“Hmm …” The captain rubbed the backs of his knuckles beneath his chin. Was he actually thinking about her girlish ideas? He certainly didn’t appear to be on the brink of a good laugh as many men would be, men like Mr. Everett.
“You could even build your house into the hill and have a natural root cellar in which you could store your preserves and your late harvest of fall vegetables, such as squash and potatoes.” Another idea struck. “Why, Captain, you could build a poop deck on your roof and entertain guests there. Just think of the views!”
His chuckle sounded like it came from deep inside. “A poop deck on my castle, eh?”
Lily smiled and shrugged.
“As creative and tempting as it is, Miss Laughlin, I don’t believe your idea will work. I need ample space for my barn and stable and a yard for the animals. If I build up here, there won’t be room. My property ends at the eastern foot of this hill.”
“Well, you won’t want to live downstream from your barnyard, sir.”
The captain’s brow furrowed. “Good point.”
“Besides, there is already a barn and stable standing, although they have been neglected for more than a decade. After Mama died, Papa lost interest in farming and set his sights on various other opportunities. Little by little he sold off the remainder of his animals, saying it was easier to purchase milk, beef, and pork from the neighbors.”
With his hands on his hips, the captain’s gaze took in the surrounding field and woods. “So where is this barn?”
Lily pointed southward. “On the other side of the creek.” She stared up at him and noticed she stood eyelevel with his broad shoulders. “Have you not seen the stone bridge?”
“I have not, and I thought I walked the perimeter a couple of days ago.” He arched a brow. “However, I did get somewhat distracted.”
Lily didn’t know whether to slap him or laugh. Her face flamed, and not even a gust of wind cooled it.
“Forgive my teasing, Miss Laughlin. If you haven’t already guessed, I possess a wicked sense of humor.”
“Wicked indeed, sir, for your remark pains me. The incident of our first meeting has kept me awake for the better part of the past two nights. I fear that my reputation will soon be ruined.”
“I told you that I will never betray you. My word is good.”
“Is it? Your humor, as you call it, tells me I cannot trust you.”
Lily took three strides toward home, intent on leaving the man to discover the barn on his own, but the captain’s hand clamped around her wrist. His hold on her seemed both gentle and determined.
“Forgive me, Miss Laughlin. I had no idea my teasing caused you pain. Please believe that I wouldn’t have dared such a remark if anyone else was present.” The soft lines around his eyes and the intensity of his swarthy gaze beseeched her. “I promise I will not tease you in that manner or mention our initial meeting again. Will that put your mind at ease?”
Lily worked the inside of her bottom lip between her teeth as she wondered whether to believe him. She prayed the Holy Spirit would guide her, as He alone had heard her sobbing when Oliver was killed.
And then to discover that he’d played her for a fool … It was all too much.
But this man was not Oliver, and Lily supposed he deserved his own chance at earning her trust.
But could she afford to give it to him?
Did she really have a choice? He could at any time tell the tale of catching her in the most immodest display, and she’d be ruined.
The captain brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her gloved fingers. “Truly, I am sorry for embarrassing and wounding you. It won’t happen again.”
His words seemed most sincere, and she believed him. “I accept your apology.” It would be unchristian to do otherwise.
“Then we are friends again?”
“Friends?” Every taut muscle in Lily’s body unwound and relaxed. So he just wanted his neighbor to be his friend. Certainly, she could grant him that much. “Yes, we are friends.”
“Good.” He smiled, revealing a strong set of teeth and brightening his entire countenance.
Lily tipped her head. “You should smile more often, Captain. It does you credit.”
“Then I would say your friendship brings out the better man in me.”
She rolled her eyes at his flattery. “Shall I show you the stone bridge? My father had the same mason who built the foundation of our home construct it.”
“Yes, please, Miss Laughlin. Lead on.”
