“Yes, Mama.” Rose made a face, but she got up and left the room, presumably to do her chore.
Eve stared at the lamp, the angles throwing different patterns of light, even rainbows. She wanted to be as beautiful as that. Her past was a murky mash of unknowns and lies. None of which made her anything but a shadow. She would never be a prism, which drew her to them even more.
“Supper is just about ready.” Mrs. Sheridan walked into the parlor with a smile. Her polite inclusion of Eve was unexpected and it made her throat tighten with emotion. It was never that hard to start over before. Why now? What made Adam and his family so special?
“Thank you. I’ll go wash up.” Eve got up to escape, but Mrs. Sheridan blocked her path.
“What is it, Eve? Are you feeling poorly?” Concern spread across the older woman’s face as she frowned. “Are you missing your family?”
Eve shook her head. The Roma had let her live with them, but in truth, Eve had never had family. She’d been on her own her entire life. A family was as foreign as being a miller like Mrs. Sheridan. Unknown and confusing.
“I’m fine. Probably just worn out from the day.” She managed a weak smile. “I’m sure I’ll be better after I eat.”
“Then we’d better get you fed.” Mrs. Sheridan moved out of Eve’s way but didn’t leave.
Eve glanced up at her, wary of the way the other woman’s brows had drawn together.
“I have to say something else.” Mrs. Sheridan sat down beside her. “I don’t know where you came from, or who your family was, but I’m not as trusting as my husband is. A woman caused a lot of damage to this town, to my family, and I’m wary of strangers. I’m asking you not to hurt my son. If you do, I’m a woman who doesn’t forgive easily, nor would I let it pass. I will return the hurt to you twofold.”
Eve’s mouth dropped open. She’d never heard a woman speak her mind, no matter every one of them thought it. Never mind the fact that most women didn’t threaten bodily injury while maintaining a polite expression. “Pardon?”
“I own this mill, not my husband, but he works with me, not for me. We’re partners in everything and that’s what I wish for my children.” She took Eve’s hands into her cool, calloused ones. “What I’m trying to say is you have a choice to do the right thing. We can help you settle in town, if that’s what you want. Or we’ll ask our extended family, my husband’s best friends, to help you find where you do want to live. All I ask is that you not hurt my son or anyone else.”
Eve understood threats and Mrs. Sheridan had a right to be suspicious. Eve was a survivor, no matter how she had to accomplish it. From the time she could remember, no one had treated her as though she were as important as they were, that she mattered. In one swift fell, Mrs. Sheridan twisted that perception by offering to help her and at the same time threatening her.
One thing Eve had come to know—nothing was as good as it seemed. And no one, no matter who they were, did something without an end goal in mind. She wanted so much to believe the older woman, but experience had taught Eve to guard herself. Not that she thought Mrs. Sheridan was lying, but when push came to shove, no doubt, self-preservation would come into play. The kind that left Eve alone on a dark road with nothing but the clothes on her back.
“I don’t plan to hurt Adam. He’s been gallant and kind to me.” Eve put the right mixture of confusion and wariness in her voice. Most of which wasn’t forced.
“Don’t say anything. Just think about what I said. I wanted to speak with you without the men around, or Rose. She’s my youngest and tends to run roughshod over the world.” Mrs. Sheridan smiled with what appeared to be genuine relief. “I’ll get back to supper, then.” She returned to the kitchen, leaving Eve alone with her thoughts.
She stared at the prisms on the floor. What was it about this family that set them apart? In all her years moving around, Eve had never run across a group of people willing to help her for no backhanded purpose. Perhaps when she was very small and had found herself alone, she’d looked to others for comfort and protection.
No more, though. Eve patted the knife sheathed at her thigh. She would do her best to find out if Adam was going to be a good prospect to use or if she would disappear into the night. She was skilled at vanishing without leaving a trail.
If the Sheridans proved to be as selfish as the rest of the world, she would have no qualms about leaving. Perhaps she would take a prism with her to remind her of the time spent with them.
