Nadine Trades Her Partner

by Linda Hubalek

  Nadine rolled her eyes, now glad that Wesley couldn’t see her reaction.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you confess first,” Nadine suggested.

  “Why? Do you have something to confess, also?

  “All right. Here it is,” Wesley start in. “I asked your sisters to help me...court you. We see and work together every day, but I’d like to get to know you in a different sense, Nadine.”

  Oh, Nadine’s smile widened with his confession. He did like her, not Elise.

  “And your confession, Miss Paulson, number five?”

  “I may have asked my sisters to throw us into situations that would cause us to...” Nadine hesitated to say what she wanted to hint at.

  “Be able to kiss without everyone watching us, by chance?”

  Nadine inhaled Wesley’s scent of Bay Rum soap and starch from his shirt and liked it.

  “That could be,” Nadine whispered and then licked her lips.

  “Can I take advantage of this situation and kiss you then? We haven’t kissed since that one time at the kissing game. And I did like the sparks I felt at that moment.”

  Nadine was already on her tiptoes, an inch from his face by her estimation, and breathed a long, “yes.”

  Even if they still couldn’t see each other, their mouths connected for a second, pulled back, and then slowly met again. It was so sensual to feel everything instead of seeing it.

  Wesley deepened the kiss as Nadine leaned into his chest. If she knew kissing Wesley was so wonderful, she would have chased him down to do it, instead of pushing him away.

  Then he pulled away, both of them breathing a little heavier than when they first walked into the closet.

  “I like kissing you. What did you think about it?” Wesley whispered.

  “I think we should meet in the closet regularly to practice kissing,” Nadine whispered back, before boldly finding Wesley’s mouth for another kiss.

  “Now, why was the closet locked—.” Ethan stopped midsentence as he opened the door and found Wesley and Nadine wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “Oh, no!” Nadine gasped as she felt Wesley turn her sideways to shield her father from seeing them in a compromising position.

  Phoebe was to quietly unlock the door after a few moments and to open it just an inch so Nadine and Wesley could see each other.

  “Uh, sorry to interrupt the two of you. Carry on,” her father said before shutting the door, sending them into blackness again.

  “Did he know what we were doing in here, and still let us do it ?” Nadine asked in surprise.

  “Um, I might have had a conversation with your father about how much I liked you,” Wesley said with his lips barely touching hers.

  Nadine pushed away from Wesley, as far as she could in the tiny room.

  “Are you saying my family is all into pushing us together?”

  “I don’t know about your other sisters or your mother, but I think your father, Cecilia, and Phoebe are collaborating to make sure we spend time together.”

  “Well, I don’t want my mother finding me in the closet, now that you mentioned her,” Nadine said as she felt her way over to the doorknob and was able to turn it. Thankfully her father had pulled the key out of the lock, and she pushed the door open.

  Nadine turned back to Wesley and then spied her dust cloth dangling from the top shelf.

  “While we’re in here, could you please reach the dust rag on the top shelf for me?”

  “And how did the dust rag end up there? Wesley asked after he pulled it down and handed it to Nadine.

  “I had to have a reason to call you into the closet with me, so I tossed it up there before you arrived. Why were you going into the closet, Wesley?”

  “To finish cleaning out this closet so we’d have more space to stand in here and kiss,” Wesley said as he kissed her one more time.

  “Oops, someone left the closet door open,” Helen said loudly as she closed the door on them again and laughed as she walked away.

  “Okay, I guess my mother just approved our attraction too.”

  “Yes, she does, but we need to talk about where we want our relationship to go, maybe this evening when I have desk duty?”

  “I’d like that,” Nadine said and stood on tiptoe to kiss Wesley again.

  Someone stuck the key in the door and locked them in again!

  This time, Nadine turned to the door and pounded on it with her fists. “Phoebe or Cecilia, let us out!”

  The key turned and the door opened with Daphne standing on the other side of it.

  Nadine held out her hand. “Please give me the key.”

