Courted by Trouble: A Courting Romance (In Hyacinth Book 3) (6 page)

The Lava Lamp was busy, doing a brisk business by the time she arrived, but most people seemed to be getting their cups to go so she laid her bag down on one of the corner tables and went to get her latte. Julienne Moore, one of the baristas, smiled as she reached the register. “Hi, Stephanie. What can I get for you today?”

“My regular latte, please. How are you doing?”

“Fine. My eighteenth birthday’s next week. Very excited.”

“Wow, you graduated early.”

Laughing, Julienne nodded as she rang up her purchase. “Yep. I skipped third grade so instead of being older than my whole class by half a year, I was younger.”

“Got your eyes on any of the men?” Stephanie teased as she made her drink.

“One,” Julienne admitted. “He’s relatively new to town but wow, he’s a looker.”

“Well, good luck.” It was easier to be happy for and to enjoy the year Julienne had coming knowing that any day now her own courting banns would be posted.

“Thanks.” Julienne handed over her latte and Stephanie went back to her table, unpacking her drawing pad to continue working on an outfit that had come to her Saturday night. While pants weren’t her norm, the idea for a jacket and slacks ensemble didn’t seem to want to go away and she had kept trying to get it right. So far, it wasn’t quite working for her.

“Morning,” said a nice deep voice that made butterflies erupt in her stomach. Looking up, she beamed at Christopher as he sat down at the table next to hers facing away from her.

“Sitting over there again?” she teased.

He chuckled. “Yes, I have to protect your name, now don’t I?”

Grinning, she took a sip of coffee. “Do we know when…?” She drifted off, but he picked up on it.

“Nope. They seem to enjoy taking their time.”

Looking around to make sure nobody was looking, she asked the question that had been on her mind since last Thursday. “What did you need to do to get the council to think about agreeing?”

He took a moment to go get his coffee and come back to sit down, this time instead of facing away, he sat so that he kind of faced her, though not completely. “I told you to go after your dreams and wasn’t going for my own. They helped me to see that if I expected to lead my own family, that I needed to lead by example. I had to go home and explain to my parents that I was making my life out here now and to talk to a friend of mine who is rather gifted at creating restaurants that make it.”

As he spoke, she sketched and just listened. “I had him come out to Hyacinth to see if there was a possibility of making a go of my own restaurant.”

Startled, she looked up at him. “Is there?”

“He wasn’t impressed,” he admitted with a grimace. “Said I would work too hard for not enough money. That the people here won’t pay what the food was worth. But, he was encouraging on the B&B front.”

“A bed and breakfast?”

“Yep. It seems there just aren’t enough rentable rooms in town and he was highly expressive that a well-run B&B would do very well.”

“How exciting. You said you would love to work in one.”

Smiling, he nodded. “Yes, I would love to run the kitchen, but the actual hotelesque part of it isn’t for me. He suggested I take on a partner.”

“That’s scary. I mean, do you know anyone you could trust who would love doing that?”

“As it turns out? I do. My gran. She’s only sixty-eight and a very young sixty-eight. When I told her, she was thrilled. Flew out here against my father and mother’s wishes, I might add, as they think she should be happy living in an old-folks home, dallying the rest of her life away. Gran’s bored stiff and needs a new challenge.”

Christopher’s description of his grandmother made her grin.

“So, we’ve found a place and it will take a good six to eight months to get it ready, but our business application has already been approved and the place we’ve found is in pretty good order, so it looks like we’re ago.”

“Christopher, that’s fantastic.”

He smiled. “I’m a business owner. It’s a scary thing.”

“Still working at the restaurant?”

“Through New Year’s. Then I have enough savings and so does Gran to last us awhile. We’ll be able to live on the property while we work there, which helps.”

“Where is it?”

“About ten minutes north. Right off the highway, in fact. It’s a three-story, Victorian style home.”

Her eyes lit up. “I’ve seen that my entire life. Oh, how wonderful. It was such a shame that the owners were letting it go.”

“And out back there are three buildings. One we’re making into an apartment for Gran and one is another house.” He paused and took a sip of coffee. “I’m going to use that for my home.” His eyes flicked to hers. “And my future wife and children.”

