“Your sister is hurt.”
“You go inside with her then. I’m old enough to be outside by myself.”
Eight was the perfect age for mischief. Billy had been fearless, thought nothing could hurt him…maybe she was being overprotective, but she did not want anything to happen to Seth.
“No you’re not. Your sister is hurt. You should want to come inside and help cheer her up.”
He grunted. “Her knee? That’s nothing. She’s just a sissy. At the orphanage—”
“I don’t want to hear one word about the orphanage, you hear?” April snapped.
Seth’s eyes widened. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Now I said it was time to come inside. Get going or you won’t have any play time tomorrow, just chores.”
Seth groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Watch it young man.”
“What are you going to do? You’re not my mama.”
She’d have to leave it up to him. “You’re right. I am not your mama, but I am your elder. I know your papa expects you to be respectful to your elders.”
Silence.
“No?” April’s eyebrows rose. “I suppose I will have to ask him tonight.”
“No don’t do that, ma’am. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Come inside and you both can have a glass of milk and a sugar cookie for dessert.”
Seth walked ahead of her and held the door open.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.”
Noon meal was simple fare—bread, cheese, and slices of ham. For once she was glad Mr. Seever hadn’t come home. She wanted to impress him with her cooking skills, not feed him leftovers. Simple meals didn’t seem to bother him though…he rarely complained.
The children didn’t complain either. They ate their meal quickly, excited to get their cookie. She smiled as she poured the glasses of milk. The battle of wills with Seth hadn’t been much of a fight, nothing like the battles she’d had with the white children who viewed themselves as superior.
The children accepted her for the most part. It was only natural they’d try her authority now and then. She wasn’t Seth and Hannah’s mother but many times she wished she was. They were smart and adorable and brightened up her life.
Zorna had said it was high time she started a family. She knew her old friend had meant for her to have a baby before it was too late. Maybe a ready-made family was the better option.
Mr. Seever had turned sullen after their intimate night in the loft. What did she expect him to do after pushing him away? She wished he’d kiss her again or even flash a sultry smile. He was doing a bang up impression of his brother Boyd and she hated every minute of it.
Of course, she hadn’t made a move toward him either. They were at a standstill. She’d forgiven him for accidentally saying Caroline’s name. She hadn’t told him though. Every time she tried to overlook the fact Mr. Seever was white, she couldn’t. Not that she couldn’t be with a white man. She wanted to be with him. She let out a loud breath. Why did everything have to be so complicated?
She loved Seth and Hannah and she loved Mr. Seever. Yet a small piece of her heart held back. What she was waiting for she didn’t know. Another reminder he’d not run. Her greatest fear was being tossed out again. Unable to legally marry, their relationship became all the more perilous.
She needed to make sure Mr. Seever would always be there for her.
*
The sunlight filtering through the curtains woke Matt. What time was it? He lay still, silent, listening. April clanged pots in the kitchen. It was time to get up. He threw back the sheet and shrugged on his clothes. At least he didn’t have to go to work today and he planned to enjoy his day off with his children.
The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee drew Matt out of his bedroom. He walked quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping children. Peering into the kitchen, he expected to see April standing over the counter; instead she was kneeling by the stove.
In the early morning hour Matt briefly imagined Caroline was the one lighting the stove. He shook his head, letting the crazy notion fall away. Caroline was buried along the side of his house, near what used to be a flower garden.
April was the woman now brightening his home. “Would you like me to fetch you some more kindling?” Matt asked.
“Oh.” April jumped to her feet, her eyes wide.
“You’re adorable when you’re surprised.”
She looked away sheepishly, glancing at the near empty wood rack. “More kindling would be appreciated, sir. Thank you.”
He headed out the door, hoping the fresh air would clear his mind. He wanted to spend the day with the children, enjoying the waning days of summer.
“I have the day off,” he told the children at the breakfast table. “Seeing as how it is a sunny day how would you like to go swimming?”
“Swimming!” Hannah and Seth said at the same time.
“We haven’t gone swimming in a long time,” Seth said. “I can’t wait.”
“Me too,” Hannah said. “Can April go with us, Papa?”
Matt saw April tense. Did she not like the idea? “Sure, she can come with us if she wants,” he said, not looking at her.
“Yay!” Hannah said, bouncing her hand up and down on the table until her bite of flapjack fell off her fork.
Matt laughed. It was good to see them happy already and they hadn’t even made it down to the water yet.
April didn’t say yea or nay. She ate her breakfast and then cleaned off the table and started washing the dishes. Maybe she intended to stay at home cleaning house, doing anything to avoid spending more time with him nearly naked.
“Will you come with us, Miss April?” Hannah asked. “Please.”
“Yes,” April said. “I will come with you and watch you swim.”
Matt bit his tongue to keep from smiling. Hannah was hard to resist. For once it worked in his favor. He held open the door and Hannah and Seth bounded down the porch steps, barely able to control their energy.
April came outside, wearing her bonnet and holding Seth’s hat and Hannah’s bonnet. “Children, come here,” she called. “It is a long walk to the water.”
The children grumbled but complied.
