The thought did funny things to his heart.
“If you don’t want me, I understand.” Her fingers fumbled with the ribbons of her bonnet, then tugged it off, loose springs of honeyed blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders to her trim waist.
“Why would I. . .” His question trailed off as his gaze met blue eyes the color of the morning sky. Then his focus shifted, taking in the dainty slope of her nose, the too full lips, the tiny dimple in her right cheek.
Movement caught his attention and Avery followed her hand as she pressed it to her left cheek. “I know I’m not attractive but I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t stare.”
Avery blinked. Was the woman mad? Didn’t she have an idea just how lovely she was?
Margaret lifted her hand, her fingertips lingering over an area high on her cheek. A dark reddish purple spot stained her skin. Was this the ‘situation’ she’d spoken of? The reason Winslow had cast her aside? “Papa says this is my punishment for causing my mother’s death. So if you’d like to rescind your proposal, I completely understand.”
Avery watched her for a moment longer, a peace he couldn’t quite comprehend settling over him. Whether she knew it or not, Margaret Cobb was the answer to his prayers.
Chapter Two
Margaret lowered her gaze, fearful of the disgust she’d see in Avery’s expression. What had she expected? Papa had warned her no man would want her for a wife, not with the stain of God’s punishment on her face, but she’d held out hope, prayed that Otis Winslow was as compassionate and charming as his letters.
Only he’d been like the men back home, so put off by the mark to get to know the woman underneath.
Her chest tightened. Would this man reject her too?
“Miss Cobb?”
She nodded. Here it comes, the uncomfortable explanation, the withdrawal of his hasty proposal. What excuse would he give? She sensed kindness in Avery Waldwin, gentleness too. Fruits of the Spirit. Or would he be so cruel as to point out the obvious. Margaret braced herself.
“Have you made a decision about my proposal?”
She blinked. “I don’t understand.”
Avery gave her a slight smile that made her heart skip a beat. “I asked if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife and I’m waiting for your answer.”
Margaret said the only word she could think of at the moment. “Why?”
His gray eyes clouded in confusion. “I thought we’d already covered that.”
Heat exploded in her cheeks. Without thinking, she reached up and covered her cheek. “Oh yes, your daughter needs a mother.”
“And I need a wife.” His fingers crushed the brim of his hat.
Was this man nervous she’d say no? She shook her head. Of course not, why should he be? A man as handsome and rugged as Mr. Waldwin could have his pick of women. Then why had he settled on her?
She’d have a lifetime to figure that out if she accepted his proposal. “What about my. . .situation?”
“Miss Cobb.” Avery took her hand in his, the warmth of his palm sending delicious tingles up her arm. “My momma always said that beauty was only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. I’m raising Rose to believe that. Do you?”
She wanted to, oh, how she wanted to, but her father’s sharp words drummed through her head. Frightening. Disfigured. An abomination. What if this man is making a terrible mistake? What if he realizes too late that he doesn’t want her?
“Please, Miss Margaret. Say yes.”
Despite what he’d seen, he still wanted to marry her. Maybe Papa was wrong, maybe there were people—Avery being one of them—who looked beyond her appearance, who truly wanted to know the person she was.
A woman desperate to be loved for herself.
Margaret wrinkled her nose. Papa hadn’t thought much of that person either, forbidding her to go out in public, her only other contact in the world Miss Ellis. The woman she’d worked for had been kind, had even encouraged her to come to Angel Vale. You’ll never be happy here, my dear, not as long as your father wallows in his grief. Margaret promised herself if she ever had a child, she’d love him or her unconditionally.
Avery’s daughter. He’d said she needed a mother. Had God brought her to this wild and beautiful land to marry Avery Waldwin and raise his daughter as her own?
The thought was her undoing. Margaret lifted her head to meet his patient gaze. “Mr. Waldwin, I’d be honored to accept your proposal.”
The smile that lit up his face made her insides tremble. What was it about this man that made her. . .well, feel happy? And if he had that much control over her emotions, what would happen when he discovered he’d made a terrible mistake?
She’d just have to make sure she never found out.
He held out his arm to her. “If we hurry, we might catch Mr. Reynolds before he goes home for the night.”
“Mr. Reynolds?” She threaded her arm through his, resting her hand on the taunt muscles of his forearm. Her breath caught, her heart beating wildly against her ribs. If she reacted this way at a mere touch, what would it be like to have his lips pressed against hers? Her cheeks grew hot. Maybe she was more of a sinner than she thought.
Thank heavens, Avery didn’t seem to notice her discomfort. “Mr. Reynolds acts as our legal counsel and serves as the justice of the peace when the preacher’s not in town,” Avery hesitated. “But if you’d rather wait on the preacher. . .”
And give the man time to change his mind? Margaret shook her head. “A justice of the peace will be just fine. Besides, a church wedding would be inappropriate given our . . .”
“Reasons for getting married.”
A smile curved her lips. “You’re awfully blunt, aren’t you, Mr. Waldwin?”
