The door swung open quickly with a surprised, sheepish face that greeted him. Cole looked at her lovely face and blurted, “I’m sorry, Beth. That was wrong of me. It won’t happen again,” he said apologetically and instantly regretted the words. He did want it to happen again!
“Don’t be silly, Cole, and get inside. This is your house and you have nothing to apologize for,” Elizabeth shushed him, relieved he had not asked her to leave. She wasn’t sure if he would do that or not, and that doubt ate at her while she waited ages for him to come in from putting up the horse.
“You don’t have to knock, nor apologize,” she repeated. “We are both adults and if I hadn’t been acting like a slatternly woman, you would not have been tempted to kiss me. I should be apologizing to you for how I behaved this afternoon,” she uttered quietly as she poured them both a glass of water.
“Please let’s forget it and move on. Please?” she beseeched softly looking at him finally.
“Don’t call yourself that. You are far from a loose woman. Let’s agree that this happened and move forward, however it turns out. I don’t want to forget about it, Beth,” Cole said firmly. “I will not forget about it for a long time. That kiss was fantastic and there is nothing about you that you should have to apologize for. I wanted to kiss you, I needed to kiss you…but the last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable around me. If you don’t want me to kiss you again- I won’t,” he hesitated and stepped forward, the table between them.
“But if you do, Beth,” he said as he cleared his throat, her eyes suddenly hot and not turning from his. He liked the way she wasn’t afraid of him and how she practically challenged him with her eyes as if she taunted him to do it again. Did Elizabeth know how tempting she was?
“If you want me to kiss you again in the future, let me do this the proper way like I should. Let me woo you, let me earn your heart and, if you decide that someday you want to kiss me, I will be here. And it will be more than kissing, I promise you this,” Cole vowed. His eyes did not break from Elizabeth’s for quite some time. He wasn’t sure if he had gone too far, but there was no returning from the electric kiss they shared.
Cole would not let it go, nor would he let that fire in her escape. He wanted that heat from her and nothing would stop him. He watched as her delicate throat moved as she swallowed, as she still boldly met his eyes. He liked that about her, she never backed down. Curious, he wondered what she would respond and where they would go. For a moment, he was afraid she would ask to leave but everything in his gut told him that she was made of sterner stuff and was a helluva woman.
Wow,
Elizabeth’s mind screamed.
Cole wanted to pursue her?
That was a heady and terrifying thought. Had she run from one man she didn’t know straight into the arms of another? Tempting as it was, were those hot lips worth her precious freedom she had just gained or was she trading one prison for another?
“Do I have to decide now,” she asked hesitantly, unsure how she would choose. Her body was thrumming from the kiss and felt so alive. She was scared and unsure if she wanted more or if she needed it to stop immediately.
A grin split Cole’s face at her softly spoke question. Her hesitation was telling and by her lack of denial, it told him that she was not opposed to him as a potential suitor. His father would laugh at the thought of his son running from home and family, had just come back to his home with sudden thoughts of a family. A woman.
My how things change and come full circle
, he thought. He would take his time with Beth and make certain that this was what both of them needed.
The tension was broken by Beth offering to serve up dinner for them both. She needed something, anything, to break the silence and change the direction the conversation was going. She didn’t want to answer nor be forced into anything. Cole seemed to not want to push, either, which was relieving to her. They ate a bit in silence and then Beth asked for details of his trip into town. They made small talk as he shared what the banker had told him on the sale of livestock, his purchases of seed and invited her on the next trip into town. Cole explained to Beth that he would need her help, since the next trip would involve them taking the wagon in for major purchases.
Surprise lit her face, Beth had no idea there was a wagon on the property and assumed it must be in the barn. The one place she hadn’t looked yet. She was pleased to be asked to accompany him and apprehensive at the thought of someone recognizing her. “I don’t want to be spotted if someone is searching for me, maybe going into town isn’t such a good idea for me for quite some time,” she replied sadly. The thought of seeing more of her new home, even if it seemed to resemble her old, was still exciting.
“That actually is pretty good thinking, Beth,” he said grinning. “And I have a solution for you. I actually need your help setting up the garden so we have vegetables to can for the winter, but I don’t want you to burn, either, if you are in the sun all day. That nose is too pretty to be red unless I make it that way,” he said with a flirtatious wink as he tested the waters with her. When he saw her turn away and blush, he laughed aloud. “Beth, I picked you up a little something,” he offered. “Now close your eyes,” he said mischievously and got up from the wooden bench at the table.
Beth was a bit embarrassed by the attention that was suddenly directed her way, but welcomed it as well. She had thought he was attractive since she had first seen him get off the horse at the beginning of her trip, but having that directed at her was a heady thing! Playing along, she shut her eyes, excitedly. She adored presents and this was so unexpected and uncalled for – making it that much more special. Beth grinned and jumped guiltily as she heard him bark “No peeking, Beth!”
It wasn’t peeking, I’m just checking to see what’s taking so long,
she thought wryly and sat dutifully as he asked. Hearing him moving around the small room was toying with her nerves as she wondered what he had gotten her today. The suspense was killing her.
Cole knew he was taking his sweet time, but it was endearing to see her face in the lamplight smiling happily. He watched her for a few minutes until he saw her crack one eye open and caught her cheating.
Minx!
He almost laughed aloud thinking how she would be at Christmas or how she must have been as a child. Apparently, his Beth does not like to be kept waiting for anything.
Cole circled the room a few times to throw her off track, enjoying each smile she revealed. He stepped beside her once and leaned in with a soft “boo” that made her jump and laugh delightedly. Cole had intended to return to his seat, but after hearing that throaty little giggle, he, instead, seated himself next to her. She was still sitting perfectly straight at the table. He knew her posture was due to that corset she always wore, while he slouched back opposite of her lazily. His legs sprawled out towards the fireplace.
