Buch lesen: «Her Forbidden Bridegroom»

CHAPTER ONE

LORNA FARRELL would never forget the last time she’d seen Mitch Ellery. She’d been nineteen then. Now, five years later, the memory of that terrible day hung suspended in time, burned so deeply into her heart that it could have happened twenty minutes ago.

The certain knowledge that she would—perhaps in a matter of moments—come face-to-face with Mitch Ellery again caused her memory of him to go bright as lightning. She discreetly brushed at the sheen of cold perspiration on her forehead, dismayed by the slight tremor of her hand.

Lorna had faced trauma and hard times before, so she knew how to steel herself against them and survive. This time, though, she would face calamity knowing she deserved what happened next. Her sense of responsibility was too exacting for her to ignore the heavy load of guilt, hence the reason for the sick dread in her chest and the tremor of her hand.

She glanced cautiously at the young brunette who stood next to her in the elevator. Barely three years younger than Lorna’s own twenty-four, Kendra Jackson was blissfully unaware of Lorna’s anguish. As the silent car rocketed them to the twentieth floor of the San Antonio office building, Lorna studied Kendra’s pretty profile. Emotion stung her eyes, but she continued to stare, alert to any sign that her scrutiny had been detected. It could very well be that these moments with Kendra would be her last.

Once Mitch Ellery found out she’d had such close contact with his stepsister, he would likely speak to her boss, if not also to the police. And the good job she’d worked so relentlessly hard to get would not only be gone, but the circumstances of her firing might ensure great difficulty in securing another.

Kendra Jackson. Now the fiancée of her boss, John Owen; the young woman who’d persistently undermined Lorna’s aloof distance, even to the extent of having her boss put Lorna at her disposal for small tasks and favors. Kendra had seemed to set out to make Lorna a friend and minor confidant, and Lorna had been trapped by Kendra’s friendly persistence. The fact that Kendra had commandeered her time and attention had been a bittersweet joy that Lorna had faithfully kept to herself.

Because Kendra Jackson was a young woman too happy and carefree and in love—and too naïve about the secrets and selfish motives of others—to be aware that the very efficient Miss Farrell, whose time and attention she apparently coveted, was actually her half sister.

And therein lay the reason for Lorna’s guilt. She’d known who her sister was the moment she’d heard her name six months ago. To then see her walk into the office three weeks later to meet her new beau for lunch had been both thrill and torture.

Because Lorna could never allow her sister to know who she was. Their mother had wanted nothing to do with the out-of-wedlock daughter she’d given birth to, and she’d not only made that crystal clear five years ago, she’d followed it up by sending her stepson, Mitch Ellery, to hunt Lorna down and give her wishes emphasis.

Though at first he’d restated it all with a gruff kind of tact, the no-nonsense glitter in his dark eyes and the rocky sternness of his harsh face had given his quiet words the impact of a sledgehammer.

It hadn’t mattered to Mitch Ellery that she’d been as shocked as her mother had been by the surprise meeting at the ritzy San Antonio restaurant where Doris Jackson Ellery had been having lunch with him and his father. The unstable friend who’d arranged it all had been nowhere to be found by the time Mitch had caught up with Lorna later that afternoon.

Lorna had been intimidated enough by his sudden arrival at her one-room apartment that she’d defended herself by telling him the truth: that her well-meaning but misguided friend had arranged the surprise, that she’d been as shocked and horrified as her mother had been.

Lorna had watched his hard expression darken as she’d vowed to him that she wouldn’t for the world have vetoed her mother’s choice and approached her in such a public manner.

The explanation and sincere apology she’d made hadn’t mattered a whit to Mitch Ellery. Though he’d started out with her quietly and sternly, once she’d said all that, his deep voice had lowered to a growl and the scorn on his rugged face had cut her to the quick.

He’d told her bluntly that he thought she was lying, not only about her friend arranging the meeting, but about even suggesting that she could truly be Doris Ellery’s daughter. He’d hinted that it was her own stability that was in question before he’d declared her an inept opportunist using a cruel claim to extort money from a wealthy family. On his way out of her tiny apartment, he’d threatened to inform the police if any of them ever heard from her again.

She’d been devastated by that, devastated by the notion that her mother had apparently lied about having an out-of-wedlock child that she’d given up years ago, and mortified to be thought a liar herself.

Not that Lorna was unsympathetic to the plight of her mother. Doris Jackson Ellery was barely forty by now, so she must have given birth to Lorna when she was only sixteen years old. No doubt the circumstances of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy and the act of giving up her child for adoption had been troubling enough for Doris to go through.

