“I’ve beans soaking already.”
“I like beans.”
Faith exhaled, turning toward the river. The man was infuriating. Couldn’t he see she had no interest whatsoever in courting?
“Faith,” he said in a more serious voice.
She glanced back at him, at those eyes that were a startling shade of amber she didn’t think she’d ever seen before. He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair, and he looked as if he were trying to find the right words to say.
“Yes?” she prompted. She needed to return home. For all she knew, an urgent message was coming over the wire right now, and no one was there to take it down.
“Why did you write to me?”
Faith swallowed. That was the question she’d asked herself each time she posted a letter to him.
He watched her, waiting for an answer, and when she didn’t give one, that smile slowly returned to his face. “We needn’t marry immediately, of course. I’ll pay you another visit tomorrow.”
Marry? Pay her another visit? Faith pinched her lips together to keep from sputtering some half thought out response. She forced herself to breathe normally, kept her eyes on his, and then finally said, as coolly as possible, “I must return to my work.”
She brushed past him and climbed up the slight embankment back toward River Road.
Behind her, Beau Landry laughed in such a way that reminded her of melted chocolate. “Until tomorrow!”
Faith huffed and walked faster. She had no need of a suitor, and certainly no need for a husband.
