Catching Kent (26 page)

With an understanding smile, he
finished, “You will be going with him in his carriage
instead?”

“
Yes.”

He nodded and wished her a good
afternoon before leaving.

She released her breath. Maybe some
day this whole thing wouldn’t seem so awkward.

Kent returned with a folder and placed
his hand on the small of her back. “I think it’s nice that you’re
going to see Madeline today.”

“
Well, it’s not all
innocent. I’m eager to introduce her to my brother. I think Jacob
will be good for her. And it’s about time he got married. He’s
twenty-two and owns a store. There’s not much else left but to have
a wife and children.”

As they walked down the steps that led
to the carriage, he asked, “Are you going to spend all your time
playing matchmaker?”

“
I didn’t intend to do that
when I was talking to her while she was here, but as I talked to
her, I couldn’t help but think she would enjoy someone who has a
good sense of humor. Jacob is one of the funniest people I can
think of. If anyone can make her laugh, it’s him.”

After they got into the carriage, he
held her hand and squeezed it. “Rose, you have a good
heart.”

Noting the hesitation in his tone, she
waited for him to continue but he didn’t. “There’s no harm in two
people meeting. I won’t push for anything. If they aren’t
interested in each other, then that’s how it is. But I feel led to
at least make the effort. And in the meantime, I certainly don’t
mind Madeline’s company. She might be a bit on the quiet side, but
I can tell she’s nice. If she gets to know someone well enough, I
suspect she’ll be a loyal friend. In a lot of ways, she reminds me
of Harriett.”

He brought her hand to his lips and
kissed it, the action sending a thrill of delight through her.
“There’s nothing wrong with doing it. I just wonder how you manage
to figure out what someone is like by talking to them for a short
period of time. You didn’t talk to Madeline for long.”

She shrugged, leaning against him as
the carriage swayed from side to side. If nothing else, the gentle
rocking was a good excuse to get close to him. On impulse, she
kissed him then said, “I don’t need to talk to someone for a long
time to know what they’re like. I just know.”

“
You just know?”

She gave him another kiss. “Yes. It’s
hard to explain, but it’s true.” Then, just for fun, she kissed him
a third time.

“
I’ll take your word for
it.”

Grinning, she kissed him again, this
time letting her lips linger on his. He didn’t seem to mind. In
fact, he brought her into his arms and brushed his tongue along her
lower lip. She sighed in contentment and opened her mouth to
receive him. The kisses only got better, as did their nights in
bed. Just thinking about the previous night made her body ache for
him. She wiggled against him and brought her hand between his legs,
satisfied when she noted how hard he was.

“
You’re a seductress,
Rose,” he murmured, his lips brushing her ear.

She shivered in delight and stroked
him. “It’s a shame we’re not in bed.”

Groaning, he took her hand and held it
so she was no longer fondling him. “I can’t leave this carriage
letting everyone know how much I’d rather be in bed with you. You
might not have any obvious indicators that show when you’re aroused
but I do.”

Unable to stop her wicked grin, she
said, “I like knowing when you’re aroused. It helps me know what
you like and what you don’t like. And it seems to me, you like
kissing me very much.”

“
I do like kissing you very
much.” She leaned toward him for another kiss, but he laughed and
dodged her. “No more kisses until we’re home. I need to focus on
the meeting I have to go to.”

“
Alright, I’ll be good.”
She gave him a chaste kiss and stopped snuggling up to him. “You’re
fun to tease, you know that?”

“
It’s more fun when we can
do something about it.”

“
Oh, I don’t know. Half the
fun is waiting.”

“
Speak for
yourself.”

Amused at his playful tone, she
giggled. “You can’t deny it’s worth the wait.”

“
Well, that’s true. It
is.”

The carriage came to a stop and she
couldn’t resist but give him another long kiss. “I’ll miss
you.”

Though he rolled his eyes, he smiled.
“I’ll miss you, too.”

After he got out of the carriage, she
thought over how she would introduce Madeline and Jacob. She must
have spent most of the morning thinking of what to say, changing
her mind, and coming up with a new way of doing it. It was silly,
of course, to worry so much about a simple matter. They’d either
like each other or not. How things played out was up to
fate.

When she got to Madeline’s, Mrs.
Fields invited her to have a cup of tea first, so she accepted and
enjoyed a nice hour with them. Afterwards, she and Madeline went to
the mercantile.

“
I know you’re not used to
going to places like this,” Rose began, thinking that the
mercantile was nothing like the nice shops Madeline was accustomed
to, especially when she lived in Massachusetts. “The mercantile
doesn’t have a whole lot—”

“
Rose,” Madeline
interrupted, “I may not have been there before, but I understand it
won’t be that big. None of the stores, no matter how large, have as
much as what I was used to back East. But what good are things
unless you have the people you love with you? My grandparents are
wonderful, of course, but I miss my parents. There’s an emptiness
in my life now, and all the shops in the world won’t take care of
it.”

Rose considered her words and wondered
if Kent felt something similar to that about his past. She knew he
went through something painful, something he even now didn’t want
to discuss. And whatever that something was, it had nothing to do
with a woman. It had to do with someone else. Turning her attention
back to Madeline, she said, “I’ve been fortunate. I don’t know
anything about the loss you’ve experienced. All I can do is say
that I’m sorry you’ve had to go through it.”

“
Thank you.” Brushing back
a tear from her eye, she offered her a smile. “I don’t mean to be
depressing.”

“
You’re not. If you ever
want to talk about your life while you were in Massachusetts or how
much you miss your parents, I’m more than willing to listen.
Sometimes we need to talk about things in order to feel
better.”

