Adeline holstered her weapon and stood staring at him with a vexed expression on her face, her hands on her hips.
“What are you doing down here, Ernest?”
“Just out for a mornin’ ride,” he replied. “Same as you, I s’pose.”
Adeline stared at him for a moment before dropping back down on to the grass, sitting cross legged as she watched Thunder grazing on the bushes. Ernest led his horse over and set him to water and graze before taking a seat on the grass next to Adeline. They both sat in silence for a long moment, the only sound coming from the rushing water of the stream before them.
“I saw Richard leaving before dawn this morning,” Ernest finally broke the silence between them.
“He said he had business in San Antonio.”
He nodded. “Ever been there?” he asked. “San Antonio?”
Adeline shook her head. “No. I never left Frailburg before I came here.”
“Big city – filled with big city folks and big city problems,” he noted. “I prefer it out here. Talon Peaks has everything I need.”
“One day I hope to see San Francisco or Los Angeles,” she said dreamily. “I’d love to see the ocean.”
Ernest looked over at her and grinned. “And what other dreams do you have running around in that pretty head of yours?”
Adeline felt her cheeks flush at the compliment but she looked away, embarrassed. She couldn’t deny though, it felt nice to know somebody as handsome as Ernest thought she was pretty.
“I don’t really know,” she replied. “Other than seeing the ocean and feeling the sand between my toes, I never really thought much about it, I guess. What about you?”
Ernest shrugged. “I’m a simple man. Like I said, I got all I need here,” he told her. “Though, I gotta admit, walkin’ in the ocean sounds pretty fine.”
Adeline smiled as images of her and Ernest, walking hand in hand through the waters of the Pacific floated through her mind – and then she silently chastised herself for having such inappropriate thoughts. It wasn’t proper.
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she leaned over and lowered her voice, practically whispering to him like they were conspirators.
“I don’t know that I would call it a dream of mine or not but every now and then, I think about seeing other parts of the world,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t mind seeing France or maybe Greece, where some of those wonderful myths I like to read about come from.”
Ernest nodded, a smile on his face. “Well if that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind going to see the Globe over in London – see the places Shakespeare used to frequent,” he said.
“Shakespeare?”
He nodded. “Does that surprise you?”
“Very much so,” she said. “I would not have believed you to be a Shakespeare man.”
“To be fair, I believe there is a lot you don’t know about me, Adeline.”
She grinned in return. “That is fair.”
“How about you? Do you enjoy Shakespeare?”
“I do. Very much so.”
“Well, you are in luck then,” he said.
Ernest set his bag in his lap and started to rifle through it. He brought out a small jug filled with a brown liquid. Adeline looked askance at it, then at him.
“I didn’t take you for a drinking man,” she said simply.
“Oh, I like to drink just fine,” he said, uncorking the bottle.
Adeline watched him take a long swallow of the liquid. With a smile on his face, he handed the bottle to her. She didn’t usually drink – maybe a glass of wine here or there, but certainly never anything harder than that. So when she reached out and took the bottle from his grasp, it surprised her.
Ernest watched intently as she lifted the bottle to her lips with trembling hands. She pressed it to her mouth, bracing herself for the sudden burn of what she was about to drink – and then coughed and sputtered, spitting it out in shock when she got a mouthful of tea. She stared at the bottle in disbelief for a moment before holding it under her nose to smell it. She looked at Ernest, dumbfounded for a moment.
“Tea?” she gasped.
He chuckled, his voice a low, rich rumble that slid along her skin like sweet molasses.
“Tea,” he confirmed. “I’ll indulge in a whiskey now and then but I’ve never been much for liquor.”
“Isn’t that going to tarnish your cowboy image?”
He laughed. “Pretty sure reading Shakespeare would do that all on its own.”
Adeline laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard – which it may well have been. Tea and Shakespeare – she thought the man was full of surprises. As she sat there contemplating it, Ernest pulled a thick tome from his bag and set it in his lap. He set the bag aside then opened the book and gave Adeline a smile.
“Shakespeare’s Sonnets,” he stated.
“Lovely,” she laughed and clapped her hands.
Adeline sat back and took a sip of his tea as he started to read to her. They spent most of the morning alternating between Shakespeare and talking, getting to know one another, and sharing stories about their lives. But when she realized the sun was high in the sky, a shot of adrenaline surged through her, making her heart stutter within her breast.
Adeline jumped to her feet, terrified that somehow, Richard would know she had spent the morning with Ernest and there would be consequences for her impropriety. It wasn’t that she feared Richard so much. She feared him telling her own father and what he might think about it.
