Grayson Brothers Series Boxed Set (4 books in 1) (37 page)

Amelia prayed Catherine wouldn’t notice her trembling as they exchanged a hug in the parlor, but to her surprise, Catherine felt just as tense.

“You look lovely, Amelia.”

In the face of Catherine’s smile, Amelia felt anything but lovely. All the Clark girls were gorgeous, but they were also genuinely kind and loving, so it was impossible to hate them for being so pretty. Still, Amelia wished she was wearing something more attractive than her black mourning dress.

She glanced at Kyle and Richard, who had just exchanged a handshake. That they were pleased to see each other was obvious in their beaming expressions.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Amelia said, groping for a suitable way to greet Richard.

“I’m famished. Catherine fairly starves me.” Richard cast a teasing smile at his stepmother, who flushed and lowered her lashes. He laughed and gave her a side-armed hug then turned back to Amelia. “You look lovely this evening,” he said, and then to her chagrin, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand.

Amelia summoned a believable smile, but tugged her fingers from Richard’s grasp. “Thank you. Why don’t you and Kyle relax in the parlor while I get beverages for everyone?”

“I’ll help you,” Catherine said, latching on to Amelia’s arm as if desperate to escape the men.

Amelia had thought Catherine’s presence would lessen the tension, but to her surprise it actually made the situation worse. Catherine had been different since she’d married Alfred Cameron. Before the marriage, when she still lived with her parents, Catherine had been happier, more talkative, and though Amelia had gone to their house to visit Lucinda, she’d enjoyed the teasing that went on between the four sisters. Catherine was still friendly, but her eyes were full of heartache and secrets now.

The instant they stepped into the kitchen Catherine gasped. “What a splendid kitchen!”

Amelia smiled, knowing her first reaction had been similar. “Kyle and his brothers built the house,” she said then conveyed the details while pouring ale for the men and tea for herself and Catherine.

To Amelia’s relief, they shared an amiable drink in the parlor then brought their light conversation to the table with them, which seemed to calm Catherine’s unease and her own as well.

Kyle and Richard headed toward the beer barrel in the pantry for the third time. Amelia and Catherine exchanged a glance then flinched when a loud burst of laughter came from the pantry. Kyle and Richard came back out with grins on their faces and proceeded to wash down their supper with several mugs of ale.

“How many times did we fall from that vine before your father cut it down?” Richard asked, his face alight with laughter.

Kyle grinned, his own face flushed, his eyes alive with humor that mesmerized Amelia. She’d never seen him like this, almost boyish in his enthusiasm. Richard and Kyle were talking about a thick, wild grapevine that they had used to swing out over the gorge and drop several feet into the water. Apparently it didn’t always make a full arc over the water, and whoever had taken the ride would come crashing back into the bank they had just jumped from.

“I think he chopped it down after Boyd busted a rib.” Kyle shrugged and laughed. “I don’t recall.”

“Remember that fort we tried to build up there?”

“Yes! My father almost killed me over that.”

Kyle laughed and Richard set his fork on his plate. He turned to Amelia and Catherine, his smile of remembrance genuine. “We helped ourselves to Mr. Grayson’s lumber. Every night after chores I would meet Kyle, Duke, and Boyd at the mill and we would haul those long planks half a mile up the gorge. It about broke our backs, but we hauled, sawed, and pounded nails every night for a week before Mr. Grayson realized his lumber pile was diminishing. When he discovered we were using his prime lumber to build ourselves a fort, I thought he was going to whip us.”

Richard glanced at Kyle and they both snickered as if they were still boys. Despite her anxiety over Richard’s presence, Amelia leaned forward, intrigued by Kyle’s childhood and his friendship with Richard. “What did he do?” she asked, directing her question to Kyle.

Kyle smirked. “Dad put us to work shoveling sawdust at the mill.”

“We must have shoveled a hundred wagons full of that stuff before he let us off the hook.” Richard took a drink of ale then laughed. “I begged my father to pay Mr. Grayson for the lumber, but he said the work would be good for my character.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

Richard gawked at Kyle. “I could barely stand upright for a week!”

“You just weren’t used to shoveling. I was glad to make some money.”

