Salvation in the Rancher's Arms by Kelly Boyce - Salvation in the Rancher's Arms - Salvation in the Rancher's Arms

Author:Kelly Boyce - Salvation in the Rancher's Arms - Salvation in the Rancher's Arms [Boyce, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Rachel blinked, staring down at his hand where it covered hers. It was a painful subject, an even more painful memory. “My mother was a selfish woman.”

“In what way?” He squeezed her hand, sending a shiver up her arm to her heart.

“When I was ten, Pa had to leave to work in the railroads. The winter had been hard on us and we needed the money. While he was gone, Shamus Kirkpatrick started calling. He’d only recently bought the land bordering ours. At first, it was just social calls, but soon I noticed...”

“Noticed what?”

“They stopped visiting in the drawing room and moved it to the bedroom. When Shamus would leave, he’d see me in the kitchen and put his finger to his lips at the same time he placed a coin on the table. Like it was our little secret and I wasn’t to tell. After he left, Mama would come out, bright and chipper like nothing had happened. I might have been a child, but I knew what was going on wasn’t right.”

Caleb was quiet for a moment. “Your mama and Kirkpatrick had an affair.”

“It wasn’t just an affair, Caleb. It was pure, unadulterated selfishness. She let Shamus have his way with her like a common whore, putting her own desires before her family, and it destroyed us.”

“Did you ever confront her?”

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut against the ugly memories. It did no good. They kept coming, like waves crashing the shore. “Every time Shamus showed up on our doorstep I felt sick inside. And each time he left, he’d put his finger to his lips to let me know I was to keep quiet. I couldn’t stand it any longer and demanded Mama stop or I would tell Pa what she was doing.”

“What did she do?”

Rachel opened her eyes at Caleb’s gentle probing. She didn’t know why he cared, but something about telling the story relieved her. Not that it was any secret in town what had occurred. Shamus had made sure of that.

“Mama begged me not to tell. She said it would destroy our family if my father knew. She said we needed the money and that Shamus had promised to help us out, but he wanted something in return. Mama was a beautiful woman. He didn’t care that she already had a husband. That’s the way he is. He just takes what he wants and to hell with who gets hurt in the process.”

“And did your mother get hurt?”

“Mama tried to make it sound like a sacrifice, but I saw the way she looked at the other ladies in town and the things they had that she wanted. Shamus gave her those things.” Rachel shook her head. “What everyone must have thought. They knew Papa was away, that we didn’t have the money to buy such things. The only way for her to get them was by—”

She cut herself off, unable to say the words.

Unshed tears burned her eyes and Caleb’s handsome face swam before her.

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