  “Why?” Daphne reluctantly asked before handing it to Nadine.

  “So everyone doesn’t keep locking us in the closet together.”

  “Uh, don’t you want that to happen?” Daphne asked sheepishly.

  Wesley laughed behind her. “Thanks for your help, Daphne, but your sister and I have decided we like each other. We can continue our courtship on our own now.”

  “Ha! Good luck with that!” Daphne snorted as she walked away.

  Oh, dear. Her sisters could be mischievous, including herself, with their pranks on each other.

  “Are you sure you want to be involved with my family and me?”

  Wesley gave her forehead a quick kiss. “Absolutely, but it might be fun to turn the tables on them a few times when they try to push us together.”

  Nadine laughed as she walked out of the closet with her dust rag this time.

  “Good luck trying to work against the Paulson sisters. We’ve had years of practice facing our parents, and especially our grandmother Paulson.”

  “Are you challenging me to a fun and productive courtship, Miss Paulson, sister number five?”

  “I believe I am,” Nadine waved her dust rag at Wesley and sashayed away. Nadine didn’t have to worry about Elise catching Wesley’s attention after all, because Wesley had just kissed her several times.

  Chapter 7

  “What’s with you sitting with the Paulson’s instead of with Kaitlyn Reagan this morning in church? You’re not married yet,” Peter asked while Wesley and his friends visited after church.

  “Guess she thought I looked silly sitting there by myself and said I could sit with my employers’ family.” When the six men arrived in town, they sat in the front pew with the pastor’s wife until, one by one, they married, and the couples moved to the back of the church. With five of the men married, that left Wesley sitting alone with Kaitlyn Reagan.

  Wesley didn’t attend church every Sunday if he needed to be at the hotel desk, but the older gentleman who used to be night shift clerk still took a turn at the hotel now and then for something to do.

  “And singing a duet with Nadine too? What’s up with that?” Gordon teased Wesley.

  “Kaitlyn came over to the hotel the other day and said she needed us to sing a song to go with Pastor’s sermon today, and we couldn’t say no,” Wesley answered.

  They’d enjoyed practicing every evening after supper while Nadine played the piano in the events room, and Wesley sat beside her on the bench singing and turning the music pages for her.

  “Blessed be the tie that binds? I think she was wanting to hint to schedule your wedding with pastor instead of matching his sermon,” Gordon observed.

  “Yes, I think that was a Peashooter Society ‘move’, but we complied anyway.”

  “Is there a possibility there might be a wedding in the near future?” Gordon asked. “I’d like you to be my brother-in-law.”

  “Maybe. We’re kind of courting, but between our work and Avalee’s niece visiting, it seems like we haven’t had much time to get away from the hotel,” Wesley shrugged.

  “I don’t see how you can find a place to be alone in the hotel. At least I could meet Avalee at the doctor’s office without all the sisters being around,” Gordon said.

  “It’s been a challenge, but the little girls are rooting for me. They’ve locked us
in the broom closet in the hall by the office a couple of times.”

  Gordon and Peter laughed as Wesley blushed and looked around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation.

  “Ethan and Helen know the two of you are kissing in the closet?” Gordon leaned in to ask Wesley.

  “Heck, they’ve both closed the door on us when they knew we were inside. It’s embarrassing.”

  “At least you know you’re their pick for their next son-in-law. You’re blessed for that. They are good in-laws,” Gordon added.

  “Yes, they would be, it’s just that…I don’t know. I’m worried Nadine will feel pressured into marrying me because we do work well together.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt for you two to get away from Clear Creek for a while. Take a job elsewhere. Ethan and Helen aren’t of retirement age yet. Anyway, I assume you and Nadine might take over the hotel someday?” Gordon surmised.

  “There’s a chance, although…Nadine’s still a little miffed I became the assistant manager after a few weeks of just being the night clerk. She wanted her folks to give her the assistant manager position,” Wesley told the men.

  “Hey, Uncle Wesley!”