Mac crossed the bridge behind Miss Laughlin, trying to recall the last time he felt as bad for injuring someone else’s feelings as he did about hurting hers. Perhaps it was the brutally honest way in which she addressed him. A man knew just where he stood with Lily Laughlin. No coyness. No games or trickery such as were found in the parlors of unattached females. Only blatant honesty.
Like Mary …
She stopped in the middle of the bridge. “Isn’t this lovely? I know for sure it holds a pony, a cart, and a little girl.” Her eyes twinkled.
“The princess?” His remark earned him one of Miss Laughlin’s bright smiles. Dapples of sunlight filtered through overhanging tree branches and danced on the top of her bonnet. The latter’s yellow ribbon matched the color of the curls framing her lovely face. “Lead on, Your Royal Highness.”
The dimple in her cheek winked at him before she turned and led him across the stone overpass.
“Take heed, Captain, this bridge is quite slippery in the winter.”
“Noted.” He could see how the uneven footbridge could easily ice over. Its sides came only as high as Mac’s boots. They would hardly prevent a man from toppling over into the creek if he slipped and stumbled backward.
Leaning over the side, Mac saw straight down to the creek’s bottom. Fish swam by, trout by the looks of them. Yes, he could subsist off his newly acquired property, especially with such amiable neighbors.
He followed Miss Laughlin to the other side of the creek. After pushing aside low-hanging tree branches and tall shrubbery, they stepped into a vast clearing, albeit a very overgrown one. As she said, the barn was badly weathered, but erect from this vantage point. Corrals that had seen better days divided up the rest of the property.
“I did not see this before.” Mac wondered how he could have missed it, although he had glimpsed the copse of fruit trees nearer to the road on this side of Cedar Creek.
He strode to one of the wooden fence posts and found it so rotted that a kick from the bottom of his booted foot toppled it and broke it into pieces, scattering hundreds of small bugs.
“As I said, it needs much work.” Miss Laughlin’s voice trailed off while an unmistakable apology creased her forehead.
“I’m grateful to have something to work with.”
“But perhaps not.” She directed his attention to the barn. “It appears the roof has collapsed.”
Mac fought his way through the tall grass and weeds and even saplings before reaching the barn. He stopped and Miss Laughlin smacked into his backside.
“I beg your pardon.” He faced her. “I didn’t realize you’d followed—and so closely behind me.”
“Again, my apologies.” She stared up at him with wide, azure eyes. “But you see, my brothers were wrong. I am afraid of something.”
“Oh?” Mac put his hands on his hips.
“Snakes.” She glanced all around them before bringing her gaze back to his. “When you said you teased your sisters …” She heaved a sigh. “I could only feel immensely sorry for them.”
Mac laughed. “Your little brothers haven’t tormented you with a snake yet?”
“Oh, yes, they have. But I pretended to be unaffected.” Another glance at the thigh-high grasses. “So now you know a second secret.”
“I’ll carry it to my grave.” His right hand over his heart, Mac succumbed to a grin. “But fear not, Your Royal Highness, I suspect the snakes heard us coming and slithered away.”
She moaned and her frown deepened. If she didn’t appear so genuinely stricken, Mac would have continued with his trek. Then, again, she didn’t wear tall boots. Her leather shoes with their ribbons that crisscrossed at her ankles wouldn’t be much protection against a copperhead or timber rattlesnake.
He scooped her up into his arms and she gave a startled cry. “Whatever are you doing?”
“Protecting you from snakes.” He caught her scent, one that reminded him of fragrant wildflowers. “They can’t sprout wings or grow legs, so you are safe in my arms.” Her lack of protest made Mac chuckle, and he couldn’t deny the enjoyment of feeling her arm around his neck and her lithe body pressed against his chest.
He strode toward the barn. The door stood ajar. Mac kicked it open wider, and sounds of scurrying critters reached his ears. Hay particles drifted downward from the sloping loft, shimmering in the many shafts of sunlight. Above, he could see the sky where the roof had caved on the far side of the structure.
