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Nora sat beside Mercy in the rockers outside the general store, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation. Under normal circumstances, she’d feel guilty for sitting there when there was work to be done. But, for the first time in a very long time, there wasn’t anything that needed to be taken care of right away.
The dresses she’d been commissioned to make were nearly finished, just waiting on some trim to come into the store. Her gardens were thriving, safe behind their new fence. And the rest of the list of things she needed to fix around the house had been taken care of by Adam. Sure, the shutters didn’t hang quite straight, and her laundry barrel might still leak a little, but not nearly as badly. Her chickens were happy in their new coop, and Adam was even working on a new fence line for a paddock where she could put a few goats of her own next spring. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, how much she’d carried on her shoulders, until someone came along to help carry the load.
And he did enjoy carrying things, that was for sure. Her, especially. Every time she turned around, he was sweeping her into his arms and carrying her up to their room. She’d never known how much she liked being carried and cuddled and coddled until he’d come along. And when all that sweetness preceded and followed round after round of the kind of passionate lovemaking she hadn’t even known to fantasize about…
Her body ached in places she hadn’t realized could feel pleasure, and every time he touched her, it just made her crave him more.
She searched for him in the group of men across the street until she found him leaning against the wall of the sheriff’s office while Deputy Sunshine explained something to him. He was attentively nodding along and then looked up, as if he could feel her gaze. He dragged his bottom lip through his teeth, giving her a slow, sensual smile that had her squirming in her chair.
The goofy smile she couldn’t keep from her face spread across her lips again.
“That,” Mercy said, leaning forward to look at her. “That smile right there. I know exactly what that means.”
“Whatwhatmeans?” Martha said, stepping out onto the porch holding a candy stick. She gave Mercy a questioning glance before handing it to Daisy, who promptly stuck it in her mouth with a happy slurp.
“That smile on Nora’s face,” Mercy said with a smile of her own. “That’s the smile of a woman who has been well and thoroughly loved and can’t stop thinking about it.”
Nora’s cheeks flamed, and Martha dropped into a chair, her eyes wide. “Did he sign the papers?”
“No,” Nora said, her smile fading. “But we did discuss it. He has his reasons, good ones actually.”
“So…what does that mean?” Martha asked.
“I don’t know,” Nora said with a sigh as she slumped back against her chair. “I guess we’ll just figure it out as we go along.”
“Yes, but…if the marriage isn’t legal, then does it count for the Town Council’s rules? He only has a week left until the end of the month.”
Nora snorted. “We don’t know that, either. I’m sure we could make the argument for it, but he’s starting a job working under Deputy Sunshine for right now. If it sticks, then whether or not we are married shouldn’t make too much of a difference.”
“Um, you might want to let the men know that we don’t need them to make life miserable for the poor man, then,” Mercy said, nodding across the street where Adam was trying to get Birdie to move from in front of the office.
All three women burst out laughing. Birdie was the most stubborn horse in existence. Even the sheriff’s enemies knew that if his horse was sleeping, she wasn’t going to move anywhere, for any reason.
“What about the deed?” Mercy asked.
Nora sobered immediately and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I’m not sure it even matters anymore. It might be too late already.”
“What do you mean?” Martha asked.
Nora sighed and leaned her head back against her chair, letting it slowly rock. “I can’t find it. The deed, along with a small stash of cash I kept hidden in the house, is gone. I think my father took it all the last time he came home. He’s been gone for several days now. I… He may have already lost it somewhere. Or to someone. Or maybe sold it for the money he could get.”
She leaned forward and dropped her face into her hands, trying to keep her rising panic at bay. “Every time I hear a horse or wagon drive by the house, I stop and wait to see if it’ll be a new owner telling me to leave.”
“Oh, Nora. I’m so sorry,” Martha said, leaning forward to take her hand.
Mercy leaned in also. “If that does happen, you send word to Gray and me right away. We won’t let anyone put you out of your home.”
She gave her friends a tremulous smile, but before she could say anything else, a shadow blocked out the sun, and she looked up to see Adam hurrying toward her. He strode right up to her and squatted down.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?”
She smiled and swallowed against the emotions clogging her throat. “Nothing. I’m all right.”
Adam glanced at Mercy and Martha like he wasn’t sure if they’d done something to upset her, but he finally seemed satisfied that all was well. He gripped her chin in his fingers and pulled her close for a quick kiss.
“You need me, you just call for me, you hear?”
“I hear,” she said, giving him what she hoped was a convincing smile.
