Alice could hardly tear her eyes from the handsome man who stood, as nervous as she was, but more handsome than she could ever have imagined in front of her. She didn’t know how to ease his awkwardness. All she knew was that she had never seen eyes of such a delightful shade of hazel, or a man of such height and strength. Even through his soft flannel shirt she could see his rippling muscles, and his denim jeans were pulled tight against his thighs. He was beautiful. She drank in his sculpted features, the strong jaw line and his soft brown hair. She wanted to speak, but she seemed to have lost all capacity to do so. She could still feel the gentle touch of his lips on the back of her hand , and couldn’t help wishing it had been more. She longed to be scooped up into his arms, to have him whisk her away and do whatever he would with her.
But their moment was to be brief. “You must be Mr Havering,” Ellen said cheerily, as she came up and put an arm around Alice’s back.
“Yes, I am so sorry. Daniel Havering, this is Ellen McGraw,” Alice said, feeling foolish for stating something so obvious. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so flustered, but just a moment in this man’s presence and she felt as giddy as a schoolgirl.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Ma’am,” he drawled, bowing a little and sweeping his Stetson from his head gallantly. Ellen laughed. Alice was glad, it was clear that she liked him already. Ellen’s opinion, and Maggie’s too, mattered to her greatly. But, she was distracted again, his voice was deep and had a hint of rawness to it. She could feel it rippling through every part of her, like a gentle summer breeze, or the feel of silk against her skin. “We should get you both home to Sun River. You must both be quite tired after the journey.”
“I don’t know about Alice, she has been bouncing almost the entire way, but I will be glad of a soft bed and a hot bath,” Ellen joked. Alice flushed, she hadn’t wanted anyone to know just how nervous and excited she had been about coming here to Montana, especially not Daniel. What if now he had seen her he decided that he didn’t want her after all? What if he chose to write to some other woman, and brought her here to marry him instead? All she could think about was him, and now he was here in front of her she knew that was only going to get worse.
“Well I am afraid there will be a little more bouncing to get us home,” he said with a wicked glint in his eyes. “My old wagon is not the most comfortable of rides, but it will have us all home in no time and you girls can settle yourselves in to your new home.”
“We shall be glad to be there,” Alice said nervously.
“Not when I come in and start up the ovens at the most ungodly of hours,” Maggie said with a wink.
“We shall be joining you. In fact, you won’t need to be the one to do so any longer. Come in when you are ready, we can do that as we will be on the premises,” Ellen said firmly.
“We can take it in turns,” Maggie said diplomatically. “I shall insist that we all get at least one morning a week to enjoy the comfort of our coverlets!”
They made their way to the wagon and Daniel effortlessly hefted their trunks into the back of the wagon, and then helped them all up inside. He jumped up onto the dashboard and they were on their way. The weather was fine, and so he had pulled back the thick canvas covering so the cart was open to the sunshine. Maggie pointed out all sorts of landmarks as they drove, and Alice and Ellen looked on with awe as the beautiful landscape seemed to grow before their eyes. “It is so beautiful,” Alice breathed as they crossed over the meandering river, and caught sight of a herd of cows off in the distance.
“That is probably a part of Mack’s herd. He has a lovely wife called Annie, she’s from Boston too. In fact it seems that Sun River men have a thing for us Boston girls,” she said digging Daniel in the ribs affectionately. He smiled at her, but kept his attention on the road. The track was clearly well used, but it was a little rutted in places and it made for a slightly uncomfortable ride in the back. But Alice could see he was trying his best to keep it as smooth as possible.
“So, let me see if I remember this properly,” Ellen said. “Now, it was Myra who was a governess and she married Carlton who is a farmer, like young Daniel here?” Maggie nodded.
“Yes, she is just about to open the new school.”
“And Annie was the maid in their household, and she came out here and married Mackenzie, who is a rancher?” Alice said.
“Catherine, who was from some fancy family, married Tom the saloon owner and you, of course, married Ethan who himself comes from Boston, but is now working on the ranch with Mack.” Ellen sounded quite proud of herself for remembering all the intriguing combinations that had occurred in recent years in the little town.
“And of course there is Emily, the circus girl who married Matthew, who owns the theatre, just a few months ago,” Maggie added. “You have to meet her. She and her donkey, Claude, do the very best tricks.”
