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

He grunted softly. “I knew Ken was going downhill and was worried about you after we dropped you off. After we got everyone else home, I went back and forth on going over there. Interfering in the domestic life of another family is difficult and not something I choose to do, but I truly was worried. After dinner, I headed over only to find the door open and your living room a mess. It was the blood on the wall that truly scared me.

“I had just run out the door when he pulled up. He got out of his car as though nothing was wrong, but I saw the windshield. It was cracked and had blood on it. I demanded to know where you were and he told me where to go.” Grimacing, he shrugged. “My right hook was my answer. I guess he figured keeping it a secret was just going to hurt more. So he told me about where he left you. I was afraid I would be too late or that you would have run off.” When he looked into her eyes, she saw the haunted look that told her how worried he had been. “Ken Knight was never a nice man. He straightened up because he fell in love with your mother. But his issues were always there. The man would go on camping trips that were nothing more than excuses to binge drink where she didn’t know. I do honestly think he loved you, in his way. But you must understand, Stephanie, that Ken is schizophrenic. How he kept from being labeled for so long, I don’t know, but he was good at hiding his issues. Those issues almost got you killed.”

The room was absolutely quiet for a few minutes as she saw that night from his perspective. He must have been as terrified as she was.

“I don’t want you to cut yourself off from a fantastic life because of the actions of one very ill man. You deserve the best. Please think about that.”

She nodded, unable to speak. As he stood up, so did she and he pulled her into a warm hug. His strong arms felt good and she wondered what her life would have been like if someone like him had been her father.

It had been a long time since she had been to a sleepover, but it felt like she remembered. Cami had her giggling for almost an hour as she told about Drake’s bromance with her fiancé. Unfortunately, when eleven struck, she did quiet down. “I promised Jerod I’d go to sleep by eleven,” she explained.

Nodding, Stephanie settled down and closed her eyes. It must be nice to have a strong person to rely on who wouldn’t let you down. Camille had four strong men she could lean on if needed. Stephanie found herself thinking, “It might be nice to just have one.”

* * * * *

The Memorial Day Picnic was coming up and Cami was excited to go and show off her fiancé this year, as well as introduce him to Hyacinth’s largest get-together. “I’ve told him all about it,” she explained as she cut Stephanie’s hair. Each snip of the scissors made Stephanie feel lighter, as though they were cutting off weight that had nothing to do with her hair. “He seems happy to go.”

“He’s happy to go because you are,” Stephanie said with a smile. “He loves you. It’s kinda obvious.”

Cami looked up and met her eyes in the mirror. “I know. And I know I’m one very lucky woman.” Reaching around, she hugged Stephanie before going back to cutting her hair. “Do you want bangs?”

“What do you think?” Stephanie’s hair had been all one-length for so long, she never remembered having them.

“I think they’d look cute.”

“Then go ahead.”

As Camille walked around in front of her and separated her hair, Stephanie said, “Cami, we need to go see Dora.”

“I know. I feel so badly for not keeping in touch. Her dad died just after graduation and I was so deep in my funk that I didn’t know until months later. By then it was too late to say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Hey, why not on Saturday?”

“What on Saturday?” Cami’s conversation directions could change at the drop of a hat and sometimes it was difficult to keep up with them.

“Go find Dora. We could meet her at the Lava Lamp.”

One tired little butterfly fluttered in her stomach as Stephanie wondered if the green-eyed man would be there. Probably not. It wasn’t like he sat at the coffee shop all day long. “I like that idea. Let’s do it.”

The rest of the morning was spent with her hair in either foil or rollers and by the time she left, Stephanie had to admit her friend had changed her look entirely. Her shorter hair made it nice and bouncy and the added curls added a new definition to her face. Add in the green highlights and she thought she looked kind of amazing. Cami had bleached out small sections of her hair and then covered them in green hair dye. “What do you think?” Camille asked once she was done.

“Perfect,” Stephanie said, staring at her reflection in the mirror. It was her and yet it wasn’t. As she wanted to make a new life for herself, the woman in the mirror said she could do it. Stephanie just hoped the woman inside had the guts to follow through.

