"Deal," Dave told her.
Penelope realized there was one slight problem. "What about my pregnancy? If I'm living here with you as hired help, and when I give birth in a few months, people will think it's yours. I don't want to tarnish your reputation."
"You let me worry about that," Dave told her and put his hand out over hers.
Penelope looked down at where his large hand rested over her smaller one and was surprised at how nice the touch felt. She felt her face flame with attraction for him and was grateful her skin was dark so he couldn't tell. Dropping her gaze to her lap she realized that this is what got her into this mess, and that the last thing she needed now was to get involved emotionally or physically with another man. No matter how tempting he might be.
Smiling at him she pulled her hand back and finished eating, then offered to clean the dishes.
"I'm going to hit the sack for a few hours to get some rest. The animals need to be watered. You'll find the buckets in the barn, and my water spout off the back. There's hay in the storage loft along with grain for the chickens. The cows are out in the field with a few of the sheep I own, but I wouldn't go out there. My dog doesn't like strangers and may attack you. He pretty much lives with them full time. I throw food out for him a few times a week."
Dave stood up with a stretch and a yawn. "When I wake up, we can discuss more details about how our arrangement will work. If you don't want people to know you're here, we can keep it a secret. But you'll need to see a doctor when you get more pregnant. I know I can count on Doc Sanders to keep his mouth shut about you. He's a good man."
Penelope nodded and cleared the dishes, appreciating the breakfast and coffee. Watching him leave the room to go rest, she wondered if this situation was a good idea or not.
In the heat of the moment, it felt like the answer to her prayers, but living in such close quarters to a man she knew she would clearly respect and be attracted to, she wondered if she'd end up with a broken heart in the long run. She felt like this had the potential to blow up in her face if she wasn't careful, and she would need to keep him at arm’s length at all times for this to work.
Putting her hand on her belly, she wondered what he would do once the baby was born. When he woke up, she would need to talk to him about the realities of having a baby around or if the job offer was temporary, and once she had the baby, she would need to leave.
Feeling overwhelmed she sat down at the table and cried.
Chapter 3
Penelope and Dave fell into a workable rhythm together at his house. She'd even met his dog and the dog accepted her, which had surprised Dave. Then he'd proclaimed the dog to have good taste and had given her a shoulder hug.
They got along well. He was easy to talk to, and despite coming from a wealthier background than most, he didn't flaunt his money, or act like he was better than anyone else. The two of them were getting to be friends, and Penelope had been intending to bring up the baby situation with him to talk about what their plan would be when the baby got here, but so far, the timing hadn't been right.
She was starting to show now, and she knew the town had figured out that she was staying with him. Her previous Master had caused a huge fight with Dave over him hiring her and letting her live at his house, and Dave had handled it well. She'd been surprised that many of the townsfolk's seemed to side with Dave when he'd defended her.
The only problem was she couldn't hide her pregnancy much longer, and she knew that once it got out, they would assume it was Dave's. It didn't seem to bother him at all, but she knew that it was probably because the baby wasn't real to him yet. The concept of a pregnancy sort of made itself more apparent once you couldn't hide the belly anymore, or the cries of a newly born infant.
She was washing laundry in the yard and hanging it up trying to decide how to broach this subject with him, when her former Mistress walked around the back of her house, shocking her.
"Penny?" She said quietly, looking sad and a little lost.
Penelope wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for the poor woman, and stop and listen to her, or feel threatened that she sought her out alone in an isolated area. Realizing that she had a gun in her apron she took a deep breath and wiped her hands on it and stood up to face her.
"What can I do for you? Dave's not here right now, if you want me to give him a message—" Penelope started to say when she held up her hand and cut her off.
"I'm not here for Dave, I'm here to talk to you. I want you to reconsider giving us the baby. I don't want to make demands. I want to ask you nicely. I know that we over-reacted when you said no. I know it was unfair that my husband visited your room and pressured you into something when your job was on the line, and I'm sorry we didn't ask you for permission before we concocted our plan."
The woman started to cry and Penelope almost felt the urge to hug her and comfort her, but then she remembered how they threw her out in the snow, not caring if she or the baby came to harm in the snow and forced her heart to harden. She couldn’t let a few tears sway her opinion.
"Ma’am, I understand how badly you want a baby, but trying to steal mine isn't the way to go about it. There are plenty of orphanages and women who'd willingly give you a baby in return for money. I just cannot give up mine. I hope you understand it's not personal. I just cannot carry a baby for nine months and not keep it," Penelope tried to explain to her gently, hoping that she would understand. What she hadn't expected was the woman to go from crying, to attacking her in a split second.
Penelope tried to cover her face as the woman tried to strike her repeatedly in the face and fell over the water bucket and landed on the ground. Pulling out her pistol she aimed it at Mistress who stopped when she saw the gun.
