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She suppressed a sigh. “Must you be such a...a...man?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that.”
“It was a rhetorical question.”
“Naturally.” A grin spread across his lips, teasing, almost flirtatious.
Telling herself the flutter in her stomach was due to physical exertion, she completed the rest of the climb. The moment her foot hit the third-floor landing, she whirled to face him again.
With him two stairs below, they stood nose to nose, neither moving, neither breathing. One shift on her part, one step on his and their lips would touch. Bad, bad idea.
She lowered her gaze.
He pressed his fingertip beneath her chin and applied gentle pressure until she looked him in the eye once more. “What’s wrong?”
Did he really have to ask?
“Molly.” He spoke her name on a whisper, his gaze full of remorse. “I’m sorry I accused you of encouraging Fanny to break her engagement.”
“Are you?”
“Beyond words.” He leaned over her, all six feet two inches of him, and rested his hand on her shoulder. “But I’m thankful we’re together now.”
Was he? “Why?”
“With the two of us working in tandem we’ll uncover what’s really behind Fanny’s decision to break up with Reese.”
He spoke with such confidence, as if they were a single unit, a team, stronger together than apart. She thought of a favorite Bible verse from Ecclesiastes, the one she’d once dreamed would be recited at their wedding. Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
It was hard not to sigh, but Molly had a lot of practice controlling her emotions around Garrett. “I’m glad, too.”
She spoke the simple truth.
He pulled his hand away from her shoulder. As before, they turned toward the door as a, well, a single unit. Two are better than one.
She gave in to that sigh, after all.
Rolling his shoulders, Garrett lifted his hand to knock.
The door flew open before he made contact.
“At last, you’ve come.” Callie, the older of the two sisters by a year, spoke directly to Molly. She hadn’t noticed Garrett yet. Or perhaps she’d chosen to ignore him for now.
Either way, Molly did her best to smile at her friend.
In return, Callie gave her a shaky lift of her lips. The gesture didn’t quite reach her eyes. Upon closer scrutiny, Molly noted her friend looked uncharacteristically ruffled. Her pretty, oval face was flushed. Her green eyes, usually so bright, were dimmed with worry, and her hair was in disarray, with several blond locks fluttering around her ears.
“Is Fanny still in her room?” Molly tried to hide her concern behind a bland tone.
Callie nodded her head in resignation.
“Well, then, let’s see if we can coax her out of there.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be of much help.” Something uncomfortable shifted in Callie’s eyes. “She’s not feeling especially charitable toward me at the moment.”
“Not to worry, Cal. When Molly said we—” Garrett stepped forward, drawing his sister’s attention “—she meant her and me.”
“Oh. Right. Garrett...you’re back.” Callie’s shoulders relaxed, then stiffened again. “Wait. Now wait just a minute. You and Molly are here...” Her gaze darted between them. “Together?”
Her reaction came as no surprise. Still, Molly shared a look with Garrett. He flattened his lips in a grim line. She did the same. They drew a collective breath.
“Oh, honestly, Callie.” She choked out what she hoped was a mild, casual laugh. “Garrett and I have done nothing out of the ordinary by arriving here together.”
“I beg to differ.” Eyes wide, Callie divided a look between them. “It’s completely out of the ordinary for you two to be together, under any circumstances.”
Well, yes, that was true. But still...
Molly flicked a glance at Garrett. Quiet, calm, expression impassive, he appeared perfectly willing to let her carry the conversation.
So be it. “For Fanny’s sake, Garrett and I have agreed to join forces—this once.”
Molly emphasized the last two words, reminding herself she had a point to make. A very large point. It wouldn’t do for Callie, or Garrett, or even Molly herself, to assume matters between them were resolved simply because they shared a common purpose here today.
Too much stood between them—spoken and unspoken—hovering under the tense surface that she was taking great pains to ignore.
As was Garrett.
Molly glanced at him again, arched an eyebrow, waited.
He shot her a half smile then, finally, addressed his sister directly. “The point isn’t that Molly and I have arrived together, but that we have come to speak to Fanny. Not you.”
Callie scowled at her brother, opened her mouth to speak then clamped her lips shut and sighed. “Then you better come with me.”
She entered the suite. Garrett and Molly followed her inside.
Narrow and cramped, the tiny foyer barely had enough space for all three of them, especially with Garrett’s larger-than-life aura stealing all the available air.
Thankfully, Callie continued into the front parlor without breaking stride. Molly joined her, pleased to discover the room was still as warm and cozy as she remembered, welcoming even, much like the women who called this tiny space home.
The large, overstuffed furniture and flowered wallpaper offered a pleasant contrast to the stark, whitewashed beams in the sloped ceiling. Off to the left was Callie’s bedroom. The room next to it belonged to Fanny.
Pushing past both women, Garrett strode to Fanny’s closed door. He banged with two hard raps.
No response.
“Fanny, open up.” He knocked again. “It’s Garrett.”
Still no response.
Frowning, he stared straight ahead with a narrowed gaze, as if by sheer force of will he could make Fanny obey his command.
“I brought Molly with me.” Male frustration rolled off him in waves, but his tone remained conversational. “She’s eager to speak with you.”
