Catching Kent (7 page)

“
Do you need help?” Adam
asked as Kent took a step forward.

He hesitated and tried another step.
“I think I can do it.”

The sooner he could do these things
himself, the better off he’d be. Though the Larsons were a generous
family, he didn’t like relying on anyone for assistance. He would
pay them back for their hospitality as soon as he could get his
funds transferred to the bank in town. In the meantime, he would
bide his time and wait until he was well enough to
leave.

Adam pushed the door further open,
allowing Kent sufficient room to enter the hallway. When Kent saw
the stairs, he paused. They were steeper than what he was used
to.

“
I’ll hold the crutch,”
Adam said.

Seeing no other recourse, he gave it
to him and put his arm around Adam’s shoulders so he could help him
down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, Adam handed him the
crutch. Kent placed his hand on the rail, out of breath from the
simple trip. He didn’t know whether to be disappointed or disgusted
by his weak condition.

“
Do you want to sit in the
parlor before going out?” Adam asked.

“
I want to get some fresh
air.” Kent waited until his breathing returned to normal before he
carefully made his way to the door.

Adam helped him onto the porch and
motioned to the porch swing and rocking chairs. “Which would you
like?”

Realizing the trek outside had worn
him out more than he expected, he hobbled to the nearest rocking
chair and breathed a sigh of relief when he settled into it. He
couldn’t recall a time when sitting felt so good.

“
I’ll tell Ma you’re down
here so she can give you something to drink,” Adam said. “In this
heat, you’ve got to be thirsty from all that work.”

Kent thanked him and set the crutch by
his feet. He couldn’t wait until he could walk without anyone’s
help. How he hated relying on someone for anything, especially with
something as simple as walking down some steps. He hated thinking
what going up them would be like. Pushing aside the urge to
shudder, he decided to study his surroundings.

The land was flat with corn swaying
gently in the breeze. Horses’ neighs came from the barn. A dog ran
across the grass, chasing something. He gripped the chair’s arm. He
hated dogs. Ever since that dog attacked him in North Dakota, he
stayed as far from them as possible.

“
You stay away from me, and
I’ll stay away from you,” he muttered.

The storm door opened and he sighed
when he saw Rose carrying a drink. Of course. She’d made it her
mission to be around him all the time. Why should it be any
different when he wasn’t in the bedroom?

“
Adam said you were
thirsty, so I thought I’d bring you this.”

She held it out for him and he
reluctantly took it, hoping by doing so he wasn’t somehow
encouraging her. The last thing he wanted to do was feed into her
fantasies that they were going to get married and live happily ever
after.

She tucked a stray strand of hair into
her bun and smiled. “How do you feel?”

“
Fine.” He turned his gaze
to the lawn. Yes, it was rude to cut their conversation off, but
did he have a choice? He’d been polite and pleasant to people he
didn’t want to talk to in the past and it’d caused him nothing but
grief. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. “Thanks for the
water. Now please leave me alone before I call for your mother or
someone else to take you away.”

Her face grew pale and her lower lip
quivered before she went back into the house. He momentarily
cringed, knowing full well he’d just hurt her feelings. He reminded
himself of everything he’d been through in Virginia and steeled his
resolve. It worked. His guilt subsided.

He’d never go through anything with
someone like his father again. He was done being made a fool of,
being manipulated to suit the whims of others. He was heading to
California for a fresh start. This time, no one was going to stop
him from doing what he wanted.

His jaw clenched, he stared ahead, not
really seeing anything. He hated thinking of the past. Nothing
would change it. He couldn’t go back in time and undo any of it.
His grip tightened on the glass until he thought he might break it.
Relaxing his hand, he slowly exhaled.

“
I don’t know how to let go
of the past,” he whispered, pretending his uncle was sitting next
to him. “I thought coming back to America would be easy as long as
I didn’t step foot in Virginia.” He shook his head. “All it did was
bring back memories I thought I’d left behind.” He swallowed the
bitter lump in his throat, fighting the tears that threatened to
come to his eyes. All he wanted was to be free of the
past.

The dog barked and his attention
snapped in its direction. The dog ran toward the barn where Eli
emerged with a pail. Eli set it down and patted the dog before he
threw a stick for it to chase. The dog caught it and brought it
back to him, and the two continued the game for a few minutes. Kent
watched the whole thing, finding it soothing. It must have been the
repetitive nature of the game that relaxed him.

“
Oh good! You’re well
enough to be downstairs.”

Blinking, he looked at Rose who came
around the side of the porch, carrying a basket of folded laundry.
He blinked again. Wasn’t she just wearing a bun and a light blue
dress? When did she have time to let her hair down and change into
yellow clothes?

She climbed the porch steps and placed
the basket down. Clasping her hands in front of her, she smiled at
him. “You’re very handsome, Kent.”

Good grief but she was relentless!
“You really want me to call for your mother or Adam?” he asked.
Here, he’d been feeling guilty for sending her back into the house,
close to tears, only to find out she hadn’t been upset after
all.

She giggled and sat in the chair next
to him. “I don’t know why you insist on running from fate, but you
were brought here for a reason.”

“
And you think that reason
is you?”

“
Of course.”

He had to hand it to her.
At least she didn’t play games. She came right out and said what
she wanted. Even so, he had to be firm with her. “I’m not going to
marry you.
Ever.
Save your time and find someone else to make
miserable.”

Undaunted by his words, she asked,
“What happened to make you shy away from love?”

He frowned.

“
Did you wish to marry a
young lady who loved another?” she softly asked.

