“Jonah,” Noah said from the far end of the table, “come join us. We have so much to tell you.”
Immediately, Jonah was put on edge. Something was amiss. Noah’s grin spread from ear to ear and he looked as if he were about to trap Jonah into doing something he wouldn’t want to do. He raised an eyebrow and slowly made his way to the empty chair next to his brother.
“What have you done now?” Jonah asked speculatively, pulling the chair out far enough for him to sit.
Most people would call Millie’s dining area small, but she liked to say it was just a cozy place for folks to get to know one another. He sat down, still looking at his brother.
“Jonah, I would like you to meet Emma Foster.”
Jonah’s expression froze on his face. He didn’t dare look. Thoughts raced through his head. What was he going to say? What was he going to do? He closed his eyes and in that instant, his head had betrayed him by turning toward the surprise dinner guest. When he opened his eyes again, he had to blink a few times before he realized that the eyes that had been haunting him all day stared back at him. His jaw dropped.
Noah elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Jonah grunted and hunched over in his chair, one forearm catching on the edge of the table. It took a moment to recover, but when he finally was able to look up, he managed a smile. He lifted a hand to tip his hat and realized that he’d hung the damn thing on the rack when he’d first come in.
Emma was unimpressed. He could tell from the stoic expression on her face. Her arms were folded and her back was nearly as straight as the chair.
Millie pushed her seat back and all three brothers stood up. From the color staining Millie’s cheeks, Jonah could see she was pleased.
“Now, why don’t you gentlemen just sit yourselves down and finish eating your food. Mr. Deardon,” she turned her attention to Jonah, “dish yourself up some of these fixin’s and I’ll be back momentarily with more mashed potatoes and gravy.”
“Thanks, Miss Berkshire,” Jonah said with a smile.
“I told you to call me Mill…ah,” she nodded her head. “I’ll be back with those potatoes, Jonah.”
All three brothers laughed.
Jonah dared a glance at Emma. The corners of her mouth twitched and she quickly folded her lips together. She reached for a glass of water and after taking a small sip, she returned the glass to the table and glanced up at him.
He could feel his brothers watching him. His fingers played with the small latch on the top of the coin purse he held.
The coin purse.
“Miss,” he cleared his throat, “Foster?”
She continued to stare at him—her expression not unpleasant.
“I believe you may have dropped this in the street when I so rudely bumped into you earlier today.” He swallowed.
Emma’s eyes grew wide and she placed a hand over her open mouth. “I didn’t even know I’d lost it.” As if afraid he might bite her, she slowly reached out across the table to his hand holding her small bag.
When her fingers grazed his palm, he closed his hand over hers and she gasped a little. “Please excuse my abrupt departure. I hope Noah and Lucas saw to it that you had everything you needed.”
Her eyelashes quickly fluttered against her newly stained cheeks.
“Thank you. They were perfect gentlemen.”
He let go, but didn’t miss the soft smile that now graced her beautiful features. Maybe getting married wasn’t going to be such a bad thing after all.
Chapter Six
Emma sucked in a breath when Jonah Deardon grasped her hand in his. That little coin purse contained all the money she still had to her name within its confines. His touch warmed her, though thoughts of decorum screamed at the impropriety of holding a man’s hand, let alone a stranger’s. She couldn’t make herself pull away.
After he apologized for his behavior in the street and for abandoning her to the mercy of his brothers, she could no longer feign indifference. He released her hand and she drew her coin purse into her lap.
Emma looked up to meet Jonah’s eyes and couldn’t help the short physical assessment she took of him. His hair reminded her of the wheat fields she’d seen as a child when she had accompanied her grandfather on his summer business trips through Ohio. And she wondered at the creased scar just beneath his left eye.
Yes, Jonah Deardon was a very handsome man. And he was now to be her husband. Emma had to work hard to remember her lessons to act a lady and not gawk at him.
It was hard to mistake the sound of the front door slamming open.
“Millie!” a male voice screamed out for the inn keeper with a hint of urgency from the same direction. It sounded like Jarvis.
Millie hustled from the kitchen, past the dining room. All three Deardon brothers and two other boarding house patrons filed out to see what was going on. Emma followed on their heels.
Jarvis stood in the open doorway holding two young ruffians by the scruff of their neck collars.
“Caught these two boys trying to break into that back room behind the kitchen through the window.”
Both boys writhed against their captor, but Jarvis had a good firm grip on them.
“We didn’t hurt nothing,” one boy squealed.
Emma had no idea what the boys possibly could have been looking for in that room. There was nothing but food stuffs. Maybe they were hungry.
Millie must’ve had the same thought.
“You boys wantin’ some fresh vittles? We’re just sitting down to supper and there are a couple of empty chairs at my table.”
“What are you doing, Millie” Jarvis looked stunned. His mouth hung open and his eyes were nearly as wide as saucers. “You don’t reward criminals. They were going to steal from you and you’re going to feed them?”
“We wasn’t gonna steal from Miss Millie,” the bigger of the two boys said indignantly. “That fella said we just needed to get him the travelling bag from that room with the broken handles and he’d pay us two whole dollars. Each.”
