Unforsaken (10 page)

Three fat geese came waddling up the hill, infuriated at the thought of missing out on the feast, and honked loudly in protest. One in particular began pecking at the hem of Olivia's skirt, and she cried out in dismay. Sarah giggled and shooed the bird away as her father had taught her to do.

"Now we can gather the eggs.” She handed Olivia a wire basket and led her inside the coop, warning her to be careful where she stepped. The eggs, some brown, some white, were warm to the touch, and Olivia tried not to think how recently they might have come from the chicken.

She whirled around at Sarah's gasp, but the little girl motioned for her to come and see. Far in one corner, Olivia could hear a faint chirping and saw three tiny chicks amid a pile of eggshells on a bed of straw. Two more eggs sat undisturbed, but Sarah pointed at one and smiled.

The egg trembled slightly and the shell began to crack. Olivia watched in fascination as a tiny beak began to emerge from the brown shell and the chick struggled to free himself. The egg split in half and he tumbled into the straw, quite startled by his new world.

"My goodness.” Olivia was amazed by what she had seen.

"Daddy will have to move them, once the mama comes back."

"Whatever for?"

"So nothing will happen to them. A fox or a possum might get to them, or even a snake."

"A snake!” Olivia cried. “You mean there are snakes out here?"

Sarah nodded. “Daddy killed a big old snake out here one day and hung it over the fence."

Shuddering at the thought, Olivia reached for Sarah's hand. “This is no place for little girls."

The chicks began peeping louder than before, and Olivia was struck by their helplessness. She would feel awful if something happened to them, but she would feel worse if a snake came after her. “Perhaps we can just wait outside for your father. We really shouldn't leave them alone."

"Leave what alone?"

"Daddy!” Sarah cried in delight. “Look! We got baby chicks!"

Matthew made his way inside the chicken coop without bothering to hide his amusement at Olivia's wariness. She folded her arms across her chest and tried to look indifferent, but his grin only widened. “Are you ready to milk the cow?"

Stung by his teasing, she drew herself up and said, “Certainly not. I was beginning to wonder where you had taken off to."

"Far enough to make sure I can get you home safely."

When he said nothing else, she prompted, “And?"

"The road is clear,” he assured her. “A few bad places, but nothing that would keep us from getting to town."

Relieved beyond measure, Olivia nodded and carefully made her way out of the chicken coop, leaving Matt and Sarah to deal with the baby chicks. When they were ready to leave, at last, Matt helped Olivia onto the wagon seat after hoisting Sarah in place. His hand lingered for a moment at the small of her back, and a shiver ran up her spine, a shiver she knew he felt.

She swallowed hard and grasped for something to say that would break the tension. “Why on earth would you hang a dead snake over a fence?"

The question caught him off guard and he tilted his head to one side for a moment before he understood. “Sarah told you about that, did she?"

Olivia nodded.

"Anytime you kill a snake, old folks say to hang it belly side up over a fence, and you'll get rain.” He grinned slightly. “I never dreamed I'd get you in the bargain."

Matt turned the wagon onto Olivia's street and her laughter died as she realized that most of her neighbors were enjoying the lovely weather by either taking a midmorning stroll or pampering their rosebushes. So astonished were they at the sight of her riding in a farm wagon that they failed to even pretend not to stare.

Matt was well aware of her embarrassment. “Livvy, I'm sorry. I should have come around the back way."

"Nonsense.” She held her head high and deigned to meet each gaping stare only to have her own gaze quickly averted. “I will not sneak inside my own home as if I have something to hide."

The wagon rolled to a stop in front of her house and, like a queen, she waited for him to assist her down from the seat. When he had hefted Sarah to her feet, the three of them made their way up the front walk. Olivia opened the front door and Matthew followed her inside, leading Sarah.

"Olivia? Olivia, is that you?” Eula rushed into the foyer, her eyes wide with concern. “Thank God you're home. I was just about to send for the sheriff."

"I'm fine, dear,” Olivia assured her, returning her embrace. “The road was washed out by the storm, and we were stranded. I'm sorry if you were worried."