“That’s right!” Richard hooted. “Mr. Businessman here sold the sawdust for insulation.”

“We were able to buy the rest of the lumber we needed for our fort, weren’t we?”

Richard lifted his glass to salute Kyle. “True. I got my first lesson in business from you. Do whatever you have to do to survive.”

Amelia’s gaze shifted between Richard and Kyle and she could see the enjoyment in their eyes, the smiles on their faces attesting to a long friendship and years of fun memories. Despite her misgivings and anxiety over Richard, she knew she wouldn’t break that connection between her husband and Richard.

As Amelia cleared the last of their dishes from the table, Richard gestured toward the parlor with his glass.

“Catherine has been dying to see your home, Kyle. Would you show her the rest of the house?” he asked.

Catherine’s face paled. “The house is lovely, Richard, but I’m not imposing on Amelia to give me a tour.”

“That’s why I asked Kyle show you through.”

It seemed they all exchanged glances simultaneously, but no one said a word.

Richard lifted his glass. “Go ahead. I’ll stay here and keep Amelia company.”

Catherine cast a helpless at Kyle, eliciting Amelia’s sympathy. Richard could be so pushy sometimes. Pity the woman for having to live with him.

“Go with them, Richard. I’m almost finished in here,” Amelia said, carrying their stacked plates to the sink. She didn’t care if they took a tour or sat and visited, as long as she didn’t have to take part.

When Amelia heard the shifting of chairs and the sound of footsteps cross the kitchen, she breathed a sigh of relief to finally be alone. She filled a dishpan with hot soapy water and started to submerse the plates in the dishwater.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were marrying Kyle?” Richard asked, his mouth so close to her ear that she squeaked and dropped a plate into the dishwater.

She clutched her stomach and turned toward Richard, who had trapped her between himself and the sink. She glanced toward the door that connected the kitchen and parlor, but Richard’s quiet chuckle drew her attention back to him. “Don’t worry, Kyle’s giving Catherine a tour of your bedroom. They’ll be a while.”

Although they had been provoked into it by Richard, the thought of them alone in her bedroom put an uncomfortable knot in Amelia’s chest. “Why aren’t you with them?”

“I wanted a minute alone with you.”

She stepped back and bumped against the sink. “You’re in Kyle’s home, Richard.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Well, he trusts you.”

“He should. Kyle’s my friend.”

“Then act like his friend.”

His eyebrows lifted, but Amelia ignored his offended look.

“You manipulated Catherine and Kyle to get them out of your way so you could purposely put me on edge. And don’t pretend you aren’t aware of what I’m talking about.” She drew a shaky breath and smoothed her damp hands down the front of her dress. “I don’t want to come between you and Kyle, so please stop this nonsense.”

“Is that some sort of a backhanded threat?”

“No, Richard.” Amelia sighed with frustration. “I just want you to be his friend. Forget you ever knew me before tonight.”

“Amelia.” His voice was soft, contrite. “I know it’s too late for us and I accept that. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry our past relationship is causing problems for you and Kyle.”

“What?” She stared at him.

“Kyle has hinted that your marriage is under some strain.”

She gasped at his audacity. “Kyle told you that?”

Richard ignored her question and squeezed her arm. “If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”

* * *

When Kyle returned to the kitchen and found Richard caressing Amelia’s arm, his first instinct was to throttle the man. But Richard touched everyone like that; a slap on the shoulder, a jovial handshake, an arm around the shoulders. He’d just hugged Catherine in the doorway not two hours ago. It was just his way and it probably meant nothing, but Kyle knew better than to trust anybody.

His own brother had betrayed him with Evelyn, the woman Kyle was supposed to marry. That was Kyle’s fault for not paying attention. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

In three long strides, he crossed the kitchen and grabbed Richard by the back of the neck. “I see I’d better keep this rogue in my sights,” he said to Amelia as he forced Richard back two steps.

Richard laughed, apparently believing Kyle was teasing him. “I was just complimenting your lovely wife on her delicious cooking.”

“Well, do it without the use of your hands.”

