Heart and Hand: Gold Sky Series

by Carter, Rebel

Rosemary sighed and laid her gloves on her desk. “That’s saying the least about that poor, beautiful man.” Julie’s eyes snapped up to Rosemary, and the blonde shrugged her delicate shoulders.

  “I’ve never been a good liar, and anyone with eyes can see that Will is gorgeous.”

  “I’d prefer it if you didn’t speak about my husband in such a manner,” Julie bit out, face no longer composed.

  Rosemary sighed and sat down at her desk. “My apologies, Julie. Now," she said, and dipped her chin, giving the other woman a small smile, “shall we get back to the matter at hand?”

  “Please do.”

  “Will is unhappy. The marriage is not what he imagined for himself.”

  Julie pursed her lips. “Your speculation—”

  “He told me as much.”

  Julie went still, the blood draining from her face. “What?”

  Rosemary leaned back in her chair and had enough grace to look slightly uncomfortable as she said, “Will told me himself just this weekend.”

  “Why would he confide that in you?” Julie asked, and though she fought to keep her voice calm, even she heard the slight waver of doubt in it.

  "As you know, Will and I have a very special relationship,” Rosemary said, and Julie didn’t miss the woman’s emphasis on relationship.

  “I do. But you know,” Julie said, and put her hands on her hips, “now that we are disposing of the required niceties, why is that? Why is that you have such an intimate acquaintanceship with a married man?”

  Rosemary didn't so much as blanch. Instead, she leaned forward and gave Julie an almost apologetic smile.

  “We have a common bond you wouldn’t understand.”

  “Which is?” Julie challenged, crossing her arms.

  “We both know what it’s like to lose a spouse,” Rosemary told her.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t know about Will’s first wife?” Rosemary asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I-I,” Julie stammered, shocked by the news that Will had not only been married before her but that he had been a widower. There was no hiding that she hadn’t known about his first marriage, so she shook her head.

  “No.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me he doesn’t speak of her. First love is so hard to revisit once it’s lost so tragically.” Rosemary shrugged as she gave Julie a shrewd look. “You’re nothing like her, you know?”

  Julie’s heart sank at the observation. This was not what she needed to hear. Not when she had made so much progress with her husband.

  They were on the path to discovering one another. Whatever Rosemary spewed was only going to tear down the beginnings of something beautiful.

  “I need to go.” Julie stood up straighter and moved toward the door, but she stopped in her tracks when Rosemary spoke again.

  "That is probably for the best. By the way,” the blonde said, making Julie freeze, “what I had my heart on discussing is simply this: I aim to have Will.”

  Julie swallowed hard, turning to look back at Rosemary. “What did you say?”

  “I can give Will back what he lost. Unlike you,” Rosemary said, giving her a disdainful look, “I am every bit the woman he lost. She was even a blonde, you see." Rosemary ran a hand over her curls and gave Julie a mean smile. "You’re not even the sort of woman he would pick for himself, so unlike his past physical wants. Forrest only saw the ghost of Will’s past in me. That’s why you’re here." She jabbed a finger at Julie. "They received responses to their advert in the matrimonial newspaper by the sackful. Countless women wanted them, but all the promising ones were so like her that they kept searching until they came across you. A woman so different that there would be no confusion for Will.”

  Julie felt like she was falling through the floor at Rosemary's words. They explained why and how she was here with the two of them in a way that made logical sense to her. Julie now understood why Will hadn’t immediately embraced her as Forrest had, why he was often closed off to her in a way that she couldn't reach.

  “You, Miss Stanton, are mistaken,” Julie told her, opening the door with a jerk of her arm. She forced her eyes straight ahead of her. She would not give the other woman the satisfaction of seeing her distress, and not one tear would fall in her presence.

