his voice but not his soft green eyes.
She tried to control her facial muscles. “Well, not funny-ha-ha. But it does seem that your mother has found another way to get you to marry one of those ladies.” Millie pursed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh.
A grin began to part his mouth, and twin dimples twinkled in her direction. “Oh, go ahead and laugh. It wouldn’t be the first time my mother’s antics were laughable.”
Millie immediately sobered. Her own mother had caused her pain and embarrassment more times than she could count. “I’m sorry, Mr. Westland. It really isn’t funny.”
He leaned forward on his forearms. “What happened to calling me Levi?”
Millie looked down at the tablecloth. “I’m not sure it’s proper to call you by your first name.”
“Good thing we aren’t proper here in Granite. Please, call me Levi.” He laid his napkin on the table and stood. “I need to get to work. If you need anything, I’ll be at the furniture store. I have a little carpentry shop set up in the back.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
As if he’d eaten persimmons, Levi said, “It will take us a while to get out to the ranch, and then Ma will want to introduce everyone. I’ll pick you up around three.” With those instructions, Levi turned and left the restaurant.
Millie stood also. Once more she felt as if Levi was taking matters into his own hands without waiting to see what she had to say. What if she’d changed her mind about going out to the ranch? Had he thought about that? No, he’d simply assumed he knew the best plan, told it to her and strolled away.
Beth stopped beside the table and asked, “Are you ready to see your room?”
Millie nodded and picked up her handbag. She noticed the money Levi had left on the table and scooped it up. “What do I owe for the meal?” she asked, looking to Beth.
“Nothing. When you work here, meals are free.” She smiled and headed toward the exit. “I don’t expect you to start work today, but we’ll need to hurry. The lunch crowd will be here shortly and I need to make up a few more sandwiches before they start coming in.”
Millie followed her hostess and now employer from the restaurant. “How much is the fee for the room?”
“Levi doesn’t charge us for room and meals when we work for him.” Beth led her up a staircase off to the right of the front door. She stopped in front of room four and looked at Millie. Beth gave her the key and then held the door open for Millie to enter.
Millie couldn’t get her legs to move. “I’m confused. I thought I would be working for you.”
“You are, but Levi is the owner of the boardinghouse and the restaurant so he does the paying, and I do the bossing.” She smiled to take any sting out of her words.
“I see.” Anger seeped through Millie. Why hadn’t he told her he owned the boardinghouse? So far, he’d manipulated her into staying at the boardinghouse, given her a job and was calling her by her first name. Was there no end to the man’s boldness?
* * *
Levi arrived a little before three o’clock. He’d met with his banker and then spent the rest of the afternoon in his workshop stewing over what to do about the mail-order brides out on the ranch.
Absorbed in his thoughts and the intricate carving on the chest he’d been working on, Levi was running late. Even as he walked up the sidewalk to Beth’s he couldn’t shake the question that had haunted him all afternoon. How had his mother known he had written to all three ladies explaining he wasn’t ready to marry? Or obtained their addresses for that matter?
He stepped into the boardinghouse and found Millie sitting on a small bench in the lobby. She’d freshened up and now wore a pretty blue day dress with a matching bonnet. Levi realized he should probably change his clothes and perhaps wash his face before they left.
The grandfather clock chimed the hour with three soft bells. He knew if they were to get out to the ranch at a reasonable time, they had to leave now. His mother wouldn’t take kindly to them arriving late. He’d have to forgo the cleanup and pray that he looked presentable.
She stood and wiped her hands over the front of her dress. Her skirt swished as she turned to pick up a covered pie plate. The scent of warm peaches filled the air between them. “I’m ready,” Millie announced in a tight voice.
Was that anger he detected? His gaze moved to the clock once more. He wasn’t late so why was she upset? Would he ever understand women? This one was turning out to be as rough as an unsanded board. “The buggy is right outside.”
Levi held the door open and then followed her to the buggy he’d rented earlier. Until today he’d had no use for one, but he realized that if Millie was going to ride out to the ranch with him she probably wouldn’t want to double up on his stallion, Snow. He took the pie and helped her up one-handed into the buggy.
“Thank you.” She took the pie and proceeded to stare straight ahead.
As he circled around the buggy, Levi tried once more to figure out what could have made her angry. He pulled himself up. Maybe she’d had time to rethink her desire to get married and didn’t like that three other women were now here to say I do.
He endured the stony silence until they were out of town and then gently pulled the team of horses to a stop. Levi set the brake and then turned to face her. “Millie, did I do or say something to anger you?”
She blew a blond curl off her forehead and sighed heavily. Without looking at him, Millie asked, “Seriously, you don’t have a clue why I might be upset right now?” Then she turned and her blue eyes flashed in his direction.
“No, I don’t. When I left you were fine.”
Millie studied his face. Her anger seemed to dissolve and confusion laced her pretty features. “Maybe manipulation comes to you naturally. Is it really possible you don’t know what you’ve done?” A frown marred her pretty forehead.
Levi didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh. He had no idea what she was talking about. How could he?
She took a deep breath. “Do you deny that you insisted we leave at three?”
“No, I don’t. We had to leave at three because it takes a couple of hours to get out to the ranch and Ma will expect us to socialize for at least thirty minutes to an hour with the other—” he paused “—guests before dinner.” He didn’t point out that they were wasting time discussing what time they left when they should be on their way.
“Do you own Beth’s Boardinghouse?”
So that was it. He picked up the reins and released the brake. She didn’t like that he owned the boardinghouse. What did it matter if he owned it?
A small ache began to seep up his neck and into his temple. The women in his life were going to drive him to madness. He realized she was still waiting for an answer. “Yes, I do.” Levi slapped the reins over the horses’ backs.
Millie grabbed the seat and held on as the big animals moved forward once more. “And you didn’t bother to tell
