Handpicked Husband (Love Inspired Historical) (12 page)

Reggie rose and set her book aside as Mrs. Peavy led Mitchell into the parlor the next morning. “You’re prompt, Mr. Parker. An admirable quality in a man.”

Mitchell executed a short bow. “Nine-thirty was what we agreed on. I don’t give my word unless I intend to keep it.”

“Another admirable quality. Shall we go?” She moved forward with a breezy smile and he allowed her precede to him from the room.

As they stepped out onto the front porch, Reggie turned her face up to the sunny sky and inhaled deeply. She loved being outdoors. Especially on a day such as today. The only thing that would be better was if she were still at the cabin, where she could dress as she pleased and really enjoy herself.

She
would
still be there if it weren’t for the hounds her grandfather had let loose on her.

Before she could stop herself, Reggie cut Mitchell a resentful look.

He responded with a raised brow. “Have I made a misstep already?”

Reggie shook off her sour thoughts. Black moods didn’t fix anything and only served to make one more miserable than they already were. “I’m sorry, just a stray thought.”

She deliberately changed the subject as they stepped from the porch. “A perfect day for a walk, don’t you think?”

“Couldn’t imagine a nicer one.”

They strolled in silence for a while.

Reggie was acutely conscious of her escort’s size. He was such a
large
man. Not big in a beefy way, just tall and broad-shouldered. She felt absolutely dwarfed in his presence but, strangely enough, not threatened. He’d adjusted his steps to match hers and his demeanor was both attentive and polite. Before long, they turned off of her quiet street and onto Main Street.

Mitchell took her arm as they crossed the road. “So, when do you begin quizzing me?”

His directness caught her by surprise and she almost missed a step.

“That
is
why you suggested we walk over to the schoolhouse this morning, isn’t it?”

Reggie quickly regained her composure. “So, we won’t mince words then. Let’s start with your profession. Do you have any experience as a teacher?”

“Actually, yes. I taught for a short time, many years ago.”

“Why did you give it up?”

“I joined the army.”

“The army?” Reggie didn’t know why that revelation surprised her. He had the disciplined bearing of a military man, and he certainly would make an impressive and intimidating soldier. But somehow she couldn’t picture him thirsting for battle.

His nod was choppy. “A youthful folly on my part. The call to adventure lured me away from the mundane world of the classroom.”

Youthful folly? This solid-as-a-rock man? “Why do you consider that a folly?”

He gave a tight smile she was certain hid some deeper emotion. “I’m afraid military life was not as noble and heroic as I’d imagined.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I just didn’t have it in me to follow orders unquestioningly.”

There was a story there, but Reggie wasn’t quite up to pursuing it just now. “How long ago did you return to the life of a civilian?”

“About three years ago.”

He certainly wasn’t volunteering much information. “And what did you do between that time and now?”

“Purchased a piece of land to farm. Married a fine, peace-loving woman. Buried her. Lost my farm.”

“Oh.” He might not be talkative, but he certainly could pack a wallop in what few words he did volunteer. His baldly stated history left Reggie momentarily at a loss for what to ask next.

Fortunately, a diversion in the form of the reverend’s wife served to fill the silence.

“Reggie, Mr. Parker,” Anna Harper said, stopping to greet them. “Good morning to you. A beautiful day, isn’t it?” Settling her shopping basket more comfortably on her arm, she seemed ready for a nice, neighborly chat.

“Mrs. Harper.” Mitchell tipped his hat, returning the greeting. “Yes, it’s quite pleasant out today.”

“Is Reggie giving you a tour of the town?”

“Actually,” Reggie intervened, “I’m taking him over to the schoolhouse so he can have a look at the facilities.”

“Splendid idea.” Anna beamed at Reggie’s companion. “I’m certain you’ll be pleased with what you see.” She hefted her basket again. “Well then, I’ll get on with my shopping and let you be on your way.”

By the time they resumed their walk, Reggie was ready to continue her questioning. “What made you return to teaching now?”

He stared straight ahead. “Even though I didn’t stick with it very long, teaching seems to be the one thing I can do well. If I’m going to start a new life, this seemed a good first step.”

Why did she get the feeling he was leaving something out? “Why come to Turnabout? Why not start over in Philadelphia?”

“Because there was nothing left to hold me there.” He adjusted the tilt of his hat. “Besides, starting fresh means no reminders of past follies or of things that are lost forever.” He met her gaze levelly. “I think we’ve probably covered enough on this particular subject, don’t you?”

Reggie couldn’t bring herself to take exception to his blunt words. She didn’t really enjoy all this probing and digging into the men’s private lives. But she didn’t have much choice.

“Very well.” She’d let the matter drop for now. But she would file this bit of information as something to come back to at another time, in another way. Then she pointed to the left. “The school is this way.”

They turned the corner, and she shifted the conversation to a new subject. “How do you feel about becoming the father of a six-year-old?”

He didn’t answer immediately, as if he was wrapping his mind around the question. “I’ve always liked children,” he said finally. “Sarah and I had hoped to have a large family.” That closed off look crossed his face again and she could almost see the mental shake he gave himself. “Jack seems like a fine boy. I would do my best to raise him proper.”

His mention of wanting a large family startled Reggie from her single-minded probing. The heat climbed into her cheeks as she thought of what that might mean. Did he expect—

She scrambled for a new topic to fill the awkward pause. “I saw you speaking to Miss Whitman at the party yesterday. Did the two of you decide how you will divide up the students?”

“Not definitively.” He smiled dryly. “After all, I can’t commit to taking the position until you’ve made your selection. However,” he continued, “what Mayor Sanders proposed yesterday was that Miss Whitman teach the younger children, say ages six to ten, and I take the older ones.”

