Evelyn (Orlan Orphans Book 5) Read online

  He nodded slowly, not certain how to react. “Where do you want me to put this, ma’am?”

  Edna Petunia shrugged. “I have no idea. Evelyn will let you know.” She walked back into the kitchen, effectively dismissing him.

  Evelyn bit her lip and pointed to the room across from the kitchen. “In the informal parlor.”

  He followed her into the room, setting the box on a low table. “You were right. She’s a force to be reckoned with,” he said softly.

  “She’s been wonderful to me and my sisters. I couldn’t have asked for a better home.”

  “I can see that.” He caught her hand in his. “Walk me out.”

  Evelyn looked down at her hand held in his large one. She felt a tingle pass through her body at the sight of it dwarfed as it was. What was it about a man with big hands that made her feel so tiny and protected? “All right.” Getting too personal with her employer probably wasn’t a good idea, but oh, how she wanted to.

  Once they reached the wagon, he turned back to her. “What time do you plan on being at the ranch on Monday?”

  She pulled her hand from his, putting a proper distance between them. “I will be there around half past eight to start school with him. If you’ll make a list of things you want done, I’ll make sure to accomplish them first, or if you’d rather, I can just look and do whatever I see needs to be done.”

  He frowned as she backed away from him. He didn’t like that at all. “Just do whatever you think needs to be done. Do you want me to come and get you in the wagon? Or do you want to walk?”

  “I’ll either walk or ride. There’s no reason for you to come get me.”

  “You ride?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yes, Cletus thinks it’s something every woman should be able to do. I wish he’d teach us to drive a car instead. I have a feeling automobiles are going to be more important modes of transportation than horses in a few years.”

  “I think you’re right about that. Does he own an auto?”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s just wishful thinking on my part that he’ll get one. I’ve always wanted to learn to drive.”

  “Well, I’m not sure that women should drive. I drove an auto back in Georgia before we moved here, and it’s hard work to shift the gears. And starting a car isn’t easy.”

  “Oh, so you don’t think I can do it because I’m a woman?” she asked, her voice deceptively soft.

  “You’re not one of those suffragettes, are you?”

  She frowned. “I could be if I wanted to be, but no, I’m not. I just believe that women are stronger and more capable than men give us credit for being.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to talk about the subject of a woman’s strength with her. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you Monday morning, then.”

  “Why don’t you attend church?” she asked with a frown. She’d rarely missed a day of church in her life and firmly believed going to church was just what Daniel needed to help him learn to behave properly.

  He shrugged. “We’ve honestly just been too busy since we’ve been in Texas. I’m still trying to get my ranch off the ground, and giving up Sunday as a workday would be hard for me.”

  “Would you like me to walk to your house to fetch Daniel for Sunday service?”

  He frowned at that. He’d attended church every Sunday in his life before moving to Texas. “No. Daniel and I will be there. We should have started back to church a long time ago.” He looked at her for a minute, debating his next words. “Why don’t you pack a lunch and we can take Daniel on a picnic?”

  She cleared her throat, surprised by his words. “Together?”

  He nodded. “I’d like to get to know you better, Evelyn. You fascinate me.”

  She blinked a few times at that, trying to understand. “Why would I fascinate you? I assure you, I’m just like every other girl around.”

  He threw back his head and laughed at that. “Any other girl would have immediately backed down when I talked to her the way I did on Friday afternoon. Most girls are married by your age, and you’re still available. I’d like to know why.”

  She shrugged. “I guess I just haven’t met a man who was ready to take my heart yet.”

  “Take your heart?” He’d never heard anyone discuss falling in love in such an odd way.

  “Yes. I’m looking for someone who can take my heart. I’ve had boys beg for it, but I don’t want a boy at this point in my life. I want a man.” She pushed her long blond hair back over her shoulder. “Does that make sense to you?”

  He nodded, taking a step forward. “You want a man to take your heart. What about your kisses? Do you want a man to ask for those, or just take them?” His eyes were on her lips, and she nervously stuck her tongue out to wet them.

  “I think I’d rather get to know a man before any kisses are involved.” Even as the words escaped her lips, she knew they were a lie. When it came to Frank, she wanted nothing more than to be kissed. What on earth was wrong with her?

  “Is that so?” Frank continued to stare at her lips, well aware that her eyes were on his as well.

  She nodded. “Definitely. I’m not the type of girl who goes around just kissing anyone, you know. I do have morals.”

  Frank caught her about the waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. Morals or not, he had to kiss her. He carefully kept the kiss light, just a gentle brush of his lips against hers.

  When he lifted his head, Evelyn put her hand to her stomach, her voice breathless. “I don’t think we should kiss again.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’ll be working for you. What will people think?”

  He shrugged. “I stopped worrying about what people would think a long time ago. Now I worry about what matters to me. And that’s happiness. Everyone deserves some in their lives, don’t you think?”

  “Well, yes, of course, but…”

  “No buts! I think you’re a beautiful woman, and I wanted to kiss you. So I did.” He touched the brim of his cowboy hat. “Good day, Evelyn. I’ll see you at church tomorrow. Don’t forget the picnic.”

