Her heart sank again.
Braxton would find a wife, take her home to Texas, and that would be that. The sooner she accepted it, the better. After all, she wanted a quiet life, didn’t she? With a quiet man who didn’t fuss or preen or…
She frowned. Was quiet the same as boring? Did safe mean dull?
Phoebe wandered to the front windows and searched for Braxton and George. She spotted them crossing the park. Would a husband allow her to keep a dog like George? Would children adore him?
She closed her eyes. This was what she wanted… wasn’t it?
When she opened them again, Braxton and George had reached the street. Braxton must have seen her because he lifted a hand in greeting. She waved back.
The more time she spent with him, the louder her heart protested. It didn’t want a quiet, careful life. It wanted storms and star-filled nights, and a house bursting with laughter and love.
Phoebe closed her eyes once more. She was daydreaming. Nothing more. She wasn’t fit for that kind of life.
So why couldn’t she stop wanting it?
Chapter Fifteen
Braxton returned with George, got him settled, then joined Phoebe at the front windows. “Are you ready to go home?”
She glanced over her shoulder at Augusta, Margaret, and Josie, who were just coming out of the back parlor. “Yes, I believe I am.” She thought of their earlier conversation, and the offer they’d made her. Should she tell Braxton? Would he want to celebrate with her?
“Ladies,” Braxton said, smiling at the sisters, “I’m going to escort Phoebe home, if that’s all right with you. I believe we’re done for the day.”
“Of course it’s all right,” Augusta said. “Phoebe we’ll see you in the morning.”
“You too, Mr. Jones,” Margaret said, and winked.
He glanced at Phoebe. The sisters could be odd at times, but for the most part they were adorable. “Until tomorrow, then.” He smiled at Phoebe. Any time he could spend with her, he’d take it. And if that meant returning to the sisters’ mail-order bride company and helping keep them organized, so be it.
He offered Phoebe his arm. “Let’s get your coat and things.”
She gave him a shy smile, looped her arm through his, and he escorted her to the coat rack. She put on her coat, hat, and gloves, and they bid the sisters one final farewell before stepping outside. Phoebe shivered.
“Is your coat not warm enough?” he asked.
“I suppose I’ll have to get a new one soon.” She shivered again.
“Why not now?”
She blinked a few times. “What are you talking about?”
“I say we go to my place, drop all of this off, and then go shopping again. Afterwards we can have dinner. What do you say?”
She blinked again, as if she couldn’t believe he was asking. Had she never been courted by a man before? He was beginning to think not.
“Phoebe, would you like that?” he prompted.
“Yes… yes, I would,” she said, a smile forming on her face. “My, what a day this is turning out to be.”
“Indeed,” he laughed. “An enjoyable one, at least I think so.” He got them moving before she shivered again. The sooner they reached his place, the better. She could warm up there and then he’d see about getting her a new coat.
When they reached the boarding house, they went inside, and he had her wait in the parlor while he put his purchases away. When he came back downstairs, Phoebe was speaking with Mrs. Newport, one of the boarders. Like him, she was visiting from out of town and wasn’t a permanent resident of the boarding house.
“There you are, Braxton,” Mrs. Newport gushed. “Your friend Phoebe here was just telling me about the Sisters’ Mail-Order Bride Company. What a fascinating place.”
“That’s one way of describing it,” he said, and winked at Phoebe.
