“He must have fixed up his shoulder without help, Simon,” the sheriff said quietly. “The doctor says he never came by to have him look at it.”
Charlie was discouraged, angry and certainly not anxious to have Grace hear he’d come up empty-handed. He’d as much as said he would put Kenny in jail, and now he was in a position he dreaded.
Simon called to the kitchen for Grace to come into the parlor, and when she appeared in the doorway, Charlie rose to his feet. “Miss Benson.” His greeting was quiet, his tone dark, and Grace sought Simon’s gaze.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing that things were not as they should be.
“I fear I have disturbing news, ma’am,” Charlie said quietly. “I couldn’t find hide nor hair of Kenny Summers today. He seems to have found a hidey-hole and no one knows where it might be. I’m depending on Simon to look after you, Grace. Don’t be going out on your own until we find the Summers fella.”
Grace nodded her consent to his instructions and the sheriff took his leave, Simon seeing him to the door.
He came back to where Grace sat, her hands in her lap, her eyes bent downward to the floor, and with a deep sigh, he sat beside her, yearning to touch her, yet fearful of frightening the girl with the depth of his feelings. But lest she think he didn’t care for her, that his words to her on the back porch didn’t hold much water, he touched her cheek, bending to kiss her temple as he begged her to meet his gaze.
“Please, Grace. Look at me. I can’t stand to see you so discouraged and sad.” His hands were warm against her cold fingers and he drew them into his palms gently, lifting them carefully to his lips, where his mouth rested against her hands.
“Forgive me if I’m being too forward, Grace, but I want you to lean on me, to trust me. I see a definite problem, though, with you being here for so long a time. We don’t have any choice about you staying, and I wouldn’t have it otherwise. But I fear we may have to solve the dilemma rather quickly, lest there be a scandal involving your presence here. I think we need to consider marriage so that I can watch over you as a husband. It will resolve the situation…and give you the protection of my name.”
She was silent and her hands formed fists within his palms. “Simon, I’m happy to be in your home. I wouldn’t cause you any sort of problem with your congregation, not for the world. But marriage is a step I’m not really ready to consider right now. Ethel is kind to me and I’m safe here. I feel so comfortable with you and I trust you more than I can say. All of that means more to me than I can tell you. But I don’t like to think of you offering yourself as a solution to my problems. I don’t even know if I’d be a fit wife for a minister. I’m young and inexperienced and I don’t know a whole lot about your work. And my experience with Kenny might not look good to the folks in the church.”
“Grace, I don’t like to be rushing you, but I don’t think we have a lot of choice in the timing of this.” He enclosed her hands tightly in his as he stood, tugging her to stand before him, one arm moving to circle her waist loosely. “You need to know that the kisses we’ve shared already mean we are well on our way to a formal betrothal, Grace. l think, under the circumstances, another kiss now will effectively seal our intentions.”
Grace tilted her head back a bit, looking up into his eyes, feeling bewildered at his words, but willing to follow his lead in this. She felt a flush climb her cheeks again as his gaze touched upon her features, then dropped to where her dress clung to the lush lines of her breasts. He bent to her and his lips touched hers lightly, then as she returned the faint pressure of his kiss, he held her tighter, his other arm enclosing her in a firm embrace, clasping her closer to his broad chest.
His mouth was circumspect, his kiss not trespassing beyond her lips, and he lifted his head after long moments to meet her gaze once more. “You’re a wonderful woman, Grace. Please say you’ll be my bride. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to our marriage.”
“All right, Simon, I’ll marry you,” she whispered.
From the kitchen came the sound of Ethel’s voice calling her name, and Grace stepped back from him, her fingers spread wide against the rosy skin of her cheeks.
“I’m here in the parlor, ma’am. I’ll be right out,” she called in answer.
Simon followed her to the kitchen and Ethel smiled at them both. “I’m going to my room now. If you need me, just give a holler and I’ll be right handy.”
Simon spoke up. “I think Grace and I are going to sit out on the back porch for a while, Ethel. We’ve got some things to talk about, and perhaps we need to include you in the plans we’re making.”
“What are you plotting, Simon?” Ethel’s arch gaze touched on Grace and then her smile widened to a grin as she returned her attention to Simon.
“I’ve been in the process of coaxing Grace to be my wife, Ethel. I’ve met with success and you’re the first to know.”
“Well, I’ll be doggoned. Can’t say I’m real surprised, but I’m sure pleased as punch. You know you’re going to get tongues wagging, soon as the word gets out.”
Simon laughed, drawing Grace close with the arm he’d wrapped around her waist. “They’ll all be tickled to death, as will my family. The men on my church board have been steering me in this direction and my mother will think her dreams have come true.”
“Don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep with all this going around in my head,” Ethel said happily as she hugged Grace on her way out of the room.
“I think she approves,” Grace said in a whisper, her blush radiant.
Simon opened the screen door and led her to the porch. “I wouldn’t be a bit surprised,” he told her. “Now, shall we take a walk through the apple trees out back?”