  Evelyn stared at him as he rode away, her hand covering her heart. She’d wanted a man who would just take it from her. It appeared she found him. Now she just had to figure out what to do with him.

  Chapter 4

  Evelyn rose much earlier than usual on Sunday morning to make something suitable for a picnic. She didn’t want to make fried chicken again, because she’d already made that for him, and she could make more than one meal. Instead, she put together some sandwiches made of leftovers from the night before and whipped up a potato salad and some cookies. It wasn’t a gourmet meal, but she hoped they would enjoy it.

  While she worked, she thought about the kiss of the day before. She wasn’t certain why Frank had kissed her, but she had to tell him it was inappropriate. He was her boss, and she couldn’t run around kissing him. It simply wasn’t the right thing to do.

  Of course, the way he made her feel with his kisses made her want to ignore propriety entirely and ask for more.

  She had packed the food into a picnic hamper and cleaned up her mess in the kitchen before the others were up and around. She hurried upstairs so she could get ready for church.

  She sat in the pew behind Edna Petunia and Cletus at church that day, the family taking up most of two rows as usual. Just before they began singing the hymns chosen for that morning by Evelyn’s brother-in-law, their pastor, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Micah Barton had moved to Nowhere to be their pastor and in just a few months before, and had quickly married, Sarah Jane, another of the girls Edna Petunia had taken in.

  Evelyn moved over closer to Penny, who sat to her right, to allow more people into the pew. She turned her head to smile a greeting, and her eyes met Frank Keifer’s.

  “Good morning,” he whispered softly, picking up the hymnal.

  She nodded briefly, lowering her eyes as she thought about the last time they’d
been together. She could still feel his lips on hers. Would she ever tire of being close to the man beside her? She smiled a greeting at Daniel, forcing her thoughts on things other than matters of the heart. A church was not the right place to be flirting.

  After the service, which Evelyn would later wonder about, she introduced Frank to Cletus. “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Frank said properly.

  Cletus’s eyes traveled up and down the younger man. He nodded slowly. “Good to meet you, boy. What are your intentions toward my Evelyn?”

  “Today, I intend to go on a picnic with her and my son. I have made no plans beyond that,” Frank said honestly, hoping the man would appreciate his words. You never could tell.

  Cletus nodded slowly. “I s’pose that’s a good enough answer. You’re bringing her home this evening?”

  “Yessir. That was the plan.”

  “I’m going to go check on my married girls now. Make sure their husbands are still treating them right.” Cletus walked away at that, leaving Frank worried. Would he be expected to marry Evelyn because of one brief kiss? He sure hoped not, because he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet—he had to get to know her better first.

  Evelyn introduced him to several of her sisters, including Penny and Gertie. Gertie smiled sweetly at him. “I can’t believe she’s going to work for you after the way she was spitting fire after your little discussion at the school on Friday.”

  Frank looked at Evelyn in surprise. “Oh, she was, was she?”

  “You knew I was. I’m sure you could see the steam trying to escape my ears at the time.” Evelyn refused to be embarrassed over true emotions. How could she not have been upset by him?

  He grinned. “Yeah, I knew.” He looked at the door of the almost-empty church. “Are you ready?”

  Evelyn nodded, taking the picnic basket from the floor where she’d set it before church began. “I’m ready. I think.”

  He took the basket from her and allowed her to lead the way out the door. “Where’s Daniel?” she asked, looking around for the boy.

  “Edna Petunia invited him to eat lunch with your family.” He looked at her with surprise. “You didn’t know?”

  She shook her head. Obviously Edna Petunia was playing matchmaker again, and that was always frightening. “When did she talk to you about it?”

  “She telephoned yesterday evening. Daniel liked the idea, so I said yes. Does that bother you?”

  Evelyn shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me that he’s having lunch with them. It bothers me that she’s matchmaking. Edna Petunia is not a sweet old woman. She’s a manipulator, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants.”

  Frank looked at her with surprise. “You make it sound like you don’t like her.”

  “Oh, I love and admire her. I also have a good healthy fear of her, and you should develop one too. Our lives will be carefully manipulated otherwise.”

  “She looks so sweet. I suppose that’s her disguise?”

  “Yes! And she wears it so well, doesn’t she?” Evelyn shook her head. “I suggest we do our best to keep her from Daniel. She will try to use him to manipulate us together.”

  “What if I’m ready to be manipulated?”

  “You’re not. Trust me. No one is ready to be manipulated by Edna Petunia.”

  “I defer to your judgment. You know her so much better than I do.”

  Evelyn nodded emphatically. “I surely do! Where are we going for the picnic?”

  He shrugged. “I thought we’d head out to the hills. It’s a beautiful day.”

  “Did you bring a quilt?” she asked, annoyed with herself for having forgotten. She’d been so emotional about spending time with him after their kiss of the day before, she was surprised she’d remembered her own bonnet.

  “I didn’t,” he said with a frown. “I thought you would.”

  “I would have, but I forgot it. We can run by the house for it.”

  “All right.” He helped her up into his wagon and set out toward the Sanders’s house. “Did you bring anything I could snack on along the way? I’m starving!”