  “I wish I was.” Rosemary got up from her desk with a swish of skirts that made Julie pause in the doorway. “But I’m not, and you know it. I’m going to take Will from you, and when I do, it will be for the best, for his happiness. Don’t you want that?” Rosemary shook her head and threw her hands out. “How can you be so selfish? Why would you force him to stay with you in this mockery of matrimony? Keep Forrest, but William will have his happy ending, and I aim to make that a life with me. I’m giving you the option of bowing out gracefully, and if you care for him at all you won’t make this harder than it has to be!"

  “You’re a vile woman,” Julie whispered, her voice cracking, the tears she vowed not to shed shining bright in her eyes.

  Rosemary jabbed a well-manicured finger at Julie. “The only way you’re keeping Will is if you’ve managed to fall pregnant. Forrest believed that the deciding factor when it came to choosing between us.” She flicked a finger between them to emphasize her words. “A baby is the only way he would he stay with you. The man is far too honorable for his own good,” Rosemary’s eyes lowered to Julie’s stomach. “And Forrest wants a family more than anything, something the Lord hasn’t seen fit to equip me to do. My body just cannot handle the stress.” Rosemary lowered a hand to her own abdomen. “But Will doesn’t care about a baby. He only cares because of Forrest.”

  “Just stop,” Julie ordered. Her voice snapped through the room like a thunderclap, and she worked to look stronger than she felt. “I am very sorry that you feel the way you do, Rosemary. Stay away from my husband," she all but growled, her eyes hard and cold enough to make the calculating socialites of New York City proud. She had survived them, and she would survive Rosemary, who was, after all, only one woman.

  Only then did she step through the door and back into the shining sun of the day, but this time the sunshine didn’t quite warm her through as it had before, because before the door slammed shut behind her, she caught Rosemary’s parting words.

  “Let him be happy. He deserves it.”

  * * *

  “Jules?” Will’s voice startled Julie out of her thoughts at the dinner table.

  “Hmm?” She blinked at him, trying to keep her face composed, though she was still in shock from her earlier confrontation with Rosemary. Immediately following their interaction, Julie had fled home and hidden in the kitchen with Leslie. Her mind had been abuzz with what she had learned, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  Most of the time had been spent drinking tonic water to calm her roiling stomach, something Leslie insisted upon. Julie had shrugged it off as nothing but exhaustion over planning the dance.

  "You'll run yourself into the ground with all of this dance planning. I say let the cow who dumped this on you handle it!" Leslie said while she cooked, her eyes flashing with indignation on Julie's behalf.

  "I can manage a dance, but thank you for your succinct description of the situation," Julie said with a wry smile on her face. She had remained in the kitchen, sipping her drink and picking at the toast Leslie had prepared for her until she heard the familiar sound of Will coming home. She had nearly fallen from her perch on the stool, which caused Leslie to insist upon serving them dinner, though she was busy with baking desserts for the spring dance.

  Now she was at dinner with a very concerned Will looking at her over the dinner table. He reached over and caught her hand.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m, ah, just busy planning away.” She tapped her temple with a finger.

  Will looked relieved at her answer. “Ah, the dance. Do you need me to do anything for that? Already got Stark on board with making sure there’s enough outside seating. Talked to the mercantile about lig
hts, too,” he said, looking down at the steak he was currently eating.

  “You did all that for the dance?” Julie asked in surprise. A glow of happiness at his interest and involvement bloomed in her chest.

  “’Course. Under strict orders from Forrest, remember?" Will winked at her before going back to cutting into his steak.

  “Oh, yes, yes.” Julie bobbed her head, toying with her napkin. The small sparks of happiness she had felt warming her extinguished almost as suddenly as they had ignited. She knew it didn’t make sense that she had wished Will had claimed complete ownership over his motivations for helping her with the dance, but after Rosemary, it did.

  It did, so very much.

  “You sure you’re all right?” Will frowned at her as he chewed. He placed a hand on her forehead. “Not feeling ill?”

  “I’m fine,” Julie lied, lowering her eyes to her plate as she pushed her peas around.

