The house not only looked clean, it smelled clean. April must have gone on a dust killing mission. She even scrubbed the floors.
“Supper will be ready in a few minutes,” she called from the kitchen. “You can all wash up.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Miss April makes us wash before every meal.”
Matt laughed. I’m sure Allison did as well. “Your mama would have, too. Come on.” He motioned with his head toward the wash basin.
After eating a delicious stew, it was time to wind down for the evening. He stepped back from the table and beamed when Hannah picked up his bowl and carried it to the kitchen. “Thank you, sweetie.”
April had instructed them in very little time. It was a blessing they got along with her so well. Many children questioned the authority of a new elder in their life, but his children seemed eager for the motherly attention and he couldn’t blame them.
“Papa, will you tell us a story?” Seth asked.
“Yes.”
“Perhaps you could read them a story for a change?” April asked casually as she picked up the rest of the dirty dishes.
“I suppose I could…” Mr. Seever said. “I don’t have much to read from.”
“You have the Bible,” April said. “There is nothing wrong with those stories, sir.”
He chuckled. “I never figured you for the religious type. Caroline would have approved.” He picked up a dusty Bible off the fireplace mantle and softy rubbed his fingers across the black binding.
“Get comfortable,” he said to the children and sat in his leather armchair. “I’m going to read you a Bible story.”
“I bet they’re not as exciting as your stories,” Seth complained.
“Oh I don’t know about that,” he said. “Some of them have lots of action.” He opened up the Bible and thumbed through the pages. “You know when I was your age my mama read a Bible story to us every night.”
He smiled at April for a second and she smiled back. Then he returned his attention to the children. “I’m going to read you one of my favorite stories, David and Goliath.”
April cleaned the dishes quickly and then returned to the parlor. Mr. Seever motioned to the matching leather armchair across from him and she sat to hear the rest of his story.
“Well what did you think?” he asked the children once the story was finished.
“Wow, he was really good with a slingshot!”
Mr. Seever laughed. “Yes, he was. With God’s help.”
“George said when he was my age, him and his brother would go hunting with slingshots and get rabbits and birds. Can I get a slingshot, Papa?”
“Ah…” Mr. Seever shifted in his chair. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Seth sighed and nodded.
“Off to bed. Both of you.”
The children got to their feet and scurried to their room.
“Do they need help?” April asked.
“I’ll help them undress and tuck them in. You can rest for a minute.”
*
April’s gaze followed Mr. Seever as he disappeared down the hallway, after his children. His lean muscular frame was just as appetizing from the backside. She rubbed her eyes. He never ceased to stir her desires. He took more interest in his children than some fathers she’d known and their children had been white.
Briefly she wondered if she shouldn’t have found a different job. She liked it here too much. She could lust after him all she wanted from afar. It would never be love.
“They are good kids,” April said when he returned to the parlor. Much better than the spoiled children she’d taken care of in the past. “Have they had any schooling?”
Mr. Seever thrust his hands in the pockets of his sable trousers, drawing April’s gaze to his lower anatomy. She caught herself and forced her eyes back to his.
“They’ve had some.”
“You want your children to be educated, right?” Her question carried more bite than she intended.
“Yes, of course I do. I just haven’t had the time to continue their lessons.”
“I would have thought you would have made it a priority, sir. Lack of education helped keep people in slavery.” She knew she shouldn’t be badgering her employer, but he had her so worked up she couldn’t get a handle on her emotions.
Mr. Seever looked off to the side and then up at the ceiling. “Do you know how to read and write, Miss April?”
“Yes, I do,” she replied quickly. It was her hope every colored man, woman, and child would soon be able to read.
“Then I would appreciate it if you could continue their lessons,” he said, keeping his voice cordial. “You can talk with Allison and find out how far she got through their primers. I’m sure she still has them. She forgot to give them back to me.”
She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue. Thankfully, he hadn’t gotten upset by her tone. “I’ll do that tomorrow morning,” she said calmly, “and start their lessons in the afternoon.”
“Very well.” He yawned and covered his mouth with his hand. “It is time for me to head to bed myself.”
Mr. Seever turned to leave and April cleared her throat to stop him. “I’d like to say I’m sorry—”
“For what?” he asked, cutting her off.
“I’m sorry, about the children today. I shouldn’t have let them play near the warehouse.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, April.”
“But that man looked so upset.”
Mr. Seever shook his head. “It was fine. I prefer them playing around the warehouse than along the waterfront. It is much safer.”
“Yes, sir. Good night.”
April walked to her room in the loft and sat on the pallet trying not to picture Mr. Seever wearing nothing but a nightshirt. Or maybe on these hot nights he slept naked. She closed her eyes and rubbed her eyelids as if trying to massage away the image.
He was tall and handsome and charming and white.
White.
Despite the heated looks he’d sent her, they should never be together. Mr. Seever would just use her and throw her away like Mr. Bowden. If she was going to get married it would need to be with a black man.
