Moonlight on Water (10 page)

And Kitty Cat was not her only problem. Rachel was plagued by thoughts of Wyatt Colton as well. No, she would not let him intrude on her work again. He must be busy on his boat, and she should be busy here.

Bending over the account book, Rachel tried to see where she had made her mistake. She picked up the invoice sheets that had come from the tool shop and from the weavers. They listed the work done during the past week and the billing for costs and supplies. Setting the pages back down, she rose from her desk, still being cautious about her ankle. She went over to the window and sat on the wide sill, looking at where the children were playing five stories below.

Kitty Cat was tossing a baseball with one of the boys. A broad smile brightened her face.

Rachel went back to her desk to continue her work. Maybe she was worrying for no reason. Kitty Cat had said she wanted to be sure her friends were well settled with their new families. Both Sean and Mr. Jennings had assured her that was so. Now the little girl could turn her mind to her life here at River's Haven.

When footsteps stopped in front of her door, Rachel looked up in irritation. Immediately, she stifled the harsh words that had burst into her head. She could not become so caught up in her fretting that she was short-tempered with one of the members of the Community.

Mr. Atlee regarded her with shock, warning her that her irritation had been on her face. He was a squat man with light brown hair, light brown eyes, and light brown skin. She had never heard him speak a cross word to anyone about anything.

“Miss Browning,” he said quietly, “there's a gentleman here asking to see you.”

“Who is it?” she asked as she folded her arms on the desk.

He glanced uneasily over his shoulder. “A stranger. No one who's come to River's Haven before. He said his name is Wyatt Colton, and that he was Katherine's friend.” He paused before adding in a near whisper of despair, “How could that be? He's an outsider, Miss Browning.”

“We have other callers from outside the Community.”

“They come to see the Assembly of Elders.”

She stood and smiled as if she were completely at ease with the idea of Wyatt Colton here at River's Haven. If he wanted to continue the argument that Kitty Cat should be allowed to visit
The Ohio Star
, she must put him to rights straightaway.

“Mr. Atlee, would you tell him that I'll meet him in the Community parlor?”

“Shall I have some refreshments sent in?”

“No. I doubt Mr. Colton will be staying long enough for that.”

Mr. Atlee stepped aside as she came out into the hallway. When she walked toward the closest staircase, he went in the opposite direction. Where was Wyatt waiting? The main door to the common house was in this direction.

She chuckled to herself. The huge building with all its wings was disconcerting to the residents of the Community. For an outsider, it must be a bewildering maze.

Running her fingers along the mahogany paneling that covered the lower half of the wall, she tried to calm her frantic heartbeat. A week had passed since she had last spoken with Wyatt, but even when she worried about Kitty Cat, her thoughts had drifted to how his lips had seared hers and how his eyes twinkled as his mouth lowered toward hers.

Rachel greeted each person she passed as she went down to the ground floor. The stairwell was open from the first landing all the way to a skylight in the roof. More than once she had been tempted to bring her work out of her office to sit on one of the risers while sunshine cascaded around her.

The ground floor's hallway was as massive as the common house itself. It arched up more than twenty feet above her head. Intricate moldings marched along the walls and across the ceiling, reminding her of pictures she had seen of ancient cathedrals in Europe. This corridor always gave her the same sense of awe. Along the walls, at a height perfect to be read, was a listing of the doctrines guiding the River's Haven Community. Most were simple and commonplace—being kind to others and being willing to work hard for the betterment of everyone.

The Community Hall was as large as the Grange Hall in Haven. Everyone in River's Haven could gather here to listen to the Assembly of Elders, as they did once a month. Several small rooms opened off the great space. Each one was labeled with its name in a brass plaque over the half-moon window atop the door. The Community parlor was the nearest and smallest. With just three sofas and an equal number of chairs, it was cozy in comparison with the Community Hall. It was decorated in soft shades of navy blue and yellow.

Rachel paused in the doorway and stared at the man who was looking at the books on the shelves flanking the tall window.
This
was Wyatt Colton? This man who was dressed in what her mother had called “his going-to-church best”? The light gray coat he wore over darker gray trousers was double-breasted. His white shirt closed at his collar with a narrow black tie. He held a black top hat with a silver band that glistened as brightly as his shoes beneath pristine white spats. He could have been a fashion-plate, so she was surprised when she realized she preferred him in his work clothes that revealed his strong muscles instead of encasing them in dignified wool.

She wondered why he was dressed so. He obviously wanted to impress someone, but who?

“Good afternoon, Wyatt,” Rachel said when she found her voice. “I'm sorry I've kept you waiting. I'm very busy this afternoon. I was told you wish to speak to me.”

“Good afternoon.” He dropped his hat on a nearby table along with his pose of being a gentleman caller. His eyes glistened as they narrowed and swept along her. A slow smile tilted his lips.

She looked down, realizing that he had never seen her in a River's Haven dress. Other than the short skirt, the navy dress could have been worn by any woman in Haven. Her pantalets of the same color hid any hint of ankle, and the lace at their hem covered her shoes in an odd copy of his spats.

When his gaze rose, she could not halt herself from reaching up to touch her hair, which was in a loose net balanced on her shoulders. She had worn it in a tight bun each time she had seen him before. As she did with her clothes, she appreciated the comfort of this hairstyle favored in River's Haven.

“You're walking much better,” Wyatt continued. “Why don't you walk back to the door?”

“What?” she asked, startled.

“I like watching you walk.” He grinned. “Both toward me and away.”

“May I remind you that you aren't on your boat?”

He smiled tightly. “I'll use my best ‘going ashore' manners, Rachel. I should do this, shouldn't I?” He took her hand, and, with a bow as fine as any she had ever seen, he raised it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her skin.