“
You’ll find it hard to
believe, but you are the first person who has really listened to me
instead of telling me what I should think or feel. Sometimes I get
tired of being reminded that I need to look forward and consider
the future of my family’s fortune. Sometimes I want to take time to
miss my old life.”

“
There’s nothing wrong with
taking time to miss the things you lost.”

The carriage came to a stop and Rose
saw that they had arrived at the mercantile. She glanced at her new
friend and asked, “Do you feel up to going in there? I can take you
somewhere else if you’d rather not be around people right
now.”

“
No, I’m fine.” She wiped
another tear from her eye. “I want to see what dime novels
are.”

“
Alright, but if you want
to leave, just say the word and we’ll go.”

Madeline nodded and they went into the
store.

Rose saw her brother and waved to him.
Since he was helping someone, she couldn’t introduce him to
Madeline right away so she led her to the shelf where dime novels
were displayed. “I see there are a couple new ones out.” She picked
up one featuring a detective with a spyglass. “This is part of a
series. Before he was a detective, Don Williams stumbled upon a
dead body, and someone thought he committed the murder. So to clear
his name, he had to solve the murder mystery. After that, he
realized he wanted to become a detective and the series tells all
of the cases he solves.”

“
At least those stories
have a happy ending,” a familiar voice called out from behind
her.

She lowered the dime novel and turned
to Jacob. “You’re a sneaky one. The least you could do was let me
know you were listening.”

Her brother chuckled. “I don’t know
why I thought you’d take your nose out of a book once you got
married, but here you are, ready to buy more.”

“
I like to read. There’s no
harm in that.”

“
There is when all you talk
about is what you’ve read.”

Noting the teasing tone in his voice,
she rolled her eyes then looked at Madeline. “This is my brother,
Jacob. He thinks he’s funny but he’s not.”

“
That’s not for you to
decide.” He nodded to Madeline. “Nice to meet you.” After Madeline
returned the greeting, he asked, “Is Rose on a crusade to get you
to read dime novels?”

“
It’s not a crusade. I
merely offered to show some to her, and what better place to go to
than your store? You should be thanking me for bringing you
business.”

“
In that case, I’ll stop
giving you a difficult time. I can’t turn down the opportunity to
make a profit.” He winked at Madeline then looked back at Rose.
“Since you’re willing to part with your husband’s money, why don’t
you take some of the new ones off my hands?”

“
You don’t need help taking
them off your hands. If I don’t get in here right after they
arrive, you’ll be sold out.” Rose grabbed a copy of all the new
ones.

“
You read every dime novel
there is?” Madeline asked.

“
I don’t care what the
story is about as long as it’s good,” she replied.

“
It’s true. Rose will read
anything,” Jacob added. “Though I have to admit, I had no idea so
many stories had sad endings. I prefer the happier ones
myself.”

“
The sad ones make you
appreciate the happy ones.”

“
I suppose…”

Even if he didn’t seem convinced, Rose
ignored him and asked Madeline, “What type of story do you
like?”

“
I’d like something with a
happy ending,” Madeline replied.

“
Smart girl,” Jacob
said.

“
Anything else?” Rose
asked. “Did you like the book I lent you? The one where the young
woman goes on an adventure?”

“
Yes, that one was a good
read.”

“
Then we can start there.
If it turns out you don’t like dime novels, there’s no sense in
wasting money on others.” Selecting two novels that she thought
Madeline might enjoy, she got an idea and turned to Jacob. “I
should pick up some potholders for Ma. Why don’t you tell Madeline
about the other stories here? Maybe she’ll find something else
she’d like to try.”

Before he could respond, she hurried
to the other side of the store where the potholders were on
display. While her mother didn’t really need them, she figured
there was no harm in getting a couple of matching ones. One thing
she always fancied while growing up was getting her mother things
for the kitchen that matched.

“
Pardon me,” a man said as
he approached her. “Are you Mrs. Kent Ashton?”

She turned to him and stiffened. He
was the same man she and her sister saw that day when he was
sitting on the bench, reading a newspaper. And if she was right, he
was also there at the wedding for a brief period of time. “Are you
following me?”

“
You married Kent Ashton,
didn’t you? He used to live in Virginia. After that, he was in
Ireland with his uncle.”

She glanced at her brother who was
talking to Madeline.

“
I wouldn’t draw attention
to myself if I were you.”

Noting the warning in his voice, she
looked back at him and saw the gun he had pointed in her direction.
“I’ve been careful to make sure I got the right twin. Rose Larson,
daughter of Mary and Dave Larson.”

Her jaw dropped but she knew better
than to say anything. The man didn’t seem to be someone she could
trust. There was a desperation in his demeanor that bothered her,
something that warned her not to take her chances.

“
Now, if you want to see
your husband and family again, I suggest you leave with me.” He
gestured to the door. “Quietly.”

She offered a slight nod to tell him
she understood then slowly walked to the door. Catching sight of a
porcelain cup, she knocked into it so that it shattered on the
floor. As she hoped, her brother and Madeline looked over at her.
The man pressed his gun into her side, and from where she stood,
she knew they didn’t see it. But they did see the man’s face and
that was what she was aiming for.

“
Is everything alright?”
Jacob asked, taking a step toward her.

The gun went deeper into her side, so
Rose held her hand up to stop her brother. “Everything’s fine. This
gentleman has a meeting with my husband and can’t find his office.
I’m going to take him there. I’ll be right back.”

Despite the grumbling under his
breath, the man didn’t say anything or shoot her. She figured she
could get away with that much but knew doing anything else would be
pressing her luck.