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Aaron folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the stair casing. “Did the blacksmith regret marrying the school marm?”
“I’m sure Miss Panetta’s marriage problems stem from things other than what a ten-year-old boy could foresee.”
“That and the blacksmith’s weekend habits,” Cougar offered, earning him a glare from Asa, which prompted a “begging your pardon” in Elizabeth’s direction.
“None of that changes the fact that I knew the marriage was a mistake,” Aaron pointed out.
With equal confidence, Elizabeth said, “And none of that changes that I know you’ve done something I need to know about.”
Asa looked at Elizabeth, then at Aaron. He seemed to deliberate before, with a wipe of his hand on his pants, he came to a decision. “Tell her.”
Aaron glanced at him like he’d sprouted a second head. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”
Elizabeth was about to argue when she noted the set of Asa’s jaw. She settled back on her elbows and amused herself by rocking the vase on the banister.
Asa plucked a flower from where it sat adorning his lap. “I have to disagree with you there.” He looked up at her. “You rescuing these?” She shook her head. He flicked the flower to the front door before turning back to Aaron. “The way I see it, I can either climb into bed with you by keeping your secret or I can cuddle up with Elizabeth.” He looked Aaron over from head to toe before sending another flower winging to the front door. “No offense, but my wife’s got you beat nine ways to heaven when it comes to things I admire.”
Aaron looked to Cougar for support as he said, “There’s no reason to upset Elizabeth with something dead and buried…”
He didn’t find much help there. “I can’t say I’m in a position to make a statement. Seems as both Elizabeth and Asa feel you ought to ‘fess up.”
“It was the only thing to do at the time.”
Cougar shrugged. “Maybe.”
Aaron turned back to Asa. “What would you have done faced with the same situation?”
Asa stared back. “I can’t rightly say, not being there, but now you’ve got to come clean.”
“Could someone please tell me what is so poorly dead and buried that Aaron’s still wrestling it?” Elizabeth asked with the last of her patience.
All three men stared at her. Of the three, she felt Asa’s gaze the keenest. There was resolution in his gaze that told her he was going to make sure she knew. There was also pain, which told her this was going to hurt. He got to his feet. Aaron followed suit. As she was standing one step below the landing, they were at eye level. Taking a deep breath, she mentally prepared herself. Before she could let it out, Asa said, “It was Aaron here who set Brent on you.”
She couldn’t have heard right. She glared first at Asa, then at Aaron before repeating the procedure. She couldn’t focus on either, but kept bouncing between reassurance and disbelief. She released her breath in an explosive, “What? But you said you wanted me to marry Jed!”
He glanced down and muttered, “That was after Brent turned out to be such a disappointment.”
The only word she could push past her anger was, “Why?”
Aaron reached out a hand to her. “You needed a husband, Elly, and you weren’t interested in the local boys. You wanted someone prettier with more flash.” He shrugged. “I wanted you to be happy, so when Brent passed through, I made him a deal.”
Her breath came in hard gasps. “You bought me a husband?”
“I made him a deal. Cash for passing on my orders and keeping you happy.”
She remembered Brent’s arrogance, heavy fists, and complete disregard for her feelings. No wonder he hadn’t cared. She’d truly been a means to an end. Spots of light danced before her eyes. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. Her words came out in jerky bursts of rage. “You spent six months traveling all over the place, picking out just the right stud for your precious breeding program, but, when it came to a husband for your best friend, you grabbed the first male wandering out of the saloon?”
“It wasn’t like that, Elly!”
She launched the vase at his head. He caught it and bent to set it on the floor.
“You couldn’t have ridden into Cheyenne to see if the pickings were better there?” she shouted.
She looked around for something else to throw. Asa obligingly handed her a couple of table legs. They bounced off Aaron’s shoulder and back.
He jerked upright. “Ow! Dammit, Elizabeth! Cut that out!”
“I don’t want to cut it out,” she retorted, looking around for something else to throw.
Cougar tossed Asa a book from the study. Asa passed it to Elizabeth. She heaved it at Aaron’s head. He deflected it with a forearm.
