Page 75 of Magnolia Summer

“I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to cry or fly into hysterics.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to retort that she never “flew into hysterics.” But she bit back those words and said, “I promise.”

He sighed again.

“Would you stop doing that?” All that sighing was fraying her already-shredded nerves.

His throat convulsed as he swallowed. “Everything is all right. Don’t worry. But Sheriff Suggs came—”

Celia sucked in a breath so loud it sounded like she was inhaling a cricket. “Sheriff Suggs?”

Truett frowned and lowered his eyebrows at her. “Now, Celia, you promised.” He squeezed her arms tighter.

It was Celia’s turn to swallow hard. “All right. Go on.”

“He brought Almira to me and wanted me to end her baby’s life. I told him I wouldn’t do it. He got angry and hit me. That’s it.”

“Oh, Truett.” She was breathless and a little dizzy. “That horrid man! He’s evil. But you poor, poor thing.” She stared at the result of the violence inflicted on his face. She pictured Suggs’ fist slamming into his eye.

“I think I better sit down.”

Truett helped her back into her chair. “Breathe. It’s all right. Just breathe.”

Celia kept her head down and tried to comply.Breathing. In and out.She began to feel less light-headed. Truett said everything was all right, so maybe it was. Her head stopped spinning and she began to breathe more normally.

She looked up. “You didn’t hit him back, did you?”Please, God, let him not have hit him back!

“No, I didn’t hit him back.”

“Oh, thank you, Truett.” But the sheriff would hate Truett now. How long would it take him to figure out that Truett was the hooded horseman?

Chapter 22

Truett squatted in front of her and held her hands. His heart turned to mush in his chest as he gazed at her. Tears glistened in her eyes as she focused on his bruise again.

“Now, Celia, you promised not to cry.”

“Who’s crying?” She smoothed her expression. “I’m not crying.” She reached up and brushed his hair back from his forehead.

“It’s a really ugly bruise, isn’t it?” Truett said.

Her eyes were filled with anguish. He might as well take advantage of the situation.

“I think if you kiss it, it will make it feel better.”

She stared at his battered eye. Instead of scolding him for saying such a thing, she slowly took his face in her hands and leaned forward. Her breath grazed his cheek in a way that made him ache to hold her and kiss her. But he held his breath to see what she would do next.

She brushed her soft lips against his bruised cheekbone. The spot tingled somewhere between pain and pleasure. Then she pulled his head down an inch lower and brushed her lips over his eyelid.

His heart pounded as her warm lips caressed the corner of his eye.

He opened his eyes just enough to see the halo of light around her head. He could barely make out her features, but her eyes were closed. He leaned forward and kissed her, as if continuing the kiss he had started the night before.

His heart soared. This was going better than he’d imagined. No, wait. He still had to ask her to marry him. What happened to his promise to himself not to kiss her untilafterhe proposed?

With great reluctance, he forced himself to end the kiss and back away from her. He cleared his throat, rose, and retrieved his hat from the porch where she had tossed it. He sat down beside her again. When he looked up at her, she was pressing her hands against her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”