* * * * *

As Dora still lived in the same house she had always lived in, finding her was easy. Stephanie and Cami made plans to meet up for coffee and Stephanie, after pacing back and forth in front of Dora’s house, finally got up the nerve to walk up to the door and knock. Dora was their quiet friend and she felt horrible that both of them had disappeared on her. Stephanie hoped she had found others to hang around with.

The door opened and there she stood, Dora Jane Lexington with her shoulder-length brown hair, wide eyes, and a shocked expression on her face. “Stephanie? Stephie!” she shrieked, jumping forward and hugging Stephanie so tight she almost couldn’t breathe. “Oh, I’ve been worried. How are you? Are you okay? Back in town to stay?” she asked, rattling off questions almost as fast as Cami could.

“Hey, Dora,” Stephanie said when she released her. “Got time for a horrible friend?”

A small smile crossed Dora’s face and she nodded. “Come in and we can talk.”

They walked into the living room and Stephanie stopped. “Wanna go for a coffee?” she asked knowing she needed to get Dora to the Lava Lamp where Cami would join them.

“Uh, sure?” At first Dora looked confused and then she smiled again. “Let me get dressed and I’ll be ready.” She ran upstairs and a few minutes later came back down in jeans and a sweater. “I like what you’ve done with your hair,” she said as they stepped outside the door. “It’s bouncy.”

Stephanie laughed softly as they walked down the street. “This was Cami’s idea. I told her I wanted a change and she came up with green highlights.”

“How’s she doing? I hear she got engaged.”

“Lots of things have happened in the last year,” Stephanie said quietly. “For all of us. I was sorry to hear about your dad.”

Dora nodded, her normal reaction to anything highly emotional. Her friend rarely gave emotion away, but she had several tells that as if the last year hadn’t happened, Stephanie could recall clearly. And she saw each and every one of them in the woman next to her. Dora was hurting. “Thanks. Mom and I are getting by.”

“Are you?” Stephanie asked gently, not wanting to dredge up anything bad, but at the time needing Dora to know she could turn to her if needed. “We’ve all got some stuff going on, but at least we’ve got each other, right?” She wrapped her arm around Dora’s and pulled her into the Lava Lamp which was crowded on a Saturday morning. “Oh, a table’s opening up. Grab it while I get our coffees.”

Dora quickly made her way over and captured the table while she ordered their drinks. “One peppermint mocha, one cinnamon latte, and one black coffee. All tall.” After paying, she waited the few minutes for their drinks to be ready and thought about how to bring their friend out of what was obviously a bad time for her. Stephanie knew she had needed to disappear, but that didn’t stop her guilt. Dora had never been anything but supportive and loving of her. She would find a way to make this right.

“Who else is coming?” Dora asked as she removed the drinks from the tray, handing Dora her mocha while putting the latte in front of herself.

“There you are!” Cami’s happy voice made Stephanie smile as Dora startled in surprise and then joy. In her normal exuberance, Cami tackle-hugged their friend, almost knocking her over. As she pulled back, she sat down and said, “Kathy would’ve come but every scent makes her ill right now.” She inhaled the coffee in front of her and took a large drink, humming in enjoyment.

“How did you come to enjoy black coffee?” Dora asked, watching her. “You used to think it was gross.”

Cami smiled. “Jerod loves it this way. I’ve learned to adapt.”

“So,” Dora said after a couple uncomfortable moments, “it’s been awhile.”

Wincing, Cami nodded. “Yes, it has. Sorry about that. I was involved in my own mess and kind of ignored what else was going on.”

“Me too,” Stephanie said. “I’ve been living in Hins Creek.”

“So close?” Dora said in surprise. “I’ve been worried about you both.”

Stephanie felt like kicking herself. How could she have felt that she was the only one hurting? She felt so selfish.

“So what are you two up to?” Dora asked, her tone clearing which for her meant that in that moment she had forgiven them for forgetting her. Stephanie shook her head, thinking that Dora had to be the sweetest and kindest woman alive. She wondered if Cami and she deserved her friendship. “I mean, I know you’re getting married, Cami. Congratulations, by the way. But what else?”

And as if no time had passed at all, all of their stories poured out and it felt like back before all the troubles began as they laughed and giggled over the stupidest stuff.

“So what about you?” Cami finally said. “Do you enjoy working for the auxiliary?”

“It’s okay. It’s a job I can do.”

