The Cold Wife

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “Yes. Thank you for showing it to me.”

  “Anytime. You know you’re free to anything in this house, so if you want to find out about my deep, dark nature, you should do a thorough examination of all the drawers in this place.”

  He smiled jokingly as he said it, so she knew that there were no skeletons in his closet. To test her theory, she went to another drawer and opened it. She shook her head. It was full of investment reports and books. Pulling open another drawer, she saw more of the same. “Do you eat, breathe and sleep investment material?”

  He chuckled. “I admit that I’ve had a one track mind in the past. My whole world has been tied up with my uncle’s firm. You should know that after my parents died and I came to live here, my life has been pretty much the same as it is now, except I’m an adult living in my own house. I have the same friends I’ve had since school. Your brother is a good friend. He likes to joke around and have fun.”

  “He was always the center of attention no matter where we went.”

  “He brought me out of my shell. I had no friends until your family moved to town. He found me reading a book in the library during lunch and said I was crazy for reading about life when I could be living it. He talked me into getting out and participating in the school activities. We met Nathan Hunter from there and the three of us were close.” He sighed. “Nathan will be moving to Rhode Island. This town won’t be the same without him.” He looked at her. “It won’t be the same without your father either. I’m sorry about what happened to him. Mr. Rivers just went bankrupt too.”

  She thought that was odd. What were the chances that two businesses would go bankrupt in a short amount of time? She absentmindedly touched his arm. “Is there a connection between my father’s bankruptcy and his?”

  He nodded. “My uncle and I suspect there is. We are currently investigating the matter to find out for sure. That’s why Mr. Walker’s dinner party is important. Mr. Rivers owned an accounting firm. With him out of the way, Mr. Walker and Mr. Grant have the remaining accounting firms in town.”

  “Do you think Mr. Walker and Mr. Grant drove him and my father out of business?” She couldn’t imagine Mr. Walker doing such a thing. Mrs. Walker seemed like an honest and good woman. She assumed that her husband would be the same way.

  “We have reason to believe that Mr. Grant is going to go after Mr. Walker’s business to bankrupt him.”

  “I don’t understand why Mr. Grant would do that.”

  “The Grants are a territorial family. They don’t like to share. We think they are building a monopoly of various financial services in this town. Without competition, they can charge their customers whatever they want.”

  “But how would Mr. Grant bankrupt my father?”

  He shrugged. “We’re not sure. Your father wasn’t sure either. In fact, he didn’t even suspect Mr. Grant was behind it. He most likely still doesn’t since my uncle and I haven’t voiced our thoughts to anyone else.” He paused, as if realizing he had revealed too much to her. “You do understand that it would be unwise to tell anyone about this.”

  “I won’t tell anyone,” she promised.

  “Did Mr. Grant have access to your father’s business files?”

  She began to shake her head when it suddenly dawned on her that she was a pawn. Her hand dropped from his arm and she banged her fist on the desk. Her face flushed with anger. That was why Harrison suddenly took an interest in her! And her so-called friend Julie didn’t stop him from pretending to like her.

  “What is it?” Justin asked.

  “Harrison came to my home on two occasions to talk to me. I thought he was interested in me but apparently, he was interested in my father’s documents which he kept in the parlor.” She had never felt so used in her entire life!

  “Is that why you didn’t want to marry me? Because you were interested in Harrison Jr.?”

  “No. It had nothing to do with Harrison. I admit that I entertained the notion that Harrison would be better suited for me since I thought he was fun to talk to but I don’t miss him. I can’t believe I even considered Harrison. Not only was he secretly seeing Julie the whole time but he only paid attention to me so he could get to my father’s things. The one man I thought had a genuine interest in me turned out to use me so he could destroy my father. Is that all I’m good for?”

