Short Straw Bride. Dallas Schulze

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СКАЧАТЬ you enjoy living in town, Miss Williams?”

      “It’s certainly convenient,” she said. She frowned at a bolt of blue calico before setting it aside. “But I’ve no particular fondness for it. When I was a child, I always longed to settle in one place where I could have a garden and a real home.” She stopped abruptly, embarrassed at having revealed so much of herself. But when she slid a quick glance at him, he didn’t look as if there was anything unusual in what she’d said.

      “You traveled a great deal?”

      “My father did, and I traveled with him. I tried to make a home wherever we stopped, but there’s not a great deal one can do with a hotel room.” Her mouth curved in a rueful little smile.

      So her father had traveled a lot, Luke thought. And she’d always longed to settle in one place. Well, he could certainly offer her a home and room for the garden she’d said she wanted. From the sound of it, those might be powerful arguments, if and when he proposed.

      “I think plain muslin might be best, after all,” she said, drawing Luke’s attention to a bolt of the stuff.

      “I’ll have to find someone to make the curtains,” he said.

      Eleanor opened her mouth to offer to do the work but closed it without speaking. She’d already been bold enough. If her aunt heard that she’d been talking with a man in Webb’s, particularly a man like Luke McLain, whom her aunt had already earmarked as a possible suitor for Anabel, she’d never hear the end of it.

      “Mrs. Larkins does sewing,” she said instead. “She has the little house on the north edge of town and she does good work for a reasonable price.” It had to be her overactive imagination that made her think he looked disappointed.

      Behind them, the bell over the door tinkled, announcing the departure of Cora Danvers and her obstreperous son. Though Eleanor couldn’t see past Luke McLain’s large frame, she could hear Andrew hurrying in their direction and she felt a totally irrational resentment toward him for interrupting. Not that there was really anything to interrupt, she reminded herself.

      “Are you finding everything you need, Miss Eleanor?” At Webb’s question, Luke reluctantly stepped aside to allow the other man to pass him. Webb moved to stand next to Eleanor, his weak eyes darting from her to Luke with suspicion. There was a certain possessiveness in the way he stood, a look only another man would recognize.

      Luke’s gaze sharpened on Eleanor’s face, but if there was reason for Webb to feel possessive, he couldn’t read anything in her expression. Something told him that any feelings of possession were strictly on Webb’s side. The thought pleased him.

      “If you’ll cut some of the linen for me, Mr. Webb, I’ll be on my way,” she said, giving him a quick, impersonal smile.

      “I’ll be with you in just a minute, Mr. McLain,” Webb said as he and Eleanor walked past.

      “I’m in no rush.”

      The storekeeper’s hand hovered a moment, almost touching the small of Eleanor’s back, and Luke was surprised by the annoyance he felt at the idea of the other man touching her. When Webb’s hand dropped away without making contact, Luke felt a satisfaction out of proportion to the moment. He followed them to the front of the store.

      Eleanor was vividly aware of Luke McLain’s gray eyes watching her while Andrew cut the fabric for her aunt. She told herself that she was not so foolish as to read anything into his interest. She’d just happened to be nearby when he’d found himself needing a woman’s opinion. He’d probably have been just as happy to ask Cora Danvers, if she’d been handy. But the brisk mental lecture didn’t have any effect on her rapid heartbeat.

      When the toweling had been cut and wrapped in brown paper, she gave Andrew an absent thank-you without really seeing him. Picking up the package, she turned to leave, her eyes catching Luke’s.

      “I hope the new curtains are what you wanted, Mr. McLain.” She hoped he wouldn’t notice the slight breathlessness in her voice.

      “Thank you for the help, Miss Williams.” He nodded and smiled at her, and Eleanor hurried out before she could make a fool of herself by collapsing at his feet.

      Luke let his eyes follow her as she left, watching her walk past the big front window. It wasn’t until she’d disappeared from sight that he turned his attention to Andrew Webb. The suspicion in the other man’s eyes had deepened but Luke ignored it. Webb had had plenty of time to make his intentions known to the girl. If he hadn’t done so, then he had no one to blame but himself if someone moved faster.

      Luke gave him the order for the supplies. He loaded a case of canned peaches and sacks of flour, sugar and other staples into the buckboard. It wasn’t until they were almost done that he remembered the curtains he was supposedly anxious to have made. He didn’t give a damn about curtains but, remembering Eleanor’s earnest help, he felt his conscience tug at him. Moving to the bolts of fabric, he picked up the muslin she’d indicated. He started to carry it to the front of the store and then hesitated. Obeying an impulse, he picked up the bolt of blue fabric she’d been fingering. If he married her, he could give it to her. And if he didn’t, well, then, he could give it to whomever he did marry.

       Chapter Four

      Luke McLain attended church alone the following Sunday, and his presence incited only a smidgen less speculation than it had the week before. After the services he exchanged greetings with people he knew but made it a point to intercept the Williams family before they reached their carriage. A few minutes’ conversation and a smile and he was the recipient of an invitation to join them for Sunday supper.

      It was no wonder Mr. McLain had hinted for an invitation to dine with them, Dorinda Williams pointed out on the carriage ride home, what with Anabel looking particularly pretty today.

      “Just be your own sweet self, precious, and Mr. McLain won’t be able to resist you.” Dorinda gave her daughter a fond look. Luke was following on horseback, giving the family a few moments alone.

      “I don’t know if I want to marry a rancher, Mama. All that dirt…and those animals.” Anabel wrinkled her short, straight little nose.

      “The McLains are just about the wealthiest folks hereabouts,” her father put in.

      “Really?” Anabel straightened and gave her father a calculating look at odds with her delicate pink-and-white image. “How wealthy?”

      “Now, you know I can’t tell you that, pussycat.” Zeb clicked his tongue at the horse that drew the little carriage. “That’s confidential information.”

      “But this is important, Daddy.” Anabel thrust her lower lip out in a pout. “I’m not asking for myself, you know. I’m thinking about you and Mama. It’s my duty to marry someone who can provide for you in your old age.”

      “Isn’t that just like her?” Dorinda said, to no one in particular.

      “Yes, isn’t it.” Eleanor’s muttered comment brought her aunt’s attention to her. The sentimental tears that had filled Dorinda’s hard blue eyes vanished the moment she looked at her niece.

      “You СКАЧАТЬ