The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection: Nine Historical Romances Celebrate Marrying for All the Right Reasons (23 page)

“No.” Annabell shook her head, sending her gold ringlets bouncing. “It’s whoever scores the highest.”

Ruby chuckled. “Believe what you want, child.”

“How long do we have to stand here?” Sadie asked. Perspiration ran between her shoulder blades.

The other women shrugged. Sadie stepped off the sidewalk. “Then I say we’re finished. I don’t like being on display like a prized heifer at the county fair.” She headed home to change, leaving the other ninnies standing with their mouths open.

How dare Zeke leave them standing there. Mortification flooded her face. The good doctor was enjoying things a bit too much in Sadie’s opinion. She was tempted to tell him so herself, the moment she changed into something cooler.

She donned the pink gown she’d worn before leaving the house, grabbed her hat, and set off for Zeke’s office, praying there would be no bleeding patients. How embarrassing to keel over like a sissy.

She marched into Zeke’s office and skidded to a halt. He had his hands wrapped around the belly of a very pregnant woman. He placed his ear against the woman’s stomach and closed his eyes.

“Everything looks and sounds wonderful, Mrs. Lynkin. The baby is ready anytime. It’s dropped into position. If you’d like to hurry things along, take a long walk around your property, but don’t stray too far from the house.” He patted her shoulder.

Zeke’s familiarity with his patient caused Sadie to take a step back. Rarely sick herself, she obviously had little idea of what went on within Zeke’s profession. A flush burned her cheeks. She made a move to back out of the office, catching Zeke’s attention.

“Sadie.” His eyes warmed. He ushered his patient out while setting his stethoscope on his desk. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company two days in a row?”

“Are you always so… comfortable with your female patients?” How silly was she not to notice the doctor’s tool he had used. She needed to leave. Now. Before she embarrassed herself further.

He raised an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

“Hardly.”

“I’ve seen plenty of women during the last few years, Sadie. Men, too, for all that. There is very little of the human anatomy that I haven’t seen.”

“Gracious.” She whirled and dashed outside.

Zeke laughed so hard he leaned against his desk. Poor, shy, naive, strong-headed Sadie. Surely she knew of a doctor’s duties? When he gained control of his laughter, he stuck his head out the door. She sat on the bench, hands folded in her lap, eyes staring at the livery across the street. He suspected she saw little of what was going on around her.

He sat next to her. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“You also laughed. Very hard.”

“Well, yes, I did.” He bit his lip to keep from laughing again. “What did you come to see me about?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She looked down at her lap. “I was only going to complain about you making us stand on the sidewalk for such a long time.”

He took a deep breath. “That wasn’t my idea. You still look a bit heated. Come with me to the diner for ice cream.”

“No, the girls will pull my hair out if they think you’re showing me favoritism. Besides, Mrs. Newman is probably rushing around like a hummingbird making sure tomorrow’s menu is befitting a bachelor and his first finalist. You’ll have a dinner companion for three nights in a row.” She stood. “Like I said, I really only had a complaint, and now it seems very trivial.”

“That’s my Sadie. A short fuse that ignites and blows out just as quickly.”

“Good day, Zeke.” She turned and headed for the newspaper office.

He sighed. He might as well choose his three finalists. When Sadie had marched down the street in leather and cotton, he thought his heart would explode. For a moment, he was eighteen again and gazing at the prettiest girl this side of the Mississippi. He still thought Sadie the prettiest, but it wasn’t only her lovely features that drew him to her. She had the purest heart of anyone he knew.

At his desk, he wrote down the names of the finalists and folded it in his pocket. There was no time like the present to deliver it to Mr. Rollins.

He didn’t consider the baking and the sewing competitions anything more than entertainment for the town. Sadie’s idea had definitely increased the paper’s subscribers. All the silly foolishness that went along with it was exactly that: foolishness. Once he’d gotten over being angry at Sadie’s using him to sell papers, he’d started to have fun with it. He’d ride the contest to the finish line and gladly let someone else be named the town’s most eligible bachelor. He pitied the poor fool who filled the spot.

He stepped into the newspaper office and into the back room where Sadie and her father, heads bent over the printing press, conversed. “I’ve brought the three finalists,” he said.

“Place it in my pocket, please.” Mr. Rollins held up his ink-stained hands. “It wouldn’t do for our dear Sadie to know ahead of time whom you’ve chosen.”

“No sir, I guess it wouldn’t.” Although Zeke wanted nothing more than to write down one name, and one name only.

He smiled on his way out the door. He would soon have a wife who embarrassed easily with any mention of the human anatomy and fainted at the sight of blood. No matter. He would hire a nurse, and let his wife raise their children. If she only wanted one or two, and wasn’t satisfied unless she had a career, perhaps she would be content to work his desk as she did for her father.

He stopped within sight of his office. On the waiting bench outside were several gifts. It didn’t take a smart man to know who the four parcels were from. Some eager women were anxious to increase their chances of being finalists. He sighed, scooped the boxes into his arms, and headed inside.

Setting the gifts on his desk, he reached for a knife, cutting away the twine holding the first box closed. A slab of beef between two slices of bread from Sally. Wonderful. He was starving after his busy morning and wouldn’t have to endure stares at the diner as he ordered lunch. The second box contained cookies from Ruby. Lucy had wrapped a jar of peppermint candy from the mercantile, which he would leave on his desk for his patients. The last parcel, from Annabell, contained a poorly written poem that didn’t rhyme and made little sense.

Were the gifts part of the competition? He wasn’t aware of it if they were, but if so, then where was Sadie’s offering?

He grinned. Perhaps he could coerce her to meet him at the creek for an hour of fishing as her gift. She wouldn’t want to be left out, after all. He wrote a quick note on a scrap of paper and called outside to a young boy running by.

