Love's Sweet Surrender (16 page)

“Liar,” she grumbled. She stood and brushed the dirt from her skirts before she looked around at the milling people as they moved from their homes toward the church.

“Church! Oh no! I totally forgot it was Sunday.” She scrambled into the house and started rummaging through her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear. She wouldn’t be able to take a bath this morning since she didn’t have time.
I'll just have to sponge off with some tepid water in the
basin.
Grabbing a dress of emerald green with little pink flowers scattered across the skirt, she quickly pulled her hair back in a pink ribbon, slid on her shoes and swept out the door. Quickly heading toward the church at a fast clip, she didn't see the wagon until it pulled up to an empty spot nearby.

“Howdy, Mrs. Backman.”

She turned her head just in time to catch Seth’s appreciative glance in her direction as he tipped his hat before he went to the back of the wagon to help the children down.

“Well hello, Johnny. I’m surprised to see you here,” she said, keeping her eyes glued to the big man at the back.

“Pop said we needed to start coming to church again, so here we are.”

“He did, did he? Well, I’m glad to see you, all of you.”

“May I escort you into the church, ma’am?” Johnny asked politely.

“I would be so honored, young sir.” Lily slipped her hand through his outstretched elbow and walked up the stairs.

* * * *

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102

Sandy Sullivan

Not sure why he wanted to, he’d forced his somewhat reluctant children into the wagon for church this morning. He was sure it had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to see Lily again.
Liar
, his heart screamed as he pulled the wagon into the open spot in front of the church just in time to see the object of his imagination reach the steps.

Amusement made his mouth lift at the corners when his son held out his arm and asked Lily if he could escort her into the church. Seth shook his head with a wiry smile before he picked up Anne in his arms and followed them inside.

He shook his head when he thought about Lily's lips against his.
I don't
need these kinds of things running through my head in church.

When he entered the building for the first time since Victoria’s death, he could see Johnny had escorted Lily to the only empty bench in the building.

With a frustrated groan, he slid into the seat next to her. All eyes turned to the group, and the congregation went completely silent.

The pastor walked down the aisle to where Seth sat and said, “It’s so good to see you, Seth. I’m glad you’ve decided to join us again.”

Feeling uncomfortable when the eyes of the entire town rested on him, he mumbled, “Yes, well, it’s nice to be back, Father.”

“Shall we get started?”

"Please do," Seth murmured, and the pastor smiled.

Pastor David walked back to the pulpit at the front of the church to begin his sermon.

It seemed like the entire morning dragged for him as he sat snuggled next to Lily on the bench. The heat of her thigh pressed against his did tormenting things to his mind, and his thoughts drifted back to the night before. He found it extremely difficult to focus on the sermon, and when it finally ended, he almost bolted for the door.

Lily put a soft hand on his arm and said, “Would you all like to come to my house for supper?”

“Could we, Pop? Please?” Johnny and Jarod asked. Anne put in her opinion with a doe-eyed look at her father until he relented and finally agreed.

A moment later, the rest of the congregation surrounded them to welcome the family back to church. Some of matrons of the town were Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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103

curious as to the relationship between their most eligible bachelor and the new schoolteacher. Seth heard several comments being made behind him when he spoke with some of his longtime acquaintances. He smiled to himself when Madge put the two women in their place, but frown lines settled between his eyes a moment later when Madge made her obvious wishes known.

“The two of them seem awfully familiar, don’t you think, Mildred?”

“Yes, I think so, too.”

“Well, I think they are cute together,” Madge piped in standing behind the two old women. With that statement she swept by them and nestled up to Lily’s side. She put her hand on Lily’s, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and said, “How are you, dear?”

“Hello, Madge.”

“Seth. It’s nice to see you again too. I’m glad you came.” Madge moved around in front of them. “And sweet little Anne. How are you, sweetheart?”

Anne didn’t say anything, but instead buried her head in the crook of her father’s neck.

Seth said, “Hello, Madge. How are things at the boarding house?”

“Just wonderful, thank you. Daniel is keeping things in tiptop shape.

He’s been so handy with the repairs and such. I just don’t know what I would have done without him.”

Jealousy rippled through him when he heard Madge ask, “Oh, and Lily?

How are things going between you and Daniel?”

“Just fine, Madge.”

“If you’ll excuse us, Madge, I see the mayor over there. I need to speak with him for a moment.” Seth excused himself and hoped Lily would follow his lead. He hoped that they could make their way out of the mob and away from all the good townspeople who wanted to question him. He wasn’t ready for any kind of speculation concerning his relationship with Lily or the return of the family to church right now.

“I will see you later, Madge. It was nice to see you again. You’ll have to come over for supper one day.” Lily called over her shoulder as she followed Seth through the pews and out into the sunshine with Madge on her heels.

* * * *

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Sandy Sullivan

Seth walked toward the mayor with Lily following close behind and the children bringing up the rear, but right before he reached him, he changed directions and headed toward the wagon. Confused, Lily continued to follow him.

“Seth, I thought you needed to talk to the mayor about something?”

“No, I just wanted to get away from Madge,” Seth replied. “Come on.

Up in the wagon, children, so we can go.”

Seth lifted Anne over the side and into the wagon bed before he reached around to grab Lily around the waist to put her in the front wagon seat.

Surprised at his handling of the situation, Lily had to laugh a little to herself, but then the silent chuckle turned into full-blown, giggling laughter as Seth climbed into the wagon beside her.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

She couldn’t help it. Seeing this grown man scurry off to avoid the meddling women of town was too funny. She sat in the seat holding her stomach, and tears rolled down her cheeks while she continued to giggle.