Miss Laughlin sighed in his arms. “It’s worse than I imagined.” She turned her head to look at him, obviously forgetting their faces were but mere inches apart.
Mac suddenly ached to kiss her. All that prevented him from doing so was the glimmer of innocence in her blue eyes. But then she confused him by touching his whiskered jaw.
“You’re a very handsome man, Captain Albright.” They weren’t exactly words of an innocent. He frowned. Or were they?
“You’re quite lovely yourself, Miss Laughlin. However, if you keep up this discussion, you’re liable to get yourself kissed.”
She gasped. “Oh! No, I didn’t mean …” Roses bloomed in her cheeks, and Mac couldn’t recall feeling more amused. Perhaps naive better described Lily Laughlin. “Forgive me for my unladylike behavior.” She tipped her head. “As for your good looks, surely, you must hear compliments all the time.”
“On the contrary. I receive innuendos galore, but I find that I much prefer your directness to gestures behind fluttering fans at stuffy galas.” The urge to kiss her was steadily increasing and becoming more difficult to ignore. “Besides, we men are beasts who require our fiery egos to be frequently stoked.”
“I shall remember that, sir.” The tips of her full lips lifted and tempted him further.
Had she no idea of her effect on him, or was she a practiced flirt?
An odd sensation at his feet caused Mac to turn and glance at the dirt floor. A fat snake slithered across the toe of his boot. Miss Laughlin spotted the reptile and inhaled sharply. Her grip around his neck tightened until Mac could barely take in air.
“It’s a harmless black racer,” he managed to eke out.
She loosened her hold on him.
“Look. He’s already disappeared into the shadows.”
“Harmless, perhaps, but quite bold.”
“A bit like you, perhaps.”
Her blue eyes turned to ice. “You compare me to a reptile, sir?”
He winced. “Poor attempt at humor.”
“Ah, well, the likes of failed humor have happened to me too, although I am quite harmless.”
He wondered. Miss Laughlin’s pretty pout and arresting blue eyes might convince a man to head toward the altar.
But not him!
Another of Miss Laughlin’s gasps claimed his attention. “Don’t move a muscle.” Her warm breath tickled his neck. “There is a skunk over there.”
Without a muscle twitching, Mac slid his gaze to his left. Sure enough. The black-and-white furry creature watched them through beady dark eyes.
Mac stepped backward slowly. If he could just reach the entryway without the skunk turning on them …
Two more measured paces and Mac’s shoulders touched the door. He formulated a plan then held Miss Laughlin closer so he could whisper it to her. “On three, I will set you down and you will run like the wind toward the stone bridge. Understand?”
She replied with a slight nod.
“One,” Mac whispered, “two … three.”
In a single, fluid move, he set Miss Laughlin’s feet on the ground and jumped back. Then he kicked the barn door closed before dashing behind her across the long grass and through the brush. They stopped only when they reached the center of the stone bridge.
She sounded breathless, and her bonnet had fallen backward, revealing her glorious golden hair. “Captain, I believe we came away from that encounter unscathed, from both snakes and skunks.”
“I believe you are correct.” Mac bent forward and placed his hands above his knees. The short sprint had winded him, but within moments his breathing returned to normal.
Miss Laughlin lowered herself onto the side of the bridge and placed her delicate right hand above her heart. “I haven’t run like that since springtime when I chased Jonah through the yard after he refused to come in for the night.”
Mac grinned. “It’s been a while for me also.” He sat down beside her. “So let me get this straight. Princesses sprint?”
His jest earned him a playful jab in the ribs.
They quieted, and nature’s cacophony settled around them. Noisy tree frogs croaked while insects hummed and buzzed and birds chirped. Subtle splashes in the creek hinted at the presence of fish, and in the far distance, musical notes from Blake’s squeeze-box drifted to them on the warm breeze.