The lad stopped and agreed to deliver the note for a penny. Zeke patted the boy’s head, tossed the coin in the air. The child deftly caught it and raced toward the newspaper office. If Sadie didn’t join him that evening, he would convince her to go after their private dinner. He’d make sure, one way or the other, that Sadie made the finals.

There would be a full moon the next night. A perfect time to steal a kiss under the stars.

Chapter 6

Y
ou’re one of the finalists.” Ma rattled the newspaper in Sadie’s face. “You’re the first to have dinner with him. Tonight. It says here he will pick you up at five.” She clasped the paper to her chest, pretending to swoon. “I wonder where he’ll take you. Silly me. Where else but the diner. Do you think Mrs. Newman will have a private room set aside?”

“I have no idea, and don’t act as if Papa hasn’t kept you apprised of every single thing going on with this competition.”

Ma shook her head. “He has refused to tell me a single thing ahead of time. He said it wouldn’t be fair.”

Sadie grabbed the paper and scanned the announcement. She, along with Ruby and Lucy, were the three finalists. Annabell would have plenty to say about that, she was sure. Still, it was no surprise that Zeke didn’t want to marry a child, and despite his declaration of holding Sadie to an old promise, she couldn’t help but wonder whether he was toying with her emotions in payback for coming up with the contest in the first place.

“What will you wear?” Ma studied the few dresses hanging on pegs. “It should be something he has never seen you in.”

“I’ll wear my church dress. It’s fine.” Sadie plopped on the bed.

She wanted so much to withdraw from the competition, but the joy on Ma’s face, and the pleasure on her pa’s with every paper sold, told her she needed to go through to completion. If Zeke chose someone else, then so be it. It would be nothing more than what Sadie deserved.

“I’ll press the gown.” Ma sighed and pulled the dark green dress off the peg. “This entire week has been a whirlwind. Otherwise, I could have purchased fabric for a new dress. The next time you come up with a scheme like this, please give me advance notice.” She slung the dress over her shoulder and marched from the room.

Sadie flopped on her back. “There won’t be a next time,” she muttered. She’d learned her lesson. At the age of twenty-two, Sadie had finally realized that she was too old to run off half-cocked with one of her wild ideas.

After a day working at the newspaper office, trying to no avail to not dwell on her impending dinner date, five o’clock came much too soon. Sadie stood in front of her mirror, trying to decide how to wear her hair.

Up or down? Maybe her usual bun with a few tendrils curling around her face? Yes, that would do. She fixed her hair and then ran her hands down her dress. A knock on the front door signaled Zeke’s arrival. She pinched her cheeks for a touch of color and hurried to answer the door.

Zeke stood on the porch with a picnic basket in his hand. He grinned. “I thought we could eat at our spot.”

“We have a spot?”

“Sure we do.” He offered her his arm. “Our fishing hole.”

Sadie grabbed a quilt from the back of the sofa and slipped her arm through his. Her heart beat so hard she was certain he could hear it. She smiled up at him, thankful they wouldn’t be eating at the diner where everyone would be watching.

“You aren’t playing fair,” she said.

“How so?” He headed down the path behind her house.

“Do you intend to eat somewhere private with the other girls?”

He shuddered. “Not unless I have to.”

Pleasure leaped within her like a bunny racing to freedom. Perhaps worrying about Zeke’s true intentions was nothing but a waste of time.

“I fear the other girls will hate me when this competition is over.”

“They shouldn’t. We’ve been friends for years, Sadie. Nothing has changed.”

They stepped into the small clearing. The late afternoon sun slipped through the tree branches and kissed the rippling brook with pieces of light. A bird serenaded from a high tree branch, and butterflies danced among the late summer flowers. They couldn’t eat in a more romantic spot in Sadie’s opinion.

She spread the quilt on the ground and sat, her dress billowing around her. Should she sit with her legs outstretched or would it be more becoming to tuck them to the side? She chose to the side and opened the basket.

“Fried chicken. My favorite.” She set out crystal plates and linen napkins. “Who did you convince to cook the food?”

“Your mother.” He grinned and stretched out, leaning on one elbow. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you.” Her face heated. Of course he had asked her mother. She recognized her parents’ wedding china now. He couldn’t very well have gone to Mrs. Newman, not if they wanted the food to be edible. Most likely she would have poisoned them to remove Sadie from the competition.

“I’m so sorry.” Tears burned the back of her eyelids.

“For what?” Zeke took her hand in his.

“Putting you in the middle of all this.” She choked back a sob and ducked her head.

“Don’t be.” He rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand, sending her heart racing. “I was angry at first but then realized it was a fun way to reacquaint myself with the town and… with you. If you hadn’t had the idea, I might not have been able to spend as much time with you as I am now.”

He wanted to spend time with her. Her, Sadie Rollins, old maid of Oak Shadows. The tears fell, despite her efforts to hold them back.

“Why are you crying?” He scooted closer and cupped her face. “Have I done something to hurt you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think any man has ever wanted to spend time with me. Not voluntarily, anyway. I’m too headstrong, impulsive—”

“All the things I love about you.” He pulled her close and rested her head on his shoulder. “Don’t cry, my dear. Sit with me, enjoy the evening and the good food, and don’t think of anything else.”

She sniffed. Carrying on like a fragile female would only ruin the evening, and that’s something she definitely didn’t want to do. There were several nights of competition left. If she showed herself to be weak, he might lose interest and choose someone else. That would leave her heart shattered into a million pieces.

“I’m fine now. Just a moment of silliness.”

“You’re working too hard.” He handed her a chicken leg. “You need to learn to relax more and have a higher opinion of yourself. I might be the current most eligible bachelor, but you’re the best bachelorette this town has.” He squeezed her hand. “Maybe you picked the wrong competition to have.”