He smiled. His mother was, indeed, incorrigible. Once her mind was set, it was difficult to change it, and apparently, she thought Sheridan was a potential partner, even going so far as to recruit Royce in her efforts.
Wyatt grunted but didn’t respond.
“You like her, too, don’t you?”
Again, he didn’t answer. Instead, he dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Good night, mama.”
“You could do worse, you know.”
Wyatt closed the door behind him, putting an end to the conversation. Yes, he could do worse. He had. But at this moment in time, he wasn’t sure he’d survive having his heart broken again.
Or was it already too late?
CHAPTER 11
Sheridan entered Sullivan’s, the little bell announcing her arrival, expecting to see Tresia behind the counter where the register resided, but today, there was no one there. “Hello?”
“I’ll be right with you.” A woman’s sweet voice called out from an open door tucked toward the back of the store. A moment later, the young woman appeared, pencils stuck in her sandy-blonde hair, glasses perched on her nose, carrying a heavy book. “How can I help—” Her face paled and she let out a startled gasp. The heavy book dropped from her fingers onto the floor, making a loud thud, which seemed to startle her, too.
“Are you all right?”
The woman recovered her initial shock and gave a short laugh. “Oh, you gave me such a fright.” She picked up the book and moved forward, though to Sheridan, her stride seemed hesitant. “I thought, for a minute, you were Josie. You look just like her. You must be Sheridan.”
“I am.”
“She talked about you, at least to us girls.” The young woman held out her hand. “Corianna March. I used to work for your mother before she….” She didn’t finish the sentence, butSheridan knew what she’d been about to say. Marshal Goodrich, Lucy, Mr. Applebaum, and Lily had all told her how Josie passed, though the conversations had been difficult.
“Now I work here. Miss Tresia offered me this job, after what happened. She’s been good to me, as good as Josie was.” She ran her finger over the embossed title, almost lovingly, even as her eyes welled up. “I miss her. I can never repay her for what she did for me.”
It wasn’t the first time Sheridan had heard how her mother had helped someone else. By now, it was becoming an all too familiar refrain. “What are you reading? Something scary?”
“Oh no.” She laughed. “I’d never read anything frightening. Don’t need to. Life is scary enough.” She held up the book so Sheridan could see the title.
“Gray’s Anatomy.” Impressed, as she was familiar with the book, she asked, “Are you studying to become a doctor?”
Corianna shook her head, the ringlets bouncing. One of the pencils stuck in the curls dropped to the floor. She didn’t notice. “A midwife. Doctor Ben loaned me this book. He’s been helping me study. I’m apprenticing with him, watching what he does. Mrs. Haggarty—she’s already a midwife—is allowing me to apprentice with her as well.” A bright smile lit up her face. “I helped to deliver a baby just a few weeks ago. My first one. It was…” The smile dimmed just a bit “—one of the most emotional things I ever witnessed.” She bowed her head, then looked up. “I admit, I cried, but not until Doctor Ben and I were on our way home.” She straightened her shoulders, standing tall, apparently unembarrassed she had cried. “Oh! I’m sorry. Just listen to me prattling on. How can I help you?”
Sheridan laughed. She liked this woman. Corianna seemed to be sweet and personable enough to put a laboring woman at ease. Indeed, in just a few minutes, she’d worked her magic and put Sheridan at ease, too. “I’m looking for a thank-you gift.”
“I see. For what? Or perhaps, I should ask for whom?”
She didn’t want to say. It might embarrass him or make the wagging tongues in Serenity wag a little more. Already, it was known that she’d spent the afternoon with Wyatt at his ranch. Some of the gossips were careful to mention that Delilah and Royce were there, as well, in an attempt, she assumed, to protect her reputation, though it was scandalous enough that she lived in a brothel. She didn’t let that bother her. She’d been the talk of the town when she first arrived in Serenity. She still was. “It’s for a man.”
The woman laughed. “Well, that certainly narrows it down.” Her eyes widened as did her smile. “Is it for your sweetheart?”
A flush heated Sheridan’s face. She could feel it rising from the décolletage of her dress all the way up to her hairline and quickly shook her head. “No, just a friend.”
Corianna waved her hand over the glass countertop and all the items displayed on a bed of dark blue velvet beneath. “Well, we have a lot to choose from. Were you thinking maybe a ring?”
Sheridan laughed even as her flush deepened to encompass her entire body. “A ring? Good gosh, no!”
“All right. What about this gold money clip?” She gestured to the clip, the small diamond chip glittering in the lamp light.
“No, that doesn’t seem like something he would use.”
“It would help if I knew who this would be for.”
Sheridan admitted, “Wyatt MacLean.”
