Читать книгу Family Stories - Tessa McDermid - Страница 9

Reverend Cooper’s question startled him, coming in the middle of a diatribe on city life, and he almost dropped the forkful of mashed potatoes that was halfway to his mouth. Seeing only curiosity on the man’s face, Frank relaxed and shook his head. “No, I’ve never felt much desire to settle down.”

“Ah, the arrogance of young manhood, ” Reverend Cooper said, his fork again waving in the air as he talked. “Well, let me warn you. Before you know it, you’ll be an old man like me, your life almost over. You need to start planning now, so you don’t miss any of the important things.” He plunked the end of the fork down on the table with a loud clang.

“Now, Father.” Marian lightly touched his hand, her head bent toward his graying one. “You mustn’t say such things. You’re not that old and life definitely hasn’t passed you by. You’ll give Mr. Robertson an entirely wrong picture of you.”

He patted her hand. “You’re kind, Marian, always have been. But you’re like this young man. Mustn’t wait too long or you’ll find yourself sitting by the roadside wondering when you got left behind.”

Frank could see that her father was in the throes of another sermon. Without conscious thought, only knowing that he had to divert the older man, he blurted, “From everything you’ve said and what I’ve seen so far, Winston seems like a good place for a man to settle down. What else can you tell me about the town?”

Marian sent him a startled look, Mrs. Cooper a grateful one. How many times did the reverend spoil a pleasant meal with his moribund conversation? Frank had little time to think about it before Reverend Cooper chuckled. “You decide to stay here, young man, and you’ll have all the mothers of single daughters after you. We don’t have many bachelors around. They’ll see you as an answer to prayer.”

Frank laughed, and the reverend began a story about a young man who came to town one day last summer, expressing a desire to settle in Winston. Once the matchmaking mamas and single women discovered his presence, his life ceased to be his own.

“And then he just up and disappeared, ” the reverend said, sipping at the cup of coffee his wife had poured for him. “We never heard what happened to him, did we, Mother?”

Mrs. Cooper stood up and stacked the dishes. “I suppose he went searching for another quiet town.” She added the empty potato dish to her load. “Marian, will you help, please?”

Marian picked up her own dishes, then leaned over Frank’s shoulder for his empty plate. The soft curve of her breast brushed against him and his insides coiled with desire. She scooped up several more dishes before following her mother into the kitchen.

He wiped his hands on his pants and raised his head to find Reverend Cooper watching him closely. He pressed his lips together and hoped his feelings weren’t reflected in his eyes.

“Mr. Bates, perhaps.”

Frank blinked. “I’m sorry, sir, what?” Did the entire family jump from topic to topic without warning?

“Adam Bates, over at the feed store. He was saying the other day that he needed another hand. His son married a girl he met on the east coast and they’re moving back there to be with her family. Can’t say I blame them. It’s hard on a young woman to be away from her family. But it leaves Adam in a bind.”

Reverend Cooper nodded several times. “Yes, Adam Bates. You stay the night and I’ll take you over to see him first thing in the morning.”

Marian paused in the doorway, a flicker of alarm in her eyes. “Who’s going where, Father?”

“I was saying that Adam Bates needs another hand. Young Frank, here, might be just the man.” He dug into the piece of pie she set before him with the same intensity he’d given to his sermon. “I invited Frank to stay the night, Mother.”

The thought of sleeping in the same house with Marian only a few feet away was almost more than he could take. The apple pie tasted like sawdust and he couldn’t look at any of them as he mechanically chewed and swallowed the flaky pastry, his eyes on his plate.

After dinner, he accompanied Reverend Cooper to the parlor while the women finished clearing the table. The older man withdrew behind his Bible. Frank sat on the edge of the sofa, his fingers silently drumming on the armrest. Did he want a permanent job working in a feed store? Wouldn’t have to be forever, he told himself. There was nothing to tie him to this town.