“Oh, that’s a rousing recommendation,” Stephanie said dryly. “What do you want to do?”

“You mean besides pour the rest of this mocha over your head?” Dora asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

By the time the three of them had finished their coffees, she felt lighter and if Dora’s expression was anything to go by, she felt the same.

“Come to the picnic with me?” she found herself begging as they left the café.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dora said, frowning. “It’s such a courting fiasco.”

Grimacing, Stephanie nodded. It was true. No matter what the town wanted to call it, the fact was, the Memorial Day Picnic was the day all the men who were considering courting got a good look at this year’s eighteen year olds.

“Please?” she begged. “I’m trying to get out more and while I’m going with Cami and Jerod, you know what they say about three being a crowd? Come be the third wheel with me.”

“Besides,” Cami added, “I want you to meet Jerod.”

Dora seemed indecisive. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she finally said. “All I have is work clothes or stay-at-home clothes.”

Instead of being a downer, that just made their friend Camille beam. “Well, it’s a good thing you have as a best friend a personal shopper. Come on. I bet I can put the perfect spring day outfit together.” When all was said and done, the reason Dora finally agreed was that it was impossible to say no to Cami when she was so incredibly happy. Stephanie understood that all too well. Her whole life was evolving because she couldn’t say no to their friend. And fortunately, Cami had their best interests at heart. It made it easier to say yes.

Staring into the mirror, Stephanie turned to her left and right, trying to decide if her dress was right. With her hair looking so different, the sudden need to wear something different struck her about midnight and she spent the next eight hours drawing, cutting, and sewing until her new outfit was done. In high school, she had always worn strange things when she wasn’t actually in school. Stephanie’d had her own unique sense of style and while she had faded into the background over the last year in simple jeans and tan shirts that helped her not be noticed, she no longer wanted to be a wallflower. No, now she wanted to be herself and if that got her noticed?

She gulped and her heart pounded. Noticed. Was she ready to be noticed?

The dress she was wearing would get her noticed. A bright fuchsia top, there was one strap over one shoulder and pleating along the bodice. That helped to hide the fact she was underweight. The skirt was in three layers. The bottom layer was green and came to her ankles, the middle layer was red and came to her knees and the top layer was white, only covering her hips. Some of the ladies in town would probably find it quite shocking and that thought made Stephanie grin. Of course, she wondered if that was a good idea. After all, she wanted to be good, right? Maybe she shouldn’t wear—

A knock on the door to her cabin made her jump. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she saw it was time. That must be Jerod. Slipping her toes into a pair of slip-ons, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the door. “Yes?” she called before opening it.

“Good morning, Stephanie,” Jerod said smoothly. “Looks like a pleasant day for a picnic.”

Relieved it was him, she opened the door, cautiously watching his reaction to her dress. He didn’t react at all, just gave her the warm smile he usually wore. “Are you ready?”

Nodding, she closed and locked her door, following him to his car.

The park was crowded just like it always was the last Sunday in May. Camille was waiting with her family when they arrived and squealed as she saw them. After greeting her fiancé, she turned to Stephanie with a twinkle in her eye. “See, I told you that going back to your own sense of style was a good idea. You look great.”

Dora trotted up to them in the outfit Cami had put together the day before, blue jeans and a light blue blouse and smiled. “Wow, Stephanie, that’s cute! I wish I could do that.”

There was a sense of time standing still as they walked around. It all felt so familiar that Stephanie could hardly believe it had been two years since she had been to one. As Jerod and Camille stopped at one of the stalls so he could try to win her a teddy bear, she and Dora walked a little further on.

“It feels strange, doesn’t it?” Dora said, watching everyone walk by.

“Yeah.” Looking around, Stephanie saw girls she had gone to high school with walking around with their fiancés or husbands. There were the new eighteen year olds going around in gaggles, making sure they were seen by the most promising men in town. Slowly she felt her shoulders sag.

“What’s wrong?” Dora asked quietly. She had always been good at noticing when Stephanie didn’t feel right.

“I don’t belong here anymore.”

Dora looked up at her and shrugged. “Neither do I. I feel like a spinster and I’m not even nineteen yet.”

“A spinster at nineteen,” Stephanie murmured, thinking about it. “We could form a club.”

Snorting, Dora’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, sure, everyone’ll want to join.”

