Page 107 of Just Imagine
Now that they were finally alone, Kit couldn’t remember a word of the speech she’d rehearsed so carefully. She realized she was still holding the pistol and that it was pointed at Cain. Swiftly she shoved it back into her reticule. “It wasn’t loaded.”
“Thank God for small favors.”
She’d imagined their reunion a hundred times, but she’d never imagined this cold-eyed stranger fresh from another woman’s arms.
“What are you doing here?” he finally asked.
“Looking for you.”
“I see. Well, you’ve found me. What do you want?”
If only he’d move, maybe she could find the words she needed to say, but he stood stiffly in place, looking as if her simple presence was inconveniencing him.
Suddenly it was all too much—the grueling journey, the horrible uncertainty, and now this—finding him with another woman. She fumbled inside her reticule and drew out a thick envelope. “I wanted to bring you this.” She put it on the table next to the door, then turned and fled.
The hallway seemed to go on forever, and so did the stairs. She tripped halfway down and barely managed to catch herself before she fell. The men at the bar craned their necks to watch her. Ruby stood at the bottom of the stairs, still wearing her red dressing gown. Kit brushed past her and made her way toward the swinging doors of the saloon.
She’d nearly reached them when she heard him behind her. Hands clasped her shoulders and spun her around. Her feet left the ground as Cain swept her up into his arms. Holding her against his chest, he carried her back through the saloon.
He took the stairs two at a time. When he reached his room, he kicked the door open with his foot and then closed it the same way.
At first he didn’t seem to know what to do with her; then he dumped her on the bed. For a moment he stared at her, his expression still inscrutable. Then he crossed the room and picked up the envelope she’d left for him.
She lay quietly as he read it.
He glanced through the pages once, very quickly, and then went back to the beginning and read them through more carefully. Finally he gazed over at her, shaking his head. “I don’t believe you did this. Why, Kit?”
“I had to.”
He looked at her sharply. “Were you forced to?”
“Nobody could force me to do that.”
“Then why?”
She sat up on the edge of the bed. “It was the only way I could think of.”
“What do you mean by that? The only way to do what?”
When she didn’t immediately answer him, he threw down the papers and came toward her. “Kit! Why did you sell Risen Glory?”
She stared down at her hands, too numb to speak.
He thrust his fingers through his hair, and he seemed to be talking as much to himself as to her. “I can’t believe you sold that plantation. Risen Glory meant everything to you. And for ten dollars an acre. That’s only a fraction of what it’s worth.”
“I wanted to get rid of it quickly, and I found the right buyer. I had the money deposited in your account in Charleston.”
Cain was stunned. “My account?”
“It was your plantation. Your money put Risen Glory back on its feet again.”
He said nothing. The silence stretched between them until she thought she would scream if it weren’t filled.
“You’d like the man who bought it,” she finally said.
“Why, Kit? Tell me why.”
Was she imagining it, or could she detect a slight thawing in his voice? She thought of Ruby pressed up against him. How many other women had there been since he’d left her? So much for all her dreams. She’d look like a fool when she explained it to him, but her pride no longer mattered. There’d be no more lies from her, spoken or unspoken, only the truth.
