by Ann Mayburn
Feeling self-conscious, she looked down at her work roughened, tanned hands, not looking forward to being judged by strangers at all. “Won’t that be fun.”
Laughing, Mrs. Tibbs gave Rowan’s unbruised cheek a gentle pat. “Worry not, dear girl. Just keep in mind that no matter who those other women are, Garret and Edward could have had them, but they picked you. I know women can be catty, but just ignore them.”
Wanting to change the subject, she smoothed her hands down the dress and said, “Thank you so much for lending this to me.”
“Oh, that dress isn’t mine,” Mrs. Tibbs chuckled and patted her hips. “I have a bit more padding. Garret and Edward supplied it. I must say, the cut is very flattering on you. You’re so slight, it’s no wonder you were able to disguise yourself. I’m afraid there isn’t enough bandages in the world to flatten down my chest.”
Rowan frowned down at the lovely gown. “They bought this for me? When?”
“While you were in the city, I’d imagine. That has the look of a store-bought dress, not homemade.” Mrs. Tibbs said as she examined the high lace collar of the dress. “Yes, definitely not homemade.”
“But why would they buy me an expensive dress?”
Mrs. Tibbs rolled her eyes as she swept Rowan’s hair up into a stylish do and secured the wild curls with what seemed like a million pins. “Because they adore you.”
“They hardly know me,” she protested. “And they didn’t know me at all when we left the city.”
“They bought the dress because they are decent men and wanted to make sure you are properly clothed.” Mrs. Tibbs paused for a moment, the hair pin in her hand gleaming in the light from the overhead oil lanterns. “You haven’t known much kindness in your life, have you?”
Rowan shrugged and looked away. “When you’re poor, and everyone around you is poor, kindness is a luxury most people can’t afford. I find it hard to believe that they would spend so much money on me without wanting anything in return.”
“I understand, but they do want something in return.” Mrs. Tibbs laughed at Rowan’s knowing look. “Not that, or at least not only that. When a man loves a woman, he will do anything to make her happy, to see her smile. They didn’t buy you the dress so that you would feel you owe them in some way. They bought you the dress to make you happy. As far as them not knowing you, I knew my Harold for three days before we wed. He was about to go off to battle, and I couldn’t bear the thought of him going into danger without knowing I would be waiting at home for him.” Mrs. Tibbs sighed happily as she turned Rowan around. “Lovely.”
Touching her hair and brushing a stray blonde curl from her face, she gave Mrs. Tibbs an impulsive hug. “Thank you so much for talking with me.”
“It is my pleasure, dear. You’ve had a rough go of it, and my heart breaks for all that you’ve been through, but I am sure God brought you to us for a reason.” Mrs. Tibbs fanned her face, blinking rapidly. “Now, let’s go find your fiancés and see what the cook has made up for dinner. We don’t have many guests this time of year, so she’ll be eager to show off her skills and will make us something particularly delicious.”
Walking down the hall with Mrs. Tibbs, Rowan took in the opulence and said in a hesitant voice, “It is rather surprising to find such a refined Inn out in the middle of the frontier. I certainly didn’t expect indoor plumbing.”
“It cost a pretty penny, but my Harold, though he likes to deny it, comes from a rather wealthy aristocratic family and likes his luxuries. We used his inheritance to build our inn to his rather demanding specifications.”
“Is Dr. Tibbs royalty?” Rowan asked in a hushed voice.
“He is.”
“Good golly,” Rowan breathed out.
Mrs. Tibbs giggled and led her to yet another set of stairs. “Don’t get flustered, he is 86th in line for the crown. Minor nobility, but ones that invested well over the years. When he decided to follow his brothers in arms to the United States, they gave us a substantial gift to start a new life together. Well, substantial for us, a tiny fraction of their wealth to them. When we found these mineral springs, and the town already built around them, we knew Dove Springs was where we were meant to be.”
They stopped before a dark wood door with the brass number fourteen on it.