Grinning at her, Stephanie was about to make another remark when she groaned. Dora followed her gaze and moaned with her. Making her way toward them was none other than Marjorie Farthing who was sporting a baby bump. Annoyed at the supercilious look on the girl’s face, Stephanie decided to head her off before she could say anything too mean. “I see you and James finally figured out how to make a baby. From what I hear, you did it the wrong way at first.”

Marjorie, whose mouth was half open, froze, her eyes widening even as her cheeks turned a dull pink. “What do you know?”

“Not much.”

A look she knew well, one that meant that Marjorie was about to blow, crossed the girl’s face. Her eyes scrunched up even as her lips pursed into a very unpleasant expression. Stephanie wasn’t sure how James could stand it. When the expression stabilized and a fake smile took its place, Stephanie stiffened. Here came the insult. Prepared to let anything she said just slide off her, Stephanie wasn’t prepared for the words that poured out of her mouth.

She turned to Dora, looking her up and down. “I guess it’s a good thing that some girls are just not marriage material. Otherwise, the ladies’ auxiliary would never get anything done. I’m sure they’re glad nobody wants you, Dora.” With a fake smile, she turned away only to come face to face with Xander Covington. The expression on his face would have made Stephanie run for cover if it had been leveled at her.

“What did you say?” he asked in a cold voice.

“Oh, nothing,” Marjorie said, looking around for her husband frantically.

“Let’s go find James and talk about it, shall we?” He waved in one direction and as it was obvious he meant it, Marjorie trotted forward with him at her side.

“I always did like Xan,” Dora said and Stephanie looked over at her. “Kathy’s a lucky girl.”

Spluttering, Stephanie shook her head. Dora’s ability to look past insults had always garnered her respect. She wished she could be so offhand about such hateful words. Looking over to see how Cami was doing, she grinned when she saw her standing there with a large pink teddy bear in her arms. She was gesticulating as she talked and it took a second for Stephanie to realize that her friend was talking to the man with green eyes.

“Oh.” She smoothed down her dress and suddenly wondered at it. Would green eyes think she was insane for wearing it?

Dora followed her gaze. “He’s cute. Who is he?”

“Christopher something. I kind of met him a few weeks ago.” In Hyacinth ‘kind of’ meant they hadn’t been officially introduced.

“Well, then, let’s let Cami introduce you.” Dora grasped her arm and marched her over to their friend. As they approached, Christopher turned in their direction and his eyes smiled at Dora before turning to her.

“Dora, Stephie, this is Jerod’s nephew Christopher Triton. He recently moved to Hyacinth. Chris, these are two of my best friends, Dora Lexington and Stephanie Knight.”

Reaching out his hand, Christopher shook Dora’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m afraid I’ve caused several faux pas by talking to women without being introduced. Hopefully that won’t be held against me.”

Dora laughed as he turned to Stephanie. “Oh, it happens all the time. Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you officially, Stephanie Knight,” he said, taking her hand. “And now I know your name.” His green eyes twinkled and Stephanie found herself grinning at him.

“You still don’t know anything else about me.”

“Is that an invitation?” he teased back.

“Chris,” Jerod said calmly. “Over bounds.”

Christopher winced. “Sorry,” he said, releasing her hand. “I’m learning.”

She missed the feel of his warm, slightly calloused hand holding hers. “What do you do, Christopher?” she asked quietly, putting her own hands behind her so he wouldn’t see them fidget.

“I’m a chef. Graduated from school a few years ago. I’ve been looking for the right place to live and after Jerod told me about this area, I came to check it out. It took only a week before I didn’t want to leave. I love all the forests and lakes around here.”

“Me too. It’s nice having nature right outside your door.”

He smiled warmly and even more butterflies woke up. “Well, I should probably get going,” he said, taking a step backward. “It was very nice to meet you, Dora and Stephanie. I hope to see you again.” He looked right into her eyes as he spoke the last few words and Stephanie knew she was grinning like an idiot.

As soon as he walked away, Jerod cleared his throat. “I’m going to go say hello to a few people. Why don’t you three hang out over here and I’ll be back.”

“Thanks,” Cami said as he sauntered away. As soon as he was out of earshot, she turned back. “Ooh, Stephie! You didn’t tell me you met Chris.”

