by Renee Ryan
“I’ve come to warn you.”
By now, he should be used to the way his gut rolled at the sound of Callie’s voice. He swallowed once, twice, three times.
Once he had his reaction under control, he glanced over his shoulder.
Callie stood in the doorway of his office, her hands twisting together at her waist, her brows scrunched into a frown.
Something was wrong.
Had Westgrove returned?
Reese hastened toward her. Whatever had happened, he would stand by her. The intense urge to alleviate her worries nearly flattened him.
He’d once thought this woman hid a world of feeling behind her cool facade, but Reese now knew the truth. The world of feeling was inside him, bubbling to the surface whenever he was in the same room with her.
This was not the way things were supposed to be. He wasn’t supposed to want to champion this woman, to protect her from all harm, to make her happy above all other pursuits.
Yet he couldn’t bear any other man having that honor.
Reaching out, Reese took her hands, lowered his gaze over her. She was wearing the blue dress she’d worn weeks ago. The beginning of her transformation. He noted again how the color highlighted the green in her eyes and made her skin glow.
Everything in him pinpointed to one specific goal. Erase her misery. “Callie, what’s upset you?”
“I...I don’t know where to start.”
“Has Westgrove—”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not Simon. He is good and truly gone from my life.”
The relief quickening through Reese’s blood nearly brought him to his knees.
“Oh, Reese, I’m afraid something terrible has happened and it’s my fault.”
Her unease cut him to the core. Still focused on his goal, he pulled her into his office and, despite knowing it was a bad idea, shut the door behind her. They were alone.
Completely.
Alone.
And yet, all he could think was how to soothe away that look of worry in Callie’s eyes. He resisted placing a hand on her face, though he desperately wanted to cup her cheek and tell her everything was going to be all right.
He couldn’t know that for certain. Not until she told him why she’d come to him. “Tell me what has happened.”
“We were overheard.”
Someone had been listening to them at the Hotel Dupree? The monumental consequences immediately struck him. Although Callie hadn’t actually done anything wrong with Westgrove, she’d agreed to run away with the man, had gone so far as to meet him at his hotel. Her actions, if taken out of context, could prove her ruination. “Who heard us?”
Perhaps it wasn’t too late to stop the gossip. If he could address the person directly, explain the situation, perhaps he could prevent the worst of the talk from spreading.
Callie sighed. “I don’t know for certain. But Mrs. Ferguson brought up your bride search this morning at the Ladies League for Destitute Widows and Orphans tea.” She sighed again. “Penelope and Phoebe are already plotting how best to win your heart.”
His bride search? That’s what they’d been overheard discussing? So relieved to find he was the center of gossip, and not Callie, Reese threw back his head and laughed.
Callie’s mouth dropped open. “How can you find this amusing? Women all over town will be throwing themselves at you now.”
“I can assure you, I don’t find any of this amusing. But the idea of any woman plotting ways to win my heart? It’s absurd.”
“Love is not absurd.”
“No,” he agreed, sufficiently sobered. “It’s very serious business. But I meant what I said, Callie, I am not seeking a love match.”
Pressing her lips tightly together, she eyed him for a long silent moment. Something flickered in her eyes. Hurt, perhaps? Disappointment? A combination of the two?
“Why are you so resistant to falling in love?” she asked.
“I’ve already explained my position.”
“You are being incredibly single-minded.” She punctuated the accusation with a scowl.
He suspected she was attempting to appear fierce. The expression only managed to make her look wholly adorable. Unable to resist, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She stared up at him, her gaze searching his. “I told you about Simon. I shared my past with you. Won’t you trust me with yours?”
Perhaps it made him a hypocrite but he couldn’t, he wouldn’t, talk about Miranda with Callie. “No.”
“Whatever happened, I’ll not pass judgment.”
He believed her. Sorely tempted to unburden himself, he opened his mouth but couldn’t get the words to form together logically in his mind. “I appreciate your offer, Callie, but still, no.”
“Will you at least discuss your bride search with me?”
He gave her a wry smile. “Isn’t that what brought on this latest snag we find ourselves in now?”
She sighed. “The floodgates are open, Reese. Every woman in town will soon be vying for your attention.”
He chuckled at the dismay in her voice, placed his other hand on your shoulder. “Surely not every woman. Let’s not forget, I can often be stern and overly rigid.”
“Untrue. You are handsome, kind, gentle, especially with children, not to mention upright and full of integrity. Any woman in her right mind would consider herself fortunate to receive a marriage proposal from you.”
Her defense of him was charming. “Some would say I dislike chaos.”
“You simply appreciate lists.”
He chuckled again, the sound rumbling from the depth of his soul. This beautiful, sweet, fiercely loyal woman understood him. “You do know me well.”
Compelled, he drew her into his arms.
