LITMIR.BIZ

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off the day before our rent was due. I had to sell everything she left behind, even my best clothes.”

      “That had to be difficult.” He set the satchels down near the bedroom door, but he only had eyes for her. “Were you put out on the street?”

      “A neighbor lady took me in, although I paid her in trade.”

      “What kind of trade?” he asked.

      “She needed dishes, and Ma hadn’t taken the ironware with her.” She hung her hat to dry on a nail on the mantel. Firelight washed over her, highlighting the worn places on her coat. “If not for your mother’s letters, I’m not sure what would have become of me. Work is hard to find these days, and to have a place to come to, why, I can’t tell you what that means.”

      “I’m glad, too.” He couldn’t remember anything meaning so much. His heart had surely never ached like this before. The trip home had certainly affected him. Nothing in all the world could ever be nicer than holding Miss Clara Woodrow in his arms. If he had ever known anything closer to perfection, then the memory of it slipped from his mind, paling in comparison. He was close enough to see the melting glisten of snow in her silken hair and to breathe in her feminine, rosewater scent. She had perfect creamy skin, delicately formed cheekbones and a cute sloping nose. Eyes sad with hardship met his.

      He’d caught enough of a glimpse of her on the shadowy platform to know she was pretty, but right here in full light, he was arrested. Captivated as if she had cast an enchantment upon him. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, beyond all doubt. No, in fact, beautiful was too mild a word to use. Amazement left him speechless; all he could do was to drink in her splendor.

      A wisp of honey-blond hair caressed the remarkable curve of her cheek. Her lips looked as soft as rose petals, and, why, the rest of her! Not to be disrespectful, but she sure made a lovely figure with the firelight caressing her womanly curves. The air whooshed out of his lungs. A whole bushel full of caring tied around his chest like a great big red ribbon. By golly, he was the luckiest man in all of Mountain County. There was no doubt about that.

      “That was one cold ride.” He liked being close to her. The fire’s warmth licked at his trouser legs. “Are you getting warmer?”

      “A little.”

      “Let me help you with your coat.” He reached to loosen her top button. “I want you to be comfortable here.”

      “Thank you, Mr. Brooks.” Her voice was breathy and tremulous.

      “Call me Joseph.”

      “Joseph. Aren’t you being a little—”

      “Improper?” His knuckle grazed the coat’s fabric, not far from the swell of her bosom, and he blushed and carefully worked at the next button. “I’m simply trying to take care of you. Least I can do, because you came so far. I’m glad you’re here, Miss Clara.”

      “I am, too,” she admitted. He mesmerized her, that’s what was going on. This man had so much wholesome charm and manly charisma that a girl like her with little experience would, of course, be captivated by him. Who wouldn’t be? Judging by his easy manner, he probably had beautiful women falling at his feet right and left. It was a wonder he wasn’t married. Perhaps he was the sort who enjoyed being a bachelor with many girls on a string.

      That explained why he was a tad forward. “I desperately want your mother—Mrs. Brooks—to like me.”

      “No need to worry.” He loosened another button.

      Why was she breathing so fast? Her heart fluttered behind her ribs as if it had dissolved into a dozen butterflies. “You sound awfully certain. She must have gone through many letters of application.”

      “That’s a funny way to put it, but I’m sure she did.” He loosened another button. “Ma will be enchanted with you.”

      “You sound far too certain. She hasn’t met me yet.” That’s what she should be concentrating on, getting this job and not on the man before her. She stepped away, intent on breaking his strange effect on her, and worked the last button free.

      “Ma is the kind of lady who loves everyone.” He circled behind her, unrelenting.

      “I want this to work out, I truly do.” Her confession rolled off her tongue before she could stop it. She winced, hearing the ring of her far too honest words in the stillness between them. Now she was the one being too forward, speaking as if she already had the job.

      Joseph did not seem to mind. His leather gloves gripped the back of her neck. His was a tender touch; his voice when he spoke was like satin. “I have a good feeling. I want this to work, too.”

      They must be sorely hurting for a maid. And Joseph Brooks was too charming for his own good. There was something amiss, something out of place she could not put her finger on because of his touch. He smoothed her long hair out of the way, his touch almost like a caress. Very inappropriate, and she opened her mouth to say so, but not a single word emerged.

      As he tugged her coat off her shoulders, she was aware of every solid inch of him. The strange jolt returned, zinging through her like a lightning strike. Her pulse screeched to a halt, and it was as if her heart would never beat again.

      Whatever this strange, emotional pull was, she had to resist it. She pressed away from him just a tad, steeling her spine. Her face heated and she didn’t know where to look. It would be very easy to come to care about Joseph.

      “Are you blushing?”

      “I’m not used to such attention.”

      “Then you had best get used to it, pretty lady.” His baritone knelled rich and intimate. “I know you are worried, but I’m not. I’m glad you came, Clara. I can’t think of anyone better.”

      How sweet. “Except for the fact that you don’t know me at all. I could be a laze-about.”

      “Beauty and wit, too. I think you and I are going to get along just fine.” His hand brushed her cheek. “I will be good to you, I swear it. I’ll build us a place of our own.”

      “What?” A place? As in, a house? Had she heard him correctly? And why was the floor spinning? The cabin seemed to tilt at an odd angle. “A place of our own?”

      “Yes, I know it’s soon to talk of such things, but we both know why you’re here, Clara.” His gloved finger folded a lock of hair behind her ear, the gentlest of all touches, and he towered over her, pure gentleman and dazzlingly tender. “I’m already sweet on you. I know it in my gut. I just know. We are going to be the happiest married couple in these parts.”

      “M-married?” she stuttered. No, surely there was something wrong with her hearing. Perhaps it was the aftereffect of train travel or from choosing to skip the noon meal to save the cost of the food. Any moment now her mind was going to stop sloshing around and settle down to working correctly, and Joseph was going to start making sense to her. “Why would you think that?”

      “You’re right. I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s a fault of mine.” He took her coat from her; bits of melting snow shook loose and fell to the floor. “I promise to give you all the time you need. If I’m not mistaken, here’s Ma now. I’ll let you two get acquainted while I stable my horse. He shouldn’t be left standing in this weather.”

      “No, of course not, but—” The long last look he threw at her felt like stardust’s gentle glaze. She felt a magical warmth surround her, something she could not touch or see but felt all the same. Places in her heart came alive, places she never knew were there before.

      Transfixed, she watched the wide-shouldered man hang her coat on a peg by the door and open it to a pleasant, apple-faced woman with her hair piled loose and tall on her head. The two exchanged words; Joseph strode out into the dark. Clara stood as still as an end table in the parlor, her pulse thumping bizarrely. His bold comments rang in her mind. I just might have to marry you. I’ll build us a place of our own. We both know why you’re here,

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