“I believe in speaking my mind.” He covered her hand with his and led her to the office door. He opened it, then stood to the side to allow her to pass. “A trait I’m certain we share.”
Her smile faltered. Maybe she had been more outspoken than usual but today was an unusual day. “Papa says it’s one of worst habits. Says it makes me seem unfeminine.”
“Most men I know like a woman who speaks her mind.” He leaned closer and spoke low so only she could hear him. “At least, I know I do.”
Her eyes widened. “You do?”
He responded with a slight smile. “Wait here just a minute while I settle the arrangements with Winslow.”
She nodded, uncertain of her voice as he released her hand and headed to the register, his broad shoulders almost as wide as the aisles. As he stood talking with the men, it gave Margaret time to study him. He was a good head taller than her, his body trim from working his land. The sun had streaked his dark blond mop of hair with strands of light that seemed to halo his head. A hawkish nose and deep gray eyes that reminded her of the skies over the sound before a storm completed the picture.
And he was about to become her husband.
Something about that thought both thrilled and worried her. What if she disappointed him? What if she didn’t know how to be a wife, was a failure at being a mother? Would he blame her like her father had for her mother’s death all these years? Would Avery hid her away, too ashamed to let her be seen in public?
Margaret took a shuddered breath. But what if this marriage worked out? What if she found the happiness she’d always dreamed of? She’d always wanted a family, and now she’d have one with Avery and his daughter. Wasn’t that enough?
“Ready?”
She glanced up to find him standing in front of her, his gaze roaming over her face, a tenderness she hadn’t expected in his eyes. Being married to this man, raising his child with him would be enough.
For now.
Chapter Three
An hour later, Avery turned the buckboard toward the home, Margaret settled beside him, too busy studying the fields around them to notice he was watching her. The wedding had been a simple affair, the only extravagance, a small bouquet of wildflowers one of the older ladies at the
church had made up for the ‘angels’ as most folks in town and taken to calling them.
Avery sighed. Margaret deserved more than five minutes in front of the justice of the peace. Isn’t a wedding, with its flowers and lace what most girls dreamed of all their life? “It was nice of Mrs. Stephens to make up those bouquets?”
She lifted the buds to her nose and smiled into the different colored petals. “I’ll have to write her a thank you note.” She lowered the bouquet back to her lap. “How far do you live outside of town?”
“A few miles. We should be home before it gets too dark.”
“I thought you’d live in town, what with your business and all.” Margaret shifted beside him, and Avery could feel her gaze on his face. “Isn’t it difficult to travel back and forth everyday?”
He stole a glance at her. “You’re very interested in my work. Why?”
If she was taken back by his question, her expression didn’t show it. “Well, I guess it’s because I don’t know much about you, and your line of work is one of the few things you’ve shared with me so far.”
Avery felt like the worst kind of idiot. Katie and his job as an assayer had done that to him, made him suspicious of other people’s motives. He didn’t give folks the benefit of the doubt, not any more.
Not after Katie.
But that changed now. Margaret was his wife and he was going to have to learn to trust her, not matter how hard that might be. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so. . .”
“Suspicious of me?”
Avery couldn’t help but chuckle. “I see I’m not the only one in this marriage who’s blunt.”
Margaret’s lips twitched. “I seem to remember someone saying they liked that quality in a woman.”
He threw back his head and laughed. When he finally caught his breath, he figured she deserved an answer to her question. “Truth be told, I moved out here for Rose. The streets are no place for a young girl to run and play, and my business dries up once we get a hard freeze. We’re close enough to town to get there in the snow, but far enough out that we have some privacy.”
Margaret hesitated for a moment then spoke. “What happens when it’s time for Rose to go to school? Or is there a school?” She sighed. “I don’t even know.”
Avery smiled. Margaret was already concerned about Rose’s education, and she hadn’t even met his child yet. That spoke highly of her, of the mother she was going to be to Rose, and maybe one day, to their own children. “We don’t have a school yet, but with all these newly married couples, we’ll have to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.”
“We can’t wait that long.” She bit down on her lower lip as if to temper her excitement. “I’ll just have to get her started myself, that is unless you’re already working with her.”
The thought of his little girl being old enough to go to school bothered him. “She’s a still young.”
“She’s almost five. That’s a perfect time to start her reading lessons and give her some simple math problems to do.”
Avery wasn’t so sure. It was already going to be an adjustment going from just the two of them to having a wife and mother around the house. Throwing school on top of that might upset the applecart. “Could we wait a few months? Maybe give her some time to get use to you?”
“If that’s what you want.” She sunk back into her place, the excitement in her voice from just moments ago suddenly gone. “I thought it might be a way for us to get to know each other.”
Avery hadn’t thought about that. Maybe reading and writing lessons were just what both the women in his life need to break the ice with each other. “You’re right. It would be good for your both. I guess I just have a hard time believing that my baby girl is ready for school.”
When she didn’t answer, he stole a glance at her to find her watching him. “What?”
“It’s sweet, how you are about Rose.” She bowed her head again, hiding her face from him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before.”
“What about your papa?” Avery teased. “I’m sure it was hard for him to let you come all the way to Angel Vale and marry a man he’d never met.”
