Adelaide had to agree with her mother. Everett looked rough. Stubble littered his normally clean-shaven face. Dark circles revealed how rare sleep had been since they’d left him in Houston. After giving her a long hug in greeting he settled onto the settee in Chris’s apartment with Rose at his side. Adelaide and Chris claimed the set of matching turquoise chairs cattycorner to it. Unable to bear the tension any longer, Adelaide asked, “Pa, what is it? What happened? What’s wrong?”
He sighed and washed his hand over his face. “The story I was investigating turned out to be a fake. The whole thing was set up by a powerful man in an effort to discredit me by tricking me into publishing a false story. A police investigation revealed the truth. Unfortunately, that happened after I printed my article. My competition was quick to capitalize on my error and I can’t blame them for it. I never should have fallen for such a ridiculous trick. I was just so eager to shut that network down that I fell into their trap. I sensed something might be wrong because all of the information was a tad too easy to find. However, after they dared to threaten my family, I let emotion cloud my judgment by going ahead with the story despite my misgivings. I suppose that was exactly what they were counting on, and I played right into their hands.”
He shook his head. “I printed a retraction, but the damage has already been done. The Gazette’s major advertisers all threatened to pull out if I don’t resign from my position as editor-in-chief. I hired someone from the outside to serve in the interim. I hope that the quick change in leadership will keep the finances from taking too much of a hit. I know it sounds bad, but it could have been much worse. The newspaper could have folded completely. Or I could have been forced to sell. As it is now, I’ve maintained ownership, but agreed to keep my public involvement to a minimum until it all blows over. I’m afraid that may take a while.” He took his wife’s hand in his. “I don’t know how many of our friends will stand by us. However, I do know that Houston is going to be an uncomfortable place for us. My reputation may never fully recover. I’m afraid that’s going to affect your standing as well.”
“My standing is of little consequence at the moment. I’m just sorry you had to go through this. I don’t take the idea of pulling up stakes lightly, but I think this might be a case when starting over somewhere new truly is the best option.” Rose turned to Adelaide. “What do you think, dear?”
This was the first time any of her parents had solicited her opinion on where they ought to live. Caught off guard by the deference, it took Adelaide a moment to respond. She’d hoped to say something profound, but all that came out was, “I agree.”
Chris met her gaze with a quick, silent question. She gave a small nod and he smiled before turning to her parents. “In that case, may I formally put in Peppin’s bid to become the new location of the Holden-Harper household? We are, after all, a growing town without a newspaper.”
Rose laughed. “Move to Peppin? There is no possible way...” She trailed off, most likely realizing that Everett wasn’t laughing with her. In fact, he looked positively intrigued. Rose frowned. “Everett, you can’t be seriously considering this.”
“I am. In fact, I can’t say the idea hasn’t occurred to me before.”
“I can. And, now that I’m thinking it, I don’t like it.”
Everett nodded toward Adelaide. “Look at our daughter, Rose. She’s got color in her cheeks and a spark in her eyes. I’ve only been here a few minutes, but I can already tell she feels at home here. When was the last time you saw her like that? For me, it was a week ago when she and I came through Peppin.”
Conscious of everyone’s sudden stare, Adelaide lowered her gaze to her clasped hands in her lap. The ensuing silence finally made her lift her eyes to meet her mother’s. Rose’s mouth softened with a hint of a smile that only lasted until she looked past Adelaide to Chris and narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think Peppin is responsible for that and not—”
Adelaide shot to her feet, caught Chris’s hand and dragged him along with her toward the door that led to the alleyway. “I think it’s best that we give y’all some privacy to discuss this. We’ll be right outside.”
Stepping out onto the landing, she closed the door behind Chris, then leaned back against it. Chris lifted a brow. “I wanted to hear what she was going to say.”
“Trust me. You only think you did.” Rose would never empower Chris by divulging anything she knew about Adelaide’s feelings for him. She most likely had been about to say something negative about Chris. With a sigh, Adelaide sat on the first step of the stairs that wound down into the alley. He sat beside her.
“What does your mother have against this town?” He gently bumped her shoulder with his. “I mean, besides the fact that I live here. Or is that enough?”
She offered him a sympathetic smile. “I don’t think it’s entirely about you. There are a few other things involved. We lived here with my father for a while, so the town carries unhappy memories of him. He’s also buried here. As you know, we made a living by taking in laundry after he died. I’m guessing she might be a little ashamed of it now that she’s had a chance to rise to high society in Houston. Plus, Mr. Stolvins was always pestering her to marry him, which was unpleasant.”
“Mr. Stolvins. Now, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. He used to own the saloon a while back, didn’t he?”
“Yes, along with the building that housed our laundry and rooms. According to Mrs. Greene, he moved away not long after we left.” She bit her lip and glanced toward the slice of Main Street that was framed by the shadowed alleyway. “In hindsight, I suppose my mother didn’t have nearly as pleasant a time here as I did. I can understand her not being eager to return. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked her to.”
