Page 28 of A Whiskey River Princess

He nodded and leaned in, but then cleared his throat and backed away. Immediately, she felt his absence as the cold rushed in between them. “Yes, I would.” He picked up the plate of bacon and placed it on the table. “I’ll leave you to finish the eggs and I’ll take the biscuits out of the oven and will set the table.”

Gabriella nodded and made another poached egg. Within minutes, she scooped the egg out of the water and laid it on another clean plate. By the time she finished cooking another a few more, Dirk had set the table, along with the biscuits and bacon.

Gabriella set the plates on the table at what had become their place settings. “Everything looks wonderful. It’s hard to believe that you did this in just a few minutes.”

Dirk smiled as he held her chair for her. “You mean, we did it.”

Gabriella sat down and Dirk pushed the chair under her. “Yes, we did.” She folded her hands and perched them on the edge of the table. “Would you like to say the blessing?”

He nodded and grinned, then took her hand in his and said a beautiful blessing over the meal. “Everything looks great,” he gushed as he offered her the bacon.

“We work well together.” She smiled as she took a couple strips of bacon and a biscuit, and placed them beside her egg and then started eating. “If you don’t mind me asking, whose clothes are these?”

Dirk set down his fork, obviously gathering his thoughts, and then took a sip of his coffee.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I was being too personal.” She started to get up, but Dirk’s hand caught hers, bringing her to a stop. She sat back down.

He shook his head as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “No, it’s okay.” He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts as she waited. “They were my wife’s.”

Gabriella’s eyes opened wide in concern. “Your wife?”

He nodded.

“What happened?” she asked in a low voice.

He looked into her eyes. “Sarah and I were married in New York. We both wanted adventure, so we came west. And when we came to Whiskey River, I was happy here.” He looked away, seemingly seeing something else in his mind’s eye. “I had never really felt at home anywhere… until we came here. But it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted more than Whiskey River… and more than me.”

Gabriella patted his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

He pulled away casually and folded his hands. “I knew she was unhappy, so I bought her things to try and make up for it, but nothing worked.I suspected this way of life had been too hard for her. She quickly became disenchanted and ended up leaving in the middle of the night, leaving all her clothes hanging in the closet. She left me a note saying that she was unhappywith Whiskey River and that she was leaving. I never heard from her again.” He let out a deep breath.

Gabriella nodded, taking it all in. “Why do you still have her things?” Her voice was merely a whisper.

“At first, I thought maybe she would come back, so I put everything in the spare room.” He shrugged. “But now, I’ve just gotten used to it being there.”

“How long has she been gone?”

Dirk shrugged. “A few years.” He let out a deep breath. “When I saw that she wasn’t coming back, I eventually gave up hope. So, in an effort to have some semblance of closure, I went to Laramie and filed for divorce.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Dirk smiled. “It was a long time ago.”

Gabriella placed her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

He pulled his hand away and took another sip of his coffee. “So, what about you?”

She suddenly felt cold, so she wrapped her hands around her coffee cup for warmth. “I’ve never been married before.”

“Why?” he asked bluntly.

She was taken aback by the directness of his question. She didn’t want to try to explain that she would one day be expected to marry for the good of the monarchy, and that most men she met had only been interested in her because of her money, her title, or both. No, the man she ended up married to would probably be an arranged marriage to a peacock.

“I don’t know. I always fancied myself married to someone I love.” She shrugged as she looked in her coffee cup. “The men I met didn’t qualify. I guess I never met the right person.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Your idea sounds good.”

Gabriella looked up and raised an eyebrow.

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