Chapter Twenty

Tyler was shaken by the battle with Edward. The man was driven. He was blinded to the truth. Tyler had hoped he could use the money from the sale of the Dunking Witch to buy Tess and Adam but doubted Edward would consider any offer now. He had to make sure Edward never found them.

“Go on, son.” Captain Donovan returned to the tiller. “I figure that fight earned yah a kiss.”

Ethan had retrieved both pikes and Tyler’s hat from the cargo hold. Ethan handed him his hat. He turned when Cory called his name. It was like a siren luring him to his death. She was going to suck his blood out.

Tyler looked at the other men. He didn’t want them to think he was a coward. He descended into the cabin. Cory was holding a jar with thick black leeches in it. He felt sick. “You’re going to put that on my face?”

“It won’t hurt.” Cory examined his eye. “And it will take down the swelling.”

“I don’t mind a few bruises.” Tyler put his foot on the ladder to make a hasty exit. “You are not putting a blood sucking creature on my face.”

“I bet you would do it for Reggie.”

Tyler paused. “What does she have to do with this?”

“You fought over her.”

“I wasn’t fighting for Reggie,” he countered. “I was fighting for Tess.”

Cory put her hand on her hip. “You proposed to her on her wedding day?”

How was he going to explain? “It was a desperate measure to prevent her from doing what I thought was a mistake.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t love her. And from what Noah says, she loves Edward. I guess I was too mad at him to think anyone could love him.”

“How do you know you don’t love her?”

He looked at the jar of parasites in her hand. “I would never let her put a leech on my face.”

“Will you let me put a leech on your face?”

He stepped closer in the tight quarters. “Only you.”

****

Cory felt flattered by his admission, but it was a far cry from a declaration of love. She shoved him toward the bunk. “I won’t let the big bad leech hurt you.”

“It better not suck my eyeball dry.”

She saw blood seeping through the vest Reggie had made. “You’re bleeding.” He unbuttoned his vest and removed it. His shirt was red above the gunshot wound.

“How am I going to keep your shirts clean if you keep bleeding on them?”

He pulled the shirt free from his trousers.

“Sit.” Cory put the jar of leeches on the floor by the bed and examined the wound. “It opened up.”

“Can’t you put a fresh bandage on it?”

“That won’t be enough.”

He looked at the jar. “Leeches?”

“Stitches.”

“Do you mean a needle and thread?”

“What else would I use for stitches?”

“I hope we’re talking about mending my shirt.”

“The wound won’t heal properly without stitches now that it’s opened up.” Cory searched for some bandages.

“You’re not going to do it now, are you?”

“I don’t have the proper needle.” She found a roll of cloth. “I’ll use this to bandage it temporarily.” She folded a strip for a compression bandage and a long strip to secure it as she lifted Tyler’s shirt out of the way. When she was done tying off the bandage, she picked up the jar of leeches.

“My eye is feeling much better now.”

“Your eye will close tight if I don’t leech it.” She opened the jar. “The key is to concentrate on something else.”

Tyler stared at the jar of swirling black bloodsuckers.

Cory’s father had used leeches and maggots for medical reasons, but he was careful to prevent the patient from seeing the repulsive creatures at work. She had to distract Tyler. She unbuttoned the top two buttons on her bodice. “It’s hot in here.” She had his attention.

“Lie back.” She leaned over him, giving him a hint of her cleavage as she put the leech on his skin. Why were men fascinated with two lumps of flesh on a woman’s chest?

He shuddered as it tickled his skin, but his attention remained on the opening on her bodice.

Her chemise covered most of her bosom, but what he could view, kept him riveted. “You’re doing fine.” She stroked his hair back from his face. The fight with Edward had left the scent of sweat and blood on Tyler’s skin. Instead of repulsing her, it aroused her senses. Her body responded in a way conquered women have responded since men fought to possess them. She wanted to yield to him, to climb into bed with him, but common sense won.

She poured some water on a towel and cleaned his face. “See, it’s not so bad.” The plump leech fell off. Cory snatched it off the bed with the towel and dropped it back into the jar.

Tyler leaned on his elbow. “Is that it?”

She secured the lid to the jar. “You want another leech?”

He looked at the trap door. “Captain Donovan said something about a kiss.”

Cory felt her body respond to the deep tone of his voice, urging her to comply. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted Tyler to kiss her. But she worried about where kissing would lead. She wasn’t sure if she could stop herself once she surrendered. “Haven’t you kissed enough women?”

“I didn’t kiss Beth.” He frowned. “And you’re still ahead of me. And I don’t care what you say about it, I’m still counting Douglas.”

