A Tender Moment Under the Stars: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book

by Grace Clemens

  “Look at you. Cute, cute, cute.”

  Solomon laughed softly. “Well, thank you, my dear. I appreciate that. It means a lot coming from you.”

  “I hope we have a baby that cute.” The words came out before she could grab them back. She flushed to her roots, feeling the burn in her cheeks.

  “I…like the sound of that.” She could tell by his voice he was as surprised she’d said that, too.

  She turned her eyes slowly to him first before turning her whole body. “How many bedrooms does this cabin have?”

  “It has two,” Solomon replied, looking relieved that she’d changed the subject. “It was built one for me and one for Pa when we came to hunt or vacation.”

  “Can I see them?”

  “Of course.”

  She followed him down the short hall, which had two doors on the right side. He opened the first one and let her look inside. It was very nicely furnished. She was beginning to think this was more of a vacation home than a hunting cabin. She suspected hunters weren’t as delicate with their decorations and cleanliness. She was willing to bet a bloody deer had never been dragged into the living room of that cabin.

  “This is the room we will use,” Solomon said softly. When she glanced at him, he was looking around. “It’s bigger than the other, as you’ll see. The other was obviously mine, as it’s smaller. Pa wasn’t thinking about me growing up, I don’t think.”

  “More like he knew you were going to inherit the cabin one day and take the big room for yourself.” Isabel laughed.

  Solomon was quiet for a moment before he smiled and said, “You know, I think you’re right about that.”

  “Of course, I am,” she said, jovially. “Now show me this other room real quick so we can get to making our list.”

  Solomon laughed with her. “Yes, ma’am!”

  Chapter 24

  Solomon glanced toward the kitchen, where Izzy was slowly walking around, looking in the cabinets, as he proceeded to build a fire. He’d felt a sudden chill and decided they would be there long enough to enjoy a meal and a nice fire before they’d head back to town.

  He stared into the flames as it began to flare up. Things were going as planned so far. Isabel seemed to really like the cabin, which made him very happy.

  He poked at the fire and a log fell to the side just when there was a knock at the door. The coincidence made him momentarily startle and he stood up abruptly. He swept his eyes to the kitchen to look at Izzy, who was staring at the door. She looked at him.

  “Should someone else be coming here?” she asked.

  He shook his head. Curious, he went to the door and pulled it open. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Betty standing in front of him. Not in a good way. He frowned.

  “Betty. What in Heaven’s name are you doing here?”

  Betty smiled at him but all he could think was that she wasn’t supposed to be there. This was his time with Isabel. Betty’s interference was beginning to wear on his nerves. He wished he had it in him to tell her she wasn’t welcome but he couldn’t. Every time he looked at her face, he remembered what they’d had. He didn’t want to feel that way anymore. It felt like he was betraying Isabel every time he even looked at Betty.

  It was something he would have to get over.

  “I didn’t know if you’d be here or not,” she said. “I was taking a walk through the woods and saw the smoke from the chimney. I thought I better stop and make sure it’s you and let you know the weather is turning bad. Probably shouldn’t stay out here much longer.”

  Solomon looked over his shoulder at Isabel, who was standing in the kitchen. He didn’t like the look on her face. This wasn’t going the way he planned and he held Betty accountable for that. What was it about him that made her think he was a puppet on strings controlled by her?

  Betty leaned to the side and looked past him at Isabel. When he turned his eyes back to her, he noticed the look on Betty’s face. He’d known her for so long he could practically hear her thoughts. She hadn’t been walking through the woods. He wondered when he would be at the end of his rope with her.

  “Hello there,” Betty said. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and she pulled out one hand to give Isabel a short wave.

  Solomon stiffened when he felt Isabel brush up next to him. Chills ran over his body. Was he about to see a catfight between the women? How would he feel about two women arguing over him? Would they end up wrestling around on the porch?

  The thought almost made him laugh but the situation was too serious.

  Solomon stepped out onto the porch and walked to the edge to look past the roof at the sky. It was beginning to look dark. But he felt like they had enough time to finish up what they were doing. Unfortunately, the other alternative was to leave now as an excuse to get away from Betty. He wished he could be mean to her but it just wasn’t in him to be that way, no matter how it looked on the outside. He’d used his size as an intimidating factor only a few times in his life. He hadn’t made it a habit and wasn’t about to start with Betty.

  He turned back.

  “I could really use a drink, if that’s okay,” Betty said, her eyes pleading with Solomon. He immediately looked at Isabel, who looked disappointed. Isabel returned his gaze before turning and going back into the cabin. With a sinking heart, Solomon waved at Betty to go in.