Richard lifted his palms as if to protest his innocence, but Kyle nudged him toward the door. “Come on, you hound. Let’s take Catherine home and stop at the Pemberton for a nightcap.” Anything to get Richard out of his house and away from Amelia. “I won’t be late,” he said, glancing back at his wife’s surprised face as he guided Richard and Catherine Cameron out the door.

Though Kyle had calmed his jealousy, and he and Richard had enjoyed a few mugs at the Pemberton, he felt an odd tension between them the next morning when Richard and Catherine greeted them in the churchyard.

Catherine smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Amelia, and gave Kyle a brief, intimate glance he hoped no one else noticed. It had been torture showing her through the house last night, pretending they barely knew each other, when the whole time Kyle’s guilt was burning like acid in his gut. He’d hated bringing a former lover into his house and unintentionally playing Amelia for a fool. She had been so gracious and warm to Catherine, and though Richard seemed to make Amelia uncomfortable, she’d welcomed him, too. He’d also hated treating Catherine so callously. Even though she’d only wanted friendship, it still felt awkward and cruel to show her through the house he was sharing with another woman. The brief apology he’d given her in the bedroom seemed pathetically inadequate.

“Richard and I wanted to wish you a Happy birthday,” Catherine said to Kyle, her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink that nearly matched the overskirt of her dress. A tower of gold curls spiraled down her neck and over the crest of one plump bosom.

Kyle couldn’t deny her beauty, but it was appreciation instead of attraction that made him notice.

Amelia’s startled expression made him cringe. He’d forgotten about his birthday. It was just another day to him, but Amelia’s hurt look made him sorry he hadn’t remembered to tell her. “Thank you, Catherine.”

An awkward pause ensued before Richard spoke to Amelia. “The meal and... companionship last night were both delightful,” he said, but to Kyle’s surprise Amelia’s expression remained strangely blank, as if she were working hard to keep any emotion out of her eyes.

Amelia thanked Richard then turned to Kyle wearing a fake smile. “We really must get home so I can finish your birthday cake.”

Kyle nodded to Richard and Catherine and then guided Amelia to the carriage. The minute they were out of the yard, she turned on him. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”

“I didn’t remember until Catherine mentioned it.”

“How on earth could you forget your own birthday?”

He shrugged. “It’s not important to me.”

“Well, it is to me, Kyle! I felt like a fool not knowing my husband’s birthday. I felt humiliated. When we get home I want you to make a list of your brothers’ and mother’s birthdays so I don’t have to suffer this embarrassment again.”

“My mother’s birthday is today.”

“It is not.”

“It is. She was hoping I would be born on her birthday so I entered the world two weeks ahead of schedule to please her.”

“Typical of you to be an aggressive infant.”

“When’s your birthday?” he asked.

She crossed her arms over her chest, suspecting that Kyle was trying to derail her from chastising him. “I’m not telling you.”

He smirked at her. “Is that supposed to be a pout on your face?”

She tried to glare at him, but his brows lifted and Amelia caught herself staring. It happened every time he looked at her, as if he could see right into her mind and read her thoughts. She didn’t need to read his to know he was contemplating kissing her, that he was at the end of his patience with holding himself back, that they would be consummating their marriage today or tomorrow. During the week she’d sensed his reserve breaking down as clearly as she could now see the desire filling his eyes. Last night she’d been sound asleep when he came home, but today, the entire afternoon and evening stretched out before them without a thing to do.

“I have a surprise for you,” she blurted, hoping her outrageous idea would jar Kyle out of his preoccupation with the mills and help her bridge the awkward gap between them. She didn’t want to give him any more reason to fill Richard’s ears with complaints about their marriage. “We have to change our clothes though.”

He frowned.

Before she realized what she was doing, Amelia pressed her fingertips to the crease in his forehead. “Why on earth do you frown over everything?”

“I don’t.”

“Yes you do!” She lowered her hand. “You have a permanent crease between your eyebrows.”

“That’s from squinting in the sun.”

“It’s there because you’re always irritated with something. Don’t you ever have fun? Isn’t there something you like to do that makes you smile?” She met his stare, challenging him to deny his perpetual frown.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Who doesn’t?” she asked with a laugh.

“Why do we have to change our clothes?”

