A Tender Moment Under the Stars: An Inspirational Historical Romance Book Page 8

  “You stay here on the veranda and wait for me. I’ll bring back some wine and cheese and crackers. While you sit and watch the sunset, I’ll get dinner started. How does that sound?”

  “I love the sound of that,” Isabel said, giving him such a warm look, he felt his heart skip a beat and then begin pounding.

  Chapter 12

  “Betty and Freddie,” Isabel said with a smile. “I mean, their names even rhyme! Not like ours.” Isabel scrunched up her nose. “Our names don’t rhyme one bit.”

  Solomon laughed softly, tipping his brandy glass in her direction. “And this means a lot to you? Shall I change my name? How about…” Solomon stopped and moved his eyes off to stare into the distance. After a few moments of silence, during which Isabel stared at him curiously, with her head tilted to the side, he said, “Is there a name that rhymes with Isabel? The closest I can come to it is Michael and that’s hardly a rhyme, is it? Isabel and Michael.” He shook his head, giving her a cocky grin. “Not naming myself Michelle, either. That’s a girl’s name.”

  Isabel laughed, delightedly, stabbing her fork into the slice of meat on her plate and cutting it with a sharp knife in her other hand. “Please don’t. If you will please keep your name, I would so appreciate that.”

  He laughed. “I don’t know why they would put their names together anyway. They aren’t a couple.”

  “No,” Isabel responded, giving him a look he probably didn’t understand. “It’s clear who she has in her sights.”

  Solomon lost his smile, realizing the intent of her expression and Isabel felt bad for saying such a thing. But she was worried, despite his small efforts to show her Betty wasn’t the woman he wanted.

  Or was she?

  Would that change now that she was back and they would see each other all the time? It had only been a day. Time would make all the difference.

  “I’m sorry,” she quickly followed up with, “I don’t know why I said such a mean thing. You sent for me and I’m here. I…we just don’t know each other yet.” And that was what she was worried about. Betty and Solomon knew each other very well.

  “I really don’t want you to worry about her, Izzy,” Solomon said. “She may be an old flame, but it’s been a very long time since I had feelings for her.”

  “Do you think those feelings will come back?”

  Solomon didn’t answer immediately, which sent Isabel’s mind into a frenzy. He was considering it? Her heart dropped. What if it really did happen? She had come all this way for nothing.

  She tried to turn her mind to more positive thoughts. She had told herself from the beginning that if he didn’t want her there, she would move on to better places with her own money. She could get a job as a caretaker for an elderly person or get a job as a nurse in a clinic.

  “No,” he finally said, his eyes moving to look directly at her. “I don’t believe they will. She…she and I are different people now. When I look at her…I don’t see the woman I used to love. I think…” He grinned, which took her aback and lightened her spirit. “I think I might be a little scared of her.”

  Isabel raised her eyebrows. “Scared of her?”

  Again, Solomon didn’t respond right away. His eyes moved around the room, not really looking at anything, tapping the side of his brandy glass with one finger. “I don’t know if that’s the right word to use. I’m not afraid of her. I don’t think she would attack me physically or anything. I guess I’m scared of her in a sense that…she will…” He seemed at a loss for words and shrugged. “Maybe that wasn’t the right word. I don’t wish harm on the girl, I just wish she had chosen somewhere else to go when she graduated from her college.”

  “You don’t want her here?” Isabel didn’t know whether to feel happy about that or not. Was it really her place to feel that way? She barely knew Solomon. Letters and one day in Steven’s Gulch didn’t make the man hers.

  She’d found out enough about him to know she wouldn’t mind becoming his wife and spending her life with him. It wasn’t a head-over-heels type of love as of yet. How could it be? It was much too soon. But she had that inkling, that tingling in her chest when she looked at him or he was talking to her that let her know the feelings were there. There was a spark. It only had to grow into a flame. And she was perfectly willing to let that happen.

  “I must compliment your choice of clothes,” Solomon said.

  Isabel looked down at herself. She’d changed from her traveling clothes into a light frock that would allow the warm air of Texas to keep her comfortable without overheating.

  “The weather is not what I’m used to. But it really isn’t that much warmer than Virginia. And thank you. I appreciate the compliment.” She smiled at him.

  He nodded. “It’s obvious you took note of the climate difference here. Otherwise, you’d be wearing the heavy clothes you probably wore in Virginia late in the year like this.”

  Isabel sat forward, ready to stand and get herself another glass of brandy when he held out one hand to stop her.

