Pa chuckled. “Don’t push them, Nicolette.”
“I’m not.” She pursed her lips. “I only want to know when we might expect it.”
“Um, well, I don’t know,” Matt answered. Melissa, looking nervous again, had her hands pressed together tightly in her lap. “That’s something we haven’t had time to talk about.”
“Autumn is nice,” his ma answered.
To Matt’s surprise, Melissa spoke up. “Yes, I agree. Autumn is a nice time.”
“There’s no rush,” Matt inserted, needing to make that absolutely clear.
Melissa shrugged. “Autumn would give us a few months to become more familiar with each other.”
“It’s settled,” Pa said, dropping an extra scoop of creamed turnips onto his plate. “We’ll have a big ole wedding at the church.” His gaze slid toward Melissa. “If that suits our new family member,” he added.
“It does,” she agreed, busy cutting her salt pork into little pieces.
The rest of the meal passed pleasantly enough, with Melissa saying very little unless she was asked a question. The whole time, Matt watched her surreptitiously. Was quiet her natural state?
He hoped that she would become more outgoing as they came to know each other better. If she was merely shy or didn’t like being around a number of people, well, he understood that well enough. A plain old trip into town could grate on his own nerves in an awful way.
No, Matt had never been sociable. He enjoyed the company of his folks, his few good friends… and now, his lady.
As if she knew he was thinking of her, Melissa looked over. That same sweet feeling Matt always got when their gazes connected hit him. He thought of the little house on the edge of the property, of how he’d lived alone in it for years, and how that time would soon be over.
The last couple months, ever since they’d decided she would move out west and they would marry, he’d spent many nights lying awake, staring at the wooden slats in the ceiling and praying they’d get along.
And now he knew they would. She’d already displayed an affinity for animals—one of Matt’s greatest passions. There was something else there, too. A connection he didn’t understand yet. He’d never had it with any of the gals he’d courted.
“Who’s ready for dessert?” Ma asked, standing and reaching for Matt’s plate.
Melissa jumped to help, but Ma put a hand on her arm. “You sit down now. I’ll take care of this.”
Pa patted his belly. “I don’t know that I can eat another bite… Unless dessert is that cherry pie of yours.” His eyes sparkled, and Matt laughed. His mother probably made the best pie in the territory.
“It’s something better,” Ma mischievously explained. Making a big show of turning her back to them, she pulled something out of the cupboard next to the cook stove.
With a flourish, she spun back around, revealing a beautiful cake with white icing and little wildflowers decorating the base.
Melissa gasped. “When did you bake a cake?”
“During the night,” Ma explained. “And then I decorated it while you went to fetch those pickled radishes.”
Matt laughed. “That’s real sneaky, Ma.”
She winked. “It’s a special occasion. We were all so rushed yesterday, getting Melissa’s room ready and all, there was no time for a proper welcome.”
“You did this for me?” Melissa asked.
Ma looked at her as if she didn’t understand. “Yes. We can call this our little welcome party.”
Unexpectedly, tears filled Melissa’s eyes. She lowered her face, dabbing her sleeve against her wet lashes in shame. Matt burned to reach out and take her hand, and he hated that they didn’t know each other well enough for him to do that. She’d probably go into shock if he tried to show her such affection.
“Don’t cry, honey,” Ma soothingly said, putting the cake in the table’s center.
“That’s right,” Pa chimed in. “It’s only a cake. She didn’t stay up all night making it.”
Ma pursed her lips at him before turning back to Melissa. “We’re happy to have you here. We wanted to show you that.”
Melissa sniffled and looked up. Her eyes were still wet, their rims red. “No one has ever done something this nice for me before.”
Matt’s throat constricted, and he suddenly felt near tears himself. “Not your brother?”
Melissa bit into her bottom lip. “No,” she whispered, so softly he could hardly hear it. “Things were different in New York.”
Matt nodded, his jaw tightening at thoughts of what she might have suffered through back East. He’d lived in a small town in Virginia as a child and hadn’t spent much time in cities, but he knew they could be hard. A person couldn’t just build their own house and garden in New York. People were packed together there, and there was a lot of sickness and poverty.
For the millionth time, Matt thanked the Lord he had such a full life.
“You’re here now,” he said. Forgetting about his earlier reticence to touch Melissa, he reached out and placed his hand on her forearm. “Everything from now on will be wonderful. You’ll see.”
She smiled at him through her tears, and Matt understood, from the bottom of his heart, that she believed him.
4
4. Allie
Chapter Four
Allie pressed her hands together so tightly they began to hurt. All around her, in the stuffy confines of the church, she could hear fans whipping through the air as the other worshipers tried desperately to cool themselves.