“I don’t keep my travelling bags in th—“
“My travelling bag has broken handles,” Emma said quietly, almost to herself. But the reason anyone would want that old thing was anybody’s guess. There was nothing in there but her clothes, a few mementos of her family, and the deed to the Oregon property—which no one else knew about.
All eyes fell on her.
“Why would anybody want my old bag?”
“How did they know the handle was broken?” Noah asked.
“And how did they know she was staying in that room?” Lucas took a step toward Jarvis.
Everyone turned to look at the boys, whom Jarvis still had by their necks.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
“Where is the man who offered you the money?” Jonah inquired.
“And what did he look like,” Noah asked in succession.
After getting a brief description of the man and a location where they were supposed to meet him, Jarvis let go of the boys and they both scrambled to follow Millie to the kitchen with the deputy right behind them.
“You boys go check it out,” he told the Deardons. “I’ll stay and watch over the ladies.” He glanced at Emma and tugged on the front of the hat he wore. “Oh,” he said in afterthought to the men, “you may want to take the lantern there with you. It’s getting pretty dark outside.
One by one, Jonah, Noah, and Lucas all grabbed their hats from the rack in the entrance and Lucas picked up the lantern that hung from an oversized nail next to the doorway before stepping out into the night.
“Stay put,” Jonah warned Emma.
He stood so close to her that her neck had to crane backward to see his face. The look in his eyes said there was no room for argument and she took one step away from him.
Apparently satisfied, he disappeared into the darkening twilight.
The nerve.
“There’s no one here,” Lucas said throwing his hands through his hair.
<
br /> Jonah scanned the street for anything suspicious. He was still fairly unfamiliar with St. Joseph and that irked him. If Emma was in some sort of danger, wasn’t it now his job to protect her? He couldn’t very well do that if he didn’t know what he needed to protect her against.
“Let’s get back to the boarding house,” Jonah told his brothers. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning for Stone Creek.” Now that they’d delivered their herd and found Miss Foster, there was no reason for them to stay.
As they started down the street toward Millie’s, the light in the lantern flickered out and Jonah stopped. A sudden feeling in his gut told him that someone was watching them. He squinted his eyes at the dark. The sun had all but disappeared behind the horizon and the moon was little more than a sliver. He couldn’t see anything but shadows. If someone lurked in the obscurity, it would serve them best to return to Millie’s as quickly as possible.
“Jonah, we should stay close together,” Noah called from a few steps in front of him.
His brother was right.
When they got back to the boarding house, the two young boys who’d tried to break in were sitting on the top step of the stairs, each handcuffed to either side of the porch railing. Jonah and his brothers stepped into the house and found Emma, Millie, and Jarvis all sitting in the parlor with a small blaze glowing in the fireplace. They all stood up.
Jonah shook his head. “We couldn’t find anyone out there.” He turned to Millie. “But, all the same, I think it’s best if we head on out at first light.”
Emma stood, her hands clasped together in front of her.
Jonah stepped forward, his heart pounding heavily against his chest, which perturbed him greatly.
Control, Deardon.
“We’d like to get this marriage thing all sorted out, ma’am. But, I would feel more comfortable if we finished our—” he choked on the next word, “business…at Redbourne Ranch.”
“Oh,” she lifted a hand to her neck, her fingers caressing the deep indent there. “I thought it had already been decided. Aren’t you taking your brother’s place in the agreement, Mr. Deardon?”
Jonah shot a look at his brothers, who were both looking down at the food on their plates with keen interest.
Traitors.
He lifted an eyebrow and looked at Emma hard, but couldn’t tell if she was teasing or if she simply just didn’t care which of them she married. He pulled at the collar on his shirt. It was loose enough, so why did he feel like he could scarcely breathe?
He cleared his throat.
“That has been discussed,” Jonah affirmed, stretching his neck to one side, then the other. He glanced at Millie, who eyed him with keen interest, then around to Jarvis and his brothers before returning his eyes to her. Noah and Lucas looked pleased as punch and Jonah had the sudden urge to knock the smiles right off their faces.
He cleared his throat again. “So, Millie, do you have any rooms left for tonight? I don’t want Miss Foster sleeping in that room. I’ll settle her account in the morning.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. I’ll just put some fresh linens on the bed and it’ll be ready for Miss Emma in no time at all,” Millie said, reaching for another lantern on the table next to the armed chair she’d been sitting in when they’d returned. “Oh, and Jarvis?” she said looking at the deputy. “Be a dear and let those boys go. They’re not going to hurt anyone and I think they’ve learned their lesson.
Jarvis rolled his eyes, but reached for his keys as he swung the front door wide.
Emma headed toward the kitchen to collect her things.
“I’ll fetch them and bring them up to you,” Jonah said as he stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her path. “You go with Millie.”
For a moment it looked as if she was going to argue with him, but she turned and stomped toward the staircase.
You’re just making one good impression after another, Deardon.
“Wait,” he called after her before she reached the stairs.
Emma turned around, hand on hips and a look that would quell a bear.
“Why is there a man following you? Who is he?”
