Woman of Grace (24 page)

“How soon will you have the next set of dresses ready for Mrs. Waters?” Abby asked, breaking into Hannah’s thoughts. “Conor’s planning an overnight trip to the Springs next week. He promised me a night in the Antler’s Hotel, with dining and dancing on New Year’s Eve. If you’d like, I could take your dresses to Mrs. Waters then.”

“They should all be finished well before New Year’s.” Hannah handed Abby another dish to dry. “I still can’t believe how well the first two consignments sold. Or that those fine ladies in the Springs liked them.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Well, it plum boggles the mind.”

“Maybe so, but I never doubted that you’d do well. You’ve a gift, Hannah.” Abby set the dried dish aside and reached for another. “Whatever will you do with all the money you’re bound to make?”

Hannah shrugged. “Save most of it, I’d imagine. Right now, Jackson and I don’t need much. But it never hurts to have something set aside for a rainy day. The best part of all, though, is that I’ll now have that security if I ever need it. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” The chestnut-haired woman grinned. “Why, just think. At the rate you’re going with your dresses, you’ll soon be a woman of means. If that doesn’t bring the young swains around, nothing will.”

“That’ll be a sight for sure.” Hannah laughed. “Since I first came here, the only man who has ever shown any real interest in me has been Evan. I hardly think that’s going to change any time soon.”

“Oh, don’t be so certain of that.” Abby cocked her head and pursed her lips. “I’ve seen a few of the hands gaze admiringly at you when you weren’t looking.”

Hannah laughed. “Well, if you say so.” She handed Abby the last dish, then turned to the glasses and silverware. Less than fifteen minutes later, as if by cue, the men stomped onto the back porch. Hannah and Abby removed their aprons and greeted the men as they entered the kitchen.

“So, what’s next on this glorious eve?” Conor, his cheeks rosy from the brisk time outdoors, smiled down at his wife. “Knowing you two women, I’d bet there’s all sorts of fun still planned.”

Abby grinned up at him. “Well, there’s Christmas carols in the parlor, then fruitcake and pie.” She tilted her head impishly. “First, though, I recall a sprig of mistletoe hanging over the parlor door that, so far, has been sadly neglected.”

“Oh, it has, has it?” He took Abby by one arm, and Hannah by the other. “Well, let’s see what we can do about that.”

Hannah cast Conor, then Abby, an uncertain glance. “Er, I don’t recall voicing any complaints about the mistletoe.”

“Maybe not,” Culdee Creek’s owner amicably agreed, pulling her along all the same. “But it’s Christmas, and I aim to make the most of the chance to kiss the two prettiest ladies in these parts.”

At that, Hannah giggled, but without further protest decided to join in the fun. As they drew up beneath the mistletoe, Conor first pulled Abby to him. He gave her a resounding kiss, then turned to Hannah. Grasping her by both arms, he leaned down for a quick kiss. As he raised up, however, Conor paused and grinned again.

“Can’t see hoarding all the fun for myself,” he said, speaking to the rest of the men who had come up behind them. “I’m sure you ladies would be willing to get a bit of further use out of this mistletoe, wouldn’t you?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Do you know, Conor MacKay, that you’re the biggest troublemaker on the entire Front Range?”

“Well, you did say the mistletoe had been sadly neglected, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she nodded in smiling affirmation, “yes, I did.” Abby glanced at Hannah. “Are you up to a few more kisses then? I’m sure the rest of the men wouldn’t mind.”

Hannah chuckled softly. “Of course not. It’s Christmas, after all.”

With that, Conor stepped into the parlor, and the hands—Evan among them—quickly lined up. Soon Hannah was so involved in the laughter and kissing she didn’t notice Devlin standing back from the rest.

Her glance finally met his. Something dark and shuttered passed between them. Her smile faded.

Behind her, Abby caught sight of Devlin. “Come on, Devlin,” she called. “There’s no backing out now. All the others have run the gauntlet, and so must you.”

He hesitated a moment more, then smiled. “I hope you two ladies have saved your best kisses for last then, because a little peck on the cheek won’t do me.” As he spoke, he strode forward, slipped a hand around Hannah’s waist, and pulled her to him. “You did save me your best kiss, didn’t you?”

Though his words were light and full of fun, the look in his eyes swiftly changed from a teasing one to something more intent and searching. Hannah’s heart gave a leap and hung in her throat. “I-I can’t promise you that,” she stammered. “I’m almost fresh out of kisses.”

“Well, guess that’s what I get, coming last and all.” With that Devlin’s head lowered and his lips met hers.

It began as a chaste kiss, gentle and warm. At best, Hannah supposed it lasted a few seconds. But it was long enough for the kiss to deepen into something more ardent, for her eyes to close, and for a shiver of pleasure to ripple through her.

Then Devlin pulled back, releasing her.

She blushed and lowered her head. She couldn’t help it. Though the kiss might not have meant much to Devlin, it had ripped open her tightly locked heart. It had stirred something deep within her, something she was terrified to examine too closely.

But that realization wasn’t something she could allow Devlin, or anyone else, to discover. With a gay little laugh, Hannah tossed her head and, with a sweep of her skirt, stepped aside. “Come along, now,” she said. “Abby’s waiting, and you haven’t finished until you kiss her, too. Then it’s Christmas carols, isn’t it, Abby?”

She turned to glance back at her friend.

Abby nodded. “Yes, we still have to sing the Christmas carols.” Her gaze took in Devlin, then Hannah once more.

Hannah’s heart sank. The look in Abby’s eyes was troubled, thoughtful.

