Page 525 of Conveniently Wed
No one but the two of them. She and her new husband shared a secret. She wished the secret was the lie and the kiss was real. She brushed her fingertips over her lips and the memory burned bright accompanied by tingling in her mouth. Heat pulsed deep within her...for only a moment. She wondered how often she would revisit the embrace and yearn for what was not to be.How soon will my regret sour our relationship beyond repair?
She donned a lovely, navy blue calico dress sprinkled with tiny white flowers that fit her figure like a glove, then tied her hair back with the blue ribbon Franklin had used.
A noise from the other room alerted her that someone had inserted a key into the lock on the door to their suite.How dare someone invade our privacy like this?
She opened the connecting door and found the bedding and pillow Franklin had used beside the doorway. She grabbed them and tossed them on the bed, then turned back. Her husband wasn’t anywhere in the room. Had he left her already? Painsliced through her. Just because Mike left and never came back didn’t mean something had happened to Franklin.
He walked through the opened door, carrying a fairly large paper bag.
Mr. Holcomb followed him with a china coffee pot and two cups, saucers, and plates on a tray. “Here’s your coffee. Have a nice breakfast. Take all the time you need before you leave for the ranch.”
“Thanks, Arnie. We will.” Franklin set the new-fangled flat-bottomed paper bag beside the tray on the table by the window.
After giving her a curious nod, the hotel proprietor left.
Franklin stood by the table, and she was rooted beside the bedroom door. They stared at each other for an extended moment. Once again, the connection between them made her breathless. She wished they hadn’t lost the wonder of a real wedding night. Since Franklin was so thoughtful about her needs, she wondered about how marvelous their lovemaking would have been.
This has got to stop.
He glanced down at the sack. “I went to the bakery to get our breakfast. I didn’t think we’d want to eat in the tavern.”
He glanced up at her again, and his tenderness and thoughtfulness softened her heart.
Lorinda hurried toward the table to serve whatever was in the sack, but he was already placing a cinnamon roll on each plate. Standing beside him, she poured the coffee, his black and a lump of sugar and a dollop of cream in hers. She hadn’t even noticed the sugar bowl and cream pitcher when Mr. Holcomb brought in the tray. Perhaps Franklin ordered them. Two large white napkins were under the plates. The warmth from his body enveloped her, and she glanced up at his face.
“Why don’t you sit in that chair?” He shifted a step or two from her. “You can use the small table beside it to set your coffee.” He picked up a plate and napkin.
Was she standing too close to him? Was that why he moved away?
She set her coffee on the indicated side table, then sank into the wingback chair. He followed her and handed her the fragrant pastry on the plate and dropped the napkin in a pile in her lap. She glanced down and started straightening it out.
“I’m sorry we don’t have forks. I can go down and get a couple from Arnie.” He headed toward the door.
“We can use our fingers.” She picked up the roll and took a heavenly bite, relishing the taste of the sugary butter and cinnamon in the fluffy roll. When the bite was gone, she continued. “These napkins will work just fine. We can wet them when we’re finished if we...need to get all the sticky off.”
Franklin nodded. He ate standing up by the table near the window, his gaze fastened on the distant mountains.
One of the things she liked the most about him was his love of the Rockies. In her mind, the peaks held up the sky and surrounded them with protection. She loved living on the ranch nestled in the valley a few miles outside town. Remembering the small hills that scattered around her hometown in Missouri, she couldn’t imagine ever leaving these majestic mountains to live in a place like that again.
Actually, Franklin’s gaze roved over the room...everywhere except at her. Was he as nervous as she was?
He set his coffee cup in his saucer. “Would you like to do any shopping before we go back to the ranch? I’ve set up an account for you at the bank, so you have as much money as you need for anything you want.”
“I’m not lacking anything I need.” She smiled up at him. He had been paying her to work with Mrs. Oleson, and she’d hidden that money away with the two pokes of gold Mike gave her.
“I know.” He set the cup and saucer down and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black suit pants. Once again, he stared out the window. “But now that you’re my wife, you can look beyond needs to...wants you wouldn’t ever spend money on before. Although some years are leaner than others...” He turned back toward her. “...I make a good living on the ranch, and it also belongs to you now.”
She almost choked on the bite she’d just taken. Slowly, she chewed it up, trying to think about how to answer that statement. The twinkle of light that shot from the ring on her left hand caught her attention. “Franklin, did this ring belong to your mother like the pearls did?” She set the coffee cup down and fingered the glittering jewels.
His intense gaze brought a flush to her cheeks. She wished she didn’t blush so easily around him. What did he see when he studied her so intently?
“No, Lorinda. I bought that for you...only you.”
She was trying so hard to put emotional distance between them, then he would do something so tender and loving. She had to remind herself he didn’t mean it that way. Perhaps his wife needed to own nice things so the neighbors would believe the marriage was real. Living with him was going to be so hard. Always wondering what he really meant by what he said and what he did.
They hurried to finish breakfast and pack. Having something to do took her mind off their problems.
Lorinda reentered the parlor. While she was in the bedroom gathering her things, the coffee, dishes, and tray disappeared. Franklin must have taken them downstairs.
