal about yer travails, I just couldn’t live with myself if’n I let Miss Abby go through the same.”

  My smile stretched so that I thought it’d split my face in two. “But I didn’t have a train to bring me so far so fast though.”

  She grabbed my chin and gave it a little shake. “Your sister don’t have the fighting spirit and tenacity you possess either.”

  That sobered me, and I glanced over to the covered wagon to see Bret had gone over to help Evan unharness the team. Cole had dismounted and was heading around the side of the wagon. Abby, however, had yet to make an appearance.

  Mrs. Barker must’ve read my mind. “The days on the trail have been hard on her. Brought on one of her headaches, I’m afraid.”

  “Was Cole…?”

  “Took as good’a care of her as I’m sure he does you,” she finished, anticipating me yet again. “Though he weren’t too happy to see all her trunks.”

  I chuckled, remembering our little tussle upon my arrival. “No, I suppose he wasn’t.”

  “Neither one of them boys made a fuss, but Abby wasn’t too happy to leave most of ‘em behind.”

  “Behind?” I stopped and my head whipped around. “Why…?”

  “Now, now. Yer husband made sure they was secured at the hotel. Paid for a whole month upfront until he could make arrangements to return for them with more wagons.”

  “Why on earth would Abby bring so many trunks for a visit of only a few weeks?”

  “Few weeks?” Mrs. Barker’s brows rose sky-high. “My dear, Estella, didn’t she tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  Pink tinged her cheeks. “Well…tain’t my place to say, but she has nowhere else to go.”

  “Nowhere else…?”

  I needed no more explanation to grasp the basic understanding of where Mrs. Barker’s stream of conversation flowed. This wasn’t just a visit. Not just a stay of a few weeks. Abby intended to reside at Carston Ranch.

  But why? Abby wasn’t made for frontier life. She had a home back east. Friends in the highest social circles.

  Didn’t she?

  But my questions for now dissipated when Cole drew back the cover flap and extended his hand to assist a frail and fragile creature from the wagon. Though Abby’s countenance was pale and pinched, she still painted an elegant picture all trussed up in a corset and dripping with satin, ribbons, and lace.

  And all in mourning black.

  My dear little sister. Always fashionable. Always proper. Never complaining. Presenting her best side to society, even when that of a widow.

  And of an orphan – just like me now.

  She took a handful of hesitant and shaky steps toward me, and I her.

  Then she collapsed into a sobbing heap of utter heartbreak as she reached my outstretched arms.

  Chapter Eight

  Bret

  The quiet of the stables was always peaceful. Soothing after a hard day in the saddle or training in the corral.

  Not so much tonight.

  I used long, slow strokes with the brush as I groomed my brother’s horse. Buck happily chomped away on the grains I’d put in his feeding trough as I traced the brush along his back, around his girth, and down his legs, loosening the trail dust from his hair as if it might loosen the turmoil clenching my gut.

  Two women. Not one, but two houseguests had taken up residence in the Carston homestead. I’d not only been kicked out of Essie’s bed, but now this meant I’d probably get kicked out of my old room as well.

  Which meant I might as well bed down out here with the rest of the animals, if the looks Edna Barker had given were any indication.

  Oh she’d kept any harsh words for me to herself after a quick examination determined that Abby just needed rest and fluids. Most likely she too was exhausted from the difficult trail ride. But Edna’s thoughts were as plain as the nose on her face when Essie and I came out of Cole’s old room.

  I was a savage – and I had no business living under the same roof, much less possessing any medical knowledge beyond witch doctoring, as she’d whispered to Essie.

  I didn’t even bother sticking around and waiting to hear if my wife bothered to stand up for me. What was the point? One thing I’d learned early on in life was that there was no use trying to change someone’s mind over deeply entrenched prejudices.

  No matter how wrong that person was.

  The silence grew heavy. Thick like my cock when…

  No. I couldn’t let my thoughts run free anymore. Not over Essie. Not when my love for her might give us away. Better to hold everything in as usual and bury my thoughts. Hold them inside. Tucked down where no one could witness the blackness that festered in my soul.

  I felt his presence long before his voice broke the silence. One thing Cole could never do was sneak up on me. That was my job.

  “You missed lunch.”

  “Had a lot of horses to attend to.”

  “And dinner.”

