Courting Miss Hattie (19 page)

Tightening his arms around her, Reed would have held her all night if need be, but Hattie pulled away from him, wiping her eyes with the much abused kerchief.

"So Drayton needed a lesson in manners," he said, "preferably applied with a razor strop. So did most boys at his age. But he's changed his tune these days. Now he's wanting to court you and trying to kiss you. He's forgotten all about his childish teasing, and you should too."

With a shrug meant to imply more nonchalance than it did, Hattie admitted it might be true. "But the thing is, Reed, I remember. I know how it was, and I don't want to be humiliated again."

"You think Drayton would try to humiliate you?"

"No, I don't think he would try. But I'm afraid I might humiliate myself."

Reed smiled, unable to imagine sensible, practical Hattie Colfax making a fool of
herself
. "You could never do that," he told her with certainty.

"Oh yes, I could," she insisted. "Maybe I already have. You should have seen his face when I refused to kiss him."

Waving her concern away, Reed didn't question his pleasure at Drayton's lack of success. "Plenty of women make a man wait for a kiss. It won't hurt him a bit."

Hattie smiled at his protective attitude. "But how long can I make him wait? If he continues to court me, sooner or later I'll have to kiss him. And when I do, he'll know I've never been kissed before."

"What's wrong with that?" His voice softened with sincerity. "Most men would be honored to be a woman's first kiss."

"Maybe I don't want to 'honor' him."

Reed leaned forward genuinely intrigued. "I don't understand."

"When he realizes that nobody has ever kissed me, it will just remind him that I'm
Horseface
Hattie, the woman nobody wanted."

Reed frowned. "Don't call yourself that name. I hate it, and
I
don't want to hear it."

"No more than me," she replied curtly. "But it's not so much the name anymore as what it represents."

"It represents a passel of rude children that needed a switch taken to them. Children are so cruel, Hattie. It doesn't mean anything."

"I've got a mirror,
Reed,
I know exactly what they were talking about."

He touched her chin, turning her face toward him. "What do you see in that mirror, Hattie?" he asked softly. "I see a kind, loving face with a strong jaw and a big smile. It's a good face, Hattie, with the right number of eyes and noses."

She pulled out of his grasp
pridefully
. "I'm not fishing for compliments, Reed. I've lived in this face for twenty-nine years, and truth to tell, I'm kind of used to it."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "I was always shy with the boys when I was young, because I knew they thought I wasn't pretty. But now that
Ancil
and I are both older, both farmers, both a little bit work-hardened, we're more equal. I still get a little shy and nervous around him, but I don't let him impress me, and I don't feel the need to try to impress him."

"You don't need to
try
to impress him, Hattie. You
outfarm
the man seven days a week."

She was pleased with this compliment but didn't dwell on it. "I'm afraid I'll lose that equal footing. And if I did, I'd never be able to get it back. I don't want a man who thinks he's doing me a favor."

"And you think your lack of kissing experience is going to make that happen?" Reed asked.

"It's just not fair for a grown woman to have to act like a schoolgirl," she said with a sigh of disgust. "I should have learned all about
this years
ago, like everyone else my age."

Reed couldn't help smiling at her seriousness about her predicament. "Kissing is not really such an amazing thing, Hattie. And there is nothing difficult about it."

"That's easy for you to say."

"It's easy for you to say too," he teased. "Say it
. '
Kissing is easy.'"

"That's ridiculous. I'm not going to say that."

"Say it!" He grabbed her hands, retrieving his bedraggled handkerchief in the process.

"No." She was giggling now.

"Say it."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, all right. Kissing is easy."

"Very good. You sound just like a woman of the world."

"Oh, hush up," she snapped with mock fury. She started to move away but found that he had not yet relinquished her hands.

"Now," he said with a modicum of solemnity, "there are a few facts about kissing, which is very easy, that every woman should know."

"What kinds of facts?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just a few facts. Nothing very secret."

"Okay."

"First off, kissing is like plowing, or, well … maybe planting, or … sewing."

"Sewing? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about kissing. In kissing, as in plowing or sewing, you just have to get an idea about how to do it and then do it. The first time you plow a row, it may not be as straight as the hundredth time, but it's still plowed, and if you don't like it, you can do it again."

"I may not know anything about kissing, Reed Tyler, but I'm no fool. How can you take a kiss back and do it over?"

"But that's exactly what you do," he claimed. "You practice it until you get it exactly like you want it."

"What about the other person? What's he supposed to do while I'm practicing?"

Reed's eyes sparkled with mischief. "I suspect he'll be enjoying it some." At Hattie's blush, he added, "And
remember
, he'll be practicing himself. Kissing is not a one-person job. It's like working a lumber saw. You got to have someone else on the other end."

"Plowing? Lumber saws?" Hattie laughed out loud this time. "Leave it to a man to mix romance and farm equipment! This is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard."

"That's because nobody's ever explained anything to you about kissing."

"All right, explain to me about kissing."

"There are three kinds of kisses."

"Right," she said skeptically. "Don't tell me, they're called hook, line, and sinker."

"That's fishing. This is kissing. I know a lot about both, and if you want to know what I know, listen up and mind your manners."

He'd released her hands, and she folded them primly in her lap, sitting up straight like a good pupil. Her expression was still patently skeptical, though. "Okay, three kinds of kisses," she repeated, as if trying to remember.