  “Whoa,” Justin tenderly interrupted as he turned her around so she was facing him. “I know where your thoughts are headed, and I’m putting a stop to them now. What Harrison did was wrong, but it has no reflection on you. You’re a lovely, beautiful and kind woman, Carrie. I love you. I’ve loved you since I was fourteen.”

  “Mr. Monroe, you barely even know me.”

  “Justin,” he whispered.

  “What?”

  “My name is Justin. If we are to begin as friends, then you must refer to me by my first name.”

  His voice was so soft that it was if he was caressing her with it. She shook her head. She didn’t understand why he persisted in believing that he loved her. He couldn’t possibly love her. They didn’t have enough in common to sustain a marriage that would be a happy one. She had to put a stop to his madness before it was too late.

  “I do not believe we are suitable for one another,” she finally stated.

  He sighed. “Why do you persist in resisting me? Have I proven myself to be brutish in your presence?”

  “Oh, I can hardly imagine you to be a brute. You are kind to everyone.”

  “Then I will be even kinder to you.” He took her hand and led her back to the other parlor and sat close to her. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer to him.

  “There is plenty of room on the couch,” she reminded him. “We do not have to be this close.”

  “No one is watching. We have the moment to ourselves.” Before she could protest, he continued, “Tell me about yourself. I know you were born on April 7, 1871 in Richmond. Your family moved here when you were fourteen. I know that you volunteer to help at the church, the orphanage, and nursing home. In your spare time, you try your hand at cooking, which I hear you’re actually decent at, and you make minor alterations to the costumes for the plays in the town theater.”

  Her eyes grew wide in surprise. “How can you know so much about me?” Especially when I know so little about you?

  “Brad filled me in on some of the details.”

  She should have known. Her brother had been unusually joyous of her marriage to Justin, so naturally, he filled Justin in on her many virtues. An idea came to her. “There’s more.”

  “I suspected as much.”

  “Yes. I am not a morning person by nature. In case you haven’t noticed, I am cranky in the morning.”

  “So when I touch you in the morning, you really like it but are too cranky to properly enjoy it?”

  She blinked. This wasn’t quite the response she had hoped for. She cleared her throat. “I have been known to snore in my sleep. I only know this since my mother informed me that it is true.”

  “If you want a second opinion, then you can sleep with me tonight and I’ll tell you if your mother was telling you the truth or not.”

  The way he smiled at her made her blush. She cleared her throat. “Mr. Monroe-”

  “Justin.”

  She sighed. “Justin, it is not appropriate for us to converse like this.”

  “I wasn’t talking about sex. We can be in the same bed and just sleep. It might even be fun.”

  “You actually expect me to believe that a man and a woman can share the same bed and not have sex?”

  “I believe you’ll still be my wife after the month is up, so yes, I believe that can happen too.”

  “I don’t share those beliefs.” There was no way she could be in the same bed with him and not respond to his closeness. She was already light-headed by sitting with him on the couch. Who knew what she’d do in his bed? Forcing her mind off the intriguing thoughts of his bedroom, she blurted out, “S
ometimes I chew my fingernails. Look at how gross they are!” She shoved a hand in his face.

  He laughed and took her hand in his. “I crack my knuckles,” he confessed. He examined her hand. “I notice you file down the ones you chewed so they look presentable. You have soft and delicate hands.” He brought her hand to his cheek. “You feel wonderful against me.”

  His words and actions unnerved her. She was acutely aware of how masculine he felt for she could already detect the stubble that was quickly growing back on his face. She tried to bring her hand down but couldn’t. When he kissed her, she found that her hand betrayed her by pulling his face closer to her. She was thoroughly enjoying the kiss despite her best efforts not to.

  Constance came into the room and announced that dinner was ready and quickly left when she realized that she had interrupted them.

  Carrie put her hand down in her lap and pushed off the couch with her other hand. She stood up and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Why did he have to feel so wonderful? It wasn’t fair. And he wasn’t playing fair by awakening desires in her that she hadn’t even been aware of before they married.