Chapter Four
“Could we stroll through the gate and down to the river?” Grace asked. “It’s only a hundred feet or so and the moonlight should be pretty, shining on the water.” She was much shorter than he, and her head tilted back as she looked up into his eyes. He caught up her hand again and placed it on his arm, then they turned together, walking slowly toward the apple orchard, where blossoms scented the air.
The grass was tall and the evening dew hung on each blade, but Grace was uncaring of damp shoes or hems. That she was walking with Simon in the moonlight was a joyous occasion, for she had all but agreed to his plan for her future.
They strolled together beneath the trees, both silent as though being together was enough to occupy their thoughts. The gate stood wide at the foot of the orchard and they passed through it, their steps taking them to where the stream flowed by on its way to the larger river outside of town.
Simon looked down at Grace, captured by the fragile line of her profile, certain he could make out a faint blush on her cheek as her fingers tightened a bit on his forearm. His words were soft, spoken near her ear as he bent to her.
“I’ve been thinking of you almost constantly today. In fact, almost since the first time I laid eyes on you,” he said quietly, noting the quiver of her eyelashes as she shot a quick look in his direction.
“And what have you been thinking?”
“That I enjoy your company and looking at you. And now it seems I’m to spend my entire lifetime with you. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”
She halted and her hand lifted to touch her lips. “Simon, until now I hadn’t thought of marriage in a positive way. Uncle Joe was so dead set on me settling down that I turned rebellious and was unwilling to consider it. But when you put it that way, that you’re happy to spend your life with me, I feel like a woman who’s been given a glorious gift. It all takes on a different light.” And then she smiled at him, looking him full in the face.
“I’ve never had thoughts of a man in my life before. Not like this, anyway. In fact, I’m embarrassed to admit how much…” She was silent then, as if she were unable to continue.
He felt an upwelling of emotion within him that was surprising, for he’d never ached for another woman as
he did for Grace. His arms sought her lithe form and he held her close to him, carefully, as though he would not frighten her, and he dropped his head to leave a quick kiss upon her forehead. She caught her breath and shivered at the brush of his lips against her skin, then lifted her hands to his chest, her fingers clenching the fine cotton of his shirtfront.
It seemed to be enough encouragement for Simon, for he bent to her again. He was tall, his shoulders wide beneath the shirt he wore, his jacket fitting snugly across the wide lines of his back, and she felt suddenly very small before him, as though his greater size had made her own slender form more pronounced. Feminine was the word she thought of as she leaned into his body a bit, not wanting to be forward, yet needing to have the contact with him that had been tempting her for the past few minutes. Beneath her palm his heartbeat was solid, steady, if a bit hurried.
Simon touched her face with his fingertips, his hand cool against the flush of color she knew she wore. Tracing the line of her throat, he lifted his hand to her ear and his index finger touched the pulse that beat beneath it. It fluttered against his sensitive fingertip and she smiled, recognizing the rapid heartbeat as one that matched his own.
He hadn’t thought to gain so much ground so rap idly with Grace, for he’d expected to spend weeks in taming her to his touch. And now she had responded to him quickly, assuring him that his attraction to her was not a one-sided affair.
“I don’t mean to seem forward, Simon. I’m truly not in the habit of allowing men to hold me this way,” she said quietly, her blue eyes fearless as she met his gaze. “I’ve been known to run the other way when the young men at home came too near in my earlier days.”
He smiled down at her, the moonlight casting an unearthly glow upon her features, and he reveled in the open interest he saw in her expression. “I realize that you’re not accustomed to being the recipient of a man’s hands on you, Grace. I hope you know that I mean only respect and admiration when I touch you. Somehow I can’t resist the need to hold you and kiss you, even though I feared you might be frightened by such intimacy.”
“I’m not sure this is proper, our being so…” She glanced back over her shoulder toward the house, which was at a distance of perhaps a hundred feet or so. “Ethel will be pleased to know that we’re having a wedding soon,” she said.
Simon lifted his gaze and was not surprised to see the kitchen curtains moving a bit, as though some hidden watcher had stepped back from the window. “She’s an ideal chaperone for us. The ladies at church hold her in the highest regard. She’s in charge of the ladies’ society, you know. In fact, she’d like to pass the job along to someone else. She told me that she has enough to do, what with keeping the house up and tending to me. And now, she has another chick to look after.”
“I won’t cause her any work, Simon. I’m willing to do my share of the keeping of your house.”
“I know you are, sweet. But Ethel won’t be happy if she’s not earning her pay.”
He released his hold on Grace’s waist and took her hand in his. They walked back from the stream, through the length of the orchard, speaking quietly of their lives, Simon telling her of his family, she speaking of her own parents and her life with them, then moving on to her uncle and the running of his house.
It was over half an hour later when they found themselves back at the porch and he drew her down again to the steps, his arm around her shoulders as if he would keep her from the chill of the late evening. They were quiet then, their thoughts perhaps on the same track, their hands touching, Simon leaned over to press his lips against her temple and then her cheek, before finally reaching to turn her face toward his, touching her mouth with his own, holding her against his chest. Her breasts were full and lush against him and his mind flew ahead to the nights when he would not leave her at a bedroom door, but instead share his bed with her.
“I think we’d better go in now,” Grace said. “Ethel will be listening for us, I suspect.”