“Reese.” She spoke his name on a whisper. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Nor do I think—”
“Now, see, that’s the problem. You think too much. We both do.” Maybe, just this once, they needed to stop thinking and indulge in a bad idea...together.
Course set, he pressed his mouth to hers.
Callie stiffened in his arms. Less than a heartbeat later, she leaned into him.
All thought disappeared.
For a second, Reese allowed himself to indulge in the sensation of holding a woman he cared about, whose company he thoroughly enjoyed.
After a moment, he lifted his head and stared into Callie’s wide green eyes. Caught inside her beautiful gaze, a condition he was growing to appreciate, he forgot all about lists and timetables and adhering to tight schedules.
He jerked back.
Callie Mitchell was a dangerous woman.
As if coming out of a trance, she drew in a slow, careful breath of air. “I better go, before Mrs. Singletary worries.”
She turned.
“Callie, wait. We have to talk about what just hap—”
“Please, Reese. Please don’t say another word.” She wrenched open the door and all but ran out of his office.
Watching her scurry down the hall, she looked as though she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. The realization brought a moment of searing pain. A pain so similar to grief Reese had to reach for the doorjamb to steady himself.
One lone, coherent thought emerged, bringing with it a bright spurt of hope. He’d been searching for a wife in the wrong place and in the wrong way.
Time to start a new list.
Chapter Seventeen
Throughout the next week, whenever Callie found herself alone—a state that occurred far too often for her peace of mind—her thoughts returned to Reese.
Sitting in the hard, straight-back chair facing her writing de
sk, she pulled out the miniature portrait she’d painted, cupped it in her hands and studied the image in the bright morning light.
She’d painted Reese smiling.
The expression reminded her of the way he’d looked when she’d informed him that word had gotten out about his bride search.
His reaction to the news still mystified Callie. He’d seemed completely unconcerned that women all over town would soon be throwing themselves at him.
Was he that immune to falling in love? That resistant? Did he actually believe his life would be happy without it?
God’s second greatest commandment called His children to love one another. Love was important, necessary, a prerequisite for a good, healthy life.
Callie knew Reese had the capacity for deep emotion. She’d seen him with the orphans at Charity House. No man had that much patience without love in his heart.
A terrible thought occurred to her. Had someone broken his heart?
Was Fanny the culprit? He claimed not. But what if Reese was still pining for his former fiancée?
Callie wasn’t sure she had the courage to push them together, not anymore, not after all she and Reese had shared in the past month. Besides, her sister refused to come home and make things right with him. Fanny had thrown away her chance with Reese.
But...if he truly loved her sister, how could Callie stand in their way? How could she not do everything in her power to bring them back together? Reese deserved happiness. As did her sister.
Lowering her head, Callie studied the miniature portrait in her hand, ran her fingertip over his face. She paused over his mouth, remembering how in the midst of their talk about love he’d kissed her.
Her finger shook as the memory refused to fade.
He’d been so gentle with her, both at the theater and at the Hotel Dupree. And again when he’d held her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers. He must care for her.
Of course he cares. We are friends.
Friends don’t kiss friends, not the way Reese had kissed Callie. His behavior baffled her. He seemed almost calculating in his pursuit of a bride, but Callie knew he wasn’t that heartless. He was wonderful, extraordinary.
She thought she might cry.
Why had he pursued Fanny first? Why, all those months ago, hadn’t he looked at Callie the way he had in his office the other day?
Would she have accepted his suit at the time?
She didn’t know. She truly didn’t know. Ever since returning home to Colorado she’d allowed her mistake with Simon to define her.
Had she spurned Reese without even knowing it?
“Callie, are you ready to go?”
Jumping at the question, she quickly tucked the miniature away in her desk and looked up at her employer. “Nearly there. I just have to finish pinning my hat in place.”
“Hurry, hurry, dear, we don’t want to be late for church.”
“I’m coming.” Callie secured the final three pins and checked her reflection in the mirror. She was growing used to her transformation, even appreciating the changes Mrs. Singletary had insisted upon. But it was more than just the outer wrappings.
The new Callie no longer hovered around the edges of life. She no longer melted into the shadows. She held her head high, wore dresses tailored specifically for her and styled her hair in the latest fashions of the day.
Smiling at her reflection, she picked up her reticule and turned. “All set, Mrs. Singletary.”
She was talking to the widow’s back.
Callie scurried after her employer, eventually catching up with her outside the mansion. Since they were only a few blocks away from the church building, and the day was already warm, Mrs. Singletary suggested they walk. Callie agreed. They took the most direct route and thus managed to arrive a full ten minutes before service started.
Now they were no longer walking, Callie looked up at the sky. The sun shone bright, hugging the church building in its golden arms. The pretty steeple pointed straight toward the pristine blue heavens. The mountains in the distance marched in a craggy row, looking like sentinels on duty, safeguarding all who moved in their shadows.