"I don't want to shoot you, but you need to leave. If you come out here again, I will shoot you next time. There won't be any time for conversations. You are not welcome around me, or my home. Get out of here. I’ll be telling Dave about your visit and don't think that violence like this will go without consequences," Penelope told her, talking a big game, but knowing that without witnesses, Dave couldn't do much to help her.
But the angry looking woman in front of her didn't know that, so she continued to bluff.
"This isn't over. I will have your baby and nothing you can do will stop me from taking it from you." With that she stormed off, leaving Penelope to climb up off the ground and hope she was okay.
The rest of the laundry had spilled out into the now muddy ground from the water soaking into the earth, and Penelope realized she'd have to start over on the wash. Her heart was pounding from the confrontation and she realized that she wouldn't be safe here.
What she needed was a husband. Maybe she could advertise as a mail order bride. She could ask Dave what he thought. Maybe he'd know how to help her find a husband or if going back home was the safest option she had.
The idea of leaving this town and the people she'd come to love, broke her heart. She'd attended church every week since she'd come here, and Dave had continued to take her on Sundays. She'd miss people. She'd miss the mostly quiet serenity that this place had to offer.
Realizing her dress was ruined with mud, she went to change her clothes and lock herself in the house until Dave got home and she could talk to him. This surprise visit made her realize she couldn't put off the baby conversation anymore.
She just hoped Dave would help her find a solution that wouldn't make her miserable for the rest of her life. She feared going back home. She'd come out west because there were more job opportunities and a better chance of having a good life. Feeling trapped, like her fragile thread of hope had been completely torn to shreds she realized she'd been hiding out here, living a fantasy. It was time to face reality.
Even if it unpleasant.
Chapter 4
"Dave?" Penelope asked him as she set dinner on the table. He actually cooked for her too frequently, and she appreciated it. She didn't mind doing most of the domestic work, but he seemed t
o enjoy doing things for her sometimes. Their friendship was rather weird, and would probably startle most people.
"What's going on Penny?" he asked her as he sat down to eat. He'd shortened her name to a nickname and used it quite affectionately.
"I had a visitor today, and it made me realize we need to talk about the baby," Penelope told him as she sat down and dished herself up a plate of food.
She explained what happened. How her old Mistress had visited her, threatened her, begged for her baby, how she'd pulled a gun on her, and made her leave.
Dave sat back and set his fork down and just stared at her for a moment.
"I think I need to plan to leave either right after the baby is born, or work on finding myself a husband. I don't want to go back home to my mother. I got a letter from her and she told me that the trains are constantly being raided near them and there's a good chance something bad would happen."
Penelope grabbed her water goblet and took a drink before setting it back on the table. She was unable to read Dave's face, but she was worried he was upset with her.
"I cannot believe that idiot would think to come here and accost you like that," Dave all but growled, looking quite fierce. Penelope was flattered he was so protective of her. "Of course it's not safe for you to go back home. You aren't going anywhere Penny, it's safest for you to stay here. The baby is welcome here, too."
"The problem is I will be an unwed mother. Unless I go somewhere no one knows me and claim to be a widow, or have a husband, we will never be treated well. If I stay here, they will think the baby is yours." Penelope told him gently and reached across the table to grab his hand. "Don't you think that you deserve better than having the town’s people think the worst about both of us? Living in sin. I've already heard the rumors at church."
"So? I don't care what they think," Dave told her and gave her a firm look that told her she shouldn't worry about their opinions either.
"But my child will be tortured. Mistreated. They may not let him attend the local schoolhouse, and the church will shun me. I know that it's not going to go well for me if I stay here after the baby is born, Dave. I think maybe I should put an ad in the paper to be a mail order bride," she told him gently, hoping he'd agree to help her.
"Absolutely not! You might get murdered, or abused, or the man might be a child abuser. There's no way I'm helping you marry a total stranger that you meet via a random piece of paper." Dave pulled his hand away and ran his fingers through his hair agitation.
"I'm sorry Dave, I wasn't trying to upset you. I just wanted to find the best solution to the problem." Penelope told him.
"Then you'll marry me," Dave told her bluntly and crossed his arms. "We get along well, I can afford a wife and child, and I wouldn't mind claiming the baby as my own. You'll get the protection you need, the child gets a name, and I get a woman I respect to be my wife. One I know I can already handle living with."
"You seem to have it all figured out, and what about our other differences?" she asked him bluntly. Her being mixed race could cause some issues.
"Do you think I care? Out here, people care less about skin color than they do about hard work, money, and what clothes you wear. You'll be my wife, I'll make sure you don't want for anything and no one would dare cause problems for us or our children." Dave looked at her sternly, being logical. "I would love more than one child. If you did agree to marry me, I'd want a big family. My mother died in childbirth with my younger brother. Because of it, Dad never remarried and I was raised alone. I don't want that for my child. It's lonely."
"You're offering me marriage, a family, more children, a home, and comfort? It seems too good to be true. What's the catch Dave?" Penelope asked him quietly. She would be considered damaged goods by most men, especially carrying the seed of another man. How could he overlook that?
