To Win Her Heart (27 page)

“A judge found me guilty of man—” He swallowed the rest of the word. “I did time, a two-year term, much of that in a labor camp. While I broke rock there, though, God broke me. I realized how my rebellion had led to a man . . . dying. And to the forfeit of everything that truly mattered in my life.”

Levi paused and tried to gauge Calvin Spencer’s expression, but the man was hard to read. He asked no questions, just sat there absorbing his words. Levi shifted in his chair, then continued.

“I repented and turned back to the faith my mother and father had brought me up on. Made a vow before the Lord to abandon fighting and to help people rather than hurt them. After being . . . granted my freedom, the Lord led me here. To a new life. An honorable life.”

“And to Eden?” Her father threw down the question like a gauntlet, daring Levi to take it up.

Levi didn’t hesitate. Holding Mr. Spencer’s gaze, he nodded. “And to Eden.”

The man’s mouth did that nearly imperceptible lift again, but before Levi could decipher its meaning, Eden’s father attacked from another angle.

“I’ve informed my daughter that her allowance will cease should she choose to wed. She will no longer have access to my financial accounts at the bank or at any of the local businesses. You will not be courting an heiress, Mr. Grant.”

Levi had suspected the topic of money would come up, knowing Calvin Spencer’s history with Eden’s previous suitor. What he hadn’t anticipated was the ferocity of his reaction to the man’s insinuation. He clenched the arms of his chair until the wood bit painfully into his fingers.

“The man . . . lucky enough to marry Eden will be the rich . . . will be rich beyond imagination. And it will have nothing to do with her bank account.” Rejecting the chair arms, Levi shot to his feet and planted his palms on the highly polished desktop. “I aim to provide for a wife like a man ought. I wouldn’t take your money even if you offered it.”

“So you say.” The man’s unflappable expression set Levi’s teeth on edge. “I simply wished to make my position clear to avoid any miscommunication.”

Levi turned away from the desk and strode toward the back wall. He stood staring at a painting of a bowl of fruit that probably cost more than he could earn in a year. Would Eden willingly sacrifice all the comforts she had known in order to be with him? He’d dreamed of the two of them as husband and wife, but until the reality of this moment, he hadn’t really considered what all she’d be forced to sacrifice.

He could build her a little house out by her field of flowers, just like they’d talked about. They wouldn’t have opulence, but they’d have the necessities. And love. They hadn’t actually spoken the words, but he was sure he’d seen it in her eyes. That would be enough, wouldn’t it?

As the apples and grapes blurred on the canvas before him, Levi replayed that conversation in his mind, the one when he and Eden had walked side by side through her field. She’d not wanted anything large, just a cozy cabin she’d said. With a plate-glass window. It might be a few years before he could afford that, but he’d manage it eventually.

However, there was one treasure he couldn’t manage, one that she’d be lost without. And the only way to save it would be to relinquish a good deal of his pride.

Eden returned from the Dalton home tired but in good spirits. Helen Dalton had been in the midst of packing and was grateful to have someone to entertain her daughter while she worked. The family had decided to move in with an aunt who lived over in Travis County and they were busy consolidating their belongings.

Amelia, Helen’s daughter, showed Eden the path to the creek and the two spent a full hour sitting in the shade of a sweet-gum tree, reading stories and looking at pictures. The girl had climbed right up into Eden’s lap without a qualm, and Eden’s heart had promptly melted.

After their story time, Eden had offered Amelia and her older brothers the cookies Verna had sent and volunteered to pack up Helen’s dishes and kitchen supplies while the other woman helped her boys go through her late husband’s tools.

It had felt good to be needed, useful. And spending time reading to a child again brought back precious memories that soothed her spirit with bittersweet warmth. Perhaps she could resume her story hours in the library one day. Or even have children of her own to read to. The thought made her catch her breath as she guided the buggy toward the shed behind her house. A month ago, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to consider such a possibility. But now? Now she couldn’t seem to stop hope from taking root. It sprouted like a defiant weed, tenacious and wild and beautiful as it blossomed.

When she pulled into her yard, Harvey met her at the shed and handed her down. She left him to see to the horse and crossed to the back porch, stripping off her driving gloves as she went. The savory aroma of Verna’s vegetable soup met her at the kitchen door, sending a rumble through Eden’s stomach.

“It smells delicious in here.” Eden pulled her bonnet from her head and set it and her gloves on the table as she passed by on her way to the stove. She leaned over Verna’s shoulder and peeked in the pot she was stirring. “Did you make corn muffins, too?”

