Authors: Emma Lang
Sam looked over her head. “Thanks, Jessup. You can be on your way.” He met her gaze again. “I’ll look after Miss Angeline now.”
The sound of his voice made her want to curl up in front of a fire next to him. To wake up in the morning to that husky, sexy voice. To hear him whisper in her ear again. Oh, so many wishes and wants—Angeline had definitely gone far beyond what had been considered acceptable in Tolson.
She was living life for herself, and no one else. It felt pretty damn good too.
He held out his arm and she slipped hers into the crook of his elbow. His strength was obvious in the firmness of his muscles and the confident way he patted her hand. They walked arm in arm down the sidewalk, and that’s when An-geline noticed something.
Sam walked with a limp.
In all the times she’d been with him, he’d been sitting or standing near her. She’d never been close enough to realize he had a hitch in his step. Angeline wanted to ask him what injury caused the problem, but didn’t want to be rude just after accepting his offer to court her.
The limp made his stride match hers, even though his legs were longer. It was as if whatever had happened to his leg made him slow down long enough for her to catch up. Ange-line smiled at the thought, earning a few smiles in return from folks walking down the street.
By the time they reached the store, she wanted to keep going, to walk for hours with Sam beside her, but Marta was waiting. Angeline had to get the baking soda back to her or
the dinner meal would be affected. Something like regret swept her as they walked into the store.
“I just need to get baking soda, so it will take only a minute or two.”
Sam held the door open for her. “Take your time. I finished Widow Primrose’s fence with Jessup’s help so I’m free until this afternoon.”
“Jessup’s help?” She didn’t know the old man had any skills as a carpenter.
Sam looked sheepish. “Well, he came to talk to me about you like he was your pa or something. Wanted to make sure my intentions were honorable. After he found out I was looking to court you, he helped me finish the fence so I could ask you.”
Angeline’s heart fluttered. Again, the insight and thought-fulness of a man most people ignored was humbling. Jessup was a very good person, and from now on she would be sure he didn’t have to eat scraps for meals. She’d make sure he got a plate of hot food every night. After all, they were family now.
Sam courted her each day for a month. He would arrive for breakfast at the restaurant and ask for Angeline at his table. It got to the point that young Alice wouldn’t even say hello to him anymore. She’d simply walk into the kitchen, then come back out with Angeline behind her.
The sight of the woman he was rapidly falling in love with would send his heart racing and his cock pulsing. She would smile shyly at him and ask him what he wanted to order.
Each day he brought her a gift: a rock, a seed pod, a beautiful flower, a leaf, or even a pinecone. She accepted each gift with grace, and sometimes she was even as fascinated as he by the piece of nature.
Sam wanted her to be at peace with the world around her. His mother had taught him when there was an imbalance,
when a living being did not embrace the earth, then peace could not be achieved.
Angeline had no peace. He could see that she was struggling daily to fight whatever imbalance was in her soul. Sam promised himself he’d help her find that balance and peace.
The gifts were small pieces of the world outside the restaurant, the place she’d hidden from since her arrival in Forest-ville. He could count on one hand how many times she’d left the restaurant. The walk to the store when he’d finally convinced her to let him court her was only the fifth time.
Five was obviously a special number, one he kept in mind with each gift. So he brought her five of each piece of nature. With each gift, he saw the shadows in her blue eyes begin to recede.
Day by day, she was finding peace. Sam would ask her a question after he gave her the gift, something to find out a bit more about her.
He knew her favorite color was blue, that she loved to read, that her little finger was crooked, that one ear was higher than the other, and that she blushed when he complimented her. That told him Angeline had never had much praise or recognition for who she was.
Sam didn’t want to overwhelm her with daily compliments, so he saved them to give her when she seemed the saddest. That was the one thing he had to battle most fiercely—the sadness in her soul.
It was a Friday morning, early enough that the sun was just skimming across the ground, raising a mist of warmth from the cool earth. He had found a fossil of a leaf when he was digging the new outhouse at the hotel. Not that he’d tell her where he’d found it—digging a new shithole wasn’t his idea of a topic for discussion while courting.
However the fossil was special, as unique as Angeline. He kept it tucked into his hand while his thumb ran over the indentations in the soft stone.