When the women came into the room, Mrs. Cooper brought out some sewing and settled in a corner. Marian wandered over to the narrow window. She pulled back the heavy drapes.

“Mother is famous for her garden, ” Marian said.

Her father lowered his Bible. “Mother does work wonders with her flowers. Marian, take Frank for a turn around the garden.”

They walked out of the parlor and down the back hall. Once outside, he took a deep breath.

“They’re not that bad, ” Marian said.

“I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles all through dinner, ” he confessed.

“You were nervous?”

“With good reason. Your father just kept me on my toes. He’s a very sharp man, Marian. I didn’t know what he was going to ask me next.”

She led the way into the little garden area. They were behind the house, away from the parlor windows.

She stopped near a rose bush, idly touching one of the pink petals, her back to him. “Did you mean that about staying, Frank? Are you really going to interview for a job?”

She had left her hat in the house. The soft breeze ruffled her loose curls. Her skin seemed to reflect the bright colors of the flowers, and his breath caught in his throat. She was so beautiful.

He had to get away so he could think clearly. He stumbled onto the path and started walking in the opposite direction. When she called out his name in a dismayed voice, he didn’t stop, breaking into a run as he left the path and entered an unplowed field. He finally slowed near a clump of trees, leaning his head against the nearest one, gulping in the fresh air.

Still trying to catch his breath, he heard her footsteps behind him. “Frank, what’s the matter with you?” she asked in a breathless voice.

He bit his lip, unable to face her; he didn’t move until he felt a timid touch on his arm.

“Frank, please, what’s the matter?”

He turned then and saw his confusion mirrored in her eyes. With a strangled sob, he put his arms around her, pulling her close. Her arms slowly crept around his neck. When she lifted her face, he kissed her.

She tasted of cinnamon apples and sunshine. His eyes closed and he probed her lips with his tongue, wanting to taste more of her.

Her hands pushed at his chest. “Please, Frank…”

Fear sounded in her voice. Cursing himself for forgetting that she was an innocent, he raised his head. “Marian, ” he said thickly.

She traced the side of his cheek with her fingertips. “Why did you kiss me like that?”

He almost chuckled at the childlike wonder in her question. He rested his forehead against her silken curls. “Because you drive me mad.”

“I do?”

A hint of womanly pride edged into her voice. He bent down, gently nipping her nose with his lips. “Yes. Does that please you?”

She giggled. “I’ve never driven a man mad before.”

He pulled away from her until he could gaze into her eyes. “Marian Cooper, you probably drive every man in this town wild.”

Her lashes fell but not before he saw the swift gleam of satisfaction in them. “How could I?” she asked softly. “I’m the minister’s daughter.”

He felt an urge to swat her behind. Instead, he pressed a hard kiss on her lips. “That’s exactly why, you little minx. It’s enough to drive any normal man crazy.”

“I’ve never wanted to drive a man crazy before.”

The implication in her quiet words acted like a tonic on him. He wrapped his arms around her, dragging her off the ground. This time her lips answered his silent pleas and parted under his kisses, letting him taste the fullness of her mouth, her tongue meeting his again and again.

His breath ragged, he slowly lowered her to the ground and knelt beside her, his hands still on her arms. Her mouth was bruised from his kisses and he bent down, gently kissing each swollen lip. “Marian, I’m sorry. I should never have done that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re so young.” He dropped his hands and rocked back on his heels, hands lightly clasped behind his back so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her. He wished now that he hadn’t been with all those other women, that he could offer her a body as innocent as her own. “I won’t be staying, after all. I can’t control myself around you.”

“Why should you?” she asked in a whisper.

He turned away, jamming his hands in his pockets. “Marian, I’m somebody new and different. I’ve brought a little variety into your life and when I leave, you’ll forget all about me.”

She grabbed his sleeve, her touch forceful. “Frank.”

He turned again, surprised at the passion in her voice. “Yes, you are different. But I’ve never kissed a man like I just kissed you, Frank Robertson, or felt any desire to do so. Do you have any idea what the last three days have been like? I didn’t know if you’d return. And I wasn’t sure what I’d do if you didn’t.”

