His shirt was sticking to his back, so he walked to the far side of the barn where an iron pump was sticking up from the ground.

  When he helped his grandfather build the barn, his grandfather insisted on having a second pump next to the barn. It made it easier to carry water to the animals and to wash up before heading inside the house, or heaven forbid, if there was a fire close to the barn.

  He gave the handle several pumps until the water started to flow. He stripped off his shirt and wet it under the cool water, before using it to wipe his face and arms. He leaned over and was wetting his head when he heard a voice behind him.

  “Oh, my.”

  Hunter stood up rather abruptly and hit his head against the pump. He let out a curse that would have had his grandfather rolling over in his grave.

  “Oh!” Audrey squealed, reaching out her hand to him. “Are you alright?”

  Hunter stepped backwards and held the top of his head. “No, I’m not alright.” He hissed and moved his fingers in a circular motion against his scalp. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I came to bring you a sandwich and a lemonade. I figured since you missed lunch an hour ago that you might be hungry.” He looked at Audrey with a frown. “I’m sorry you got hurt,” she said softly.

  Her eyes were slightly dilated, and her lips were parted just enough that Hunter could see the tip of her tongue dart out from behind her teeth. Her breathing had increased. Yes, it appeared that Mrs. Lawson was just as affected by him as he was by her.

  He released his breath, expelling the pain in his head as he exhaled. “It isn’t your fault,” he finally said. “I just wasn’t expecting anyone out here.”

  “I’ll put your lunch in the barn and you can eat it at your leisure.” She turned to go.

  “Audrey,” he called after her. Audrey turned and looked at him. Her blue eyes were glassy, and her cheeks were tinted pink. She looked downright adorable.

  Hunter ran the wet shirt over his face, trying to get some relief. The woman was driving him to distraction, and she didn't even realize the power she held over him.

  “Yes?”

  Hunter cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

  Audrey looked at him a moment more. She took a step forward and then quickly turned on her heel and ran into the barn.

  Chapter 10

  “I don’t know what to do, Rosie,” Audrey wailed. She had been married for nearly a month now and she was no closer to winning Hunter over.

  “What do you want?”

  “I don’t know. I want him to say something to me! Do something!” She laid her arm on the table and placed her head down. “I don’t know,” she said again, but it was muffled from her arm.

  Rosalie laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day when Audrey James would be head over heels in love.”

  Audrey lifted her head. “Love?”

  Rosalie poured some more lemonade in Audrey’s glass. “Yes. Love. You have all the signs.” Audrey frowned at her friend. Rosalie paid her no mind and continued. “You sigh every time someone mentions his name. You’re taking care with your appearance. Not too demure but toned down from the silk and lace you used to wear. You try to cook his favorite meals. You learned how to clean a house. And you have taken on those children as if they were your own.”

  “They are mine,” Audrey exclaimed.

  Rosalie laughed again. “Yep, my friend. You are in love. I can’t believe the spoiled little rich girl is now a farmer’s wife.”

  “I was rather flamboyant, wasn’t I?”

  “I just can’t get over that you destroyed your favorite blue dress. To make curtains of all things.”

  Audrey laughed. If anyone had said to Audrey that she would learn how to do domestic chores and decorate a house from her extensive wardrobe, she would have laughed in the person’s face.

  As it was, her blue dress was sewn into the most adorable curtains trimmed in white lace and her favorite quilt was now a tablecloth.

  She had grown into the epitome of domesticity. Now if she could just master the other skills she needed. Such as turning her husband’s head.

  “I do love him.” She didn’t know when it happened. If it was when she saw what a good provider he was for the family. Perhaps it was when she saw the way he interacted with the children, giving each one the attention they deserved. Maybe it was the way he held her at night when they slept.

  “I think you need to figure out a plan to catch your husband’s attention.”

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Remember that book your father has?”

  “Which one?” Her father had an extensive library.

  “I think it was called, The Young Wife.” I remember seeing it when I was over there looking through your Momma’s recipe books. I remember flipping through it and thinking it was all frippery and nonsense. But it might be able to help you.” Rosalie disappeared from the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a box. “I didn’t have a chance to get you a wedding gift because you married so quickly. But Eden and I made this for you. I think you’ll know what to do with it.” Audrey took the box and looked at her friend. “Don’t,” Rosalie insisted. “Open it when you get home.”

  “I’ll have to stop by and see Eden soon.” Her friend had also moved into Paps’s house. She felt it was inappropriate to stay at the James’s house without an escort. Since there were now more women staying at the large farmhouse, Eden thought it was a good place to stay as well.

  “Your father is going to give Mrs. Wilson a run for her money. Is he operating a boarding house too?”

  Rosalie laughed. “I think it is more like a matchmaking agency. I bet those women will be married off quicker than the leaves turn in autumn.

  Audrey giggled. She pulled out her watch and checked the time. “I need to get going. I told Hunter I’d only be in town for a little bit, but I wanted to visit with you before I headed home.”

