“Jonathan Clark.” The man beside Catherine finally spoke up. Now that she wasn’t distracted by Rex, Catherine could appreciate the low timbre of his voice. It had a musical quality, one that reminded her of the baritones in church back home in Rollings Woods, and she briefly wondered if he loved to sing as much as she did. “I run the new boarding house. This is Mrs. Catherine Lee.”
Mrs. Lowry nodded at them both. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you’ll excuse me. I need to get this little one home for a rest.”
They bid Mrs. Lowry goodbye, and then Mr. Clark turned to Catherine. He held out a hand for the carpetbag she carried over her shoulder and she gratefully handed it to him. “Have you a trunk?” he asked.
Her face colored. “I don’t.” Her meager belongings—the ones she could carry to Colorado—had all fit into the large carpetbag. But if that surprised Mr. Clark, he didn’t show it.
He crooked his arm, and she wrapped her own around it. She couldn’t remember the last time Harlan had shown such a kindness, and she reveled in how secure it made her feel to walk alongside a man in such a way.
“I’ve spoken to the minister,” he said as he led her off the platform. “He is available to marry us tomorrow evening. If that suits you,” he added, an uncertain tone to his voice.
So soon?Catherine kept that hesitation to herself. She’d come here to marry the man, hadn’t she? And he certainly wasn’t an odious sort. She glanced at him now, taking in the tousled dark hair that sat beneath his hat, his angled jaw, eyes that hovered somewhere between brown and green, and his strong, broad figure. Surely if his personality were that of an ogre, she’d find out before tomorrow evening.
“Yes, that suits me,” she said, attempting to project more courage than she felt.
He smiled at her then, and her spirits lifted. Perhaps he looked forward to marryingher. It was a nice thought.
You ought to tell him. No, it wasn’t that sheought. Shemust. After all, how could she marry a man without letting him know she was carrying the child of her previous husband?
Even if it was inevitable she’d lose the baby.
Chapter Four
CATHERINE’S EYES WEREwide with delight as they entered the boarding house. Jonathan was proud of the place, certainly, but seeing it again through her eyes made him appreciate the fruits of his hard work all over again.
“This is lovely,” she said, her voice a bit breathy. She ran a hand over the bottom of the stairwell banister. “It’s both stately and inviting, like a fine home. I’ve never lived in such a place.”
When she turned to him, her blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight that streamed through the windows on either side of the front door.
Jonathan beamed. “Thank you. That’s what I was hoping to achieve. The town already has a more . . . rustic boarding house. It serves only men. I hoped to also welcome any ladies needing lodging here.”
“Are there any? Ladies requiring lodging, I mean.”
Her face looked so hopeful that Jonathan hated to tell her that wasn’t the case. “Not just yet. But perhaps as Grover’s Gulch grows more civilized, it will become more inviting to women.”
She hid her disappointment well. “That makes sense. Mrs. Lowry is friendly enough, and I saw a few other women as we walked here.”
