CHAPTER 12
Jake
Jake sank into the bathtub with a groan, the warm water slipping around his body like a blanket. He leaned his head back on the edge of the tub and stared at the ceiling boards, relaxing for the first time that day.
He’d known it would be a difficult day, of course. He just hadn’t imagined how difficult it would be. Poppy had come over the day before and insisted that they go to church, and Jake had spent a sleepless night dreading it.
It had almost broken his heart to see how devastated Rowena looked despite her display of bravery. He’d watched her from afar, earning him a rebuke from Poppy for not paying her enough attention, but he didn’t care. The woman he loved was falling apart from the inside out, and even though he didn’t want to be in this situation, he felt responsible.
He’d had no qualms about sending Poppy home with Zach and Rebecca, telling her he had to see someone in town before he went home. She wasn’t happy, of course, but Zach had volunteered to drive her all the way home so there was no reason for her not to go. No one commented on Rowena’s absence, but Jake knew that everyone would notice. He’d avoided being in town as much as possible since this whole sorry fiasco had begun, but he was certain there was talk of nothing else. The townspeople had never seen such a juicy story play out in full view and everyone was wondering what would happen next.
He’d watched Rowena slip over to the schoolhouse as he talked to the other men, something she often did after church. It was not in itself unusual. But everyone would notice that Poppy was with Zach and Rebecca instead of Rowena. The gossip around town was rife with speculation, and Jake hated that he’d inadvertently dragged Rowena into the midst of it.
Anger filled his heart at the thought of Poppy’s announcement that they were to be wed. He was sure Rowena had heard it, and he was certain that Poppy had intended her to. He hadn’t said anything to Poppy about his relationship with Rowena, but he was sure someone would’ve filled her in. Poppy had a knack for seeking out the biggest gossips in town and learning all the secrets they were prepared to divulge, which she would then use to her advantage. She’d done it while they were betrothed, but because it didn’t directly affect him, he’d dismissed it as women’s business and thought nothing of it. Now, he could see that it was a serious character flaw that could be dangerous.
He closed his eyes, savoring the warm bath after the effort it had taken to fill it up. He always put the tub in the middle of the floor of his cabin, close to the stove so he could easily carry the hot water over. Bathing was an arduous task without adequate plumbing, something he intended to solve when he could, but it was worth the trouble. He always felt relaxed after a warm bath.
But footsteps on the porch brought his relaxation to an abrupt end. Before he could climb out and get decent, the door flew open and Poppy burst in, her face like a thundercloud.
“Is it true that you were courting that horrid little schoolteacher?” she demanded, two bright spots of color appearing on her cheeks. She didn’t seem to notice that Jake was naked in the bath.
Jake gasped in shock and scrambled to reach his shirt, flinging it across his lap to provide at least the illusion of modesty. He slid lower in the water, his mouth opening and closing like a flapping fish as he tried to form words.
“Well, is it?” Poppy demanded again, ignoring his obvious discomfort.
“Yes.” Jake found his voice at last. “We were courting.”
“I knew it!” Poppy’s tone was triumphant. “I could tell by the way she looked at you. Someone else confirmed it today, and now I’ve heard it from your own mouth.” She marched over and leaned close, her words hitting him in the face. “Well, not any more, Jakey boy. You belong to me and we’ll be gettin’ wed as soon as the preacher arrives.”
“Now, wait a minute.” Jake was getting angry. “You don’t own me. Not now and not ever. So just go away, back where you came from. I don’t want to wed you.”
Poppy’s eyes glittered dangerously. “Oh, but you will.” Her tone was sweet and deadly. “You see, I’m with child. And the whole town will soon believe the child is yours. All I have to do is whisper the word into a few of the right ears and it will spread like wildfire.”
Jake shot up in the bath, almost forgetting that he was naked. “How dare you blackmail me, you evil woman?” he shouted. “Besides, who’s going to believe that’s even possible since you only just arrived in town?”
Poppy smiled sweetly. “All I have to do is tell the right people that I’ve actually been here for a few months, nursing my ill father. No one knows when he arrived, or that I didn’t come with him. All they will see is a dedicated nurse, caring for her dying father. No one will question that.”
“Well, I will,” Jake declared. “I’m not going to be blackmailed into this. Why don’t you just go away and leave us all alone?”
“If you oppose me, you’ll be more sorry than you’ve ever been in your whole life,” Poppy threatened. “The whole town will know you forced me and the child is the result.” She glared at him with icy eyes. “Just like the last town that ran you off.”
“That wasn’t true and you know it,” Jake said hotly. “I was set up by a rival who wanted the land I was buying. You know that.”
“Yes, but no one else does,” Poppy purred. She reached into the sack she carried and produced a worn envelope. “They’ll believe it, especially when they see the letter I have from the sheriff. It tells the story in great detail.” She gave him a triumphant smirk. “So it would be much better for you if you cooperated. Besides, I have another surprise for that sorry little excuse for a teacher. She’s been involved with Zach, so she has. I found them together when I went for a visit and tied my horse up at the barn.”
Jake was filled with rage. “You did not!” he hissed. “You’re lying. Leave Rowena out of this.”
