She poured some water on a towel and cleaned his face. “See, it’s not so bad.” The plump leech fell off. Cory snatched it off the bed with the towel and dropped it back into the jar.
Tyler leaned on his elbow. “Is that it?”
She secured the lid to the jar. “You want another leech?”
He looked at the trap door. “Captain Donovan said something about a kiss.”
Cory felt her body respond to the deep tone of his voice, urging her to comply. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted Tyler to kiss her. But she worried about where kissing would lead. She wasn’t sure if she could stop herself once she surrendered. “Haven’t you kissed enough women?”
“I didn’t kiss Beth.” He frowned. “And you’re still ahead of me. And I don’t care what you say about it, I’m still counting Douglas.”
Cory carried the jar to the shelf. “What about Reggie? I know she was the first girl you kissed, but when was the last time you kissed her? Maybe you’re ahead of me on number of kisses.”
Tyler stood and tucked in his shirt. “That was it.”
“Not even when you proposed?”
“It was more of an ultimatum than a proposal.”
“How can men be so unromantic?” Cory thought of Douglas and his logic in choosing a wife. She closed the cupboard and secured it.
“We’re beasts.” Tyler closed the small space between them and pressed against her back. His hands encircled her waist. He leaned down, and his lips tugged on her earlobe. “Wild, untamed beasts.”
Cory’s breath caught in her throat. She felt her body tense in anticipation of his lovemaking. What was he doing to her?
“Tame me.” He nuzzled her neck, lingering in one spot and waited.
Her emotions warred between yielding to her immediate desires and resisting his affections in order to spare her heart more pain once he left. He would surely leave to help Noah and Tess, but what about his job with Sam Morris? Was that a temporary repayment of a debt or something more permanent? Did his future plans involve her, or was she deluding herself with romantic dreams? “We need to talk.”
Tyler released her and backed away.
Cory was surprised by his sudden change. He looked hurt.
The trap door opened above them. “We’re coming up on Lock Twenty-four,” Captain Donovan shouted down. “I hope you got your kiss.”
Cory snatched her belongings but hesitated to dress in front of Tyler. He shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed his clothes. “I guess our talk will have to wait.” He climbed the ladder and left her alone.
Tyler had sounded angry. What had changed his mood so abruptly? A girl had a right to say no to a kiss. Cory dressed and hurried on deck. She turned to Grandpa. “Are you coming to Darrow Falls for the fireworks?” Cory arranged her bonnet and smoothed her hair around the opening.
“I’m docking in Peninsula for the night. There’s always a big celebration on the Fourth. Mostly canal folk. You ought to join us.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but we have our own celebration in Darrow Falls.”
“A picnic and dance, and everyone returns home after the fireworks. We don’t start celebrating until the sky is lit up.”
“Be careful if you see Edward Vandal or one of his chasers,” Tyler warned. “He thinks his slaves were hiding on this boat.”
“I know how to handle any brawlers,” he replied. “I think you missed the coach, but you ought to be able to catch a ride on one of the freight wagons traveling River Road.” He pointed to the steep incline away from the river. “You don’t want to walk that hill in this heat.”
“Thank you, Grandpa.” Cory kissed him on the cheek and hugged her cousins.
Tyler shook hands. “Pleasure meeting you, Captain Donovan, Ethan, Paddy.”
“Come back anytime,” Captain Donovan invited. “You ain’t like most lawyer types.” He winked at Cory.
Tyler and Cory rode with Darrow Falls’ baker, Sydney Robinson. He had a wagon load of flour, newly milled in Peninsula and shipped south on the canal. They hopped off when they reached the Beecher farm.
Tyler’s hand went to his side.
“How bad is it?”
“Not bad. I don’t think I’ll need stitches after all.”
“Let me see.”
Blood had seeped around the makeshift bandage. “Papa will stitch you up.”
“I wouldn’t want to bother him.”
“Haven’t you had stitches before?”
