Teton Splendor by Peggy L Henderson Read Free Book Online Page B

residence. If she acted quickly, she could ask for Andrew’s forgiveness today. He was leaving tomorrow, and she didn’t want to part ways with him without knowing he was all right.
    When the driver pulled the buggy to a stop in front of the Preston’s Boston residence, she asked him to wait for her. She quickly made her way around the side of the house to the stables in the back. He would have had to drop his horse and buggy off before entering the house, and she hoped she could talk to him outside, rather than face the rest of the household, which would no doubt be full of questions.
    Loud male voices reached her from inside the barn when she approached. The buggy was parked in front of the stable, and the horse had been unhitched. Glancing around, no one else seemed to be around. Sophia followed the sound of the men, and stopped just before entering the barn.
    “How the hell should I know who that was,” Andrew’s loud and angry voice drifted from inside one of the stalls. “You know how Yancey loves to talk about the west. He looked like some backwoodsman you’d find there.”
    “Keep that cloth over your nose to stop the bleeding.” Sophia recognized Andrew’s father’s voice. He didn’t sound at all pleased, as well he shouldn’t.
    Guilt at eavesdropping rushed through her, and she wanted to round the corner into the barn aisle and make her presence known, when Andrew’s next words stopped her in her tracks.
    “I don’t know why I agreed to your scheme to marry Sophia in the first place. For all I care, that woodsman can have her for his squaw.”
    Sophia’s hand shot to her mouth to cover up her gasp. Tears blurred her vision. 
    “You’re marrying her because of your obligation to this family. We’ve been over this already. As her husband, you’ll be heir to Yancey Enterprises. Just think of the wealth and power that will bring.”
    “Maybe I’m not as ambitious as you, Father.”
    Lloyd Preston laughed. “You can still carouse with your women, son. No one is expecting you to bed that half-breed.”
    Sophia’s knees went weak. She leaned against the barn wall, and sucked in a deep breath. On shaky legs, she stumbled up the path toward the street. The world spun dizzily around her, and her pulse throbbed in her ears. Thankfully she had asked the cab driver to wait for her.
    “Take me to the Yancey residence.” Her voice cracked. The driver assisted her into the buggy, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Seconds later, the coach lurched forward. The tears streamed freely down her cheeks, and Sophia closed her eyes. Her chest tightened almost painfully. In a matter of one day, the world she thought she knew had collapsed around her.
    Joseph Walker’s face flashed before her eyes. Aren’t you curious about your real parents? Your grandfather wants to meet you .
    Sophia inhaled deeply. Perhaps Boston or New York wasn’t where she was meant to be. Hadn’t she always felt like an outsider? Always trying to prove to everyone that she was just as good as anyone else? Maybe it was time to step outside the comfortable realm of her father’s – her adoptive father’s – protective world and find out where she truly belonged. 

 
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Joseph clenched his hand around a piece of burlap he picked up off the barn floor. With vigorous circular strokes, he ran the rough material over his horse’s back and withers. The soft rhythmic crunching sounds as his gelding munched on some grain in the feed trough did little to ease the turmoil raging within him. He leaned against his horse and filled his lungs with the aroma of straw, hay, and horse sweat; smells which had always been a source of comfort for him. Not this time. Nothing compared to the sweet flowery scent of Raven’s hair and skin.
    A wave of heat seared through his body, and his forehead beaded with perspiration. He swiped his hand across his face as if it would erase the memory of her soft body pressed so close to him