  “I’ll do that for you,” he said quickly, standing up and taking the empty glass from her. “I don’t want you lifting a finger. If you decide to stay and we end up having…a family…you’ll have plenty of work on your hands. For now, just relax and let me take care of you.”

  The words were like music to Isabel’s ears. She pushed aside her frustration and insecurity for the time being and relished his doting on her. He’d said “a family” with such incredible depth and warmth. She knew that was exactly what he wanted. A family.

  “Oh, thank you, Sol,” she said softly. She watched him cross to the bar and pour brandy into both of their glasses.

  When he turned and smiled at her, a feeling she’d never had before spread through her body. She was covered in tingles.

  This handsome man had sent for her to be his wife. It wasn’t going to take much to convince her to do it. As long as Betty stayed out of the picture, Isabel could see marrying him and having a family with him. She could definitely see living in Solomon’s beautiful home for the rest of her life.

  “You have a very lovely home here,” she said, looking back into the house.

  “It will be your home, too, if you want it,” he responded, holding out her glass, which she took with a smile.

  “I don’t see how any girl could possibly resist.”

  He raised his eyebrows, settling in the chair across the table from her. He grabbed a cracker and placed a slice of cheese on it while he said, “Oh, I see. It’s the house you want. Not me. Okay.” He sat back, looking away from her as if he didn’t care at all.

  She sensed his sarcasm and said, “It wasn’t the house that wrote me that wonderful letter. I hadn’t even seen your house…”

  She trailed off when he turned to give her the most heart-warming grin she’d seen yet. “I’m teasing you, Izzy. Surely you know that.”

  She nodded, smiling back at him. “Yes, I was just playing along.”

  “Good. I love a woman with a good sense of humor. So far, I have ascertained you just might be that kind of woman.”

  “What kind of woman are you meaning?” she asked.

  “The kind of woman who can laugh at herself but won’t laugh at others unless they’re being funny on purpose, of course. The kind of woman who has compassion in her heart for others, who will be a helping hand and strong when needed.”

  Isabel gave him a curious look. “You know all that about me already?”

  “I know that’s the kind of woman I’m looking for,” he responded. “And if that’s you, I’m very happy about it. It would seem I chose well.”

  “I’m happy to be here,” she confirmed, taking a long sip of the brandy. She loved the way it made her feel warm all over.

  “Is this something you ever planned to do?” he asked.

  She thought about it for a moment, wanting to use the right words to convey what she felt. “I knew momma was going to pass. She’d been especially bad off for the last six months
of her life. I rarely left the house but to shop. I worked doing repair sewing jobs and selling one or two sketches here and there.”

  “That reminds me.” Solomon’s eyes lit up when he spoke. “I’d love to see them again. I certainly didn’t want her to be one of the first ones to see your work.”

  Isabel giggled inside that Solomon had said her instead of Betty. He didn’t realize how much that actually meant to her. He could tell she was sensitive about the woman and didn’t want to make it worse.

  “I’m glad you thought that,” she said, “and stopped me from pulling any of them out.”

  He waved a hand. “She can see them another time. You’re mine first. Always.”

  Isabel went to the bag she’d set inside the living room and pulled out a stack of her sketches kept together in a folder. When she turned back to the veranda and saw Solomon watching her with a soft smile on his lips, her heart flipped over in her chest.

  She could definitely see falling in love with this man. It had only been a day and she didn’t want to rush it too much, despite the reason she’d come to Texas.

  But she could see it happening.

  Chapter 13

  Isabel got up the next morning with a light heart and a smile on her face. She’d thoroughly enjoyed the dinner Solomon had made. Their conversation was light-hearted and fun most of the evening. When he showed her to her room, they had a pleasant good night and shared a kiss on the cheek.

  Before she had gone to bed, Isabel had prayed, getting on her knees and clasping her hands in front of her. She’d prayed that she could keep her insecurities under control, that Betty wouldn’t turn out to be a conniver of hearts, and that Solomon would remain steadfast in his promises to her. She thanked Him for letting her have the opportunities she now had.

  She got dressed quietly, putting on a green frock that had a fairly low collar, and showed off her necklace, which was a gift from her mother she’d never worn before. When she found it among her luggage, it reminded her of her mother and she took a moment to sit on the bed and think, staring at it with sadness in her eyes and heart. She missed her mother tremendously, though she was thankful the woman was no longer in pain. She’d been too young to suffer such a horrible end, Isabel thought. But then again, no one of any age should be made to suffer that way.