“No, and I’ve never been shot or had a leech put on my face.”
“What a sheltered life you’ve led,” she said. “Look at everything you missed before meeting me.”
“How can you be so beautiful and cruel at the same time?”
Was he teasing? She wondered how he truly felt about her.
He looked toward the house. “Tell me about your sisters. Five of them, right?”
“Yes.” Cory counted down on her fingers. “There’s Jennifer, Colleen, Jessica, Cassandra, and Juliet. Each of us is about two years apart in age. I’m twenty and Juliet is nine.”
“Any reason why your names begin with C and J?”
“After Grandma Caroline Josephine.”
“That’s who CJ was. I didn’t want to interrupt the captain’s story to find out.”
“You shared your family history. I thought you’d enjoy hearing mine.”
“I did, Cory. Do your sisters have nicknames?”
“Jem, Cole, Jess, Cass, and Jules.”
“Sounds like boys’ names.”
“Just nicknames. I don’t think any of us wanted to be boys. But we wanted the fun they have.”
“Seems to me girls have all the advantages.”
“Advantages? Girls are instructed to be quiet, gentle, and obedient. Boys don’t have to follow such silly rules.”
“What part of quiet, gentle, and obedient do you practice?”
Maybe she didn’t follow society’s customs all of the time, but neither did he. “You don’t obey any rules in your behavior toward me.”
He laughed. “I threw out all the rules when you shot me.”
“Don’t tell my parents I shot you. They’d be horrified by my recklessness.”
“I won’t tell them you shot me if you don’t tell them I kissed you.” He stopped. “Nice house.”
Cory stood next to him as they studied the big white farmhouse she called home. Her parents had purchased a two-room cabin but had expanded it to accommodate six children and a medical practice. Hiram had helped with the additions, and it resembled Glen Knolls. A Greek pediment divided two wings. Each wing had porches with ornate moldings.
“Welcome to the Beecher homestead.” Cory noticed the green shutters were faded. “The shutters need painted.”
“Your hired hands have grown lazy without you.”
“Hired hands?” She held up her arms. “These are the only hired hands. It’s a family farm. That’s why Adelaide chose me to help at Glen Knolls. I can milk a cow, kill a chicken, and drive a buggy.”
“I can understand why you look forward to becoming the wife of a college professor.”
Cory didn’t answer. She had never longed for a life of social gatherings and vain luxuries. “I don’t mind the work. Not when it’s my home.”
They reached the slate walk to the front door. It was decorated with chalk drawings.
“Looks like one of your sisters has some artistic talent.”
“Cass likes to draw.” She pointed out several horses drawn in detail on the slate.
Cass and Jules ran around the side of the house, screaming. They hid behind Tyler. “Help us.”
Jess followed with a green garter snake in her hand. “It’s going to get you!”
“Stop waving it around,” Cory ordered Jess. “You’re scaring it.”
“He likes me.” Jess let the snake wrap around her hand. She had blonde curls that escaped from a single braid. “It’s a little thing.”
“I don’t like sna
kes.” Cass poked her head out from behind Tyler. Cass was eleven with dark hair like Cory’s, but it lacked any red highlights. Her hair was worn in two braids, and her eyes were the same green as Cory’s.
“I like snakes.” Jules stepped forward and tentatively touched the snake’s body. She had strawberry blonde hair worn in a ponytail of curls that framed blue eyes.
“Then why did you run?” Jess demanded.
“I like screaming.”
“Jules is the dramatic one,” Cory explained. “Put the snake back in the grass where it belongs.”
“Cory!” Cole rushed out the western porch door and down the sandstone steps. She was wearing a huge crinoline with a new dress draped over it. The dress hem was pinned on one side and hung too long on the other side.
Jem followed with a pincushion in one hand and measuring tape in the other. “Don’t you dare dirty my dress,” she threatened.
Jem and Cole both had red hair and blue eyes. Jem’s hair was darker and more bronze in color, while Cole’s was as bright as copper.