“Here we are,” Mrs. Tibbs said. “Now, before you go in, I know you’re engaged, but I wasn’t sure what sleeping arrangements you would prefer. This is your room, but there is a door that connects to your fiancé’s bedroom. It has a lock on your side, so if you wish for privacy tonight, you may have it. Take a moment to freshen up, then tell Garret and Edward dinner is ready whenever they are. They should be back from their soaks in the men’s bathing area by now, though they were with Harold, and Lord knows that man can talk.”
Rowan bit her cheek to keep from giggling, because Mrs. Tibbs hadn’t stopped talking since they’d met. “Thank you. I’ll let them know.”
5
EDWARD
* * *
Edward was just pulling up the straps of his suspenders when a knock came from the door to the room he shared with Garret. He would have preferred to be in Rowan’s room with her but thought that Dr. Tibbs was right—she could probably use a good night’s sleep and some privacy. They’d explained the situation to their old friend and mentor as they’d soaked in the tubs, and Garret had finally been able to have his pipe.
Now, feeling like a new man with the dirt of the road washed off him and a fresh shave, he crossed the smooth, dark wood floor of their room and opened the door, expecting it to be the maid.
But it wasn’t the maid standing in the hallway.
It was Cassandra Stein, a local widow and one of the women Edward and Garret would ‘visit’ with when they were in Dove Springs.
“Hello, Edward,” Cassandra said in her low, sultry voice. “Can I come in?”
“I don’t know if that would be—” He grunted as she pushed past him, her floral perfume filling the air.
Dressed in a purple gown that would be more suitable for dinner in the big city than visiting a friend, Cassandra stopped in the middle of the room and practically posed for him. She was a beautiful woman, a few years older than himself and Garret, but lovely with her deep red hair and wide green eyes. For the past few years, they’d carried on a casual dalliance with the wealthy widow. It was a friendly relationship, neither party wanting anything more than someone to scratch an itch and share a glass of bourbon. But their visits had stopped recently when she began to more than casually hint she was on the hunt for her next husband. Or, in this case, husbands.
Placing her hands on her curvy hips, she slowly scanned the room then arched a brow. “Well, I hear congratulations is in order. Where is your fiancée? I’d love to meet her.”
Despite her casual tone and small smile, he could see the anger snapping in her eyes and the rigid way she held herself.
“Thank you, but I’m afraid Rowan isn’t available right now.”
Her upper lip curled and jealousy practically radiated from her like heat from a stove. He noticed that she’d painted her lips with a stain that made them seem fuller than usual and had applied some cosmetics to her eyes as well. He didn’t know much about women, but he was quite sure Cassandra wasn’t wearing makeup–she wore war paint. She was a proud woman, and it no doubt pricked her fragile pride to know the men she’d been perusing had chosen another. Especially since Cassandra was rather spoiled and expected men to fall at her feet.
“Cassandra,” he said in a low voice, not wanting to hurt her but at the same time wanting her out of his room, “we can discuss this later. I need to get ready for dinner.”
Changing tactics, she let the fox fur stole she’d had wrapped around her shoulders fall away, revealing an impressive amount of cleavage lifted for maximum effect. “Edward, please don’t be so cold. I thought we were friends.”
“We are friends, but nothing more,” he said firmly as he turned his back on her, reaching for hi
s jacket.
“Edward,” she purred from right behind him and he turned with a start. “It doesn’t have to be this way. You aren’t married yet. Don’t you remember how good things can be between us?”
She wrapped her arms around him and leaned up on her tiptoes, her mouth inches from his as he backed into the wall, trying to get away from her.
“Woman,” he growled, “I may not be married yet, but my heart belongs to Rowan.”
“What about your cock?” Cassandra bared her teeth at him as he caught her hands in his own, keeping her from reaching between his legs. “She’ll never be able to satisfy you like I can.”
“Enough,” he roared as he pushed Cassandra away. “I want you out of my room, now.”
