Page 25 of Silver Lining
"What?"
There wasn't much he could do to make up for a performance that had been perfunctory at best, but he could end an intimate act in a more honorable fashion than rolling away from her as if he'd paid for her favors.
Reaching, he guided her head to his shoulder, sensing her surprise and hesitation. At length she relaxed against him, and eventually he felt the soft rise and fall of her magnificent breasts against his side and knew she'd fallen asleep.
He finished smoking the cheroot, his thoughts a dark kaleidoscope of shifting images. Philadelphia . His summer in the mountains. The ranch. The period in the schoolhouse when he had believed he would die.
And the stranger in his arms, his wife.
There was no way out of this mess. No way to set things right with Philadelphia or her father. No way to shield his family from scandal and shame. Tonight he and Low Down had sealed their misfortune by beginning a marriage neither of them wanted.
But he'd done his duty. Preacher Jellison and the men at Piney Greek must be laughing their butts off.
CHAPTER6
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Arough spot on the wooden wagon seat snagged Low Down's skirt when she twisted around to peer back at the Belle Mark. She had arrived there yesterday as one person and departed today as another.
She looked different; she felt different, and maybe she was. Maybe she was pregnant. Her heart lifted at the possibility. On the other hand, he who lived on hope dined on scraps. It was better not to hope too much. Just wait and see.
When Max headed the team north and she could no longer make out the green-and-white-striped awning, she turned her attention to the items packed in the wagon bed.
"Mostly provisions and supplies for the ranch," Max explained. "And a few gifts for the family."
"What kind of gifts?" she inquired, anxiously smoothing her skirts before she checked on the hat pin that anchored her hat to her hair. A person had only one chance to create a good first impression, and she wanted Max's family to approve of her. On the other hand, why should they?
Max glanced back to make sure he wasn't driving too fast for Marva Lee and Rebecca who were tied to the tailgate.
"I bought Gilly's husband, Dave, new strings for his guitar and a hatband. My brother, Wally, gets a silver belt buckle and a book of house plans in case he decides someday to build on his quarter. The bolts of cloth are for Gilly and my mother."
"What kind of material did you choose?"
"Velvet."
Low Down whistled. "Son of a bitch. That must have cost a pretty penny!" When he turned his head to frown, she lifted her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm not swearing as much as I used to." Changing herself was not easy. Old habits died hard. "What else did you buy?"
"I bought Ma a new set of account books." Max kept his eyes on the twin ruts in front of the team.
Learning what gifts he'd chosen gave her a small glimpse of her new family. "What did you buy Gilly and her daughter?" she asked. She had been especially interested in Gilly and Sunshine since Max had told her about them.
"There's a doll for Sunshine, and a box of lace-edged handkerchiefs and a book of sheet music for Gilly."
"Sheet music?" She considered for several minutes, then finally decided to confide in him. "I collect songbooks myself."
Surprise lifted his eyebrows. "Then the piano wasn't as far-fetched a suggestion as it seemed at the time."
"I don't play the piano, I just collect songbooks."
"Why?"
"Because I enjoy the stories." She liked to surprise him, but suddenly she felt uneasy. His expression suggested that other people didn't do this. "Take that song about 'Grandfather's Clock,' for instance. It stopped ticking when the old man died." She gazed into his eyes, as blue as the powdery sky. Then, since she'd come this far, she plunged ahead. "Don't you think that's sad and touching?"
"I guess I never thought much about the words."
"Another example is 'Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me. ' That's a funny one. Anyway. The song stories are short, and most of the time they offer a lot to think about. I've thought of a dozen ways that old grandfather might have died and stopped the clock, Or, take 'Silver Threads Among the Gold.' I mulled over that song for days after I read the words. Pondering growing older and asking myself if I'd done all the things I wanted to do. That's when I first started thinking about a baby and getting to it if I was ever going to."
She stopped short. Neither of them had referred to last night, and she didn't think they should. There was a time to speak and a time to be silent, and she figured what happened behind a bedroom door demanded silence. Max had done his duty; that was the important thing. Now they would wait to discover if he needed to do it again.
