shoulder, his blue eyes narrowed to see. "Are you gonna tell them?"
Ace turned his horse to face the oncoming men. "Let's wait until we get back to the house. I think this should be a family secret, at least until we bring Eden here. Then ..." He shrugged. "Well, God only knows. I haven't had time to think that far ahead yet. Ma may not even let Eden come now. After all these years, she may not want her to know, and there won't be any way to keep it a secret once she sees Caitlin O'Shannessy."
Turning his attention from Joseph, Ace steeled himself to face his other two brothers. Given that he couldn't provide an explanation in front of the other men for his outrageous behavior, the next few minutes were going to be difficult.
Esa, the youngest of the Paxtons at twenty-three, drew up first. The brim of his hat shadowed his eyes, but Ace could tell by the grim set of the younger man's lips that he heartily disapproved of what had happened back at the barn. The same sentiment was reflected in David's expression when he rode up. The three hired hands weren't quite so easy to read, but even so, Ace could see they were none too pleased.
When all the horses had quieted, Ace nudged his hat back so everyone could see his face clearly. As he spoke, he moved his gaze from man to man, looking each directly in the eye. "I only want to have to say this once, so everybody listen up. I owe you all an apology for what happened back there. I won't go into my reasons, I believe it's enough to say that I went a little crazy there for a minute. I regret that it happened, and I'll be forever ashamed that it did, but unfortunately, some things can't be undone, and this is one of them."
Kurt Bishop, a tall, raw-boned blond, averted his face to spit. When he turned back, he said, "You don't have to explain yourself to me, boss."
"Given the circumstances, I'm afraid I do. There's the matter of the girl and her reputation. I give you my word that when I took her to the back of the barn, absolutely nothing happened between us."
"Hell, we know that." Rob Martin flashed a ruddy-faced grin. He glanced around the circle of riders. "Don't we, boys?" He returned his gaze to Ace. "There's not a man jack among us who'd work for a fellow we thought would shame a woman that way."
"Damn straight," Jim Stevens agreed.
Ace forced a smile. "I appreciate your trust in me. And I'm glad to hear that none of you would want to see a woman shamed, because that's my main concern, the girl's welfare. What I did to Caitlin O'Shannessy tonight was inexcusable. All the poor girl did was try to save her brother's worthless hide, and any consequences she suffers will be entirely my fault."
"We understand," Jim said softly. "No one will hear anything about it from me, boss. You have my word on that."
"Not from me, neither," Rob agreed.
Kurt spat again. "I got no reason to do any talkin', and nobody to tell it to if I did."
Ace hauled in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. As a general rule, he didn't cotton to making threats, but this was one time when circumstances seemed to justify his doing so. "I want it understood, here and now, that if word of what happened, at the O'Shannessy place gets out, the man responsible will answer directly to me. Is that clear? I don't want that girl to be caused so much as one minute of grief as a result of my actions tonight."
"Yessir, boss."
"It's clear as rain to me, boss."
"I got no problem with that."
Satisfied with the responses of his hired hands, Ace forced himself to meet the gaze of each of his brothers. For the first time in his memory, he saw recrimination in their expressions. What hurt most was that he knew he had it coming.
----
CHAPTER THREE
For at least a full minute after Keegan and his men rode out, Caitlin stood in the aisle, so brittle with tension she felt as if a loud sound might make her shatter. Cold. Oh, God, she felt so horribly cold. Her movements stiff, she retrieved her wrapper and slipped it
Ace turned his horse to face the oncoming men. "Let's wait until we get back to the house. I think this should be a family secret, at least until we bring Eden here. Then ..." He shrugged. "Well, God only knows. I haven't had time to think that far ahead yet. Ma may not even let Eden come now. After all these years, she may not want her to know, and there won't be any way to keep it a secret once she sees Caitlin O'Shannessy."
Turning his attention from Joseph, Ace steeled himself to face his other two brothers. Given that he couldn't provide an explanation in front of the other men for his outrageous behavior, the next few minutes were going to be difficult.
Esa, the youngest of the Paxtons at twenty-three, drew up first. The brim of his hat shadowed his eyes, but Ace could tell by the grim set of the younger man's lips that he heartily disapproved of what had happened back at the barn. The same sentiment was reflected in David's expression when he rode up. The three hired hands weren't quite so easy to read, but even so, Ace could see they were none too pleased.
When all the horses had quieted, Ace nudged his hat back so everyone could see his face clearly. As he spoke, he moved his gaze from man to man, looking each directly in the eye. "I only want to have to say this once, so everybody listen up. I owe you all an apology for what happened back there. I won't go into my reasons, I believe it's enough to say that I went a little crazy there for a minute. I regret that it happened, and I'll be forever ashamed that it did, but unfortunately, some things can't be undone, and this is one of them."
Kurt Bishop, a tall, raw-boned blond, averted his face to spit. When he turned back, he said, "You don't have to explain yourself to me, boss."
"Given the circumstances, I'm afraid I do. There's the matter of the girl and her reputation. I give you my word that when I took her to the back of the barn, absolutely nothing happened between us."
"Hell, we know that." Rob Martin flashed a ruddy-faced grin. He glanced around the circle of riders. "Don't we, boys?" He returned his gaze to Ace. "There's not a man jack among us who'd work for a fellow we thought would shame a woman that way."
"Damn straight," Jim Stevens agreed.
Ace forced a smile. "I appreciate your trust in me. And I'm glad to hear that none of you would want to see a woman shamed, because that's my main concern, the girl's welfare. What I did to Caitlin O'Shannessy tonight was inexcusable. All the poor girl did was try to save her brother's worthless hide, and any consequences she suffers will be entirely my fault."
"We understand," Jim said softly. "No one will hear anything about it from me, boss. You have my word on that."
"Not from me, neither," Rob agreed.
Kurt spat again. "I got no reason to do any talkin', and nobody to tell it to if I did."
Ace hauled in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. As a general rule, he didn't cotton to making threats, but this was one time when circumstances seemed to justify his doing so. "I want it understood, here and now, that if word of what happened, at the O'Shannessy place gets out, the man responsible will answer directly to me. Is that clear? I don't want that girl to be caused so much as one minute of grief as a result of my actions tonight."
"Yessir, boss."
"It's clear as rain to me, boss."
"I got no problem with that."
Satisfied with the responses of his hired hands, Ace forced himself to meet the gaze of each of his brothers. For the first time in his memory, he saw recrimination in their expressions. What hurt most was that he knew he had it coming.
----
CHAPTER THREE
For at least a full minute after Keegan and his men rode out, Caitlin stood in the aisle, so brittle with tension she felt as if a loud sound might make her shatter. Cold. Oh, God, she felt so horribly cold. Her movements stiff, she retrieved her wrapper and slipped it
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