“Ah, but everyone else will believe me,” Poppy said sweetly. “Everyone loves a good rumor. All I have to do is start it off and then it gets a life of its own. It’s a most useful way of getting what one wants.”
“You’re pure evil,” Jake spat out, shaking with rage.
Poppy eyed him coldly. “I deserve a better life, Jake. No one will give it to me, so I’m going to take what I can. Finding you here was the best luck I could’ve hoped for. No one will stop me now.”
“What about your father?” Jake demanded. “And Charlie? They know the truth.”
Poppy gave a derisive snort. “They won’t say anything. Charlie is afraid of me and my father is on his deathbed, the worthless old scoundrel. He won’t tell me if he has a gold stash hidden somewhere.”
“That makes two scoundrels in the family,” Jake muttered.
“I don’t care what you think.” Poppy’s tone was icy. “I’m going to become a respectable woman, thanks to you. My child will have a better future than I did.”
“Who’s the father?” Jake demanded.
“You, of course,” Poppy returned in a sugary sweet tone of voice. “No one will ever believe otherwise.”
And with that, she marched out the door, slamming it shut on the way. Jake scrambled out of the now-cold bath and wrapped a bath towel around his midriff. He darted to the door in time to see Poppy clamber onto her horse and gallop off along the trail toward Charlie’s place, her loose red hair streaming behind her.
Jake sank down on a chair at the kitchen table, shaking with the aftermath of the encounter as well as the cold. He stared unseeingly at the log wall opposite, his mind unable to comprehend the enormity of what Poppy wanted to do to him. And if he refused to go along with her plans, not only would she destroy him, but she would destroy Rowena, too. Jake couldn’t allow that to happen. There must be something he could do to stop her. His life loomed before him, monstrous and miserable as he thought of being shackled to Poppy until one of them died. Not to mention being forced to raise another man’s child as his own. It was unthinkable.
“Can you spare a moment?”
Charlie stood on Jake’s doorstep the following morning, his face haggard and his eyes bloodshot. Jake wondered if he’d been drinking, then remembered that Charlie had given up drinking thirty years ago.
“Of course. Come on in.” Jake stepped aside to allow the older man to enter the cabin.
Silence fell as the two men seated themselves at the kitchen table, something they had done so often in the past that it had simply become part of the ritual of a visit.
“What’s wrong?” Jake asked at last.
Charlie winced. “Is it that obvious?”
Jake nodded. “Sure is.”
Charlie sighed. “I’m sure you can guess. Poppy.”
“Say no more. Has she caused you a big pile of grief, too?”
Charlie stared at his hands. “Now, I’ve got no doubt that my brother let a lot of people down in his life, but no one deserves to be harassed and berated until they take their last breath.”
Jake scowled. “Won’t she leave her father alone?”
Charlie shook his head. “She’s convinced that he struck it rich in the mines up in Montana and he’s got a stash of gold somewhere. He’s tried to tell her that it’s all gone, but she won’t let it go. And when she’s not pesterin’ him about the gold, she’s beratin’ him for being a bad father. I had to ban her from his room last night so he could get some peace.” He frowned. “The problem is, Robert believes he deserves it, so he does nothing to stop her. It’s some kind of strange penance in his mind. I honestly believe her mind is unwell.”
Jake growled in frustration. “She’s nothing but a selfish, nasty, conniving female scoundrel. She showed up here last night with her demands and threats. While I was in the bath, no less. She didn’t care. And who knows how bad it will get when the child arrives …”
Charlie turned to him in horror. “ Child? Is there a child?”
Jake felt instant regret for mentioning something he’d assumed Charlie already knew. “I’m afraid so,” he said reluctantly.
Charlie’s eyes were wild with shock. “You mean this witch of a woman is about to multiply herself in my home?”
“I’m sorry, Charlie,” Jake said. “I thought you knew.”
Charlie clapped a large hand across his face and groaned. “Every second with her around makes things worse.”
“Don’t worry, Charlie. She’s currently blackmailing me into marrying her and giving her a respectable life. She has it all planned out how to make it happen, and so far, I can’t think of any way of stopping her without massive destruction to my life and Rowena’s. She’s got it all worked out to benefit herself.”
Charlie stared at him in dismay. “You jest, surely?”
“I do not. As I said, she visited last night with her plan all worked out and there was nothing I could think of to dissuade her. She’s an expert at lies, manipulation and gossip.”
“Everyone will realize she’s no good, won’t they?”
Jake shook his head. “Not soon enough. She’s very careful with her stories and the way she presents herself. She either has everyone convinced she deserves their sympathy or has won them over with her charm, preparing them for the evil seeds she will plant if she needs to. My life will no longer be worth living, Charlie. I’ll be miserable for the rest of my days if I wed her, or if I don’t, she will utterly destroy me in this town. And just to ensure that I got the message, she also has plans for Rowena if I don’t do as she says.” He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “What am I going to do? I can’t see any way out of this.”
Charlie took deep breaths, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was calm, the shock and dismay replaced by a steely resolve.
“Let’s not get all shook up,” he drawled. “I have a plan.”