  She had placed the basket between them on the seat, and dug through it, finding one of the cookies she’d carefully wrapped in a napkin. “Will this do?”

  He plucked the cookie from her hand, taking a big bite. “That’ll help.” He looked at her. “This is good. I hope you’ll be baking for Daniel and me starting tomorrow.”

  Evelyn nodded. “I was planning to. Daniel’s so thin.”

  Frank sighed. “I’m not exactly a good cook. I try, but it’s not something I’ve ever learned to do.”

  “I’m sure Edna Petunia will let him have an extra slice of pie. She’s got a soft spot for young children—especially children who’ve lost a parent.” She carefully avoided the word bastard after the way he’d reacted the night before, but she couldn’t be certain Edna Petunia wouldn’t use it.

  She left him in the wagon alone while she ran into the house to fetch a quilt, hurrying back out while the family was distracted by their lunch. Climbing back into the wagon without his help, she clutched the quilt on her lap.

  “I took another cookie while you were gone,” he whispered as if confessing to some great crime.

  She laughed. “Don’t spoil your lunch!”

  “I ate my own cooking for breakfast, so trust me, there’s no danger of my lunch being spoiled.” Frank glanced over at her. “Did you put the basket between us because you needed a barrier of some sort?”

  She blushed. That was exactly why she’d put it between them. “It needed to go somewhere.”

  “The back of the wagon would have worked.”

  “But then I couldn’t have gotten you a cookie,” she countered.

  “You could move it to the other side of you and scoot across the seat to me. That wouldn’t hurt anything.”

  “I suppose not.” When she didn’t immediately follow his suggestion, he frowned.

  “Are you nervous around me?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe a little. You are my employer after all.”

  “Is me being your employer the problem? Or is it the fact that I kissed you yesterday?”

  She blushed, not really wanting to discuss the kiss, but since he’d brought it up, she wasn’t about to back down. She’d learned at a young age to never back down from a challenge. “Why did you kiss me?”

  “All the usual reasons, I guess.” No woman had ever asked him that before.

  “And those are?” she asked softly.

  “Because you’re pretty, and I’m unattached. Because you seem to be a good woman. Because I wanted to.”

  “And do you always do whatever you want, Mr. Keifer?”

  “We’ve kissed now. You have to call me Frank.” He pulled the wagon off the road. “This looks like a good spot.”

  “You didn’t answer my question…Frank.”

  “No, I don’t suppose I did.” He jumped down and walked around to help her to the ground, reaching for the picnic basket once she was on her feet.

  “Are you going to?”

  He shrugged. “Probably not.” He carried the basket to the top of a small hill, then waited for her to spread the quilt. “You didn’t seem to be objecting to my kiss yesterday.”

  Evelyn blushed at his words. “I’d just like to understand why it happened.”

  “I have no real reasons. Next time I want to kiss you, I’ll write you an essay on all the reasons why. Will that suffice?”

  “If you are willing to wait until I’ve read it before you actually kiss me, then yes, that might do.”

  She sat down on the quilt and opened the basket he’d placed in the center, quickly serving them both on the plates she’d packed. He took the plate she offered and nodded approvingly. “This all looks delicious.”

  “I assure you, it is.”

  He prayed for them before reaching for the sandwich and taking a bite. He said nothing before putting a forkful of the potato salad mountain she’d cre
ated into his mouth. “You’re a good cook, Evelyn.”

  “Thank you,” she said, surprised at how pleased she was he liked her food. “I brought plenty, thinking Daniel would be here with us.”

  “Would you feel more comfortable if he was?”

  “Probably. I’m used to being around children, but I’m not used to being around unattached men by myself.”

  “If I assure you my intentions are proper, would that help?”

  Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t know if it would or not. I’d probably still feel more comfortable with Daniel around.” Wanting to change the subject, she looked around the spot he’d chosen, noticing a small creek about twenty yards away where the water cascaded over rocks. She knew at this time of year the creek would be much more active than usual.

  When he finished eating, he set his plate on the ground, picking up her hand and holding it. “I don’t want to scare you off, but I do want you to know my intentions are honorable. I wouldn’t get Daniel all excited about me courting a woman if I wasn’t thinking of her as a possible wife.”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about that. You’re my employer and I barely know you.”

  He sighed. “I’d like to ask you to consider giving me a chance. I’m not asking for your hand at this point. I’m not sure if I ever will. My first marriage was a happy one, and I’m not sure I’ll be ready to remarry anytime soon.” Of course, loving being married made him a bit eager to try it all again. The pleasures of the marriage bed made him desire another bride. Soon.

  She finally nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

  He moved their plates from between them and pulled her toward him on the quilt. Cupping her face in his hands, he gazed deeply into her eyes. “I want to kiss you again.”

  Evelyn’s eyes dropped to his lips. “I—I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “I do. I’ve thought of nothing else since our time together yesterday. I have a hard time believing our kiss was as good as I remembered.”

  She frowned, remembering how soft his lips were. “I don’t think kissing is going to help us know how we feel for each other. It’s just a distraction.”