She smiled and nodded, pleased in spite of her logical reasoning that told her to take it all calmly. Before she could reply, his eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall. “I had best be going. I have a full afternoon and evening shift at the restaurant.”

“See you later,” she whispered.

“Yes, you will.”

He left the café and she stared at the drawing in front of her. Without consciously thinking about it, she flipped the page over and started on a new design, this one more of an old-fashioned southern belle look with a modified hoop skirt.

“That was him,” Julienne breathed looking out the window.

Turning her head, Stephanie followed the girl’s gaze where Christopher was getting into a car. “I hear he’s taken,” she said quietly.

“Really? Ah, man! Looks like I’ll have to see who else is available. It’s so much harder this time of year.”

Smiling, Stephanie went back to her drawing.

“Wow, that’s so cute.” Julienne watched as she kept sketching. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” The bell above the door jangled as a new customer walked in and she rushed up to the counter to help them.

On December fifteenth, Stephanie stood with Dora and watched while Darcelle was married to George Leighton in a private ceremony from their home. After all of their signatures were on the legal forms, they had a celebratory dinner, packed the last of her things in George’s trailer and waved as they drove away. Stephanie wrapped an arm around Dora who had tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m glad she’s happy,” she whispered as they walked back inside. “I just wish…”

“Let’s make some cocoa,” Stephanie suggested, understanding what she couldn’t say. Dora just wished she could find her own Mr. Right. They were seated in the living room, sipping their cocoa and listening to the radio when a knock came at the door. Dora leapt to her feet and went to answer it.

“Mr. Covington, what a pleasant surprise. If you’re here to see Mom, she’s on her honeymoon.”

“Thank you, Dora, but actually this gentleman and I are here to see Stephanie. Is she available?”

Stephanie’s heart sped up as she knew what was coming. She hadn’t mentioned the coming courting proposal as it was considered one of the unwritten rules, plus Stephanie had been worried that if she told anyone, that it might not happen.

Dora opened the door wide and Alex Covington and Christopher walked in. “Dora, this is Christopher Triton.”

“I remember,” Dora said, smiling as she shook Christopher’s hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Triton.”

“You as well, Dora. You look happy.”

“I am.”

Christopher turned and looked at Stephanie and smiled. Dora looked from one to the other and her hands slammed over her mouth with a squeak as Alex Covington pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and began to speak. “Miss Stephanie Anne Knight, we the undersigned have given our permission for you to be courted by Mr. Christopher Bryant Triton for the process of one year, starting on this date and ending no later than one year from today. As a courted female, you are never to be in the presence of another male without Mr. Triton present or a female trusted by him. Your rights from Mr. Triton are as follows...”

As he spoke, Stephanie walked slowly forward until she and Christopher stood staring at one another. The information continued to flow, letting them know what each stage of their courting would entail and what was expected from each one of them as time went on. “If this agreement is entered into willingly, then we the undersigned give our seal of approval.” Mr. Covington read off all the names of the town council and placed the paper next to her on the coffee table. “If you agree to the courting, you need to sign by the X.”

Nodding, Stephanie turned and signed her name, instantly standing up afterward. Christopher looked over at the other man in their midst as though asking an unspoken question. Alex grunted. “Yep. You now have the right.”

Grinning, Chris turned back to her and after taking her hands in his, he kissed her. Except for a couple stolen kisses in elementary school, Stephanie had always dreamed of but never experienced another’s lips on hers. His lips were soft and firm at the same time as they moved against her own. When Alex cleared his throat, Christopher pulled back. “I’ve been wanting to do that for months,” he said with a chuckle making her laugh.

As soon as he released Stephanie’s hands, Dora gave a scream and launched herself forward, jumping up and down. “Congratulations!” she squeaked. “Stephie, I’m so happy for you! After everything you’ve been through.” She paused to grab a tissue. “Oh! You’ll be related to Cami now!”

After the excitement had somewhat abated, Mr. Covington described some of the differences their courtship would go through. “For your first stage, all dates must be in the presence of either Miss Lexington or myself. To protect Miss Knight’s reputation, of course. Everything else goes along with the contract. Stephanie, there is only one stipulation that is yours alone to make,” he said kindly. Turning to him, she waited. “Normally, Mr. Triton would need to ask permission of a girl’s father to propose. In this case, that is not relevant. As such, it is up to you if he needs to ask anyone for permission or if you would just prefer he ask you.”