“I wish I had a wagon, Miss April,” Matt said. He frowned. “My brother says I’m not good for much.”
“That’s not true!” April said.
Both of Matt eyebrows rose. He hadn’t expected her to come to his defense. He knelt and tied Hannah’s bonnet. “I don’t mind the simple life I live. I have everything I need right here.” He gave Hannah a gentle squeeze and then stood and hugged Seth.
“Love you, too, Papa,” Seth said, clearly uncomfortable by the big show of affection.
The four of them walked down the waterfront. For a moment Matt eyed the docked steamboat wishing he could take another trip down the Mississippi.
“Are the children good swimmers?” April asked.
“Yes. Both of them.”
“Even little Hannah knows how to swim?”
Matt nodded. “I worked on the water. We live near the water. I taught them both when they were three.” Matt led them to a bend shaded by cottonwoods, making sure the current wasn’t swift. “Don’t go in before me,” he warned.
“Yes, Papa,” Seth said.
Matt shucked his clothes down to his long johns. Seth and Hannah stripped to their underclothes. Matt wadded into the water and waved for the children to join them. With Hannah on one side and Seth on the other the three of them walked deeper into the river. It wasn’t long before it was too deep for the children.
“Show me how you can swim,” Matt said. Seth dove under the water, surfaced and then started pushing with his arms and kicking his feet.
“He got me wet!” Hannah whined.
“You have to get wet to swim,” Matt said.
“I know. But he didn’t need to splash me.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean to.”
Hannah lay on her back and floated near him. “Can you switch to your stomach?”
She took a deep breath and rolled over. Running out of air she floated on her back again.
“Good job, honey. That’s far enough Seth. Come on back.”
Seth groaned and swam back to him. “You’re no fun.”
Matt splashed his son. “We’ll see about that.” He turned and saw April still standing on the bank. “Do you know how to swim?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you join us?”
She glanced around. “Are you sure no one else will see me?”
“The trees provide a nice cover. If anyone comes you can hide behind me.”
She continued to hesitate, her eyes roaming his bare chest.
Hot blood rushed in his veins. If she joined him in the river the water might sizzle.
“Just for a little bit,” she said.
Matt silently cheered.
April stood behind the trees and lowered her dress.
Matt turned to his children, prying his eyes away from her. She came out from the cover wearing nothing, but her chemise. The material revealed the peaks of her nipples. That alone made him half-hard and she hadn’t even gotten wet.
She joined him in the river, swimming on her back with an occasional stroke. Her bosom rose out of the water, her black hair framing her face. He wanted to swim next to her, but he had to keep an eye on the children. Her tricky smile told him she knew he was stuck in place, supervising Seth and Hannah.
April circled around back to him and then stood, her wet hair falling across her back. “Ahh, it is nice to feel the cool water caressing my skin.”
Her sensual words heated his blood. He wanted to caress her body. Damn was she trying to drive him crazy?
*
April delighted in the feel of the water running over her skin like silk. Mr. Seever’s gaze filled with desire. The lukewarm water helped ease the fire in her veins. Those sultry emerald eyes got to her every time. He wanted her. Knowing she had that effect on him gave her a thrill. She had been playing coy long enough. Keeping her distance tortured both of them.
“I’ve always enjoyed swimming. It is freeing,” Mr. Seever said.
“Yes. We’re all equal in the water,” April said. “The water doesn’t care who you are it treats you just the same.” She wrapped her warms around her chest.
“I suppose you’re right.” Matt glanced at her and frowned for a second clearly not happy she’d covered herself. It had nothing to do with him. She just didn’t feel comfortable this underdressed out in the open.
“Caroline loved the water. She wanted to live near the water. I guess that was one reason I started working on a steamboat. Being on the water all the time made me feel closer to her somehow.”
She understood that sentiment, the need. “I’m sorry I wasn’t understanding before. I realize you’ll always have feelings for her.” She brushed his arm, her damp fingers wetting his skin. “Whenever you look at Seth and Hannah you’ll think of her.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Yes.”
“A little piece of your heart will always belong to Caroline. I just hope the rest of your heart will belong to me.”
Mr. Seever’s mouth gaped. “You mean…?”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Yes, April. The rest of my heart belongs to you. I promise.” His warm breath brushed against her face, his raspy voice stirring her desires.
April’s whole body tingled. She wished he could whisk her back to the house to his bed and they could show each other just how much they loved each other. “Good,” she said, giving him an enticing smile.
For once in her life she thought the same thing. Her life seemed near perfect.
She watched the children, scolding herself for not paying close attention to them. It only took a moment for disaster to strike—especially in the water. “Seth and Hannah enjoy swimming, too. I see.”
“Yes, they do.” They watched Hannah standing in the shallow water, splashing and giggling. Seth was swimming as fast as he could away from him. The boy was showing off. “Seth!” Mr. Seever shouted, “Don’t go out too far.”
The boy had his head in the water and didn’t hear him. He finally stopped swimming and treaded water, his eyes wide seeing how far he was from shore.
Mr. Seever waved for him to come back. The boy started swimming toward him, but halfway there he disappeared.