But her body betrayed her common sense. Mr. Bowden had swept her off her feet when she was merely a girl. She’d thought she was attracted to him but the pull was nothing compared to what she felt toward Mr. Seever. Merely a glance from his sultry eyes made her hum in anticipation. Why…was it because forbidden fruit tasted sweeter? How much would one kiss hurt?
Her curiosity to know his intimate touch could cost April her heart. And so much more…
*
The house hadn’t been this clean since Caroline’s death. It smelled fresh. She probably opened all the windows to air the house out. There was something more than that though. A new feminine scent lingered in the air. April’s perfume. His body thrummed with pleasure.
She opened his eyes to the glum daze he’d been living in. All this time he thought he had been coping with Caroline’s passing well, but really he had been hiding, unwilling to face reality. Over the past four years, he’d buried himself under a mountain of grief, and during that time, dust buried the house.
April made the children smile and laugh again. Seth and Hannah had been through more pain than any two children should bear. She made him smile and laugh again, too. Not just the cordial smile he gave to all his friends, but a wide full-hearted grin. Just thinking about her made him happy and hot and hard.
He shed his clothes and donned his nightshirt. He lay there staring up at the ceiling. All he could think about was April. She was in the loft above him, lying on her pallet, nearly naked.
All he had to do was reach under her nightgown to feel her soft molasses colored skin. She had every qualification he’d been looking for in a wife and a mama for his children. And she had gotten into his system like an addicting drug. He wanted to feel her under him, fondle her breasts and devour her sweet lips. Their bodies would set a natur
al rhythm to send them both into ecstasy, and in that moment he wanted to hear her scream his name.
He ran his hand across his face. He was torturing himself with these thoughts and images. His cock throbbed. He wished to delve into her slick heat, but that would remain a dream—at least for tonight.
In this state of arousal, sleep was impossible. He didn’t know whether to take a midnight dip in the river or handle himself again. He let out a long breath. Caroline hadn’t played hard to get. She said she wished she could be with him, but it could never be, and that’s when he’d purchased her freedom and proved her wrong.
Would April ever come around? Maybe he should ask George for some pointers. He laughed, the noise echoing in the silent room. He had been the one to give the young man relationship advice when he was courting Allison. Now, attempting to do it himself was a whole other matter. It had been a long time since he’d wooed a woman.
Was he up to the challenge?
Chapter 10
April busied herself with chores, trying to forget the desire in Mr. Seever’s eyes. They’d merely exchanged pleasantries standing in the kitchen—both of them drinking coffee because he’d forgotten to get her tea. The conversation had been mostly about how the children were doing. It was normal for a father to ask his nanny before heading to work. Except the heat wafting off his body spoke truer than his words. Should she be worried? Or should she be excited?
Chores. Think about chores.
She’d spent so much time cleaning the dust and grime from the house that she hadn’t had time for laundry. She took a deep breath inhaling the fresh scent. The house no longer smelled musty, although Mr. Seever’s manly scent still lingered in the room. And it always would.
She heated a big cauldron of water outside. While she washed the clothes she watched Hannah and Seth play marbles in the dirt. The children giggled.
April pulled the clothes out of the water with a large stick, wrung them out, and hung them on a rope strung between a tree and a column on the back porch.
“Children,” she called after all the laundry was on the line to dry. “Come here, please.”
Seth and Hannah left their marbles and walked over to her. “Yes, ma’am?” Seth asked.
“I’ve heated up more hot water. It is time for both of you to have a bath.”
“A bath?” Hannah said. “Aren’t we clean enough?”
April shook her head and wiped a smudge of dirt off her left cheek.
“I’ll pour the water into the copper tub. Who’s first?”
Neither child volunteered.
“We don’t need a bath,” Hannah said.
April laughed. “I think you do. All right, missy, you’re first.” She picked Hannah up and the little girl screamed. April clenched her teeth and carried her to the kitchen to the waiting bath.
April pulled Hannah’s dress over her head.
Once Hannah realized there was no way to get out of the bath she quit struggling and helped shed the rest of her clothes.
April put a finger in the water making sure it wasn’t too hot. She picked Hannah up and set her in the water.
“Ah,” Hannah said. “This feels nice.” She wiggled her feet, the water rippling.
April ran her fingers softly across Hannah’s back. She traced every thin white scar. Who would beat a young innocent child? What had she done wrong? She pulled her hand away not wanting Hannah to get self-conscious. Now she knew why the children had insisted they could dress themselves. Mr. Seever helped them dress before work, or Seth took care of his sister. She figured his need to look after Hannah came from his responsibility as the oldest. Seth’s desire to take care of his sister was admirable and endearing. But it was more than that—they did not want to show her their scars.
After Hannah had washed herself, April brought over another pot of water. “Time to wash your hair, sweetie,” she said. She poured lukewarm water over Hannah’s head and then lathered in soap, before rinsing it off.
“See that wasn’t too bad was it?” she asked.