The answer came without needing to think about it. “You. You’ve always had my best interests at heart, Mr. Covington. So, if you wouldn’t mind…”

“It would be my pleasure,” he replied warmly. “Now, I must be off. My grandson is due at any moment. We got the call an hour ago that they were about to wheel Kathy into the delivery room. I could be a grandpa and I don’t even know it.” As they turned toward the door, his phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket. His eyes misted a little and then he turned the screen of his phone in their direction. “Alexander Brandon Covington, III, was born a few minutes ago weighing in at eight pounds, two ounces.”

Both Dora and Stephanie oo’d and ah’d over the squished little face on the screen and after a few congratulations, he left to go celebrate with his family.

“Wow,” Dora said, shaking her head. “Kathy’s a mommy.” As if realizing there was a third person in the room, she turned and smiled at him. “Would you like some hot cocoa?”

“I’d love some.”

If someone would have asked Stephanie what she expected to talk about the official night of her courting, she would have said it would be about her and her intended. Instead, she and Dora told Christopher funny stories about Xan and Kathy, talked about growing up in Hyacinth, and just reminisced. Every time they paused, he asked a question that brought out even more fun memories. When he left, after giving her a longer kiss, Dora hugged her again.

“He’s a keeper.”

Laughing, Stephanie nodded. “I hope so.”

How time had a way of speeding by, Stephanie couldn’t figure out, but it did it with such ease. The first three months of their courtship went by quickly. They saw each other daily, and to her relief, Julienne had been thrilled for her when she found out. By the time they had moved onto the fourth stage, she was not only used to following his lead but found it comforting. She did have the tendency to needle him a bit, though, when he assigned her lines for discipline.

“Again?” she moaned toward the end of March as once again he assigned her some for mouthing off at Marjorie earlier that day, though this time it was for more than she had ever written in her life. She glared at the paper he had placed in front of her. He wanted her to write
I will not give into rudeness
five thousand times.

“We could take care of it another way,” he said firmly, “but you have been reticent about spanking.”

Her heart jumped. Spanking. From the beginning of their relationship, she had been honest about the whole spanking thing. That she wasn’t sure if it was for her and he was willing not to do it if that was what she wanted. But right now, it seemed to her that a spanking might be easier than what he wanted her to write. Her eyes darted to Dora who was trying not to watch them. They were in the kitchen at the table while she was making dinner. “Dora?” she said, clearing her throat.

“Shall I leave?” Dora asked, already turning toward the door.

“No. But… please tell me again how you felt after a spanking.”

“Oh.” Dora grinned. “Well, um, first off, they do hurt. A lot. But at the same time? It’s crazy but you feel loved and when it’s over, all’s forgiven. It takes time to get used to and you might hate it for a while. I don’t know. I was spanked from the time I was a little girl. I think growing up with it is different to having your first one at almost twenty years of age.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure,” Dora shrugged. “And um, if you want to use my Dad’s old study? It’s the room across from yours, Stephie. It’s actually kind of sound proofed.”

Grinning at her friends’ subtlety, Stephanie nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Discipline probably belongs there, doesn’t it?”

“Did in this household,” she giggled. “I’ll have dinner ready when you’re done.”

“Thanks,” she said dryly, grinning despite her nervousness as Dora’s laughed.

Christopher followed her, closing the door to the small study after they entered. Looking around, Stephanie had the feeling nothing had changed since Daniel had died. There was even the tail end of a cigar sitting in an ash tray on the old wood and leather desk. From the feeling of the leather, someone kept it oiled.

“Are you all right?” Chris asked quietly in her ear.

“Nervous,” she admitted. “I’ve never been spanked before.”

“First off, let’s get something straight,” he said, leading her over to a small, comfortable sofa in the corner. She curled up next to him after he sat down. “This is about positive discipline. If this brings back any memories of what your father did to you, you tell me instantly and it stops. I never want you to think of me like that.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think it will. He punched and kicked me.”

A low hiss slipped from his lips. “I swear if I ever see the man, I’m giving him a piece of my mind.”

“Shh,” she said softly. “He was sick.”