“You didn’t ask. I did.”
She angled herself so that she could look him directly in the eye. “Thank you for that, by the way. I truly appreciate everything you’ve done to help me and my family over the past week.”
“I was glad to do it.”
“I know. That’s what is so amazing to me. You didn’t have to do any of this. Yet you gave up your home, your time and I don’t doubt some of your peace of mind without a single complaint or moment of impatience. On top of that, you did it for someone who...”
She couldn’t decide how to finish that statement. There were too many options. She’d been someone he hadn’t seen in years, someone who’d broken his heart, someone who wouldn’t even have been considered his friend. Tears spilled into her lashes, pooling like dewdrops. She did her best to blink them away, but Chris caught sight of them anyway. He put his arm around her waist and drew her to his side until her head rested against his shoulder. “Hey, now. There’s no need for all of that.”
“Yes, there is.” She pulled in a shuddering breath. “Please stop being so wonderful. It’s very disconcerting.”
She could tell he was smiling even though she couldn’t see it. “It took me a while to get this way, so I think I’d better keep it up.”
He was trying to make her laugh, but she didn’t want to laugh. She wanted to be angry. It was all so unfair. She was trying exceedingly hard not to like him, and he wasn’t helping her cause at all. She tilted her head back, intending to give him an irritated look. Unfortunately, her gaze got a little hung up on his smile. It was so warm and sweet and playful that she completely forgot everything else. She forced her attention to his eyes, hoping he hadn’t noticed where hers had lingered. He had. Of course he had. His smile slipped away. His blue eyes darkened. She waited, hardly breathing until he dipped his head to kiss her.
Nothing about this kiss was for show. It was gentle. It was testing. It was brief. When he pulled away, a beat of frozen silence stretched between them. Then, as one, they turned toward each other, his hand pressed against her back to guide her into another kiss. Keeping one hand on the landing for balance, her other arm went around his shoulder while his free hand landed on her waist. The kiss deepened until her hand slid down to his chest and she forced herself to push away. “Whoa. Wait. What are we doing?”
Chris’s fingers traced the curve of her chin. Realizing that her words weren’t processing for him, she caught his hand. “Chris, focus.”
His gaze honed in on hers with an intensity that left her a little woozy. She closed her eyes and shook her head. This was bad. This was really bad. She’d gone too far. She needed to pull back completely if she intended to have any success at ridding herself of her infatuation with this man. “Chris, we should stop pretending that we’re courting.”
“I’m pretty sure we just did.”
He’d misunderstood her completely. He thought she meant she wanted their courtship to be real. She opened her eyes to tell him differently, but she couldn’t do it. She’d wanted this to happen. She knew that now. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed him to kiss her in the first place. She certainly wouldn’t have kissed him back. But she couldn’t bring herself to feel happy when she was too busy being scared.
What if her mother was right about Chris? Adelaide still had her own suspicions. Then there was Britta. The girl hadn’t given up on capturing Chris’s heart. Britta certainly wouldn’t have any second thoughts about kissing Chris. How much of her pursuit could Chris take before succumbing and agreeing to marry her? Was Adelaide really willing to fight for Chris? If she won, wasn’t there still a chance she’d lose out to someone else later?
Refocusing on him, she found a way to smile and agree with his assessment even though she knew she could be taking the first step toward a lifetime of heartache.
* * *
Chris hadn’t intended to go from forgiving Adelaide to actually, officially, courting her in the span of a few minutes. Yet there had been an undeniable sense of inevitability to it all. He knew that history could easily repeat itself. There was a good chance that he could find himself alone, rejected and heartbroken. But he couldn’t cheat himself out of the opportunity to find out once and for all if he could make a relationship work with Adelaide.
A little over a week later, he was feeling less confident. Adelaide and her parents had returned to Houston to pack up their belongings. They were due back any day now and planning to move into a house on one of the more affluent streets in town. Meanwhile, Chris was feeling rather like that seventeen-year-old boy who’d been left behind to wait and wonder if or when Adelaide would return. That feeling had brought on many doubts and the same old fears.
“She’s going to break my heart. Man, she’s going to break my heart. I know she is. What was I thinking? It’s her kiss. There’s something about it that makes me temporarily insane. The first time I kissed her...the very first time... I proposed. Who does that?” Exasperated at himself, Chris shook his head and melted onto one of the moss-green chairs in the parlor of Rhett Granger’s new house. The room, with its cream walls and large windows that looked onto the flower-filled garden, was far too cheerful to match Chris’s dark mood. Then again, perhaps his mood was what needed changing. “You know what? Forget I mentioned anything. We’re here to practice music. Not talk about women.”
Rhett sent Chris a skeptical look while claiming his own chair. “When have we ever had a practice session without talking about women at some point? This is the girl who Ellie paired with you on the Bachelor List, isn’t it? Quinn, I gave Chris the list.”
