“The dessert alone is reason to sit down and savor it,” he said, looking physically pained by the thought of not obliging it. “Imported chocolate cake, Benjamin. It’s divine. And not something one stands up to eat.”
“Why on earth would you import cake, Theodore?” I asked.
“Your sweet wife and uncle would—”
“—say nothing, because they can’t,” I finished for him. “They’re dead. Please go make sure our guests’ coats are secure.”
Striding away before Theodore could puff up again, I snatched the silver handbell from the sideboard.
“Friends,” I said loudly as I rang it, clearing my throat as the word stuck in my throat. “Ladies,” I said, nodding to a dapper older woman with a tall, intricate hat. “Gentlemen. Welcome to my home.”
There were murmurs and smiles and the rustle of dresses as people turned to face me from all around the room and the parlor doorway.
“I’m honored that you could all be here tonight,” I lied. “I know the weather looks like it could be stirring up something soon, so thank you for braving it. Some of you are new to the event, while others have been coming since my uncle kicked off this shindig in—” I narrowed my eyes toward an elderly man in a topcoat. “What was it, Mr. Alford? Eighteen seventy-five?”
“Before that,” the old man rasped with a grin. “After the war. Back before your father left Texas and the Mason brothers would do anything for a party.”
I joined the room in amused laughter, in spite of the sour taste the mention of my father left in my mouth. I felt nothing for the man who’d sold me out.
“Well, I’m sure you would know,” I said, raising a glass of bourbon, to which the older man smiled among the chuckling with a shrug to his wife. “But seriously, to you all, we’re a small community here, and this is one night every year that Uncle Travis loved. Having you all in his home to break bread and mingle for the holiday.” The front door squeaked from the other room as the bustling sound of a late arrival reached my ears. I heard Theodore’s tone pitch oddly as he asked for a coat or wrap, and I wondered if it was another of my investors from the city. He despised anyone who openly talked about money. “I realize we still have a few days left—”
“Four days,” called a young woman I recognized from the feedstore, where she worked with her father. It was her first time here and she was grinning ear to ear. I almost hated to short her of the full experience, but she was young. She’d be fine standing.
“Four days,” I said with a laugh, pointing at her and not missing the pink that flooded her cheeks. I hoped that Mrs. Shannon, my daughter’s nanny, wasn’t watching from a corner somewhere, or I’d never hear the end of that. “So, eat up and enjoy. Theodore will introduce our new dining style tonight,” I added, grinning wider at the look of repulsion on his face. “We’re going very modern. So, Merry Christm—”
My lips froze as my eyes fell on the newly arrived guest.
Dark hair hung in curled ringlets around her shoulders, grazing bare collarbones as a scalloped neckline and fitted bodice of a burgundy velvet gown hugged curves I could still feel under my fingers if I closed my eyes.
Dark-chocolate eyes met mine, her sun-kissed skin flushed with the cold, perfect brows lifting as she raised her chin haughtily.
“I apologize for being late,” she said in a stilted tone, adding with a pause, “Mr. Mason.”
My jaw twitched at the formality, and all I could do was tumble back five years since she’d last graced this room, to another night when words had failed me as well. And had turned my world upside down.
Chapter 4
1899
Ben
I tied the tie. Combed my short waves into submission. Pulled on the jacket and rolled my shoulders to let it settle.
This was a bad idea.
For three months, I had stayed incognito at the Lucky B Ranch. Henry Bancroft and Uncle Travis were convinced that someone was stealing supplies from both ranches, and that it might be from the inside. When I first left Colorado to work for my uncle, it was to get away from my manipulative father and his incessant badgering for me to marry a wealthy girl and be set. For him to be set was what he really meant. My jaw couldn’t take the clenching anymore. While my uncle was pretty much a stand-up guy as far as I knew, his brother would do anything to help himself.
I’d even proposed marriage to a girl I’d tried to love for a year, just to placate him, and finally couldn’t stand for it. I had to go. I had to get away. Winifred was pretty and cultured and nice enough, and would probably make someone a very nice wife and give someone’s family a very sizable dowry, but that wasn’t for me. She wasn’t for me. Winifred Harwell was spoiled and high-strung and too entitled for her own good.
So, to Texas I went, to my father’s childhood home, to the horse ranch their parents and grandparents ran, that was now run by his brother. Uncle Travis had no children and no heir, so he took me in, showed me the ropes, and put me to work straightaway. It was exactly what I needed. Then things started disappearing at his best friend’s cattle ranch that bordered his property, and so they devised a plan. I’d go to work for
