“If you think that’s the only gun I own, you’re more stupid than you look.”
She grumbles, her boots loud on the wooden floor as she heads inside, throwing obscenities over her shoulder as she goes.
Mom laughs softly.
“Please forgive Minnie. She’s a fierce woman with a heart of gold and is only protecting me.”
She smiles at me, her gaze intense and all-encompassing, and as I follow her inside, I notice her anxiety, and my heart sinks.
CHAPTER 37
SIMEON
We hit the jackpot. For a moment back there, I believed we had the wrong woman, but when Sarah Goldsworthy appeared in the doorway, its obvious who she is.
She is the image of Alice, or what she will be in the future, and the soft, anxious expression did nothing to conceal the great beauty she once was and still is.
Unlike Minnie, Sarah possesses a natural beauty that has only enhanced and developed over time. She is stylish and sophisticated, yet is at ease with her surroundings.
The ranch inside is nothing like the outside. It’s homey, clean and comfortable, and attention has been given to chic comfort rather than overstated elegance.
She leads us into a huge room where one wall of glass stares out over an impress landscape. It’s as if nature is part of the room and decorates it in an ever-changing picture. A log burner is set on the wall to the side, hides of animals strewn across the floor and a brown leather couch, battered and comfortable, set beside it with many fur cushions and blankets.
It’s impressive, a retreat if you like, and as Alice perches tentatively on the edge of the couch, Sarah drops down beside her.
I take a seat opposite and watch with interest as Sarah smiles nervously.
“I hoped you’d find me one day.”
Alice nods, and I can tell she is finding it difficult to form words right now.
“Tell us what happened.”
I take charge of the situation, offering my help when my wife is struggling.
Sarah leans back and sighs, her fingers twisting in her lap as she says softly, “I married Enrico Zaferelli because I fell deeply in love with him. He was a dangerous man, and I suppose I rebelled.”
She smiles as if her memories are happy ones, and I’m glad of that at least.
“You see, I was a young, impressionable girl, and I met him in the street one day when out shopping. A criminal snatched my purse, and Enrico gave chase. He returned it to me, and I felt so shaken that he offered to buy me a coffee to help with my nerves.”
I resist rolling my eyes because I know the trick, and if that purse snatcher wasn’t employed by him, I don’t deserve my heritage.
“I had never met anyone like him before. Kind, attentive, so handsome and protective. My mind scattered, and one coffee turned to two, then to three. He insisted on escorting me home, and when we parted, we arranged that he would pick me up later that evening for dinner.”
She smiles fondly at the memory. “When your father wanted to, he could be very charming, and it didn’t take much for me to fall in love with him.”
She glances at me, and understanding dawns in her eyes, and she says almost sadly, “It appears that you know exactly what I mean.”
Alice sweeps her gaze over me and smiles, and I hate that her mom places me in the same box as Enrico flaming Zaferelli because I am nothing like him.
“We had a whirlwind courtship and were soon engaged. My family was happy because Enrico was building an impressive business. I had no cause to think anything other than he had fallen in love with me, and yet soon after you were born, Alice, he changed.”
The memories bite hard because her expression changes in an instant to one of distaste, and she sighs heavily. “He became cold, indifferent and more agitated. He worked long hours and drank heavily. Our relationship suffered, and I could do nothing right. He had a fierce temper, and I avoided him because of it. He was no longer the charming man I had married because his mask slipped, revealing a monster inside.”
Minnie arrives with a tray of lemonade and a pot of coffee, along with some biscuits on a plate.
As she sets it down, she glances at Sarah with concern.