  “I suppose we should eat,” she said once she trusted her voice not to show her distress over being caught by Constance. She figured that she shouldn’t be embarrassed for the woman to catch her and Justin kissing. After all, they were married. It was proper for them to show affection to each other in their own house.

  “I’ll be there in a moment,” he replied.

  The way he looked at her caused her heart to beat faster. She had to get away from him before she leapt back into his lap and kissed him again. She nodded and swiftly exited the parlor.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Carrie was ready to come down the steps the next morning, she noticed Justin. “Do you intend to greet me every morning this way?” she asked.

  He took in the breathtaking sight of her in her pink shirt and black skirt. “I will greet you this way until I wake up in bed next to you. Then I shall kiss you to wish you a good morning and hold you in my arms.” He paused and smiled at her. “I don’t know how you do it, but you manage to look more and more beautiful every time I see you.”

  She hesitated.

  Why was she trying so hard to fight him? If her response to his kisses were true indicators of how she felt about him, he was assured that beneath her cool exterior, she was beginning to care for him as he cared for her. His ultimate goal, of course, was for her to love him. He wanted all of her. He wanted her friendship, her body and her love. It was his oversight that he hadn’t made an attempt to court her before they got engaged. Had he thought he had any chance that she would respond to him as she did, he would have had the courage to do so. He was acutely aware that he had a little under four weeks to get her to agree to stay married to him. He wondered if that was enough time since she was surprisingly stubborn.

  As she made her way down the stairs, he forced his thoughts back to her. “Good morning, Carrie.”

  “Good morning,” she replied.

  Justin. My name is Justin. He sighed. Would she never say his first name without him having to prompt her to? Patience, he told himself. We were only married on Saturday. Give her time to adjust to the idea of being my wife. Though his mind was willing to wait as long as necessary, his body wasn’t. Each time he got near her to touch or kiss her only notified him that being patient wasn’t very fun.

  This time when he extended his arm to her, she took it. He was relieved. At least, they were making progress. Once again he led her to the dining room and pulled out her chair for her. After Constance brought their meals to them, he asked her what she planned to do that day.

  She shrugged. “I haven’t made any real plans. I thought I would visit with Mary and Helen and see if they wanted to take a walk in the park. Beyond that, I haven’t anything in mind.”

  A thought came to him. “Would you like to have lunch with me?” Perhaps going out and doing something as a couple would ease her into the marriage. “You can pick the restaurant.”

  She seemed to consider it.

  He inwardly sighed. Why was this such a difficult decision? “Did you want to eat lunch with Mary and Helen?”

  “No,” she slowly responded.

  He waited for her to continue. By the worried expression on her face, he knew that she was trying to think of a way to tell him no as gently as possible. He had seen the look before when clients decided to close their accounts. Deciding to save her the struggle, he quickly made up a lie. “Oh, you know what? I just remembered that I have a business lunch meeting with a client. I’m sorry, Carrie. Can we do lunch another time?”

  She looked relieved. “That is fine. Another time will do.”

  He was annoyed but hid it under a smile. It took all of his effort to finish his breakfast. He stood up and adjusted his tie. “Well, I should get going.”

  “Have a good day,” she responded.

  He noted that she didn’t stand up with him to walk him to the door. Many times, he had imagined what it would be like to have his wife stand by the front door, wish him a good day, and kiss him good-bye. This, apparently, was not going to be one of those times. He thanked her as graciously as he could, considering his bruised ego, and saw himself out the door. If he wasn’t so deeply in love with her, he would hand her the annulment papers and be rid of this farce of a marriage. It was even more irritating that everyone knew it for what it was.

