Protected by the HERO (52 page)

***

After the wedding Emma and Noah walked quietly along the wooden that stretched along the fronts of the buildings. They each had their heads down as if lost in their own thoughts, but occasionally Emma would steal a glance in his direction. She let her eyes travel over the planes of his face, examining the strong lines of his jaw, his prominent nose, and heavy eyebrows that gave him a look of intensity. Even that long scar did not seem disfiguring. He was truly beautiful and the longer she looked at him, the more drawn to him she felt. Though she knew he wasn't her husband in the truest sense of the word, the thought of being his wife sent a little shiver through her belly.

Throughout their early supper at the restaurant she could feel the eyes of the people throughout the dining room staring at them. She could hear some of them whispering, talking about the strangers who had arrived in town together and married immediately. It seemed odd to think of herself as a stranger, but on the other hand, to be a stranger made her feel like she was disappearing from her former life, dissolving out of the images of one place so that she could start again in another. This thought helped to further loosen the painful knot of tension in her chest that Noah had started to release the moment he crashed into the house.

“Would you like to stay in the hotel tonight?” she asked timidly as they finished their meal and Noah slid a handful of coins across the surface of the table toward the waitress.

The suggestion seemed incredibly forward, but she longed for a night of rest that would be more comfortable than the last two spent in the back of the wagon. And after indulging in a meal from the restaurant, she was craving just a touch more luxury. Noah met her eyes and Emma felt a flicker of nervousness that made her lower her gaze. Her hands wrung at the skirt in her lap and she felt her heartbeat speed up slightly.

“Yes,” he responded softly, and she lifted her face again to smile at him.

He still sounded somewhat resistant, but the hardness in his eyes had softened a little. She glanced down at her lap again nervously, tucking her hands beneath the table so that he wouldn't see her running her fingertip along the band around her finger.

“I need to show you something,” she said in a voice soft enough that she knew no one else around them could hear her.

He nodded and stood, coming around the table to help her to her feet. She hesitated as he extended his arm to her. They had been careful to touch each other as little as possible during their brief time together, but now he was offering his arm. She considered holding his forearm like she had done with Caleb, but instead, she rested her fingers on his wrist, and let him guide her off of the chair.

When they got out to the wagon, she climbed carefully over the bench and into the back. She stuck her head back out between the flaps covering the entrance to the wagon and saw Noah standing beside the team, tenderly running his hand along one of the horse's necks. The animal stood without agitation and turned his head to nudge him. Emma smiled at the interaction, feeling warmth spread through her chest as she watched man and horse show trust and affection to one another. Those horses had never stayed calm when Caleb approached them, but this one seemed perfectly happy to have Noah pet it fondly. That said far more to her about him than the hardness in his eyes or the scar down his neck.

“You'll have to come back here,” she said gently, reluctant to end the moment of calm between man and animal.

Noah seemed reluctant, but climbed onto the bench and then into the wagon beside her.

“For all of his faults, and Lord knows he had plenty, Caleb was amazing with his hands. He could build anything that anyone needed, and many things that people didn't know they needed. Like this.”

Emma reached forward and flattened her hand against a piece of wood at the front of the wagon. She moved her hand to the side and felt the slat shift as she applied pressure to it. Sliding it to the side, she revealed a hidden compartment within the bench. She reached inside and felt around until her hand hit the metal box Caleb had hidden there when they left for their original trip West. They hadn't had the need to remove it since then, but now she felt it was the time to use it.

They were sitting on their knees facing each other and Emma placed the metal box in her lap so that the hinge was toward her. She took a breath and opened it so Noah could look inside. His eyes widened when he saw the stacks of money lining the box, the culmination of years of work, saving, and selling much of her and Caleb's property before they left. It was more than many people made in a few years and was to be, Emma knew, their salvation.

“Emma,” he started, but she held up a hand to quiet his protests.

“You are my husband, right? At least for now.”

She added the last part in a softer voice, trying to convince herself that that was still what she wanted, but trusting it within herself less and less with each moment that passed between them.

“Yes.”

“Then this is yours as well. We will use it to get whatever we need, to carry us through, to get me home, and to bring you wherever you want to go. Noah, you saved my life. You protect me, and drive the horses, and do things I could never even begin to do on my own. This is what I can offer you. I am worth at least this.”

Noah looked at her sharply.

“You are worth so much more than that,” he said, looking directly into her face with such honesty she felt herself tremble.

***

Noah took a small amount of the money out of the box and tucked it into his pocket, instructing Emma to return the rest to the hidden compartment in the wagon and cover it. Together they walked to the hotel and he walked up to the desk to request a room. The money seemed to burn in his pocket and he felt nervous speaking to the well-dressed man behind the desk, but he spoke to him with respect, and for the first time Noah didn't feel like someone's eyes were going first to his scar.

Extending his arm to her again, Noah felt Emma rest just her fingers against his wrist again, but with slightly more confidence now than when they’d left the restaurant. She looked into his face, her stunning blue eyes seeming even bigger now than when he first saw them, and offered a light smile as they followed the hotel manager up a flight of heavily carpeted stairs to a room along a narrow hallway.

“Newlyweds?” he asked, pausing outside the door.

The older man had a sparkle in his eye and the type of rosy cheeks that made a person look live he lived a healthy, happy life.

“Why do you ask?” Noah asked with a slight edge of suspicion in his voice.

The manager chuckled and looked back and forth between them.