"You were stranded all night?” Olivia started at the sound of Ada Kirk's voice and turned to find her cousin and his wife standing just inside the parlor. “Just the two of you?"

Rodger and Ada exchanged a harried glance, and Rodger's disapproval was obvious. “Eula sent for me at the mill this morning. We've all been worried sick."

Olivia fought to keep her temper in check, knowing an ugly scene would only upset Eula and make the situation worse. “I appreciate your concern, but I'm home now and there is no longer any reason to worry."

"I'm just thankful you weren't driving that buggy of yours all by yourself.” Eula turned to Matthew. “Such a storm would have washed that little rig away, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

He raked a hand through his hair, and Olivia sensed his discomfort. Damn Rodger, anyway, for bringing Ada along, but his wife would never forgive him if she had missed out on the juiciest piece of gossip since the wife of a church deacon ran off with a traveling circus, supposedly enamored with the lion tamer.

"The road was completely flooded,” Matthew explained, but he was looking right at Rodger. His eyes narrowed slightly and his next words left no room for argument. “Only a fool would risk lives for the sake of propriety."

"Oh, absolutely,” Rodger agreed, sparing his wife a pleading look, and hurried across the foyer to shake Matt's hand. “We're just grateful to you for seeing her home safely."

For a moment, Olivia thought he might refuse Rodger's handshake, but he finally extended his hand somewhat reluctantly and said, “It was my pleasure."

Ada's eyes grew even wider, if that was possible, and Olivia bit the inside of her jaw to keep from laughing out loud. An awkward silence fell, but Eula was unperturbed. “Matthew, would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, thank you Miss Eula,” he declined with a thankful smile. “I've got to be on my way. I just need a good-bye kiss before I leave."

Olivia froze and Rodger and Ada gaped at him in disbelief and then chagrin when he scooped Sarah into his arms and told her to be a good girl. The child assured him that she would and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Eula reached out to take Sarah from Matt, suggesting they go see if Maddy needed help frosting a layer cake, and turned toward the kitchen. Matt glanced up at Olivia, and she felt the hot flush of color rise to her face, more angered than embarrassed. He had chosen his words carefully, gauging her reaction, and was now quite pleased at her immediate assumption that he'd wanted a kiss from her.

Her sharp disappointment rankled her even further, and she stiffened with wounded pride. Somehow she kept her voice cool and impassive, and said, “Thank you again for seeing me home, Mr. Bowen. Good day."

Not waiting to see his reaction, Olivia turned to make her way up the stairs.

"So you spent the night with a man you once hoped to marry.” Ada's summary conclusion made Olivia flinch when she met her at the top. “Everyone already thinks you're keeping that little girl, hoping he'll finally marry you, and now something like this? He'll
have
to marry you now."

Olivia caught hold of the banister, shocked and angered, but she knew Ada wasn't exaggerating. Most people would jump to the worst conclusion over such an occurrence, but her past history with Matthew would refute any likelihood of an innocent but unfortunate situation.

"Matthew Bowen is a gentleman, Ada.” Olivia felt her cheeks flame even though she should have anticipated such accusations. “What you're suggesting is an insult to both of us."

"You just mark my words."

"Oh, I will, and I'll recognize every one of them that gets back to me."

Olivia briefly scanned the last letter in the stack before tossing it aside with the others, along with any hope of finding a suitable nursemaid for Sarah. It was obvious her mistake had been disclosing the fact that Matthew was a property-holding widower. Every woman who responded to her notice was more interested in him than the child. Most had children of their own that they expected to bring with them, as if providing Sarah with a playmate was some sort of bonus!

Sarah had had enough adjustments to make in the past months and the last thing she needed was a lot of strange children invading her home. Poor Sarah, she deserved better than that, and Olivia intended to see she had it. Time, however, was not on her side.

Every day, it seemed, the child grew more attached to her and to Aunt Eula. Olivia reminded herself that Sarah missed her mother and would feel the same toward any female. What concerned her most were her own feelings for the little girl.