Cory examined Cole’s gown. “Is that a new crinoline cage?”
“Six feet wide,” Jem bragged. “I borrowed it for the dance.”
“Why can’t I wear a crinoline like this?” Cole demanded. “I should make a good impression at my first dance.”
“Sit.” Jem pointed to a wooden bench beneath a nearby tree.
Cole marched over, turned, and sat. The crinoline shot up to her face and exposed her underwear underneath. Cole struggled to lower the cage.
“That, little sister, is why you start out small,” Jem said. “You have to acquire some coordination to wear a crinoline.”
“That’s not the only hazard,” Cory revealed. “Last Christmas when Jem wore a crinoline to a dance, she caught her dress on fire standing too close to a fireplace.”
Jem laughed. “That was the night Ben Collins came to my rescue and beat the fire out with his new coat. We both looked like chimney sweeps.”
Cory knew her family’s budget. “Do you think Ben warrants a new dress?”
“Grandma bought a sewing machine and insisted upon making ball gowns for us for the holiday dance. Yours is upstairs. Mama hemmed it for you, but I’ll never finish mine if Cole doesn’t stand still.”
“Why can’t you wear the dress, and I’ll pin it,” Cole suggested.
“You can’t pin a straight line.”
“All they do is fight.” Jess looked at Tyler. “What’s your name?”
Cory made the introductions.
“Where did you find him?” Cole studied him. “You’re pretty.”
“Men aren’t pretty,” Jem corrected. “They’re handsome.”
“Then he’s pretty handsome.”
Cass squinted. “He’s awfully tall.”
“Your eye looks funny,” Jess remarked. “Did you get into a fight?”
“There’s blood on his shirt.” Jules pointed at the stain.
“We came from the Irish Rose. Tyler had a little altercation.”
“With Grandpa?” Jules demanded.
“No. It was with a man named Edward Vandal.”
“Did you win?” Jess asked.
“The other guy is still swimming in the canal,” Tyler bragged.
“Nobody swims in the canal,” Jess argued.
Tyler laughed but suddenly clutched his side.
“We better go inside and take care of your wound.” She ushered him toward the door. “Is Papa home?”
“No,” her sisters echoed together.
Chapter Twenty-One
They entered through the door on the left porch. It opened into a family parlor with a large brick fireplace on the left wall and the kitchen and pantry to the rear. A stool was in the middle of the room with a wicker sewing basket nearby. Cole took her position on the stool, and Jem circled until she found where she had left off pinning the hem.
Cory led Tyler into the main foyer. A staircase was centered in the middle with hallways on both sides leading to the dining room and back of the house. The cherry banisters ended in opposite spirals. Color rectangles shimmered against the wall from the sunlight streaming in around the main door. It was fancier than the foyer of Glen Knolls, but Hiram had wanted to improve on the original. Another doorway opened on the opposite side into a formal parlor with a piano and sofas arranged for entertaining. Two rooms were off the parlor. Cory entered the one on the left.
A large oak desk was situated to one side with a matching oak chair. A black leather book for recording births and deaths was on top of a ledger for her father’s accounts. An ink well and several pens were beside it. Clean and neat. To the side was a wooden case with sliding glass doors on top of a chest of drawers. Inside were medicines and supplies. Cory searched for needles and bandages.
“What happened, Cory?” Maureen stood in the doorway. Her mother had the same ginger tresses as Cole and blue eyes. Her figure was fuller after bearing six children, but her face showed few signs of aging. “Are you all right, sir?”
“His name is Tyler Montgomery, and he was in a fight,” Jules announced from behind her mother.
“It looks like he lost,” Jess added from behind Jules. “But he said he won.”
Maureen turned. “Go find something useful to do.” She turned back to Cory. “Your father is taking care of one of the Herbruck boys. He broke his arm.”
“He only needs a few stitches.” Cory shrugged. “I can handle it.”