For Allie, there was no time to waste trying to cool down. The locket around her neck burned a hole into her chest, and the guilt in her heart blazed as well.
God, please forgive me, she prayed. Please forgive me.
Over and over, she repeated the words, letting them echo through her mind and soul. The Lord knew all about her transgression. He’d been there witnessing it from the very beginning.
She’d been telling herself for days that she was doing the right thing, that there was no other choice, that God was not furious with her.
Yet, what if He was? What if choosing to come to Shallow Springs, deciding to masquerade as a woman she was not, was a viler choice than she wanted to believe?
It was the best choice, she reminded herself.
If she had not come to Shallow Springs, she did not know what she would have done. Procure work somewhere else, she supposed. At a hotel or a saloon in some other town.
She shuddered over that last thought. Saloons were rough places. The women who worked in them, even if they only served the men drinks, were sometimes treated worse than animals.
The reverend’s prayer, whatever it had been—Allie didn’t know, for she’d been that caught up in her own prayers—ended, and the bench she sat on creaked.
Opening her eyes and dropping her hands, she saw everyone standing and moving for the chapel’s door.
In front of Allie, Nicolette dabbed at her neck with her handkerchief. “Goodness, me. This heat is liable to bake us all.”
Allie nodded in agreement. From Nicolette’s other side, she caught Matt’s gaze. His eyes glimmered, bringing her that warm feeling… and that guilty one, as well.
Unexpectedly, she had found herself interested in him. The man she was fooling.
It was alarming, to say the least. It was only her third day in Shallow Springs, and he occupied at least half of her thinking time. All day long, throughout her housework, she longed to speak to him, to visit him at his work in the fields.
Most of all, she longed for his touch. Simply his fingers against hers, that was all she needed—for the moment.
No man had ever touched her like Matt did, like she was special and worthy of tender attention. By contrast, the only time the rougher sex had put their hands on her, it had been in an attempt to extricate something from her—something she would not give.
She had never kissed a man, but Allie found herself giddily thinking of her wedding day, when she would
be able to do just that.
Except it is not your wedding day, she reminded herself. It’s Melissa’s.
Pain struck her all over, and Allie pressed her lips hard together. She had chosen to come to Shallow Springs; there was no turning back.
But that did not mean she was absolved of guilt over the situation.
The townsfolk pressed together tightly as they moved down the aisle, everyone eager to get into the shade of the trees surrounding the church. Finally, Allie broke free. Going down the few front steps, she took in a deep breath and stepped into the shade.
A touch on her shoulder made her yelp and whirl around.
“My apologies,” Matt said, ducking his face. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Allie pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart beat frantically, still reacting to the ghost of danger.
Matt’s touch… It had reminded her of something…
Allie shut her eyes, pushing away that awful memory of a day passed and a place many miles away. She was here now, in Wyoming Territory. Everything was different.
“It is quite all right.” She opened her eyes. “It was my fault. I was lost in my own thoughts.”
Matt’s jaw hardened, and he removed his hat. He did that so often when he spoke with her. It was such a gentlemanly gesture—one that Allie loved to death.
“Are you sure everything is fine?” he asked in a low voice, so that no one else could hear.
Allie swallowed. She could tell him the truth, she knew. It sat at the back of her throat, all bundled up and ready to go. Perhaps he would forgive her for deceiving him.
Or perhaps he would not. He could always turn her in to the town’s sheriff, set her on the stagecoach, and send her back East.
As much as Allie wanted to be honest with Matt, as much as she wanted to become close with him, something else was of much more importance.
Survival. That was her priority. She needed to remember that, for if she were to let her guard down, even for a minute, it could be her undoing.
Allie forced a smile onto her face. “Everything is wonderful.”
He frowned a bit, as if he did not believe it. But what was he to say to that? They’d still only just met each other, and he did not know what her usual demeanor was like.
“Did you enjoy the service?” he asked.
Allie inwardly sighed in gratitude over the change in conversation. “Yes, very much, but I do hope not every Sunday will be as hot.”
Matt chuckled. “Naw. Some of them will be bone-chilling cold.”
“That is not what I wanted to hear at all.”
“Sorry.” He grinned. He was always smiling, Allie noticed. It made her want to do the same.
“Where did you go to church in New York?”
“Um...” It had been years since she’d attended a service. Not because she did not want to but because her employment had gotten in the way. Church was for those who could afford it. That’s what the girls Allie worked with always used to joke.
She thought quick and was about to say the name of the first church she could remember when someone interrupted.
“Matthew Denton!” The voice was excited and loud. A young woman appeared as if out of nowhere, eyes bright and lips parted in glee. “Is this your bride?”
