Her Heart's Desire NH2

by Ruth Ann Nordin

With a frustrated sigh, he said, “I forgot to do something. I can’t tell you what.”

  “Oh, it sounds serious. Does it involve your job?”

  “It’s something I must tend to,” he replied, hedging around the truth.

  “Then I won’t keep you, but I hope you’ll come by again.”

  Somehow he doubted that. To remain polite, he nodded and headed down the steps. He needed time to think about what he should do, but for the time being, he thought it would be best to avoid women altogether.

  ***

  “He couldn’t get away from me quick enough,” Ethel Mae told Sally the next day.

  Sally looked up from the tea punch she was making in her kitchen. “Really? What else did Rick say?”

  “Not much. He asked about Samuel and then said he had to go.”

  Sally’s eyebrows furrowed. “Maybe he’s trying to make you think he’s not interested in you so you’ll want him.” And if so, then that meant yesterday evening when he came to have supper at her house, it didn’t change anything. He still wanted Ethel Mae.

  “I don’t think so. He didn’t seem remotely interested in me. He even said he had a good time when he was here.”

  “Which only proves my point. He’s a good actor.”

  “He can’t be that good.”

  “Sure he can.” Sally sighed as she stirred the tea punch. “We might have underestimated him. The man can hold his own very well, and I’m afraid he’s devoted to you.”

  Ethel Mae grimaced. “But I pretended I wanted him to be there. I flirted with him and everything.”

  “You flirted with him? Why did you do that? Now he’ll believe all of this is working.”

  “He’s supposed to think that. Next time, I’ll have Vivian tell him that Samuel paid me a visit, left flowers, and that I had such a good time that I might let him court me. Then Rick will want to see you again to make me jealous.”

  Sally shook her head. “It won’t work. He wants to be with you. When he was here, he didn’t so much as want to sit on the porch swing with me.”

  “You need to give it more time. Believe me, it’s working. I saw how restless he was yesterday. He didn’t want to be with me.”

  She poured the tea punch into two glasses. “So why did he go see you?”

  Ethel Mae blinked in surprise. “Well, he did promise he’d stop by to see me. Perhaps he meant to keep his word.”

  Not convinced, Sally set the pitcher in the center of the work table and took off her apron. “If he didn’t want to see you, he wouldn’t have gone. I think he remembered something he really did have to do and that’s why he left in a hurry.”

  “It can’t be that.”

  She set the apron on the hook by the door and turned to her friend. “Of course, it can. He’s a judge. He probably had something to research or something. We don’t know everything judges do.”

  “Oh, Sally. It can’t be. I’m telling you, he didn’t look as excited to see me as he used to.”

  Somehow, Sally doubted that. He might have pretended he wasn’t excited, but she was sure he was.

  “Have faith,” her friend said encouragingly. “I really think he’s not as interested in me as he used to be. I believe you’re starting to win him over.”

  Sally forced a smile as she handed Ethel Mae her glass of tea punch. Taking hers, she decided to agree with her friend because, soon enough, they’d both know what Rick wanted. “Want to go sit on the porch swing and talk?”

  “I’d love to. I have to admit, I love looking at the land.”

  “And better yet, my father and brothers are in the fields, and my mother and Jenny are resting before they have to fix lunch. So, we’ll have our privacy.”

  “I hope you’ll let me help when it’s time to make lunch, Sally. I didn’t just come out here to eat and drink.”

  “I won’t turn you down, especially since you’re a better cook than I am.”

  “Oh, you do fine.”

  “Not as good as you.”

  “You sell yourself short, Sally. You cook well, but I will admit you’re better at talking to people than I am.”

  “You talk to me without any problems.”

  “Because you make me comfortable. You have a way with people.”