“This is a beautiful place.” Mac watched the dappled sunshine twirl on top of Miss Laughlin’s silken head.
“Yes, and truth to tell, I shall miss it.”
Mac stopped himself before asking why. Of course she referred to his purchase of her property. “You, Miss Laughlin, are welcome here any time.”
“Thank you.” She took to studying the toes of her soft suede shoes.
Mac cupped her chin. Her misty gaze met his.
“I fear I’m being foolishly sentimental.” She blinked as if repelling tears. “Who can really possess land? God is supreme owner of all the earth.”
“Miss Laughlin, you are a friend and—”
“Then you must call me Lily.”
“Lily …” He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. “And you must call me Mac.”
“Captain Mac?”
“Just Mac.” He lowered his hand. “I’m no longer a sea captain, except in formal circumstances.”
“Will you miss being a sailor?”
“Not a bit. I’m a landlubber through and through.” Leaning forward, his forearms on his knees, he rubbed his palms together. “Should a wave of nostalgia wash over you or any member of your family, you’re more than welcome to come and sit on the stone bridge, fish in the creek, or take an afternoon b—”
“Don’t you dare say it!” Her eyes became narrowed slits.
“An afternoon swim.” He grinned.
“Hmph!” She jerked her chin. “I know what you were going to say.”
“But I refrained.” He chuckled and her displeasure at him vanished.
“I can’t stay miffed at you when your smile is so … transforming.”
“Ah, so the princess reveals her weakness to the rapscallion.” He arched one brow. “How very unwise of you. I might be tempted to take advantage of it.”
“But you won’t.”
The confidence gleaming in her eyes was surprising. Did she believe in him more than he believed in himself?
She shouldn’t.
“Lily, I confess that I’m not the gentleman you might think I am.”
“I know.” She folded her hands in her lap. “The war changed everyone in some way.”
He sent her a side glance. “I gather from what Jonah blurted last night that you lost your true love in the war.”
“Yes, but as it happens, Oliver Ashton wasn’t mine alone, even though he led me to believe otherwise.” She clenched her hands. “Oliver was paying court to most of the young ladies here in Middletown. His dalliances were uncovered after his death, so I had plenty of young ladies with whom to commiserate.”
“He tricked you?” Mac grimaced. “You dese
rve better.”
“Thank you.” She unclenched her hands and rubbed her palms along the printed fabric of her skirt. “But it’s over and done with and of no importance now.”
Mac’s gut clenched.
“Why are you not a gentleman, sir?”
Mac took in her expression, her interested gaze and slightly parted lips, and settled on revealing half the truth. “I had a true love too.” The words seemed to come from another entity and not from his own mouth. “Her name was Mary and, although we never spoke of love and marriage, I planned to ask her father for her hand after the war. But when I returned to Virginia last year, I learned she had died while I was at sea.” What he refused to say was that Mary’s brother Henry was one of the crewmen who was forced to walk the plank after the British frigate took command of his vessel. The Hanovers said they would never forgive Mac for returning home while their son did not.
“How terribly sad.”
“She died without knowing I planned to come back for her. No understanding between us was ever discussed.” He sank his gaze into Lily’s blue eyes. “That is one of my deepest regrets.”
She placed her hand over his.
Mac pulled away. “I don’t want your pity.”
“And I’m not giving it.” She sat straighter with hands folded in her lap once again. “I only meant to show you some kindness and understanding.”
“Thank you.” He regretted his harshness. “Kindness and understanding have become foreign to me, but, ironically, they are exactly what I need.”
“It’s my hope that you find a renewed sense of happiness here in the Shenandoah Valley. Did you know the native Indians call the valley ‘the Daughter of the Stars’?”
“No, I did not.” It didn’t escape Mac’s notice that she’d changed the subject. His shoulders sagged forward. Seemed Lily Laughlin wasn’t a stone-throwing Christian. Could it really be possible that she understood—and cared?
My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley Page 6