Chapter Seven
Nate thumped his pillow and stared at the ceiling with a scowl. He wasn’t about to get any sleep anytime soon, not with the way his thoughts were spinning everywhere.
And his wife was sleeping in the next room.
Wife. That was something he never anticipated. Not yesterday, anyway. How could he have woken up that morning thinking he would be a married man by sundown? Isabelle had a lot to answer for.
She had to know this was going to end in disaster and, in a way, it had.
He and Rachel were strangers now, calling each other husband and wife.
It was the only way to make sure Rachel wouldn’t be alone and abandoned with her reputation ruined.
Nate didn’t want. He couldn’t be cruel to Rachel despite his anger.
It wasn’t her fault; they were both victims of circumstance.
Although he wasn’t about to admit it out loud, Nate could say that his sister had good taste.
Even though she hadn’t seen Rachel before, she’d picked out someone of strong character.
Rachel was a quaking mess, but there was a quiet resilience in her that spoke to him.
If she’d grown up in an orphanage, there would need to be plenty of that.
And she was very pretty. He had to stop himself from staring, though. It wasn’t a good idea to gawk at her. It would make her even more uncomfortable.
Hopefully, they could coexist together. Nate hadn’t lived with anyone since he moved out of the house he and Isabelle shared, and he was used to being on his own.
Bracing himself, he finished dressing and left his room, trudging slowly downstairs.
Even before he got to the bottom, he could smell the strong aroma of baked bread.
It made his stomach growl, and he sniffed the air.
He followed the smell into the kitchen and saw Rachel placing a couple of hot tins on the dining table before closing the oven.
She’d dressed in a simple brown dress, her hair pinned up high on her head and away from her face.
There was flour on her hands and arms, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and there was also flour smudged on her flushed face.
She moved around the kitchen as if she’d been there all the time, no problem with what she was doing.
There was something about her, the way she moved and carried on without caring that she was in a floury mess, that just made her beauty even more prominent. Nate just stared at her, taking in the sight as she hummed around the kitchen, swiftly and efficiently cleaning up around her.
Then she caught sight of him, and she faltered, almost losing her balance. Her eyes widened.
“Oh.”
“Morning.” Nate nodded at the loaf tins. “Looks like you’ve been busy this morning. Did you actually sleep?”
“A little.” She blushed furiously. “I’m used to getting up early, to start the dough, you see. I found what I needed to use in your larder, and I thought I’d make some bread for your breakfast. I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, not at all.” Nate glanced at the larder. “I didn’t know any of this was in my house.”
“Well, it’s surprising what’s in a cupboard when you go looking for it.” She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smearing more flour across her cheek. “I just wanted to feel useful. It’s not easy when I’m at a loose end.”
Nate cleared his throat and approached the table. The bread certainly did look nice, and the smell was wonderful. His stomach growled.
“They certainly look good enough to eat,” he commented. “Are they ready?”
“You don’t want to wait for them to cool down?”
“It’s best that I eat them right now. I’ve got to head out for work.” He looked around. “I left my pistol in here. Have you seen it?”
“Oh, it’s on the sideboard over there.” Rachel pointed. “I didn’t want to risk knocking it off the counter, so I moved it.”
It felt like he was suddenly in someone else’s house instead of his own. Rachel seemed to have taken over the kitchen already, and she’d barely been there a day. It was unnerving.
“I don’t know what I was planning on doing today,” Rachel said as she got one of the loaves out onto the chopping board and started to cut it. “I thought about going for a walk and seeing what there was to see, but I don’t know what the weather will be like.”
“Do you need to go for a walk?” Nate asked as he sat down. “You could just stay here and rest. There would be plenty of time to explore.”
She cast him a sharp glance, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“What are you saying? Are you that ashamed of me that you don’t want me to go out?”
“No, of course not!” Nate hurried on, feeling his face getting warm. “I’m not saying that.”
“You might as well have implied it.”
“Rachel…” He closed his eyes, trying to fight back his annoyance. “I just think after the very long journey you were on, you should take the time to rest. I’m going to be out all day so you might as well make the most of it.”
“And if I do fancy going out?” she challenged, putting butter on the two slices she’d cut for him. “I would like to go for a walk and stretch my legs.”
That was reasonable enough, and Nate wasn’t about to lock her up. He was, admittedly, embarrassed at being forced into this, but he had to remember that Rachel was a person, too. She needed some independence herself.
“Well,” he said thoughtfully as she placed the plate in front of him and began to cut slices for herself, “there’s a haberdashery if you’re interested in making things. There’s a couple of restaurants, and the bakery, of course. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher run that. And we also have a library…”
“A library?” Rachel gasped. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“I love books! I read through everything in the orphanage library, but after a while I outgrew them. I wanted something more interesting and… more for adults, you know?” She shrugged.
Nate could imagine that. It was remarkable enough that the orphanage had a bakery and a library in the first place. Rachel probably hadn’t had a lot of things in life. Whatever he took for granted, she saw as a luxury.
It made him wonder why she didn’t leave in the first place. It made his heart hurt knowing that she’d had to stay because there was nowhere else to go. And nobody wanted her.
That was horrible. He didn’t know Rachel that well, but he could tell that she had a big heart, and she was really trying.
He bit into the bread and felt the flavors explode in his mouth. Making an approving noise, he began to wolf the bread down.
“This is delicious,” he declared, picking up the second slice. “You didn’t need to do it, though. It’s not like you have to prove anything.”
“But I do,” she insisted, placing a mug of coffee in front of him. She looked a little sheepish. “I’ve been thrust into your life when you didn’t want me. I don’t want to be seen as a nuisance you have to take care of.”
She still seemed ashamed about that. Nate wished there was something he could say to that, but he didn’t know if he could get the words out right before they stumbled over each other. He swallowed down his bread and got to his feet, snatching up his mug.
“Well, you’re not a nuisance if you can bake like this,” he mumbled as he drank it down, almost burning his throat. “Can you cook as well?”
“I can.”
“And you know how to look after a house, don’t you?”
“We were taught all of that.”
“And you used to work in a bakery?”
Rachel nodded. Nate put the mug down a little too heavily, unable to look her in the eye.
“Then you’re not going to be a nuisance at all. Look, I have to go. If you need anything from me, I’ll be at my office. Otherwise, I’ll be back after dusk, or whenever everyone decides they don’t want me. Just remember to wrap up warm when you leave, as it gets very cold at this time of year.”
“I’ll remember that,” Rachel murmured. “Thank you.”
She turned away, her bread left untouched as she busied herself with cleaning up.
Nate wanted to say something more, to comfort her, but he found the words getting stuck in his throat.
Biting back a growl, he turned away and snatched up his Stetson, jamming that on his head and ramming his arms through his coat before leaving his house.
Isabelle had a lot to answer for. And the best thing he could do right now, with the way he was feeling, was to keep his distance from Rachel.
His sister might think this was a good match, and Nate didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.