Quinn Tucker who, according to Rhett, had been the first bachelor to use the list, stopped in his tracks to grin. “Oh, yeah, boy. You’re in for it now.”
“In for what?”
“Love.” Quinn and Rhett answered together, both drawing out the word for a ridiculously long amount of time. The two men grinned at each other before Rhett crossed the room to extend his hand to Chris. “I suppose I should officially welcome you to the club.”
Chris set his violin case down to shake Rhett’s hand. “Wait. What do you mean? There’s a club?”
Rhett said “Yes” at the same time that Quinn said “No.” Quinn frowned. “Since when is there a club?”
“Why is there a club?” Chris asked.
“There’s a club because we need to support each other. We already are anyway. I helped Quinn out when he had the list. Quinn definitely helped me. Now we’re both helping you.” Rhett turned to Quinn. “I founded the club right after Ellie created the Bachelor List. Lawson and I made her president, but she hasn’t done anything with the organization so I’m moving that we dispense with the formalities of offices. Now, all in favor say aye.”
“Wait!” Isabelle cried before entering the room with a carafe of coffee. She pinned her husband with her emerald gaze. “Rhett, you can’t just vote someone out of their own club—especially if they aren’t around to speak for themselves. It isn’t right.”
Rhett lifted a brow. “I thought you said you were going down the block to visit your folks with Helen.”
“I’ll make it there eventually.” She lifted the carafe, then placed it on the low table. “First, I was going to bring y’all some coffee. Then I started eavesdropping. I’d apologize to y’all, but I wouldn’t mean it, so I won’t.”
Quinn called out to his wife, “Helen, you might as well come in, too.”
She at least had the grace to look a little guilty. However, that cleared up as she realized her husband was more interested in wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her hair than he was in the conversation. Helen shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with the men banding together to support each other. However, it would be nice of y’all to give Ellie back her list since it belongs to her.”
“She doesn’t need it anymore,” Quinn insisted. “She made her match with Lawson.”
Rhett crossed his arms. “She let me go around thinking my match was Amy instead of Isabelle.”
Isabelle shook her head at them. “Listen to yourselves. She’s helped all of y’all find love in one way or another even if it was only through a point in the right direction. Y’all aren’t entitled to her help. She’s given it because she considers you her friends. These attitudes are no way to repay her. Rhett, as nervous as you were around Amy when you thought she was your match, I can understand why she wouldn’t tell you about me. If y’all don’t think she’s involved enough in your club, then invite her to be. She might appreciate having at least a little control over something she set in motion.”
Chris exchanged glances with Rhett and Quinn, feeling just as taken to task as they looked. Rhett was the first to admit what they were all thinking. “Isabelle is right.”
Quinn rubbed his jaw. “I guess we ought to find a way to thank Ellie.”
Realizing everyone was looking at him with expectation, Chris searched his mind for something to say. “I’ll try to make sure Ellie knows I appreciate all she’s done. It’s just...uh... Well, I’m not entirely certain I should be in this club. I mean, the list does say that Adelaide is my match, but that doesn’t really help me all that much.”
Quinn sat on the settee and tugged his wife down beside him. “Maybe you aren’t using it right. Have you told Adelaide she’s your match? That’s what made Helen agree to marry me.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Quinn caught Chris’s eye and nodded while silently mouthing the list.
Helen caught him and placed a stilling hand on her husband’s chest. “Stop it. You’ll give Chris false expectations. The list may have given you the courage to ask me, but we both know I originally agreed only because I wanted to be a mother to the nieces and nephews you were raising.”
Isabelle grinned. “And she was attracted to you. She told me that herself.”
“Did she, now?”
“Uh-oh,” Chris teased. “Helen had a crush on Quinn.”
A blush rose in Helen’s cheeks even as she shook her head at them. “Y’all are ridiculous. How can this possibly be new information to anyone? Especially you, Quinn.”
“It isn’t new...just mighty interesting,” Quinn winked at her before turning back to the subject at hand. “Chris, I still think you should use the list to help you propose.”
Rhett shook his head. “You don’t have to use the list for anything. It’s there to confirm that it’s time to go after the woman you’re matched with. Stop worrying about her breaking your heart. Focus on wooing her so hard and so well she wouldn’t even think of it.”
Helen smiled. “Is that what you did, Rhett?”
Isabelle’s heart showed in her eyes as she looked at her husband. “That’s what he’s still doing.”
Chris felt his heart melt a little as he glanced back and forth between the two couples before him. The love and trust they had for each other was so deep and genuine that it felt almost tangible. He wished he could bottle it up and apply it directly to his relationship. However, it was impossible to shortcut his way to what these couples had. He knew their stories. They’d built what they had now from the ground up through courage, commitment and perseverance. If that’s what he wanted, he’d have to go about it the same way. He only wished he could be more certain that he and Adelaide were up to the challenge.