Chapter 17
Her ruined dress dripped water into a puddle at their feet in Theo’s trap. That he didn’t say a word about the mess raised him even higher in her regard.
He maneuvered the horse down side streets rather than the main roads where everyone would see her dishevelment. When they reached Violet’s house, he held a hand up to help her exit.
The small step proved slippery when she placed a wet sole on it. Her foot slid and she pitched forward—and would have fallen into the street if not for the quick-thinking man.
“Oh!” The sound escaped her throat without conscious effort.
His hands wrapped around her waist as her face landed on his shoulder. The scent of tobacco and clean man swept up her nose. His hair tonic had a bit of mint to it that made her mouth water.
“Steady, there. We don’t need you to take another tumble. One is more than enough for any day.” He held her close, perhaps a moment longer than absolutely necessary, before he dropped her feet to the ground and released her.
“Thank you.” She ran a hand over her hair. It had survived the dunking, but her hat had been sacrificed for it. Meeting his gaze, she shrugged. “I know I look a sight.”
He put a hand beneath her left elbow, and they walked toward the house. “You look, as ever, beautiful. Come on, let’s get you inside and out of those wet clothes.”
A shiver ran through her. He couldn’t mean to help her undress, could he?
Then it hit her. Without a sister or servant nearby, could she unfasten the buttons on the back of her dress on her own? Especially now that they were encased in sopping wet fabric?
The house seemed eerily quiet without any of the others within to liven it up. She placed her reticule on the table inside the door. It had luckily not been submerged.
They looked at each other then. Where to begin?
She couldn’t very well try to go upstairs with sodden shoes, not after they showed how prone to slipping they were. Yet how could she remove them here under the man’s watchful eye?
He took matters in hand and for once it relieved her to allow someone else the task.
“Come, sit down on the step.” He pointed to the staircase. The pine risers were varnished so her wet skirt would not harm them. “Let’s get your shoes off so you don’t slip again.”
What could she do?
She sat, and like a small child allowed the man to remove her shoes. He did so with care, reaching beneath the hem of her skirt without exposing her legs.
“Thank you for helping me.” Heat bloomed in her cheeks when his hand brushed her right calf. His touch, soft and gentle, brought warmth to her chilled skin. “I don’t know how I’d manage on my own.”
One shoe hit the floor, so he reached for the other leg. Again, he swept a finger on her skin as he tucked it beneath the upper edge of her shoe and began to tug at the buttons.
“That’s what friends are for.” He took a deep breath and lifted his gaze to hers. “I still can’t apologize enough for my niece and that chicken. I’m as shocked as you are and I’m so sorry.”
If she thought about it too much her blood boiled so she pushed it from her mind. Well, almost.
“It’s not your fault.” She paused and pulled her lips into a tight line while she considered her next words. Meaningful conveyance without a sarcastic edge had never been a strong point for her. And they had promised to be honest with each other, after all. “But she’s at an age where she shouldn’t be chasing chickens, Theo. It’s not seemly. And if she hadn’t been doing so, well we wouldn’t be here, would we?”
She ran a hand down the front of her skirt. They both grimaced when the fabric made a squelching noise.
The second shoe came away from her foot, so he placed it near the wall. Then he reached for the first shoe and lined it beside the other.
“I’m not sure if you’re aware but Alexia’s mother is dead. My brother does a good job raising her, but I admit, some of the things a mother might teach are lacking.” He gave her a small smile. “But Violet is standing in well, actually. For both Thomas and my niece. If she weren’t so busy at the schoolhouse she might be able to spend even more time with them. And then maybe my dear girl might not be so enamored with chickens.”
She shivered. The fabric felt clammy against her skin.
But a question nagged her mind since she arrived in town.
“Why aren’t they married? I mean, they’ve been keeping company for a while and from the looks they give each other they’re compatible. So why not tie the knot and be done with it?”
Theo’s eyebrows rose but he met her gaze without flinching.
“Well, you do get right to the heart of things, don’t you?”
“We promised to be honest with each other, remember?” She pulled her lips into a smile even though her teeth were close to chattering. “He’s your brother so I assume you know what’s on his mind.”
