Chapter 16 #2
It irked her, and it was just the sort of thing that made her want to start another argument, but no matter how many circles they went in, Ben was going to bring them back to the matter at hand.
“So this Randall Davies was trying to build a railroad line that connected Prescott all the way to Fort Collins. My father had essentially predicted the possibility, since he owned several pieces of land that Davies needed for that railroad. He just didn’t want to pay what the land was worth.”
That’d started six months ago, and yet Hattie could still remember it all so clearly. Her father had raged and shouted throughout the house, furious that Randall would lowball him like that.
Hattie had just slipped through the back door when she heard it.
“He’s already built numerous railroads. He knows how this works! He’s just trying to get one over on me because we’re practically neighbors!” Papa’s boots stomped up and down the hall, and when he passed the stairs, he cracked his fist down on the newel post.
“Maybe you should reconsider, Allen,” Mama suggested from the dining room doorway. “You’d be able to sell a lot of land at once, and that would free you up to purchase some of the property over in California you were interested in.”
“It’s the principle, Justine,” Papa growled. “If he were trying to buy the land from anyone else, he’d offer them a fair market price. I know he would! I’ve always wondered about his ethics, and now I know for sure!”
Hattie moved to the back stairs and crept silently up to her bedroom. Mr. Davies had always been kind enough to her. He’d practically treated her like family.
Mama’s gentle voice followed her up the stairs. “Perhaps the two of you can talk about it.”
“The time for talking is over!” Papa declared.
Hattie couldn’t see him as she snuck along the upstairs hall, but she could easily imagine him putting his finger in the air to make his point.
“And Hattie’s not to go over there anymore!”
That froze her. Hattie pressed herself against the wall, giving up the safety of her bedroom in order to hear more. Papa had never restricted her like that! He’d always acknowledged what a free spirit she was, and he even seemed proud of it at times.
“Mmm.” That was always the sound Mama made when she was about to go against her husband. “That’s going to be difficult.”
“She can keep herself occupied elsewhere,” Papa insisted. “She and Ingrid can go have tea with those nice young ladies down the road. The Ritters, I think? It doesn’t matter who they are, they’ll still be a far sight better than Davies!”
“I believe,” Mama said hesitantly, “that Hattie and Oscar might be interested in each other.”
Hattie clapped her hand over her mouth. Mama knew? She’d been so careful! She’d always come up with some excuse to go over to the Davies’ property, and she’d never mentioned a word about Oscar!
“Then they’ll just have to get over it,” Papa barked.
“Allen…”
“No, Justine. We’ve always indulged Hattie, and it’s time we put a stop to it. She’s about to be a grown woman, and she’s got to understand that she won’t always get what she wants. That’s life, and she’ll learn to like it.”
Hattie dashed to her room. She wanted to slam the door, but that would only give her away.
She gritted her teeth and threw her fists in the air.
She picked up her blankets and pillows and tossed them back down on the bed.
A scream welled up in her throat, and she bit it back.
She wouldn’t stay away from Oscar Davies! She wouldn’t!
“Hattie?”
“Oh. Sorry.” Her fists were balled in her skirt. That day had felt like the worst in her life, but it wasn’t. It was just the beginning.
How could she tell him the rest?
“My father and Mr. Davies went back and forth for a while, and eventually it turned into a feud of sorts between them. They each refused to budge.”
That was true enough. Those months had been so tense. She could always tell Papa was thinking about it when his eyes went dark and his knuckles went white.
She bit her lip. There was only so much truth she could give him.
“My family and I went on an outing to some hot springs a few miles outside of Prescott. We were ambushed. I suppose Mr. Davies figured he could get the land by force if not by contract. Cutter and Bo are his men, and he sent them.”
Hattie’s whole body went rigid. “They killed my parents and my sister.”
“But you got away?” Ben guessed.
“I—I hid in the water.” She ducked her head and looked away from Ben. “I lived, but that means I inherited my father’s problem. I’m the only thing standing in the way of Mr. Davies getting the land he wants.”
“I see,” Ben whispered. “I’m sorry, Hattie.”
“No, don’t be. It’s…” She didn’t want pity from an orphan who had no control over his life and no true family. She’d had a family for a while, but it was her fault she’d lost them. Ben didn’t have to know that part, though. It was enough that he understood why Cutter was after her. “It’s fine.”
“And you don’t have anyone else?”
Her fingers brushed against the top of her dress, feeling the ring on the chain underneath. “I had a fiancé once.”
“Can I take you to him?” Ben offered readily.
Ben was so much nicer to her than she deserved. “I’m afraid he’s dead, too.”
“Hattie,” Ben whispered, his voice full of grief for her. “He was there that day?”
“No,” she said quickly. They were getting too close to the truth again, to the dangerous part of the truth, the part that would make Ben go find Cutter and hand her over. “He, um, he died before that. A brawl in a saloon.”
For the first time since she’d begun, she turned to Ben. Unexpected tears burned at the backs of her eyes. “He looked an awful lot like you, you know. Blond hair, blue eyes. A nice nose and a strong jaw. He was kind, too. Like you.”
He swiveled his head immediately, his brow scrunching down as he focused on the road ahead.
She hadn’t meant for any of that to come out, but at least it had stopped Ben from asking any more questions.