  He went into the stagecoach that Curtis Thomas brought to the front of the house and rubbed his eyes. He knew he shouldn’t let his frustrations weigh his heart down. He was probably even lucky that she agreed to talk with him the previous day. Then he recalled how he had to hold her hand and threaten to put her on his lap if she didn’t stay. He rolled his eyes. What kind of willingness was that? The poor girl was forced to talk to him. He thought their conversation went well enough. The kiss had been encouraging. She had pulled him closer to her. He thought their talk after dinner before they went to bed had been a good sign that she was opening up to him.

  He recalled their light-hearted conversation. She told him about her childhood in Richmond. Her family took two week vacations every year to travel somewhere new. Her favorite place was the beach, but she also recalled the mountains of Tennessee and the Vermont changing fall leaves with great affection. She told him all about the silly stunts Brad had pulled on her while growing up, his most notable achievement being the time he fooled her into believing the United States’ president decided to separate Virginia into a North and South Virginia. She was only eight at the time, so it was easy enough to understand why she would fall for his fib. Justin realized that she was very trusting of people. She was gullible in a lot of ways, and her innocence was very pleasant and even charming.

  She also told him all about her friends. Her closest two had been Mary and Julie. Though she still liked Julie, she wondered how their friendship would be affected by the situation with Harrison. Then she talked of Mary and Helen and her mood brightened. When Carrie didn’t resist him, she was warm and lively. Her eyes were full of enthusiasm and she smiled. She had forgotten her goal to resist him and had sat closer to him than necessary, without being prodded to, and she laughed and touched his arm. It occurred to him that she was a passionate and affectionate person. She would make a terrific wife. The more he learned about her, the more he loved her.

  Then there was her coolly polite greeting that morning and her obvious disdain to even eat lunch with him. He wondered how she would act when they went to the dinner party at Mr. and Mrs. Walker’s residence the next evening. Would she run off as soon as they arrived and not talk to him again until she was forced to go home with him?

  When he arrived at work, his uncle noticed his sour mood. “Want to talk?” he asked as he followed his nephew into his office and sat in front of his desk. “You’re obviously troubled.”

  Justin sighed and sat down. “You’re right. I am.” He considered his words before speaking. “Last
night Carrie told me all about her childhood, her dreams, her friends, and her family.” He stopped talking and stared off into space.

  “Of course, this would be distressing because you were listening to her talk about her thoughts and feelings?” His uncle wryly grinned.

  “No. I liked it. I want to learn about her.”

  “I’m having trouble understanding what the problem is.”

  “This morning I asked her to go to lunch with me and she didn’t want to.”

  “And?”

  “And what? She doesn’t want to spend time with me unless I force her to. I had to threaten to hold her down on the couch if she didn’t talk to me last night.”

  His eyes grew wide. “You tied her down?”

  “No. It wasn’t as bad as that. I told her I’d put her on my lap and hold her if she wouldn’t stay in the parlor.”

  “Of course, she refused, ran out of the room and you dragged her back to the room, kicking and screaming. The staff was greatly alarmed but you threatened to fire them if they intervened.”

  Justin felt a smile tug at his lips. “Of course not. She sat next to me and we talked. After dinner, she willingly followed me to the room and sat next to me on the couch.”

  “So you didn’t really force her. You simply encouraged her.”

  The acknowledgment did little to make him feel better.

  “Have you kissed her yet?”

  Justin felt his face grow warm as he admitted, “Yes, I did.”

  “You enjoyed it,” he noted, amused. “Did she?”

  “I think so. She didn’t push me away.”

  “Did she respond?”

  Suddenly, he felt uneasy. Should he be discussing these intimate details with his uncle? He knew his uncle could already tell the answer since he read people easily. “Yes.”

  “Then there’s no problem at all.”

  Surprised by his uncle’s analysis, he furrowed his eyebrows.

  “You’ll be fine,” Jonathan assured him. “Just keep a sense of humor about things. You can’t get bogged down by the possibility of losing her. You have a tendency to get too serious. You have to pursue this as a challenge, and tell yourself that you’re going to win. It’s like I always tell myself before a business meeting: I’m going to make this work.”