  “Uff!” Wesley almost lost his balance when Tobin’s adopted twin boys, Tim and Tommy, plowed into him unexpectedly.

  “Mama gotta milk cow!” Tim yelled with excitement. The twins had been made deaf with brass earplugs while they were in a freak show for five years. Someone took them to an orphanage, and they were sent out with the Children’s Aid Society agents to be adopted. Tobin and Molly Billings adopted the boys, found out about the earplugs, and had been working diligently to teach the boys to talk. Tim had found his words, but not the right volume yet, always talking loudly. Tommy was trailing behind on his speech, probably letting his twin talk instead.

  “Well, that’s exciting,” Wesley said as he found his balance again, even though the boys were still hanging onto his knees. “What’s her name?”

  The boys looked at each other and then at Tobin, who was hurrying over catch up with his boys.

  “Haven’t officially named the cow yet, Wesley. Any suggestions since you were raised on a farm, and I’m sure milked your share of cows?” Tobin asked as he pulled Tim off Wesley’s leg.

  “I can think of several cows we had over the years, and I didn’t always call them by their given name for various stunts they pulled on me. I assume you just want the names that can be repeated in front of little boys?”

  “Stunts?” Tim asked Tobin to explain the word.

  “Stunts means doing silly things to someone else. And it’s not something you should do to someone else,” Tobin explained. The man had his hands full with the rambunctious boys.

  “Names...Bessie, Bossie, Bell,” Wesley suggested.

  “No. Those names are too close to the mule team’s names, Bella and Bertha,” Tobin shook his head. Oh yes, that was a problem with the boys learning words.

  “Agnes, Daisy, Pauline?” Wesley tossed some other cow names he remembered from his childhood.

  “Good suggestions. Which of those names do you like for the milk cow, boys?” Tobin leaned over to talk directly to Tommy.

  “Brutus!” yelled Tim.

  “That wasn’t a choice, Tim. That’s a boy’s name anyway,” Tobin patiently told his son.

  “Brutus! Brutus! I wanta to call her Brutus!” Tim was jumping up and down, yelling the name.

  “Okay, we can call her Brutus, but you need to lower the tone of your voice, Tim. We’ve worked on that, remember?”

  “Depending on the cow, that name might fit anyway,” Wesley smirked.

  “No, Molly picked the cow out, so she’ll be gentle; I’m sure.”

  “Will she mind the name, though?”

  “I’ll let Molly and the boys work that out,” Tobin said after blowing out a long breath of air.

  “You bringing the boys to our home tonight for supper?” Gordon asked after the boys had quieted down.

  “No. Molly and I would like an evening alone, thank you very much for inviting us. Lucas and the boys are going over to Ann Beasley’s apartment. Peter’s three kids will be down there too,” Tobin replied.

  Old man Lucas Boyle, the former livery owner, still lived with the Billings in the house he sold to Tobin. And the retired orphan agent, Ann Beasley, lived in the back rooms of Peter’s barbershop building.

  “Avalee thought it would be nice for the six couples to have an evening together, and get to know her niece, Elise,” Gordon said.

  Wesley looked forward to the evening too, because he’d get to spend it with Nadine, and his friends.

  *

  “Nadine? What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet most of the night,” Wesley asked her after walking into Gordon’s and Avalee’s kitchen. Nadine had her back to him, wiping down an already clean side worktable.

  “Nothing’s wrong. You go back and have a good time visiting with Elise,” Nadine said without turning around.

  Ah. There was a hint of jealousy in the air.

  “But I’d rather be visiting with you by my side. Although being alone in here could be nice too.” Wesley said as he came up behind her to circle her waist with his arms and tried to kiss the side of her neck.

  “Wesley, stop it. We’re not in a closet. Someone might walk in and see us,” Nadine whispered as she scrunched her shoulders up to her ears so Wesley couldn’t kiss her neck.

  As if the five newlywed couples in the other room weren’t stealing a kiss and holding hands already.