“You’re not allowed to ask questions about a surprise. And you’re not allowed to frown for the rest of today.” He glanced at her and she put her hand on his arm. “It’s your birthday, the sun is shining, and it’s gorgeous outside. Can we just try to enjoy the day together?”

“Whatever you want.” His shoulders lowered as though fatigued. “What am I supposed to wear?”

“Your work clothes. We’re going to the lumberyard.”

“What?” he asked, his expression appalled as he pulled into their driveway. Sunday was their only day off and by the look on Kyle’s face the lumberyard was the last place he wanted to spend his birthday.

“Stop frowning. We won’t be working,” Amelia said, climbing out of the carriage before he could help her. She headed toward the house. “I have to change and put water on to heat for laundry, but I’ll meet you out here in fifteen minutes.”

Kyle nodded, but when he met her back at the carriage, his face was devoid of his usual frown and it lifted Amelia’s spirits so much she hummed softly all the way to her father’s lumberyard. No matter what she had to do, she was going to find a way to connect with her husband today.

She barely gave him time to put the horses in the barn before she caught his hand and dragged him out behind the mill. “Your surprise is down here,” she said, picking her way along an overgrown path that cut down into the gorge. Silently, she scanned the rocky, tree-lined bank.

“What are you looking for?” Kyle asked, his forehead beginning to crease as he walked beside her.

“My boat. And stop frowning.”

He relaxed his face, but only because surprise had lifted his ears and eyebrows. “You have a boat?”

“There it is!” Amelia hurried to a mound that looked like a fallen tree on the rock-strewn creek bank. She tugged it upright and huffed out a breath. “We’ll have to dig the sand and dirt out of it before we can put it in the water.”

“That boat won’t float five minutes, Amelia.”

“Where are the oars?” She knelt down and scraped the sand with a flat rock. “I always kept them in the boat. The wind must have tipped it up.” Of course it had been four years since she’d used the tiny rowboat her father had given her, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Kyle. This was the only beautiful gift she had left to share with him. “Here they are!” She dug her fingers beneath one oar and tugged it from the mix of sand, soil, and rock. “Tip the boat over for me so we can knock the debris out of it.”

“We are not putting that thing in the water.”

“Why?” She faced him. “What are you afraid of, Kyle? That you might get wet? Or that you might actually have some fun?”

His head jerked back as if she’d slapped him, but his eyes filled with challenge and he marched forward and grabbed the edge of the boat. Well, there was lesson number three. Give a man food, sex, or a challenge if you want him to do something for you. She was finally getting the hang of this.

“This is insane.”

Amelia grinned and hauled the other oar out of sand. “I know, but it’s better than working, isn’t it?”

“You don’t think this is work?” he asked, but to her surprise, the expression in his eyes was almost teasing.

It took them ten minutes to get the boat into the water, and another five before Kyle deemed it seaworthy and they climbed in. The plank seats were so close, he had to plant his feet on either side of her legs and gird her knees with his thighs. He reached for the oars and Amelia pulled them from his grasp. “This is your birthday present. Relax and enjoy the ride.”

“I’m not letting you row.”

“Kyle darling, shut up.”

His eyebrows slashed down and Amelia burst out laughing. “I knew you couldn’t go an hour without frowning.”

“I wasn’t frowning. All right, maybe I was, but you told me to shut up.”

“That’s not half of what I wanted to tell you this morning when I found out it was not only your birthday but your mother’s, as well. What on earth are we going to give her for a gift?”

“I bought a necklace for her when I was in Philadelphia.”

“Thank goodness. We’ll have to take it by later.”

Kyle grimaced. “The party starts at seven o’clock.”

“What party?” Amelia asked, feeling her stomach tighten in anxiety.

“The one I forgot to tell you about.” He had the grace to look chagrined and he sat back and braced his palms along the dirty edges of the boat. “Evelyn’s having a surprise party for my mother tonight. I was supposed to tell you yesterday.”

“What?” Amelia gaped at him. “Kyle, how could you forget something so important?”

His gaze perused her from her hips to her mouth. “I’ve had other things on my mind.”