April screamed until her throat turned sore and she ran out of breath. Her heart jumped into her throat. Ever since Billy had sneaked outside and climbed the tree she told him not to, she’d been terrified about losing another child. Billy’s still body lying on the ground, his neck broken from the fall continued to haunt her. She couldn’t bear burying another boy.
Seth couldn’t die. He couldn’t drown.
Mr. Seever dove into the water and swam after his son, his powerful arms plowing through the water, feet kicking to propel him faster.
Seth pushed himself to the surface, gasping. A few more minutes. Just hold on. April wanted to shout to the boy, encourage him, but the words would not come. Terror seized her voice.
Mr. Seever hadn’t hesitated an instant, swimming hard to save his son.
She loved him, loved all of them. There was no way she could leave now. Please Lord, save Seth. I want to be his mother. Watching Matt, she knew she wouldn’t be happy with any man, but him.
*
Seth! Oh God, no. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Matt swam as fast as he could, eyes glued on his son, willing him to stay above water.
“Hang in there, son!” Matt shouted.
Seth sunk under the waves again.
Pulse roaring in his ears, Matt drew a deep breath and dove after him. He wrapped his arms around the boy’s slender frame and dragged him above the water.
Matt swam on his back, carrying Seth with him, paddling through the water with one hand and all the leg strength he could muster. In his grasp his son looked so small, so weak, fright glazed across his face.
Once in the shallows, Matt picked Seth up out of the water and carried him to shore, setting him on the bank.
“Papa,” Seth gasped. “My leg.”
Matt knelt and massaged the cramp out of Seth’s right leg. Thank you, Lord. He couldn’t lose his son. Not after just getting over Caroline’s death. “You swam out too far.”
“I know,” Seth said in a raspy voice. “I was so tired and then my leg.” Tears dampened his eyes. “I’m sorry.” The boy stuck out his bottom lip and sobbed.
“It is all right, son.” Matt pulled Seth to him for a hug. “I’ll always be there for you. That’s my job.”
He looked over at April and Hannah’s concerned faces. “Perhaps we should play on land for a while and dry out.”
Hannah didn’t complain. Her and Seth lay on their stomachs on the bank and pointed at the small fish swimming by.
“I wish I had a fishing pole,” Hannah said.
Matt laughed. “Those baby fish aren’t worth eating. Maybe we can go fishing next time.”
“Next time I’ll make a basket and we can have a picnic.” April had pulled her dress over her wet chemise, hiding her lovely curves. Still, the cotton clung to the wet material, molding to her body.
Matt felt guilty about imagining her naked after his son’s close call. But she’d just admitted her feelings for him. Riding the high of her love and ensuring Seth’s safety made his head fuzzy. Although subsiding, adrenaline continued to mix in his blood. This had been one hell of an outing.
“I’ve never had a picnic,” Hannah said.
Matt frowned. The children had missed out on a lot with him working on the Queen Bee. Now though, April was in their lives. And she was here to stay.
“A picnic,” Seth said. “That reminds me how hungry I am.”
“I’m sure you children worked up an appetite.” April still loo
ked shaken, but forced a smile. “Let’s head home and you and your sister can each have a piece of shortcake.”
“Shortcake before the noon meal?” Hannah asked.
Matt ran his hand over her wet hair. “Sometimes, if you are lucky, dessert is a meal.”
He smiled at April. At that moment, he felt like the four of them were a family.
Chapter 17
Ever since they’d gone swimming, April relaxed around Mr. Seever. He was a good father. He really cared about his children. And he cared about her. No longer trying to keep Mr. Seever at arm’s length, the house seemed homier. Her days were filled with pleasantness and joy. She didn’t mind the chores or chasing after Seth and Hannah. This was the life she always wanted. The two children now seemed like her own.
April put a hand on her stomach. She hadn’t had a cycle in one month. The baby growing inside her truly made them a family. He would see to the needs of her baby as well.
She made a cup of tea for herself and then put on the coffee for Mr. Seever. In the mornings she let the children sleep in a bit to give herself a few moments of peace.
Humming, she started making breakfast. She was so happy she couldn’t keep quiet. She touched her cheek. Was she glowing? Mr. Seever hadn’t said anything. Maybe women could only pick up on those things.
A few minutes later, Mr. Seever entered the kitchen and April poured him a cup of coffee. “I have something to tell you.”
“What is that?” he asked and then took a drink.
“I’m pregnant.”
Mr. Seever choked on the liquid. “We’re going to have a baby?”
“Yes,” April said, putting a hand on her stomach. “Yes, we are.”
At first the shock in his eyes worried her, but it faded and he beamed.
“I couldn’t be happier, April.”
She grinned and felt warm all over. “Me neither. I’ve wanted to be a mother for a long time. I’ve been taking care of children all these years wondering if I’d ever have my own.”
He downed the rest of his coffee, and then gave her a big hug. “I wish I could stay home with you today and celebrate,” he said, unwrapping his embrace, “but I promised Boyd I’d show up early today.”
“Oh. So no breakfast?”
Midnight Kiss (Moonlight Romance) Page 11