Promised by Post

Author:Katy Madison
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-05-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

California is the most wonderful place in the entire world. The weather is mild, the mountains are breathtaking and the valley where our ranch is found is rich with gently rolling hills.

Daniel stared at Anna’s horrified expression. Why had he even mentioned the hearings? He should have let Rafael tell her. “They won’t take his land away from him.”

“But—”

“They won’t,” Daniel said firmly. Except they could. And Rafe had been worried enough about it that he’d sent for an Anglo bride to strengthen his position in the proceedings. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Telling me not to worry doesn’t help,” said Anna. “So all the other Spanish landowners have kept their land, have they?”

Daniel closed his eyes a second and gripped the hoe tightly. “Do you know your voice gets lyrical sometimes?”

She pursed her mouth. “I’m Irish. It is how we talk.” Then her tone flattened. “Could your brother lose the ranch?”

He hit the dirt with the hoe. “He’s not going to lose the ranch, but it has been weighing on him. The proceedings are being drawn out so long that many a ranchero has had to sell his land to pay for the lawyers, translators and the surveys. Winning can be a hollow victory. But the paperwork is in good order, and my father did the surveys.”

Her skin turned pale, the reddish freckles standing out in harsh relief against her milky skin. Then red crept up from her neck. The play of colors fascinated him, and he lost the thread of what he should say to Anna. He was digging too deep a hole, and it wasn’t with the hoe.

Then he had to wonder if he’d told her because he wanted to know if she would renege on her promise to marry Rafael.

“What would happen if he loses?”

Daniel shrugged. “Then we’ll stake new claims for land in the valley. Or buy land. The livestock will still be Rafael’s, and if I can’t get this section, I’ll move as many of my vines and trees as I can transplant.” Heat crept under his collar. She wasn’t asking about him. “Anyone can claim three hundred and sixty acres and homestead it.”

She flinched. It would be a drastic reduction in the size of Rafael’s ranch, and he’d have to get rid of hundreds of head of cattle. Her eyes looked very green, like the underside of an oak leaf, and they begged him for answers. “Why would he advertise for a wife when the future of his ranch is uncertain?”

Try as he might, Daniel couldn’t form a lie to shield her from the truth. “He thinks having an Anglo wife will help him at the hearings.”

A small sound escaped her, something between a gasp and a cry.

He clutched the hoe tighter. He could not gather her in his arms and comfort her. Could not, should not, would not. “Anna, he did pick you.”

“Even though I’m Irish, not English?” She shook her head.

“I doubt that matters. Anglo is Anglo.”

“Then what is he waiting for?” Her eyes begged for answers he couldn’t give her.

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