To remind her she had no angles and no light pouring through her. No, she was more like a plain, discarded stick on the ground. They might think they know her, but once she burned, Eve was nothing but ash.
* * * * *
Adam sipped his coffee the morning after he kissed Eve, his thoughts trapped with the taste and softness of her lips. The sounds of the morning drifted around him. Rose was arguing with Mama and Bella about what to cook for the charity bake sale at the Founder’s Day celebration. Nothing new there.
He’d retrieved a piece of black onyx from his collection. It was a gift for Eve, to apologize for kissing her and for putting her in a situation like she was in. The onyx was one of his most prized rocks and he wanted Eve to know he was sorry. As he reached into his pocket for the onyx, the back door banged open.
He should have known his uncle would want to know what was going on. As the town’s sheriff for all of Adam’s life, Zeke Blackwood made it his business to protect everyone. Especially those he considered family.
The big blond lawman walked into the kitchen and Adam’s gut clenched. He glanced at Eve, who stared at Zeke like a rabbit facing a wolf.
“Good morning, Sheridans!” Zeke greeted everyone with smiles and shoulder pats. He sat down directly across from Eve and Adam. His brown gaze was always as intense, no matter if he was discussing an apple pie or a murder. Being a lawman was his natural calling, that much was obvious, even to Adam when he was a little boy.
Zeke always made Adam feel safe. He’d taught all the young ones how to use a weapon safely, whether knife or gun. It was almost impossible to lie to the man. He could sniff out a fib from a thousand yards. And here he was, at the breakfast table two days after Eve arrived in Tanger.
“Introduce me to your friend, Adam.” Zeke’s deep voice rolled through the quiet like distant thunder.
“Eve, this is my uncle Zeke.” Adam gestured across the table. “This is my, uh, friend, Eve Tate.”
“Tate? You have kin around here?” Zeke picked up a biscuit from the plate in the middle of the table.
“No. I’m alone.” Eve sipped at her coffee, never breaking eye contact with Zeke. The woman had courage.
“I hear you’re not alone anymore. Rumor has it you’re engaged to my nephew here.”
Eve blinked. “I don’t think that’s been decided yet.”
Adam frowned at his uncle. “We’re getting to know each other.”
“Hm, not according to Spencer. He was almost dancing to tell me all about Adam’s new woman. Folks all over town are talking about how you two arrived in town looking like you’d been tussling in the flour.” Zeke quirked his right brow. “Why do you suppose that is?”
“Spencer is a pain in my ass.”
“I don’t disagree there. That boy takes it upon himself to be as much of a pain in my ass every day of the year.” Zeke shook his head. “Reminds me of his uncle Lee like that.”
“Language, both of you.” Mama frowned at Zeke. “Have some respect for the ladies.”
“I’m sorry, Gabby. Mention of Spencer’s antics makes me lose my gentlemanly manners,” Zeke apologized with a bit of flair. Pa laughed outright.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” Adam scooted a smidgen closer to Eve on the bench. He knew his uncle would push until he was satisfied with what he heard. “Uncle Zeke, you need to be nice to her.”
“I’m always nice!” Zeke held up
his hands as though he were actually innocent.
Pa snorted and got to his feet. “And I’m the King of Siam.” He gestured to Mama. “We need to get busy. Schwartz is coming in with a load this morning.”
Adam’s parents left, followed by Bella and Rose. Zeke set the biscuit down and steepled his fingers together.
“Now that the children are gone, let’s get to it.”
Eve set the cup down and frowned. “You are a man of the law.”
“I am.” Zeke tapped the star on his chest. “This gives me the responsibility to protect this town and my family. From everyone and everything. Now tell me who you really are.”
“Eve Tate.”
Zeke shook his head. “You and I both know that’s a lie.”
“It’s who I’ve been since I was five. I don’t know any other name.”
Adam frowned. “Since you were five?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know who my parents are. A rancher found me in a wagon of supplies delivered to his place. He took me to the orphanage and when they asked him my name, he told them my name was Eve, a female from nowhere.”