She tossed her head, the curls that had been loosened by their kisses fluttering around her face. “I don’t want to live without you, Frank. I love you.”

He grabbed her wrists. “You can’t love me, Marian. You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.” Her lips curved upward and she leaned toward him. “Kiss me, Frank, kiss me and tell me you don’t feel something, too.”

“That isn’t love.”

“Kiss me.”

Her insistent command pushed him to the brink. He took her by the shoulders, dragged her against him, his blood pounding as his chest collided with her soft breasts. She murmured against his lips and the action sent him into a frenzy of longing. They sank to the ground, his hands searching for the buttons on her dress, only half-aware of her hands tugging his shirt out of his waistband.

Her skin felt cool. She stiffened when his fingers slid over her breast and he hesitated until she arched against his hand. Her fingernails began a delicate dance under his shirt, trailing patterns over the bare skin of his back until he could hardly breathe.

“Marian…”

She pressed her fingers over his lips. “Don’t say anything, Frank. Just love me, please.”

Her hand found its way to his thigh, moving slowly upward. She hesitated at the front of his trousers. He caught his breath, waiting. Her fingers were light, sending tremors through his entire body. His body threatened to explode under her caresses and he forced himself to slow down, to savor each glorious moment.

He touched one peaked nipple with his fingers and heard her answering moan. When she shifted, he slid his hand under her skirt, edging the sturdy material up until he felt the soft skin of her thigh above her stockings. She ducked her head against his shoulder and he nuzzled her with his chin until she lifted her head and he could reach her lips again.

His fingers skimmed her leg, the skin heating beneath his hand. “Oh, Frank, ” she breathed in wonder.

No woman had blossomed under his hands like she did. The others had been eager for him, willing to open their bodies to relieve a temporary boredom, to find a new experience. But Marian had never been with a man before; he knew that as surely as he knew he was embarking on an unparalleled adventure of his own.

His fingers stilled, his conscience awakened by the knowledge that she was a virgin. As if drugged, he lifted his head and surveyed her with heavy-lidded eyes. “Marian, we need to go back to your house.”

Her hands clutched him around the waist. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

He heard anguish in her voice and quickly kissed her lips. “No, darling, no. But this isn’t right.”

“I love you, Frank.”

His heart turned over at the words but he wouldn’t take her virginity in the middle of a field. She deserved candlelight and flowers, a soft bed, privacy.

And another man…His conscience jabbed him again. Who are you, anyway? A traveling salesman who’ll go off and leave her after your own passion is sated.

The cold water of reality doused the remnants of his passion. He slid away from her, tucking in his shirt and climbing to his feet.

“Frank?”

He reached out a hand without looking at her. “Marian, we have to go. I don’t need your father coming after me with a shotgun.”

She sprang to her feet. From the corner of his eye, he could see her smoothing down her skirt, brushing away grass and leaves that had attached themselves during their aborted lovemaking. “I’ll bet if Flossie were here, you wouldn’t have stopped.”

He gripped her shoulders. “Don’t compare yourself to Flossie, ” he snapped. Her eyes were a deep midnight blue, the passion only slightly masked by her anger.

Her eyes narrowed. “So, you did notice Flossie.”

“Marian…”

She swung out of his hold. “She’s been with every man in town, Frank. Do you want to be another in her long list?”

She looked so brave, with her chin in the air, her eyes narrowed. And so young. His anger melted away, swallowed by his chuckle at her defiant manner.

“No, Marian, I don’t. But that’s exactly why you shouldn’t compare yourself to her. She’s not fit to be in the same room with you.”

Mollified, she let her chin drop a fraction. “Then why did you stop?”

A wave of tenderness washed over him. “You’re too young—”

“I am not!” She took his hand and held it to her breast. “I’m a woman, Frank.”