“It sounds like Sun River has quite the collection of eccentrics,” Alice said quietly. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to fit in amongst such a group. They all sounded educated, and brave. She couldn’t imagine ever even thinking of running her own business, as Maggie was doing, or setting up a school. And, to be a circus performer seemed completely beyond her imagination. She was just a simple maid, there was nothing special about her. However would Daniel find her interesting when the other women of his acquaintance were such formidable and intriguing characters?
“I prefer life a little quieter than my friends, I think,” Daniel said softly, as if he was speaking only to her and he had heard her thoughts. “I just want a good home, fertile land, and to feel loved.”
“Such simple tastes,” she said, praying he wasn’t lying. The way he said it made her long for it too.
“I’ve been eating bacon and beans for three months. It doesn’t take much to please me,” he said laughing.
“A strapping man like you, well we shall have to change that,” Ellen said briskly. “You need some good home cooking.”
“Don’t believe a word of it Alice, I feed him every time he comes into town,” Maggie laughed. Daniel winked at her and Ellen grinned.
“Well, you can’t blame a man for trying to win a little good feeling,” he said shrugging his shoulders, though he was clearly unrepentant.
“We’re here,” Maggie said as they began to trundle along a wide Main Street. An imposing theatre stood at one end, with a smart chapel and rows of shops on either side. Daniel drew the wagon up outside one of them. The little bakery had a freshly painted sign, and everything in the window looked good enough to eat. “Salt dough,” Maggie confided. “So I don’t have to change the display every day!”
“It is a good idea, and it looks wonderful,” Ellen said as she and Alice gazed in admiration at the elegant sheaf of corn that Maggie had fashioned and the range of loaves and other goodies.
“Come upstairs. I can show you round the bakery tomorrow. Today should be all about you settling in to your new home.” Maggie ushered Ellen upstairs, as Alice went to help Daniel with their baggage.
“You go on up, I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Welcome to your new home. I truly hope you will be very happy here.”
“You know, I think I will be,” she replied. “It already feels right.” She was rewarded with a grin. “Thank you, for everything.”
“I did nothing but make a suggestion.”
“You did more than that, and I am more than glad you did Mr Havering.”
“Please, call me Daniel,” he said. “And might I call you Alice?”
“Of course. I would like that very much.”
She made her way upstairs, and sank into one of the comfortable chairs by the fire in the tiny parlor. She smiled to herself as she watched Maggie and Ellen bustling around. Her fears had turned out to be unwarranted. Daniel was a lovely man, and she was sure that there was at least a tiny spark of something between them. She was sure she had seen his eyes light up, and she liked it that he felt confident enough to tease her. She didn’t care about which would be her room, or how well appointed the tiny kitchen was. She hoped above all things that this would not be her home for long. She just sat and let everything happen around her, watching for Daniel as he brought up their things, glimpsing the way his muscles strained against the flimsy cloth of his shirt. Something primal seemed to be awakening within her, despite her exhaustion.
“May I call for you tomorrow?” Daniel asked her quietly when he had brought up the last of the trunks. She stood and moved to where he stood at the top of the stairwell.
“I would like that,” she admitted. “Do I need a chaperone?” They were so close, almost touching and both were speaking quietly so the women in the other room would not hear.
“That depends on you, and your intentions I suppose,” he said nonchalantly. But she knew he was flirting with her, as much as she was with him.
“Well, I think I can control myself...” she teased. His lips were only inches from her own. She longed to have the courage to reach out and touch them, to taste them. But, she had barely met the man, she was tired and disoriented, and maybe she was just misconstruing all the signs.
“Maybe you should bring Ellen,” he said stealing a kiss. His lips brushed softly against hers, it was the barest glimmer of a caress, yet it shot bolts of electricity through her body. It was the most thrilling and exhilarating moment of her entire existence. Her eyes opened wide as she stared into his. “You may be able to control your baser urges, but I’m not sure I can.”
She was still in a trance when her friends finished their tour and joined her in the parlor. “Oh dear, I think our girl is smitten,” Maggie teased.
“I think our girl may well be,” she admitted. “Isn’t he dreamy?” She swooned into the chair once more where she lay, barely able to speak.
“Well, that went well then,” Ellen said. “Thank you Maggie, but I think I had best get this young lady into a bath and then into bed before she gets herself into the worst kind of trouble!”