He broke the kiss with a shaky outrush of breath, gazing down at her with stormy eyes. “I’d say we suit just fine.”
She gazed up at him with her fists bunched against his chest and her body quaking, lost in the heat of his gaze.
“You can give me your answer this evening.” He pressed a polite kiss to her lips, then stepped away.
Dazed and too weak-kneed to move, Faith leaned against the table. There was a fine line between arrogance and self-confidence, and this strong, proud man walked dead center of that line.
He hooked his thumbs beneath the linen that was thankfully anchored around his waist, and paused with a roguish smile on his face. “I’m about to shuck this towel. Don’t suppose you’d like to stay and help me dress?”
With a gasp, Faith fled the room, at war with the rash, reckless part of her that would like nothing better.
Chapter 10
Faith’s stomach was full for the first time in weeks. A man from the Taylor Hotel had delivered a large roast beef with bowls of potatoes, vegetables, and two apple pies, along with a note from the sheriff thanking her for generously opening her business for him.
“That meal had to cost the sheriff a fortune,” Dahlia said, stacking clean plates back in the wooden crate the hotel had shipped them in.
Faith had expected to trade her services for lumber, but after eating like paupers for the last month, this unexpected meal was a blessing. Cora and Adam had eaten with such unabashed joy it had moved her to tears. They were so full from their meal, they flopped on their pallets at the far end of the building and hadn’t moved since. Adam was engrossed in a book, but Cora was lying on her back thumping her heels against the wall, waiting for Faith to finish washing dishes and come read her a story.
Yet, Faith desperately needed to talk to Aster, the most levelheaded of her aunts, and to Iris, who could negotiate her way around any situation. She rinsed a bowl and handed it to Tansy.
“I need a few minutes alone with Iris and Aster,” she said. “Would you and Dahlia tell Cora a story, and keep Adam settled with his book until I finish here?”
Tansy put the bowl in the crate of dishes that Adam would return to the Taylor Hotel tomorrow. “Of course, dahlin’. The way my back aches, you won’t have to ask twice.” She dropped her towel on their makeshift counter, then nudged Dahlia. “Let these gals finish the dishes while we concoct a story for Cora.”
“It’ll be a trial to relax for a while, but I’ll manage,” Dahlia agreed. She tossed her towel over the edge of the crate, and followed Tansy to their cluster of straw pallets at the back of the building.
Their little family had set up a makeshift kitchen in one corner of the building, using planks atop flour barrels for counters, and large tin pans for dish tubs. The only furniture they’d brought with them was Faith’s mother’s mahogany kitchen table, which had been the center of their family gatherings for as long as Faith could remember. They’d left the chairs in favor of flats of herbs that would better serve their new business; flour barrels and solid planks worked suitably well for table seating.
“What’s wrong?” Aster asked, her face pinched with worry.
Faith dried her hands on her apron. “Have you ever been married?”
Aster’s white eyebrows whisked upward. The ebony arches above Iris’s eyes lifted, too, but neither woman spoke.
“Mama said stormy weather drove each of you to her door, but she never said what kind of storm it was.”
“Does it matter?” Aster asked.
“Yes.” Faith sighed. “I need to know who you were before you met Mama.”
“Honey, I’m not even sure I can remember,” Aster said.
“What was your name? Before you became one of Mama’s flowers.”
Aster braced her hand on the counter, a towel bunched beneath her fingers. “Marian. And I was no different than any other hardworking farm girl, but I hated that life and my father’s heavy fists and my mother’s pathetic mewling. By my sixteenth birthday, I couldn’t stomach one more day of their endless drama, so I left and began my own. Four years later I found your mother and my first real family.”
“So, you never married?”
“No. I lost that opportunity decades ago. And I haven’t been particularly fond of the men I’ve known, so the point is moot.”
“How about you, Aunt Iris? Have you ever been married?”
“My mixed blood didn’t allow me to fit into any man’s world. I was too Japanese.”
“Were you born in Japan?”
“Right here in America,” she said. “My father was a commodore in the U.S. Navy, and a son of a wealthy banker from New York City. He was already married thirty years when he sailed his ship into Tokyo and met my mother. He smuggled her onto his ship and brought her to New York and made her his mistress. She conceived me on the ship during the crossing.”
Faith pressed her hand to her chest. “How dreadful. Forgive me for asking something so personal.”
Iris waved away the apology. “He cared deeply for my mother and provided very well for her until he died. But his estate went to his wife and children. My mother was forced to find herself another provider. Unfortunately, that man preferred her daughter Akiko.”
“Oh, Iris . . .” Faith’s eyes misted and she wanted to kick herself. “How unkind I’ve been to ask such intimate questions of you and Aster.”
Iris shrugged. “Life is intimate even when you don’t want it to be. Sometimes you enjoy that. Sometimes you simply bear it. Either way you’ve got to live each day the best you can.”
“Your life hasn’t been much easier,” Aster added.
Faith nodded because it was true, and because she was too choked up to speak. Her aunts hadn’t just lost their homes, they’d lost their names and the very cores of who they were.