She never wanted to disappoint her father but if he knew she had been sneaking around and spending time with Ernest – when Richard had been nothing but kind and respectful to her – he would be more than disappointed. And Adeline did not think she could bear it.
“Oh my, I had no idea how long we have been out here,” she said.
Ernest got to his feet. “The morning certainly passed quickly,” he replied. “I apologize, Adeline.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said. “And – I enjoyed my time with you.”
“I enjoyed it as well.”
They stood gazing at each other for a moment and the energy between them crackled with electricity and a powerful sense of anticipation. In that moment, Adeline felt sure Ernest was going to kiss her. What scared her was that she wasn’t sure she didn’t want him to. Even worse, she found herself imagining what his lips would feel like against hers.
But images of her father floated through her mind, tempering the heat burning inside of her. She cleared her throat and managed to force herself to take a step back, breaking the temporary paralysis that gripped her.
“I – I should probably head back to Richard’s ranch,” she stammered. “I – I’m sure Tillie will be wondering after me.”
Ernest nodded. “Of course,” he said. “Allow me to walk you back to the trailhead.”
Adeline gave him a small smile and walked over to Thunder, picking up his reins. She stowed her things in the saddlebag and started to walk back up the deer path. Ernest fell into step beside her and they walked in silence for a little while.
When they reached the point where their paths diverged, she stopped and turned to him. Her mind was awash in thought and feeling, and she was having trouble putting any of them in any sort of coherent order.
“Thank you for today,” she finally said. “I really enjoyed myself.”
“I did too,” Ernest replied. “Maybe next time, you can read one of your favorites to me.”
A shy smile touched her lips. The day was about as perfect as any she could have imagined and it filled her with a bright white light, a pure and unfettered joy unlike any she’d ever known. She wanted to agree to another meeting with Ernest. She wanted to know this sort of joy again.
But she was afraid. She was afraid to let herself feel too much for Ernest because she knew it wasn’t going to have a happy ending. Even if she did not end up being forced to marry Richard – and she would fight with everything in
her to see that she wasn’t – she would go home to Frailburg. And if that happened, she knew she’d never see Ernest again.
She wanted to tell him they needed to be careful and perhaps, take things a bit slower since she did not want to cause trouble for either of them. Adeline knew if Richard found out they had been spending time together alone, he would not be pleased with Ernest. And she feared what he might do – she did not want anything bad to happen to Ernest.
But when she opened her mouth, she was shocked by what actually came out.
“I’d like that a lot,” Adeline said. “I’ll pick out something special.”
She cringed inwardly, stunned by what she’d said. A wide, bright smile crossed Ernest’s face.
“Well, I’ll look forward to it then,” he said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to ride with you back to the ranch?”
Adeline shook her head. “No, thank you. It might look – I should probably just ride back alone.”
He tipped his hat to her. “Well then, until next time.”
She gave him a shy smile and turned Thunder, heading back to the ranch at a trot as Ernest watched her go.
Chapter Thirteen
Adeline stroked Thunder’s full mane, speaking quietly to the big stallion as she gave him a few sugar cubes as a treat.
“How’d he do out there today, Miss Adeline,” Sonny called. “Ol’ Thunder good to you?”
Adeline gave a start – Sonny seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She turned and gave him a smile.
“You need to wear a bell, Sonny,” she laughed softly. “I did not hear you walking up.”
He doffed his cap to her. “Apologies, Miss Adeline,” he said sheepishly. “I sure didn’t mean to startle ya.”
“It is fine. No harm done,” she replied. “And to answer your question, Thunder is a fine horse. He always treats me well.”
“He must like you,” Sonny chuckled. “Can’t tell you how many times he’s tried to bite me.”
Adeline laughed and handed the reins over to Sonny who took them from her nervously. She stepped in front of the horse and stroked his muzzle, looking him in the eye.
“You be good now,” she admonished the horse. “Be nice to Sonny.”
Thunder whickered and stamped his front paw on the dirt floor of the barn. Adeline wasn’t sure how to interpret the horse’s gesture so she slipped him another sugar cube to hopefully sweeten his disposition.
She patted Thunder’s flank and then gave Sonny a smile before she walked out of the barn and headed for the house. Standing on the back porch, Adeline took a minute to dust herself off, shaking out the dirt she collected on her ride – not to mention any loose grass that might have stuck to her while she was with Ernest down by the stream. Satisfied that she was presentable, she opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen.
“Well, there you are,” Tillie said.
The older woman had her back to Adeline as she stood at the stove, preparing something that smelled fabulous. She set the spoon down and turned around, looking Adeline up and down.
“You look a fright, Miss Adeline.”
Her blood ran cold and she was sure Tillie knew where she had been and with whom. A nervous smile touched her lips as she tried to smooth down her long hair.