  Sally shrugged as they made their way to the porch and sat on the swing. Perhaps, but the only one she wanted was Rick, and he was the one person she couldn’t seem to get. At least not yet. She didn’t think it would be so difficult to direct his attention to her instead of Ethel Mae, but it was. Difficult but not impossible. He planned to come see her again, so she’d get a better idea of what was happening then. Patience, Sally. You can’t expect him to fall at your feet just because he’s been out here one time. Patience.

  Chapter Seven

  On Friday as Rick was on his way out of the courthouse so he could have lunch, Judge Townsend called out to him from where he stood a few feet from the front doors. Rick headed over to the older man who was talking with a young man.

  “Rick,” Townsend began, “this is my nephew Samuel Dixon. Samuel, this is my colleague, Rick Johnson.”

  Rick blinked in surprise. “Samuel Dixon?” He had to make sure he heard right.

  “That’s me,” Samuel said and extended his hand for a handshake.

  Rick dumbly stared at him for a moment before shaking his hand. Samuel Dixon really existed? Vivian, Ethel Mae and Sally hadn’t made him up? “Do you know an Ethel Mae?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. How did you know?”

  Rick released his hand and shrugged. “Just a hunch.”

  Townsend chuckled. “That’s some hunch there, Rick. Who is Ethel Mae?”

  Rick cleared his throat. “Her full name is Ethel Mae Jordan, and she lives on Elwood Street. I’ve been to her house a couple times.” Glancing at Samuel, he said, “She rather fancies you, even if she’s pretending that she doesn’t. Your approach of playing hard to get works.”

  Samuel opened his mouth to speak, but Townsend turned to him and said, “Rick came out here from Vermont. His father’s a good friend of mine. We go back to childhood, and I tell you, Rick’s the spitting image of him.”

  Rick stared at Samuel, still not believing he had misjudged Vivian the other night. He thought for sure the girl was lying to him by the way she was acting. But Samuel was standing right in front of him. He was tall with broad shoulders, held himself with confidence, and possessed blond hair and twinkling brown eyes that probably attracted many women…Ethel Mae included. Clearing his throat, Rick asked him, “So, what do you do?”

  “I’m actually not working at the moment. You see, I’m only here for a short while. I’m a business man, and I wish to establish a hotel in California. With any luck, I’ll end up with a chain of them.”

  Townsend nodded. “Samuel’s always dreamt big. He’s on his way to being wealthy.”

  “Oh, now I wouldn’t say that,” Samuel argued with a laugh that probably made Ethel Mae swoon in delight.

  “You’re modest.” Townsend patted him on the back. “You’re going places, kid. You won’t settle for second best.”

  Just the thing a woman likes, Rick thought, his head spinning from meeting Samuel Dixon.

  “I won’t keep you, Rick,” Townsend said. “Have a good lunch.”

  His gaze drifting back to Samuel who was, without a doubt, a formidable opponent, Rick weakly smiled and headed out of the courthouse. Unbelievable. Samuel Dixon wasn’t a figment of Vivian’s imagination.

  ***

  The next afternoon, Sally turned to Rick who was sitting by her on the porch swing. “You met Samuel Dixon?” she asked, thinking for sure she didn’t hear right because Ethel Mae swore that she made Samuel up.

  “Yes, and he’s even better than Vivian made him sound.” He leaned back in the swing on the porch of Sally’s house and shook his head. “I can’t compete with someone like that. He’s good looking, ambitious, nice.”

  “Oh now, you’re good looking, ambitious and nice
, too,” she quickly assured him.

  “Not like he is. You should have heard him talk about his plans to own more than one hotel. I think Judge Townsend is right. Samuel’s going to be rich.”

  “There’s more to a man than how much he makes.”

  “He’s also nice and good looking.”

  Sally giggled and nudged him in the arm. “And I told you that you are, too.”

  “You haven’t seen him, have you?”

  “No, but I don’t need to see him to know you’re better than him.” Seriously, she had no idea how any man could be better than Rick Johnson.

