Catching Kent (18 page)

“
But can’t you make all
those plans while you’re here?”

“
No. I need to be in a
separate place.”

“
But I’m going to miss
you.”

“
I’ll miss you,
too.”

She shook her head. “That’s what
doesn’t make any sense. Why would you want to be somewhere else
when you can be here with me, especially since you’re going to miss
me?”

He took her hand in his and squeezed
it. “Am I worth waiting for?”

“
Of course, you are. I’ve
been waiting for you my entire life.”

“
I promise that you’ll be
glad you waited.”

She kissed his cheek. “When will you
come out to see me?”

“
In a week.”

“
A whole week?”

“
A week isn’t that
long.”

“
It is when you’re in
love.”

He saw the wagon leave the barn and
led her down the steps. “You’ll just have to spend the time we’re
apart daydreaming. Go on and imagine that fairytale princess one
you’re fond of.” Unable to resist teasing her, he added, “You can
make me the prince who comes in to whisk you off to your castle.”
After she saw the house he had in mind to build her, she was likely
to think she was a princess.

“
But all of my dreams have
come true. I don’t need to daydream anymore.”

“
You have plenty to
daydream about,” he said in a lower voice so her father wouldn’t
overhear as they approached the wagon. “You keep talking about the
wedding day and our future children. Daydream about those
things.”

Her face lit up. “That’s true. And
I’ll have time to make you more shirts.”

He glanced at the shirt he was
wearing—the one she’d made him—and already knew of all the shirts
he’d ever own, this would be his favorite. “Yes, that will help the
time pass, too.” After he helped her on the wagon, he got in beside
her.

Her father glanced at him. “You want
to go to Lu Anne’s Boarding House?”

“
Yes, sir,” Kent replied as
Dave led the horses forward.

“
What if she doesn’t have a
vacancy open?” Rose asked.

Surprised she should be so practical
when she spent so much time fantasizing about things, Kent smiled.
“I talked to her earlier this week and she secured a room for
me.”

“
But I thought you only
went to town to help my pa get staple items.”

“
I did that, too, but I
wanted to make sure I had a place to stay when I moved to town.
Rose, I can’t stay here anymore.” Especially not when he had
admitted his feelings to her because as soon as he’d done that, he
became even more aware of his attraction to her.

“
Patience, Rose,” her
father told her. “You need to let him get everything taken care
of.”

“
I suppose you’re right,”
she reluctantly agreed.

Kent had a nagging suspicion that
biding his time until he could bring her to their new home was
going to go slow if she insisted on giving him those sad
looks.

On the ride to town, Rose asked him
more questions about the type of work he did, and all he could
really tell her was that he invested in promising
businesses.

“
What do you mean you
invest in them?” she asked, her arm brushing his, something he knew
she did on purpose.

“
Well,” he began, trying to
think of the best way to explain it, “I meet with a lot of people
who own their own businesses, and when I come across someone who
seems to be passionate about their work and are smart, I offer them
money to help them expand their business in return for a part of
the profit.”

“
And you make money doing
that?”

“
I do if I the business
prospers.”

“
So you can lose
money?”

“
It happens from time to
time, but not often,” he replied. “The more I do it, the better I
get at judging which businesses and owners have the greatest
potential.”

“
This is what you did in
Ireland?”

He nodded. “I knew some things about
it before going to Ireland, but I learned how to be good at it
while I lived there.”

“
What do you mean, ‘how to
be good at it’?”

Laughing, he patted her hand. “It’s as
it sounds. When I lived in New York and Virginia, I learned a lot
about what not to do.” His father hadn’t been good at it. Kent had
no idea if his father ever became good at it, but that wasn’t his
concern. As his uncle once told him, the past was in the past and
should stay there. All he could do was face forward and do what he
could to better himself. Turning his attention back to Rose, he
continued, “When I went to Ireland, my uncle showed me how to do
things right.”

“
It sounds like you had a
good uncle,” Dave commented, glancing in his direction.

“
One of the best,” Kent
said. “Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.”

“
That’s a sweet thing to
say about him, though I’m sorry he’s no longer alive,” she replied,
her tone soft.

“
I am, too, but I’m also
glad that I got a chance to know him.” He swallowed the lump in his
throat and waited until the urge to tear up passed before he added,
“He made the world a better place.”

“
What was his
name?”

“
Patrick.”

“
If we have a boy, let’s
name him Patrick in honor of your uncle.”

A smile tugged at his lips and he
thought there was no better way to remember him. “I’d like
that.”

She squeezed his hand then released
it. “Then we’ll do it.”

Pleased, he turned his attention back
to telling her more about his job.

***

“
There’s a man who’s
selling the exact kind of house you’re interested in,” Richard
Larson told Kent the next day.

Kent shifted in the chair in Richard’s
small office. “There is?”

“
Yep. He’s only lived in it
for a couple years, too, so it’s practically brand new. My men took
three years to build it. It’d be nice if someone who has enough
money bought it,” Richard continued. “Since you are asking for
something bigger than the average house, I’m assuming you have the
kind of money required to buy it.”

“
I have the money. You can
check with the bank.”

His eyebrows rose in interest. “Does
my niece have any idea what kind of house you can
afford?”

“
No. I want that to be a
surprise.”

“
It’s certainly a nice one.
Knowing Rose, she’ll fall in love with it as soon as she sees
it.”