“Don’t fret over this,” Iris said. “When I found your mother’s house and met Aster and Tansy and Dahlia, I gladly became Iris—a beautiful flower that grows in the wild.”
Faith blinked the moisture from her eyes. “All this time I thought you’d chosen it from the Iliad. Iris, the goddess of the rainbow.”
Iris hooted in amusement. “I like that.” She cocked her chin and feigned a thoughtful pose. “Goddess of the rainbow. Yes, that’s lovely. Tonight I’ll be a sultry hue of violet. Tomorrow I’ll be—”
“A wilted flower just like the rest of us,” Aster said in her too-frank manner.
“You’re not wilted flowers,” Faith insisted. “You can take back your real names and start over here.”
Aster shook her head. “I’ve been Aster for so long I couldn’t answer to anything else.”
“Same for me,” Iris said. “Besides, I think I enjoy being a rainbow goddess.”
Despite their sad stories, Faith smiled. “You’re still so young, Aunt Iris, does it bother you that you never married?”
“I’m too fond of men to ever settle for just one.”
A tad of panic shot through Faith. “But you will now. Right?” Iris’s silence increased Faith’s heartbeat. “You all agreed to look for a husband here.”
“And we’ll look as promised,” Aster said.
“That doesn’t mean we’ll find a man willing to marry us,” Iris added.
“You can’t pin your hopes on me.”
“We have to, Faith. You know that,” Aster said. “What man is going to want to marry an ex-prostitute?”
“Or a woman who looks Japanese?”
“You’re kind, beautiful women, and you deserve love.”
“So do you, dear. Much more than us. You’re young, and have everything to look forward to.”
“With that handsome sheriff,” Iris said with a wink.
“You should have never told him I was looking for a husband. Now he wants to court me.”
“He does?” Aster asked, incredulous.
“Wonderful!” Iris clapped her hands. “Say yes.”
“I can’t say yes.”
“Of course yo
u can. You must!” Aster said. “The man just sent us a meal fit for a king.”
Faith tugged her apron ties loose. “What if he learns the truth about us? What then?”
“All the more reason to marry him quickly, so it’s too late for him to change his mind.”
But it wouldn’t be too late for him to hate her, and that’s what she couldn’t bear. Sheriff Grayson was the kind of man she could fall in love with. To gain his affection and possibly his love, only to lose it when he learned the truth, would be devastating. “I can’t do it. It’s underhanded and . . . the sheriff is too respectable for me.”
“No one is perfect, Faith, not even the sheriff.” Iris sighed dramatically. “But he sure looks perfect, and just think of the benefits of having that dream man in your bed, kissing in the dark, feeling those strong arms—”
“For pity’s sake!” Grasping at her last thread of patience, Faith yanked off her apron. “This isn’t just about sharing a bed with a man. I’ll have to live with him, and have his children, and . . . God, how will I ever look him in the eyes if I don’t tell him the truth?”
“Men will want you, but mark my words,” Iris warned, “they won’t offer marriage if they know where you came from.”
“You need to think of the children,” Aster added. “The sheriff adores Cora. You can see he’d be a good father to her. And he was more than fair to Adam over that incident with the hair brush.”
“I know. That’s because he’s a kind, honorable man.” Faith blew out a breath. “But will he be so kind if he learns the truth?”
“No one can know for certain,” Aster said. “That’s why you need to guard the truth. It’s your past, not his. It should be your choice whether or not to share it with him.”
“If our courting leads to marriage, and he discovers the truth too late, he will never forgive my deceit.”
“Bah.” Aster crossed her arms over her chest as if the answer was obvious and the conversation unnecessary. “You’re worrying about something that may never happen. And if he does learn the truth, the sheriff is an intelligent and fair man. He’s also a man who can provide for you and the children.”
Iris put her arm around Faith’s shoulders. “Honey, I think half your nerves come from being attracted to him,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle.
Faith’s face heated. Had she been that transparent? What woman wouldn’t be attracted to a man like Sheriff Grayson? Duke Grayson.
“If I were in your shoes I would savor every minute of that man’s attention,” Iris continued. “And I’d do my best to get him to marry me. The alternative to marrying the sheriff could be far less desirable, you know.”
“I know.” She only had to think of the men who had frequented the brothel or called at her greenhouse.
“Courting him doesn’t mean you have to marry him,” Iris continued. “But it could make him more accepting of our business, and help establish us in the community.”
Faith tossed her apron into the crate on the floor. “It could help immensely to be in the sheriff’s favor. But our hopes could also come crashing down on our heads if he has a change of heart.”
“Then don’t let him have a change of heart.”
Faith looked to Aster, the honorary mother of their misfit family. “What do you think?”
“I think he’s the one man who can protect us,” she said quietly. “If we need him to.”
Chapter 11
Night had fallen by the time Duke entered the earthy-smelling greenhouse. A lantern burned on the counter in the front of the building, and another shone from the stone room in the back where he found Faith waiting for him beside the tub. She stood as he entered the room, and dazzled him with a smile.
“My answer is yes,” she said.
Her smile and her words stunned him. Was she saying yes to him? To courting? He’d been prepared to hear the word no. Or to have her avoid his question altogether. “Yes?” he asked, needing her confirmation.