She was finding it impossible to remain detached. Rather than a nuisance, Sarah proved to be a delight, and Olivia feared she would dearly miss the little girl if a nurse could be found and the child returned home. Once Matt was finished with spring planting, he would be able to care for Sarah himself and wouldn't need her help at all, and already Olivia found herself dreading that day.

It galled Olivia to admit, even to herself, that she would miss seeing Matt as much as she would Sarah. After so many years of cold silence between them, she had forgotten how much she enjoyed his company, and caring for Sarah gave her license to spend time with Matt whenever he came to see the child.

She had been foolish, however, to tag along with them on Sunday, allowing herself to pretend she could ever be part of their world. Kissing Matt had been stupid to the point of lunacy and only served to make the situation less manageable. She berated herself over and over for wanting to believe he still held feelings for her after so much time had passed. More than likely he was confusing gratitude and sentiment with desire.

A knock at her door distracted Olivia from her troubling thoughts, and she glanced up to see Rodger peering into her office with a painfully friendly smile.

"Afternoon, cousin,” he drawled and strolled inside without waiting for an invitation. “I have some news you'll be happy to hear."

"How nice.” She seriously doubted that, but she faced him, waiting. “What is it?"

"You remember Mr. Sullivan?"

She nodded.

"Well, he made his order this morning.” He placed the bill of sale on her desk. “He plans to start construction next week, and we're supplying the lumber."

She glanced at the numbers. “You gave him quite a generous discount."

"Well, considering how much he was willing to buy, it only seemed fair."

"What do you know about Sullivan?"

The question startled Rodger and he blinked. “Well, he ... ah, he comes from Liverpool, but he's lived in America for the last ten or twenty years. Made a fortune in cotton export."

"And now he's moved to Georgia to start a textile mill? Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

Rodger squirmed slightly. “There's a lot of opportunity nowadays. Lots of businessmen are taking advantage of such ... opportunities."

"I thought you disapproved of doing business with carpetbaggers."

"I do,” he assured her without hesitation. “They all have political agendas; Sullivan is no carpetbagger. He's simply making a good business move."

"Taking advantage of a good opportunity, you mean.” At Rodger's pained expression, she let the argument drop. For now. “I just feel we should know more about who we're dealing with when we extend ourselves so heavily."

"Well, I invited him to Sunday dinner.” Rodger smiled slyly. “That should give you an opportunity to get to know him better."

"At
my
house?” Olivia was shocked by his presumptuousness. “Without asking me first?"

"Olivia, dear, we always have Sunday dinner at your house. I didn't think you would mind.” He paused. “Unless you have other plans ... again."

She could feel the color warm her face and tried to ignore the thinly veiled query. She hadn't missed the furtive looks and hushed whispers everywhere she went in the past week. She had known more than one person had seen her early morning return with Matt and Sarah, but she had no doubt Ada Kirk had spread most of the gossip as thickly as possible.

"From here on, please ask me before inviting people to my home,” she conceded. “Especially strangers."

"He's no stranger,” Rodger corrected her. “He could prove to be a valuable business ... associate."

Her head snapped up, and she refused to pretend she hadn't caught the slip. “Valuable to whom? Rodger, whatever business dealings you involve yourself in are your own affair, but don't ever think you can use your connections with me for personal benefit."

His eyes narrowed. “I'm thinking of the benefit of the business. Perhaps you should do the same."

"What are you saying?"

"Everyone in town is speculating on what happened between you and Matt Bowen.” His voice held a note of triumph, and she suspected he'd been dying to tell her that all week long. “What on earth were you thinking? You had no business going out there alone with him, let alone spending the night!"

"Well, I certainly didn't plan on it!” she snapped. “How many times do I have to tell you that there was a storm—"

"And you were stranded,” he finished for her. Leaning forward, his tone softened. “Look, I know you well enough to realize that you wouldn't intentionally do something so ... improper, but there are others who might not be so willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Let them think what they like; I don't care."

"You'll care when they quit doing business with us."

She hesitated. “You're exaggerating."