Courted by Trouble: A Courting Romance (In Hyacinth Book 3) (2 page)

“Strange. I keep expecting dirty looks,” Stephanie admitted.

“Why? You aren’t at fault here. And don’t look at me like that. You aren’t. And if it takes us the rest of our lives, I’ll nag it into you somehow. I’m right.” Cami paused and then grinned. “And if it’s Marjorie Farthing? Just laugh in her face.”

“Why? You know she’ll be the first to make a comment.”

“True. But I know something about her,” she said with an evil glint in her eyes. “She and James had to get married.”

“Well, it was the end of their courting year.” Everyone had to either get engaged, married, or get out within a year. The whole community knew that.

Cami snickered and looked around to make sure nobody was listening. “Dad and Jerod would tan my hide if they caught me gossiping, but you need the ammunition. Her mother caught the two in a less than honest position in Marjorie’s bedroom. That’s why their engagement happened literally one week before their wedding.”

Grinning as while Stephanie didn’t wish anybody harm, there was a certain pleasure in knowing that Miss Perfect Marjorie who had made fun of the three of them, picking on Dora something fierce because of her weight, messed up. “Did she get pregnant?”

“What they were doing can’t get you pregnant,” her friend said with a snicker. “But it
would
make all the tongues wag in this town, let me tell you.”

Laughing, Stephanie relaxed into her chair. Sitting with Cami like this made her almost feel like they were still in high school. The only thing missing was Dora. “I need to go find Dora and see how she’s doing.”

Cami pulled out her phone as it beeped. “Drat. I have a meeting with a client in thirty minutes so I have to go. If you find her, let her know I want to see her, too. Maybe we could have a girl’s night in. Get some movies and just chat.”

“Sounds fun.”

Camille gave her a tight hug and then jogged out of the café, the phone to her ear.

Stephanie couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips. Cami wanted her to design her wedding dress. While it terrified her, it was also exciting. She hadn’t done that in far too long. It was such a pleasure to think about that she lost herself in the daydream of it as she doodled on a spare napkin. Townsfolk came into the café and left and she barely noticed, so engrossed in the design taking shape on the thin piece of paper.

Picking up her coffee, Stephanie looked up into a pair of deep green eyes. Sitting at the table next to hers was a man with shaggy brown hair, a strong, square jaw, and a very nice smile. His smile spread as she kept looking at him and turning pink as she realized what she was doing, she looked back down at her coffee. Staring at a guy was childish and something she had no right to do anyway. It wasn’t like she had a happily ever after in her future. Sighing softly as her joy from spending time with Cami evaporated at the thought, she tried to go back to sketching on the napkin. It was something she had done all her life and as a seamstress it came in handy. Now that she had agreed to design and make Cami’s wedding dress, she would be doing it a lot.

“Excuse me.” Even without looking up, Stephanie knew it was the green-eyed man. Slowly she raised her head and once again looked into his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. But then I’ve only lived here for two months. Name’s Christopher Triton.”

She gulped on a suddenly dry mouth. There was a time when she would have flirted back shamelessly, but not anymore.

“Shy?” he said quietly. “That’s okay. I’m just beginning to know the ins and outs of Hyacinth. I’m sure my aunt and uncle can fill me in.” His tone was teasing but her throat closed up and panic struck her chest.

“Excuse me,” she gasped, grasping her stuff and running out of the café. Even once she was outside, she kept running, all the way to the bus stop, thrilled the bus got there just as she did. Once she made it to her seat, she curled up by the window, trying to get her breathing under control. It took the entire twenty-five minute ride for her heart to stop beating so quickly. The bus stopped just outside Hins Creek and the twenty-minute walk home helped her calm even more. It was just a guy trying to get to know her. What’s so bad about that? Any normal girl would have flirted a little and then left leaving him wanting more. She had run away like the scared rabbit she was.

“I need to get out more,” she whispered as she unlocked her door and walked inside, expecting the serenity it usually gave her. Instead, the room felt hollow, as though it was missing everything she had put behind her. Life, happiness, and love.