He still knelt at her feet and made no move to rise.
“I expect I know his heart. Hers, too. I think they love each other but are waiting for Alexia’s sake.” He ran a hand through his dark locks and shook his head. “Me, I wouldn’t do it that way, but we all travel our own paths.”
“What do you mean? How would you do it differently?”
She thought waiting for the girl to be comfortable with a replacement for her mother a kindness. As she didn’t fall into syrupy sentimental actions too often, that she did think it the considerate move came as a mild shock. Not her typical hard-edged reality way of seeing situations, for sure. Maybe the trip west softened her some. Who could tell? At any rate, she didn’t see the harm in finding compassion for the girl.
He sat back on his heels and crossed his arms over his chest. “You want the uncoated truth?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice. A chill swept through her and she hoped his explanation came quickly.
“We’re living in hard times, in a rough place. Settling the frontier doesn’t come easy and even in towns like Wylder there are perils.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I think that time wasted can never be recalled. This isn’t Philadelphia, where I’m from, or your home, Charleston. Here, we need to take what we can get, satisfaction-wise, and make the best of it. That goes for everything, including the goings on between men and women.”
She saw merit in his words. They echoed the sentiment she felt with regard to Warren, the one he hadn’t shared. If they’d moved forward and made the best of things, had some backbone about their hardships, they’d have found some way to make a life together. She felt sure of it.
But that ship had sailed. Now she would never know if she and her once-betrothed would have found happiness.
“You probably think I should be more romantic about it.” He shot her a small grin. “I know that’s how women feel, that there should be flowers and sweet talk instead of involving the harsh realities of western life.”
She shook her head and pushed up from the step. “N-n-not at all.” Her teeth chattered as the cold fabric sucked onto her form like a second skin. “I q-quite agree.”
Theo ran a hand down her arm and scowled. “Whatever are we doing talking this way? You’re chilled to the bone! We need to get you into some warm clothes.”
He placed his arms beneath her and lifted her, so she lay against his chest. Without asking for permission, he began to climb the stairs. At the top, he paused and looked at the doorways.
“Which one?”
She pointed to the tiny room she shared with Daisy. He walked in and set her down on her feet. Then, he turned her, so she faced away from him and began to undo the buttons running down the back of her dress.
“T-t-that isn’t—”
He didn’t let her finish. “It’s necessary. It’s bad enough I allowed my niece’s chicken friend to fly at you so you fell into a horse trough. I can’t let you catch your death, too.”
The sides of her dress fell away from her shoulders and instantly she didn’t feel nearly as cold and damp. The fabric weighed so much that without it her body grew lighter.
He pushed the dress off her shoulders and helped her wiggle out of it. When it hit the floor with a soggy thud he leaned down while she stepped out of it.
Theo stood and their gazes locked. Clad only in her undergarments she should have been mortified—yet she wasn’t. Not one bit. A shiver passed through her and it had nothing to do with damp clothing. It heated her from inside, sending warmth pooling in her center.
Suddenly the chill on her skin left and her teeth stopped chattering. She forgot the physical distress the dunking had wrought and the only thing that mattered, the sound of his breathing mingling with hers, filled her mind.
She leaned closer and tilted her head up a fraction of an inch.
His gaze dropped to her lips, where it lingered for a long moment. When he closed the distance between their faces ever so slightly her breath caught. She imagined what his lips on hers would feel like and lowered her eyelids halfway in anticipation.
The sound of his throat clearing brought her back to the present moment.
“I’m concerned you’ll catch a chill if we stand here much longer.”
Her voice came out as a whisper. “Thank you.”
He nodded. To his credit, he didn’t drop his gaze. “You’re welcome. Do you need more help?” He swallowed, then added, “Or should I take this dress downstairs and wait for you?”
“That would be best, I think.”
He turned and walked through the door. She heard his boot heels on the stairs. In the empty little house she heard him move through the rooms.
When he reached the kitchen, she released the breath she held.
No matter how they’d agreed to be truthful with each other she could not admit to him that she had been sorely tempted to ask him to help her remove the rest of her garments. Or that disappointment filled her now that she hadn’t done so.