Page 43 of A Convenient Heart
Spurred on by the strength of her emotions, she took a step toward him. And another.
“I want to marry you.” She hadn’t said it quite like that since they’d met. Everything had been planned, and she’d kept following the plan, even through her misgivings. But the words she’d said were the truth. She wanted to be with the Jack who cuddled babies and protected her.
Another step toward him. “I don’t want secrets between us. I want a life with you?—”
She’d come close enough to see the dark flecks in his color-shifting eyes. Hazel this morning and clouded with…hope?
Merritt had been planning to reach for him, but it was Jack whose hands spanned her waist first.
His head dipped and he groaned just before his lips crashed against hers. There was no finesse, simply a desperation behind the kiss that made her breathless. The feeling that he couldn’t bearnotto be kissing her.
Her hands came up to fist in the shoulders of his shirt.
He broke the kiss for a fractured moment, his breath warm on her lips and chin.
His eyes were stormy.
And then his hand came up to cup her jaw gently, and this time when he pressed his lips to hers, there was a reverence to it. It felt like a new beginning.
Like everything she wanted.
A tiny cry from the baby, the sound of a tread from the bedroom, and the door snicking open had Jack brushing a kiss at the spot where her nose met her forehead, then releasing her to take a step back.
The stormy look had cleared from his eyes, and she couldn’t read them now.
Chapter9
Merritt smoothed the skirt of the sky-blue dress, twisting in front of the kitchen window to try and see her head-to-toe reflection in the wavy glass. Night had fallen, but the lamp on the table didn’t throw enough illumination to show her reflection clearly, even though it was dark outside.
She’d been a young girl the last time she’d had a store-bought dress. Mostly, she sewed her own. The fancy stitching and hint of lace at her wrists made this gown special.
She was going to marry Jack in two days. This was to be her wedding dress.
She pressed the fingers of one hand against her mouth in realization. In thirty-six hours, she’d belong to Jack. They’d be a family. She’d have a husband of her own. A family, more than the snatches of hours she got to spend with her cousins every few weeks. She wasn’t going to be alone anymore.
She twirled in the middle of the room, idly watching her reflection. Imagined Jack dancing with her, one strong hand at her waist. Holding her like he had just this morning.
After settling Velora and the baby with Mrs. Castlerock, who’d promised to get the church ladies involved in their care, Merritt had spent her morning in the makeshift classroom, teaching her last lesson of the calendar year. Tomorrow, they’d spend their classroom hours in final preparations for the pageant on Monday.
She’d been in the middle of coaching Samuel through an arithmetic problem, leaning over his shoulder and pointing at his slate, when Mr. Polk had come into the dance hall. He hadn’t said a word to her but had spent over an hour observing. A silent figure, towering at the back of the room.
Before today, his presence would’ve made her nervous, made her overthink every action, every word she said to the children.
After what Jack had divulged, she’d only been angry at Mr. Polk’s interference. She’d stuffed the emotion away, concentrating on the children and what they needed. Her job might be threatened, but she’d fight for it.
The perfect idea for how to make that happen had come to her during a quiet supper alone, and she had spent the rest of the evening making plans. What could be better than an auction benefiting their school? And right before Christmas, when folks might feel more generous or need to buy a last-minute gift. The papers she’d scribbled notes on were spread across the table.
But once her steam had run out, she’d started thinking about the wedding. And this dress. When she’d seen Danna in passing earlier this week, she’d asked her friend to stop by and see it. She could always count on Danna to tell her the truth. Danna was a straight shooter, a no-nonsense kind of person.
If the dress was too much or made Merritt’s skin look sickly, Danna would tell her.
A soft knock sounded at the door. That must be Danna now.
Merritt’s skirts rustled around her as she moved through the sitting room, where she’d lit a lamp in expectation of her friend’s arrival, and opened the door.
It wasn’t Danna on the other side. Her heart leaped as she registered Jack. He was facing away, staring pointedly into the darkness.
He only flicked one quick glance at her before backing toward the door. “Can I come in?”