Simon stood and drew her up beside himself. “I think you’re probably right, Grace.” He led her to the door and Grace took off her shoes, for they were damp from the dew. Then they went on through the kitchen to where a lamp awaited them in the hallway. He lifted it and in moments had escorted Grace to her bedroom door, opening it and stepping aside till she went into the room.
Ethel was in the kitchen before Grace arose in the morning, and when Simon entered the room close behind her, the housekeeper asked a quick question.
“Did you have a nice walk last night? I looked out when I came in the kitchen for a glass of water and saw you out in the orchard. And I saw your shoes by the back door, Grace. I’ll bet they were wet with the dew, weren’t they?” she asked, her gaze going from one to the other of them, bringing quick color to Grace’s cheeks once more.
“The moonlight was beautiful, Ethel. You should have stepped outdoors and enjoyed it a bit. Our orchard is lovely this time of year, isn’t it?” Simon asked, skillfully changing the subject, noting Grace’s flustered state.
“We’ll have quite a crop of apples if the bees are any indication,” Ethel said, carrying a platter of bacon and eggs to the kitchen table.
“They didn’t bother us any. They must have all been in the hive,” Grace told her, recognizing that she wouldn’t have noticed if they buzzed around her head, taken as she’d been with Simon’s kisses and his warm embrace.
“I have a couple of calls to make this morning,” Simon said, after asking the blessing on the food and passing the platter to Grace. He waited until Ethel had scooped two eggs onto her plate, then took the remaining three for his breakfast. There was toast and jelly to go with the eggs, and the bacon was fried crisply, just as he liked it. He ate leisurely, thinking of the day he’d planned, then spoke of his fears aloud to his housekeeper.
“I don’t want Grace out of the house alone. The sheriff doesn’t think it’s a good idea for her to walk about town by herself. If you’re going to the store, she might like to go along, but otherwise, she’ll stick close to the house with you, Ethel.”
“I understand the sheriff’s fears. With that nasty fella running loose, it isn’t safe for any young woman to be out on her own, I’d say.”
“Well, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. I’m only going just outside of town to where the Lashley family lives. The missus has been wanting to set a date for the new baby’s christening, and I told Amos I’d drop by and see her for a few minutes. And then I’m going to stop at the Fletcher’s farm and pay a call on the old gentleman. Mr. Fletcher’s father,” he said for Grace’s benefit.
“I’ll be safe here with Ethel,” Grace assured him. She watched as he left the house, standing by the front window, her gaze taken by the straight line of his back, his graceful stride as he went out the gate, toward the livery stable where he would pick up his horse, or perhaps his buggy.
He’d left her with a heaviness in her breast, there where she had pressed herself just for a moment against his broad chest, a yearning in her heart for another touch of those warm lips against her skin, skating over her throat and mouth. He’d enjoyed their kisses last evening, she thought, for he’d left with a touch of arrogance, a jaunty tilt to his hat. And to her surprise, she’d enjoyed the touch of his lips on hers, the feel of his arms around her waist. It apparently depended on the identity of the gentleman when it came to kissing and hugging.
Simon was a man to be reckoned with once he got the bit in his teeth. He’d apparently decided to do some courting, and was heading full steam into his plans for the future. Pleased as she recalled his words, Grace hugged herself, remembering the time they’d spent under the apple trees last evening. Preacher or not, he was a handsome fellow, with eyes that seemed to see into her soul. And wasn’t that a fanciful thought?
Grace turned from the window, making her way back to the kitchen, meeting Ethel’s knowing gaze as she crossed the floor to the pantry.
“You look pretty flustered,” Ethel said with a grin that mad
e her eyes light up with glee.
Grace sat down, her knees suddenly weak beneath her. “He’s wonderful, Ethel. Like no one I’ve ever met, certainly a far cry from the men I’ve been acquainted with in the past. He has…” She hesitated for a long moment, as if the words she sought were just out of reach. “He has a way about him, a kindness you don’t often see in a man, and he’s a gentleman. I’ve known other men who didn’t fit that description and seemed to be interested in me only because they thought I was pretty. That’s not enough for me.”
“It shouldn’t be enough, and not just for you, but for any woman out looking over the current crop of men,” Ethel retorted.
Grace felt her mouth tilt in a smile, one she could not have kept inside had she tried. “To answer your question, I think our friendship has become courtship, and Simon is a determined man, Ethel. A wedding is the next step.”
“I’m not surprised, child. Simon needs a wife, both as a man and a minister. And I’m not a bit surprised that he chose you to fill that place in his life.” She held out her arms to Grace and held her close, patting her back and blinking back tears of joy.
“I’d like to cook for him tonight,” Grace said, thinking of the ham in the pantry just crying for the oven. “Maybe I’ll cut up some potatoes and onion and fix ham casserole.”
Indeed, Simon was pleased at the dinner Grace put together, and he and his housekeeper exchanged a significant look over the steaming dish Grace carried to the table.
“Grace and I are having a good time together, Simon,” Ethel said, serving herself once Simon had taken a share from the platter. She gave him an amused glance. “I’m glad you’re planning on keeping her around.”
Saving Grace Page 5