  The boys were at their grandfather’s house and Josie had picked up Willow to spend the day with her at Paps’s farm. She didn’t realize just how exhausted she was until the children weren’t around her.

  She gave Rosie a kiss on the cheek and ran towards the door, the box under her arm. “Oh,” she said, turning to face her best friend. “I didn’t even give you a chance to tell me what is going on with you and Martin.”

  Rosalie waved her away. “We will visit soon. Perhaps I’ll come out and visit you.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Audrey?” Rosalie called. Audrey turned to look at her friend. “Maybe you just need to talk to him and make him know how much you love him.” Audrey gave her friend a quick nod and headed for her wagon.

  She climbed in and waved to Martin who was still fixing the roof on the barn. He waved back and she clicked to the horse to go get her children.

  It didn’t take long for Audrey to pick up the boys from her father’s. Driving up to the large house with the big porch and columns, Audrey realized just how much she loved where she lived now. It may be small, but the house was filled with love.

  Mr. James looked ragged when she pulled up to the yard. The boys came running out, tugging her father behind them. “Look, Ma!” Gunner said, holding up a shiny coin. “Grandfather gave us each a penny for helping him.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “We helped weed the flower bed in the back.”

  “Maybe you could do that at home?” She looked at her father, whose eyes were twinkling.

  “Will we get a penny?” Gunner asked. Audrey laughed.

  “Can we go to the store, Ma?” Reid asked.

  “What do you need there?”

  “I want some gumdrops,” Reid replied.

  Her father ruffled the boys’ hair. “Sorry they are a little dirty, but I needed to keep them occupied.”

  “Thank you for watching them.”

  “I greatly enjoyed their company. Gunner read to me for a bit. Reid helped make cheese sandwiches for lunch. And now I’m ready for a nap.” He lifted the boys onto the seat next to Audrey.

  “Oh! I need to run into the house to grab something. I’ll be right back.” Audrey ran into the house and found the book right next to her mother’s recipe books, just as Rosalie said. She wondered why she had never seen it before.

  She came back to see the boys embracing her father in a hug. She gave her father a quick hug before climbing into the wagon, placing the book at her feet.

  “Let’s go!” She gave the reins a quick flip and the wagon headed down towards the main part of town. They pulled next to the mercantile and Audrey wrapped the horse’s reins around the post, just as Hunter had taught her.

  The boys jumped down and ran into the store. Audrey followed and spied them with their noses pressed up against the glass where the candy was on display.

  She nervously looked around. This was the first time she had been in the store since she had married Hunter.

  There were several women shopping in small groups and chatting. The chatter stopped once they spied her in the store. She took a deep breath and gave the biggest smile she could to Olivia Stewart who was standing behind the counter.

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Stewart. My boys have a penny each to spend.”

  Mrs. Stewart peered over her glasses at the two boys. “And what would you like for your pennies?”

  “Gumdrops! Licorice whips!” they cried in unison. Mrs. Stewart laughed and picked up a small paper bag to fill with treats. She looked at the boys and put a few peppermint sticks in each bag as well. She handed the bags to the boys, who eagerly gave her their pennies.

  “Anything else?” Audrey shook her head.

  “No, thank you. Not right now.”

  Mrs. Stewart walked over to the cash register and pressed a few buttons, causing the bell to ring. She put the coins in the drawer and then closed it again.

  “We haven’t seen you in town much, Audrey. Hunter must be keeping you on the farm.”

  Audrey felt her back stiffen. “I’ve been busy. I have my hands full,” she said. Placing her hands on the boys’ backs.

  “She’s our ma now,” Gunner said.

  “Aren’t you lucky?” Mrs. Stewart asked him. He nodded his headed vigorously. Audrey turned to push the boys towards the door.

  They just reached the door when it burst opened and Helen Ellerman strode in. She stopped short when she saw Audrey and the boys. Her eyes narrowed. “You!” she yelled, pointing her finger at Audrey. “You have some nerve showing yourself here.”

  “I’m perfectly within my rights to come to town anytime I wish, Helen,” Audrey responded coolly, with a bravado she didn’t feel.

  “I heard that the murderer had married someone. I guess it was to keep his family together. I never imagined it would be a chit like you.”

  Audrey gasped. Before she could respond, Gunner stood in front of her. “Don’t you talk to my ma that way.”

  Helen gave the boy a sneer. “She ain’t your ma, boy. Your pa killed your ma. He threw her in the river.”

  Audrey heard Mrs. Stewart gasp in the background, followed by footsteps quickly running from behind the counter.

  “Out!” Mrs. Stewart said, pointing to the door. “Right now, Helen Ellerman. Out of my store and don’t you ever come back in here again.”

  Helen blinked her eyes a few times and then her face scrunched in a frown. “This is the only store in Belle.”

  “That isn’t my problem. Why you insist on telling lies about people, I’ll never know. You need to find another place to shop. Now get out of my store.”

  Helen looked around to see if anyone was going to stand up for her. The women turned their backs and pretended to be occupied examining hair ribbons. Helen huffed and quickly retreated from the store.