  “Don’t look fine,” Will frowned at her. “Leslie said you got sick when you came home. Pastor Bruce asked after you. Said you looked out of sorts on your way through town. Is teaching wearing you out? Because if it is, you don’t have to keep doing it.”

  Her fork clattered to her plate, and she looked up at Will in shock. “What?! No! I love teaching. I’m just tired.” Julie paused and then added, “And not from teaching, either. The dance planning is just wearing me thin.”

  “That’s why you have a committee.” Will put his silverware down and eyed the glass of wine Julie was nursing in favor of eating her dinner. “Delegate to them— I will take over the whole thing if you need more rest.”

  Julie worried her bottom lip between her teeth at the anxious look on Will’s face. Why did he seem so determined to make sure she rest more?

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, turning his question back onto him. She leaned back in her chair and watched as Will's face flitted between concern and annoyance at her inquiry.

  “Worried about you.” He tapped the wine glass in her hand. “Are you sure wine is a good idea right now?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Jules…” Will sighed, her name hanging between them like a warning. Julie looked away from the depths of her wineglass to see him studying her.

  “What?”

  Will cleared his throat and looked away. “Nothing. Finish your dinner. Taking you straight to bed after.”

  At that, Julie perked up. Her lust was stronger than her anxiety over Rosemary’s threat to take her husband, but Will shook his head at her.

  “Taking you to bed to sleep.”

  “Fine, fine,” Julie grumbled, picking back up her silverware under the watchful gaze of her husband.

  The rest of the dinner passed by fine enough, with Will looking appeased at Julie’s clean plate. Though no sooner had she ascended the stairs to their bedroom than she began to feel queasy. She paused, one hand bracing against the wall as her stomach roiled.

  “I don’t feel well,” she told him with a grimace. Will reached for her to help her down the hallway, but a second later Julie batter at his hands and pushed past him, running toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway with her hands over her mouth. She only just managed to make it to the bathroom before she vomited.

  “Oh no,” she gasped as her body shuddered from the heaving of her stomach. She winced, seeing that she hasn’t made it to the toilet and instead had only made a mess. A choked sob escaped her when she looked down at the vomit on her skirts.

  “Jules?” Will burst into the bathroom behind her. “Are you sick? Darlin'?”

  “I’m fine. Ju—just go back to the bedroom.” Julie held a hand out to him and then snatched it back when she saw it was covered in sick. “It’s fine.”

  Will’s eyes scanned the bathroom, taking in the state of the room, and he sighed, walking toward her. “Nothing about this scene is fine. Get undressed and in the tub. I’ll clean this up.”

  “No, no.” Julie grabbed for a towel to begin cleaning the mess. “I can manage. You should not have to put up with this.”

  “Put up with what? My sick little wife, who won’t listen to reason?” Will asked, taking the towel from her hands and opening the window at the foot of the tub before he switched on the water taps. “I quite agree with that, so do your husband a mercy and get in the bath.” He gave her a pleading look. “Please.”

  “Fine, fine.” Julie sighed, working on undressing. She was grateful Will let her slip her dress and undergarments off on her own while he worked on cleaning up the bathroom. He did, however, help her into the bath and only looked satisfied when Julie had settled in the bathtub with water to her chest.

  “Let me,” Will said, dropping to his knees beside the tub and taking a bar of soap in hand. Julie nodded at his request before Will began to wash her hair. He didn’t, as she had anticipated, pull needlessly. Before she could stop the thought, she wondered where he had learned to wash hair just so, but then she bit her lip because she had an idea of how he had gotten his education.

  His wife.

  His first wife, Julie’s mind stressed to her.

  She fought against that voice that whispered to her that Rosemary was right. That her husband wasn't happy.

  That wasn't true, and now she was his wife, and that was what mattered the most.

  “Still feeling sick?” Will asked her, his fingers going still against her scalp. He leaned close to look at her. “Do you need me to go make you tea?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Julie gave him a tight smile and looked down at the soapy water. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  “You’re my wife," Will said simply, as if that explained everything.