“I could do with a warm bath,” she said. “It seemed particularly dusty out there today.”
A sly smile tugged at the corner of the older woman’s mouth. She looked pointedly down at the hem of Adeline’s dress, arching her eyebrow. A white hot bolt of adrenaline shot through Adeline when she looked down and saw the fresh mud on the fabric.
“Oh yes well, I stopped at the stream on the eastern part of Richard’s land,” Adeline stammered. “To water Thunder and let him graze on those berries he likes.”
Tillie pursed her lips and gave Adeline a knowing look. “The eastern part of Mister Richard’s land, huh?”
Adeline nodded but didn’t say anything. She knew she was stammering and sounding guilty. The last thing she wanted to do was add fuel to that particular fire.
Tillie smiled. “Ain’t that the part of Mister Richard’s land that backs up against Mister Ernest’s land?”
Adeline’s stomach lurched and her throat went dry immediately. She coughed and tried to control the nervous flutter in her body.
“I – I wouldn’t know about that,” Adeline said. “I’m afraid I can’t say I’m overly familiar with property lines.”
“Mmm hmmm,” Tillie said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “You go on and have yourself a seat. You’re lookin’ mighty parched all the sudden.”
Adeline took a seat at the small table that was tucked away in a corner of the kitchen. It was where Tillie took her meals after she’d finished her serving duties. A small vase of flowers stood in the center of the table and she idly wondered where they’d come from. Or more accurately, who they’d come from. Adeline gave brief thought to asking her but decided she couldn’t be so bold.
Tillie returned from the cold room a couple of minutes later and set a frosty pitcher of lemonade down in the middle of the table then grabbed a pair of glasses. She poured out two glasses and slid one over to Adeline, who accepted it gratefully. It had gotten hot out there and she was parched.
The cool liquid soothed her dry throat and quenched the thirst inside of her. Tillie groaned as she sat down and took a long swallow of her lemonade. She set the glass down and looked out the window at the yard. Sonny was leading Thunder, freshly brushed and cared for, from the barn out to the paddock where he turned the big stallion loose to go frolic with the other horses.
She turned back to Adeline and favored her with a gentle smile. Adeline could see a curious light in the older woman’s eyes – as well as a hint of concern.
“Mister Ernest – he’s a handsome man.”
Adeline ran her fingertip around the rim of her glass. “I suppose so,” she said as casually as she could. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Tillie arched her eyebrow and looked at her. Adeline shrank back in her seat beneath the older woman’s gaze suddenly feeling like a child who had been caught snitching cookies from the jar.
“I mean, not that I hadn’t noticed, I just – well…”
She let her voice trail off, suddenly keenly aware of the fact that she was only digging her own hole even deeper with every word she spoke. She knew she did not have to answer to Tillie. After all, Tillie was Richard’s maid and as such, Adeline could stand and storm out of the room.
But the problem was that Adeline liked the older woman enormously. She thought of Tillie as a friend – not as Richard’s maid. And truth be told, Tillie was the closest thing she had to a confidant. Adeline also knew that Tillie cared for her. The older woman almost thought of her as a daughter and did what she could to protect her, offering advice and helping her navigate her way around Richard and the people of Talon Peaks.
“Mister Ernest’s a good man,” Tillie said. “Handsome, smart, kind – he’s the kinda man I’d wish for you.”
A small smile touched Adeline’s loops as she looked down at the top of the table. She ran the tip of her finger through the condensation that had collected on the outside of the glass, tracing a line through the fog.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Mister Richard is a bad man. He’s done a lot for me over the years,” Tillie continued. “I’d never speak a word against him.”
“I understand that,” Adeline said. “He’s been nothing but kind, generous, and respectful of me.”
Tillie nodded her agreement. “But sometimes even a decent man ain’t the right man.”
Adeline nodded but remained silent. Her stomach churned wildly and she didn’t trust herself to speak. The last thing she wanted was to blurt out to anybody – not even Tillie – that she felt herself developing feelings for Ernest.
She knew she didn’t have experience when it came to love and men but Ernest seemed to be everything she wanted in a man. She could see living a long and
happy lifewith him by her side. It was a realization that terrified her but one she couldn’t deny. Not even to herself. And she absolutely would not put Tillie in an awkward position by having to carry that information for her.
“I don’t mean to speak out of turn, Miss Adeline,” Tillie said. “But I feel like I can speak truth with you.”
“Of course, Tillie. You’re my only friend in this place,” Adeline said. “And I trust you.”
Tillie reached across the table and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, offering her a small but warm smile.
The Cowboy's Stolen Bride (Historical Western Romance) Page 11