As he stepped into the restaurant, his heart thumped madly. He was about to ask Angeline to do something other than talk to him. She could say no, which given Sam’s limited experience with women, would be devastating.
Alice rolled her eyes when she saw him. “Do you ever stay home for breakfast?”
Sam was tense enough that her snide comment made his temper rise. “Is there some reason why you’re always ornery around me?”
“She’s jealous.” Karen, the older waitress with the little boy, looked at Alice with one brow raised. “None of her gaggle of beaus has courted her so, ah, regularly.”
“I am not jealous of an orphan with a half-breed courting her.” Alice sneered. “I just get sick of fetching Angeline from the kitchen every morning.”
Sam endured the insult with the stoicism he had developed over the course of his life. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting.
“You’re green-eyed jealous.” Karen laughed as Alice’s face flushed.
“Shut your mouth, Karen. At least I don’t tumble into the sheets with every man who smiles at me.” Alice stomped out the front door, leaving an uncomfortable silence and an embarrassed audience.
Karen flapped her hand as she averted her gaze from Sam. “Pay her no never mind. She’s young and full of vinegar.”
Sam wanted to offer her sympathy for the young woman’s comment, but figured she would rather he ignore it. He chose to simply nod at her and then walk toward the kitchen. Toward Angeline. Away from the insults young Alice had decided to heap upon him for no apparent reason.
He rubbed the fossil in his hand as he stepped into the kitchen. Angeline glanced up from cranking the handle on the coffee grinder. Her surprise gave way to a shy smile.
Sam felt immediately better.
“Good morning, Angel.”
“Good morning, Sam.”
“Hello to you too, Mr. Carver.” Marta chuckled from the stove as she laid bacon into a frying pan; the sizzle and aroma filled the kitchen.
“Good morning, Marta.” Sam smiled at the older woman. “It smells wonderful in here.”
“Where is Alice? She usually comes to get our Angeline.” Marta wiped her hands on her apron.
“She, uh, had to step outside for a minute.”
Marta frowned. “Step outside? I ain’t never known her to step outside unless the building was afire.” She peered at Sam’s face and he felt her looking through him like a mother who always knew when her child lied. “She has a mean mouth, I know that. Don’t listen to what she says if she was using her sharp tongue on you.”
“Don’t worry, Marta, I’ll be fine.” He turned to Angeline, who was now frowning too.
“What did she say to you?”
“Nothing I want to talk about.” He glanced at the coffee grounds. “I don’t suppose you have any coffee brewed already?”
She didn’t smile, but did nod. “I can bring some out to your table. With your eggs, bacon, and biscuits.”
Sam took her hand and kissed the back. “You remember what I like for breakfast.”
“How could she not? You’ve been ordering the same doggone thing for a month.” Marta harrumphed from the stove.
Angeline’s mouth twitched. “Two eggs over easy, three biscuits, and four pieces of bacon with black coffee.”
Sam laughed and kissed her hand again. “You really are my angel.”
Their gazes locked and a pulse snapped between them. Every small hair on his body rose to attention, as did a flush on her cheeks. The connection was so strong, all it took was a simple touch and one look.
He turned her hand over and put the fossil on her palm. “Today’s gift. It’s special, just like you are.”
Marta made some kind of noise, but wisely kept quiet. Sam appreciated that, although he wished he and Angeline were alone.
Angeline turned the small fossil over in her hand, peering at it, running her finger along the ridges of the leaf pattern.
“What is it?”
“It’s called a fossil. Thousands of years ago, a leaf fell in the mud and it was buried beneath rocks and dirt. The leaf didn’t survive, but it left an echo of what it was behind.” He watched the wonder spread across her face.
“Thousands of years ago? I could never imagine something like this survived for so long.”
“It was protected by the dirt and rocks, cocooned in the layers above it.” He imagined himself as the dirt and rocks and Angeline as the delicate fossil to protect.
“This is too precious to give me as a gift.” She held it out to him, her face a mask of self-sacrifice. “I can’t accept it.”
“You accepted the book.”
“That was different. I, um, wanted to read it,” she confessed. “In fact, I’ve read it four times already.”