  “I’m sure we can find something for you to drink before you go on home. If you came out here to warn us, you shouldn’t be wasting any time yourself.”

  As she went in, Betty said, “I can go back with you two, if you want.”

  “I don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Solomon replied quickly, passing her by and going to the kitchen. He wanted desperately to tell Isabel he didn’t know Betty would show up. He certainly hadn’t invited her. What if that’s what she thought? What if she thought she was being set up by him and Betty to look like a fool?

  He was surprised by the physical pain he felt in his body. He recognized the anger coursing through him but not the fear. He was genuinely afraid Isabel would hate him because of Betty’s constant interference. He’d never been afraid of losing someone before or even caring, really, what people thought of him. He didn’t feel it was any of his business. He was an easy man to get along with and he knew it.

  What Isabel thought of him, however, meant a great deal to him. He wanted to build a relationship with her. How was he supposed to do that with Betty constantly popping up everywhere?

  He stood leaning back on the counter, his arms crossed over his chest, feeling sullen. Isabel got out a cup and used the hand pump by the sink to fill it with water. They were all quiet while she did so. She paused before she held the cup out to Betty, her eyes directly on her.

  Betty smiled and for the first time since she’d arrived, Solomon saw a look of doubt on Betty’s face. She took the cup and sipped from it, her eyes moving back and forth between them.

  “So…” she said. “Is this where you’ll be spending a lot of your time?”

  Solomon wondered why Betty was looking at him with such intensity. He pulled his eyebrows together. “I doubt it very much,” he said, “but we do plan to be here for several weeks after we get married.”

  He studied her face for her reaction to his words. As he expected, she blanched slightly and blinked rapidly as she lowered her head to take another drink. He was about to ask her if she was satisfied enough to get on home when there was a hard knock on the door.

  Once again, Isabel and Solomon shared a surprised look. Solomon looked at Betty. She wasn’t looking at him. She was staring down in her cup as if fascinated by the liquid.

  “Betty?” Solomon was astonished to hear Freddie’s voice. And for the first time in some time, Freddie sounded angry. “Betty! Are you in there?”

  Solomon’s eyes dropped to the doorknob when it was rattled and then turned all the way. Freddie came through the door with one long step, his eyes sweeping around the room and into the kitchen.

 
His face went white and his eyes widened when he saw the three of them. “Oh…oh…” he stammered, freezing with his hand on the doorknob. His eyes moved from one to the other. “I…I was…”

  “Freddie,” Solomon said, relief sweeping through him. He closed the distance between the two of them as Freddie took his hat from his head. They shook hands. “Mind telling me what the two of you are doing out in the middle of my woods?”

  “I was in town,” Freddie’s voice took on the angry tone he’d used when calling for Betty. “I saw Betty there.” He gestured with his hat toward the woman. “We both heard about the weather and she ran out saying she needed to warn you.” Freddie shook his head. “Betty, I keep telling you, he doesn’t need you to take care of him anymore. And now you’re here interrupting him and Izzy. You’ve got to stop this, Betty.”

  Betty’s cheeks were aflame. She hadn’t looked up and was still staring into her cup.

  Solomon denied the pity that swept through him for Betty. Instead, he looked at Isabel and lifted his hand to her. “Mighty nice of you to come to warn us, Betty,” he said as Isabel came over to him. She placed her hand in his and looked into his eyes. He didn’t see anger there. He hoped that meant she wasn’t holding him accountable for Betty’s actions. He met Isabel’s eyes. “I think we need to talk alone. Me and Betty. I’m not leaving, I promise. But I think there’s some things we need to discuss that we really haven’t had time to. I hope you understand.”

  Isabel nodded. “I do,” she said softly. “Go ahead. I’m not upset.”

  Her words eased his anxiety some and he moved his eyes to Betty. He jerked his head in the direction of the door. “Come on outside with me for a minute, please, Betty.”

  She’d finally looked up at him. She nodded but looked terribly unhappy as she came toward them, passed, and went out the open front door. Solomon heard a rumble of thunder and looked out at the sky.

  Betty came up beside him as he stood at the edge of the porch, watching the dark clouds rolling in. It probably wasn’t a good idea to stay. In fact, it was probably already too late and the best thing would be to just stay the night. He would have been a lot happier to do that if Betty and Freddie hadn’t shown up. He could have spent the evening bonding with his future wife.

  “Solomon?”