Heat burned up her neck, but she forced herself not to turn away. Sunlight and leaf shadows flitted across Kyle’s hair and shoulders. His eyes caught sparks from the sun and Amelia admired her husband as she moved the oars through the water.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Down the river of truth,” she said then smiled at him. “As long as I’m rowing, I get to ask you questions and you have to answer them honestly. If I stop rowing, it’s your turn to ask questions.”

He grinned. “You won’t last for ten questions.”

“I’m rowing downstream. Guess who’s rowing back?”

He laughed and her heart flipped. “You should do that more often,” she said, still mesmerized by his wide smile and beautiful teeth. “You have a wonderful laugh, and it’s much more attractive than that frown you’re so attached to.”

“Is that a criticism or a backhanded compliment?”

“Both, but since I’m rowing that means I get to ask the questions.”

He laughed. She could tell that he liked her sassiness. Kyle admired people with the nerve to stand up to him as she’d done that day at the mill when she refused to go home. He’d been sincere during their wedding reception when he’d said he appreciated a woman’s intelligence. And ironically enough, for a staid businessman, he seemed to enjoy her outrageous behavior.

Thank goodness, because she felt wild today with the sun and breeze on her face. She would show Kyle her true personality today, and if it wasn’t enough to ease his disappointment in her lack of virginity then in her heart she would have the comfort of knowing she’d tried to give him everything she had left.

“At this pace you’re going to row all day,” he said, but she knew he was picking on her.

“All right, who is the smartest person you know?”

“Boyd.”

A laugh burst from her, and she propped the oar handles on her knees. “You’re joking, of course.”

The boat swung sideways and Kyle grinned. “You don’t know my little brother. Since he was four years old, Boyd has been able to manipulate, swindle, or charm his way in or out of anything. That includes work and paying the bar tab when he’s the only one drinking. You stopped rowing. It’s my turn.”

“What?” Amelia glanced down at the oars as Kyle dragged them into his hands, his face inches from hers.

“What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?”

She could have said lifting her skirt for Richard, but that qualified as the stupidest. “Marrying you,” she said, warning her heart to quit pounding.

His eyes locked on hers and the paddles floated to the surface.

“You’re about to lose the oars, Kyle.” She nodded to the paddles slipping from his lax hands.

She took back the oars with a sense of pride for besting him so quickly. “What is the most frightening thing you’ve ever seen?” Tiny dots of perspiration sprinkled his forehead and reflected the sunlight as he stared at her. “You have to answer, Kyle, or you lose the challenge.”

He blinked and straightened his shoulders, but surprise still lingered in his eyes. “Watching Radford lose control and think he was back in the middle of the war.”

Amelia reminded herself to pull on the oars. Radford was the only one of the boys who had gone to war. Evelyn had never said anything about his trauma, though, and Radford always seemed so happy and calm when Amelia saw him, it was hard to believe he was afflicted with something so awful. “Does he still suffer like that?” she asked.

“He seems better, but he might still have nightmares about the war. They don’t say and I don’t ask.”

“I’m sure it’s kinder not to,” she said, scouring her mind for something to make Kyle laugh. She wanted to lighten the moment and break through his rigid control, but nothing crossing her mind seemed outrageous enough to work. “If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?”

“California, to see the redwood trees.”

She laughed. “Of course you’d take a vacation where you could look at more trees.”

“Well, where would you go?” he asked.

“It’s not your turn, but I’ll answer anyhow. I would visit the ocean. I love the water. I spent my summers paddling down this creek in my boat, and when that got too lonely, I’d trail after Papa at the mill until it was time to go home for supper. What’s your favorite time of the year?”

“That’s a boring question.”

“You’re right,” she said with a nod. “I meant to ask, what’s my deadline for consummating our marriage?”

His eyes shot open and he gaped at her.

“I don’t expect you to wait forever, Kyle. I just felt we needed time to get comfortable with each other. I want to laugh with you before I make love with you.”

He braced his fists beside him on the plank seat. “Are you saying you’re comfortable with me?”

“No,” she said softly, “but I’m hoping to be soon.”

“How soon?” He leaned forward, his eyes growing dark.

She met his intense stare, the oars forgotten in her hands. “How soon does it have to be?” she asked, praying he would give her a few more days.