Cory carried the jar to the shelf. “What about Reggie? I know she was the first girl you kissed, but when was the last time you kissed her? Maybe you’re ahead of me on number of kisses.”

Tyler stood and tucked in his shirt. “That was it.”

“Not even when you proposed?”

“It was more of an ultimatum than a proposal.”

“How can men be so unromantic?” Cory thought of Douglas and his logic in choosing a wife. She closed the cupboard and secured it.

“We’re beasts.” Tyler closed the small space between them and pressed against her back. His hands encircled her waist. He leaned down, and his lips tugged on her earlobe. “Wild, untamed beasts.”

Cory’s breath caught in her throat. She felt her body tense in anticipation of his lovemaking. What was he doing to her?

“Tame me.” He nuzzled her neck, lingering in one spot and waited.

Her emotions warred between yielding to her immediate desires and resisting his affections in order to spare her heart more pain once he left. He would surely leave to help Noah and Tess, but what about his job with Sam Morris? Was that a temporary repayment of a debt or something more permanent? Did his future plans involve her, or was she deluding herself with romantic dreams? “We need to talk.”

Tyler released her and backed away.

Cory was surprised by his sudden change. He looked hurt.

The trap door opened above them. “We’re coming up on Lock Twenty-four,” Captain Donovan shouted down. “I hope you got your kiss.”

Cory snatched her belongings but hesitated to dress in front of Tyler. He shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed his clothes. “I guess our talk will have to wait.” He climbed the ladder and left her alone.

Tyler had sounded angry. What had changed his mood so abruptly? A girl had a right to say no to a kiss. Cory dressed and hurried on deck. She turned to Grandpa. “Are you coming to Darrow Falls for the fireworks?” Cory arranged her bonnet and smoothed her hair around the opening.

“I’m docking in Peninsula for the night. There’s always a big celebration on the Fourth. Mostly canal folk. You ought to join us.”

“Thank you for the invitation, but we have our own celebration in Darrow Falls.”

“A picnic and dance, and everyone returns home after the fireworks. We don’t start celebrating until the sky is lit up.”

“Be careful if you see Edward Vandal or one of his chasers,” Tyler warned. “He thinks his slaves were hiding on this boat.”

“I know how to handle any brawlers,” he replied. “I think you missed the coach, but you ought to be able to catch a ride on one of the freight wagons traveling River Road.” He pointed to the steep incline away from the river. “You don’t want to walk that hill in this heat.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.” Cory kissed him on the cheek and hugged her cousins.

Tyler shook hands. “Pleasure meeting you, Captain Donovan, Ethan, Paddy.”

“Come back anytime,” Captain Donovan invited. “You ain’t like most lawyer types.” He winked at Cory.

Tyler and Cory rode with Darrow Falls’ baker, Sydney Robinson. He had a wagon load of flour, newly milled in Peninsula and shipped south on the canal. They hopped off when they reached the Beecher farm.

Tyler’s hand went to his side.

“How bad is it?”

“Not bad. I don’t think I’ll need stitches after all.”

“Let me see.”

Blood had seeped around the makeshift bandage. “Papa will stitch you up.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother him.”

“Haven’t you had stitches before?”

“No, and I’ve never been shot or had a leech put on my face.”

“What a sheltered life you’ve led,” she said. “Look at everything you missed before meeting me.”

“How can you be so beautiful and cruel at the same time?”

Was he teasing? She wondered how he truly felt about her.

He looked toward the house. “Tell me about your sisters. Five of them, right?”

“Yes.” Cory counted down on her fingers. “There’s Jennifer, Colleen, Jessica, Cassandra, and Juliet. Each of us is about two years apart in age. I’m twenty and Juliet is nine.”

“Any reason why your names begin with C and J?”

“After Grandma Caroline Josephine.”

“That’s who CJ was. I didn’t want to interrupt the captain’s story to find out.”

“You shared your family history. I thought you’d enjoy hearing mine.”

“I did, Cory. Do your sisters have nicknames?”

“Jem, Cole, Jess, Cass, and Jules.”

“Sounds like boys’ names.”

“Just nicknames. I don’t think any of us wanted to be boys. But we wanted the fun they have.”

“Seems to me girls have all the advantages.”

“Advantages? Girls are instructed to be quiet, gentle, and obedient. Boys don’t have to follow such silly rules.”

“What part of quiet, gentle, and obedient do you practice?”

Maybe she didn’t follow society’s customs all of the time, but neither did he. “You don’t obey any rules in your behavior toward me.”

He laughed. “I threw out all the rules when you shot me.”

“Don’t tell my parents I shot you. They’d be horrified by my recklessness.”