That was news to him. Since he’d given her the book, nearly two months ago, she hadn’t mentioned it once. Now to hear she had been reading it over and over, well, that made him feel even bolder.
“Then you can accept the fossil. I found it while I was digging a, uh, for a job.” He still wouldn’t admit he had found it while digging a new outhouse.
“Are you sure?” Her blue eyes were full of delight.
“Never more sure of anything in my life.”
She finally smiled again. “Thank you, Sam.”
“You’re welcome, Angel.” He regretfully let go of her hand. “I’d like to ask you to take a walk with me today, after dinner is over. Down to the lake and back.”
She looked startled, as if she hadn’t expected him to ask her to go anywhere, ever. “A walk?”
“Oh, say yes, Angeline. He’s been faithfully courting you for a month and ain’t asked you for nothing but eggs.” Marta threw up her hands. “I was beginning to think he wasn’t ever gonna ask.”
Angeline met his gaze, asking him without words if he would keep her safe, from even himself. He answered her with a wide grin.
“Miss Angeline Hunter, would you do me the honor of accompanying me on a walk to the lake at three this afternoon?”
She giggled, sounding more like a young woman than she ever had. To his surprise, she curtseyed. “I would be honored, Mr. Samuel Carver.”
He whooped and danced around the table, quickly sending a prayer of thanks to the gods around them. Sam was finally getting through her shell, through the wall that kept her away from everyone and everything.
The fossil really was special.
Sam couldn’t believe she’d said yes. It was warming up outside. Spring was starting to spread its wings. He planned to walk down to the lake with her, steal her away for a couple of hours from the kitchen she spent so much time in.
He peered at his reflection in the looking glass and frowned. The scar on his eyebrow made his eyes uneven, but there was nothing he could do about it. He’d suffered worse than the wound on his face, much worse.
“What are you doing?” His father stood in the doorway, a smear of newsprint on his wrinkled cheek.
“I’m getting ready to go courting.” Sam couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.
“Courting?” His father scratched his nose. “What woman in her right mind wants a crippled husband?”
Sam’s stomach flipped while his heart flopped. He didn’t know what would possess his father to be so cruel.
“I mean, Sparrow doesn’t want you. I’m the one she loves.” His father spoke of his mother as if she were the one being courted. It made the sting of his words less painful, but not by much.
“Pa, I’m Sam, your son, remember? I’m courting Angeline. She works in the kitchen at the Blue Plate.” Sam tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was firmly lodged in place.
“The Blue Plate? Isn’t that the place Marta and Pieter want to open?” His father looked so confused, his brows nearly touched.
Sam smiled shakily. “Yes, it’s Marta and Pieter’s restaurant. Why don’t I get you settled in your room for a nap?”
As he led his father to his room, he realized the older man’s shirt was inside out and, at the same time, he smelled something suspiciously like urine. It was acrid enough to make Sam’s eyes water.
He spied an overfull chamber pot beneath the bed and realized he hadn’t been keeping an eye on his father’s hygiene. No doubt he’d simply forgotten to empty it. For a week.
Sam held his breath as his father lay down. When the older man was tucked beneath the blanket, Sam blinked away the sting of tears in his eyes. This was obviously a bad day for his father, one of the worst so far. It brought the entire situation to a head—this was a problem Sam would have to face.
First, though, he’d empty the chamber pot and clean up a bit. By the time he finished, he looked at the clock on the mantel and found he was half an hour late to meet Angeline.
“Shit.”
Sam ran out of the house, his mind in a turmoil over what to do about his father. He wondered how he would explain to Angeline why he was late without revealing his father’s secret. Then he wondered if she’d understand.
No one waited outside the restaurant, so he stepped in to find Angeline sitting at a table by herself. Her gaze was full of questions and some disappointment. Sam sighed and ran a hand down his face.
“I’m sorry, Angel. I meant to be here on time, but something happened with my father.” He tried to think of a delicate way to tell her, but his emotions were still running too high.
“Your father? He runs the newspaper, doesn’t he? Is he all right?” She rose to her feet, still looking distant and unsure. Sam noticed her blue dress was tattered at the edges, often mended if he wasn’t mistaken. He told himself he’d make sure she got a new dress as soon as he could afford one.