  He turned so that he was facing her and brushed a wisp of hair away from her forehead. The touch was so light that she almost fainted from his gentleness. “You’re too kind.” With an apologetic smile, he added, “You’ll think it’s foolish, but I have a confession to make to you.”

  If this confession had to do with him being glad Ethel Mae was interested in Samuel because he had fallen in love with her, then Sally wanted to hear it! She leaned forward so she could see his eyes when he revealed his feelings for her. “What is it, Rick?”

  Chuckling, he said, “I thought you, Ethel Mae and Vivian were lying to me about Samuel.”

  She blinked in surprise. That didn’t sound anything at all like a heartfelt confession of his undying love for her.

  “That’s silly, I know, but if you were there when Vivian told me his last name, you’d understand why I came to that conclusion. It really seemed like she was making it up.”

  “You thought Vivian made up his last name?” She dumbly stared at him, trying to figure out why he was looking at her with those romantic brown eyes and that heart-melting smile but not saying the right words.

  “I’m sorry I doubted you and your friends. I promise I won’t doubt you again.”

  “Uh…” Her mind was still trying to grasp what he was actually saying as opposed to what he was supposed to be saying.

  He shrugged and put his hands on his thighs. “I don’t suppose you still want to help me where Ethel Mae is concerned, do you?”

  It took her a moment to think of how she might use this new turn of events to her advantage. If Rick was going to see her in a more romantic light, then he needed to do romantic things with her. She scanned the fields and was assured her father and brothers were safely away from the house and then saw her mother and Jenny sitting by the clothesline after hanging the clothes. Everyone was far away enough so there was a sense of privacy without being out of sight. Good. She’d much rather have them think he was showing a genuine interest in her than someone else.

  Offering him her most attractive smile, she said, “I’ll be happy to help. Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink or eat? You did come a long way to talk to me.”

  “No, thank you. I’ve already imposed enough.”

  “It’s no imposition.”

  “The lunch was more than generous. I forgot you said you have lunch so late in the day.”

  “We do during planting and harvesting. In the winter, we settle into a routine where we have lunch earlier in the day.”

  “Well, I appreciate the fact that you invited me to lunch.”

  “It was my pleasure.” And really, it was. She only wished he was coming over every Saturday to eat with her family. “Besides, we always make more than enough for everyone.” That was true, too, especially considering there seemed to be no end in sight to what Tom and David could eat, so her mother said they all needed to pretend they were cooking for an army.

  Rick shifted in the swing, and her attention returned to him and his wonderfully romantic brown eyes. “You can probably tell I don’t know anything about women,” he said.

  Well, that was true because if he did, he might figure out how much she wanted to be with him. Clearing her throat, she laughed and shrugged. “It’s not like you are one, so how could you?”

  “And it didn’t help that I spent most of my life reading law books.”

  “It’s what you were interested in, and it led you to your job. Of course, you’d study it.”

  “Yes, and I still think it’s easier to deal with court hearings than try to figure out what women want. I was hoping you could help me with that. You know, what kind of things do women find attractive in men?”

  “A good job is certainly attractive. A woman likes to know a man can provide for her and her children. You have that already.”

  He nodded and waited for her to continue.

  She thought for a moment and added, “Women also like to be complimented.”

  “What would Ethel Mae like to be complimented on?”

  “Oh, well… I suppose she likes to be complimented on the same things all women do.”

  “Including you?”

  “Sure. I don’t think it’s any different from woman to woman. We like for men to think we’re beautiful, sweet, desirable… I suppose if there’s something unique about her, she wants to be appreciated for her cooking. Ethel Mae is really good at cooking.”

  “Are you?”

  “Me?” She laughed. “Not like her. I mean, I do alright in the kitchen, but I’m nowhere as good as she is.”

  “Then what’s unique about you?”

  “People say that I’ve got the gift of gab.”

  Smiling, he teased, “So would you like to be told you can talk someone’s ear off?”

  “I suppose it depends on how they said it.”

