Epilogue
“You can’t force Jennifer to marry that man,” Rachel seethed at her stepfather.
They were standing outside the Oakdale chapel.
Rachel was sure Nathan had brought them here to guard against the possibility of Adam finding them and putting a stop to the proceedings, and as much as she hated to say it, that was probably going to work.
Her insides had turned to ice. It horrified her that Nathan would be willing to march his only daughter to the altar, knowing that Levine was responsible for the bruise on her face.
He can pretend not to know it all he wants. Nathan is no fool. I’m sure he understands what happened to Jennifer. He just doesn’t care, that’s all.
The Oakdale chapel was tiny, as was the whole town of Oakdale.
Rachel had never been here before, and it had surprised her to find that the place consisted largely of a single street with a few stores and a small mercantile.
There might have been more to it that she couldn’t see, but when they had ridden in, she’d watched the town appear as if it was springing from the ground.
First there had been nothing as far as the eye could see, and then, all at once, they had been surrounded by low buildings.
If this had been a town of any significant size, she would have seen it from a longer way off.
Though it was small, the chapel was rather lovely.
Under different circumstances, Rachel could have imagined herself admiring the fresh coat of white paint, the neatly tended flower beds, the evenly cut grass.
But even though this place was beautiful, Rachel despised it.
It was as if the beauty had been put here to taunt her, because this was the place that was going to rob her sister of her newfound freedom.
“Jennifer is not going to marry Mr. Levine,” Nathan said.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the church spire. Rachel frowned at him. “She isn’t? Then why did you bring us here?”
Nathan scoffed. “You really thought Mr. Levine would marry Jennifer after the way she treated him? It’s not even an option for her anymore, and I don’t blame him at all for refusing her.”
He hadn’t answered Rachel’s question, but his claim diverted her all the same.
Fury bubbled up inside her. “How can you speak about the way she treated him?” she demanded, throwing up her hands in frustration.
“I knew you were heartless, but this is a new low. Don’t you care that he struck your daughter?
You think men should be able to do that to her? ”
Nathan looked at her coldly for a moment, eyes narrowed in dislike. Then he turned back toward the church. “I think a woman ought to know her place,” he said in a low voice. “It’s a lesson your mother learned very well. Someday soon, you’ll learn it too.”
Rachel shuddered. “If I ever find out you’ve raised a hand to my mother…”
“You’ll do nothing,” Nathan said dismissively.
“I know you, Rachel. You never do anything. You don’t defend yourself.
You don’t defend those around you. All you do is run away.
That’s what you meant to do here, too. You meant to take Jennifer and run.
But your running days are behind you now.
Mr. Levine will show you what it means to submit—to be obedient. To be a good wife.”
He gave her a leering grin.
The meaning of his words sank in slowly.
Rachel was paralyzed with fear. “Wife?” she breathed.
“Mr. Levine doesn’t want Jennifer anymore, and I don’t fault him for that,” Nathan said again.
“But we have an agreement to honor. He promised me a share in his business dealings, and in return I promised him a daughter to marry. Of course, I thought I was doing a kindness by giving him the more obedient of the two of you, but Jennifer has turned out to be anything but obedient. And if both of my daughters are renegades, Mr. Levine may as well have the prettier of the two.”
Rachel forgot how to breathe for a moment.
They weren’t there to marry Jennifer to Levine.
Nathan intended to do that to her.
“I’m not your daughter,” she managed. “I am not yours to give to him.”
“This is going to happen,” Nathan told her firmly. “You do yourself no favors by resisting it.”
“I won’t say yes.” She trembled. “The minister won’t be able to tie us together because I’ll refuse him.”
“No one is planning to ask you.” Nathan smiled coldly.
“The minister is an old friend of mine. He’s familiar with our unique set of circumstances, and he’ll tailor the ceremony so that you’ll have no opportunity to disrupt things before you are married according to law and in the eyes of God.
You will be married today, Rachel. Finally you are going to do me some good. ”
“What have you done with Jennifer?” she managed.
“Jennifer is waiting inside to bear witness to the proceedings. Oh, she put up a fight about it,” Nathan added, smirking. “I imagine she’s jealous that she lost her opportunity to marry Mr. Levine. But she shouldn’t have been snooping around in his personal possessions.”
