A Daddy For Christmas. Linda Ford
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Название: A Daddy For Christmas
Автор: Linda Ford
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Вестерны
isbn: 9781474038171
isbn:
A bit later, he glanced out the window at the fading light. “It’s quitting time,” he announced. He’d succeeded in keeping his mind on measuring, measuring again, cutting and using the plane. Well, almost. At every move, Clara had been at his elbow, reaching to help, holding the tape, insisting she could use the plane.
“I love doing this,” she said as thin shavings peeled from the wood. “Am I doing a good job?”
He admitted she did. “I’ve never seen a woman doing woodwork before, though my pa said he knew of one and said she did a good job. Said she had a light touch, which he recognized in all her work.”
Clara sat back on her heels. “Maybe I could make furniture.” She sounded as surprised as he felt.
“Why would you want to? Won’t you remarry? Seems running a home and raising kids is work enough.”
She came to her feet, her eyes flashing like lightning. “What you are saying is I require a man to take care of me and all I need to do is sit around and look pretty.” She spit out each word as if they were the pits of sour fruit.
He held her gaze without flinching. He knew she resented what he’d said and couldn’t understand why. “From what I’ve seen, running a house and looking after the children doesn’t allow much time for sitting around. My wife worked very hard, as I recall. Most of her days were longer than mine.”
Slowly, the fire faded from her eyes. “I have no use for sitting around being ornamental.”
Nor did he, but why should she think such a thing? He took in her blue eyes, her hair with varying colors of blond that reminded him of finely grained wood. She was a beautiful woman. Why hadn’t he realized that when he’d first seen her? No doubt she’d pitch a fit if she knew what he thought. Nevertheless, he finished his assessment of her. Skin so pure that it was no wonder that Libby used it as a comparison. Shapely hands that had proven to be capable of working with wood. A grin came unbidden to his mouth. “Seems to me you’d have a hard time not being ornamental.”
Her mouth fell open, and she sputtered.
He continued to grin, pleased he had left her speechless. “We best head over for supper.” He gathered up his coat. The girls followed suit.
Clara made a sound of exasperation, then grabbed her coat. “It’s far more important to be useful,” she muttered as they left the church.
“No reason a woman can’t be both.” He spoke airily, knowing most women would have welcomed the compliment. But she only huffed toward the Morton place without offering any explanation.
Libby slowed her steps. “I’m awfully tired after working so hard.” She gave Blue a sad look.
“Don’t suppose you’d like a ride?”
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