Going into the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was pulled up in a bun as she hadn’t really taken care of it in months and it was a pain. Pulling out the pins, it cascaded over her shoulders and down her back in limp strands. Pulling her blouse and jeans off, she looked at her body. Whereas she used to be tall and rather statuesque, she had lost weight and now appeared underfed. There was a time she had been pretty and guys had gone out of their way to get her to notice them. In truth, that was only fourteen months ago. As she looked into her light brown eyes, she wondered if that girl still existed. For the first time in a long time, she wanted her back.

Pacing back and forth, Stephanie gnawed on her lower lip as she watched her friend. It had taken seven days to finalize her first wedding dress drawing. A frenzy tended to overtake her when she was inspired and she knew the design was really out there, but at least this way Cami could tell her what she did and didn’t like about it and she could redesign.

The image was of a strapless dress of silk in shades of red, gold, and amber, made to appear like leaves cascading down the bride’s body. Stephanie knew it was bizarre and fully expected Cami to not like it.

Instead her friend burst into tears. “This is it,” she blubbered. “This is my dress.”

Afraid Camille thought she had to take the design, Stephanie rushed forward. “You don’t have to like it,” she said in a rush. “I can redesign it. I know it’s out there and weird and—” Her words cut off as Cami leapt to her feet and pulled her into a crushing hug.

“Stephanie, I love it. It’s perfect. Better than perfect. Not only is it different which I wanted, it speaks perfectly of my future husband. He’s all the wonderful shades of fall. Oh, thank you!” She hugged Stephanie tighter and then let her go. “I knew you could do it!” After a pause, she added, “Do you think you can make a cummerbund to look just like it?”

Relieved, Stephanie nodded. “Oh, definitely. And this will look so lovely with your hair.” Her fingers reached up reflexively to pat her own hair into place.

Cami followed her movements but didn’t say anything. “Hey, Mom and Dad told me to invite you to dinner tonight. Jerod can drive you over and back. Or Dad doesn’t mind coming to pick you up. Xan and Kathy are back from Nashville so it’s kind of a celebration.”

“Oh, I don’t want to crash that,” Stephanie said quickly, smiling at her design and imagining how wonderful it would look in real life.

“Crash it? Mom and Kathy are both looking forward to seeing you. You have to come. Please?” Cami’s voice took on a defined wheedling tone whenever she said
please
. With her added pout, Stephanie wondered how Jerod ever said no to her.

“Um, okay, but first,” she said before Cami could celebrate. Her friend waited. “I need your help.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

Grimacing, Stephanie pulled the pins out of her hair and let it drop. “How can I look good again?”

Camille’s eyes lit up. “You want a makeover?” Knowing that to her friend that meant a total makeover, Stephanie nodded.

“But remember I can’t afford a lot.”

“Okay, there’s lots of stuff we can do for little to no money. And you are so good with design, I think you should design a whole new wardrobe for yourself. Your fashion sense has always been a little crazy and it fits you. I say go with it.” Cami clapped her hands together. “And I think you would look
amazing
with shorter hair.” And just like that, Camille was off. “You’ve always had long, straight hair. We could cut it to your shoulder blades, and get you a curling iron, the kind that gives you large curls. Maybe add in some highlights. What do you think?”

Cutting her hair was scary as it had been waist-long for as long as she could remember. Stephanie nodded slowly. “What kind of highlights?”

“Whatever you want. If you want to go conservative, we could add a strawberry blonde or if you wanted to be more daring, maybe a blue or a green?”

Grinning at Cami’s infectious excitement, Stephanie took a deep breath, knowing her eyes were twinkling. “I like green.”

Squealing, Cami hopped up and down on the balls of her feet. “We should do it at Jerod’s or my parents’ house. There’s more room.” It was true, there wasn’t a lot of room in Stephanie’s cabin, though Cami had been nothing but complimentary about it since she arrived. “How’s tomorrow?”

Startled at it being so soon and yet relieved at the same time, Stephanie nodded. “That would be perfect.”