  “I’d like to be kissing you in a lot of other places rather than the broom closet,” Wesley whispered back, and more places than just her lips too if he was honest with himself.

  “Why can’t we kiss other places, Nadine? Aren’t we courting?”

  “I don’t know. You’re paying more attention to Elise than me.”

  “I’m talking with everyone in the other room, including Elise, because she’s in the living room while you’re hiding in the kitchen,” Wesley said, trying to keep his patience.

  “Someone needed to clean up after our supper,” Nadine said as she wiped a tea towel over the clean surface.

  “The kitchen is clean. Please come back to the living room and sit with me, Nadine. Your sister is going to know something is wrong and come looking for you.”

  “Avalee is busy playing hostess to the group, and her niece.”

  There was that jab of jealousy again, but this time it was against Avalee.

  “Shall we just go home then, although I’d prefer to stay longer. Is that what you want?” Wesley tried not to let the exasperation sound in his voice, but it was there. With five of his friends working during the day, and him sometimes at night, he didn’t get to see the men as often as he’d like. This was a rare night off for him.

  “Are you two hiding in here for a reason? Maybe trying to steal a few kisses instead of visiting with my company?” Avalee asked from the kitchen doorway. If only that was the case.

  “No,” Nadine said as she finally turned around to face Avalee while avoiding meeting Wesley’s eyes. “I just thought I’d clean up, so you and Gordon didn’t have to do it after everyone left. Wesley just came in to see if I was ready to leave, which I am. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, and I’m ready to call it a night.”

  “We were going to start playing cards, Nadine. Please stay a while longer.”

  “It’s only eight o’clock, Nadine,” Wesley tried to keep his voice calm. “I’d like to stay a while longer to visit with my friends.”

  “That’s fine. I can walk home the half-block by myself, for heaven’s sake. Go play cards with the group. Elise can be your partner, Wesley,” Nadine said as she walked past Avalee to leave their apartment.

  “Nadine, wait up a minute,” Avalee said as she followed her sister to the front door. Wesley watched across the room as Nadine put on her coat, and she and Avalee talked in low voices.

  “Problems with the sisters?” Elise said as she walked up b
eside him.

  “No,” Wesley said to cover for Nadine. “She was tired and wanted to go home is all. I hear we’re about to start playing cards. Want to be my partner?” Wesley asked as he waved a hand for them to go back into the living room. Gordon and Squires were moving around tables and chairs to make room for three groups of four to play cards together.

  “Yes, I’d like that. I’ve enjoyed talking to the group about their whirlwind courtships and marriages. And why aren’t you married yet?” Elise asked.

  “Because the woman left to marry just walked out of here.”

  “Maybe she isn’t the one to wed then,” Elise said as she placed a hand on his forearm and gave it a squeeze.

  Wesley glanced back to the entryway and saw Nadine staring at him. Apparently, she’d seen Elise touch his arm before Elise walked back to the living room.

  Wesley shook his head and walked after Elise. He wasn’t trying to make Nadine jealous, and she should feel confident enough in him to know he wouldn’t do that to her.

  Elise was a family guest, and Wesley only treated her as such, not at all like a love interest.

  Maybe Nadine was too immature to be his wife. She was eight years younger than him, but they were compatible in so many ways. Wesley sighed and sat down at a table across from Elise. He wanted to enjoy this evening with friends, but Nadine’s attitude had put a damper on his spirit.

  “You know if you’d like to leave the Paulson Hotel for any reason, I’m sure we could hire you for our family hotel,” Elise said as she smiled across the table. Was she flirting with him? No, just aware of the tension between him and Nadine and giving him an option.

  “Thank you, Elise, I’ll keep that in mind, although I’d like to stay in Clear Creek with my friends.”

  Would there be another job in town he could switch to? Although he really liked his job and employers, Nadine might force him to leave his hotel position.

  Chapter 8

  “Nadine, please wait up a second,” Elise called after Nadine as she stood up to leave after eating breakfast with the family.