His arms wrapped around her. “I don’t care. Nobody hurts my girl and gets away with it.” Smiling at the absurdity of feeling so incredibly loved in this moment, she curled up closer. “I may not have known you then, but if I’d been here, Steph, I would have gone with Alex to come rescue you.”

They lay curled up on the sofa for a few minutes before she pulled away. “Okay, let’s do this thing.”

He snorted. “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to go.”

“I don’t care. We might as well get this first one over with.” She looked over at the wall where a strap and a paddle hung.

“No. Not at first. This time I’ll use my hand.” Stephanie should have felt more relaxed at that thought, but she still remembered Kathy describing how hard Xander’s hand was.

“O-kay.” He guided her over his lap, with the top part of her body lying across the sofa and her hips sitting high over his knees. It was a rather startling position to be in as her toes just barely touched the floor and as she lay there with his hand sitting on top of her linen skirt, Stephanie found herself wishing she was wearing jeans. It would probably hurt a lot less.

“Why are you here?” he said in the firm voice he had used when he originally assigned the lines.

Having to repeat back her offense was slightly humiliating. “When Marjorie showed off her baby at the Lava Lamp today and said that maybe someday she would marry into a family like the Covingtons, I very loudly replied, ‘Drake has better taste.’” She had said a few other things too, but hopefully he hadn’t heard about those.

“And you shouldn’t have said it, because?”

Drat. He was going to make her say it. “It was rude and below me. Even if it’s true. Ow!” she cried as his hand collided with her rear end in a loud and rather painful swat.

“Again.”

Grimacing, she said, “I’m sorry. I was mean to her and I shouldn’t have been. It made me look bad and you as well. She just gets under my skin.”

“I know, but you need to be the bigger person.” Without another word, his hand fell again. Each swat was sharp and the heat it left behind surprising. By the fifth blow, she squirmed, by the eighth, she couldn’t have stayed still if she tried. Cries left her lips and she blubbered and cried as he continued to turn the heat up on her derriere. When he stopped, his hand resting lightly on her lower back, she sobbed into the seat cushion, tears running hard down her face. “Come here,” he murmured after she started to hiccup the sobs back. He lifted her up, sitting her on his lap and pulling her close.

While exhausted and limp, Stephanie had to admit that she felt better. Which was bizarre. Dora, Cami, and Kathy had been right. Spanking was a release. “She’s always been mean to Dora,” she murmured against his chest. “Dora takes it well, but Marjorie goes out of her way to comment on her weight. I hate her for it.”

“James needs to take his wife in hand a little more often,” he mused. “Dora’s a wonderful woman. Why hasn’t anyone courted her?”

“I don’t know. She’s sweet and funny and can cook like nobody’s business. She would make any man an amazing wife but none of the guys notice her.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How do you feel?”

“Lighter,” she admitted. “There may be something to this spanking thing after all. But my rear end burns.”

“It’ll be gone tomorrow,” he said quietly. “Are you ready for dinner?”

“Definitely.”

Dora didn’t say a thing about what had just happened. She served up dinner when they got there and Stephanie winced as she sat down. “Dora,” Chris said as he took a bite of the meatloaf she made, “have you ever thought of going to cooking school? You’re a great cook.”

She beamed at him. “No. I’m happy where I’m at. I like doing the backend stuff where I’m helping out.”

“Well, if you ever decide to branch out, I’d give you a recommendation,” he said as he took another bite. “As a chef, we’re taught all the fancy stuff, but you cook the basics people love.” Pausing, he turned toward her. “What all do you do at the ladies auxiliary?”

“Oh, answer phones, do correspondence. Stuff like that. I keep their schedule running and keep track of the important dates.”

“Executive secretary skills, too,” he murmured, shaking his head. “You’ve got it all, Dora.” She blushed but beamed all the same and the conversation turned to his business.

“How’s it going?” she asked, referring to the inn.

“Good. Interior is getting redone now. Gran knows what she’s doing on the inn side. I’m mainly focused on the kitchen. It’s going to be have everything I love in it.”

“That must be exciting. Starting your own business from scratch.”

“It is. Rather terrifying, too,” he admitted. “But Gran has done this before and from some of the interest we’ve had from the townsfolk, I’m excited for our opening. Though,” he added with a frown, “Gran doesn’t seem to want to make her mind up about things. I always remembered her as being forceful and opinionated – which she is – but it always had a purpose. Now, she...” Shaking his head, he shrugged. “It’s probably just been too long since she’s been in business. I’m sure once the inn opens everything will be great.”