How different they were and how similar,
he thought as he noticed that her breath had quickened. His own pulse had sped up as he had sat close to her.
Beth caught her breath at his playfulness and jumped at his teasing. This was a side she hadn’t seen before from Cole. When she felt him sit next to her on the bench, her heart began to race. He was extremely close and she could feel his aura next to her. She heard him whisper gently, “Open your eyes,” and practically melted at how tender he sounded.
His breath warm against her ear, the moment touched at her heartstrings. Beth opened her eyes slowly and felt the overwhelming urge to touch his face. His eyes were so warm and so close to her. She looked at his lips, unconsciously licking hers and said quietly “I was not peeking, you know.”
Watching her little pink tongue peek out and wet her lips was a heady thing, Cole thought. “I know you weren’t, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, either. I hope you like it,” he said as he pulled the delicate bonnet out of the wrapper and handed it to her.
“I want to be the one to make you blush, not the Texas heat,” he reiterated again heatedly as he stared at the moist, pink lips not a foot from his own. He wanted to taste them again so much… but it had to be her idea.
The bonnet was a delicate gingham pattern with a large bill to protect her face. It wasn’t a particularly romantic gift, but it was certainly thoughtful. Presentation was on par though because it was a truly intimate moment with the two of them sitting closely together and him teasing her. Beth shook out the bonnet, careful to keep the long ties from going into her water or the remaining dinner on her tin plate. Smiling, she placed it on her head, tucking her dark hair inside the gathered back of the fabric.
“How do I look? Do I look like a proper ranch hand?” she said laughingly.
Smiling, Cole grabbed the ties and began to tie a large bow under her pert chin. “You look far from a ranch hand,” he in all seriousness. He wished she make a move and lean forward towards him. He said he wouldn’t kiss her again unless she invited it and he was regretting the words.
Seeing her smiling face in the pretty pink gingham bonnet, the intimate moment of the two of them alone was heady. He could see why people needed chaperones to prevent them from doing something racy or disastrous to their future. He was a grown man and felt like a young buck when it came to her.
Cole hesitated for a moment as he straightened the bow under her chin yet again, wishing fervently for her to make a move. He wanted to take the ties and pull her lips forward to him, but fought the urge.
Be patient,
he thought. He saw her bold gaze locked with his but with no signs of invitation, he backed off and prayed for another opportunity.
“The bonnet looks almost as lovely as you,” he said gently and moved away from the table.
“Thank you,” she whispered, whether it was for the bonnet or letting her choose whether or not to make the next move she wasn’t sure. Elizabeth felt the instant his body moved away, the magnetic moment broken. She watched him smile and move away, putting distance between them.
She admired his broad shoulders as he put the tin plates into the sink and his arms flexed and worked the pump. Watching his body move was eye-catching and unsettling at the same time. She felt the sudden urge to run her fingers from the base of his neck to his lower back, just above where those denim jeans met his shirt. What would he think or do? Was she ready for that moment?
She pulled the bonnet off and laid it down on the table, moving to help clean up. Feeling a strange sense of loss, she moved towards the sink to aid … only to see him pull back and step aside.
Unexpected, but not unwarranted
she thought, as she knew she had not fallen for his charms or stepped into his arms.
They were new friends, still had so much to learn about each other… for him to switch gears on her this fast was unsettling. She wanted things to be her choice and appreciated that he was going to let it be just that: her decision. She had interest from men before in the past, but it was never as intense as the desire she had seen from Cole.
Wiping down the counter, Elizabeth watched him from the corner of her eyes as Cole moved around the house. She watched as he shut the shutters, leaving the windows open so there was air flow throughout the house. Elizabeth was fascinated with how Cole checked the gun, banked the fireplace for the night and asked permission to set the rifle in the bedroom for her. The house was set for the night and she saw he was moving to the door, blankets in hand. Elizabeth began to protest, feeling guilty about taking the house and putting him into the barn, but at his stern expression-she stopped.
At Elizabeth’s dissent, Cole held up a hand in protest. “Beth, no. Unless you are ready for a husband at this point in your life or something happening you are not ready for- this has to be. Either that or one of us has to leave. If someone finds out we are staying here, you will be ruined for any man regardless of what has or has not happened,” he said staunchly.
The idea of sleeping in the barn did not appeal to him any more than it did to her. It was unfortunately necessary for decorum if she was to ever be treated decently by locals or to have a position as governess. If they lived together, even if nothing happened between them- local families would not allow a fallen woman to tend to their child and most men would not touch her, unless she actually was a soiled dove. He would not put her reputation or her future in any more jeopardy than he already had.
Stepping out into the night, he shut the door firmly and asked her to place the beam along the door frame as to safely ensconce her inside for the night. Cole stood for a few minutes on the front stoop, thinking of how his life had changed over the last month; particularly how it had changed over the last week. This seemed all so strange but enticing as well. Shaking his head, he lifted the lantern and headed towards the barn to make himself as comfortable as he possibly could for the night.
Elizabeth had never felt so alone in her life. She peered through the slats of the shutters, watching him cross the expanse of yard to the dark barn. His lantern illuminating the way and disappearing shortly as he slid the massive door shut to keep out intruders or animals. Silence in the small house was deafening and she could occasionally hear crickets or birds outside. Dimming the lamps, she headed to her room and locked the door behind her for good measure. Undressing down to her chemise, Beth lay there for quite some time in the bed thinking about the things Cole had said to her and how she felt as he kissed her.
It was a helluva long night.