“Lovely,” she whispered to no one in particular.
Mrs. Singletary hummed her agreement as she waved at someone she knew.
Callie started up the steps. She conquered only two when she realized her employer hadn’t joined her. “Aren’t you coming, Mrs. Singletary?”
“Go on ahead, dear. Sit wherever you like. I wish to speak with Laney Dupree before I head inside.” She took off toward her quarry.
Callie smiled after her employer.
When she’d first taken the position as the widow’s companion, she hadn’t expected to attend church with her. She’d assumed her employer would wish for a more formal service than the one they enjoyed at Denver Community Bible Church.
Mrs. Singletary had surprised Callie, stating she’d supported the church loosely connected with Charity House and always would as long as she had breath in her lungs.
Denver Community was led by Reverend Beauregard O’Toole, a member of a famous acting family who’d chosen ministry over the stage. All were welcome in Pastor Beau’s church, no matter their current situation or what they’d done in the past.
It was a sentiment Callie had agreed with in theory, but she was only just now coming to understand what it meant to accept God’s grace fully. Or, as the good reverend often said, “Who better to appreciate God’s unlimited mercy than the lost, misguided and hurting?”
A movement caught Callie’s eye. She turned, felt her smile widen. Reese had come to church with his father today. The elder Mr. Bennett was already engaged in an animated conversation with Mrs. Singletary and her friends. Reese stood off to one side.
He did not look happy. Actually, his eyes had taken on a hunted look. Perhaps that was due to the fact that he was being quickly surrounded by a swarm of women, all of whom were openly competing for his attention. They’d sufficiently corralled him.
Other than plow someone over, he was good and truly stuck. A captured audience.
Easy prey.
As a friend, Callie should hurry over and rescue him. She decided to let him suffer a few moments longer. It served him right for laughing at her, when she’d only sought to warn him of this very thing. Now that word was out he was actively seeking a bride, he might as well get used to the female interest.
With slow, even steps, she approached the perimeter of the crowd surrounding him and lifted up on her toes.
“Mr. Bennett,” she called over the uproar. “Mrs. Singletary has insisted you and your father sit with her this morning. Stop dawdling, please, and do come along.”
Thoroughly trapped, he spread out his hands in a helpless gesture. A silent plea filled his anxious gaze.
“Oh, honestly. Step aside, ladies.” Callie shouldered her way through the bulk of the crowd. Angry female objections arose.
Callie ignored them.
Taking hold of Reese’s sleeve, she tugged. Hard.
A little stumble on both their parts, more objections, then—finally—she managed to pull him free.
For a moment, his gaze turned inward, as if to contemplate how he’d ended up on the wrong end of his bride search.
Callie resisted the urge to remind him she’d warned him this would happen. Instead, she silently looped her arm through his and attempted to guide him toward the church entrance. He refused to move. For a moment, there was an alarming intensity to the man, his features severe with concentration as he stared into her face.
“I believe I owe you an apology.” His voice held a sheepish tone. “You were right.”
“Though I never get tired of hearing those three little words, I’m afraid you’ve lost me.” She sent him a smiling glance. “What was I righ
t about?”
“I have become the center of unwanted female attention.” He sounded so perplexed and baffled she didn’t know whether to laugh or quiet his concerns.
She chose something in between.
“You’ll be fine,” she said in her most soothing tone, patting his arm with her free hand. “That is, as long as you never leave your house again.”
His lips dropped into a frown. “Not funny.”
“I thought so.”
They entered the church before either could say more. All heads turned in their direction. Or rather, all female heads turned in their direction. Although the attention was unnerving, Callie knew most were looking at Reese. Speculating as to why he was with her.
Refusing to be intimidated, she lifted her chin and moved deeper into the building. The pew she usually shared with Mrs. Singletary and Reese’s father was still empty. They were probably still chatting outside.
A loud squeal of delight rent the air. “Miss Callie. Mr. Reese. Over here. Hey, we’re over here.”
Seated in the back row with several of the other Charity House children, Daniel Velasquez bounced up and down while waving his hands frantically in the air. His sister copied his every move.
Dressed in their Sunday best, their hair combed and eyes shining, the twins looked adorable. They also looked set apart, with a large empty space between them and the other children in the pew.
Daniel shouted their names again, this time adding, “Won’t you come sit with us?”
Callie would like nothing better, but it wasn’t her decision alone. She turned to discuss the matter with Reese, but he was already pulling her toward the children.
There was a moment of jostling and organizing and arguing over who would sit where. In the end, Callie and Reese ended up in the middle of the pew with Gabriella on Callie’s lap and Daniel on the other side of Reese.
As if on cue, the first strains of organ music wafted through the air. Everyone stood. Callie attempted to set Gabriella on her feet, but the girl clung to her, wrapping her arms around her neck in a death grip. Shifting her hold, she settled the child on the church pew.