“Then why don’t you spend the night tonight? Come for the dinner and stick around. Tomorrow we can start on your hair.”

* * * * *

Sitting in Jerod’s car, Stephanie stayed quiet on the short drive from Hins Creek to Hyacinth. She felt a little jumpy to be going over to the Covingtons, though she wasn’t sure if it was because she hadn’t seen them in a while, or because of how nice Mr. Covington had been to her. Stephanie owed him her life many times over and she knew it.

“Are you all right?” Jerod asked as he pulled in front of the house.

“Okay,” she admitted. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here.” They got out of his car and headed up to the front door, which opened before they got there by Drake, Camille’s younger brother.

“Stephie!” he hollered, running down the steps and picking her up, swinging her around. “It’s been forever.”

“Hey, Drake,” she laughed as he put her down. “Whoa, you’re growing up.”

Drake had grown at least a foot in the last year. Now taller than her, he grinned. “Yep. I’m gonna be taller than Xan when I grow up.”

“Dream on,” Xander said, stepping forward to give her a hug as she entered the house. “Hey, Stephie. It’s good to see you.”

“You, too.” The warmth from the Covingtons always enfolded her whenever she entered their house and she waved as she spotted Kathy who was lying on the sofa.

“Hey,” Kathy said with a smile. “I’d come over and hug you, but my husband won’t let me get up off the sofa.”

“Congratulations,” Stephanie said, walking over and giving her a hug. “I hear you’re expecting.”

“Yep. Late December some time. I hear my sister-in-law’s giving you a make-over. Brave woman.”

“I heard that,” Cami sang as she danced into the room. “Stephie!” She hugged her tightly. “Come on, Mom’s in the kitchen and is dying to see you.”

It was easy to forget that she had ever been gone. The family treated her just like they always had. Mr. Covington gave her a warm hug when he saw her. He was the only one, besides Cami, who knew what happened and as he was the one who saved her, he knew it at a very real level. “It’s good to see you,” he said in his deep voice. “But putting yourself into my daughter’s hands? Are you sure you’re ready for that? She’s a dynamo who’ll run you over.”

“Don’t scare her,” Cami said, pulling her away. “You’ll talk her out of it.”

Charlotte, Camille’s mother, looked over as they walked into the kitchen and her eyes lit up. “Stephanie, honey, it’s been too long.” She wiped her hands off and pulled Stephanie into a hug, squeezing tight. “You look tired but healthy,” she observed, pulling back and looking. “Can you two set the table, please?”

Anywhere else, that kind of request might bring a raised eyebrow. After all, Stephanie was technically a guest. However it was a relief to her. As though they still thought of her as family. There was tons of laughter and teasing at the table. Xan stayed out in the living room with his wife for the most part as just the scent of food made her ill, but it was nice knowing they were there. When the food was gone and Xan and Kathy left for her parents’ house, Stephanie followed Camille to her bedroom where she found Jerod had already delivered her overnight case.

“You can stay in here, or the guest room. Whichever works for you,” her friend offered.

Stephanie felt that instinctive fear that had been with her for over a year. It yelled for her to hide away. But the desire to be with people again which had begun with the day Cami found her in that meadow could not be denied. “I’d rather stay, if you don’t mind.”

Cami grinned. “Good. We can talk all night long.”

“No,” Jerod said from the doorway and both girls looked up. “You’ll get a full night’s sleep.” Cami tried her pout and it didn’t seem to faze him at all. Stephanie was kind of impressed. She had never been able to say no to the Cami-pout. “Have a good night, Stephanie,” he said, taking Camille’s hand and pulling her from the room. “Come say good night to me, love.”

While Cami was gone saying good night to her fiancé, Stephanie looked around her room, checking out a couple new things that hadn’t been here before. A clearing throat made her look to the doorway where Mr. Covington stood. “Come talk to me?” he requested and she nodded, following him down the stairs and into his study. She had only been in here once before. Stephanie and Cami were nine years old and had pulled a mean stunt on a girl in school, making fun of her weight and as they found out later, making her run home and cry. As her parents were out of town, he had called her as well as his daughter in here to discipline them. Stephanie still had the memory of writing
I will not be mean to people whether or not I think they deserve it
one thousand times. Then, he had made them go over to the girl’s house and apologize in person. Strangely enough, that was how she, Cami, and Dora became friends. Dora had never held a grudge against them for what they did.