Adam’s throat tightened at the callous way she’d been treated. He felt worse for how he’d behaved, if that was possible. She was an orphan and he suffered from an overabundance of family. The scales were completely imbalanced. “I didn’t know.”
“I don’t tell people when I first meet them. Being an orphan, being no one from nowhere, isn’t something I’m proud of.” Her eyes blazed with dark emotion. “If I don’t tell your uncle the truth, he’ll find out one way or another.”
Zeke tipped his head toward Eve. “You’re a smart girl. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“The Sheridans have been very kind to me. I won’t take from them and I won’t hurt Adam.” Eve took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you anything else about me because there isn’t anything to tell. I’m what you see.”
Zeke narrowed his gaze. “You’re attempting to be honest with me. I’ll be honest with you. I won’t let you marry Adam unless I’m sure you’re not going to trick him. You’re a stranger to me, which means I don’t trust you. I also don’t think you’re telling me the whole truth about who you are.”
“You don’t trust most people,” Adam growled.
“True, but Aunt Naomi has been softening me up.”
Adam’s brows rose. “I don’t think it’s working.”
“Shut up, boy.” Zeke softened his words with a tiny, fleeting smile.
“I was with the Roma, the travelers you call gypsies. I lived with them for a time.” She fiddled with the handle of the cup. “Now I’m here.”
She was a gypsy. Or sort of a gypsy. That explained the colorful wagon he’d seen when they’d met. And her unusual, if threadbare, clothes. Everything about her was a little different than normal. Adam didn’t know how he felt about that particular revelation but Uncle Zeke wasn’t giving up the interrogation.
“How did you end up engaged to Adam?” Zeke asked as he picked up the biscuit again.
“We’re not engaged. Nothing has been decided.” Eve glanced at Adam. “But any woman would be lucky to marry him.”
Zeke contemplated Eve in silence for a full minute. Until Adam started to sweat.
“Stop it. She’s not a criminal.” Adam slammed his hand on the table. “I won’t let you scare her.”
“Glad to see you standing up for her, Adam. Now, if only my son could be an adult like that.” Zeke chewed and swallowed a bite of his biscuit before he spoke again. “One more thing—if you’re an orphan, where did the Tate come from?”
Eve finally looked down at her hands on the table, where she twisted her fingers together. “I was wearing a potato sack that had been cut into a dress. The orphanage put my name down as Eve Tater. I shortened it.”
Adam wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. How could she be so calm? She’d been abandoned and named after a goddamn sack of potatoes. How had this woman ended up in Adam’s life? He wanted to know more of her story, to know how she managed to be traveling with gypsies.
If he wasn’t careful, he might want to keep her. Hell, he already did want to keep her.
“We’re getting married. Today, if possible,” tumbled out of Adam’s mouth.
Zeke’s brown eyes widened. “Pardon?”
Adam looked at Eve and put the piece of onyx in her palm. “I think we get along well enough. What do you think?”
That was romantic. Well enough? Damn, he wished he had his father’s silver tongue. Adam had gotten the useless one instead. Hopefully she’d heard what he really meant. Life had put them together and he wanted to stay there. Why not? He didn’t have any marital prospects and he sure as hell wanted her.
“Today?” She stared at the black rock then looked at him. “Won’t your mother have something to say about it?”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s not her wedding. It’s yours and mine.” Adam took her hand in his, surprised again by how small it was. He felt like a giant around this voluptuous but petite woman he’d just proposed to. “Will you marry me today?”
To his relief, she smiled, and his heart tumbled end over end at the sight. She was exquisite. “Let’s get married.”
“Holy shit.” Zeke got to his feet. “Gabby’s gonna kill me.”
* * * * *
Adam headed for the door after his uncle left. “I need to tell my parents.” His simple marriage proposal had knocked her sideways.
