When Faith woke up that morning, all she wanted to do was stay in bed with Rawley, but they had responsibilities. Besides, she’d been anxious to see Callie. She’d never gone that long without her. So they decided they’d act as though nothing had happened, and that evening they’d take Callie to the opening of the Nickelodeon.
But as she stood in the lobby of the movie theater with Callie clutching her hand while jumping about and Rawley discreetly holding Faith’s other hand, she couldn’t help but believe she was glowing with happiness and wasn’t certain how anyone could miss it.
“This is quite the majestic building,” Rawley said, glancing around at the gold and red wallpaper, the red plush carpet, the elaborately carved molding on the banisters of the twin winding staircases—currently roped off—that led to the balcony seating.
“You know Ma. She likes to give people experiences to make them feel special. Callie, you remember the rule about tonight, don’t you?”
Callie rolled her eyes. “No talking.”
“That’s right. This is a grown-up event, but you get to come because you’re family.”
“Rufus wanted to come.”
“This isn’t a place for dogs. He’s waiting for you at home,” Faith reminded her. Rawley had come by in the buggy to pick them up, was going to take them back home.
Laurel chose that moment to make her appearance, standing on the landing at the top of the stairs. She clapped her hands several times to try to get everyone’s attention, but too much excitement filled the room for people to pay much notice.
Suddenly an ear-splitting whistle rent the air, causing everyone to glance around. “Quieten down!” Rawley yelled, and the crowd fell silent.
Laurel smiled. “Thank you, Cousin Rawley. Welcome, everyone! Aunt Dee, Uncle Dallas, and I are so happy you’ve joined us tonight. We think you’re in for a unique experience. While moving pictures have been around for a few years, they are gaining in popularity. Theaters dedicated to showing them are being built around the country. As you know, my aunt and uncle think it’s important we keep up with the changing times. So tonight we have for your enjoyment Oliver Twist . We also have the exceptional talents of Austin and Grant Leigh to provide the music that will accompany the film. You may sit on the main floor or we’re removing the ropes, so you can come up to the balcony. Enjoy your journey into magic!”
People began wandering toward the doorways that led into the theater.
Reaching down, Rawley snatched Callie up into his arms. “We can’t have you getting lost,” he told her. He shifted her over so he could support her with one arm, then reached down and threaded his fingers through Faith’s.
Yes, people were bound to notice she was glowing like a star-filled sky, but she couldn’t help it. He made her feel treasured.
The crowd was meandering in, searching for empty seats. Rawley began leading her along the edge, past people who were arguing about where to sit until he came to a row with several empty seats near the front. She sashayed by him and took the third seat from the end. He started to put Callie in the middle one, but she clung to his neck like a monkey.
“No! Hold me,” she demanded.
Giving Faith a wry smile, he slid into the seat beside her and settled Callie on his lap.
Faith grinned teasingly. “She does have you wrapped around her finger.”
“No more so than her mother.”
The lights were dimmed. The violins played. The moving picture began rolling.
She heard a crack, smelled the sarsaparilla, and without thought held out her hand. Rawley dropped a smaller than usual piece onto her palm. Glancing over, she saw that Callie was already sucking on her piece. With a wink, Rawley slipped his into his mouth. Looking at this man with her daughter tightened her heart.
The black and white images flickering on the screen mesmerized her, although not nearly as much as the man sitting beside her, who had reached over and once again taken her hand. She had about twenty minutes of just watching him inconspicuously before the film came to an end. But the entire time, the hairs on the nape of her neck bristled. Once she glanced around the room striving to determine who might be staring at her or what might be causing her unease but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
As they made their way out of the theater, she studied her surroundings, the people moving about. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone familiar—
Turning her head quickly, she hoped to get a better view but lost sight of him. Still, he couldn’t be who she thought he was, he couldn’t be Cole. He wouldn’t dare show his face around here and risk having to deal with her father—or with her, for that matter. She’d been too shocked and ashamed to confront him before, but if their paths ever crossed again, he’d discover she was no longer the girl she’d been. That she now possessed a toughness—
“What is it?” Rawley asked.
“I thought I saw—” She shook her head. It was just her imagination toying with her because she was no longer letting the man dominate her thoughts, because she was moving beyond him with Rawley. Maybe a part of her wanted him to see that he no longer held any sway over her. “Nothing. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I’m just tired.”