“Nope,” Verna said. “Chloe did.” The woman’s proud smile would rival that of any natural mother. “They’re in the oven now. Need about ten more minutes, so you got time to freshen up.”

Eden turned to collect her things, but Chloe reached them first. “I’ll put those up for you, Miss Eden.”

“How sweet, Chloe. Thank you.” She moved to hold the door open. “I can’t wait to try those muffins of yours. I’m sure they’ll be wonderful.”

The girl shyly lowered her lashes as she sidled past, but nothing could hide her grin.

“Maybe if there are some left over, you can walk them down to the boardinghouse to share with Duncan.”

Chloe’s face lit up at that, the eagerness in her eyes tempting Eden to laugh.

Her step and heart light, she traipsed through the library behind Chloe, then peeled off toward the stairs. Before she reached them, however, a movement to her left brought her to a halt.

Her father was lugging his leather chair
back
to the reading room. “I thought you told Harvey to put that in your study last night.”

“I did,” he huffed, straining under the load. “But I no longer require its use, so I thought I’d return it.” With a loud exhalation, he dropped the chair into the corner where Eden had set it up for Levi. She certainly didn’t begrudge her father the use of his own chair, but she’d come to associate it with Levi of late and had missed seeing it when she came down for breakfast.

Her father leaned against the chair frame, resting a bent arm across the top. “Mr. Grant came to see me while you were out.”

Eden’s pulse skittered. “Oh?”

“Wanted to gain my permission to court you.”

Eden lunged toward her father and clutched his free hand. “You gave it, didn’t you?”

“Eventually.”

“Daddy.” The word came out like a moan. Eden flopped into the chair and looked up at the man who had always been her champion. “Please tell me you did not try to bribe him to leave.” Hurt, embarrassment, and not a little fear twined together in her midsection.

“Until you marry, it’s my job to protect you, Eden.” He chucked her under the chin, like he had when she’d been a girl, and some of her irritation dissipated. “Every day I deal with men who want something from me—political advancement, financial backing, information, social advantage. I’ve learned how to mine a man for the truth. And when it comes to the future of my only daughter, I use sharper methods and dig twice as deep before I’m satisfied.”

“Did . . .” Eden squirmed in her seat. “Did Levi satisfy you?”

“For now.” His mouth didn’t curve, but his eyes twinkled the way they did when he surprised her at Christmas with an unexpected gift.

Eden grinned and clutched her father’s hand, suddenly feeling gossamer light, as if she would float to the ceiling if she didn’t hang on to something. “Oh, Daddy. I just knew the two of you would get on well together!”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” he said with a quiet chuckle. “Right now he probably thinks I’m a devil sent to torture him. You should have seen how incensed he became when I made it clear that he would have to provide for you without the benefit of my money. He gripped the chair arms so hard I thought they were going to snap. It’s no wonder the man was undefeated as a fighter. He’s fierce.”

“But always under control.” A vivid image of Levi’s restraint when the drunkard had attacked him played in Eden’s mind. “He’s vowed never to fight again, and I believe him, Daddy. I’ve seen him provoked and not defend himself. It’s a promise unto the Lord, and he won’t break it.”

“I think you’re right,” her father said. “When you told me about his past last night and all the violence that had surrounded him, I didn’t understand how you could love such a man. But now I’m starting to see. Your blacksmith was completely forthright about his past, giving me all the details without my having to ask. He spoke of you with admiration and respect, and I sensed deep feelings behind his faltering words. He even swallowed his pride and asked that I allow you to keep operating the library, knowing how much you love it. Offered to rent the reading room from me—and knowing what I do about his bank account, that was no paltry offer.

“Levi Grant is an honorable man. You’ve chosen well, daughter.”

Eden couldn’t help agreeing with her father’s assessment as she stole glances at Levi from across the churchyard the following afternoon at the auction. Dozens of townspeople and area ranchers milled about, looking over the items that would be up for bid later, but Eden had eyes only for her blacksmith. He stood chatting with Claude Barnes near the side of the church. She was supposed to be cutting the cakes the Aid ladies had brought to sell for a penny a slice, but her hand hovered uselessly above Bertha Springer’s chocolate one as her gaze strayed.

How was it that he seemed to grow more handsome the longer she knew him? Did love actually alter one’s perception? It must, for where she once saw a hulking brute, she now saw a gentle warrior—one whose arms could bend iron yet hold her with such tenderness she never wanted to leave his embrace.