While it was what she’d been contemplating since it had been mentioned, she hadn’t expected it so soon. Needing to keep busy, Eve washed the breakfast dishes after. The simple chore helped the twisting in her gut subside.
Adam’s uncle Zeke had been intense and intimidating. She’d been off-kilter enough to accept Adam’s marriage proposal. Adam was too good for the likes of her. Not to mention what Mrs. Sheridan would say or do. He was kind and Eve would take advantage of that. Simple but ugly. She would regret the marriage and so would he, but sometimes it was necessary to push the boundaries of what she would normally do. In fact, Eve had pretended affection before, but had never taken it to a legally binding conclusion.
The very idea of marrying him was painful in many ways. What was she doing? He was innocent and she was shades of bad decisions. Yet he’d asked her to marry him and she should have said no. Or at least asked him to wait for an answer.
What had she been thinking?
Perhaps Zeke’s presence had ignited a panic. Her journey to this point had been a rocky, twisty one with many turns and bumps. Too much to explain, and she wasn’t about to reveal everything to the man of the law, no matter if he was Adam’s uncle. She’d been exposed to many men like him, and none of them had treated her with kindness.
Zeke struck her as the type of man who would not give up a trail once he’d caught a scent. She didn’t want to be the prey he ran to ground. Hiding in plain sight, at Adam’s side, might be a very bad or a very good idea.
“Where’d you come from?” Rose appeared at Eve’s elbow.
“A cabbage patch.” Eve raised one brow and the younger girl smiled.
“I know all about how babies are made. You had a mama and a pa, but you’re not with them anymore.” Rose sat on the edge of the long wooden counter, her feet swinging. “I heard you say you were a gypsy.” The eavesdropper had apparently been listening.
The girl’s curiosity was apparent from the moment Eve met her. Now to figure out how to satisfy her without telling her everything. The truth was always too dangerous.
“No, I’m not, but I lived with them for a while. They are nice people who love their family as much as you do.” She rinsed another plate and put it on the drying towel.
“You spent the night with Adam. I heard a lady in town say it was scandalous.” Rose frowned. “I think you’re pretty. I wish my bosom was that big.�
��
Eve laughed, unable to stop it from bursting from her throat. “Some days I wish it was much smaller.”
Rose looked down at her still-flat chest. “You shouldn’t.”
“I suppose we always want something we don’t have or different from what we do have.” Eve knew all about that. “You’ll grow into who you’re supposed to be.”
“I hope so, ’cause right now nothing is growing.” Rose sighed and swung her feet again. “Your mama must’ve had a big bosom too.”
At that, Eve’s humor waned. “I don’t remember her.”
“She died?”
Eve shrugged. Rose was poking into pain that Eve wasn’t ready to let see the light of day. “It doesn’t matter because it was a long time ago.”
“You can be part of our family; then you can have parents too.” Rose jumped down off the counter.
Eve looked at the young girl. “Thank you for saying that. Your family is worth having.”
“I think so too.” With a mischievous smile, Rose disappeared out the door and thundered up the stairs.
Eve knew she hadn’t made the right choice in saying yes to Adam, but she’d done stranger, and crazier, things before. There hadn’t been so many people involved, however, and each of them would be affected by the wedding.
They’d be even more affected when Eve left. Sure as the sun rose in the east, she wouldn’t be able to stay forever.
Even if she had started to think that was what she wanted deep in her heart. Forever was not a possibility for a person like her.
Her stomach did funny flips every few seconds at the thought of marrying the red giant. He was so big and towered over her. Wouldn’t there be some sort of mismatch in the marriage bed? She wasn’t small around, but she was most definitely short. The top of her head barely came to his shoulder.
Hell, they were mismatched in every way except one: he was male and she was female. Their parts should fit together, but she doubted it would be perfect.
Her hands shook as she sat at the table, trying to decide if she wanted to vomit or run. Adam hadn’t returned from speaking with his parents, leaving Eve to her thoughts, which Rose had stirred up further before vanishing.
Adam, Devils on Horseback: Generations, Book 1 Page 5