Joelle's Secret
Page 29
“It’s me, Joelle—Owen.”
“Owen?”
“Can I come in? I need to see you.”
“I’m not dressed. Wait a minute.” She went back to the bedroom, put the gun down, and threw on the robe she had bought. She returned and slid the door open. “What are you doing here this time of the night, Owen? Something wrong?” She saw that his face was tense with emotion. “What is it?”
“I came to tell you something. Two things really.”
“Why didn’t you come earlier? It’s the middle of the night.”
“I felt like a fool. That’s one thing,” Owen said. “I was wrong to make all those crazy accusations about you and Chad. I think I lost my mind. You should have shot me.”
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it was. You could never do anything wrong, Joelle.”
The words pleased her, and she smiled slightly. “You’ll find out that’s not true if we stay friends.”
“Well, that’s the other thing I’ve come about, but first, I’ve got to tell you I got a job here. Remember that deputy sheriff we met, the one named Columbus?”
“Yes. What about him?”
“I’ve got his job as deputy sheriff. The sheriff is an old man. Good fellow, but he’s seen his best days. If I do a good job, I’ll be sheriff of the county.”
“Is that what you want, Owen?”
“I’ve done it before. I kind of like it.”
“Then I’m glad, but it’ll be dangerous. I don’t like that.”
“I’ll be all right.”
Joelle saw that he was nervously turning his hat around and said, “Give me your hat. You’re going to tear the brim off of it.” She took the hat away from him and turned to face him. “Now, you could have told me about the job tomorrow.”
“Well, I’ve been four days working up nerve enough to apologize, but now I want to tell you something else. You know why I acted like a fool, don’t you?”
“Because you are a fool?”
“Probably, but I was jealous. Joelle, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you being with another man, not even Chad. He’s the best friend I ever had, but I was blind jealous.”
Suddenly Joelle felt a happy warmth. “Were you, Owen?”
“Yes. A woman misused me once, and I let it make me bitter. But since I’ve known you, that’s all ancient history. You could never deceive anyone.”
“I deceived you pretending to be a boy.”
“Oh, that was something you had to do.”
Owen stopped and put his arms around her. “I guess there’s nothing to do but tell you that I love you, and I want you to marry me, and I want us to be together always.”
At that instant Joelle Mitchell knew she had found her life. Owen was anxious, but his anxiety pleased her for it meant he was afraid he might lose her. She reached up, put her arms around him, and pulled his head down. And when he kissed her, she sensed the hunger in both of them. She knew she had a power over him, to offer him the feelings they could share. His arms tightened around her, and then when he lowered his lips to hers, she said, “I thought I had lost you, Owen.”
“No, you’re never going to lose me. Even when I act like a foolish fellow, I’ll always be there. I feel like I got the whole world in my arms, Joelle. You’re all that a man could want.”
She walked to the stove and began to build the fire, and Owen watched her. When the fire was going, he said, “When can we get married?”
Joelle’s eyes danced as she smiled. “I can’t marry you before tomorrow, Owen.”
He laughed and went to her. “That’s about right, I think.” He kissed her and said, “Now, I know it’s late, but fix supper, woman. I’m starving to death!”