"The catch? We do the right thing and wait until our wedding night," he told her simply and took her hand. "Penelope, will you marry me?"
Looking at him and searching his face for some kind of malicious joke, or him to tell her he took it back, she finally nodded at him when his gaze never wavered.
"Okay, I'll marry you Dave, if you are sure you want to marry me." Penelope wasn't expecting a proposal from him and she was a little shocked that he'd offered. "I'm just surprised, that's all."
"Why?" Dave seemed genuinely curious and a little shocked at her answer.
"You've already given me a place to live, a job, and money that I saved up so I can survive. You've taught me how to shoot guns. I just don't understand exactly what you get out of it. You've given me so much,” Penelope told him honestly. If they were going to be married, honesty would be the key to a successful marriage. She wouldn't accept less.
"Have you ever considered maybe the fact that you overthink things?" Dave smiled at her and then rubbed his chin and shrugged. "I found you attractive, and you seemed like you needed help. I was lonely and I didn't mind the company. Having you around showed me that I liked having someone here. Everything else about you was just a bonus. If I didn't find you attractive and intelligent I probably wouldn't have offered to marry you. I can be friends with people I like, but what I feel for you is more than just friendship."
"Do you love me?" Penelope asked him bluntly, realizing that she might not like his answer.
"I think I could," Dave told her honestly. "I know that I don't mind that you're pregnant, and I like the idea of being a father. I want to settle down and it's not just because you're already here. I would have probably sought out a wife in the next year or two anyways. I think it was good luck that a compatible woman fell into my lap."
"So you think it was fate?" Penelope gave him a confused look; this conversation wasn't really helping her understand him any better right now.
"Let me start over," Dave said chuckling. "I rescued you because it was the right thing to do. I brought you here because something about you made me not want to let you disappear until I got to know you better. Whether you want to call it sheer curiosity, or lust or the potential for love, I don't know. The only thing I will regret in this situation is if I let you leave before offering you a life with me."
"But you don't love me?" Penelope asked him again, she could sort of understand the rest. Realizing suddenly that if she stayed here with him, agreed to marry him, love was important.
"I like you a lot. I can picture spending my life with you. I can picture growing old with you and seeing our grandchildren play in the yard. As to love, I know you seem to really want an answer about that one right now and so I guess my question to you is, do you love me?" Dave turned the question back around on her.
"I could, I think," Penelope answered him honestly and searched his face. "I have strong feelings for you. I think if I let them blossom I could easily love you, which is why I think I'm worried about it being a one-way street. I don't think I could love someone who only liked me in return. I would feel like something was missing."
"Penelope, I think that given time together, love is something that grows between people. There are many kinds of love and I'd rather have whatever the two of us have together, than some whirlwind passion that blows away as fast as it started. We have a real connection. Friendship and dare I say the potential for passion?"
"I find that attractive," Penelope whispered and dipped her head down, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Dave stood up and grabbed her hand pulling her out of her seat. Pulling her to his chest he lowered his head and kissed her.
Penelope clung to his shoulders as his lips met hers. Soft at first, slow and teasing, she leaned into him and let the emotions and sensations fill her. When he teased her lips with his tongue she opened her mouth slightly with a breath and he deepened the kiss. His hands went down to her hips and he dug his fingers slightly into her waist and held her close as his mouth was hot against her own.
When he finally pulled back, his lips were humming and his eyes were heavy. "Do you still have any doubts that what we
have is more than just two people who live in the same house now?"
Penelope searched his face and then smiled at him. "No, I think you are right. There is definitely something between us that has a lot of potential."
"Good, now I need to get some stuff done today. I have to go out and fix some fences that the cows have been pushing on, but I want you to start planning our wedding right now. Order a dress, write a note to the pastor of the church, whatever you want," Dave told her and put his hand on her face gently and looked at her for a moment. "This should be a special day for both of us. I'll apply for a marriage license. I want to wait until marriage, out of respect for starting this marriage as pure as possible."
"But you realize…" Penelope said, blushing, knowing she was about to ask a dumb question.
"You're still pure of heart, Penny. What he had you do because of your job and your situation, he took advantage of you. I respect you and our future marriage, so we will wait together." Dave pressed a kiss to her forehead and then left her there to figure out the details of the wedding.
Penelope sat down and put her hand over her belly and realized that she'd need to get a dress that was looser in the waist. Her corsets and dresses were no longer fitting.
Humming to herself, she started to make a list of things she'd need. She wasn't going to go too crazy. A few flowers, a pretty dress, and maybe a small after party for the town to celebrate their wedding. They could have it at the church.
She wrote a letter to the pastor to ask him what dates would work for him and was feeling happier than she had in a long time.
Chapter 5
Finished putting the last few pins in her hair, she grabbed the flowers that she was using for her bouquet and went to meet her husband-to-be down where he and the pastor were waiting for her. The entire town had showed up for the wedding. She was a little shocked, but he was well liked so maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised.
Taken By The Forbidden Highlander (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 67