His passion threatened to engulf his common sense again and he shifted away. “Marian, I should never have come out here with you. This was wrong. You are too young and I won’t take advantage of your innocence this way.”

“I’m not too young, Frank. I will never feel like this about another man. I know that and nothing you can say will change it.”

Her fingers were fumbling with her buttons. He swore, swiftly closing the gapping material himself. Tears glistened on her lashes. He barely stopped himself from bending down and kissing them away. “Marian, you’re so beautiful and young. One day you’ll meet a man who will make you forget all about me, except as some long-ago memory from a summer’s day.”

“Stop it.” She pushed his hands away, then planted her hands on her hips. “Stop talking about me as if I were a child! And stop treating me like one.” She caressed his cheek. “Frank, believe me. I’m old enough to listen to my own heart. I love you.”

His hands circled her wrists. “Marian, you don’t even know me, ” he said with increasing desperation. “I don’t have any money and I don’t have a job.”

“Father promised to help you get one. You could settle down here and—”

His quiet voice interrupted her. “I’m not the kind to stay anywhere for very long, Marian.”

She stared at him, eyes unblinking, then twisted out of his grasp. “I see.” Without looking at him, she smoothed down an imaginary wrinkle on her skirt. “Well, before you go, explain something to me. Why did you stop? I was in your arms, willing to be plucked like a ripe pear.” He winced at her description but didn’t say anything. “Wouldn’t your buddies have liked hearing about the minister’s daughter and how easily she fell under your spell?”

“Marian, I wouldn’t tell anyone else about us.”

Spots of color stood out on her cheeks. “Please, Frank, don’t add to my embarrassment by lying.”

Miserable and ashamed, he didn’t speak right away. He had bragged about his conquests to the other salesmen. On the trains, late at night, they’d laugh about the lonely women they’d met, sharing stories and sometimes even addresses.

He wrenched his thoughts back to the woman in front of him. Tearstains streaked her face but she still managed to retain her dignity and beauty, standing before him in anger and defiance.

“You never had any intention of settling down, did you? You just let Father talk. Were you planning to catch the next train out of town after you were finished with me?”

“Marian, I never intended any of this to happen.”

She stepped away from him, her shoulders hunched protectively. He stretched out one hand and let it fall back to his side without touching her.

How could he tell her about his conflicting emotions? He’d never wanted anything except the lure of the road until last week, when she’d opened the door. But what did he have to offer a wife?

A wife! Her father’s probing questions came back to him. Did he want to get married? Could he marry someone like Marian and be faithful?

His own parents toiled long, silent hours side by side at the family store, tied together through habit. He thought of the Coopers. Mrs. Cooper barely spoke two words without looking at her husband for approval. Reverend Cooper hid behind his Bible.

Head thrown back, he tried to find the answers in the sky above him. A trio of white clouds broke up the monotony of the blue sky, dashing forward in a steady line. A breeze brought Marian’s sweet scent toward him.

“Marian…”

She faced him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You might see me as a fool, but I’m not. Before you say anything, I suggest you leave this town before people find out what you tried to do with the minister’s daughter. And on a Sunday, too!”

He knew then what he had to say. He might be the fool but he couldn’t walk away from her. No matter where he wandered, he would crave her lips, her body, her very presence. Until he extinguished the fire she’d ignited in him, he would feel no relief.

He caught her hands. “Marian, I’m sorry, ” he said quickly. “Not for what happened earlier, ” he added when she twisted to get out of his hold. “For being such an insensitive clod.”

She stopped struggling, watching him closely. “What do you mean?”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “The last three days have been hell for me, too.”

One corner of her mouth lifted and the dimple played in her cheek. “I didn’t say that. Father would wash my mouth out if I used language like that.”

“Then I’d kiss away the bad taste, ” he murmured, showing her how thoroughly he would do that.

When he raised his head, the color in her cheeks signaled a return to the passion they’d shared earlier, and his resolve to wait for a more romantic place warred with his rapidly growing desire. His resolve won by a tiny fraction.