  “Mmm,” Julie hummed, but said nothing else as Will continued to wash her hair, strong fingers moving through her tresses. When he was satisfied that she was clean and not feeling sick, he allowed her to stand, hands braced on his shoulders as he wrapped a thick towel around her.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Will told her sternly when she went to step out of the tub.

  “I can walk,” Julie protested, but Will wouldn’t hear it.

  “You can walk later,” he said gruffly, and swung her up in his arms. “Now, stop giving me that look.” He nodded at her and turned toward their bedroom. “Let me take care of you.”

  “Fine.” Julie sighed, leaning her cheek against his chest. Will pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead, which had Julie’s eyes stinging with unshed tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her face into his chest. How could there be any truth in Rosemary’s words when he took care of her like this? When he handled her like she was made of glass? Will was happy. He had to be, didn’t he? Why else would he be treating her like this?

  “Jules?” Will looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. It was then Julie realized he had been speaking to her.

  “Sorry?”

  He nodded toward their bed. “Was asking if you could stand while I got the bed ready.”

  “Oh, yes.” Julie nodded and stood by the bed as he turned down the quilts for her. When he was done, he reached a hand out to her and helped her slip into bed.

  “Comfortable?” he asked with an anxious bite of his lip. He was busy fluffing pillows and pulling the comforter up around her chin with a worried look in his eyes. “Can’t have anything happening to you.”

  “Nothing will.” She caught his wrist and smiled at him. “I just caught a little something. It will pass.”

  “Forrest would kill me if he came back to you sick,” he said, sitting down beside her on the bed.

  Julie’s smile faltered at that.

  “I’ll be fine.” She turned on her side to stare out the window at the darkening sky. She wanted to hear that he would be a wreck if she were sick, because he cared for her, because he was in love with her, not because of Forrest’s displeasure.

  “I’ll go get you tea,” Will told her, kissing her shoulder before he stood up and headed out of the bedroom.

  Julie sighed an
d closed her eyes. Even if Rosemary were right in asserting that Will was unhappy, she couldn’t let him go. There was no way she was going to stand aside and let the other woman have her husband.

  He cared for her, Julie knew that much.

  She could see it in the way he handled her, even if he cited Forrest as his reason for concern. She could live with that, and she would do her very best to make him happy each and every single day she had as Mrs. Wickes-Barnes.

  Chapter 12

  The next two days were a veritable whirlwind of activity, though Julie was able to rest as much as she needed. Will had very nearly taken over the planning for the dance. How he managed to do so without abandoning his post as sheriff’s deputy for Gold Sky she wasn’t sure, but she suspected it had something to do with how remote the area was. If Forrest was out chasing the last known gang of thieves, then what action was there left for Will to deal with?

  Even if he was under the strain of double duties at work, Will never let on that the task of acting in Julie’s stead planning the dance taxed him in any way. Alice assured Julie that everything was right on track, and she trusted Alice to take over the planning from Will if there was the chance of it interfering in his duties.

  In those couple of days, Will’s decision to relieve Julie of planning the dance was fortuitous as her energy levels that week had nosedived to nearly nothing. By the end of each school day, she found that she was ready for sleep with no appetite. Will made her sit and eat, but it didn’t matter as the food never managed to stay down for long. Thankfully she had gotten better at making it either to the bathroom or outdoors in time, and there were no repeats of the messy events of earlier in the week.

  Her earlier wish to have time to read was granted as Will ushered her to bed early and the alone time proved both a blessing and a curse. It was a boon in the sense that she was able to finally make her way through her waiting novels, but in the moments that she put down her books, she had far more time than she liked to dwell on Rosemary’s words.

  In those evening hours, while Will was out of the house and hard at work over the dance preparations, Julie nearly went mad analyzing how he touched her, wondering if the smile reached his eyes when he laughed at her jokes, what he could possibly mean when he bid her a good day after dropping her off at the schoolhouse…