were attached to her legs.
As Duncan halted their progress and silently slid to the ground, Caroline braced herself for an ugly scene. He reached for her, his hooded gaze wary, his demeanor somber. He’d lost the leather strip he used to hold back his hair. The auburn waves skimmed his bearded jaw, as shiny as a new copper penny.
She registered the sureness of his hands around her waist and took an odd comfort from his nearness. Her boots met the ground, and her knees threatened to buckle. She gasped at the stabbing pain in her right side and the soreness up and down her body.
He didn’t immediately release her. “You okay?”
Biting hard on her lower lip, she nodded.
When he put a wide gap between them, resignation firming his mouth, she felt ridiculously bereft.
Her father met them in the yard, his harsh visual assessment of their state of dress making her feel like an errant child. The sheriff joined them, while Louise remained on the landing, using the banister to support her weight. That she wasn’t launching into an earsplitting tirade gave Caroline pause.
“You owe me an explanation, Mr. McKenna.”
Caroline stepped in front of Duncan. “It’s my fault, Father. I—”
“Hush, Caroline.” Albert’s gray eyes were cool. “If I’d required your input, I would’ve asked for it.”
She flinched. Some of the men in the group shifted their stances, elbowing each other and whispering. Humiliation made her throat close up.
A gentle, work-roughened hand encircled her upper arm and eased her back a few steps. Duncan. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze.
“The lass and I are guilty of nothing more than poor judgment. We took the horses out for a ride last evening and got caught in the thunderstorm. Her mount suffered an injury. It was my decision to take shelter and wait for morning light to return home. You have my word of honor that your daughter’s virtue remains unblemished.”
Caroline wished disappearing was an option. Her gaze on the flower beds, she berated herself once more for not listening to Duncan. First her horse had been injured, and now they were being made a spectacle of. Gossip this juicy wouldn’t die down for months. What else would become of one bad decision?
“That may be.” The hint of disbelief in her father’s voice shocked her. “However, you can agree how this looks. I won’t have my daughter’s reputation forever tainted because of your actions.”
Was Duncan about to lose his job? In any other circumstance, she’d be relieved to be rid of him. But he clearly needed the income. Who knew? Maybe his family members were destitute, and he sent money home to support them.
She forced her lips to move. “It wasn’t his decision to go. Duncan tried to persuade me to wait. He went along for the sole purpose of keeping the horses safe.”
Albert’s brows lifted. “I would hope he was interested in keeping my daughter safe, as well.”
“Of course Miss Turner’s well-being is a priority.” Duncan’s voice rang with sincerity. “That was one reason I didnae risk traveling through the night. She got bucked off her horse once. Wasnae wise to continue.”
She recalled his very real concern that morning. Despite his annoyance, he’d been gentle as he’d helped her onto Jet’s broad back.
Sheriff Shane Timmons spoke up. “Are you all right, Caroline?”
The compassion in his azure gaze made her eyes smart. Her own father hadn’t bothered to ask. Unable to speak past the knot in her throat, she nodded.
“She needs to be examined by a doctor,” Duncan asserted.
Albert summoned Anthony and sent him to fetch Doc Owens. “Oh, and Anthony? Bring Reverend Monroe, as well. Tell him it’s a matter of great urgency.”
The gap in his teeth appeared. “Yes, sir.”
The hush surrounding them was deafening. His intentions sunk in, and Caroline weaved on her feet. Surely he wouldn’t force them to marry?
“If you are indeed a man of honor, Mr. McKenna, you will put to rest the speculation and give my daughter your name.”
Caroline gaped at the man beside her. “You aren’t going to agree to this, are you? I’m not about to marry a stable manager!”
Snickers spilled through the spectators. Duncan winced, just like he’d done on Independence Day when she’d declined his invitation to dance. Caroline wished the words unsaid.
Heaving in a breath that made his wide chest expand, he curled his hands into fists. “This may come as a shock to you, lady, but I’m no’ keen on marrying a self-absorbed, shallow socialite with nothing in her head but fashion and parties. Looks like that’s what I’m getting, though. You can thank your stubbornness for this debacle.”
His words stung. Shallow. Wasn’t that similar to what Theo had said? That people thought she was an empty shell with nothing of substance inside?
Twisting away, a vein ticking at his temple, he addressed her father. “I’ll wed her.”
The edges of her vision grew fuzzy. This couldn’t be happening.
She wanted to stomp her feet and scream at the top of her lungs and make them all go away.
If she married Duncan McKenna, she wouldn’t be able to leave Gatlinburg, after all. She’d be stuck here in her old, miserable life, only now she’d be known as the girl whose husband had been guilted into marrying her.
“Why, God?” he groaned. “Of all the women in the world, why her?”
He couldn’t fathom how the Father who claimed to love him and want good things for him would shackle him to a woman like Caroline Turner. A woman who, on the inside where it counted, could be Maureen Craig’s twin. He’d left Boston to escape just these sorts of people, and now he was rejoining their ranks.
The bread and jam he’d choked down earlier soured on his stomach.
In a few hours’ time, he’d enter into a marriage he didn’t want.
His arms full of supplies, he was about to enter Rain’s stall when the man Albert had introduced as Shane Timmons strode into the stable. The light shining through the high windows glanced off the pistol at his hip.
“How can I help you, Sheriff?”
His probing gaze cataloged the scene. “Looks like you’re the one who could use a hand.” He came close and, spying Rain’s flank wound, whistled low. “That’s a doozy.”
“Aye, it is.” Going in, he arranged the honey jar and bandages in the corner and tried not to relive those horrible moments when he’d watched Caroline slide from the saddle and plunge to the ground. Running his hand along Rain’s side, he said, “It could’ve been worse.” For both the animal and her owner.
Shane removed his hat and, pushing his light brown hair out of his eyes, gestured to the horse. “How about I apply honey to the bandage while you clean the wound?”
Duncan didn’t exactly feel like company, but he wasn’t about to refuse the sheriff. Now that Gatlinburg was to be his permanent home, making allies would prove important.
“I’d appreciate it.”
While he filled a container with clean water, Shane applied a generous amount of honey to the square bandage that would cover the wound. Rain was a docile patient. In a matter of minutes, they had her patched up, the bandage protecting the gash from flies and dirt getting in.
Shane surveyed their work. “Should heal nicely. Caroline will be relieved.”
Duncan