“I won’t tell them you shot me if you don’t tell them I kissed you.” He stopped. “Nice house.”

Cory stood next to him as they studied the big white farmhouse she called home. Her parents had purchased a two-room cabin but had expanded it to accommodate six children and a medical practice. Hiram had helped with the additions, and it resembled Glen Knolls. A Greek pediment divided two wings. Each wing had porches with ornate moldings.

“Welcome to the Beecher homestead.” Cory noticed the green shutters were faded. “The shutters need painted.”

“Your hired hands have grown lazy without you.”

“Hired hands?” She held up her arms. “These are the only hired hands. It’s a family farm. That’s why Adelaide chose me to help at Glen Knolls. I can milk a cow, kill a chicken, and drive a buggy.”

“I can understand why you look forward to becoming the wife of a college professor.”

Cory didn’t answer. She had never longed for a life of social gatherings and vain luxuries. “I don’t mind the work. Not when it’s my home.”

They reached the slate walk to the front door. It was decorated with chalk drawings.

“Looks like one of your sisters has some artistic talent.”

“Cass likes to draw.” She pointed out several horses drawn in detail on the slate.

Cass and Jules ran around the side of the house, screaming. They hid behind Tyler. “Help us.”

Jess followed with a green garter snake in her hand. “It’s going to get you!”

“Stop waving it around,” Cory ordered Jess. “You’re scaring it.”

“He likes me.” Jess let the snake wrap around her hand. She had blonde curls that escaped from a single braid. “It’s a little thing.”

“I don’t like snakes.” Cass poked her head out from behind Tyler. Cass was eleven with dark hair like Cory’s, but it lacked any red highlights. Her hair was worn in two braids, and her eyes were the same green as Cory’s.

“I like snakes.” Jules stepped forward and tentatively touched the snake’s body. She had strawberry blonde hair worn in a ponytail of curls that framed blue eyes.

“Then why did you run?” Jess demanded.

“I like screaming.”

“Jules is the dramatic one,” Cory explained. “Put the snake back in the grass where it belongs.”

“Cory!” Cole rushed out the western porch door and down the sandstone steps. She was wearing a huge crinoline with a new dress draped over it. The dress hem was pinned on one side and hung too long on the other side.

Jem followed with a pincushion in one hand and measuring tape in the other. “Don’t you dare dirty my dress,” she threatened.

Jem and Cole both had red hair and blue eyes. Jem’s hair was darker and more bronze in color, while Cole’s was as bright as copper.

Cory examined Cole’s gown. “Is that a new crinoline cage?”

“Six feet wide,” Jem bragged. “I borrowed it for the dance.”

“Why can’t I wear a crinoline like this?” Cole demanded. “I should make a good impression at my first dance.”

“Sit.” Jem pointed to a wooden bench beneath a nearby tree.

Cole marched over, turned, and sat. The crinoline shot up to her face and exposed her underwear underneath. Cole struggled to lower the cage.

“That, little sister, is why you start out small,” Jem said. “You have to acquire some coordination to wear a crinoline.”

“That’s not the only hazard,” Cory revealed. “Last Christmas when Jem wore a crinoline to a dance, she caught her dress on fire standing too close to a fireplace.”

Jem laughed. “That was the night Ben Collins came to my rescue and beat the fire out with his new coat. We both looked like chimney sweeps.”

Cory knew her family’s budget. “Do you think Ben warrants a new dress?”

“Grandma bought a sewing machine and insisted upon making ball gowns for us for the holiday dance. Yours is upstairs. Mama hemmed it for you, but I’ll never finish mine if Cole doesn’t stand still.”

“Why can’t you wear the dress, and I’ll pin it,” Cole suggested.

“You can’t pin a straight line.”

“All they do is fight.” Jess looked at Tyler. “What’s your name?”

Cory made the introductions.

“Where did you find him?” Cole studied him. “You’re pretty.”

“Men aren’t pretty,” Jem corrected. “They’re handsome.”

“Then he’s pretty handsome.”

Cass squinted. “He’s awfully tall.”

“Your eye looks funny,” Jess remarked. “Did you get into a fight?”

“There’s blood on his shirt.” Jules pointed at the stain.

“We came from the Irish Rose. Tyler had a little altercation.”

“With Grandpa?” Jules demanded.

“No. It was with a man named Edward Vandal.”

“Did you win?” Jess asked.

“The other guy is still swimming in the canal,” Tyler bragged.

“Nobody swims in the canal,” Jess argued.

Tyler laughed but suddenly clutched his side.

“We better go inside and take care of your wound.” She ushered him toward the door. “Is Papa home?”

“No,” her sisters echoed together.