Adams, Eve - Patience is Their Virtue [Brides of Bachelor Bay 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (22 page)

And, ultimately, make love to her.

She wanted that now, wanted to be held and told that everything would be all right. But she wanted it from both of her husbands.

Jumping to her feet, she hurried over to the door. She would not allow Adam to go through this alone. It was her fault that the entire town knew of his heritage, of his relationship to Raven, and now the fact that he’d married a divorced woman. She couldn’t sit back and do nothing.

“Where do you think you are going?” Raven demanded and chased after her.

“Where
we
are going,” she corrected and grabbed his hand, and dragged him outside. “Is there another coach?”

“Yes, but it will take me time to ready it.”

She shook her head and pulled him toward town. “There’s no time to waste. We have to go to him, Raven. We have to.”

He stopped her with a jerk of his arm. “You heard what he said.”

“And so did you.”

They stood there staring at each other, the rain beating down on them steadily. After several seconds, Raven nodded.

“Allow me to fetch your cover.”

Four of the five members of the town council stood outside the building as Adam pulled up in his coach. He stepped out and released a weary sigh. They appeared to be in the middle of a heated conversation. He slowed as he moved toward them, mentally preparing himself for the battle that lay ahead.

“That has nothing to do with his vote and you know it,” Logan Gallagher snapped. “Adam has been against this insanity from the onset.”

Judge Ron Arnett snorted as he held a match to his pipe. “It isn’t insanity any more than allowing those heathens to steal our jobs.”

“They are men, flesh and blood, just like the rest of us. What makes us any better?”

“The fact that you even have to ask that truly shows your ignorance, Gallagher. You employ them, which makes you part of the problem.”

“You son of a bitch. At least I pay an honest man for an honest day’s work. They earn their keep just as every man does.”

“At what cost?” Arnett puffed on his pipe. “Logan, we have good white men who need work. This town won’t possibly grow if we can’t employ them.”

“Aaron Lambert has been working on opening a bank here,” Sheriff Caleb Brock announced. “With the work there, along with the new deputy positions I’ll need to keep the peace, there’s work.”

“Why are we avoiding the obvious issue?” Miles Petty, always the sleazy diplomat trying to find an angle to better his position, spoke up. “These are issues our mayor should be addressing. He’s failing us, gentlemen. He’s deceived us.”

“How?” Logan demanded. “Because he hasn’t shared every detail of his personal life with the rest of this damn town? None of us have, Miles, and it needs to stay that way.”

They exchanged knowing glares.

Arnett lifted his pipe to draw the attention to him. “I believe it’s time we brought it to a vote. If Adam is forced to step down, Miles will be next in line. At least then we’d have a real man in the position and not a half-breed married to a blemished woman.”

That did it. Let them insult Adam all they wanted, but the second they brought Patience into the argument there would be bloodshed.

Petty forced a smile as he spotted Adam. “Hello, Adam. I wasn’t quite sure whether you’d attend the meeting or not, considering your situation.”

If only he could kill the bastard with his bare hands and not hang for it. The corrupt judge, too, for that matter. “And what situation is that?”

“Why, you’re an Indian, of course.” He said it like he’d just announced the most disgusting thing.

“I’m the same man I was when the fine people of this town voted me into office, Miles.” Adam turned from him and rested his glare on Arnett. “And the last I checked, I’m still the mayor of this town, and the decision to bring anything to a vote resides with me.”

Nothing was up for negotiation and the look Adam shot Ron conveyed as much.

“Perhaps we should take our places,” Miles announced.

Ron nodded and walked inside with Miles. Caleb followed them in, but Logan fell back and waited for them to disappear before turning to Adam, his expression somber.

“I’m sorry this is happening.”

“So am I, Logan. So am I.”

“I can’t help but take some of the blame for all this. Having the brides here has created so much animosity in this town.”

Adam nodded. “Jealousy is a powerful beast. But rest assured, my friend, you did the right thing. Having the women here has breathed new life into Port Steele.”

“If this ordinance passes, you know they’ll force you to step down.”

“I know.”

“What will you do?”

Adam had been thinking of the answer to that question since Ron first brought up the idea of passing the ordinance in Port Steele. “I’d travel north. South. East. West. Anywhere that my family would be welcome without prejudice.”

He patted Adam on the back. “I pray your acceptance requires no travel. Let’s step inside and do whatever it takes to see that this insanity is put to rest, once and for all.”

Adam waited until Logan walked inside. He then drew in a deep breath and stepped into the dance hall. Besides the church, it was the only building large enough to house the entire town. With the language he knew the men would use in an attempt to persuade others to their side, the church wouldn’t be appropriate.