She never had understood what was meant by the term “making one's head spin” until now. The courteous kiss was like one other men had given her, but none of those had delighted her like this. As he raised his head, she let herself become lost in his eyes.

He pressed her fingers to his face. They slipped from beneath his palm to stroke his smooth cheek. How would his freshly shaven skin feel against her if he kissed her mouth?

Several voices came from the Community Hall, and Rachel pulled back, shocked at how easily she had let him enchant her … and how much she wanted to linger within his touch's spell.

“We should—I mean—” Heavens, she was stuttering like a naughty child caught in the midst of mischief.

Wyatt tan his finger along her jaw. “If you want me to continue acting like a gentleman, I can spend the next ten minutes telling you how lovely you are, but I thought you'd rather talk business.”

Never had he been so wrong about what she wanted, but, as he glanced uneasily at the door, she realized that he was not comfortable here. She had seen other outsiders act ill at ease in the common house. She would not have guessed that Wyatt Colton would be unsettled by the River's Haven Community. Then she recalled his disgust—there was no kinder word for it—when she had first spoken of living here. For a man who seemed to live by his own rules, making them up as he needed them, the very idea of a community like this one must be an abomination.

“Will you sit down, Wyatt?” When he arched a brow and smiled, Rachel added, “Please.”

As he sat on a chair, he said, “I trust you got the oil stains out of your jacket.”

Blast this man! He was the one who was uncomfortable, but he was doing everything he could to make
her
blush. If he thought he would unnerve her so much that she would say or do something foolish so he could tease her more, he would quickly learn his mistake.

“Yes,” she replied. “The laundry here is very skilled. They're accustomed to the task of removing stains left by work in the shops here.”

“That's lucky for you.”

“Isn't it?”

“I see you aren't going to waste your ‘going ashore' manners on me.” His smile wavered at her sarcasm.

“I'm sorry.” She sighed. She was lashing out at him when he was teasing her in an effort to put both of them more at ease. “I was in the midst of trying to track down some mistakes I'd made in the calculations I was doing, and I fear I'm cantankerous when the numbers don't add up.”

“And I'm sorry for intruding on your work. I don't like to leave a job half done either.”

She gasped at the apology she had not expected from him. But she barely knew this intriguing man, so why should she believe that she would know how he might act? When he did not pounce on her reaction, she relaxed against the sofa where she sat facing him. She discovered that was a mistake, for without her vexation between her and his charming smile, her thoughts drifted again to the memory of his broad hands and warm lips.

“That's quite the outfit,” Wyatt said.

She again glanced at her navy dress. “It suits me during the hours of working on the financial reports for the Assembly of Elders or when I go from shop to shop. But I doubt that you came all the way out here to discuss my clothes.”

“You're right.” He pulled his chair closer to her. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “What in blazes is a smart woman like you doing here? These places are for folks who can't think for themselves. You've proven that you can.”

“This is my home. My brother and I have lived here almost three years.”

He whistled lowly. “I'm surprised you could put up with this for that long.”

“This is my home.”

“So you said.”

Folding her hands on her lap, she said, “I assume you came here to find out about getting parts made for
The Ohio Star
.”

“That, and to make sure you were all right.”

“Our shop can make most parts.” It was easier to speak of work because then she could tear her gaze away from the silver fire in his eyes.

“For how much? You said Horace and I were fools to send to Louisville for parts for
The Ohio Star
when we could get them from River's Haven for much less.”

“For less, yes. It'd depend on what you wanted and the shop's schedule. You should speak with Mr. Dow. He'll be able to tell you if he can do the work you need on your timetable.”

“I'd thought you'd make sure he did the work for me in lickety-split time.”

“So I could be rid of you?” She laughed. “You seem to think that I have nothing but you on my mind.”

“Maybe because you've been clogging up my mind too much since you barged onto my steamboat.”

“You invited me on!”

“I should have known better.” His smile grew wider. “You're a hard woman to get out of a man's head, Rachel.”

She glanced toward the door to the Community Hall as she came to her feet. “You shouldn't be speaking so here. Others might hear and get the wrong idea.”

“I don't see any reason not to be honest here,” he said, standing. “This is your home. You're honest on the boat that's my home, so why shouldn't I be honest in your home?”

“But you're an outsider.”

“Thank goodness.” He went to the shelves and pulled down a pair of books. “Are all of these books about the tenets you follow here?”

“I'm not sure. I have my own books in my cottage.”

“I thought everyone in River's Haven lived in this big mansion.”

“There isn't room for all the residents until the new wing is finished. Kit—Katherine and I live in one of the cottages on the other side of the common area.”

“Are you going to let K. C. come into Haven to work with the other kids on the parade?”

“I told you that I'd have to obtain permission from the Assembly of Elders.”

“Have you asked them?”

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

She frowned. “That's none of your business, Wyatt.”

“Why not?”

“Because she isn't your responsibility. She's mine.”

“She isn't a responsibility. She's a little girl. Kids need some freedom, or they'll find it on their own.”

“The voice of experience.”

He stepped closer to her. This time she did not back away, instead holding her ground so that he would see how seriously she took her obligations to Kitty Cat.

“On this, honey—”

“Don't call me that.”

“I won't if you'll listen to me.”

She knew arguing was worthless, so she nodded.

“I do have experience in being a kid,” he said when she remained silent. “My family tried to tie me down too much, and I fought to escape in every way I could. I found my escape on the river. That's fine for a boy, but you've got to make sure K. C. doesn't try to copy me and Horace. The river's no place for a girl unless she's willing to lift her skirts for any man who has the money.”

“I'd never allow her to do that.”

“As long as she'll heed you, but living in a place like this is sure to confuse her.” He fingered the hem of her skirt. “After all, no one would have to lift these skirts too far.”