  “I’ll get something when I’m done,” I mumbled, then stood up to survey my brother over his horse’s haunches. “Unless Drew finished off everything again.”

  A smirk curled one edge of Cole’s mouth. “Stella made sure to save you some.”

  Ah, Essie. She hadn’t forgotten about me. At least not completely – yet.

  “Figured it was best I stay out of the way and let you handle everything.” I ran
my hands over Buck’s back before tossing the brush Cole’s way. “Besides, looked like ol’ Buck here was in danger of throwing a shoe.”

  “A shoe, huh?”

  “Yep…right foreleg, which was a bit swollen and warm in the joint, by the way.”

  A brow furrowed with concern. “I noticed he seemed to be favoring it during those last few miles.”

  “Well, I took care of it.” I exited the stall and dusted off my hat to keep my hands busy. “But he’s not getting any younger, you know. Might consider dividing your time with him and one of the other horses.”

  “Not sure about that right now. Buck and I have an understanding with each other.”

  “Which will develop with another one if you give it a chance…kinda like how it is taking a new wife.”

  I groaned internally at my own stupid-ass comment. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Essie out of my head – or my heart. I just hoped Cole didn’t think my fucked-up comment was in any way a denigration of our first wife.

  Or his son long buried.

  Cole stared me down as if trying to read me. I stared back into eyes that were so similar to my own – except the part about his being green and mine dark. I’d never really cared about the differences between us before. Or even paid attention to marking the similarities.

  But after the argument with Essie and her worry over what her sister might think, differences were all I seemed to notice now between me and my brothers.

  Differences that would forever mark me – and our children Essie bore.

  My brother dropped the brush in a bucket as we walked by. “Stella said you moved back into your old room while we were gone.”

  “Figured it was best.”

  “Why?”

  I stopped and sighed, leaning against an empty stall door with my arms across my chest. Holding everything in that I wanted to say aloud once again.

  Instead I shrugged. “I wanted to respect Essie’s need to keep up appearances.”

  “Fuck appearances, brother.” Green eyes blazed with the heat of anger and frustration. Cole was always so quick to light up like a match. Free to express himself – unlike me. “She’s your wife too.”

  I traced my boot through the dirt with a bitter chortle. “That’s what I told her.”

  “And she’s carrying your child.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. “How did you…?”

  “I know Stella’s body as well as you, brother. After two pregnancies, it wasn’t hard to notice the thickening of her waist…and those bigger, beautiful tits. And since I hadn’t been in her pussy…”

  There was no need to finish the subtle accusation. I just tugged my hat off and busied myself with dusting it across my trousers.

  We weren’t planning on keeping our secret for long. Hell, it would soon be obvious to everyone on the ranch. But sharing in the knowledge of our baby was something Essie and I had treasured just between us. Connected only the two of us in its own special way.

  “So with that out of the way,” Cole continued, “get your fucking ass back down to our room.”

  Leave it to my brother to always tell it straight and succinctly – and to have my back.

  But I still had other considerations. “Essie won’t…”

  “Stella’s already moved stuff out of your old room for Mrs. Barker.”

  My head shot up. It took everything in me to temper the heat of anger that pumped through my veins. Even though I figured this was what would happen, it still grated to know that the older woman would take over my space.

  And I wondered how Mrs. Barker would feel about sleeping in a room contaminated by a savage. “So I guess that means I’ll be sleeping in the bunkhouse to keep an eye on our cousins. Better yet, how about the hayloft with the rest of the animals?”

  “No brother of mine is gonna sleep in some fucking hayloft.” My anger was amplified through my brother as he pointed a finger at me. “And no bunkhouse with the hired help either. Or our cousins.”

  “Yeah, about those cousins…”

  “And don’t you go changing the damn subject right now neither.” Cole poked his finger hard against my chest. “Just get your fucking ass back into the bed with Stella and me where it belongs.”

  I shoved my hat firmly onto my head. “The sofa it is then – end of story.”

  “Not the end of the story.” Nostrils flared and flames practically leapt from my brother’s eyes before his temper cooled – but only slightly. “But I guess we’ll leave it as is for tonight ‘cause I’ve got another bone to pick with you, brother.”

  “Seth and Sean.”

  He nodded and then shook his head in frustration. Or maybe disbelief. “When did those two assholes arrive?”