Sprawled on the floor, Candance instead shocked the hell out of him by going on her hands and knees and crawling over to him. “Just let me taste you one more time, Edward. You know how good I am at pleasing you with my mouth.”
As he took another step back, he froze when he heard Rowan say in a low, pissed voice, “If you don’t get your diseased whore carcass out of my fiancés room in ten seconds, I’m going to drag you out by your badly dyed hair.”
Edward’s mouth practically hit his chest when he turned and saw Rowan, cleaned up and wearing a decent fitting gown, for the first time.
He’d known she was beautiful, had been attracted to her even when she was covered in dirt and passed out in his bed, but the sight of her took his breath away. Her golden hair was twisted on top of her head into a complicated bun, but curls has been left out to artfully drape around her face, framing it. Though she was still too skinny, her beauty was arresting. Not classic, like Cassandra’s, but eye catching nonetheless. Her bronze skin tone made her pale blue eyes glow, and her wide pink lips—no longer chapped and windburned—were drawn tight with anger. The blue gown she wore highlighted the tininess of her waist, and was tight enough to accent her high, firm breasts.
Cassandra quickly grabbed her fur and stood, her chin raised in an arrogant tilt. “How dare you speak to me like that!” Cassandra said in a shaky voice. “Edward, do something!”
Rowan bared her teeth in something more like a snarl than a smile and took a step forward. “Don’t worry about Edward. Don’t speak to Edward. Don’t even look at Edward. I want you out of my fiancés bedroom, now!”
For all her bluster, Cassandra had grown up with money and was soft in many ways Rowan would never be. Not physically, but mentally. Cassandra was weak and overindulged, and it showed in how quickly she backed up from an advancing Rowan.
His little tigress didn’t show a hint of fear as she literally stalked the older, larger woman out the door.
Once Cassandra was out in the hall, Rowan slammed the door shut with a ‘And don’t come back!’ that left him staring at her in amazement.
She spun around, fire still roaring in her gaze as she pointed a finger at him. “And you—”
He didn’t even give her a chance to speak, instead sweeping her into his arms so he could properly kiss her with all the passion raging inside of him. Her little feet kicked at his shins, and she tried to push her way out of his arms, but he tightened his grip on her and began to suck and kiss at her luscious mouth while she snarled at him. Her resistance only turned him on even more, but when she wrapped her arms around his neck with a sigh of surrender, his heart swelled with victory.
Their tongues tangled together as she gripped his hair with two fists, her fingers clutching the still damp strands as she jerked his head back, then began to kiss his smooth shaved throat. The feeling was like liquid fire, and his groans echoed through the room as her lips brushed over him. When she sank her sharp little teeth into the side of his neck almost hard enough to break the skin, he let out a rather unmanly yelp.
“Easy, little tigress, sheath your fangs” he said as she sucked where she’d bitten.
Leaning back so her gaze could meet his she said, “If you wear my mark, maybe the women of this town will figure out that you’re spoken for.”
That warm, roaring happiness filled him again as he smiled at her stern little face. “I’m spoken for, am I?”
Flustered, she looked down at the top button of his shirt. “Yes. No? I don’t know. I just know that the sight of that woman trying to seduce you…it made me terribly angry.”
“And jealous,” he said mostly to himself, happy that she was feeling possessive of them.
She glared at him, her lovely eyes flashing fire again as her tigress temper flared to life. “You don’t have to sound so pleased about it.”
He walked them over to the bed and sat on the edge, keeping her on his lap despite her protests. “Rowan, you have nothing to worry about. Yes, Garret and I have had a relationship of sorts with Cassandra, but that is in the past. It was more of a mutual understanding and meeting of needs between friends than a romantic courtship.”
Rowan rolled her eyes at him, but her stiff body softened slightly. “Obviously Cassandra thought it was more.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, murmuring on the top of her head, “Never, in all the times we were with Cassandra,” Rowan let out a little growl that he bit back a smile over, “did I ever feel even an ounce of what I feel when I hold you like this.”