Rachel backed away from her stepfather slowly.
She didn’t want to leave Jennifer in his clutches.
But the best hope now was to get to Adam.
If she could do that, she was sure he would help her.
He would want to save Jennifer from this situation.
If she could just make it to the wagon, maybe there was a chance she could jump in and run away before things went any farther…
Nathan took a quick step forward and grabbed her by the arm.
“Don’t even think about it,” he hissed. “Do you think I don’t see exactly what you’re thinking, Rachel?
It’s just as I said. You’re a runner. Even now, knowing that Jennifer is in that church, you’re ready to turn your back.
Because all you want to do is protect yourself.
All you want to do is run away. You ran from your mother.
You ran from that rancher you’ve been with.
Now you’ll run from your sister…and all to keep yourself safe.
” He shook his head. “You think you’re better than I am, but you aren’t.
You care about what serves you. We are very alike. ”
For a moment, Rachel was paralyzed by the suggestion—and by the notion that it just might be true.
If it was, then she deserved no better than a marriage to Ted Levine. She should do the selfless thing and accept him in order to keep him away from Jennifer.
But Jennifer won’t be safe if I do that.
If she married Levine, Jennifer would go right back to her father’s house, right back to a situation that had caused her nothing but pain and suffering.
“You’re wrong about me,” she ground out through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain as Nathan’s fingers dug into her arm.
“I’m not selfish. And I don’t need your good opinion, Nathan.
I care about people and I have people who care about me—that’s all I need.
I will not allow you to force me into this marriage, and I won’t leave Jennifer behind either. ”
Nathan’s smile only grew wider.
He must be thinking the same thing she was. It was fine to say things like that, but in the end, what was she going to do about it? How was she going to stop any of these things from happening? She couldn’t, and they both knew it.
The door to the church opened. Levine appeared on the steps, his hand gripping the back of Jennifer’s neck. She was pale and shivering, tears spilling down her cheeks.
I can’t leave her at all. I can’t leave her and then come back for her. Even if it means I have to marry Levine…I don’t see how I can leave Jennifer alone with these two men.
Her heart turned to lead.
The church bell began to ring.
“It’s time,” Nathan announced, and he began to drag her toward the door, toward Levine, who bared his teeth like a predator.
Rachel resisted, digging her heels into the dirt, but it was fruitless. He was so much stronger.
And then she heard it—the voice she’d been yearning to hear since the moment she had opened the boarding house door to find her stepfather and Levine on the other side.
“Foster! Let her go!”
He was barreling toward them on Chestnut’s back, and as he drew close to them he vaulted off the horse and charged at them on foot. His face was red, his eyes wild. Nathan jumped in shock and scuttled backward several paces, letting go of Rachel in the process.
And she thought Adam would throw himself upon Nathan and vent the wrath that was written all over him…but he didn’t. He ceased his charge the moment Rachel had been released. Instead, he went right to her and took her in his arms.
Rachel melted into him, unable to resist. He was strong and solid, and yet he was also trembling. His hands pressed into her back as if to reassure himself that she was really here, really safe.
His breath shuddered as he clutched her to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on, unsure which of them she meant to comfort.
“Walk away, Summers,” Levine called. “You can’t stop this. If you try to leave with her, I’ll still have Jennifer—and that means Rachel won’t leave. She won’t leave her sister. She’s too noble.”
“And what will you do when I tell you that the sheriff will be here in ten minutes with a posse of men to arrest you for forcing these women into marriages they didn’t want?” Adam asked.
Did his voice tremble a bit? He seemed so confident, but his hand tightened on Rachel’s back when he spoke, betraying nervousness. He was still a little unsure.
Levine’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t involve the sheriff.”
“All right. Stand there with your hand on her while she cries and find out.” Adam’s voice grew more steady.
“You can still walk away from this, Levine. I didn’t tell him your name.
You don’t have to lose your reputation here.
He knows Foster is involved, but he doesn’t know about you.
Release Miss Foster to me and walk away. ”
Levine stared at him, unmoving, clearly unsure.