The Christmas Bargain (17 page)

Following Luke’s exit from the kitchen from the corner of her eye, Filly let out the breath she’d been holding.

Merciful stars, she had no idea what men looked like beneath their clothes. No wonder girls became so distracted thinking about boys. Picturing Luke’s muscled arms and chest made heat rush through her from head to toe. Thoughts of those muscled legs made her stomach flutter.

How was she supposed to keep her focus on anything with her growing attraction to Luke? She had admired, respected and liked him from the first day he rescued her. Immediately, she was infatuated with him. The past few weeks she knew she loved him, truly loved him, and now she realized she wanted him. Desperately.

And she still hadn’t gotten past their first kissing lesson.

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Luke whistled a holiday tune as he strolled down the sidewalk to the bank. Unlocking the door, he hung up his coat and hat, stirred the embers in the stove, adding wood then settled in at his desk.

Leaning back in his chair, he laced his hands behind his head, set his boots on his desk and smiled smugly to himself. Filly would be his before too long, he just knew it. This morning he could see a look of wanting in her eyes.

Forcing himself not to dwell on the terror Alford Booth had introduced into his daughter’s life, Luke instead thought about Filly’s flushed cheeks when she was looking him over, clad only in the towel. He sat daydreaming for a few moments about what she would have done if he had unpinned that marvelous head of hair and kissed her like he longed to do.

A smack to his boot brought him back to reality. Chauncy stood grinning at him.

“I don’t know where you were at, but you might want to stay in reality during business hours. Someone could come in here and rob you blind while you’re looking all moon-eyed,” Chauncy said with a jaunty grin.

“I’m not moon-eyed,” Luke said, sliding his feet to the floor and sitting up in the chair. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?”

“Other than to brighten your day,” Chauncy said with a teasing glint in his eye, “I wanted to see if you could come help me tomorrow. The Jenkins family lost a good part of their roof during the big wind storm and could use some help putting a new one down before it snows again. Several of the neighbors are going to go help and I thought the two of us could lend a hand.”

“Certainly. Harlan can watch over things here tomorrow,” Luke said. “Will Abby be okay by herself? I could ask Filly to spend the day with her.”

“I was hoping Filly wouldn’t mind. Abby’s close to her due date and I hate to leave her alone. If Filly could stay with her, it would put my mind at rest.”

“I’m sure she’ll say yes, but I’ll check with her when I go home for lunch. She’ll probably be over to visit Abby sometime today anyway.”

“Good. I’ll plan to see you bright and early tomorrow. I want to leave at first light so can get in a full day of work,” Chauncy said as Luke walked him to the door. Stepping outside, he turned back and grinned. “And you might want to pull your thoughts away from your lovely wife for the day or you could end up with more than one smashed finger tomorrow.”

“Goodbye, Chauncy,” Luke said, shutting the door with more force than was necessary.

Going home for lunch, Luke wasn’t surprised when Filly readily agreed to spend the day with Abby and looked forward to their time together.

Luke saddled Drake and left to meet Chauncy as daylight began streaking the sky. A few hours later, Filly was adding a few things to a basket to take to Abby when a loud pounding rattled the kitchen door. Hurrying to open it, she was surprised to see Percy on the step, out of breath, like he had run the whole way from the mercantile.

“Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Dodd asked me to find you. She wants you to go get the pastor,” Percy said, trying to catch his breath. “She said to tell you it’s time and she needs Pastor Dodd with her. Do you know where he went?”

“Yes, Percy, I do. I want you to go find the doctor and ask him to go Mrs. Dodd as quickly as he can. Then I want you to go to Mrs. Dodd and tell her I’ll find the pastor and bring him home right away. Can you do that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Percy said.

“Good boy,” Filly said, snatching a packet of cookies out of the basket and handing them to Percy along with a quarter from the change she now kept in her apron pocket. “Now you make sure you go get the doctor then run straight back to Mrs. Dodd. If she doesn’t open the door, you go right in and make sure she knows the pastor will be along shortly.”

“I will,” Percy said, jumping off the porch and running back to town. Waving his cookies in the air, he yelled, “Thanks, Mrs. Granger.”

Slamming the door, Filly banked the fire, scribbled a quick note to Mrs. Kellogg telling her what had happened, whipped off her apron, and donned her coat and scarf.

Running to the barn, she quickly saddled Sheeba and led her outside. Slipping on her gloves, she pushed the barn door shut and took a deep breath. Yelling “run,” Sheeba took off as Filly grabbed a handful of mane and swung herself onto the mare’s back.

Heedless of her skirt and petticoats in disarray, Filly raced through town and out to the Jenkins’ farm. She knew where it was located because they had been neighbors to her family for many years.

Flying down the road, Filly feared for her friend. She had lost her own mother during childbirth and sent up a prayer that all would go smoothly with Abby’s birth. She wondered that Chauncy would have left if he knew Abby was in labor and decided she must not have been, or hadn’t let him know, when he left earlier that morning.

Rounding a bend in the road, she could see men on the roof of the Jenkins home. Hoping someone would see her coming, she waved a hand over her head and rode Sheeba hard and fast toward the house.

Unaware that her pins had fallen out and her hair tumbled wildly down her back, Filly hoped she could quickly find Chauncy.

