And he kept finding excuses to take her hand or brush her hair from her eyes or help her with her coat. It was almost as if he were finally recognizing that he saw her as more than his friend.
That, instead, he saw her as his wife.
Deirdre bit down on her lip to keep from grinning at that thought as Jeremiah left the corral. He shut the gate firmly behind him and came to stand beside her, closer than he used to, she noted.
“I think she’ll fit in nicely,” he said. “We’ve been needing another horse to rent out.”
They were quiet a moment, and Deirdre’s thoughts certainly weren’t on the horse. All she could think about was how close Jeremiah’s arm was to hers and how much she wished he’d slip it around her shoulders and pull her close to him.
Don’t be silly. They were right behind the stable, whose doors were wide open. Roman was inside, along with any number of customers, although Fred had gone that morning to see his ill mother. Clara hadn’t been feeling well, but she could still emerge from her home at any moment. This was neither the place nor the time for Deirdre to let her thoughts run wild.
Yet they did anyway.
“Is that a hawk?” Jeremiah asked, thankfully disrupting her thoughts.
“Where?” Deirdre’s eyes moved from the corral to the barn, but she saw nothing that resembled a hawk.
“By the barn, near the woodpile.”
She looked in the direction he nodded. “I don’t see anything.”
And then, as if he’d read her thoughts earlier, he wrapped his arm around her, running his hand down her arm until he encircled her wrist. Then he lifted it to point at the set of posts beside the barn.
“Right there,” he said.
He was right. A hawk sat attentively atop a post near the woodpile, the color of his feathers blending in perfectly with the wood. But Deirdre could only nod. Her mind wasn’t on the hawk at all, but on the way Jeremiah’s body fit against hers and how warm his arm was on hers.
He made no move to release her arm as he lowered it. His breath made the hair at her temple flutter. She was certain she could feel his heartbeat at her back, and it was just as quick as her own.
Jeremiah kept his hand on her arm as he tucked it around her. They stood like that for a moment, until she was possessed with a desire to see his face. She wanted to know what he thought—wanted to know if he felt the same things she did and whether she could see it reflected in his expression.
She turned just ever so slightly in his arms to find him looking down at her. His other hand found her waist, holding her in place, and he dipped his head so that his lips were barely an inch away from hers.
He was finally going to kiss her! Deirdre’s heart thrilled with the thought. She closed her eyes, not daring to move at all for fear she’d break the spell.
“Deirdre,” he said, his voice just barely audible.
She lifted her chin, and just as his lips touched hers, someone called Jeremiah’s name.
“Wiley!” the voice called again, and Jeremiah stepped away quickly.
Deirdre’s head spun with Jeremiah’s sudden absence, but she would have recognized that voice anywhere.
Liam appeared in the doorway to the stable.
“Carlisle said you were out here. I’m glad I found you. I don’t suppose I can pull you away for a few minutes?” Liam spoke quickly. He was out of breath, and his normally careful appearance was somewhat disheveled.
A note of alarm shot through Deirdre. “What happened?”
He shook his head as if it didn’t matter, but the urgency in his voice said otherwise. “It’s nothing much. Just some of the men on my building crew for the hotel expected to be paid today, and the foreman didn’t show when they thought he would, and . . . I have to speak with them, but I’d appreciate a second man beside me. It shouldn’t take long.”
Jeremiah glanced at Deirdre in surprise. She shrugged slightly. It was just as much an unexpected request to her as it was to him. Liam had a number of friends and business acquaintances in town. He could have gone to any one of them, but instead he chose Jeremiah.
“Do you mind?” Jeremiah asked her as he smoothed down his vest.
“Of course not,” she said with a smile. “Go help your brother-in-law.”
He reached for her hand and gave her a devilish grin that made her heart beat faster. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