Lorna completely understood that her mother must have surely meant to put that time in her life behind her and to possibly forget it had ever happened. Which was an indication to Lorna that her birth and the circumstances surrounding it must have been traumatic.

Though Doris had married Kendra’s father two years after she’d given up her first child and had many years later married the much older Jake Ellery, the respectable upscale lifestyle she lived now no doubt made her leery of the scandal that might be associated with giving up an out-of-wedlock child, should it become public knowledge. Not everyone had a liberal outlook on such things. And since Doris had obviously kept it a secret from the Ellerys, they might all have considered a belated revelation of the truth a betrayal of trust.

The Ellery family was an old one in the oil and ranching community, and their sterling reputation was no doubt paramount. Kendra herself had been a member of that family for years, and if there was ever a proper young lady, it was Kendra, who clearly had been brought up with strict traditional morals and taught to behave in a respectable manner.

Lorna was acutely aware of how important respectability was. She’d worked hard for her own respectability and the value of having a sterling reputation with no hint of moral failure attached to it was worth everything to her.

But it would all come crashing down now, her respectability would be sullied and her wonderful job humiliatingly snatched away. How else could Mitch Ellery take this situation that she’d allowed to go on because she’d wanted to keep her job and couldn’t bring herself to hurt Kendra’s feelings?

One look at Lorna and he’d know that the Miss Farrell he’d surely heard about was Miss Lorna Farrell. That Lorna Farrell. The Lorna Farrell he’d thought an unstable opportunist and a liar, the Lorna Farrell he’d threatened to turn in to the police.

Just then, Kendra turned her head and Lorna glanced away. The elevator whispered to a halt and Lorna gripped the strap of her handbag in preparation for the doors opening.

As they stepped out, Kendra’s sweet voice sent a fresh jolt of alarm across her ragged nerves.

“Why, Lorna…you’re shaking!” The younger woman touched her arm and they both halted as the elevator door closed behind them. “Are you all right?”

Lorna gave her a smile she hoped didn’t tremble. “I’m fine. I skipped lunch.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Kendra went on, and her genuine concern gave Lorna’s heart a poignant nudge. “We could have grabbed something to eat while we were out.”

“I wasn’t hungry, and I’m still not.” Lorna made herself smile gently at her sister. “You’ve had days like that lately, haven’t you? When you’re too excited about the wedding and too busy with plans to think about food, so you forget to eat until you get shaky?”

Kendra, despite her carefree manner, was slow to lose her concern. And that touched Lorna again.

“If you’re sure? You’ve been working hard lately, and I’ve been running you all over San Antonio. Maybe you should take a couple days off. You’ve more than earned the time.”

Lorna shook her head. “I love to work and I love the challenge. I’ll have all weekend to rest up and recharge, but—” she paused as they started to walk along the hallway to the open office doors “—I really need to get back to work. Your fiancé gave me a raft of correspondence this morning that I need to finish by five o’clock. I’ve got an apple at my desk to tide me over.”

Kendra’s expression lightened to uncertainty as they walked along and she searched Lorna’s tense features. Then she smiled. “All right. Thanks for all your help, but don’t work too hard.”

“Hard work is good for the soul,” she said as they walked past the wide doorway into the office.

As she said it, Lorna touched her sister’s arm. Not only was it a silent thanks for her concern and meant as a reassurance to the younger woman, but it was also a heartfelt need to indulge what might be her last opportunity to do so.

If she could think of an excuse for a business errand that would take her to another floor of the building, perhaps she could delay the inevitable. Perhaps it was still possible to contact Mr. Ellery privately, confess what she’d done, and explain her dilemma. Perhaps he’d take more kindly to that than an out-of-the-blue surprise.

Why hadn’t she done that months ago? Why hadn’t she been more sensible before things had gone so far?

She’d just glanced forward as they walked deeper into the large outer office when she noticed the big man who slowly rose from one of the wide sofas across from her desk.

Kendra saw him then too, because she called out, “Mitch! You’re early! I’m so sorry you had to wait.”

And then Kendra was walking to her stepbrother, outpacing Lorna who’d suddenly faltered at the sight of the tall, rugged man whose dark gaze lanced into hers and now cut over her like sharp blades.

Terror gripped her, but she tried mightily to glance away from him and walk calmly to her desk. She’d hoped she could somehow avoid a formal introduction, but she’d known from the moment Kendra had announced ten minutes ago that Mitch Ellery was picking her up that her chances were nil. The best she could do was to wrap herself in the aloof composure that few people other than Kendra and a handful of friends had managed to breach.