“No. In fact, he thought it was for the best, though he wasn’t sure anyone would have me.”
She had to have been mistaken. What kind of man would say such a hateful thing to his daughter? “You can’t mean that.”
She glanced at him then. There was no teasing light in her eyes, just the grim reality of her words. “My mother died giving birth to me, and Papa forgave me for it.”
Dear Lord! Had the man actually told Margaret such a thing? He must have, many times over if her matter-of-fact attitude about the situation was anything to go by. How else had the man punished her for her mother’s death? Anger knotted in his belly. Avery slapped the reins against the horse’s backside, and it whined. “Sorry, boy.”
An awkward silence settled between them. Avery racked his brain from something, anything to get their conversation back on track. Yet all he could think about was the mistreatment Margaret had withstood. How had she managed to endure her father’s constant belittling all these years? She was a strong woman, no doubt about that but there was fragility about her as if her father’s words had taken root into her very soul.
Katie never questioned her beauty or failed to use it to her advantage. Avery tightened his grip on the reins. Spoiled from the cradle by well-to-do parents, Katie thrived on risky adventures that were a constant threat to her reputation. It was what had attracted him to her, that and her undeniable beauty.
Beauty is only skin deep but ugly goes clean to the soul.
His mother’s saying rang in Avery’s ears even now. What a fool he’d been, marrying a woman for her looks and nothing else. It wasn’t too long after Katie’s death that he’d stumbled across a section in his Bible, Proverbs 31.
Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.
Avery made up his mind right then. If he married again, he wanted a woman of substance and strength, someone who would stay in good times as well as bad.
He cast a glance over at Margaret. Her bonnet had slipped back on her head, her eyes closed, her sooty lashes resting against the porcelain skin of her cheek. Poor thing, she must be exhausted after her wagon ride from the train station today. Gripping the reins in one hand, Avery slid his free arm around her and pulled her closer. Her slender body curled against him, her head bobbing from side to side teetering so close to his shoulder, he could smell her light scent of newly blossomed rosebud, so fresh and sweet. The sudden urge to kiss her awake grew with each passing moment until finally, she dropped her head onto his shoulder, her breathing growing shallow as she drifted deeper into sleep.
He lifted his face toward the sky, the first stars of the evening dotting the purple-red sky. Father in Heaven, give me the patience to court Margaret the way she deserves to be courted. Bless this marriage, Father, for both of our sakes.
Chapter Four
Margaret drifted, the music of the crickets lulling her into that lovely world between sleep and awareness, before reality set in, and she had to guard her heart from more of her father’s cruelty. She’d have to wake up soon, but not yet, not when the protective warmth of sleep’s embrace surrounded her.
“We’re almost home.” A deep masculine voice rumbled beneath her ear.
That wasn’t Papa! Margaret sucked in a breath and sat up, her gaze settling on the man sitting beside her, the scent of fresh air and Avery still lingering in her senses. Had she really curled up against him? No, it was much worse than that. She’d slipped up and told him about her father. Her cheeks burned hot even in the cool evening air.
He chuckled at the horses. “You remember me? I’m that fellow you married this afternoon.”
Margaret relaxed a bit. The man really could be quite charming at times. “I thought I’d imagined it.”
Avery shook his head, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “I’
ve got the marriage license to prove it.”
Her lips twitched. Thank goodness, she hadn’t married that mean old Otis Winslow. “Well, I may have to look at it every once and awhile just to make sure.”
He threw his head back and laughed, a throaty, deep sound that she found most appealing. “You do want to be a wife and mother, don’t you?”
An odd question, but she sensed her answer was important to him. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted since I was a little girl. A home and a family to care for and love. I wouldn’t have traveled this far if I wasn’t sure about it.”
“Otis Winslow has more money than I do.”
Was that uncertainty in his voice? Well, the man had nothing to worry about on that score. “I’ve lived with a man like Otis Winslow for the past twenty four years and I won’t waste another moment of my life thinking about him, not when I have you and Rose to look after.”
Avery set the brake and tied off the reins, then turned toward her, his big body so close, she could feel the warmth radiating off him. Lifting a hand, he cradled her cheek, his fingers making delicious circles against the skin just below her ear. “Do your friends have a nickname for you?”
Margaret shook her head. She didn’t have many friends. At least, no one close enough to have a pet name for her. “No, not really. Why?”
“I was just thinking. Rose might have a hard time with your name, at least until she decides to call you Mama.” He traced the line of her cheek with his thumb.
Her breath caught, and she coughed to clear her throat. “I’d never really thought about that. What about Maggie or Meg or. . .”
“Meg,” he whispered, the warmth in his voice threatening to turn her into a puddle. He leaned closer, his forehead coming to rest on hers. “I think it suits you.”
Her eyes fluttered shut. “You do?”
“I do.” His lips hovered over hers.
In the distance, a door opened, followed by the clipped steps of boots against a wooden floor. Avery must have heard the sound too because he dropped his hand and turned away, but not before Margaret saw disappointment flash in his eyes.
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