Ribbing each other as they pounded on shingles, Luke and Chauncy made quite a team. Luke stopped to straighten his back and noticed a horse running full-tilt up the drive. Taking a second look, he scrambled for the ladder and jumped to the ground when he was only part way down. Running to meet the rider, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Filly rode Sheeba with her hair streaming to her waist like a silken curtain of mahogany curls. His heart pounded in his chest as he took in her pink cheeks and bright green eyes. Giving her a once over from head to toe he couldn’t help but admire the shapely stocking-clad calf exposed between her sensible boots and the froth of skirts and petticoats nearly up to her knees.

She was a vision to behold.

Seeing Luke, Filly tugged back on the reins and brought Sheeba to a halt.

“What’s wrong, Filly?” Luke asked, grabbing Sheeba’s bridle when she sidestepped away from him. The horse had obviously been enjoying her run and wasn’t quite ready for it to end.

“It’s Abby, she’s in labor. She needs Chauncy to come now,” Filly said, darting her gaze to the ladder Chauncy hastily descended.

One look at Filly’s face and Chauncy ran to get his horse, Luke right behind him. Leroy Jenkins held the horses while they put on the saddle blankets.

“Thanks for the time you spent today,” Leroy said, as they settled the saddles into place.

“Sorry we couldn’t stay longer,” Luke said, tightening up his cinch and taking the reins from Leroy. “I can come back another day if you don’t get finished today.”

“Thanks, Luke, I appreciate it,” Leroy said, then grinned as the two men mounted their horses. “Who’s that woman? She’s mighty pretty.”

Luke sat a little straighter in the saddle. “That’s my wife, Filly,” he said, pride filling his voice.

“Well, she looks like a fine spirited filly at that,” Leroy chuckled, returning to his roofing project. “Congratulations, Luke.”

Seeing Chauncy and Luke ready to go, Filly turned Sheeba and headed back toward town. Soon the three of them were racing down the road. In record time, they were stopping the horses at the parsonage.

“Give me the reins, I’ll take the horses,” Luke said as Filly and Chauncy jumped off the horses and ran for the door.

Chauncy went to Abby’s side and sank down at the edge of the bed. The doctor had not yet arrived, but Percy had left messages all over town for him to come to the parsonage.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in labor this morning,” Chauncy asked as he clutched Abby’s hand in his. “I wouldn’t have left you alone.”

“I wasn’t sure I was in labor until after you’d already gone, then it came on suddenly,” Abby said, trying to breathe through the pain.

“I’ll send Luke to find the doc,” Chauncy said, starting to get up to leave.

“Don’t leave me,” Abby cried, clinging to his hand. “Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t leave you, honey,” Chauncy said, removing his coat and hat, tossing them in the corner. “Filly will send Luke.”

“I don’t want her to leave either,” Abby said, holding out a hand to her friend.

Filly, who had been standing at the door, squeezed Abby’s hand and assured her that she would send Luke to go find the doctor and come right back.

Hurrying out the door, Filly decided Luke would have taken the horses home, since Chauncy kept his horse at their barn. Running through town, Filly was glad she hadn’t put on her corset that morning, giving herself the ability to move freely.

Grasping the barn door, Filly hustled inside and found Luke calmly talking to the horses, brushing down Sheeba and telling her what a fine job she did of carrying the missus on her errand.

When he heard the barn door slam shut, Luke’s head jerked up and he looked at Filly with worried eyes.

“She needs the doctor, Luke, and Percy couldn’t find him anywhere. Could you see if you can?”

“Of course,” Luke said, saddling one of his other horses in record time.

Walking the horse out of the barn, Luke mounted while Filly shut the door, then he held out his hand for her to mount behind him. Glancing down at her skirts, she realized for the first time she wasn’t wearing proper riding attire.

Luke grinned at her and wiggled his fingers. “Come on, Filly. It’s a little late to worry about propriety now, don’t you think?”

She took his hand and swung behind him, lacing her hands around his waist and leaning her head against his back. As they rode to the parsonage, Luke kept his hand resting on top of hers.

“I’d like to speak with you about your ride to the Jenkins farm,” he said, using his most official banker’s tone.

“Oh,” was all Filly could say. She should have known riding through town with her skirts up to her knees and hair flying would embarrass Luke. She was really going to have to work on behaving with more decorum. More like a proper banker’s wife.

Turning to look at her over his shoulder, Luke smiled and his icy eyes warmed to a liquid blue. “I’d like to discuss how enticing you looked with your skirts hiked up and your hair rippling behind you. I pictured you as some ancient Irish warrior queen riding into battle. Filly, my girl, you’ve been holding out on me by keeping all that glorious hair confined to buns or braids. I think we need a let-your-hair-down lesson to go along with our kissing lessons.”

Filly’s response was to wrap her arms a little tighter around Luke and release a pleased sigh.

Arriving at the parsonage, Luke held his hand out and helped her dismount, although they both knew she didn’t need the assistance. Luke stepped out of the saddle long enough to pull Filly into an embrace and bury his hands in her hair. It felt as silky and rich as he imagined it would.

Sucking in a deep breath of cold air, he kissed his wife’s cheek, mounted and took off to find the doctor.