Page 16 of The Formation of Us
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 Faith hesitated to accept their gifts not knowing the ladies’ motives.
“Of course you can eat a cookie.”
Iris pulled the heavy pot from Faith’s hands and lifted it to her nose. “Smells divine,” she said, then winked at Faith. “Let’s not wait for supper. Let’s eat it right now.”
Her teasing made the three women laugh. “Thank you, ladies,” Faith said, striving to appear as relaxed as the Grayson women even as worry flooded her mind. “This is my aunt, Iris . . . Wilde,” she said, silently cursing Iris for blabbing the name in front of the sheriff and locking them into using it.
“There are four of us here with that last name, so call me Iris.”
The younger ladies nodded politely, but Nancy took a bold, sweeping look around the greenhouse. “What is all this?”
“Let me put this on the counter,” Iris said, “then Faith and I will show you what we’re growing here.”
“I’ll show ‘em!” Cora declared, rushing up with a half-eaten cookie in her hand. She looked up at Evelyn Grayson. “You make good cookies.”
The simple, sincere statement filled the brunette’s eyes with tenderness. She opened her hand to Cora. “What should we see first?” she asked.
Cora led Evelyn to a flat of chives that were poking through the soil. “We’re gonna eat those when they get bigger,” she said.
Faith followed, feeling proud of Cora’s knowledge, but she gently took over, wanting the Grayson ladies to see how much her greenhouse had to offer. While Cora charmed them, Faith and Iris answered Nancy’s questions about their business. Iris’s good behavior relieved Faith, but Nancy’s avid curiosity made her stomach queasy.
“Quite impressive,” the woman said, touching and sniffing everything until Cora scolded her and warned her she could go blind. Nancy chuckled, but she continued asking questions in a forthright manner that convinced Faith the sheriff had sent his mother to snoop.
Faith showed them the herbs, vegetables, and flowers, then guided the ladies to the front counter where she kept her jars, bags, and tins of herbs and balms.
Aster and Tansy were working near the counter, preparing a flat of baby tomato plants for transplanting to their garden. Faith wasn’t sure she could trust her aunts to behave, but they had to begin settling into their new town. “Come meet these lovely ladies,” she suggested.
The pair washed their hands in a bucket of water, then dried them on their aprons as they walked to the counter.