“Well, if you need anything, your sisters are within earshot.” She quietly closed the door.
Tyler sat down on a bench along the wall and examined his wound. “She trusts me to be alone with you?”
“Earshot means the other side of the door,” she explained. “Get undressed.”
His head jerked up. “What?”
Cory shook her head. “From the waist up.”
He chuckled. “You’re no fun at all.”
Cory heard giggling on the other side of the door and quickly opened it. Jess and Cass stumbled inside.
“I’m going to need some water.” She shoved a pitcher at Cass. “And you can ask mother for one of Papa’s old shirts.”
Jess stared at Tyler’s bare chest. “Do you think it will fit?”
Sterling Beecher was tall and thin. Cory had to agree with her sister’s assessment, but he couldn’t walk around half naked. She took Tyler’s bloody shirt. “Go rinse this out and hang it on the line. He won’t have to wear Papa’s shirt for long.”
Cory laid out several odd shaped needles and strung them with thread.
Tyler examined a needle. “Don’t you have any smaller ones?”
“Haven’t you ever had stitches before?” Cass poured water from the pitcher into a basin on the table.
Tyler returned the needle. “No, and I don’t look forward to becoming a pincushion for your sister.”
“Papa stitched me up lots of times.” Cass showed him a scar on her forehead near the hairline. “See.”
Tyler swallowed. “Did it hurt?”
Jess returned and sat down in her father’s chair. “Did I miss anything?”
“She hasn’t stuck him, yet,” Cass said.
“You two are the most morbid creatures I know.” Cory removed Tyler’s bandage.
Cass pointed. “Look at all the blood.”
“Who cares about that? I want to hear him scream.”
“Why would I scream?” Tyler turned to Cory. “How much does this hurt?”
“You want us to hold him down?” Jess asked.
“Didn’t I ask you to find a shirt?”
“Mama is looking.” Jess stood. “He looks like a fighter. Are you sure we shouldn’t tie him down? Ethan showed me how to tie knots on the Irish Rose.”
Cory snarled. “I want you to leave and close the door behind you.”
“We want to help,” they said in unison.
Cory pointed at the door, and they shuffled out.
Tyler nodded toward the door. “How loud
should I scream?”
“Raise your left arm and brace it with your other hand behind your head so I can reach the wound.”
Tyler did as he was instructed. “I’m ready.” He nodded toward the door.
Cory swiped the blood from the wound and pinched the torn edges together. She stabbed through the two pieces of flesh with the needle.
Tyler yelped.
“Hold still!” She pulled the needle all the way through and knotted the ends.
“That wasn’t funny!” he gasped.
Cory wanted to be gentle but knew it was better to join the wound as quickly as possible. “Only two more.”
Tyler’s fingers tightened on his left arm, and he clenched his teeth.
She finished the final stitch and knotted it. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”
He released the grip on his left arm but didn’t move. Tyler looked pale.
Cory felt his forehead. “Are you all right?”
“I didn’t think anything could be worse than being shot,” he gasped. “I was wrong. I would never hurt you this way.”
She turned away. “I’ll remember that when I’m giving birth to our children.”
“What?”
Cory froze as she realized what she had implied. “I didn’t mean we…” she stuttered an explanation. “You said you were not a marrying man.”
“I never said that.” Tyler struggled to breathe normally. “I said no woman would ever marry me.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“No, it’s not.”
Cory realized he was right. But did he mean he would marry a woman who overlooked his background? Beth might overlook it, but her parents were moralists. She doubted they would approve the marriage. But would a doctor and a canal brat approve of Tyler? By the end of their visit, she’d know. She cleaned the needles and put them away in the medical cabinet. She picked up a bottle and gasped.
“What’s wrong?”
She showed him the bottle as tears welled in her eyes. “I forgot the morphine.”
Tyler gagged. “That would be the pain killer?”
“I’m so sorry. My sisters distracted me.”
Impending Love and War Page 17