Lily blurted out in laughter, “It’s just… I’m sorry… I just think... it’s hilarious that you are trying… to get away from Madge… and the rest of the matronly women… of town before they could corral you.” Lily tried to speak, still giggling between syllables.

“I’m not trying to get away, I just didn’t want… okay. So I didn’t want to have to explain myself to them today.” A small smile graced his lips, and he picked up the reins before he set the wagon in motion, headed toward Lily’s house.

She continued to giggle every few seconds as they took the short trip to her home from the church.

When they reached her front door, the children jumped out of the back of the wagon and Seth came around to help her down. She turned and scooted to the edge so she could reach his shoulders, but she slid too far on the seat and fell face forward into his arms, causing them both to tumble to the ground. Seth landed on his back with Lily sprawled on top of his chest.

She looked down into his eyes, and the world faded around them.

Before their lips could touch, the children came running over to see if they were all right, and the fog surrounding them disappeared.

"Oh my goodness, Seth. I’m so sorry!” Heat crawled up her neck and splashed across her cheeks when she tried to pull herself off him. She Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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wiggled, trying to remove herself from on top of him only to hear him hiss through clenched teeth.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. Just stop squirming, please,” he whispered, and she saw beads of sweat appear on his upper lip.

“Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”

She finally pulled herself off his chest, and he was able to sit up. Pulling himself to his feet, he said, “I’ll be right back.” He then turned to walk toward a grove of trees nearby.

“Are you sure you are all right?”

She started to follow him but stopped when he raised his hand in a gesture that meant not to follow. Confused, she gathered the children up and walked toward the house.

“Well, let’s go see what we can find to hold you all over until supper is ready, shall we?”

After about fifteen minutes and with Lily frequently peeking out the door, Seth finally returned to the house. When he came through the front door, the children were sitting on the floor, and Lily was reading them one of the many books she had on the shelves of the living room.

“There you are. I was just reading to the children. Johnny, why don’t you continue where I stopped? I’m sure you can read this just fine while I get supper started.” Lily handed the book to the boy and walked over to where Seth stood in the doorway.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Seth asked, following her into the kitchen. “I’m a pretty fair cook.”

“All right. Will you peel those potatoes for me?” Lily handed him the knife before she checked the chicken frying in the pan on the stove. “Seth, are you sure you are all right?”

Her eyes raked him over from head to toe to make sure there wasn’t anything she missed, any injury that she hadn’t been aware of.

* * * *

When Lily landed on top of him, he had been surprised, but as she wiggled in an attempt to remove herself from his chest, the desire whipped through him like wildfire. Once she got up, he was on the verge of Ebook piracy is stealing. It is a federal offense.

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Sandy Sullivan

exploding. His hardened shaft pressed insistently against the front of his jeans. Now she was checking him over with her innocent gaze, and his blood began to boil in his veins again.

“I’m fine, Lily. I just needed a few minutes. That’s all.”

Damn! How does she do that? This woman can set my blood boiling
with little more than a look.
He failed to pay attention to his task, sliced into the potato and cut his thumb.

“Damn it!” He dropped the potato and the knife as the blood seeped from the cut.

“For heaven’s sake, you're accident prone today. Here, let me see it.”

Taking his hand in hers and turning it over to inspect the cut, she said, “It’s not bad. Let me wash it with some water.”

Without a word he stood like a schoolboy and let Lily tend to his thumb.

She clucked over the wound as if he’d actually cut the entire thing off.

“I think it will be fine. Just try to keep it clean. Why don’t you go in the other room with the children while I finish supper?”

Her face tilted up and her gaze met his, but he couldn't think of anything else except tasting her mouth.

* * * *

His lips claimed hers, sliding over the surface in a feather light caress that weakened her knees until she clung to the front of his shirt in a desperate attempt to stay upright. The kiss continued until Lily became aware of tiny little feet pitter-pattering across the kitchen floor and Anne pulling at her skirt.

The two adults jumped apart guiltily, but the little girl only smiled, held her hand to her stomach and shuffled her feet, giving Lily the impression she needed to use the outhouse. Heat crawled up her neck, and she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Excuse me." Lily took Anne's hand, and they rushed outside.

When they came back in, Seth had retreated to the living room, where the boys were, and sat listening to Johnny read. After leaving Anne with the boys, Lily slid a glance at Seth, who watched her intently. She ducked her head and headed back into the kitchen to finish supper. Methodically peeling the potatoes, she let her mind wander back to the kiss.
I wish I knew
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what he thought.
He had kissed her several times, but almost every time he’d said he was sorry, and then he would leave. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Being around Seth confused her more and more each day, and now her heart had gotten involved.
I'm going to have to find out what is
between us, if anything, and soon, or I'm going get hurt in the process.

Tonight wasn't a good time to bring this up since the children were around, but soon. Soon, she would have to tell him how she felt and find out if he felt anything for her.
That’s it. Next weekend we’ll talk. We have to talk
so we can get this out in the open before I get my heart broken
.

Dinner was served, and the children were so well behaved, Lily was hardly aware they were there. The looks passing between her and Seth kept her jittery and tense. The gleam in his eyes made her squirm in her chair, and the heat in the room seemed to increase ten-fold with each passing glance.

The meal was over quickly, and with a little prodding from their father, the children were nice enough to wash the dishes after they had finished eating. Unfortunately, this left Lily and Seth alone in the front room, sipping coffee in silence while they struggled to think of something to talk about.