"There's the peck, the peach, and the
malvalva
."

Hattie didn't bother to control her giggle. "The mal-
whata
?"

"
Malvalva
. But we haven't got to that one yet."

"And with luck, we never will. This is pure silliness," she declared.

"You admitted yourself that you know nothing about kissing," Reed said. "It's easy, but you've got to learn the basics."

"I'm all ears."

"Ears are good, but I think we ought to start with lips."

"Reed!"

There was laughter in his eyes as a flush colored her face, but he continued his discourse matter-of-factly, as if he were explaining a new farming method. "Okay, the peck is the most common kiss. It's the kind you're already familiar with. That's what you gave your folks and such. You just purse your lips together and make a little pop sound, like this." He demonstrated several times, his lips pursing together seductively,
then
releasing a little kiss to the air.

Hattie found the sight strangely titillating. "Okay, I see what you mean," she said.

"Show me," he instructed.

She made several kisses in the air while Reed inspected her style. "I feel like an idiot!" she exclaimed after a moment. "I must look so silly."

"Well," he admitted, "kissing the air is a little silly. But when it's against your sweetheart's lips, it doesn't feel silly at all."

She made several more self-conscious attempts as he watched her lips. "Is this the way?" she asked.

"I think you'll do fine with that." He shifted his position a bit and looked past her for a moment. "That's a good first kiss for someone like Drayton," he said seriously, then grinned. "Don't let him get the good stuff until later."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her short. "Now, the second kind of kiss is called a peach. It's a bit different from the peck." He reached out and grasped her shoulders, scooting her a little closer. "This is the one that lovers use a lot."

"Why do they call it a peach?" she asked curiously.

His smile was warm and lazy.
"'Cause it's so sweet and juicy."

"Juicy?" she repeated worriedly.

"Just a little. First, open your mouth a little, about this wide." He demonstrated.

"Open my mouth?"

"Yes, just a little. So you can taste the other person."

"Taste?"

"Just a little. Try it."

She held her lips open as he'd shown her. He nodded encouragement. "That's about right," he said. "Now you need to suck a bit."

"Suck?"

"Just a bit."

She shook her head, waving away the whole suggestion. "This is ridiculous, Reed. I can't do it."

He slid closer to her. "It only feels ridiculous because you're doing it without a partner. Here…" He again grasped her shoulders and pulled her near. "Try it on me. You won't feel nearly as silly, and it'll give you some practice."

"You want me to kiss you?"

"Just for practice. Open your mouth again."

She did as she was told, her eyes wide in surprise. Reed lowered his head toward hers, his lips also parted invitingly. "When I get close like this," he said, his breath warm on her cheek, "you turn your head a little."

"Why?"

"So we won't bump noses."

Following his lead, she angled her head. "That's right. Perfect," he whispered the instant before his lips touched hers.

It was a gentle touch, and only a touch, before he moved back slightly. "Don't forget to suck," he murmured.

"Suck."

"Like a peach."

"Like a peach."

Then his mouth was on hers again. She felt the tenderness of his lips and the insistent pressure of the vacuum they created. She did as he'd instructed, her mouth gently pulling at his. A little angle, a little suction, a little juicy, and very, very warm.

"What do you think?" he whispered against her mouth.

"Nice" was all she got out before he continued his instruction.

They pulled apart finally, and Hattie opened her eyes in wonder. The blood was pounding in her veins. Staring at Reed, she saw mirrored on his face the same pleased confusion she felt. "I did it right?" she asked, but she knew the answer already. Kissing might be new to her, but it was impossible not to believe that what she felt was exactly why courting couples were always looking for a moment of privacy.

"Yes," Reed answered. He slid his arms around her back and pulled her more firmly against his chest. "Do you think you can do it again?"

This time when their lips met, Hattie was confident and curious. She ran her hands across his strong shoulders,
then
wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself to him. Inexplicably, her nipples had hardened, as if from the cold, and somehow she'd known they'd feel better against his chest.

Reed felt the eager little nubbins and moaned deep in his throat. He was turgid and eager against her. She felt so good, so soft, so sweet,
so
right. He intensified the kiss,
then
opened his legs, wanting to pull her against his aching erection.

"Oh, Hattie," he whispered, and the sound of her name on his lips reminded him of who she was. He immediately released her and slid back slightly. Her lips were still open, inviting, and her eyes were wide with innocence and desire.

Choking down his own need, he cursed himself. This was not the woman he was sworn to marry. This was Miss Hattie, his best friend and business partner. "I think you've got the hang of it," he said, readjusting his legs to hide the effect she'd had on him. "You have a lot of natural talent."

Smiling and pleased at what she took for a compliment, Hattie nervously straightened her hair as she allowed her breathing to return to normal. "Do you really think so?" she asked finally, with careful nonchalance.

He nodded, and she asked another question, "You don't think
Ancil
will find my peach lacking?"

Reed's mouth thinned into a stern line. "I think the peck will do nicely for Drayton for a while, Hattie. And I doubt he will ever find anything amiss."

She giggled, delighted as a child. "You're just like a brother, saying I should only give him a peck. I've already figured out that the peck is for your maiden aunt. For the man who courts you, it's the peach every time."