More silence.
“Fanny.”
“Go away, Garrett.” The muffled reply came from just behind the door, as if Fanny had her forehead pressed to the wood.
He fisted his hand again, drew in several breaths then uncurled his fingers. Muttering to himself, he began pacing. A black weight seemed to settle on his shoulders.
Molly tried not to watch him move, tried not to see the boy she’d once loved inside the man he’d become. It was hopeless, of course. Whenever Garrett was near, she rarely saw anything but him.
She tracked his progress through the room. The hint of a swagger clung to him as naturally as the year-round snow on the mountain peaks. Garrett’s cowboy upbringing was written all over him, as natural as the innate integrity and strong sense of family all the Mitchell brood possessed.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into my sister,” Callie whispered to Molly in a low tone, her gaze tracking her brother’s movements. “She’s acting irrational. And I...that is, I...”
Letting her words trail off, she pressed her lips tightly together, sighed unhappily.
Garrett’s feet ground to a halt. “What have you done, Callie?”
She took a shuddering breath. “It’s not what I did. It’s what I said.”
Molly touched the other woman’s arm. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything too terrible.”
“Oh, it was bad all right. I really upset her. But I don’t regret a thing I said, not one thing.” Callie lifted her chin in an unexpected show of rebellion. “Someone needed to talk some sense into that stubborn girl. Why not me?”
“What did you say to her, Callie?” Garrett’s voice held remarkable patience, even though his eyes grew dark with banked emotion.
“I said—”
“She told me I’d made a grave mistake.” The reply came from the open doorway where Fanny stood glaring at her sister. Eyes red-rimmed and puffy, she wrapped her arms around her waist in a defensive gesture. “She warned that if I didn’t ask for his forgiveness, I would lose Reese forever.”
That didn’t sound too terrible, Molly decided, especially since it was partly true, assuming Fanny still loved Reese.
“She also called me...” Blinking rapidly, Fanny’s bottom lip trembled. “Stupid.”
Oh, dear.
“I didn’t call you stupid.” Callie snorted in disgust. “I said you were stupid to let Reese go.”
At this, Fanny’s eyes glazed over, giving her a lost, dejected look. Tears wiggled to the edges of her thick lashes but she bravely held them in check.
“Reese is a good man.” Callie jammed her hands on her hips, her earnest tone emphasizing her words. “He’s decent and loyal. You won’t find another like him.”
“If he’s so wonderful, you marry him.”
“He wants you, Fanny. It’s you he’s in love with.” Callie took a step closer. “Can’t you see the blessing in that?”
“Can’t you stay out of it?”
The two squared off, nose to nose. Standing there, staring at one another with an identical turbulent expression in their eyes, the similarities between the sisters were impossible to miss. They were of a comparable height, equal build, and tilted their heads at a common angle. Although Fanny was considered the great beauty of the family, Callie had her own appeal, less pronounced perhaps, but there all the same.
Before Molly could intervene, Garrett moved between his sisters.
A head taller than both, he placed a hand on each of their arms. “Is there something you aren’t saying?” He addressed Fanny directly. “Something less than honorable we should know about Reese?”
“What?” Both women gasped simultaneously and ripped free of his hold.
Unmoved by their shocked response, Garrett persisted. “Has Reese done something to make you question his character, Fanny? Has he hurt you in any way?”
“Hurt me? No, Garrett. No. How could you ask such an awful thing?”
“How could you even suspect something so vile?” Callie’s outrage matched her sister’s. “You won’t find a better man than Reese Bennett, Jr.”
Despite being outnumbered, Garrett showed no remorse over his line of questioning. If anything, he seemed to grow fiercer, looking very much like a protective older brother. “If Reese has hurt you, Fanny, and you’re protecting him for some reason, you need to tell me. If he—”
“Don’t you dare utter another word.”
Ignoring the warning, Garrett opened his mouth. Fanny cut him off again. “Reese has always behaved above reproach. He’s the best man I know. He’s absolutely—” a sob slipped out of her “—perfect.”
She made the word sound ugly, which only managed to rile her sister all the more. “If Reese is so wonderful,” Callie challenged, “then why break off your engagement with him?”
Fanny lowered her head. “I have my reasons.”
“Which are?”
“None of your business.”
The two went toe-to-toe again.
“Callie, step back.” Sighing, Garrett gently edged her aside then focused solely on Fanny.
Speaking slowly, calmly, as he would to a spooked horse, he whispered words of encouragement, all the while pressing for details. But no matter what he said, or how he said it, she refused to respond.
His voice dropped another octave. “Can’t you see I’m trying to help you?”
She promptly burst into tears.
Wincing, he glanced at Molly. A mix of resignation and uneasiness flickered in his eyes, a look that read utter masculine helplessness. Garrett had never been good with female tears, especially when the crying woman was someone he loved. It was another trait he shared with his brothers.
“Fanny, please. Don’t cry.” He pulled her into his arms, patted her back awkwardly. “Everything’s going to work out.”
She muttered something incomprehensible into his shoulder.
He closed his eyes a moment. “No, you’re not alone in this. You have your family, your friends and, of course, the Lord. You can lean on us.”
“It’s not that simple.”