Lorna had no more than put her handbag into her desk drawer and casually reached over to press the button on her computer screen when Kendra got her attention.

“Lorna?”

Lorna made herself glance Kendra’s way and forced a faint smile as her sister approached the desk with Mitch Ellery at her side. Ever the proper, accommodating employee, Lorna stepped around the desk for the dreaded introduction.

“This is my stepbrother, Mitch Ellery,” Kendra began, and Lorna shifted her gaze to meet the fiery darkness in his eyes. “Mitch, this is Lorna Farrell.”

Lorna’s heart shot to her throat and pounded painfully. Three hard beats and she jerkily extended her icy hand. Three more hard beats as she waited for disaster.

The dizzying thought—that putting out a hand to Mitch Ellery was no less risky than putting her hand into the mouth of a ferocious beast—threatened her waning courage.

But then his hand came up and took hers. The callused strength in his fingers could have crushed hers with one casual flex, but his firm grip was as gentle as his skin was hot and work-hardened.

As he’d been that day years ago, he was dressed in a black suit, and his boots carried a muted shine. The suit was in keeping with his millionaire taste, but his callused hand, black boots and the pearl-gray Stetson he’d left on the sofa were proof that beneath his millionaire oilman look, he was a rancher.

And not only a rancher who ruled over a small empire but, from the rough feel of his palm, an everyday cowboy who sweated and bled and dirtied his hands to keep it his.

Long seconds stretched longer as they stared at each other, their hands clasped together as if neither of them could risk letting go just yet.

The hot bolts of feeling that radiated through her from the engulfing strength of his hand arrowed straight to every deeply primal, feminine place in her body and set off a series of quivering earthquakes.

Mitch’s voice was low and his drawl pronounced. “A pleasure, Miz Farrell.”

His fingers tightened ever so slightly, prompting her to stammer out a half choked, “Mr. Ellery, nice to m-meet you. Miss Jackson has mentioned you warmly.”

Mentioned you warmly? Warmly? Mortification scorched her face. Mitch’s dark gaze seemed to flicker then and the quiet rage she saw in his rocky expression eased. She continued to stare into his eyes, searching for some bit of mercy. The hint of reprieve was there, but she knew better than to take it as anything less than a momentary one.

And she was right, because she suddenly understood he wouldn’t confront her now. He’d never do it in front of Kendra. That meant he’d come after her as he had years ago. But this time their meeting would end differently. What she’d done by not rebuffing Kendra or quitting her job ensured that.

Kendra’s soft voice startled Lorna.

“My goodness. That must be one of the longest handshakes in history.”

Lorna reflexively jerked her hand from Mitch’s, but his big fingers tightened, forcing her to retreat much more slowly. To the young woman looking on, the separation of their hands must have seemed reluctant, and the slow release lingering. Like two people intensely attracted to each other who only stopped touching because propriety compelled them to behave circumspectly.

Lorna couldn’t look at Kendra’s face because she already sensed her speculation. Instead she looked past her sister and brought her hands together in front of her in a way she hoped appeared natural.

“If you’ll both excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

It all ended quickly then, though it felt as if it took hours for Kendra to pop into John Owen’s office with her stepbrother in tow, then scant minutes later, to walk out with Mitch and wave a goodbye to Lorna before they walked to the door then on into the hall.

The frantic clack of keystrokes during those endless moments ceased once Lorna heard the elevator door close. When she was able to recover, she paged back through the screens she’d just filled up with gibberish, then highlighted it all before she hit the delete button.

Determined to occupy her still frantic mind, she picked up the dictation she’d taken that morning and tried to settle down to real work. Concentration was difficult, and it was another frustrating eternity before she could focus enough to make headway with the correspondence. By the time she finally finished at ten minutes before five o’clock, her boss had signed the correspondence and gone home.

Fresh worry settled in then, and Lorna stayed in the office to finish the mail and organize everything else as much as possible. Who knew what these next hours would bring? It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that she would be prevented from returning to this office on Monday or that she might be facing a several day absence. Depending on what Mitch Ellery chose to do and if the police became involved as he’d threatened before, she might never have another opportunity to take care of a few odds and ends.

Once those minor tasks were finished, she removed the few small personal items from her desk drawers and from the top of the desk to put in her handbag. What wouldn’t fit in the handbag she put in the cloth satchel she normally used to carry extra work to and from the office. She had a last glance around, picked up the mail she would drop off at the post office, then switched off the lights on her way out.