  She clasped the necklace around her neck and stood up to look at herself in the mirror. She brushed her auburn hair back from her face and scanned herself with approval. She’d never had low self-esteem. That was probably going to help now that she had Betty to worry about.

  The smell of fresh-brewed coffee and biscuits baking in the oven drifted into her room. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she needed to eat. She placed a hand over it and said, “Yes, yes. I’m going.”

  She went out into the hallway and down the stairs to the dining room, which was open to the huge kitchen beside it. Solomon was sitting at the table while the housekeeper moved around him. Both looked up and smiled when she came in. Solomon got up immediately and came toward her, carrying along with him the newspaper he was reading.

  “Good morning, darling,” he said with affection as if they were already married. He leaned toward her and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, his hand lifting to gently squeeze her arm at the same time. With a nod toward the housekeeper, he said, “This lovely woman is Gertie and she takes care of this place and helps keep me fed.”

  Isabel felt almost giddy.

  “Good morning, Miss Isabel,” Gertie said from the counter in the kitchen with a wide smile.

  “Good morning, Sol. Gertie.” She walked with Solomon to the table where she sat just as Gertie brought her a breakfast plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and jam. She also had a fresh cup of coffee in front of her in no time and fresh-squeezed orange juice, which Isabel had not expected to see.

  She tasted it with relish. “This is wonderful orange juice.”

  “I am glad you like it.” Gertie’s smile was warm. “It’s one of Solomon’s favorite breakfast delights. I always have some ready for him.”

  “That’s just wonderful.” Isabel turned her smile to her future husband. “An unexpected perk. How nice.”

  “I was thinking today we would go to the festival preparations and see how things are progressing. Freddie and I already built the game I’m running, and my cotton candy maker is already there so there’s not much left for us to do but help out other vendors and builders. Or we can just walk around and I’ll show you the sights. I didn’t get to do that yesterday.”

  “I’d love to go to town with you,” Isabel said. “I want to get to know your friends and the way you live here in Texas. I’m sure it’s much different than Virginia.”

  Solomon shook his head, looking up at Gertie with a grateful expression when she set his plate down in front of him. “You’re a godsend, Gert. Thanks.” He began to eat, talking to Isabel in between bites. “I don’t really think it will be that much different from your hometown, unless everyone in Morningside hated you.”

  Isabel blanched and then laughed softly. “They didn’t hate me.”

  “Then you won’t find it much different here. Everyone is warm and welcoming—well, most. We do have Mr. Gardner. He’s a bit of a curmudgeon, I gotta say. But most people here will welcome you with open arms, I’m sure. They like me and respect me. So they will like you and respect you, too.”

  “You sound so sure of yourself.”

  He shrugged his large shoulders. “That’s because I am. I know my neighbors. Most of them are friends. There’s a little over seven hundred people living here and I’m sure they have all—even the children—come into the supply shop at some point to purchase something. I don’t just sell my wares, I take care of my customers and get to know them. Not hard to do here.”

  She chuckled.

  “I also pay my employees a good salary. My family has never had to worry about money. It came down to me through the generations and I won’t squander it on frivolous or useless things.”

  “What made you decide you wanted to get married, anyway?” Isabel said. “You seem to be enjoying your life the way it is. You have a wonderful housekeeper and you seem to enjoy the supply shop and running the lumber mill…all of this must be very time-consuming. Will you have time for me?”

  He grinned. “I’ll make time for you, don’t worry about that.”

  “I imagine your schedule is already very full without having a game to run at the festival, making cotton candy, running your businesses, and trying to create a new relationship with a woman.”

  “It does sound time-consuming,” Solomon admitted. “And it probably is. I’ve spent so much time alone since Betty left, I’ve become used to working all the time. I work when I’m not eating or sleeping. But I won’t do that to you, don’t worry. I’m going to spend plenty of time with you.”

  “Well, I certainly hope so. I don’t want to marry a complete stranger, you know.”

  “You won’t,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll make sure of that.”

  Isabel wondered exactly how he was going to do that and found herself strangely excited to find out.

  An hour later, they were walking through town, having checked on the “Shoot the Duck” game to find it still standing and ready to use when the festival started.

  “So when does the festival start anyway? It’s for Independence Day so I’m assuming not till July right?”

  He nodded. “July first. We don’t wait for the fourth.” He laughed.