“I can always tell. It's in the way you look at one another. You can see the love there.”

Out of the corner of his eye Noah saw Emma look down, a lovely blush creeping across her milky skin.

“You are a very astute man,” Noah said, leaning slightly forward to whisper conspiratorially to the manager. “We were married just this afternoon.”

The manager's expression brightened even further.

“Your wedding night!” he exclaimed and Noah looked over to see the blush darken even further on Emma's cheeks. “That calls for something special. Come with me.”

Noah grinned. It was the first true smile he could remember in years. He found strange pleasure in the subtle, private teasing, and the way Emma turned shyly away from him, but fought the smile trying to appear on her own lips. They followed the manager up another flight of steps and through the single door at the top. The door opened into a large, airy room that seemed to stretch the entire width of the hotel. A sweet breeze billowed the curtains of tall doors standing open on one wall that led to a balcony looking out over the street.

His eyes scanned the room, taking in the gathering of elegant furniture clustered around the fireplace to one end, a well-filled bookshelf positioned against the wall, and a tremendous four-poster bed taking up a good portion of the other end of the room. The space smelled faintly of dried flowers and herbs. Emma took her hand from his arm and walked further into the room, gazing around herself in that discerning way that women seemed to have, before meeting his eyes and nodding subtly.

“I'll go put the team away,” Noah said to Emma and followed the manager out of the room.

“She's a beauty,” the manager said as they walked down the stairs, “You're a lucky man.”

Noah considered the words for a moment, thinking about how he and Emma had come together and how drastically his life had changed from the moment that he climbed off of his horse in front of her house hoping for a job, to now. He thought of the clear blue of her eyes that made him feel like he was getting lost when he looked deeply into them, and the brightness of the smile that he had finally gotten to see.

“Yes. I suppose I am,” he said. He headed outside to bring the wagon behind the hotel and guide the three horses to the stable, knowing that, at least for now, he truly was a lucky man.

When the animals were settled in comfortably with fresh water and feed, Noah walked across the street to the general store and bought a few items before going back to the hotel. As he stepped out of the store he glanced up at the hotel and saw Emma standing on the balcony, leaning on her arms on the railing and smiling softly down at him. He smiled back at her before crossing back to the hotel, walking quickly through the lobby, and climbing the stairs to their room.

Emma turned to him and walked back into the room.

“What did you buy at the store?” she asked, loosening her bonnet and placing it on the table beside her.

“Soap, a new razor, a couple of peppermint sticks,” she chuckled and he smiled at the sound, “and this,” he unwrapped the brown paper from the items he purchased and withdrew a small bottle, holding it out to her, “I thought you might like it.”

Emma took the bottle from his hand slowly and nestled it in her palm. She glanced up at him with a look of stunned disbelief in her eyes.

“Perfume?” she asked softly.

“I know that traveling in the wagon isn't as comfortable as being in your home and I remember when I was young my mother told me that wearing perfume made her feel better, even on her most difficult days. Do you like it?”

Emma took the cork out of the bottle and brought it to her nose. Her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed in the scent. She put the cork back in and took a step closer to him.

“I do. Thank you.”

She rose onto her toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. As she stepped away, she accidentally jostled his hand that held the package, dislodging his razor and the bar of soap and sending them skittering across the floor. Emma gasped and stepped back, her hands coming to cover her mouth. Noah reached forward to calm her and saw her cower from him, turning away and hunching her shoulders as if to protect herself. His chest clenched painfully as he saw her shoulders shake with fear.

“Emma,” he said quietly. She didn't turn to him and he took a step closer to her, “Emma,” he said again, stroking the backs of his fingers along her shoulder gently, “It's alright.” She looked up at him and he stroked her arm again, “Everything is fine. You never have to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”

She straightened and turned to him. Noah ran his fingertips along the curve of her face. Her eyes lowered and she tilted her face to press it subtly into his touch.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered to her, “You never deserve to be hurt. You deserve to be appreciated and cherished.” He took a long breath. “You deserve to be loved.”

***

Emma let a breath slip from between her lips at his words. For the first time in her adult life she felt safe under a man's touch. Even in the earliest days of her courtship with Caleb she had not felt this comfortable with him. Suddenly the reality of her relationship with Noah flashed through her mind and she took a step back from him. She couldn't let herself give in to the feelings that were building inside her. Noah was just a temporary moment in her life. As soon as he could, he would send her back East and then go back to the life he’d had before being so violently thrown into hers.

“Should we go buy our supplies before the store closes?” she asked, stepping away from his touch.

Noah cleared his throat and nodded. He leaned down to pick up the items that had fallen and placed them on the table beside the washbasin. They left the room quietly and crossed the street to the store to purchase what they would need for the next leg of their journey together.

“We plan on leaving tomorrow morning. Can you hold all of this for me until then?” Noah said to the store clerk some twenty minutes later.

The clerk surveyed the stacks of items and nodded.

“Sure thing. I'll have them ready for you first thing.”

“Thank you.”

Noah extended his arm to Emma and she looped hers around it, resting her fingers lightly to the heel of his hand. They stepped out onto the wooden platform in front of the store and looked around. Emma noticed fewer people outside, now that the sun was setting. The women had returned to their homes, but the raucous sound from the far end of the small town told her that many of the men had gone to the saloon.

They had just gotten to the middle of the street when she heard a gruff voice calling Noah's name from behind them. She turned and immediately felt Noah push her behind him.