  He looked down at her big brown eyes and sighed.

  Chapter 25

  “You shouldn’t have come,” Solomon said, turning away from the darkened sky. “I really do appreciate that you thought of me and that I might be in danger. But I’m not. And you don’t need to be my guardian. In fact, that’s my job now. With Izzy. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you have to stop doing this. Just like Freddie said.”

  “I’m not trying to cause trouble,” Betty said, her voice smooth. He didn’t know what to think. He wasn’t attracted to her the way he used to be. In fact, he felt safe to say he was over her completely. He still had friendly feelings for her, though, and couldn’t see himself staying angry with her.

  “You may not think you are,” he continued, “but you actually are. You’re causing stress for Isabel.”

  “Isabel is stressed?”

  Solomon didn’t care for the tone of her voice, as if the thought gave her some pleasure. He frowned again, shaking his head. “She has a right to be stressed. She came from an unpleasant situation to my home in order to be taken care of and loved. She doesn’t feel like that right now. I probably wouldn’t either if the prior sweetheart to my future spouse suddenly showed up and wanted a reconciliation.”

  “Who said I wanted a reconciliation?” Betty asked. She wasn’t looking at him when she said it and he didn’t believe the question even came out of her mouth.

  He snorted. “Betty.” He said her name matter-of-factly, staring hard at her.

  She finally turned her eyes to him, lifting her eyebrows. “What? I haven’t asked you for a reconciliation. I was just being me. Like I always was. I haven’t changed.”

  Solomon nodded. “I noticed that. Unfortunately for you, I have. I’ve changed. You changed me. A lot of things changed me. Maybe you should have grown up a little more while you were gone.”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth and he saw the look on her face, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. Betty was too immature to hear the truth.

  “Grown up? Grown up? How can you say such a thing!” Betty glared at him, balling her hands up into fists.

  Solomon was instantly reminded of the last year Betty was in Steven’s Gulch. This was a familiar stance to him and the old feeling of revulsion that they were about to fight filled his stomach, turning it painfully. He grimaced and then frowned. He wasn’t in the mood and did not want to fight with this woman. She was no longer his and he was no longer hers to do this to.

  “No, no, Betty. We aren’t going through all this again. It’s all we talked about before you left and I’m…I’m not willing to go back in time. You’ve been gone for four years. I’m not going to have you coming here and wrecking things for me now. I’ve moved on and I don’t want to deal with any of this anymore. Not from you. You have to understand this. This behavior from you has got to stop now.”

  “But you—”

  Solomon blanched at the hostility in her voice. He held up one large hand, stopping her words. Another flashback went through his mind from before Betty left for school. She’d told him what she’d decided, taking him completely off guard. She’d said she wasn’t ready to get married and wanted to have a few adventures before she settled down. It was a blindsided hit, as far as he was concerned. One day he was struggling along, trying to please her, and the next she’d decided to leave him behind.

  Just for several years, she’d said. Then she’d come back and everything would be the same.

  It had taken Solomon at least two years to heal from the pain she’d caused him. He’d tried to believe her, to imagine when she returned and they would be together and happy.

  But as the years passed, he became resentful toward her. That resentment turned into indifference and then confusion when she returned. The timing of her return wasn’t all that great either.

  Solomon looked over her head to the cabin behind her, picturing Isabel in there talking with Freddie. Hopefully, his best friend would be able to calm Isabel down. She didn’t look particularly angry but he could tell she was upset. He didn’t know her well enough to read her feelings yet.

  His chest was tight with anxiety as he tried to think of the right words to say.

  “I’m in love with Isabel, Betty.”

  Betty looked away, huffing softly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, obviously still upset about his remark. “I don’t see how you could possibly know after only a few days. You hardly even know her. She’s a stranger to you, just like she is to everyone else in town.”

  “Stop, Betty. She’s not a stranger to anyone here anymore. She may have been the first day but that was all it took for her to become part of Steven’s Gulch. Everyone knows she’s here with me. Everyone. You’re only making a fool of yourself persisting with this.”

  Betty scoffed. “I grew up here. No one thinks I’m acting foolish. They all know you and I were together for years. Since we were children! How can you just turn your back on those years?”

  Solomon was astonished by her lack of self-awareness. “You left!” he cried out and then lowered his voice. “You were the one who chose to leave. You chose to turn your back on all those years.”

  She shook her head, her face set. “No, I didn’t. I had to grow and learn. Did you not want me to do that?”

  Solomon felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. How could he get through to her when she seemed to not be listening to a word he said?