“I reckon you’ll get sleep tonight.”
She looked at her daughter, nestled against his shoulder, and was tempted to send her home with her parents, but Callie was her responsibility. She and Rawley would just have to figure out a way to be together in a manner that didn’t have her little one catching them alone together. “I imagine I will.”
On the drive home, Callie sat in her lap, doing all the talking she hadn’t done during the movie. Although she hadn’t been able to read the dialogue cards, she’d been fascinated watching the actors moving about on the screen. And she had lots to share about it as though they hadn’t seen it as well.
When they arrived at the cabin, Rawley walked her and Callie up the steps to the door. Rufus came around the corner to greet them. Faith opened the door, and the hound bounded in, Callie racing after him, which gave her a moment alone with Rawley.
“Thank you for being so good to her,” she said.
“She’s like her mother. Easy to love.”
Dear Lord, she wished this man was her daughter’s father.
“Mama!” Callie called out.
“I have to go,” Faith told him.
He slipped his forefinger beneath her chin, tipped up her face, and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Dream of me.”
Laughing, she watched as he strolled to the buggy, giving her a view of his fine broad shoulders. She was most definitely going to dream about him.
Faith was just drifting off into a light sleep when she heard the horse’s nicker outside her bedroom window. Every nerve ending bolted awake as she shot up in bed, her heart pounding so hard she wouldn’t have been surprised if whoever was outside heard it. Barely breathing, not moving another muscle, she listened intently. The huff of noise had been too close to be her horse, enclosed in the corral not too far from the cabin.
The sense of foreboding she’d experienced at the theater had stayed with her, so she’d left the flame in the lamp on the bedside table burning low, which made reaching for the gun resting beside it an easy matter. Her heart slowed and her breathing eased as her fingers closed around the cool ivory handle. Sliding out from between the sheets, she didn’t make a sound when her bare feet landed on the rough braided rug. The curtains were thick enough that the person sneaking around outside wouldn’t be able to catch even a glimpse of her shadow, wouldn’t know a reckoning was making its way toward him.
She hadn’t left any lamps burning in the front room. The curtains weren’t as thick. Moonlight filtered through the fabric lighting her way. She looked in on Callie, grateful to see she and Rufus were snug and asleep in her bed. Quietly she pulled the door closed.
When she reached the front door, she pressed her ear against the wood and listened. Silence. Eerie. Thick. Heavy. Unnatural. Not even a cricket chirping. Then the barest of noises came to her, from across the room, near the kitchen window. Someone was moving around along the side of the cabin.
Slowly, she unlocked the door, released the latch, and eased the portal open. Enough moonlight existed to show nothing skittering about. Knowing the planks well, which ones creaked and which didn’t, she stepped onto the porch in absolute silence.
A crackling as dry leaves were disturbed caught her attention. The horse made a quick snort. A man’s low voice followed. No doubt trying to silence the beast. She found it odd he’d kept the animal with him if he was trying to sneak up on her, but it was quite possible the man was a bullet or two shy of having a loaded gun.
She crept along the porch, her back skimming along the wall of the house. When she got to the edge, she peered around the corner.
Definitely a horse. And a man. A man crouched down, spreading out a pallet. Slipping her finger off the trigger, she stepped down from the porch. “What the hell—”
Rawley jerked upward and spun around so fast that she might have laughed had he not also drawn his gun from his holster in a practiced move that demonstrated his quick reflexes and his deadly aim because it was now pointing at her. “Goddamn it, Faith! You know better than to sneak up on a man.”
“And you know better than to be where you’re not expected. I damn near filled you full of lead.”
With a flourish that spun his gun around twice, he seated it comfortably back in the leather holster. “I just decided to keep watch.”
The sigh she released was filled with as much love as it was with frustration. “I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt that for a minute, but I don’t like the idea of you being out here alone.” He grimaced. “I know Callie’s here, but she’s not going to be a good deal of help if there’s trouble.”
He narrowed his eyes, moved his head forward a tad as though trying to get a better look. “Are you wearing my shirt?”
“It smells like you,” she said.
He grinned. “The real thing smells better.”
“You’re not going to go back to the house, are you?”
“Nope.”
“You might as well come inside.”
“You know what’s going to happen if I do.”
She gave him her sauciest smile. “If I’m lucky, you’re going to take this shirt off me.”