Chapter Five
Neil’s blood was boiling. What hole had that man crawled out of all of a sudden? As soon as he had heard Finn’s voice, he stopped in his tracks and spun around to watch in horror what unfolded right before his eyes.
Neil couldn’t stand the derogative way Finn spoke to women, as if his arrogance truly knew no bounds.
He also knew that Finn would throw plenty of cutting jabs at him, trying to provoke him in any way he could.
That was the way he played his little game whenever he crossed paths with Neil.
And Neil knew that he couldn’t react to any of it.
Not because Neil was weak. He wasn’t. Neil just wouldn’t give Finn the satisfaction of winning. Another thing he would most certainly never do again was feeding Finn’s ego with his own breakdown and loss.
However, standing at the train station right then, Neil couldn’t deny that he was a little perplexed at what had just occurred here mere seconds ago.
That woman was feisty, and she was clearly very brave.
The way she had stood up for herself and her sister impressed him a little.
But as much as Neil despised Finn Vale, he was a powerful figure in this town, and his money and influence could do a lot of damage to someone as vulnerable as Miss Poppy Marwood and her little sister.
After all, she didn’t know whom she was dealing with, and although he was no real baron, despite what he’d stated earlier, Finn Vale was a dangerous man indeed.
And now that Finn had stepped into the picture, Neil instantly felt protective over Poppy and little Sophie. Whether it was his own pride or simply the fact that Poppy’s disappointed look had stirred something inside of him, he couldn’t let his nemesis get away with any of this.
“Mind your own business, Finn!” Neil barked at him. “That is my future wife you’re talking about!”
Neil purposefully said it loudly so that Poppy would hear it, too. She clearly did, because she came to a sudden stop. Then she spun around with a questioning look on her face. Sophie lifted her little arms to her, and Poppy immediately lifted her onto her hip.
“Oh, she is?” Finn burst out in hearty laughter.
“So you’ve become so desperate that you had to order yourself a bride from somewhere outside of town?
Because no woman here would want to marry you?
” He laughed even harder, pressing a hand to his stomach as he bent backward.
“I was only trying to help since I’ve got experience looking after your leftovers! ”
Neil clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to give in to the fury that clawed at his throat and burned in his hands.
Instead of punching Finn in the face, which was what he wanted to do, Neil ignored him.
He looked over to Poppy, who still stood there in utter shock.
She was seemingly frozen to the ground, holding onto Sophie and staring back at him with wide eyes.
“So when is the wedding?” Finn asked, still laughing way too loudly.
“Tomorrow,” Neil replied, but he said it more to Poppy. Her eyebrows shot almost to her hairline when she heard that.
Neil walked toward her and grabbed her travel bag. Looking down into her terrified eyes, he saw disbelief and fear. At the same time, standing so close to her again, he felt a sudden spark deep inside his chest. It unsettled him, so he just turned and started walking toward his buggy.
“Follow me,” he said over his shoulder to her without waiting for her. Neil heard Sophie whimper, but he didn’t stop.
“Congratulations,” Finn said mockingly, pretending to wipe tears of laughter from his eyes when Neil walked toward him. “How about we make a bet if you can keep this one!” Finn challenged.
Neil rammed his shoulder hard against Finn’s the second he passed him. The effect was instant. Finn’s fake laughter turned into a choked grunt and then loud howling.
“You worthless dog!” Finn yelled with a whiny voice, holding his bruised shoulder with his hand. Neil just smiled to himself and kept walking. His own shoulder hurt, too, but the pain was completely worth it.
As soon as he reached the buggy, he threw the small bag inside and started to untie the reins of the patiently waiting rusty-brown gelding that was strapped into it. Then he let the horse walk backward for a few steps so he could turn the buggy around.
When he turned to look for Poppy, he found that she had followed him very slowly. She was still carrying Sophie, who was crying now, and Poppy’s hesitancy was all too obvious. Any onlookers could safely assume that Neil was forcing this young woman and child to come with him.
Neil sighed. If Finn hadn’t shown up today, he’d long be on his way home—without a bride, a little child, and any of the worries he had in that very moment. But thanks to his nemesis, he had felt compelled to help this woman and her sister.
However, this compulsion had now also cost him his freedom. He had just told that woman that he would marry her the next day.
Neil took his Stetson off and combed his long fingers through his unruly brown hair while he waited next to the buggy for his future wife.
At the same time, he watched a disgruntled Finn stomp off to where Poppy had thrown his cane into the tall grass.
It was somewhat entertaining to watch the large man struggle to find his walking stick.
Finn found his cane at the same time that Poppy and Sophie turned up at Neil’s buggy.
Neil took Sophie from Poppy, who stopped her crying for a couple of seconds—probably because she was in shock of being manhandled without being asked.
Then he helped Poppy into the buggy. She scooted as far to the other side as she humanly could, then she took Sophie back and put her on her lap.
“Just to be clear,” Neil announced as he climbed in beside them, “this will only be a trial. You’ll work at my ranch as a housekeeper until the trial period is finished. If things don’t work out, I will send both of you back to where you came from. Is that understood?”
Poppy didn’t say anything, but she quickly nodded when he looked at her. Neil could see the distress in the woman’s face, and he instantly wanted to apologize for his harsh words, but he didn’t. Instead, he grabbed the reins and started off down the road.
The buggy jolted, throwing Poppy against Neil’s shoulder. If it hadn’t been the shoulder he had rammed against Finn previously, it may have felt nice, but since it was his bruised one, he flinched at the sudden touch.
“Violence never solved anything,” Poppy said quietly as she turned her head away from him to look outside.
“What?” Neil asked, shooting a quick glance at her.
Sophie had stopped crying. She sat on Poppy’s lap and watched Neil intently. The little girl’s intense stare prevented Neil from reacting grumpily to Poppy’s comment.
“Maybe you should learn to control your temper,” Poppy replied without looking at him. Neil inhaled sharply, but Sophie was still staring at him, so he let it slide. Instead, he focused on the road and making the horse run faster.
This was the woman he was about to marry the next day?