“Um, soon,” Matt answered, rubbing at the back of his neck.
“Wonderful!” The woman got so close she nearly pushed her way between Allie and Matt. “Welcome to town, Miss Russell. I’m Gemma Reed, and I could not be more thrilled to have you here.” Turning, she waved someone over. “Kitty! Come quickly. Look who I have found.”
Matt looked around Gemma’s shoulder. “I’ll be waiting near the wagon. Take your time.”
Allie opened her mouth to protest, saying she would come with him, but he was already walking away. Another young woman, who also did not look much older than Allie’s twenty-three years, came over. Allie could tell right away that she was the opposite of Gemma, not only in looks—she had dark hair and strong features while the first woman was blonde and all soft curves—but in demeanor as well.
“Melissa Russell,” Gemma proudly said. “This is Kitty Ross. She is the sheriff’s wife. And, oh, we have heard all about you. Haven’t we, Kitten?”
Despite her shock at the sudden approach, Allie smiled at the pet name. “It is a pleasure to meet you both.”
“You as well,” Mrs. Ross answered.
“You’re from New York, are you not?” Gemma asked. “I am too. A good deal of people here are. Isn’t that funny? So many bodies from one large city ending up in one tiny place. It’s—what do you call that?—serendipitous, is it not?”
“What Gemma is saying,” Kitty Ross interjected, “is that we are very pleased to have you here.”
“Oh, of course we’re pleased.” Gemma knocked her shoulder against the other woman’s. “Tell us, what do you think of Wyoming so far? It’s terribly exciting, don’t you think?”
“Gemma,” Kitty evenly said. “Let her answer.”
Gemma pressed her fingers to her lips. “I’m dreadfully sorry. Sometimes, when I am excited, I get to talking, and I simply cannot quit.”
Allie laughed. “That is quite fine. I am not much of a talker myself, so you are more than welcome to fill any empty spaces.”
Kitty cocked her head and surveyed Allie. “I know you’re still getting settled, but would you like to attend our quilting circle once you have adjusted?”
“Yes, do.” Gemma grabbed Allie’s hand in excitement. It was a bold act from a woman she’d only just met, but Allie did not find it off-putting. Gemma’s genuine enthusiasm made Allie feel that she was trustworthy.
“That would be...” Allie trailed off, fears entering her mind as swiftly as the desire to join the women’s quilting circle.
Would being sociable be the best idea? The more time she spent around others, the more they would want to know about her. It could become increasingly hard to dodge questions, to keep her stories synced. What if she blundered? Suppose someone asked her about her origins one day, and she allowed something too revealing to slip? She already had her hands full navigating her three new relationships with the Dentons.
In addition, every time she opened her mouth and told a lie, Allie’s heart and soul simmered in guilt. Putting herself in positions where she would have to continuously fib would not help to abate that agony at all.
Kitty and Gemma were staring at Allie, waiting for her to finish the sentence she had abandoned.
“Lovely,” she ended. “But I do not know if I will have the time. I have only just moved to town, and my duties at home might prevent me from having time to socialize...” She scrambled for more excuses, but Gemma grasped her forearm and nodded knowingly.
“I understand, perfectly,” Gemma answered. “And I did not mean to force my desires on you. How about this? You get all nice and settled in your new home, and when you have time, we will call on you.”
The sweetness in her proposition was too much. Allie’s heart ached. She longed for such kindness and female companionship, but she had assumed she left any possibilities for it behind in New York.
“Thank you,” she answered honestly. She did not know whether she would be able to take Gemma up on the offer or not, but she appreciated the caring behind the gesture.
Gemma squeezed Allie’s arm. “And now, unfortunately, I must be going. There are hungry men to feed at the ranch.”
“It was nice to meet you, Miss Russell,” Kitty smiled.
“You as well.” Allie watched the two of them retreat to where a line of wagons and horses waited in the shade next to the church. Her own party waited for her there… her own family…
Allie’s stomach felt as if it were turning inside out. If she were to come clean that day, it would be so simple. She could imagine the weight that would lift off her shoulders. No more guilt. All would know who she was and why she was in Shallow Springs.
But it was not that simple. The fear living in All
ie pervaded her every inch. It blackened her insides and seeped from her skin. She would not come clean, she knew, because to do so would be the end of her.
5
5. Matt
Chapter Five
“Melissa.”
She turned at the sound of Matt’s voice, and his heart did a little pitter-patter. “Yes?”
“I was thinking you might like to go for a ride today. We can have a picnic down at the river.”
Her Unexpected Destiny_Seeing Ranch series Page 3