It was a relief that most of the other workers had left the building hours ago so she wouldn’t have to put on a more friendly expression for anyone but the security guard. When she arrived in the lobby, her gentle smile and soft “good night” prompted the guard to step ahead of her to chivalrously open the door before he once again locked up for the night.

Her head began to pound once she reached the nearly empty parking lot where she’d left her car that morning. Trying hard to resign herself to the idea that Mitch Ellery might already have found her apartment and taken up a convenient place to keep watch for her, she started her car and drove out of the lot to the post office, then home.

There was no point in hoping for another reprieve or even a delay. The suspense of waiting even a few hours was already more than she could tolerate. She’d known this day was coming for months. She should have contacted Mitch Ellery long ago, but selfishness was the real reason she hadn’t.

Through Kendra, she’d got a taste of family that she’d hungered for since childhood, and she hadn’t had enough character to keep from taking it. And since the notion of family and home and belonging were the sweetest and most sacred things in the world to her, it made sense that those small tastes and rare glimpses of what mattered most would come at a steep price.

Now it was time to pay for those treasures in whatever coin Mitch Ellery decreed. Though she knew the payment was certain to devastate her, she’d pay quickly and, because she was guilty, she wouldn’t complain.

As she finally turned onto her street then pulled into the driveway between her building and the next one, she resisted the urge to glance around for unfamiliar vehicles. She made it all the way inside to her apartment before she heard the buzzer sound from the call box outside the front door of the small lobby downstairs.

The simultaneous knock on her apartment door came before she could cross to the tiny foyer and press the button on the intercom. Rattled, Lorna belatedly recognized the knock and gratefully opened the door.

Melanie Parker, her closest friend, greeted her with a wide smile that vanished the moment she glimpsed Lorna’s pale face.

“What’s wrong?”

Lorna let out a nervous breath. “I’m so glad you’re home. I need a favor.”

The buzzer on the call box sounded again and Lorna reached to grip Melanie’s hand. “You remember Mitch Ellery?”

Mellie’s pretty face showed her alarm. “Oh, no, Lorna. What can I do?”

Lorna felt the sting of grateful tears. Though Melanie knew she’d silently indulged her craving to spend time with her sister, Mellie had never made more than a couple of remarks to caution Lorna about the risk. She’d kept her disapproval mostly to herself because Melanie Parker, more than anyone, understood. But Mellie knew as much as Lorna did what Mitch’s arrival now meant.

“If he comes up,” Lorna said shakily, “I’d like you to check on me in a few minutes. Just a quick phone call, you don’t need to come over.”

Melanie was distressed by that. “Do you think he’d hurt you? Could he become violent?”

God, she hadn’t thought of that, but she doubted it. She shook her head.

“He’s very angry, but I don’t think he’d hurt me. Not like that. I’m probably overreacting.”

The buzzer on the call box sounded again and Lorna urged Melanie back into the hall.

“I can’t make him wait, Mel. Please. Call me in…twenty minutes?”

“That long?”

“Twenty minutes,” Lorna repeated and tried for a smile, suddenly feeling guilty for worrying her friend. “It’ll be all right.”

Melanie nodded, though she didn’t look convinced as she backed toward her apartment door across the hall. Lorna let her door close, then reached to press the intercom button before Mitch could ring again. If she was very, very lucky, the person downstairs would not be Mitch Ellery.

Her soft, “Yes,” sounded strained.

Mitch’s gravelly voice was curt. “This the right apartment?” He’d apparently recognized her voice.

No proper greeting, no “Is this Lorna Farrell?” no “May I please come in?” No acknowledgment that she had a choice in whether she buzzed him into the building or not. Almost as if the only thing that had made him pause from charging in like an angry bull was the need to make certain he’d be charging into the right apartment.

On the other hand, building security was sometimes lax. He could have waited until another tenant came along to slip past the locked door. The fact that he hadn’t was at least honest and some indication of a sense of propriety, if not also fair play.

Her soft, “Yes,” was resigned. She hesitated a moment, then pressed the button that would release the lock downstairs and let him pass into the lobby.

Real fear surged then. This was it. And, as she’d sensed, Mitch Ellery was about to charge in like a bull. Far too soon he’d cleared the stairs and she heard him striding down the hall. The cadence of his heavy boot heels was a confirmation that he was angry and would charge in. The relentless sound of his long stride coming so quickly near cranked her dread up at least a thousand notches.

She didn’t think her nerves could take the sound of him pounding on her door, so she reached out to open it.