Her stomach clenching, Hannah looked past her to where Evan stood. It took only one glance at him to fill her with a sick foreboding. A muscle twitching erratically in his jaw, Evan’s furious gaze was fixed on Devlin.

For the next few weeks, Devlin mentally kicked himself time and again for his handling of Hannah’s inno cent kiss under the mistletoe. Not only had he all but seized her and forced his kiss on her, but he had embarrassed her and angered Evan in the bargain. He didn’t know what had come over him at that moment he had first seen her, standing there in the doorway, her eyes laughing and bright, her face luminous, her lips soft and inviting.

He felt ashamed, dirty, like he had betrayed both Ella and Hannah. Trouble was, he didn’t know what to do about it. With that kiss, something had definitely changed between them. Their relationship was no longer lighthearted and friendly. He was surprised to discover how much he missed that.

Yet if he apologized, Devlin feared he might make matters worse by saying the wrong thing, only aggravating the offense. If Hannah had thought nothing of the kiss, his obvious discomfort with it would make her feel uncomfortable. But if he didn’t mention it, and she
had
found the kiss unsettling, Hannah might wonder at what his true intentions had been. And that could even be worse than no words at all.

In his dilemma, there was little Devlin could do but procrastinate. He worked long hours each day to avoid Hannah as much as possible, most times coming in late in the evening. Time passed, and still relations between them didn’t improve. Where once Hannah was happy and comfortable around him, now she rarely spoke unless absolutely necessary, and her gaze constantly skittered away from his. The situation became increasingly intolerable.

Finally, one cold, bright mid-January day, Devlin gathered his courage and broached the subject with Hannah. “About Christmas Day,” he said as he guided the buggy down the road to Grand View for Hannah’s biweekly lessons with Noah Starr. “I’ve been very unhappy for a while now about how I handled kissing you under the mistletoe. My behavior was unseemly, not to mention ungentlemanly. I wish to apologize.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Devlin.” She shot him a bright, understanding smile. “It was all in good fun.”

Devlin knew Hannah was just being kind. It might have all been in good fun for everyone else, but the way he had kissed her had been far more than simply friendly. And the feelings she had stirred in him, when he had pulled her close and covered her mouth with his …

“Yes, I did do something wrong,” he gritted out the admission. “I kissed you hard and hungry, and you know it.”

Hannah’s smile faded. She turned to gaze out on the winter-browned countryside. “So why
did
you kiss me the way you did?” she demanded tautly. “Did you do it to anger Evan?”

Like talons clawing down his spine, Devlin could feel his irritation rise. Obviously, the kiss hadn’t had the same effect on her as it had on him. “And why the Sam Hill would I want to make Evan angry?”

“How am I to know?” She shrugged. “You said yourself you two don’t get along all that well.”

“I didn’t kiss you to spite Evan!”

“Then you just thought to humiliate me in front of the others, is that it?”

“Humiliate you?” Devlin couldn’t believe his ears. Here he was all but confessing to his lustful feelings for her, and she didn’t appear to have any inkling—or even care—how she had affected him! “I just finished saying I humiliated
myself!
You’re turning my words around.” With a quick tug of the reins, he halted the horse. “Why is it women are always so good at twisting a man’s words?”

“I didn’t twist a thing, Devlin MacKay! You started this, so don’t go changing the subject now.”

His brows rose in surprise, and he stared at her, mouth agape. Well, now he had done it, he supposed. Despite his best efforts to the contrary, he had gone and made Hannah angry.

“Look,” he muttered, trying a different tack, “all I’m saying is that it was my fault. You looked so pretty and happy standing there, that I forgot myself. I didn’t mean you any disrespect, and I didn’t do it to spite anyone. I just plain wanted to kiss you.”

The color drained from Hannah’s face. “You … you
wanted
to kiss me?”

Devlin rolled his eyes. “Haven’t I just spent the last five minutes trying to explain that to you?”

She didn’t answer for a long moment. “It’s not fitting … so soon after Ella’s death.”

He flung back his head and exhaled a breath of pent-up frustration. “I know that, Hannah. I did something on impulse I now regret. For Ella’s sake,
and
yours.” He turned toward her. “Can you forgive me?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “I suppose I can. I must. But it can’t happen again, Devlin. It just can’t.”

Relief washed over him. He turned back to the horse and, clucking his tongue, urged it on. “No, it can’t happen again,” he said and meant it with all his heart.

Fifteen minutes later, on the far side of Grand View, Devlin dropped Hannah off at the church rectory, then headed down Sweet Road back into town. She stood outside for a few minutes, watching as he drove down the length of the main street, passing the stone building that served as the town saloon before pulling up at the livery stable a short ways past and across from it. Devlin planned to wait there while Simon Nealy mended two broken harness buckles, a harness ring, and three bridle bits. If all went as planned, her hour-long appointment with Noah Starr should be just enough time for the smithy to complete the repairs.

Gradually, Hannah became aware of the cold. To warm herself, she stomped her feet and clapped together her mitten-covered hands. Then, with a pensive sigh, she turned and hurried up the little gravel-strewn path to the rectory’s front door. Hannah knocked smartly. A few seconds later Mildred Starr came to the door.

A pleasant looking, matronly woman, Millie—as she preferred to be called—always wore her heavily silvered brown hair plaited into a single braid, and twisted at the base of her neck to form a neat, tight bun. Her eyes were a bright blue, her cheeks plump and rosy, and what seemed a perpetual smile was always on her lips. At sight of Hannah standing there, Millie’s smile broadened.