She nodded. “That makes sense.” Janell Whitman, a petite twenty-one-year-old, seemed to have more affinity for the little ones anyway. Some of the older boys had several inches and more than a few pounds on her. Discipline had never seemed to be a problem, but one never knew. And she couldn’t imagine Mr. Parker being intimidated by any of the boys, or their fathers either for that matter.

“There it is.” She pointed to the schoolhouse. It was July, so there were no classes in session. But even so there was plenty of activity around the building. The sounds of hammers and saws, along with the conversation and grunts of the men wielding the tools, drifted to them as they neared.

Reggie was surprised at the progress made since she left town. The new room was nearly complete. By the time they finished, the schoolhouse would be double its original size.

Word that her grandfather planned to provide money to build a new wing to the schoolhouse had surprised Reggie, but it hadn’t raised her suspicions. After all, he had said the donation was in memory of his daughter and granddaughter, and it seemed just the kind of gesture he would make. Especially now that Jack was old enough to start attending.

In hindsight, it was obvious the wily old goat had been scheming this little marriage lottery all along.

“Hello, Calvin,” Reggie hailed one of the workers. “Is your father about?”

The young man paused with his hammer in mid-swing, and smiled. “Oh, hi, Miss Nash. Pa’s around back discussing the work with someone.”

Reggie waved to her companion. “Calvin, this is Mr. Mitchell Parker. He’s thinking about taking on the new schoolteacher position.”

Then she turned to Mitchell. “Mr. Parker, this is Calvin Hendricks, and that’s his brother, James, over there.” She pointed to another youth up on the roof. “You met their father, Walter, at the reception yesterday. The three of them are doing most of the construction on the schoolhouse addition.”

After the two exchanged greetings, Reggie waved a hand. “Come on, we’ll check in with Calvin’s father and then you can take a look around inside.”

Without waiting for his answer, she led the way to the back of the building, then halted abruptly. The person Walter Hendricks was “discussing the work” with had his back to her. But there was no mistaking the man for anyone but Adam Barr.

What was
he
doing here? Just looking after her grandfather’s interests? Or was it that he knew she planned to accompany Mitchell here this morning?

Mr. Hendricks looked up. “Why, hello there, Reggie. I was just telling Mr. Barr how grateful the town is for your grandfather’s generous donation.”

Adam turned and nodded a greeting.

She returned his nod, then focused on the carpenter. “I’ll be sure to pass along your kind words, Mr. Hendricks, but I assure you, Grandfather got as much pleasure in the giving as our town did in the receiving. I’d even guess more so in
this
particular instance.”

She couldn’t resist sending a pointed look Adam’s way, but his expression remained as bland as ever.

Deciding it would be better to ignore the presence of her grandfather’s agent, she turned back to Mr. Hendricks. “I believe you met Mr. Parker at the party yesterday.”

The workman stuck out his hand. “Good to see you again. I hope you like what you’ve seen so far.”

Mitchell took his hand. “Yes, sir. It appears you and your sons are doing a fine job.”

“Yep, them boys of mine are hard workers.” The builder’s voice was heavy with pride. “Let me show you around a bit. I reckon this’ll match anything you have back in Philadelphia. We’ve spared no expense, just like Judge Madison requested.”

As the two men moved ahead, Adam fell into step beside Reggie. She held her tongue, determined not to be the first to speak, but as the seconds ticked away, she changed her mind. “Checking things out for your report to Grandfather?” she asked.

“Something like that.”

The distance between them and the two others widened.

Adam slid her a sideways glance. “So, did you manage to get much information out of Mitchell this morning?”

His tone made it sound as if she were some mean-spirited busybody. Or was that her own conscience?

“We had a very nice discussion, thank you,” she answered. “Mr. Parker seems a true
gentleman
.”

“As opposed to present company, you mean?” He sounded more amused than insulted.

When she only shrugged, he shook his head. “Don’t worry about offending me. As I told you once before, I haven’t aspired to be a ‘true gentleman’ in quite some time.”

“I understand.” She nodded, pasting on a friendly smile. “No sense setting goals you can’t possibly reach.”

His lips quirked. “Exactly.”

In spite of her determination not to, Reggie found herself unbending. Why did the man have to have a sense of humor so well matched to her own?

Time to turn the conversation to something less personal. “And does the Hendricks’s work meet with your approval?”

“It does. The judge shouldn’t have any complaints on this project.”

“At least that’ll give you one positive item to put in your report.”

“Contrary to what you seem to think,” he said evenly, “I’m not here to find fault with anyone or anything. I’m only here to do the job Judge Madison assigned me.”

“Regardless of whose life you have to ruin to do it?”

He speared her with a challenging look. “You’ve spent time with each of the men. Do you honestly think any of them would be a terrible husband?”

“They all have good qualities, and I’m sure they’d each make some lady a fine husband. But that doesn’t mean any of them are right for
me
.” She tossed her head. “I have eleven days left to make my choice, and I intend to use every bit of that time, so if you’re angling to get back to Philadelphia ahead of schedule, you can just forget it.”

From the set of his jaw she knew she’d hit a sore spot.

“I need to get to know them better before I decide,” she continued. “For one thing, I want to make sure they’re able to provide a good influence for Jack. That will play a big part in my decision.”

“So why didn’t you bring Jack along today?”

“Patience, Mr. Barr. All in good time.”

His jaw tightened again, but he gave a short nod. “So, what’s next on your list of hoops to jump through?”

“Tsk, tsk, there’s no need to take that tone.” His irritated frown only sweetened her smile. “This place is much too public for us to discuss such matters.”