  “Well, they might add it makes people comfortable around you. I don’t have trouble talking to you like I seem to with Ethel Mae. That’s part of my problem, you know. I don’t think I have anything interesting to say to her.”

  “I find that hard to believe. Hearing about your court hearings is fascinating.” Actually, anything that had to do with him was fascinating.

  “I don’t think she would agree with you. I’ve noticed her yawn.”

  “Really? Did she do that when I was there?”

  “Yes.”

  She tried to remember Ethel Mae yawning, but all she recalled from the days she was over at her friend’s house when Rick was there was Rick. “I don’t remember that at all. Maybe I’m not as observant as I thought.” She decided it wouldn’t be good to add that she had been too busy watching him to care about anything her friend was doing or not doing.

  “So, what else do women want?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Blinking, she turned her attention back to him. “Well, a woman will never refuse a thoughtful gift. Ethel Mae is partial to cameo lockets.”

  “She is?”

  “Yes. She says they’re lovely to wear. She enjoys hats, too, but she’d rather have a cameo locket.”

  “And what about you?”

  Surprised he even cared to ask, but then the answer quickly came to her, and when it did, she wondered why she even had to think about it. He was being polite. “I prefer flowers,” she replied.

  “Any kind in particular?”

  She shrugged. “Not really. They’re all lovely, no matter what color they are. I find they brighten the room and make it smell better. Believe me, with three brothers in fields all day, it’s nice to have the room smelling better.”

  He laughed. “You say exactly what you think, don’t you?”

  She wondered if he considered that to be a bad thing. “I can’t help it. Well, I suppose that isn’t true. I probably could. Tom and I made a bet one time where I was supposed to be absolutely quiet for an entire day. I won that one, so I can be quiet for a day.”

  “I don’t imagine it was easy, though.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” She thought to lie and say she talked because she chose to, but most of the time the words came rushing out so why hide it? “I admit that I tend to speak first and think later. Ethel Mae isn’t like that. She watches everything she says.” And maybe he preferred that sort of thing.

  “I notice when you do speak, you don’t badmouth anyone.”

  “I don’t know about that. I do talk about wh
at my brothers do to annoy me.”

  “But when you talk about them, it’s not as bad as you think. I know you’re just frustrated with them.”

  Feeling better, she relaxed. Maybe he didn’t mind so much that she had a tendency to complain about her brothers then.

  He stood from the porch swing. “I see a lot of flowers around here. Why don’t you tell me what you like about each kind?”

  Surprised, she got up. “Wouldn’t you think such talk is boring?”

  “No because you’re the one who’s doing the talking. I like the way you explain things. You can make anything sound interesting.”

  “You’re the first person who’s told me that.”

  “I’m sure others think the same as I do.”

  Maybe. No one said either way, but she was happy he thought so, and that was all that mattered. She led him down the porch steps and walked around the property, pointing out the different flowers and what she liked about each kind.

  Chapter Eight

  Ethel Mae pulled the needle through her embroidery as she hummed one of her favorite songs. It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon. She loved days like this when she could sit on the porch swing. The weather was nice and warm, the breeze wafting around the porch was a little cool but not so much that she couldn’t enjoy the lovely day. She wondered when she’d get a chance to see Sally again. Her friend was usually busy during planting season. She supposed Sally wouldn’t be making a trip into town for a couple weeks.

  Ethel Mae sighed. Maybe she could talk her parents into letting her visit her friend next week. If Rick went back out to see Sally as she said he would, then it could be that today he’d realize how much better Sally was for him. That would be such a relief. Then he’d stop coming by to see her.

  The sound of running footsteps coming up the porch steps made her look up from her embroidery in time to see Vivian rush across the porch and into the house, slamming the storm door behind her. Curious, Ethel Mae glanced down the sidewalk and saw Hugh grunt in disappointment before he stomped off. Whatever was that about? Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to her embroidery. When it came to Vivian, the best thing was to let it go.