She stared at him.
Silence.
Jonah could see the muscles in her face pulsating at her jawline. She was angry. He could see it in her eyes. They looked like the sea in the midst of a storm. Beautiful.
Emma did not grace him with an answer, but turned and trailed up the stairs without so much as a look back.
“Women,” he grumbled.
When he walked into the pantry, Jonah realized he had no idea what things belonged to Emma. He glanced over the small makeshift bed made up in the corner of the room. A fairly large travelling case, tucked neatly under the cot, protruded slightly and a brown leather satchel sat on top of the folded patchwork blanket.
Jonah reached under the bed and pulled the corner of the travelling case until it was mostly exposed. He grabbed a hold of the handle and it gave way. A sigh of relief emerged from his throat when the latches on either side of the case remained closed and nothing came spilling out to his view. He pulled the case up under one of his arms and strung the satchel over his neck and shoulder.
He turned into a damp sort of flimsy cloth that draped over his face.
“What in the…”
He tried to brush it from his face, but every movement seemed to tangle him even further. When he finally was able to pry himself loose, he backed away from the fabric. The material had been hung from a string suspended across the width of the room and he sniggered at the irony of his little trap. A thin chemise top and set of bloomers, hanging to dry, had gotten the best of him.
“Getting a little ahead of yourself aren’t you, big brother?” Noah leaned against the doorway with his arm above his head and a grin spread across his face.
“Funny.”
The smile on his brother’s face grew wider—if that were possible.
Jonah stepped forward in attempt to pass Noah and leave the walk-in pantry.
“You seem awfully protective of Miss Foster all of the sudden,” his brother said before he could make it through the door. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you’ve taken a liking to your unwanted bride.”
Jonah stopped mid stride. “I still don’t like it. The idea of marrying some woman just for her dowry. I feel responsible for her is all. She’s only here because of the agreement Dad and Henry made with her grandfather.”
“Doesn’t hurt that her eyes are the color of the glow around the moon at midnight either,” Lucas interjected in their conversation as he joined Noah in blocking Jonah’s retreat.
“You’re quite the poet, Lucas.” Jonah flexed his jaw. “This room is suddenly too small.” Jonah pushed his way past them both and marched up the stairs.
It irked him that his brothers had noticed her eyes. Of course, why wouldn’t they? Her eyes were mesmerizing and he was naïve if he believed for one moment that he was the only man to notice them.
Emma paced the new room she’d been assigned for the night. As if she wouldn’t have told him or Millie or Jarvis, the deputy, if she’d known that someone was following her—if she’d thought for one moment that she was in danger. How dare Jonah Deardon treat her as if she were a senseless child?
Why would someone follow her or want her old worn out travelling case anyway? She had nothing of real value, and if it was lady companionship this man desired, there were plenty of brothels around—not that a real lady should know anything about them. Had it not been for the little gatherings her governess had thrown for some of her more brazen friends after their lessons, she’d haven’t an idea.
Emma, of course, had never been invited, but she’d often crawled into her oversized closet and listened to their shameless talk and giggling through the paper thin walls. She’d learned more than at those events than she ever did in her geography lessons. Most of all, they taught her what she didn’t want to be like.
Emma lay down on the bed, wh
ich she had to admit was a lot cozier than the small cot she’d had in the pantry. For some reason, she felt safe with the Deardons around. Somehow she knew that Jonah would not let anything happen to her. She turned onto her side and played with the strings that protruded from the quilt covering on the bed.
If she could be trained to be a lady, there was hope for Jonah Deardon yet. She lay back onto one of the large pillows that decorated the bed. If she had to be away from her beloved Orchard House in Boston, being Mrs. Devastatingly Handsome, didn’t seem so bad.
What could go wrong?
Chapter Seven
“You’ve got to be joking.” Jonah looked out his bedroom window to see a ray of sunlight dimmed by the storm clouds rolling in. He’d heard reports from other riders that Kansas was experiencing a tremendous drought and yet their trip to Stone Creek was going to be a wet one. He guessed he should be grateful that his cousins lived in eastern Kansas where apparently they were still getting rain.
“I’ll be back in a half hour with the extra horse from the stables for Miss Foster,” Jonah told Lucas, who was still trying to pull on his boots through the grogginess of sleep. “Make sure she’s ready.”
The short trip to the Pony Express stables, where they’d been looking after the mare selected for Emma to ride on the trail down to Stone Creek, took nearly twice as long as Jonah had expected. Despite the weather, he’d made pretty good time getting there, but it had taken him nearly a quarter hour to wake the sleeping stable-hand.
Jonah tied the mare next to his gelding in front of the stone entry steps to the yard. The horse was a beautiful brown and white paint with spots on her nose and from what he’d seen on the trail, she seemed to ride smoothly over the harsh terrain and had been even-tempered and alert.
Perfect for a lady, he thought.
He rubbed her nose, then turned and made his way up to the house. He hoped that by this time, Millie would have something made up for breakfast. They needed to get on the road, and starting the day off with a warm cooked meal would make all the difference.
The Deardons Complete Mini-Series Page 4
