Loving Against the Grain (Into the West #2)

Chapter 7

“There she is! Emmaline!”

Turning from her contemplation of the racing Columbia, and the imagined joyous reunion she and Lancelot would experience, Emmaline stared in growing horror at the approaching horse and riders. The continued shouts and gesticulations of her older sibling interrupted nature’s lullaby of soughing pines and murmuring river, as well as Emmie’s visions. No! He wasn’t supposed to follow! Emmaline screamed in her head. Her brother should have sighed a sigh of relief at her absence, yet here he was, bouncing around behind…

Emmaline’s mouth dropped open as she recognized exactly who accompanied Edward. Not again! This marked the third time that—that that horse wrangler butt his nose into her business! That he witnessed her embarrassment; her failure! Why was he always underfoot? Didn’t he have a life of his own?

Unfortunately, all these angry musings wasted precious escape time, so that when Emmaline next paid attention, her pursuers were upon her. Now prancing beside her, the larger horse snorted and tossed its great head, looming over poor Jack, who nevertheless rolled his eyes and grumbled his displeasure at its proximity. The wrangler steered the Percheron abreast of Emmie, expression unreadable in the murky light of the waning moon.

Dismissing his presence with a flick of her eyes, Emmaline speared her brother with a scathing look and snapped, “Why did you follow me? This is best for both of us! I’m twenty-two years old! It’s time I took care of myself, and let you take care of you! And why did you have to bring him? What has he got to do with anything? Why does he have to be privy to all our private affairs?” To emphasize her displeasure, Emmaline flung herself off Jack’s back, dropping the reins and crossing her arms over her chest as she stared mutinously up at her brother.

Edward immediately scrabbled to get off the huge Percheron, causing Noah to glance back at him and snap, “You can’t just slide off her, Edward! You’ll break a leg! Here, use my arm,” and the horse wrangler extended his long arm like a rope. Emmaline’s brother levered himself off the huge draft animal while hanging onto that lifeline. Noah remained astride, still smarting from Emmaline’s abrupt words and dismissal of his presence, belatedly mollified in the knowledge he would get his moment later. It was obvious the siblings had issues they needed to air.

Once more on solid ground, shooting the animal a surly glare as it bobbed its head near him, Edward pinned his sister with an exasperated look and lit into her, all semblance of patience and understanding flying out the window.

“Why are we even having this conversation, Emmie? Of course I would follow you! You’re my sister! Didn’t we already establish that you can’t live on your own? That I can’t pay for two residences?”

“I can earn my own keep, Eddy! I have it all figured out. I can take in laundry! Just listen--”

Edward shook his head vehemently.

“No! You listen, damn it! Once you get wherever you’re going, where do you plan on living while you earn this money you think you’re going to make? Who are you going to trust? The city is full of unscrupulous people. Men prey on single women, Emmie! Especially beautiful ones like you. Look at Fairchild. He took advantage of you completely, and left you in the family way! And that was in a small town!”

Oops. Wrong thing to say. Atop Puddle, even Noah, with his limited experience of women, rolled his eyes as he watched the gathering storm named Emmaline Townsend get ready to strike. It was impressive, actually, watching her back stiffen and eyes snap a fire worthy of the Apocalypse, while she marched on her brother like an avenging angel. Up into his face she crowded, breasts rising and falling rapidly, finger jabbing like a dagger into her sibling’s chest. At last she erupted.