As soon as he stepped foot inside the dance hall, the crowd fell silent—aside from a few whispers that did little to boost his confidence. Immediately his memory thrust him back to him as a child, the ridicule and prejudice almost too much. And this time he didn’t have his big brother here to protect him. This time, he was on his own.

With his shoulders back and his head held high, he started toward the only empty chair at the table strategically placed where the piano usually resided. Miles and Ron sat to his right, Logan and Caleb to his left. Already having their minds made up, the town members who favored the ordinance sat on the right side of the room, while those against it sat on the left. The chairs were all taken, and still people continued to pour into the room.

“Let’s call this meeting to order,” Adam said above the murmurs in the crowd. The men and women settled. “This special meeting is to discuss the ordinance to ban Indians from within the city limits.”

“To hell with discussing,” a man yelled from the crowd. “Let’s take a vote already.”

Several others shouted in agreement.

“With a savage at the head of the table, we won’t get a fair vote!”

“I demand he step down.”

“As do I!”

The bellowing from the crowd increased, and with it, his faith in the town he’d created faltered. He should have known better than to place his belief in anyone other than himself. The betrayal left a bitter taste in his mouth, as well as a twisting in his gut.

He lowered his head and debated whether to just give up. They wouldn’t listen to him, no matter what he had to say.

And then the most beautiful voice stood out above the crowd. He looked up to see his stunning wife standing on a chair, her hands cupped around her mouth as she yelled.

“Allow him to speak!”

What the hell was she doing here? And, god
damn
it, beside her stood his bullheaded brother.

Adam whipped his attention to Logan, who nodded in understanding. He met the looks of his brothers, and they all pushed through the crowd to surround Patience. With Raven’s help, the men led her up to the front of the hall and over to Adam.

He pushed past Ron and Miles and ran to her side. “What are you doing here?”

Her pretty eyes were as blue as the clearest sky. Determination shined in her expression, and although it scared the hell out of him to have her here to witness his downfall, his chest swelled with pride.

“I’m not about to stand aside. This is my fight, too.”

“Patience.”

“Adam,” Raven began as he joined them, his expression no longer stone, but one of compassion, “you must tell them.”

Shock and horror flooded his system. He shook his head. “No.”

“Tell them what?” Patience looked between them.

“Adam, it’s the only way.”

“No, damn it. I’d just as soon leave this town than tell them.”

“Tell them what!” Patience demanded again.

Raven turned to her. “What Adam went through when we were children.”

“Adam?”

He nodded and moved back to his position, quite possibly for the last time. He glanced at his lovely wife, his love for her bursting inside him. She risked her own safety to fight for him. Why wouldn’t he risk everything for her?

He then glanced at Raven, who gave him a single nod. And he knew what he needed to do.

It would expose him in a way he’d rather take to the grave, but it just might save his family, if not the entire town. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve fought against a prejudice brought on by fear and intolerance. As a child, I was forced to ignore the most hateful actions against me. Half Sioux. Half white. Accepted by no one.”

He made eye contact with Patience. “Until now. I’ve finally found a home in Port Steele. I have a striking wife who I love very much. If this ordinance passes, we’ll be forced to leave the town my brother and I created. My family loves it here.”

“But she misled you!” Constance Kendall cried out. “She’s divorced. She lied about being one of the brides! She was a stowaway on the ship that brought us to Port Steele. What other secrets is she keeping?”

Adam directed his attention to Constance. “And what secrets do you hide, Miss Kendall? What brought you to Port Steele? Perhaps your loose tongue drove all your suitors away in Boston as it did here.”

Constance colored deep and dropped her jaw. Her eyes flooded with tears as she looked to Miles for support. He remained silent, as Adam knew he would.

The worthless coward.

“My friends, I stand before you as your mayor. I’d give my life to protect this town and everyone in it, regardless of your heritage. To me, you are all men and women. I place no labels on you. Today, I ask you to do the same.”

“I’ve known these men since they first came to this area,” Hattie Red stated. “They are good men. Solid morals. If Mr. Steele is forced out of Port Steele, you leave our fate in the hands of Miles Petty. Is that what you want?”

Miles colored as dark as Constance. Finally, he stood and addressed the crowd. “I would make an excellent mayor. I care greatly for the advancement of this town.”

“You care about yourself,” Logan stated as he stood as well. “Let’s get to the point, here. Seattle’s town council is already regretting their decision to pass the ordinance. I’ve heard rumor that they are going to reverse the decision before the year is out. Let’s send them a message that we will not allow the ignorance that blinded them to also blind us.”

“Hear, hear!” someone from the crowd shouted, and the room erupted into applause.

Take the vote now.
Adam looked to Raven, who seemed to have sent him his thoughts.

“I need a show of hands for the ordinance,” Adam hollered. More hands than he would have thought shot straight up into the air, including Miles’s and Ron’s. To his shock, even several women held up their hands.