“It was the day you asked me to make your wedding dress. It was just a couple words.” Where she had then run away. Her friend didn’t need to know that part. “What’s he like?”

“A little more flirtatious than Jerod, but a really great guy. He’s working at a restaurant in Longdale as that was the only open position he could find.” Cami paused and then added quietly, “You need to know that Chris feels just as strongly as Jerod does about the man being the head of the house and that discipline is a positive thing.”

Wincing, Stephanie nodded. Her friend knew her family wasn’t that way so she appreciated the warning. “I always wondered what that would be like,” she admitted. “You two always seemed happier after…” She drifted off, too embarrassed to mention it.

Dora nodded. “It’s wonderful knowing you’ve been forgiven and more importantly that you have forgiven yourself. Discipline isn’t about abuse, Stephie. It’s about setting things straight. I really miss having that.”

Remembering that Dora’s father had been gone for a year, Stephanie hugged her lightly. “Anyone in the mood for a hotdog?”

“What’s with you and hotdogs?” Cami teased, hefting her pink bear to the side. “Every year… this is the only time that you ever eat them.”

“I don’t know. Somehow the picnic and hotdogs go together.”

The three found a nice patch of grass to sit on and were happily eating and talking when Jerod came back.

* * * * *

Now that she had her friends back, Stephanie desired to be in her cabin less and less. As all three worked, which was a bit of a mind-blowing reality for her as in Hyacinth that wasn’t the norm, she spent all day in her cabin working or delivering items to her clients. Evenings she spent with Dora in Hyacinth and her weekends were spent between putting Cami’s wedding dress together and having meals with either Cami and Jerod or the Covingtons.

In mid-July, she received a bit of a shock.

“Stephanie,” Alex Covington said as dinner was finished and she had risen to help Charlotte clean the table. “Accompany me to my study?” He always left it open to her. If she didn’t want to, he would never press the issue, but she nodded, following him down the hall and into the tiny room. As soon as they both sat down, he smiled. “I wanted you to know that a gentleman in town has expressed interest in getting to know you. I have invited him to dinner next Saturday.”

Her mouth dropped. “But—” Her mind ground to a halt. “Someone wants to get to know me?”

“Yes. His name is Christopher Triton. He’s Jerod Kinsley’s nephew.”

“Oh.” The butterflies took off again and she felt a small blush cover her cheeks.

“As you know, these are just simple dinners so you can get to know one another. There is nothing else required. But I wanted you to know early so it wasn’t thrust on you at the last minute.”

“Thanks, Mr. Covington.”

Christopher truly wanted to get to know her. It seemed crazy and she knew not to get her hopes up. Maybe he would turn out to be a dork and it wouldn’t go any further. But still… he wanted to get to know her. She smiled for the rest of the night.

Until the next morning when she realized he knew nothing of her past. Once he found out he wouldn’t want her. Wanting to end things before she could get her hopes up, she dashed over to Jerod’s office. He was just leaving as she ran up and smiled, his expression turning serious at whatever expression was on her face. “Come on in,” he said without preamble, opening the door and letting her inside. “What’s wrong?”

Breathing hard from her run, Stephanie paced back and forth for a few minutes as she forced herself to calm down. “Christopher asked to have dinner with the Covingtons… well, with me.”

His nod told her that he already knew.

“I have to say no.”

“Why? I got the feeling you were attracted to him.”

“Well, of course I’m attracted,” she said in a rush, keeping up her pacing. “He’s gorgeous and seems sweet, has a good sense of humor… but once he knows about my past that’ll be gone. I’d rather end things before he found out.”

“I never thought of you as a coward,” he said calmly, sitting down.

His words made her freeze even as her head snapped up. “I’m not!”

“And yet you want to run away, not even giving him the chance to prove that your past may not mean anything at all to him?”

“I don’t want to see his look of disappointment,” she murmured. “Plus, he’s into discipline. I’m not.”

“That’s something to consider. My first wife wasn’t either and while I loved her, our relationship was nowhere near as deep as the one I currently share with Cami, which I feel is due to our sharing that particular value.”

Jerod having been married before was a surprise and one she would need to bring up with Cami at one point. “You were married before?”

“Yes, until she was killed in an auto-accident four years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”