He leaned closer, his lips brushing the top of her ear as he spoke, his tone lacking in emotion. “Then I’ve said all on the matter I aim to. If you don’t have the good sense to say yes, Miz Bowcock... I don’t care to see you again. Use the money Jo gave you to buy yourself a ticket home.” Having said that, he touched his spurs to his horse, and it lunged forward.
Elizabeth’s hand swept out to catch her spectacles as she was hurled back into Cutter’s chest. She cried out at the impact. Cutter, on the other hand, never so much as grunted as his body absorbed the blow without yielding an inch.
Chapter Six
It had been hours now since Elizabeth had finished her bath and put out the lamp, but still she was unable to fall asleep. Her poor eyes felt strained from long hours of trying to keep them shut. With a groan, she pressed her fingers to her lids, massaging them gently.
Why couldn’t she go to sleep?
She wanted to... desperately. And she’d tried absolutely everything, from regulating her breathing to conjuring dreams, but always her thoughts returned to Cutter.
Certainly it wasn’t that she was waiting to hear his footsteps pass her door on the way to his room. She wouldn’t hear them anyway, she thought irately. The man was so agile on his feet. Really, he was probably already fast asleep next door, dreaming peacefully, without the least thought for her.
How dare he invade her thoughts so thoroughly!
They’d ridden into town, neither of them having spoken another word, and had gone directly to the only hotel Indian Creek had to offer. Cutter had remained long enough to procure for them two of the only three rooms available, then had left her completely to herself.
Where he’d gone to, Elizabeth didn’t know, but she’d not seen him again, regardless that the town was so small as to be virtually nonexistent. From what she’d been able to tell, Indian Creek consisted of but a small hotel, a bank, three saloons—three, mind you; not one, not two, but three!—a general store, selling everything from boots to bacon, which also doubled as a post office, and a small livery. She’d purchased a pair of men’s denims at the general store, only because that was her only choice. It didn’t matter, because nobody but Cutter would see her anyway.
She’d not come across a physician’s office, or a drugstore, and she had to wonder what the townspeople did, if anything, for medical aid. All in all, Indian Creek was less than impressive, and it was no wonder she’d never heard of it before now, despite the fact that it wasn’t so very far away from Sioux Falls.
She hadn’t dared to go out for long, but because it had been so early in the morning when they’d arrived, she couldn’t very well have simply shut herself up in the stale-smelling room she now occupied. The first thing she’d done was to ferret out a meal, which she’d then consumed with all the finesse of a ravenous wolf. Once her hunger was appeased, things hadn’t seemed quite so bleak, and she’d spent the remainder of the day patronizing the meager shop.
She’d purchased the men’s britches, justifying it with the fact that her skirt was torn. Besides that, she told herself, her cumbersome skirt would be too unmanageable on horseback. And then she’d bought a few other necessaries... until finally it had dawned on her that she’d already made up her mind, purchasing items for the journey as she was. While her conscious mind had been cursing the man to perdition, her unconscious had long since decided to accept his offer.
Little sense that made.
And that brought her to another question entirely. Why had Cutter offered his assistance in the first place? What were his motives? He’d said that he’d done so for his sister. But that in itself didn’t quite make sense.
Her brow furrowed softly. Cutter McKenzie was all wrong for the position. Nothing had changed. He still wouldn’t do as a husband. And yet... he’d made plenty of sense this morning. Who else could she trust? It wasn’t a matter of choice; she needed, more than anything else, to get and raise her sister’s precious little girl. She loved helping others. It gave her such a warm feeling inside, and that was why she’d wanted so desperately to become a physician, but something elemental was missing from her life... something that left her empty and aching during the lonely hours. What it was, she couldn’t say, but like a beacon in the night, her niece drew her.
To her dismay, so did Cutter.
I’d have noticed you.
His silky whisper came back to haunt her. Would he have? she wondered.
But did it really matter?
No! she berated herself, shutting out his voice.
With a frustrated jerk of the thin coverlet, she turned to glare at the door. She’d intended to tell Cutter tonight that she’d accepted his proposal... so they could get an early start in the morning. But at this rate, she wasn’t even going to be able to open her own eyes before noon—blasted man!
At last, footfalls sounded just outside the door, stopping just beyond it, and without thinking, Elizabeth tossed the covers aside and leapt out of bed, forgetting her spectacles in her haste. Within seconds, she had her ear pressed to the door. The voices were muffled, but she could still make out Cutter’s unmistakable drawl.
“Sorry, sweetbritches... not up to snuff tonight... Here, take this…”
Elizabeth bit her lower lip, trying to comprehend what it was that she was hearing.
“Course ya are, Cutter, honey,” came a sultry female voice. “And I know just the thing,” the woman purred. “Don’t want your money... keep it... this one’s... on me.” There was a deep, tortured moan, and a thump, as something or someone fell against the door.
Her door! They didn’t even have the decency to fall against Cutter’s door! It had to be hers, didn’t it?
“There now... see how easy that was?” the hussy said.
“Now, Bess... Bess. Aww hell, Bess...” Cutter ended his complaint with a moan, the sound low and tortured.
Her heart beating like a tom-tom and her mind reeling, Elizabeth pressed her ear closer to the door. Hearing nothing more, she stooped down frantically to peer through the tiny keyhole. She knew it was wrong to spy, but she couldn’t keep herself from it. In the darkness, she could see nothing, and it frustrated her.
