Two
The moment she spotted her new boss conversing with her cousin Caleb, Nicole’s already nervous stomach squeezed into a hard knot beneath her sternum. Pace slowing, she toyed with the idea of feigning illness. Humiliation surged. She’d replayed last evening’s events a thousand times and it never got any better.
“Mornin’, Miss Nicole,” old Martin Walton called from the rear door of the barbershop. “You’re lookin’ as fresh as a flower today. When are you gonna find a man and settle down?”
“When I find one as worthy as you, which we both know is highly unlikely.”
He grinned, revealing crooked teeth, and went back to sweeping. “You might be surprised.”
With a wave, she continued on her way. It was a familiar conversation. He was kind, harmless, his teasing lacking bite. The sight of his stooped frame in the barbershop never failed to strike her as out of place, though. In her mind, the shop would always belong to Tom Leighton, a close friend of their family. Tom had abruptly left Gatlinburg back in April, and her younger sister, Jane, had yet to recover.
Nicole envied Tom. He’d escaped this town, something she yearned to do, had been set to do when a shortcut through the woods six months ago altered her life. Her plan of opening her own dress shop in Knoxville had had to be postponed, at least until she figured things out. If she ever figured them out.
As she made her way along the riverbank, a gentle, honeysuckle-scented breeze caressed her cheeks. Down below, the greenish water gurgled lazily along, a family of brown-tufted ducks skimming the opaque surface. The mercantile’s springhouse sprawled at the water’s edge. Constructed of river rock and kept cool by the rushing water, it was the perfect place to store perishable items such as the milk and cheese supplied by her Uncle Sam’s dairy. Caleb made deliveries several times a week.
“Nicki.”
Her cousin knew perfectly well she despised the shortened version of her name and yet insisted on using it. “Morning, Caleb.”
Briefly greeting his horses, Midnight and Chance, she used the wagon bed as a barrier between her and the two men. They were surprisingly similar in coloring...inky-black hair, brown eyes and sun-kissed skin. But where Caleb was scruffy, his hair slightly mussed, Quinn Darling was as neat as a pin. His clothing bore the mark of wealth, his bearing that of privilege. He looked rested this morning, hair slicked off his face and lean cheeks freshly shaved.
She wondered if his head was paining him. Not that she planned on putting voice to a question that would call forth the embarrassing incident.
Arms folded, wearing a grin that stretched from ear to ear, Caleb hooked a thumb at the man beside him. “Quinn told me about your meeting last night.”
Her heart sank. Quinn’s eyes—a shade lighter than Caleb’s—crinkled with mischief. How dare he smile at her after deliberately relating embarrassing details?
“Nicole was a knowledgeable tour guide.”
What all had he told him? Quinn’s intent regard smacked of smug arrogance. Her palms itched to slap it right off. The man knew absolutely nothing about her!
“Nicki is nothing if not professional,” Caleb said.
Ha! If he could only read her thoughts right this moment...
Pushing off the wagon bed, Caleb held his hand out to Quinn. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you. I’ve got to get home and check on my wife.”
“Oh, is she ill?” Concern pulled his brows together.
“Not in the normal sense of the word.” A proud grin flashed. “She’s expecting our first child this fall. She tends to overdo it.”
“Rebecca’s aware of her limitations,” Nicole pointed out. “You’re being overprotective.”
“One day you’ll have a husband who dotes on you, Nicki. I guarantee you’ll relish every minute of it.”
Nicole squeezed the reticule in her hands until the beading bit into her palms. Acutely aware of Quinn’s scrutiny, she tipped her chin up. “You’re speaking fairy tales, cousin.”
“I don’t think so. Remember what I said about making plans for your life?” He winked, the scarred flesh around his eye stretching.
How could she forget? The recent conversation plagued her in the oddest moments. Their extensive family had been gathered at his parents’ home. When she’d expressed her firm intentions to wait for marriage and children until she’d achieved success with her seamstress shop, a venture that could take years, he’d loudly announced his expectation that her plans would fall apart. In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. The verse he’d quoted refused to leave her, raising questions she wasn’t brave enough to face.
“Goodbye, Caleb.”
He tipped his hat and grinned. “I’ll tell Becca you said hello.” Swinging up onto the seat, he released the brake and set the wagon in motion.
All too soon, she and Quinn were left to stare at each other. He did a slow inspection. Confidence in sadly low amounts that morning, she’d dressed in one of her favorite outfits, a lavender dress adorned with deep purple ribbons.
“You look to have suffered no ill effects from our confrontation,” he said.
His features portrayed nothing of his thoughts, not appreciation or distaste. Nothing, which left her feeling unbalanced. Hefting a round of paper-wrapped cheese beneath one arm, he held out the other for her. “Shall we go inside?”
Loath to touch him, Nicole adopted a similarly bland expression and forced her bare fingers to his forearm. The heat and strength of corded muscle bled through his shirt’s fine material. Shock shimmered through her as the totally inappropriate urge to explore his physique surged. Close contact with men was limited to her uncle and cousins, and much of the time she succeeded in keeping them at arm’s length. This touch, though impersonal, ricocheted through her defenses and opened up a yawning cavern of inconvenient awareness.
I don’t need anyone. She’d been telling herself that since the moment she realized she was different and no matter how hard she tried, she would never measure up to her sisters.
She focused on the narrow steps. “What exactly did you tell Caleb?”
“You have no cause to worry, Miss O’Malley. Despite what you might think, I am a man of discretion. It would not be in either of our best interests if the details of our...misunderstanding were to be revealed. Especially in my case, considering I’m a newcomer and in need of earning the locals’ trust and respect if I am to be successful in this venture.”
The tension she’d experienced since first spotting her cousin eased somewhat. Neither she nor Quinn planned to speak of the incident. And Shane Timmons was not what one would call a gossip. Like herself, the sheriff was a loner, a private man not given to conversation. No one would learn of the incident from him. And perhaps, given enough time, she’d manage to look her boss in the eye and not remember their initial encounter.
“Will I be meeting any more O’Malley family members?”
“I come