“
That’s what I’m hoping
for.”

“
I’d be happy to show you
the house.”

Intrigued by the type of work Richard
did, Kent nodded his consent and stood up. As they headed for
Richard’s buggy, Kent asked, “How long have you been building
houses?”

“
About forty-three
years.”

Impressed, his eyebrows rose. “That
long?”

“
I love what I
do.”

Kent slipped into the seat beside him
and studied the man’s face. When Richard discussed his job, he had
an excitement about him that was common in men who were successful
in their ventures. He didn’t often discuss business with someone
unless while purchasing something, but he figured that the
conversation had already gone in this direction so it wouldn’t hurt
to continue it. “Richard, I invest in businesses that I believe
have a potential for growth.”

Richard released the brake and urged
the horse forward. “My business has already seen good
growth.”

“
I gathered that much since
you have your own office and have men working for you, but there’s
always room for more growth.”

He glanced at him and chuckled. “Does
my niece realize she’s going to marry a salesman?”

With a grin, he said, “I’m not a
salesman. Well, to a certain degree, I suppose you can say I am. I
could offer you money to use for more supplies, buildings or
employees. Whatever area you most need in order to grow your
business, that’s where I can offer you money. In return, I get a
certain percentage of your profits. I have a contract back at the
boarding house if you’re interested in taking a look at
it.”

“
You make a living this
way?”

Kent nodded. “You’d be surprised how
much.”

“
Enough to buy the house
I’m taking you to look at?”

“
And more.”

He shook his head and smiled. “I’d be
lying if I didn’t say I’m impressed. I had no idea a man could make
money simply by letting others do all the work for him.”

“
It’s work finding men
worth investing in. Do you go out and physically build
houses?”

“
Not anymore. I did when I
started, but with all the paperwork I have to deal with, I
supervise.”

“
So you make money off of
men who build houses.”

“
Your point is noted. But I
didn’t start out that way. In the beginning, I did the brunt of the
work.”

“
I don’t doubt it,” Kent
replied. “You wouldn’t be good at running your business if you
didn’t understand all the details involved in it, and that includes
building the houses.”

“
Do you flatter men to get
them to let you invest in their businesses?”

Noting his teasing tone, Kent’s smile
widened. “It never hurts to pay someone a compliment, but I don’t
offer a compliment unless I feel someone deserves it.”

“
It’s good to know I
deserve it.” After a moment, he nodded. “Alright. When we get back
to town, we’ll talk about that contract of yours and what you can
offer me.”

As they traveled further out of town,
Kent took note of the path along stalks of corn swaying in the
wind. Wind, he had learned, was common in this state.

“
It takes about a half hour
to get to the house once you leave town, but that is why there’s so
much open land surrounding it.”

“
It sounds like the man
preferred his privacy.”

“
He did. I didn’t know much
about him, but he did very well financially but didn’t trust
anyone.”

If the man had a father similar to
Kent’s, Kent certainly couldn’t fault him for that. Instead of
voicing the thought, he examined the view around him. The
cornfields cleared and he caught sight of the hills in the
distance. He tried to imagine what Rose would think when she saw
those hills for the first time. With luck, she’d like
it.

What was he thinking? Of course, she’d
like it. The very fact that she was going to her new home with him
was enough to make her like it. She’d probably enjoy living in a
one-bedroom house if it meant they were together. She’d probably
make up all kinds of charming stories about how quaint it was. It
worked to his advantage that she saw the best in every situation.
Even thinking he had nothing to his name, she loved him.

The path wound in a gentle downward
slope and that’s when he saw the manor, still a ways off in the
distance. A stable was also on the property, along with a pasture
for horses they’d own. She was going to love living here. He wanted
nothing more than to surprise her on their wedding day.

Richard pulled the reins and the buggy
came to a stop. “Well, there it is. What do you think?”

“
It’s perfect,” he replied.
He couldn’t wait for Rose to see it.

Chapter Sixteen

Three weeks later, Rose’s father
finally had to make a trip into town. She was beginning to think
he’d never go. While Kent had been out there twice a week to see
her, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Most of the time, it
felt like she’d never get to see him again.

But today she would and better yet,
she’d get to see where he was staying. If she was lucky, she’d even
get to see the house he bought. She shifted in the seat next to Eli
as the wagon finally reached town.

Her father slowed the horses. “I
forgot something. We have to go back home. We’ll come back
tomorrow.”

Alarmed, Rose gasped but then caught
the mirth in his eyes and groaned. “That’s not funny,
Pa.”

“
That was great,” Eli told
their father, chuckling. “I wish I could scare her that
good.”

Their father winked at Eli. “I
wouldn’t do that to your sister for real.”

She relaxed and shook her head. “I
don’t know why you even have to joke about it. I’ve waited a long
time to see Kent.”

“
It’s been two days since
you last saw him,” Eli pointed out.

“
Two days is two days too
long,” she insisted, ignoring the way he rolled his eyes. “Just you
wait until you find the young woman you want to marry. Then you’ll
understand.”

“
She’s right,” their father
agreed as he led the horses down the street that would take them to
the mercantile. “It is hard to wait to be with someone when love is
brand new. I remember how much I looked forward to being with your
mother when we were first married. The days out in the fields
seemed to take forever until I could see her.”