“Do you know when? We could do something with the ladies auxiliary as a celebration. Maybe have one of their lunches there. It would really help get the word out.” Dora began chattering about marketing and who to get to know in town and by the time dinner was over, Christopher had a gleam in his eye.

“What are you up to?” Stephanie asked him after Dora went up to bed and they were curled up on the sofa in the living room.

“Think the ladies auxiliary would hate me if I stole Dora out from under them?” he asked.

“To do what?”

“Everything she’s doing for them. Accounting, marketing, administration. She has the business acumen to really go far if she wanted to.”

“Wow, I don’t know if Dora would do it. She’s a pretty faithful person. They offered her a job when nobody else would and she’s likely to stick with them forever because of it. But I agree. She would do a great job for the inn. Have you decided on a name yet?”

“No. Gran thinks we should keep it simple. Triton Bed and Breakfast. I would like something more ornate. So far we’re at a stalemate.”

Giggling, she lay her head against his chest. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You’ll get your wish next week. She flies in on Tuesday.”

Emily Benton was a formidable woman with sharp eyes and an even sharper tongue. From the moment they met, she and Stephanie did not see eye-to-eye, not the least for the fact that she thought her grandson could do better in the dating department.

Her words as Stephanie walked into the room the day after they met would stick with her for a long time. “I cannot believe you broke up with Stacy Rendon for someone like her, Christopher. She’s a nobody from nowhere.”

“Enough, Gran,” Christopher said sharply. “She’s the woman I love and you might as well get used to it.”

“And what if I pull my support from the inn? What will you do then?”

Stephanie turned and ran out not wanting to hear anymore. Chris caught up with her moments later.

“Steph, wait,” he said, grasping her arm. “Don’t listen to her.”

“She doesn’t think I’m worthy of you.” The words hurt as they pulled out her worst feelings about herself. Half the time she didn’t think she was worthy of him either.

He rolled his eyes. “Sometimes Gran has strange ideas. Stacy Rendon is my ex-girlfriend. We dated for five years but neither of us ever wanted more. We broke up way before I met you, Steph.”

“But what if she takes away your dream?” she asked, her lips quivering. Stephanie wasn’t stupid. If Chris lost his dream because of her, that would put a wedge in their relationship that could destroy their future together. And from the way she’d sounded, Emily was set on breaking them up. Just how far would she go to do it was the question.

“Then I’ll hire another partner.” He took a deep breath. “Steph, I love Gran, but I’d forgotten just how snobbish and opinionated she could actually be. To be honest, I’m angry at her. Nobody talks about the woman I love that way, not even my relatives.” Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pulled her trembling body close, enclosing her in warmth. “I love you, Steph. Gran had best get used to the idea that you’re in my life. Or she can go back to live near my parents.”

What should have been an exciting time as he worked on the inn and prepared for it to open was filled with stress. His grandmother didn’t like anything he had done if she even thought Stephanie had suggested it. It took less than a week from the time she arrived in town for the whole thing to explode.

Stephanie was patiently trying to learn how to make the meatloaf he had loved and Dora was giggling as she screwed up again when the phone rang. “Lexington’s house of cooking horrors,” she said into the receiver making her friend laugh.

“Steph.” Christopher’s voice sounded dead.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m… Gran’s gone.”

“What… Chris, what happened?”

“She gave me an ultimatum, I told her it was unacceptable, and she left. She’s going back to live near my parents.”

“Oh, Chris. I’m sorry.”

He huffed softly. “Can I come over?”

“Of course. Come on. I promise not to feed you any of the horrible food I’ve been cooking. Maybe to make you feel better, Dora can make you something edible.” Stephanie shot a pleading look in her friend’s direction. Dora nodded and started pulling ingredients out of the fridge.

“I don’t care about food. I just want to be with you right now.”

He looked awful when she opened the door, as though he’d been through a war. As soon as they got into the living room, he collapsed onto a sofa and pulled her close. He buried his head in her hair and to her horror began to sob. Pulling him close, she just held him as he cried. When he was done, he let out a shaky breath. “Sorry.”