  “I doubt she’ll find anyone willing to serve her or her husband again.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Audrey said. “I could have defended myself and the boys.”

  “Shush,” Mrs. Stewart said. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to kick her out of the store.” Audrey watched the shop keep examine her with wise eyes. “I want to apologize to you, Audrey. We didn’t defend you that day and we should have. You needed help and the only one who stood up for you was Mr. Lawson. He appears to be an honorable man.”

  “He didn’t kill my ma,” Gunner said. “She fell and hit her head on a rock.”

  “What now?” Mrs. Stewart asked.

  “I saw her fall and hit her head. I couldn’t help her.” Gunner started to cry.

  Audrey quickly knelt and put her arms around the boy. “It wasn’t your fault. You weren’t able to help her.” She looked at Mrs. Stewart. “It was just an unfortunate accident.”

  Mrs. Stewart nodded. Soon several of the women that had shunned Audrey gathered around. She could hear the murmurs from the women agreeing that it was an unfortunate incident and that no one was to blame. They even went as far as to pat Audrey on the back.

  “And look. You have a wonderful ma that is going to take care of you and love you.”

  Gunner nodded. He threw his arms around Audrey’s neck. “Can we go home now, Ma? I want to see Pa.”

  Audrey nodded. She picked up Reid who was sucking on a peppermint stick. “Yes. Let’s go home.”

  They walked outside and heard yelling coming from the direction of the clinic. Audrey saw Dr. Mason yelling something to his nurse before jumping in his carriage and racing his horse out of town. She gave a little prayer that no one was hurt.

  “Ma?”

  Audrey looked at her sons. “Let’s go see your Pa. We have a lot to tell him.”

  Audrey didn’t have a chance to talk to Hunter until after the boys went to bed. Willow was staying with Josie overnight. Although the little girl was no trouble, Audrey appreciated not having to get up in the middle of the night to change a wet diaper.

  Hunter was telling the boys a story about a rabbit and a tortoise, so Audrey took those few precious moments alone to go into the bedroom and pick up the box that Rosalie had given her.

  She opened the box and pulled out a nightgown that took her breath away. It was white silk with tiny pink roses embroidered on it. The sleeves were a sheer material and Audrey thought the V-shaped neckline was bordering on indecent.

  It was the nightgown of a woman set on enticing her husband. Audrey took a deep swallow. Had Rosalie known all along? She had better put it away before Hunter accidently saw it.

  “The boys fell fast…” the words were replaced by a low whistle. Audrey’s eyes flew up to Hunter’s. His brown eyes were smoldering as he saw her holding the nightgown.

  Audrey took another deep swallow.

  This is it.

  “Uhm,” Audrey said pushing the layers of fabric and lace behind her. “I was hoping I could talk to you.”

  Hunter raised his eyebrow. The side of his mouth curled up in a half-smile. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Audrey stood and walked over to him. “I wanted to talk about this matter of marriage.”

  “A little late for that, isn’t it, Audrey?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We are already married. There isn’t much to talk about.”

  “But there is,” she insisted. “I went and visited Rosalie today. And I took the boys to the store.”

  His half-smile became a frown. “Into town?”

  Audrey nodded. “But it wasn’t as bad as you would think,” she hurried to say.

  “I don’t want my sons hearing what those people have to say.”

  Audrey put her hands on his arms. “It wasn’t people. It was one person.” She relayed what transpired with Helen Ellerman and Mrs. Stewart, along with the women in the store.

  When she finished, she couldn’t tell if Hunter was angry or relieved. “I’ll deal with Helen Ellerman tomorrow.” He turned to leave.

  “Wait, Hunter,” Audrey said, pulling his arm to turn him back around. “I found out today there is something greater than hate out there. Something that fixes all hurts. It doesn’t make it right, but it is a start.”

  “What’s that, Audrey?”

  “Love. Love really does conquer all.” She moved closer and put her arms around his neck. “I love you, Hunter. I know you said you were never going to give your heart to another person, but I’m hoping that in time you will learn to love me too. I want to have a real marriage with you. I’d like children too. I want a whole house full of them.” She looked at him from underneath her lashes.

  Hunter hesitated for only a moment before pulling her flush to him. He didn’t say anything before crushing his lips to hers. When he finally released her, Audrey felt faint. He swept her up in his arms and kicked the door closed, carrying her to the bed.

  “I love you, too, Mrs. Lawson. I am so thankful that you came into our lives.” He placed her gently down on the bed and kissed her forehead. “I never expected to fall in love again, but I do love you, Audrey.”

  He fingered the fabric and lace piled on the bed. “Let’s start over and let me show you how much I love you.”

  Audrey nodded and pulled him closer for another kiss. She closed her eyes and couldn’t believe how lucky she was.

  Audrey James, town flirt and destined to be a spinster, was married to a man she loved with her entire heart. She had sons that she adored and a daughter that she thought was the most beautiful little girl in the world.

  She was now Mrs. Audrey Lawson. Wife. Mother. And she was loved.

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