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“I think you know a great deal, or you wouldn’t be out here.” He hung his head, breaking the link between them momentarily. “I need you to understand that I have nothing, Alice. Father disowned me when I left for school. He’s furious whenever he sees me and I avoid the house as if it had the plague. Armstrong asked me to return to help them, but I can’t be of help when my presence sends him into a manic spell.” He reached for his pocket, then settled before pulling anything from it.
He loved his father. The deep concern in his eyes left her speechless. How could he still love a man who had abused him so completely? “He took so much from you. He stole your education, the one thing that mattered to you. He stole your birthright, your future. He—”
He squeezed her hand, stalling her anger.
“He did what he knew.”
“Sometimes, fathers don’t know best.” She wanted him to say that he, too, felt something left over from the past. If he did, she could claim some hope. Maybe they could still have her dream, if slightly changed. The only part that truly mattered was Kent.
One side of his lip gave way and turned up slightly. “That I will agree with you on. But Pa is worried, as is Armstrong. After five years of flooded pastures with poor grass, the herd is in danger. He doesn’t have time to worry about me. He’s got his livelihood to think about. His legacy.”
Anger pulsed through her heart, pounding out a rhythm of justice. “You are his legacy, not some land.”
“He doesn’t see it that way. It’s not what he was taught. My grandfather owned land over by Deadwood and gave it to my uncle. I was allowed to work there while I went to school, but as a hand. Not family. The land comes before blood.”
The feud had made her father do something very similar. “Pa disowned Leo for a short time as well. He thought Leo was too caught up in his infatuation with Tamar to be a good manager of the land, so he cut him off from his inheritance.”
Kent tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “He’s returned to the family now, though?”
She nodded. “Yes, Leo proved he was, and always would be, a member of the family. As was Tamar. They’ve been married for almost seven years now.” And the hurt of that time was a distant memory, at least for her. Leo would probably never forget.
“Pa has not reached that point yet. With this sickness and low breeding numbers, the herd is suffering. Pa is a wealthy man, one of the wealthiest in the area, but times will be lean if he doesn’t find the problem and solve it.”
“Is that why you’re working so hard? You still want him to see you as a son? You still want him to be proud of you?” She would want that if she were in his position. She never wanted her pa to be disappointed in her, and if he’d stopped caring about her, that would break her.
“Partly. It’s also because, despite the fact that this was not my chosen profession, I care about these animals. I don’t want them to suffer. Especially when I have the knowledge to help them.”
He had the knowledge, but he was there searching for her. Did he truly want her help, or was he merely there looking for something else? He still hadn’t admitted what, if anything, he felt. “And now you’re here by the river. Looking for clues.”
He chuckled. “I was looking for you, who was looking for clues. Perhaps, if we look together, we can find what we’re looking for quicker?” His gaze darted up the river once again, and his brows dipped quickly. “And safer.”
She’d agreed to working with him a week before and it hadn’t happened, but this felt like a stronger partnership. Especially after their frank discussion. “I will agree to work with you.”
He couldn’t hide the quick smile that warmed his face. She reached up and laid her hand over his scar, letting her thumb rest over the rough skin.
In a moment, he tugged away from her and cast his glance to his lap. “Why must you remind me?” He glanced behind him, hiding the side of his face from her just like the bandana used to.
“It bothers you, but it doesn’t repulse me in the slightest. The only thing that bothers me about it is that its presence is completely my fault. You wouldn’t have been at that party if not for me. If you wouldn’t have been present, you would still be whole.” She would not be, but she’d gotten to the point where she wished for her own disfigurement if it meant his pain would go away.
He gripped her hand, finally facing her again. “Never. Never think that. Not even for a second. I would go through this one hundred times over and a hundred times worse if it meant you were safe.”
All words escaped her as she watched his harsh breathing. He gripped her hand so tightly, but she didn’t want to pull it away. How could he feel so ashamed of his face and yet welcome the scar all the same?
“Don’t hide anymore, Kent. You may have expertise that belongs in a barn, but that doesn’t mean you do.”
He pushed to his feet and turned from her again, reaching in his pocket and tugging something free. “I have no business showing my face anywherebutthe barn. I can’t walk into town without feeling like I should duck my head, cover up. Hide who I am.” He pulled out a tablet and shoved it into his mouth.
She rose to her feet and came around to face him. He wouldn’t be hiding from her. Not now, not ever again, if she could do anything about it. She reached for the package and pried it from his hands. “What’s this?”
Kent tucked his chin and looked away from her again. “My stomach gets twisted whenever I think about people looking at me. It’s why I stay in the barn.”
She clenched the tablets, breaking them to pieces. “It’s fear, not anything else. No one here sees you any differently from before. No, that’s not true. They respect you more now because of your training.” She touched him lightly on his arm, hoping to give him what he needed most. “If the barn is where I have to go to see you, then that’s where you’ll find me, but I’m not leaving you, Kent. Ever.”
She registered his shock in the moment before his arm circled her waist and his lips crushed hers. She held tight to his elbows, afraid he’d realize just what he was doing and set her aside. If he did that, she’d lose her balance and fall flat on her rear.
He softened his onslaught in the next breath, exploring where he’d been conquering. She released his arms to press closer, splaying her hands over his chest and tilting her head back to savor the moment. His heart beat a strong rhythm beneath her palm.
And just as quickly as it began, he ended it. With a jolt, he tugged away from her. “Blast me. What have I done?”