She hadn’t felt that embrace in far too long. Eden bit her bottom lip as she surveyed the breadth of his chest. What she wouldn’t give to lay her head in that spot beneath his chin, to close her eyes as his strong arms drew her close, to tangle her fingers in the hair at his nape, to . . .

Her gaze lifted to find his lips but instead collided with gray eyes that were looking directly at her. Levi’s jaw lolled open a bit, as if he’d been in the middle of a sentence when he caught her ogling him. Heat climbed up Eden’s neck and into her cheeks, but she couldn’t look away, not when he was staring at her with such intimate intensity. Then the edges of his mouth bent up, and a different kind of warmth spread through her. She ducked her head and returned her attention to the cake, but her pulse beat so erratically, her hand shook as she pressed the knife into the icing.

Eden had successfully cut three slices and had nearly banished her unsteadiness when a loud thump reverberated across the table, causing the planks to wobble and her body to flinch. Heart skittering, she glanced toward the sound and found a man’s hand, tan and long fingered, slapped flat against the wood. The hand slid back to reveal a copper coin.

“I’ll take a piece of that.”

The familiar voice brought Eden’s head up, a forced smile locked into place. “Sheriff Pratt. Enjoying the festivities?”

He stroked his mustache and stared at her in a way she couldn’t quite decipher. Then he dropped his hand and gave her one of those grins she supposed others found charming. Unfortunately, all it made her feel was impatience.

“I imagine I’ll enjoy myself a lot more now that you’re looking at me instead of that ox of a blacksmith.”

A retort sprang to Eden’s lips, but she bit it back, not wanting to invite a scene. Instead, she slid her knife under the last piece of cake she’d cut and carefully maneuvered it onto a plate. As she handed it to him, she tried to inject as much sugar into her voice as Bertha had into her dessert. “Well, I
know
you’ll enjoy this cake. No one in the county can outdo Mrs. Springer’s chocolate icing. It’ll leave you smiling for a week.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I can think of something else that would make me smile for a week.”

Eden wasn’t about to ask him what that was, certain she wouldn’t care for his answer.

“Have you seen any auction items that interest you?” she asked when he gave no indication that her silence would successfully drive him away. “I think there’s a meal at the café up for bid, and the Fowlers are offering several items from the general store, including a pearl-handled pocket knife and a fishing set with rod, reel, and tackle box. We’re hoping it fetches a good price.”

“A lawman don’t have time to fish, darlin’.”

Not when you spend your off hours in the saloon.

Eden busied herself by cutting the rest of the cake, hoping her opinions didn’t show on her face. “I plan to bid on Emma Cranford’s quilt. She does such beautiful work.” Every year Eden picked one item to overbid on so she’d have an excuse to give a sizable donation without excluding others from the bidding. But when she’d seen Emma’s quilt last night, she knew no price would be too high. The minister’s wife had pieced a wedding-ring pattern out of deep red, brown, and cream-colored fabric, creating a design that emanated a rich, mature appearance that Eden found incredibly appealing. She could think of no better coverlet for her trousseau now that she was being actively courted again.

The sheriff finished his cake and held out the dirty plate and fork to Eden. Eager to send him on his way, she stepped around the end of the table to collect the dish from him. Only he didn’t release it. Instead, he captured her elbow and drew her to his side.

“You go ahead and buy that blanket you got your eye on,” he whispered into her ear, his mouth so close she could feel his breath. “It’ll look good on our bed.”

Eden tried to step away, but his grip only tightened on her elbow. Incensed, she stared daggers at him. “When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that I’m not going to marry you? Not now. Not ever.”

“You’ll change your mind after you see the surprise I been working on for you.” His cocky tone grated like sandpaper on her skin.

“I have no interest in your surprise. Now, let . . . me . . . go.” She kept her voice hushed but imbued it with the command of a shout.

He released her elbow but continued to clasp the plate. She was about to drop her end, no longer caring if it broke upon the ground, when he spoke a final time.

“Just wait a week, Eden. You’ll see things a whole lot clearer. Trust me.”

She trusted him about as much as she trusted a coiled rattler.

He let go of the plate, tipped his hat, and swaggered away toward the spot where her father and the councilmen were gathered.

Eden retreated to her serving position behind the table and took several deep breaths to cool her temper. She bent to place the dirty dishes in the washtub near her feet, and as she straightened, she glimpsed Levi cutting through the crowd to get to her. Smoothing her hair and finding a smile, she greeted him as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.