I’ll be anything for you, Olivia.
Adam flushed to the roots of his hair and quickly looked away. Where did that come from?
He cursed inwardly. It was all Stephen and Annie’s fault for putting ideas in his mind. Granted, he found Olivia fascinating, but he didn’t know whether he was ready for anything.
He knew everyone in his family, particularly Cora, wanted him to start courting her. Anytime he visited his foster parents’ house, Cora never failed to bring up the topic. She was always full of Olivia’s praises, insinuating how wonderful it would be for him to settle down with a woman like her.
At such times, Adam never said a single word, afraid that if he dared contributed to the conversation, he would find himself in one of the dressmaker’s shops, having fittings for a wedding suit.
“Adam?”
He jerked when Olivia called his name and touched him lightly on the shoulder.
Reddening a little at her inquisitive stare, he said, “I’m sorry, I was miles away.”
“Thinking of another poem?” she teased, and laughter rumbled from his throat.
He was glad to see that she was beginning to loosen up around him and probably putting the death of her family behind her.
It was wrong of him to have deceived her by saying that they were going for a walk. But she wouldn’t have come with him if he had told her the truth.
He believed that Olivia would find peace with the children at the orphanage. She had so much compassion in her, he knew all she had to do was see their plight and she would capitulate.
Well, he hoped so. Even though she was as sweet as honey, he sensed a slight stubbornness in her. Or could it be determination? That she had survived two days walking in the forest without food or water clearly showed her strength of character. All these and more made her a very interesting person to him.
“Please trust me,” he merely said.
He was afraid that if he told her where he intended to take her, she might turn around and return to Boone and Cora’s house.
“I do trust you,” she stated and his heart flipped in his chest.
She shifted her gaze from his face to a tree in the fields and sighed. “God knows I’m not supposed to trust a white man, given what they did to my family. But you see, I can’t explain it though, I just find myself trusting you. I should have been wary of you that very first day, but somehow I wasn’t. God gave me peace concerning you. And I’m glad He did.” He was touched that Olivia trusted him. He wanted to tell her that her belief in him had nothing to do with God, but foreseeing that it would bring about an argument, he let it go.
Nodding, he remarked, “Thank you. I appreciate your faith in me and I promise to never let you down.”
She giggled. “Only God can make that promise and keep it, Adam. We’re mere mortals, fallible creatures. We—”
“I’ll do my best to keep my promise then,” he quickly inserted before she continued along the line of conversation he abhorred.
“Okay.”
They continued walking in silence. Adam’s gaze fell on some wild flowers growing in a meadow. Before he could stop himself, he went to the blooming buds and plucked one of them.
He returned to Olivia who stared at him with wonder and tucked the flower in her hair.
Grinning, he said, “That’s the perfect place for such a lovely flower––against your glorious hair.”
Olivia’s cheeks turned red.
Adam took a step back and flushed.
What in Sam Hill did I do that for?
Never in all his twenty-four years had he ever done such for a woman. Granted, in his growing up years, he had fancied a girl or two. But he had never gone out of his way to make them feel beautiful and special the way he just did with Olivia.
“Thank you,” Olivia responded to his gesture in a small voice.
An emotion he couldn’t understand tightened his chest, making it difficult to breathe for a moment.
