His Secondhand Wife. Cheryl St.John

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СКАЧАТЬ his eyes. He shut himself completely away from her and obviously preferred it that way, so she’d just as soon get used to it.

      When he was done eating, he got up and went back outside.

      Kate washed and dried the dishes, then wandered the house. She found the books he’d told her of and selected one. She’d been reading in the parlor for an hour or so when the back door opened and closed and the sound of another door indicated he’d shut himself in the back room. She shouldn’t feel slighted. The man hadn’t asked for her company and was generously sharing his home. He didn’t have to like her or to spend time with her. Kate took the book upstairs and read until she fell asleep.

      Saturday was no different from any other day of the week. The men did the same chores at the same times. But that night after Fergie prepared supper in the meal house, Kate learned that most of the hands left the ranch for the evening.

      Marjorie sent a message with Tipper that Kate was welcome to ride to church with them the following morning. Kate decided she would enjoy the outing and the company, so she accepted.

      She had washed and dried her good dresses, and now she heated the flatiron and pressed the rows of ruffles until they stood out like new. She hummed as she worked, and the words to the song came to her unconsciously.

      Noah stood on the porch listening to Katherine sing. Her voice was as pure and sweet as the woman herself. After having her in his home all week, he was still astounded at her dauntless cheer and optimism. Being in her company, he felt like an ugly wormhole on a rosy apple.

      Standing in the darkness, he didn’t have to see her to picture her hair in the glow of the lanterns, tresses as rich and thick as honey. In the sunlight it shone with a life of its own. Her eyes were dark with emotion and sparkling with life. She had skin as smooth and pure as fresh cream. Looking at her was like squinting at the sun on a bright day. Her prettiness was so good and so warm that it hurt.

      Sometimes he wondered how Levi had met her. At the laundry, he supposed. He’d probably invited her to dinner or for a carriage ride and had easily won her heart. The marrying part confused him still. Levi hadn’t been one to stay in one place or to commit for longer than a few weeks at a time. Noah had raised countless puppies and even a raccoon that Levi had brought home and quickly lost interest in. The hound that followed him around the ranch now was the whelp of one of Levi’s strays.

      This was different. This wasn’t a pet he’d tired of feeding and cleaning up after. This was a woman who needed provision and protection. A woman and a child. When Noah thought about the baby, he couldn’t help wondering if a baby would find his appearance frightening. Or since the child would be exposed to him from an early age, would he simply accept Noah’s appearance? It seemed logical that a baby would be more tolerant than adults.

      The child would eat at Noah’s table and learn to ride his horses and grow to manhood on the Rockin’ C.

      A corrective wave of caution followed that thought. Or womanhood. The baby could be born a female. If so, Katherine would do all the raisin’. He didn’t know the first thing about females.

      Secretly he hoped Katherine’s baby was a boy.

      “Have you ever known Noah to attend church?” Kate asked Marjorie the following morning as they sat together on the wagon seat.

      “Never,” she replied. “He doesn’t attend anything where folks are gathered. Doesn’t even come to town if it’s something the hands can take care of.”

      “Can’t be healthy, staying to himself like that for his whole life. Folks need friends.”

      “Been that way as long as I’ve known him.”

      They arrived at the little white church and Marjorie introduced Kate to a few parishioners she hadn’t met at the funeral.

      As soon as Estelle saw Kate, she bustled over. She was dressed in black from head to toe, and her expression did not convey pleasure at seeing Kate. “You’ll sit with me, dear.”

      Marjorie gave Kate an encouraging smile and took a seat with her husband.

      Estelle led Kate up the aisle to one of the first wooden pews. “I’ll speak with the Bensons after church and see to it that one of them brings you to town tomorrow. We can’t have you dressed like that—you’re a Cutter now. We have an early appointment with Annie for measuring. She’ll have fabrics and patterns for us to go over.”

      Kate smoothed the dress Estelle so obviously disdained over her lap and folded her hands.

      “You need gloves, too. A lady always wears gloves in public. I’ve invited the Huttons to have dinner with us after church. Walter is Copper Creek’s schoolteacher and his wife, Rose, helps with Sunday school. They are a lovely couple.”

      Preacher Davidson greeted them on his way to the pulpit and within minutes the service was under way. It was much the same as the church Kate had always attended with her mother, except that they had always sat in the rear with the laborers. It seemed the folks were divided in this congregation, as well. The Sweetwaters, who Kate knew were bankers, sat in the front and the hands from the Rockin’ C were in the back of the room.

      She had the feeling that she should be sitting back there with them, but Estelle had practically nailed her to this pew.

      After the service, Estelle was greeted by neighbors, and she made a point of pushing Kate toward them as though insisting they accept her. Kate recognized more than a few odd glances and took note of whispers behind gloved hands.

      Annie Carpenter made a point of drawing her away and saying hello. She held a bright-eyed toddler she introduced as her daughter, Rebecca.

      “I didn’t know you had a child.” Kate smiled at the chubby little girl. “She’s beautiful.”

      “We’ll have another one in the fall,” Annie told her.

      Her smile told Kate that learning a baby was on the way hadn’t struck terror into her heart as it had hers.

      “And you have time to sew, as well,” Kate said with admiration.

      “That’s why I need help now,” Annie said. A pretty dimpled young woman joined them. “This is my cousin, Charmaine Renlow.”

      Charmaine’s eyes widened when she met Kate. “Oh my! You’re living out on the ranch with Noah Cutter? Aren’t you frightened?”

      “Why, no.”

      “I’ve heard frightful things about the man. Some of the stories say he hunts with his bare hands and eats raw meat.”

      “That’s ridiculous,” Kate replied, offended for the man who’d been so kind to her. “He eats the same as everyone else. And it’s all cooked by Fergie.”

      “I’ve never seen him up close,” Charmaine added with a conspiratorial whisper, “but they say he’s hideous to look upon.”

      Her words confirmed what Estelle had told Kate, though she hadn’t had a straight-on good look at him herself. She couldn’t really deny what she wasn’t sure of. But she could certainly attest to his character. “He’s one of the kindest men I ever met. I suspect much of the talk has been aggravated above the truth.”

      “For СКАЧАТЬ