He touched his forehead to hers. Eyes half-closed, she smiled at him, a slow, languorous smile that threatened the uneasy peace he had gained. “Don’t, ” he groaned.

Her lips drooped into a frown. “What?”

He trailed one finger down her cheek, wrapping a curl around it. “Miss Cooper, you are enough to try the patience of a saint.”

“But you aren’t a saint, ” she said with a saucy grin.

He tugged on the curl. “No, and you should remember that.”

Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck. “I do, ” she said in a husky voice.

“Marian, stop it!” He tugged at her wrists, holding her firmly away. “We need to go back to the house. Now.”

“But, Frank…”

“No, Marian.” He headed in the direction of the house, her hand tucked inside the crook of his arm, warm against his body. “I won’t be chased out of town by an angry father. And if we don’t return soon, that’s exactly what will happen.”

In the shadow of a large oak tree, he paused to check their appearance. With an objective eye, he straightened the collar of her dress, smoothed her wild curls behind her ears. He brushed his fingers lightly over her cheeks, wiping away a last tear. She shifted her head and planted a soft kiss on his palm.

His hand seemed to burn at the contact. “Marian, you can’t do this.”

She nodded. “Once we’re home, I’ll behave like the decorous young woman my parents expect me to be.” She turned to him with shining eyes. “But I could sneak into your room tonight—”

He groaned and seized her hand, almost running down the road with her. “Not another word, Marian. I’ll find myself locked up in jail for trifling with you—or worse, tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.” He drew her back onto the road.

She giggled. “They haven’t tarred and feathered anyone since some salesman came into town last spring, trying to sell us all some worthless tonic. Not sure why, though. His tonic made the women want to rip off their clothes—”

“I’m warning you, Marian.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

A quick glance at her showed that she wasn’t the least bit sorry. He struggled against a strong urge to spin her around in the road and kiss her until her teasing expression was again replaced with one of desire. The house loomed before them and he rejected the image of her warm in his arms, releasing her hand and slowing to a more sedate pace as they came in view of the windows.

“You will stay, won’t you?” she asked, a foot poised above the bottom step of the back porch.

“I’ll stay, ” he promised.

He followed her up the steps, admiring how her skirt clung to the rounded curves of her bottom and the gentle sway of the material as she walked down the hallway. Her parents still sat in the parlor, their positions unchanged.

“Did you enjoy your walk?” her father asked, looking at them over the top of his Bible.

“Yes, Father, we did.” Marian sat down with a soft rustle of skirts and picked up a sewing box next to the couch.

“So, what’s your opinion of our fair village?”

Frank sat down opposite Marian before replying. “I didn’t see much of it, sir, but the weather’s very fine.”

“You’ll discover that this is a most delightful place, ” Reverend Cooper said. He rested his large Bible on his lap and rubbed his chin. “I was thinking, Frank, that after we see Bates in the morning, we could go by Widow Bartlett’s house.”

“Widow Bartlett?” Did the reverend want to find him a wife as well as a job?

“She mentioned that she hopes to take in a few boarders. You seem like a respectable young man. I’m sure the two of you can work out a sensible agreement.”

From the color that rose in Marian’s cheeks, Frank deduced that the widow Bartlett was a young woman. He lifted one eyebrow in question and when Marian glared at him, he had his answer. This town was filled with pitfalls.

And the most dangerous was sitting right across from him.

He excused himself, saying he needed to fetch his bag before supper. When Marian gave him a worried look, he smiled and watched her settle back on the sofa.

Once he’d retrieved his bag from the barn, he considered striding into the night and putting the Cooper family behind him. Even if Marian did cry herself to sleep for a few nights, she would forget him soon enough.

As he hesitated at the edge of the village, the scent of a rose floated toward him and he felt again her arms around his neck, her soft lips pressing against his. With a moan that startled several birds in the tree above him, he turned toward town and the Coopers’ house.