  I gave my brother the rundown on the assholes, what they told me, and what I suspected might’ve really happened to their pa, especially after how they’d responded to my quip about him. Cole rubbed his chin as if he might wipe the days of trail growth away.

  I held my hands up in the air in surrender. “I did my best to convince Essie, but I only succeeded in relegating them to the bunkhouse to sleep. It was that or she’d have put ‘em upstairs, and not simply allowed them to take all their meals with us.”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “And sitting at the same table as my sons.”

  “I tried to tell her you’d have a real problem with that.”

  “Yeah, and now my boys are completely enamored with the fact that there’s another pair of Carston twins out there.” His chuckle was unexpected. “Damn, you are so pussy-whipped when it comes to Stella.

  I had no response to that – because it was so true.

  I slid the big stable door shut and squinted up at the twinkling stars in the night sky. “So after eating two meals with them, what do you think? Do you believe they really mean to change their stripes and go from mining to ranching?”

  “I don’t rightly know what to think about those two right now. All I do know is that I’m tired and ready to sleep in a real bed and fuck my wife.” Cole tugged his hat off to dust it against his trousers and followed my gaze. “What about you?”

  I wanted to sleep in a real bed and fuck our wife too. But I was pretty certain he was still talking about the problem with our cousins. “You want my opinion?”

  A solid hand came down on my shoulder. “Brother, I always want your opinion. You seem to have the clearest head of all of us.”

  I didn’t know how clear my head was lately. Not after stewing over the wife for days on end – and aching through every sleepless night for her loving touch as I fisted my cock.

  Just like the old days. And no, those days had never been good. Nothing was better than having Essie’s dripping pussy open to my exploring tongue or the quiver of her heat pulsing around my cock until it burst open in thrusting spurts of hot cum.

  “I was more than skeptical at first, truth be told,” I finally admitted after getting my straying thoughts back on course.

  “And now?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure.”

  Cole sighed. “Look, I’ve had one meal with them. You’ve broken bread with them for what, the last four…five days?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Then help your old brother out. Have you kept ‘em working hard around here?”

  “Harvesting fields. Mucking stalls…”

  “And how’ve they done?” he asked, interrupting me.

  “Worked as hard as any of the other hands. Sunup to sundown.” I’d been as surprised as my brother seemed to be.

  Eyes narrowed as we arrived at the porch steps and stopped. “Any complaining or talking shit with the other hands?”

  “Not a peep,” I had to admit, though I hadn’t really asked any of the others to listen in and report back to me if that had. That was something they were accustomed to doing with Cole whenever a new face showed up around here.

  Cole chewed his lip for a moment then scratched his scruffy cheek. “Well…if they’re reall
y interested in ranching, now’s as good a time as any to get into it.”

  I wasn’t expecting that. “Why’s that?”

  “Checked in with the surveyor’s office while we were waiting on the train.”

  I waited in silence while my brother mulled over his thoughts. “And?”

  “There are a couple of abandoned parcels that have recently become available. I was looking at ‘em and thinking we might want to buy off the balance of the claims.”

  “Where are they?”

  “Directly south of here…and contiguous to our land.”

  “Contiguous, huh? That’s a mighty big word for the likes of you, Cole. Sounds more like something the surveyor might say.”

  A grin crept across his face before he wrapped his arm around my neck. “I can still whoop your ass, brother.”

  I grunted. “But can you pick up a book to read it?”

  “Sure…but only to bounce it off that over-large noggin’ of yours.”

  I dodged his playful swipe and together we clomped up the steps onto the porch. However, I grabbed Cole’s arm to stop him from opening the front door just yet. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to have our cousins so close to the homestead? I mean, if the sheriff…or someone else comes poking around?”

  He tugged off his hat and opened the door. “That yet remains to be seen, brother. Remains to be seen.”

  Yeah. That just about summed up where I stood at the moment in this shitty existence, caught between a society sister, a mistrustful matron, and a wife I wanted more with each passing hour.

  The one woman I couldn’t have.

  Chapter Nine

  Estella

  I couldn’t help myself.

  After cleaning up from the meal and getting Edna settled in Bret’s old room, I just sat beside the bed where Abby lay. My sister looked so worn. So pale. Frail. How hard the journey must’ve been for one such as her.

  While Abby had always been healthy, with a reasonably strong constitution, she was still a genteel lady at heart. She’d never known hardship or care.