Playing with the lapel of his suit jacket, she said in a low voice, “And what do you feel when you hold me?”
He leaned back a little so he could stare into her earnest little face and said from the bottom of his heart, “I feel right when I’m with you, Rowan. I feel both content and excited, happy and nervous.”
“Nervous?” Her fair brows drew down and lines creased her forehead. “What do you have to be nervous about?”
“That you’ll realize you’re too good for us.”
She let out a loud, harsh laugh that held an edge of hurt to it. “I’m too good for you? Edward, please. You’re rich, handsome, successful ranchers that every woman in the area seems to adore. I’m a penniless, scrawny, ugly—”
“You are not ugly.” He turned her so she stood between his legs, her mouth set to a stubborn pout. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She blinked rapidly, then swallowed hard. “No, Cassandra is beautiful. Nancy is beautiful. I’m a poor, uneducated, unsophisticated and unworldly, scrawny, ugly, have a big nose, and am the granddaughter of slaves.”
On the last word, her voice broke. He grabbed both her hands in his, turning them over so he could rub her callouses with his thumbs. “There is no sin in being poor, and being uneducated doesn’t mean you’re stupid. You’ve traveled farther than most people who never leave the town they were born in. You’re not scrawny, just malnourished, and my nose is bigger than yours.” This made her smile the tiniest bit. “And I don’t care who your ancestors were no more than you should care about mine. You are the bravest, strongest, smartest woman I’ve ever met, Rowan. I mean that. All your life, you’ve had to fight to survive. Despite that, you’ve not only endured, you’ve thrived. Anyone who ever told you that you were ugly was a flat-out liar. You are uniquely and exquisitely beautiful, and I desire you more than my next breath.”
“I want to believe you,” she said as tears filled her eyes, “but it is so hard for me to trust you.”
“Ahhh, lass,” Edward lifted her hands to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles. “Trust is not given, it’s earned. We know this. We’re only asking you to give us just a little bit.”
There was so much vulnerability in her gaze while she searched his face, then said softly, “I’m afraid to hope.”
“You’re breaking my heart,” he groaned as he kissed her knuckles again. “I wish we had the time to properly court you, to prove our worth, but please, give us a chance. I swear, your hope and trust won’t be misplaced.”
She let out a long, deep sigh then nodded. “Okay.”
A knock came from the doorway, and Garret appeared a moment later, wearing a smart brown suit with a crisp white shirt and bro
nze vest. With his hair slicked back and freshly shaved, he looked more like the officer Edward remembered than the rancher he became. Garret sucked in a sharp breath of air as he got a good look at their Rowan.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said in a reverent tone that made Rowan blush prettily.
“See?” Edward said with a smile. “I told you.”
Ignoring Edward, she ducked her head down and said, “You look very handsome as well, Garret.”
Moving closer, Garret’s smile slipped as he said, “Have you been crying?”
Edward stood from the bed, the frame creaking as he stood next to Rowan. Even with all her glorious hair piled atop her head, she still only came up to his shoulder. Despite her diminutive stature, she fit perfectly into his side as he gave her a one-armed hug.
“I’m afraid Cassandra decided to stop by, unannounced, and made her displeasure over our change in marital status known,” Edward said as he gave Rowan’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “But our little tigress here chased her off.”
Garret swore softly then gave Rowan an apologetic look. “I am so sorry—”
She shook her head, cutting him off as she said, “You have nothing to be sorry about. It was all that…woman’s fault.”
“She called her a heifer,” Edward said, barely holding back a grin. “Right before she threatened to drag her out by her badly dyed hair.”
Garret looked so shocked, Edward laughed.
Rowan said in a prim voice, “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go freshen up before dinner.”
“Ahhh, lass,” Edward said as he kissed her temple. “Don’t be mad. I’m proud that you fought to defend your claim on us.”
Garret leaned forward, his light brown eyebrows drawn down into a V as he stared at Edward’s neck. “Did Cassandra bite you?”