“
My past is none of your
business,” he snapped, unwittingly thinking of Ann Statesman. He
shoved all thoughts of her aside and focused on the irritatingly
perceptive woman next to him. “I wish I’d never stopped in Omaha. I
wished it’d been someone else your father found in the
alley.”

“
But he found you.
Everything happens for a reason. I’ve been praying for a husband,
one who’ll be perfect for me. Then my pa brought you
home.”

“
A coincidence.”

“
There are no coincidences.
Whatever happened in your past, it all happened for a reason and
you’re here now because we’re meant to be together.”

He groaned and closed his eyes. If
only he could open them and find out she really wasn’t there. The
sound of footsteps on the porch made him open his eyes.

“
I got milk,” Eli said as
he reached the last step.

“
Good.” Rose picked up her
basket. “And I got the laundry. Looks like we’re on time today.”
She glanced at Kent. “Usually, we’re the last ones done with
chores.”

To his relief, she followed Eli into
the house. At last, he was finally allowed to spend some time in
peace and study the landscape.

***

“
Kent? Kent?”

Kent jerked awake, unaware he’d fallen
asleep on the porch. The glass he’d finished rested on his
lap.

“
Do you feel up to eating
with us in the dining room tonight?” Adam asked as he took the
glass from him.

“
Is it dinner time
already?”

“
We call the evening meal
‘supper’ and yes, it’s time to eat. You up to it?”

He nodded and retrieved the crutch by
his feet. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and used the crutch to
gain his balance.

“
At least the dining room
is downstairs,” Adam said with a sympathetic smile.

Returning his smile, he hobbled into
the house.

Rose, who’d been tidying up the
parlor, hurried over to him. “Do you need help?” Before he could
answer, she wiggled under his shoulder and wrapped her arm around
his waist.

He leaned against the crutch on his
other side but almost lost his balance.

She patted his stomach and grinned. “I
won’t let you fall.”

Adam shook his head. “You’re hopeless,
Rose.” Turning his gaze to Kent, he added, “We’ve told her to stop
doing all this.”

“
Doing what?” Rose asked,
looking offended. “All I’m doing is helping him.”

Adam groaned and headed down the
hall.

“
You ready to walk to the
dining room?” Rose asked Kent.

“
I want to go by myself,”
he replied.

“
Nonsense. I can’t risk you
falling and hurting yourself. What kind of wife would I be if I let
you do that?”

“
You’re not going to be my
wife.” Though he didn’t want to, the stab of pain in his side
encouraged him to lean more in her direction.

“
If you say so,” she
replied in a tone that indicated she didn’t believe him.

When they arrived in the dining room
and he saw someone who looked just like Rose setting the table, he
stumbled. Rose grabbed him with her other arm and helped him regain
his balance.

The Rose lookalike glanced in their
direction but focused on putting the utensils down. “If you’ll have
a seat, supper will be ready shortly,” she quickly said and
finished her task so she could hurry out of the room.

Kent looked down at Rose. “You are
Rose, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Of course, I am. Who else
would I be?”

He eased into the seat she pulled out
for him. “If you’re Rose, then who was that?”

“
Oh, that’s my twin sister
Harriett. Have you met her?”

“
Briefly,” he replied, his
face growing warm when he realized how rude he’d been to her—and
unnecessarily so. She’d been the woman who’d had the bun and wore a
blue dress. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a twin
sister?”

She placed his crutch against the
wall. “Does it matter?”

“
Yes.” She smoothed a cloth
napkin on his lap, and he swatted at her hand. “You have no right
to touch me there.”

“
I wasn’t touching
you.”

He ignored the bewildered look on her
face and adjusted the napkin. If she had any idea just how close
her hand had been to touching a certain part of him, she’d be
appalled. He studied her as she sat in the seat next to him and
shot him a charming smile. Well, alright. Maybe she wouldn’t be
appalled. It seemed that nothing embarrassed her. She had no sense
of propriety at all.

Rose’s mother came into the room,
carrying a pot roast which made Kent’s mouth water. If nothing else
could be said for his time here, he had to admit that every meal
was among the best he’d ever had. Harriett followed her, not
looking in Kent’s direction as she set down a bowl of mashed
potatoes and another bowl of pickled beets. He didn’t blame her for
avoiding eye contact with him. If he’d only known she wasn’t Rose,
he never would have spoken to her the way he had.

Adam, Eli and Rose’s father soon
entered the room, and after her father said grace, they began their
meal. Harriett sat on the other side of the table but not directly
across from him. Across from him was Eli who went into a lengthy
discourse on what he did while training his horse. Beside him, Rose
chimed in from time to time, offering advice on what other
techniques her brother might try. Rose’s father and Adam added a
couple of thoughts, but for the most part, Eli and Rose dominated
the conversation.

Kent didn’t pay much attention to it.
It was hard to eat when he wanted to apologize to Harriett. He
needed to make amends for what he’d said, and he wouldn’t be able
to rest until he did. After the meal was over, Kent remained seated
while her father, Eli and Adam left for the parlor.

Rose brought the crutch over to him as
her mother and sister started clearing the table. “I can help you
to the parlor if you feel up to visiting for a while.”

He accepted the crutch but said, “I
want to stay here for a moment. Go to the parlor without
me.”

He fully expected her to argue, to say
something stupid like she couldn’t leave his side when they were
supposed to get married some day. But to his surprise, she nodded
and left the room. What made her so agreeable all of the sudden? He
shook his head. She made absolutely no sense to him.