“No,” the little girl said, smiling at her. “It actually feels good to be clean.”
April laughed. Maybe she wouldn’t scream next time she had to take a bath.
She helped Hannah out of the tub, dried her off with a big towel and then helped her dress in clean clothes.
“You’re turn, Seth,” April called.
The boy groaned loudly, entering the kitchen. He pulled off his suspenders and then his shirt. When he turned his back to her she bit her tongue to keep from gasping. His back had even more scars than Hannah’s. He wasn’t a troublemaker. What had he done?
Not the least bit shy, he shed the rest of his clothes and climbed in the water. April handed him the soap and a washcloth. “Wash good, even behind your ears.”
The children did need a woman to take care of them. Mr. Seever was doing a terrible job. How could he go away and leave them with someone so cruel?
* * * *
At supper, April directed her conversation at the table to Hannah and Seth. She didn’t care to exchange words with Mr. Seever.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught his disgruntled expression, but he did not say a word.
Good. What she had to say shouldn’t be said in front of the children. She’d wait until after he put them to bed.
“All right, change into your nightgowns and then I’ll read you a story,” Mr. Seever said. The children ran off to their bedroom and came back to the parlor in their long nightgowns.
“That was fast,” Mr. Seever said.
“We want to hear the story,” Seth said.
Mr. Seever picked up the Bible off the small table next to his chair and sat, sinking into the leather. There was still enough summer light coming through the window for him to read.
Seth and Hannah sat cross-legged on the floor.
April was amazed at how quiet they were. They didn’t even fidget. They were probably too scared to misbehave because they didn’t want to be beaten.
Cleaning off the kitchen table, April listened to Mr. Seever tell the story of how God provided for Moses and how parents are supposed to teach His word to their children so that they may know and worship him also.
It was a good story except for one problem. God would not approve of a father beating his children. The man acted all warm and gentle toward them but it was all a front. If she ever caught him laying a hand on those children…Gripping the plates so tightly her knuckles turned white, she carried the stack of dishes into the kitchen before she made a scene.
Mr. Seever finished the story, closed the Bible, and put it back on the table. “All right off to bed. I’ll listen to your prayers and tuck you in.”
The addition of prayers had been something new. It was good for the children. But did Mr. Seever believe a word of the religion he taught them?
April paced the parlor, waiting for him to come back into the room. She’d wanted to give him a piece of her mind all day. Normally she’d hold her tongue, afraid she’d get fired, but he needed a nanny desperately. So he’d likely take it without showing her the door. And if he did fire her she didn’t care at the moment.
She’d known some pretty cruel white men in her time, but a man who would beat his own children, leaving scars on their backs, that was something new. And dreadfully horrible! Her anger continued to brew, and when Mr. Seever returned she was ready to unleash her fury.
“We need to talk, sir,” she said in a disrespectful tone.
His eyebrows shot up and he put his hands behind his back. “I suppose we do,” he said, walking over to her. “You were giving me the silent treatment all evening.”
She grunted. He deserved a lot more than silent treatment.
“I guess I should be used to that. Caroline used to go quiet on me quite often. I know when I have displeased a woman, but I seldom know why.”
That was just like a man! “It has to do with your children, sir.”
“My children? What is wrong with
my children?”
“Nothing is wrong with them,” she spat. “Everything is wrong with you.”
*
Matt had no idea what April was talking about. Racking his brain, he tried to remember something he had done wrong. He came up with nothing. She was going to tell him though.
She was already heated. He had to remain calm to control the situation. “And what have I done amiss?”
“I gave the children a bath today. I saw the scars on Hannah’s and Seth’s backs. How could you?” she shouted.
He took a step back and his eyes doubled in size. “You think I was responsible for that?”
“Yes. You’re their father.”
Yes, I am. And I failed to protect them. Having that thrown in his face again hurt worse than a bullet lodged in his chest. Lead could be removed. Likely this pain would stay forever. Just like the pain over losing Caroline.
Sadness washed over him and he looked away unable to handle the fire in her eyes. “Yes, I am their father,” he said in a soft voice. “I didn’t beat them, April. The lady running the orphanage did.”
“Orphanage!” April hurled that word at him and he wished he had time to duck—another thing for him to feel guilty about. He’d made some big mistakes in his life, just not the ones his brother held over his head.
“Why were they in an orphanage? You’re able-bodied. You should take care of them.”
“Yes, I know. I regret my decision every day.” He sank into his leather chair, no longer having the strength to stand.
April glared at him. She looked like she wanted to rail him up one side and down the other. If she felt so inclined he wasn’t going to stop her. He deserved it.
“What were you thinking?” She shook her fist at him. “You were only thinking of yourself.”
He opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath. “That was not what I was thinking at the time. Caroline had just died and I was distraught. How was I supposed to raise two little children?”
“You find a way,” April said. She threw her hands in the air. “Your children should always come first. Or do you think you can be their father only when it is convenient to you?”
Midnight Kiss (Moonlight Romance) Page 7