She clasped her hands in front of her hips, her beautiful smile wobbling. “If you still desire to court me, I’d . . . I would be honored to accept your suit.”
If he still desired her? He nearly laughed. She worked hard, she was intelligent, and so beautiful it was a struggle to keep his hands off her. Yes, he definitely desired her.
He returned her smile. “I still want to court you.”
“Then I shall call you Duke in private.”
“That’s considerable progress from this morning.”
Her lips tilted, enhancing her smile, but her lashes swept down to conceal her eyes.
He watched her changing facial expressions with appreciation. She looked nervous and embarrassed and, if he wasn’t mistaking the tiny tremor in her chin, a little scared.
“Faith?”
She raised her lashes.
“I’m glad you said yes. But if you’re not sure, if you have any reservations—”
“None, Sheriff.” Her cheeks flushed. “I mean Duke.”
“I can change my name if you don’t care for it.”
A breathy laugh sailed past her lips. “You have a fine, strong name,” she said with sincerity. “It’s just awkward for me to be so . . . intimate with you.”
“Maybe this will help us get better acquainted.” He brushed his lips across hers to seal their agreement. “I’m honored to be your suitor.”
Her lashes swooped down like a shield. Did she know that her emotions shone in her eyes? Was this a habit of hers to hide her thoughts? And why the need to hide them?
He eased away. “Why do you do that?” he asked quietly.
“Do what?” She whisked her gaze to his face.
“You hide your eyes from me.”
“I don’t,” she said, but down went her lashes.
“You wield your eyelashes like a woman wields her fan. You give me a glimpse of your beauty then steal it away in the next second. A glimpse here, a peek there. It’s an art for sure, but it can tease a man to the point of losing control.” Her eyes flew open, and he chuckled. “I got your message, Faith. I won’t lose control.”
Down went her lashes again, the black crescents emphasizing her pink cheeks.
“There you go again, peeking and hiding.”
“Oh. Lord.” She pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks. “What a dreadful habit.”
There was an endearing quality to her shyness, but it would drive him crazy to forever witness her emotions in snatches and glimpses. “Your husband never mentioned this to you?”
She lowered her hands and averted her face. “He was away frequently.”
“Why? That is, if you don’t mind my asking.”
She dipped her fingers into the tub. “His father was a planter, and my husband took their plants to the market. The water temperature feels fine now. I would recommend another soak be-fore we try to stretch your muscles.”
“Do you miss him?”
Her hand went still in the water. “We didn’t have a close relationship,” she admitted softly.
“Then I can only believe the man was a fool.”
“I was the fool.” She turned and looked straight into his eyes for the first time. “Thank you for that wonderful meal you had delivered this evening. I’ve never received such a thoughtful or meaningful gift.”
Until today, he’d never given one. He’d given plenty of fancy and expensive gifts to women, but never something as simple or valued as a good meal. “I couldn’t have made it through the day without the treatment you gave me this morning. Thank you for your kindness.”
Down went her lashes yet again, but they flashed up an instant later, as if she realized she was indulging her habit. “You should get in the bath now.”
He nodded and waited for her to leave the room before he undressed. After shucking his clothes, he wrapped his hips in a towel, then sat on the edge of the tub and dunked his foot into the water. He wasn’t trusting her to protect his assets.
The water felt comfortably warm, so
he pushed off the edge of the tub and submerged himself completely. Underwater, he stretched out. His left shoulder screamed with pain as he forced his arm away from his side, but he couldn’t raise his fist higher than his neck. He rolled his body in the water like one of the logs they cleaned in the gorge behind the sawmill. The heated, scented liquid swirled around his aching body. He could do without the herbs and oils, but damn, the water felt good. As the tension in his back eased, he released his breath and sank to the bottom of the tub. When he broke the surface, Faith was standing beside the tub, smiling.
“Cora loves blowing bubbles in the water too.”
He slicked his hair back one-handed. “I need to own this tub.”
“That’s why I bought the place,” she said. “I wanted to buy Mr. Colburn’s house across the street, too, but I couldn’t afford it.”
“I thought it was odd that his house was still for sale.”
“I’m hoping it stays that way until I can afford to buy it. Of course, that will be five or ten years from now.” She handed him the metal stool, and waited while he tucked it beneath him. “I brought you some tea.”
“Thank you,” he said, accepting the cup.
She moved to the door. “I’ll come back in fifteen minutes.”
“Do you have to go?” He held the cup near his dripping chin. “If you can spare the time, I’d appreciate the company.”
Her answer was to sit on the table and fold her hands in her lap.
“Thank you,” he said. He sipped the hot tea, then rested the cup on the edge of the tub. “I’m glad you could see me tonight. I’m taking Covey to Mayville tomorrow, and won’t be back for a week.”
“I’ve not heard of Mayville, but it must be far from here if you’ll be away so long.”
“Just under twenty-five miles. I have a meeting there, and I make several stops along the way to check in with my undersheriff and our deputies.”
“I thought Sam Wade was your deputy.”
Wendy Lindstrom Page 10