Stephanie really needed to find her.

A folding chair sat in front of his and he waved her toward it after shutting the door.

“How are you doing?” he asked seriously once she sat down. His kind eyes made her smile.

“I’m doing fine. Getting there, anyway.”

“Therapy going well?”

“Jerod seems to think so.”

“Enough work to keep you busy?”

“It ebbs and flows. Sometimes I have too much work, sometimes not enough.”

“Do you have enough food?” His tone took on such a serious quality that she knew he had seen how thin she was.

“Yes, I do. I just don’t have much of an appetite. Plus, I haven’t really cared what I look like for a while. It’s only now…” Since seeing the green-eyed cutie at the coffee shop. Now she wanted to feel better about herself. “That’s why I asked Cami for a make-over. I want to look better.” There was a pause and then she forced out the words she had wanted to say for a while. “Mr. Covington?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For finding me in the woods and for helping me find a place to live. For the furniture that would just appear out of nowhere and the food…” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged, finding the words hard to say. “Just thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, Stephanie. You’ve been a bit of a second daughter to me for years. I wasn’t about to just let you struggle without any help at all. You know that if there’s anything you need, all you have to do is ask?”

“I don’t want to be a burden.” She had been a liability to her own father. The last thing she wanted to do was to be a nuisance to the man in front of her.

“Stephanie, I don’t think you could ever be a burden. To anyone. I’m pleased that you’re getting out more. You’ve kept to yourself for too long.” He cleared his throat and she could tell something big was on his mind. “I want you to know that we consider you family. As such, if someone wishes to court you, I would like to have that here, if you’d be willing.”

Tears pricked her eyes, but she shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever marry, Mr. Covington. It’s… I just don’t see it.” For one thing, she was nineteen with a crazy father. All the men in town were sure to know the story. Plus, she hadn’t been in a disciplinary family even though her mother appreciated the values here. Even Stephanie appreciated the values, had wanted a strong head of the household at one point. Now she had no idea what she wanted.

His eyes darkened softly and she could feel their sadness. “I hope whatever you do, Stephanie, it will be without regret. You’re a beautiful young woman who deserves the best in this life. Don’t cut off any avenues of happiness just because of one person’s delusions.”

“But he was my father,” she said through a whisper. “My father, Mr. Covington. His insanity runs in my veins. For all we know…” Her words trailed off and she shook her head. “That last night he was so out of it, he claimed I wasn’t even his daughter.” The pain still shook her even at the thought. “He called me all sorts of hateful things.”

He reached forward and took her hands in his. “Stephanie, you aren’t his biological daughter.”

Startled, she stared at him. “What?”

“I thought you knew. He married your mother when you were two years old.”

“What?” The room spun a little as she tried to understand what he was saying. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure who your father is. Your mother moved here right after you were born.”

Taking a shaky breath, she slowly nodded. “I—” She shook her head violently trying to make sense of it all. “I’m not really Stephanie Knight.”

“I don’t remember what your last name was before Ken adopted you. But I can find out.”

“Could you?” she asked in a hopeful voice. “I-I don’t even know what to do with this, but it’s kind of a relief to know he isn’t actually my father.”

He squeezed her hands. “You know, I think you’re ready.”

“For what?”

“When that horrible night happened and I found you and they arrested him, Charlotte went and did something that was actually not very kosher and we had more than one talk about afterward. She went to your house and boxed up everything she thought you would want to keep.”

“Really?” Stephanie had figured it was all gone.

“It’s in our storage shed. When you’re ready for it.”

“Thanks.” Wondering if they would ever get a chance like this again, she asked, “What made you come find me that night? How did you ever find me?”