Page 17 of Just Imagine
“Can’t say I’m surprised. The major told me what happened last night. That was some trick you pulled, Miss Kit.”
It was the form of address she was accustomed to hearing at home, but he made it sound like an insult. “What happened last night was between me and the major. It’s none of your business.”
“I don’t like misjudging people, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothin’ about you that’s any of my business anymore.” He picked up an empty bucket and left the stable.
She threw down her book, grabbed a brush, and headed into the stall that housed a russet mare named Saratoga. She didn’t care what Cain’s orders were. If she didn’t keep busy, she’d go crazy.
She was running her hands down Saratoga’s hind legs when she heard the door open. Jumping up, she whirled around to see Cain standing in the center aisle of the stable, regarding her with granite-hard eyes.
“My orders were clear, Kit. No work in the stable.”
“The good Lord gave me two strong arms,” she retorted. “I’m no good at sittin’ idle.”
“Grooming horses isn’t an appropriate activity for a young lady.”
She stared at him hard, trying to see if he was making fun of her, but she couldn’t read his expression. “If there’s work to be done, I believe in doin’ it. A sybaritic life doesn’t appeal to me.”
“Stay away from the stable,” he said tightly.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he was too quick for her. “No arguments. I want you cleaned up and in the library after dinner so I can talk to you.” He turned on his heel and strode out the stable door, his powerful, long-legged gait too graceful for a man of his size.
Kit reached the library first that evening. In token obedience to Cain’s orders, she’d scrubbed the middle of her face, but she felt too vulnerable to do any more. She needed to feel strong now, not like a girl.
The door opened, and Cain came into the room. He was dressed in his customary at-home uniform of fawn trousers and white shirt, open at the throat. His eyes flicked over her. “I thought I told you to get cleaned up.”
“I washed my face, didn’t I?”
“It’s going to take a lot more than that. How can you stand to be so filthy?”
“I don’t hold much with baths.”
“Seems to me there are a lot of things you don’t ‘hold much’ with. But you’re taking a bath before you spend another night here. Edith Simmons is threatening to quit, and I’ll be damned if I lose a housekeeper because of you. Besides, you stink up the place.”
“I do not!”
“Hell you don’t. Even if it’s only temporary, I am your guardian, and right now you’re taking orders from me.”
Kit froze. “What you talkin’ about, Yankee? What do you mean, ‘guardian’?”
“And here I thought there wasn’t anything that got past you.”
“Tell me!”
She thought she saw a flash of sympathy in his eyes. It disappeared as he explained the details of the guardianship and the fact that he was also the administrator of her trust fund.
Kit barely remembered the grandmother who’d set aside the money for her. The trust fund had been a constant source of resentment to Rosemary, and she’d forced Garrett to consult one lawyer after another about breaking it, to no avail. Although Kit supposed she should be grateful to her grandmother, the money was useless. She needed it now, not in five years or when she got married, which she wouldn’t ever do.
“The guardianship is Rosemary’s joke from the grave,” Cain concluded.
“That damn lawyer didn’t say anything to me about a guardian. I don’t believe you.”
“I’ve seen your temper firsthand. Did you give him a chance to explain?”
With a sinking heart, she remembered how she’d forced him out of the house as soon as he’d told her about Cain’s inheritance, even though he’d said there was more.
“What did you mean earlier about it bein’ a temporary state?”
“You don’t think I’m going to let myself be saddled with you for the next five years, do you?” The Hero of Missionary Ridge actually shuddered. “Early tomorrow morning, I’m leaving for South Carolina to get this mess straightened out. Mrs. Simmons will watch over you until I get back. It shouldn’t be much more than three or four weeks.”