Supper was a quiet meal, cold leftovers from lunch served by a silent Mrs. Cooper and a still-glowering Marian. Reverend Cooper kept up a monologue based on his readings of the afternoon. He obviously didn’t expect anyone to respond to his observations. Frank found his mind drifting, returning to the conversation with a jerk when Reverend Cooper asked him a pointed question about his family.

“Two sisters, sir, one older, one younger.” Frank sipped from his glass, waiting for the next comment.

“Sisters. I have a younger sister and four younger brothers.” Reverend Cooper shook his head with a reminiscent smile. “She never let us intimidate her, though. Like my Marian here.” He touched a loose curl on Marian’s shoulder, his expression filled with pride.

Frank held back a shudder. This man loved his daughter but more than that, she was a prized possession, if that proprietary look was anything to judge by. The reverend might welcome a passing traveler into his home for a meal, even offer to find him work. All of that would be in keeping with his spiritual calling. But he would not easily give away his only daughter to that same man.

Frank suddenly felt hot and surreptitiously mopped at his forehead. He was relieved when the meal was over, so he could escape to the room under the eaves.

After bidding everyone good-night, he climbed the stairs, shutting the guest-room door with a thankful sigh. It was simply decorated, with the barest of necessities, dominated by a large bed in the middle. He turned back the heavy blanket and sighed happily. Clean sheets! He didn’t often have a bed at night. Now and then, he slid between the sheets of a bed with a housewife or a maid left alone in the house but seldom at night and never for very long.

He pushed such images away. Marian was in the room next to him. He could hear her moving around, making her own preparations for sleep. The vision of her smooth skin, naked beneath his hands, made him groan and he stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed, pulling the pillow over his head and ignoring the sounds from the room beside his.

He met Reverend Cooper on the stairs the next morning. “Sleep well, my boy?”

“Yes, thank you.” Frank had finally settled into a dreamless sleep, waking only once at the howling of coyotes nearby.

“We’ll have breakfast and then I’ll take you to see Adam Bates.”

The reverend was as good as his word. Adam, the middle-aged, rough-hewn owner of the feed store, studied Frank for a few moments. “If Reverend Cooper vouches for you, you’re fine by me, ” he said, extending his hand. “You can start tomorrow.”

“I could start this afternoon, ” Frank said. He needed hard work, something to keep his mind and his hands busy—to distract him from the minister’s daughter.

Adam Bates leaned against the counter and nodded. “Fine, after lunch then.”

Widow Bartlett had a room available in her narrow house. She was a tall, slender woman with a weary smile and even wearier eyes. Frank smiled politely when she showed him the common living quarters and he accepted her terms. With the money he made from the feed store, he’d have enough to begin saving.

For what? he asked himself as he carried his bag to his new home. He had thanked the family for their hospitality and promised to be a visitor one day soon. Marian had stood behind her mother, eyes aglow. He’d needed every ounce of control to keep from staring at her.

In his new room, he unpacked his meager belongings, his mind still on his change of plans. He’d never considered his future before. He enjoyed the different towns he visited and the freedom he had to leave them.

He sank down on his new bed. The bedsprings squeaked. The mattress wasn’t as soft as the one in the Coopers’ guest room, but it was his room. He hadn’t been in his own place since his departure from his parents’ house five years earlier.

The work wasn’t hard. Adam Bates kept him until only a thin sliver of the sun was left in the sky. Jamming his hat on his head, Frank walked back to his new home, ready for a hot bath and a long sleep.

He ducked his head under the water and washed the dirt and grime off his body, whistling tunelessly as he did. Marian said she loved him but what could she know of love, young as she was, stuck in this little town? No one could really love someone after such a short time together. The idea was preposterous.

Maybe she was exercising her ability to charm men with nothing more than a smile. Was she practicing on him so she could entice some young man in the village who was her main objective?

Dressed in his slacks and a clean shirt, he went down to the kitchen, hoping his dinner would fill the suddenly painful hollow in his stomach.