The cat lay on her side and started cleaning her paws. She didn’t look the least bit frightened. In fact, Hallie thought she looked completely contented. The twins were studying the cat’s bulging stomach, obviously looking for the kittens.
“She looks like a skunk,” Knut announced.
“No, she doesn’t!” Gunnar argued, his voice full of scorn. “A skunk has a stripe on its back.”
“That’s what I’ll call her,” Liv interjected. “Skunk.Mrs. Skunk, because she’s going to be a mother.” She picked up the cat and announced, “I’m taking her upstairs to my room. So she can rest.” She walked out of the kitchen with the twins close behind her, both of them arguing over the cat’s new name.
Maddie shook her head. “What have I done?”
“Probably kept her out of trouble for weeks. The cat will keep her too busy to pull any of her usual antics.” Hallie smiled at Duncan. “Did you get all settled in?”
“Yes, miss.”
“Can I get you something? Some coffee maybe?”
“No thanks, miss. I think I’ll check the locks.” Duncan walked over, bolted the back door, checked the kitchen window and then left the room.
Maddie glanced at the closed door. “He’s a quiet one.”
“He’s so big. The first time I saw him, he scared me to death. But he’s really very kind.”
“He asked me earlier if he could visit Dagny. He appears concerned. What do you think?” Maddie asked.
“The man saved me from burning up, and Dagny from Abner Brown. He wouldn’t harm her. There seemed to be something special between them, before. Maybe he can reach her. I remember when they met, right after Da died, Duncan was the first person she responded to. I had been so worried about her then, and now... oh, Maddie, I didn’t think things could get any worse, but they have, and it’s all my fault.”
Maddie grabbed Hallie’s hand. “Now don’t you go getting all upset. Everything’s going to be just fine. It is not your fault that Dagny was hurt. Casting blame won’t change things, and it won’t heal your sister. In fact, your moping around like this could make her worse. She needs our strength. And young lady, you are one of the strongest young women I’ve ever met. So knock it off!”
Hallie smiled. Maddie was good for her.
Maddie added, “We’ll take good care of Dagny. She’s much safer here; all of you are.”
“But we’re a bit of a handful.”
“You stop that kind of thinking right now. If you and the children weren’t here, I’d be rambling around this place with no one to harp at but that nephew of mine. Which reminds me, did you two have an argument?”
“No.” They hadn’t argued. Hallie had thrown herself at him once again, and then run out of the room. She didn’t want to face him or talk about him...or remember him or his mouth and the way he held her...
Maddie looked puzzled. “The last time I saw him, he was blustering out the front door, wearing his scowl.”
Hallie stood. “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll go up to bed.”
“Of course, dear. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Bidding Maddie a good night, Hallie left the warmth of the cozy kitchen, and stopped in the sitting room, then rushed around the spot where they’d kissed, and she took the stairs two at a time. Some of the day’s warmer air still lingered in the second story. She checked on Dagny, stood there for a long time willing her sister to be okay, then went to see about the boys’ next door. Maddie was already tucking them in. Liv’s room across the hallway was next. Liv was all tucked into bed, Mrs. Skunk curled contentedly at her side. Liv looked over at Hallie and grinned, and that grin almost broke her heart.How long had it been since Liv looked happy? She couldn’t actually remember. Liv raised a finger to her lips, then blew out the oil lamp, and Hallie quietly shut the door.
Her room was the largest and at the end of the hallway.Inside, she washed up and changed into her nightgown, then walked to the dressing table and opened the top drawer to get her hairpin box.
The scent of Kit’s pipe tobacco filled the air, reminding her that this had been his bedroom. She didn’t want to be reminded. She jerked the pins from her hair, threw them into the drawer and quickly closed it. Grabbing her hairbrush, she pulled her long hair over her shoulder and furiously brushed out the tangles.
The scent was still all around her. She dropped her brush and picked up the small vial of perfumed oil that Da had brought her from a voyage to Lahaina, then poured the sweet smelling plumeria oil onto her hankie. Some of the oil spilled onto her fingertips, so she dabbed the excess behind her ears. Determined, she marched over to the dresser, opened the drawer and dropped the perfumed hankie inside, muttering, “So there, Kit Howland and your horrid pipe smell!”
But she knew it wasn’t horrid.It smelled rich and masculine and she felt entranced by the scent. But she didn’t need anything else to entrance her.She was already a lost cause when it came to him.So she went over to the huge feather bed, blew out the lamp and crawled under the mounds of covers, and lay there, looking up at nothing, her thoughts in places that would only keep her awake.She closed her eyes tightly, really tight and willed herself to fall asleep.In his bed.
“Do you want another round?”Lee picked up the empty rum bottle.
Silence.
“Kit, do you want another bottle?”
