“Truer words,” he said under his breath. “Look, Laurel, even if we lie together just the once, there’s still a chance you can end up carrying a child.”
“You said you don’t have any bastards. You must know something about it that I don’t.”
He sighed. “I might, but then maybe I’m also lucky after a fashion.”
“Hmm. Well, I can always ask Mrs. Fry. She’s certain to know what to do.”
Call almost came out of his chair. “For God’s sake, don’t do that. The ladies mostly use poisons, and that’s after they discover they’re pregnant. Preventing is entirely different.”
“Maybe that’s a bridge we will never have to cross.”
Call did not yield gracefully, but he did yield. “Never mind,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Then...”
It was hard for him to reconcile Laurel’s dignified demeanor with the hopefulness he heard in her voice. “You’re certain this is what you want?”
“I don’t know how I could have propositioned you in plainer terms.”
“That’s just it, Laurel. You’re approaching this as if it’s a business transaction. It’s not.” He saw she was about to object and he stopped her. “Don’t youdareoffer to pay for my services.”
Her lips parted. She came as close to gaping at him as she ever had. “Services?” she asked when she could speak. “Is that what you think?”
“Don’t you? You’ve made it clear there is no chance of romantic entanglements on your part.”
“Well, yes, but that was as much to relieve your mind as my own.”
“Then let me decide how much I want to be relieved.”
Her brow puckered and the corners of her mouth turned down. “What are you saying?”
“I never saw you as another piece of calico, Laurel. Not from the first. I was honest with you, made my interest clear. I enjoyed sitting with you, teasing and talking, listening to you plan the future of this station. I haverespect for you and what you’re doing here. I championed your innocence. I don’t think it’s going to come as a surprise that I like you, leastways most of the time, but maybe you don’t know that I bear some affection for you, too.” He watched her eyebrows lift a fraction. “That’s right,” he said. “Affection. You and me, Laurel, whatever it is that exists between us is about to become complicated.”
Laurel gave no indication that she didn’t doubt that he was right. Her feelings were already compromised, though she believed it was something better left unsaid. “What happens now?” she asked, getting her feet firmly under her.
“Yes,” he said dryly. “Back to the particulars.”
Laurel would not allow herself to be goaded. She regarded him candidly while she waited him out. He looked comfortable sitting behind her desk, leaning back in her chair. He had picked up her glass paperweight and was rolling it between his palms as he considered his response.
“Is this a clandestine coupling?” he asked, straight-faced. “How important is secrecy to you?”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake. Everyone knows everything sooner or later. Why don’t you just come to my room?”
“Ah, so you do have some idea of how we should proceed.”
“I was thinking of my comfort.”
“Of course. Your bedroom. Better than the falls. Not as fragrant as the barn. Perhaps less obvious than the two of us riding off together. I can be stealthy.”
She pursed her lips disapprovingly. “No doubt, but it’s not necessary.”
“What about your reputation?”
“I’m hardly going to be a pariah. This town has had its share of scandals.”
He thought she sounded overconfident, perhaps because she was in so deep that she no longer felt she could back down. He would make it a point to be careful even if she believed it wasn’t important.
“Well?” she asked.
