Blake spoke into the awkward silence that followed. “Let’s save the champagne for the wedding, Dad. Our guests are cold and tired. What they need now is rest. There’s a guest room with two beds made up at the end of the hall. If that will do for you and Alvar, Mr. Anderson, I’ll show you the way. And you’ll be welcome to stay for breakfast in the morning.”
“You can sleep in the room next to mine.” Kristin took Hanna’s arm and led her toward the stairs. “I’ll lend you a warm nightgown. We’re going to have such good times together. I’ve never had a sister.”
Hanna blinked back tears as they climbed the stairs together. So much kindness to a stranger whose mistake had upended all their lives. She’d earned the contempt of this good family. Instead she’d been met with nothing but friendship and acceptance.
Only Sarah had remained silent.
* * *
The next morning, Hanna had insisted on going home with the wagon to see her family and share the news of her coming marriage. She planned on staying two days. On the third day, weather permitting, Blake would come for her in the buggy and drive her to Miles City, where they would be married in a private ceremony by a justice of the peace. The two of them had agreed that this was no time for a family celebration.
The storm had moved on, leaving a sky bright with sunlight. Early that morning, the Dollarhide ranch hands had driven a sleigh down the road to clear the snow. Warm and well fed, Lars and Hanna had left on the wagon, with Alvar leading on the horse.
Blake stood at the porch rail, his gaze following the wagon until it had rounded the first bend. Last night the course of his life had changed with a knock on the door. Days from now, Hanna would be his legal wife, her unborn baby his child.
Where was Mason in all this? Blake wondered. He’d be wise to find his brother before the wedding and make sure he wanted to make no claim on Hanna or her baby. Mason’s mother was a schemer, capable of turning Hanna and her father away without telling her son. Not that Mason would be itching to settle down. He was about as faithful as a prowling tomcat, and a shotgun marriage wasn’t likely to change him.
Mason’s description of Hanna’s behavior rose in his memory. It would be like Mason to exaggerate, but unless Blake could block the images those words conjured up, the two of them together, Hanna eager and wanton, they would haunt his marriage. If he sought Mason out today, he would likely get more of the same. But that was a risk he would have to take.
“What are you thinking, son?” Sarah had come to stand beside him, dressed for the day in her classic dark blue dress with her hair brushed back and coiled in a knot at the nape of her elegant neck. Against the cold, she wore a soft, gray shawl she’d knitted herself.
“I’m thinking I need to go and find my brother,” Blake said. “This marriage can only happen if I’m square with him.”
“Of course.” Sarah stood silent for a moment. “You know this isn’t what I planned for you. I always hoped to see you married to a woman with some education and a degree of refinement. Someone like Ruth.”
“I know. I had the same idea. But you, of all people, know how plans can change. Hanna’s poor, but she’s good and kind. And she’s strong. She’s had to work hard and go without all her life. You can’t fault her for that.”
“No. But she’s so young. And she’s carrying your brother’s child. How can you accept her pregnancy, knowing what she did?”
“That’s the hard part. But the baby is innocent. And Dad wants his Dollarhide grandchild.”
“This would be easier if the baby were my grandchild, too, and not Amelia’s. I’ve always tried to love Mason like he was my own. But the truth is, he was never my own. And you were always cleaning up after him when he made a mess. Now he’s made the biggest mess of all. That poor, foolish girl. What was she thinking?”
“You know Mason. An innocent young girl wouldn’t have a chance against all that charm. I hope you won’t turn your back on Hanna. She’ll be scared and uncertain. She’s bound to make mistakes. But I can imagine how much she’ll want you to like her, and how hard she’ll try to please you.”
“I’ll do my best.” Sarah pulled her shawl tight against a stray breeze. She cleared her throat. “I hesitate to ask, but I need to know what the sleeping arrangements will be so I can have things ready when you bring your bride home.”
“Sleeping arrangements?” Blake raised an eyebrow. “That’s a delicate way of putting it. Separate beds, at least. Separate rooms might be even better for now. I don’t want Hanna to feel uncomfortable. But we can talk about it after I’ve paid a visit to Mason.”
Sarah turned to go back inside, then paused. “Give my regards to Amelia. I take it she isn’t exactly overjoyed about being a grandma.”
“I’ll give her your best.” Mason headed for the stables to saddle his horse.
* * *
Half an hour later, Blake was on his way down to the main road. The air was crisp and clear, the blazing ball of the sun already melting the surface of the snow. A flock of crows rose from a white field, swept low, then rose against the blue sky in a single cloud.
The Hollister Ranch lay south of town on six hundred acres of prime, hilly land with a good water supply. Loren Hollister, Amelia’s father, had settled it soon after Benteen Calder’s arrival and built a handsome frame home at the end of a long driveway.
In the years when Joe Dollarhide’s two sons were growing up, Mason had spent a good share of time on his father’s ranch. But Blake had never felt welcome in the home of Blake’s mother. Even now, knocking on the door, he felt ill at ease, especially given the nature of his errand.
An older man, dressed in a white shirt, black vest, and bow tie, in imitation of a butler, answered the knock. Amelia had always been one to put on airs.
“May I help you, sir?” He sounded as if he’d been coached.
“I’m here to see Mason Dollarhide. He’s my brother.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Dollarhide is out of town at present.”
“Then I need to speak with Mrs. Amelia Dollarhide. It’s important.”
“I’ll see if she’s receiving visitors.” The man had just turned away when Amelia walked into the room.
“Oh—Blake!” She sounded surprised but had probably been listening just out of sight. Chic and glamorous as always, she was dressed in a white shirtwaist with a skirt of rust-colored wool that matched the brooch at her throat and the color of her hair.
“It’s all right, Sidney,” she said. “Mr. Dollarhide is family—of sorts. Please come in and have a seat, Blake. I’m sorry Mason isn’t here. He’s . . . away and will be for some time.”
Blake settled beside her on the settee. “Since I spoke with Mason in town, and he said nothing about taking a trip, I’m guessing he left in a hurry.”
“Yes, his departure was quite unexpected.” Amelia’s voice had taken on an edgy tone.
“Then I take it you know why I’ve come.”
“Is it that little slut who claims Mason got her pregnant?” Amelia’s hands clenched into fists. “Don’t tell me she and her father went to you, too! I offered them money and the wretched man turned me down. Maybe he was looking for a higher bid to leave the Dollarhides in peace.”