Kissing in the Dark by Wendy Lindstrom Read Free Book Online Page B

shoulders. “Sweetheart, would you watch the children tomorrow while I go meet this pretty widow who has snared your uncle’s interest?”
    Like mother like daughter; Rebecca’s eyes sparkled. “Of course, Mama. I owe Uncle Duke a favor.”
    He flicked a biscuit crumb at Evelyn. “You’re ruining my niece.”
    “I’m teaching her that turnabout is fair play”
    Radford tossed his napkin onto his plate and leaned back in his chair. “Save your breath, Duke. When the ladies set their minds to something, the boys and I clear out.”
    Evelyn patted Radford’s thigh. “You poor, mistreated man.”
    He sighed dramatically and looked down into her upturned face. “To think I’ll spend the rest of my life being treated like this . . .” He trailed off, the warm look in his eyes saying everything. He was a man in love, a man in awe of all he had.
    Duke had witnessed their private exchanges many times during the eight years of their marriage, and the intensity of their passion made him yearn for what they had. Kyle had found that passion with Amelia. Boyd had found it with Claire.
    But what made that passion ignite and burn between two people was still a mystery to Duke.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
    After lunch, Faith was in the bathhouse pumping water into the tub when three women walked through the open greenhouse door, chatting gaily and bearing . . . gifts? Surely not. The oldest and shortest of the three spotted Cora playing by the door and gave her a friendly wave.
    “Let’s hope they’re customers,” Faith said to Iris, who’d been helping her fill the bathtub. She brushed drops of water off the long apron covering her dress, then headed toward the front of the greenhouse with Iris, giving them her warmest smile. “May I help you ladies?”
    “I’m Nancy Grayson, and these are my daughters-in-law Evelyn and Claire,” the older woman said, giving Faith a jar of preserves, but her gaze was riveted on Iris. Faith was used to the surprised, intrigued stares cast at Iris, but it made her sad each time it happened. Iris was exotic and beautiful, a rare bird that drew attention with every move. Iris didn’t seem to mind the looks, but she must: she was a woman disconnected from her family and her people, too different to blend in anywhere.
    “My son, Sheriff Grayson, said you opened a greenhouse, but I wasn’t expecting anything this grand,” Mrs. Grayson continued, shifting her gaze to the plants as if she realized she’d been gawking.
    Faith’s stomach plummeted. Had Sheriff Grayson sent them to spy on her? Or had he sent them here to look her over? She’d seen the spark of interest in his eyes yesterday. And maybe Iris had fanned that spark. Blast the woman! She should have never told the sheriff Faith was looking for a husband. They’d planted that ridiculous notion in Faith’s own head too, and now she was acting like a suspicious goose.
    But she wished she looked better. She smoothed her skirt, sopping wet at the hem from working in the bathhouse, then hid her hands behind her back because her fingernails were green from pinching stems all morning.
    The two younger women were of nearly the same height and dressed in neat, pressed frocks. Evelyn was dark-haired, and Claire was blond, and both were beautiful.
    Nancy Grayson’s too-direct gaze made Faith want to shy away, but the remarkable youthful energy that radiated from the woman was surprisingly familiar. The sheriff possessed that same directness and intensity
    The blond woman, Claire, handed Faith a deep pot. “I thought you might appreciate not having to cook this evening. I hope you like venison stew.”
    Faith would gladly toil over a stove if she had money to buy food.
    “And I brought a treat for after supper,” Evelyn said, giving a plate of cookies to Cora.
    Cora scrambled to her feet and gawked at the mound of oatmeal cookies. “Can I eat one, Mama?”
    To refuse the cookies would be rude, and to refuse Cora a treat would be unkind. But