Heaven Scent (33 page)

Yet, the scent overpowered them. How
could that be?

“I met your mother.”

Tarin’s heart stilled as her eyes shot
to Rafe. His face showed no signs of humor or malice, his solemn
brown eyes shining with confidence.

Was he ill? Had their lovemaking been
too much for him? Perhaps his comatose state had caused his mind to
falter.

Searching his eyes, Tarin unconsciously
squeezed the pouch in her hand. “Rafe, you know my mother is
dead.”

Sitting up in bed, Rafe grabbed her
hand and brought her knuckles to his lips. “On the contrary, she
lives, Tarin. In heaven. I saw her earlier today.”

Now it was her body that stilled, while
her heart beat in triple time. “What? What are you
saying?”

Somehow, his warm smile eased her fear.
It made no sense, but she calmed, nonetheless.

“I know this will be hard for you to
believe, sweetheart, but… I died today.”

“No!”

Leaning forward, Rafe kissed her gently
on the cheek. “I did. He came for me - it was my time. But, your
mother intervened, asking that He allow me to live so I could be
with you. He agreed.”

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Tarin
could only stare, wide-eyed, as she studied Rafe from head to toe.
The doctors had said he would die, it was only a matter of time.
The wounds -

Grabbing him by the shoulder, she
turned his body to see the wounds on his back.

She gasped. They were practically
healed.

How could that be, if not a miracle
from above?

Glancing back at his face, Rafe gave
her another I-told-you-so grin.

“She has been with me since Texas,
Tarin. She was with me the night this -” he gave a quick nod at his
scarred torso - “happened, and every night since. Haven’t you
smelled the roses when we are together?”

The roses? Opening her palm, Tarin
glanced down at the pouch. The sweet scent wafted up to her
nose.

“She chose me, Tarin. For
you.”

The logical side of her brain said she
was mad for believing him. Yet, it all made sense - the scent, the
healed scars, Rafe’s rapid recovery.

Her mother had told her to live her
life for herself and to marry for love.

With Rafe, she had married for love,
and she had a man that supported her desire to become a
physician.

Her mother may not have been with her,
but she had made Tarin’s dreams come true.

With tears in her eyes, Tarin threw her
arms around Rafe’s neck and held him close. “I love you, Rafe
Sutherland.”

Rafe held her against him. “And I adore
you, Lady Sutherland.” Taking the pouch in her hand, Tarin watched
as Rafe removed the object inside.

Tarin gasped. “My mother’s wedding
ring!”

She had not seen it since the day her
mother died, assuming it had been buried with her.

He slid the ring on the third finger of
her left hand. “Your father asked me to present it to you at our
wedding.” He grinned. “I hadn’t planned on getting married in a
hospital.”

The ring felt heavy on her hand. Just
one of many changes she would have to get used to.

Pushing Rafe back on the bed, she
climbed on top of him and gave him a deep kiss. “And I had not
planned on spending this night in your bed. Nevertheless, here we
are, as husband and wife. Let us make the best of it.”

Epilogue

November 1, 1848

“Tarin!” Rafe yelled up the stairs, “If
you don’t hurry, you are going to be late.”

Rafe looked over at Patrick and Rosa
who were also patiently waiting for his beautiful wife to descend.
Rosa had come a long way in her English instruction and had earned
a place in the first midwifery class with Tarin and Kit. She had
not had a problem getting ready on time.

Then again, Rosa wasn’t
pregnant.

Rafe paced the foyer again. Tarin had
not yet told him she was pregnant, but all of the signs were there
– the morning sickness, the body changes, the exhaustion. If Rafe
knew his wife at all, she feared he would make her drop the
midwifery classes and stay home.

“I’m coming!” Tarin cried breathlessly,
as she rushed down the stairs.

Rafe whipped his head around. “Slow
down!”

Rosa and Patrick stared at him with
round eyes. Dammit, he didn’t mean to shout. But, they didn’t know
she was pregnant. Rafe would take no chances with Tarin or his
child.

Her steps slowed as she reached his
side. “Slow enough for you?” she asked, with a cheeky
grin.

Rafe nodded as he took in the dark
circles under her exotic green eyes. She was still the most
beautiful woman he had ever seen. But, she needed to
rest.

“Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand and
led him out the door.

“Oh,
now
you’re in a hurry.” He allowed
Tarin to drag him behind her.

“You are going to make me late,” she
joshed, glancing back at him with a sparkle in her eyes.

Patrick and Rosa laughed.

Once the four of them were settled in
the carriage, Rafe signaled the driver to leave.

“Honestly, I am sorry, I am late,”
Tarin announced, as she hooked her hand through Rafe’s arm. “I
could not seem to wake this morn.”

“It is your first day of midwifery
college,” Patrick replied. “I would’ve thought you’d be up at the
crack of dawn.” He glanced at his new wife. “As it was, Rosa did
not sleep at all.”

“You were not feeling
well,
meiha
?” Rosa
asked, with a frown.

“I’m fine.” Tarin glanced away, shaking
her head. “Just a bit tired, is all.”

Rafe stared down at his wife’s guilty,
flushed face. She had done her damndest to hide her morning
sickness from everyone. But Rafe knew. Each morning, he heard her
rush out of the bedroom and down the hall to the guest toilet
room.

He had patiently waited for his lovely
wife to come clean, but Rafe was out of patience now. He needed to
make it clear to Tarin that he knew of her condition, and that she
needed to be damned careful not to overextend herself with this
college work.

“Are you done?” Rafe asked his
wife.

She frowned up at him.
“What?”

“Are you done hiding the fact that you
are carrying our child?”

A collective gasp filled the carriage
cab.

Tarin sat up straight. “How did you
know?” she asked, punching him on the arm.

“You have been sick every morning. You
fall asleep before I come to bed. And your –“ he glanced down at
her bosom, “well, they have increased.”

She punched him again.
“Rafe!”

Rosa and Patrick laughed before Patrick
said, “Well damn, since the wedding, you two have spent every spare
moment in your bedroom.”

“Patrick!” Tarin cried, turning to him
with round eyes. “Not you, too!”

Laughing, Rafe asked her, “Why didn’t
you tell me?”

Tarin looked down at her lap. “I didn’t
want to fight with you over school.” Raising her eyes to his, she
lifted her chin. “And, I wasn’t about to let this first set of
classes pass me by.”

Rafe grasped her chin between his thumb
and forefinger. God above, he loved her stubborn streak. “Did you
really think I would keep you from these classes after you have
been so instrumental to their inception?”

Her brows shot into her hairline. “Oh,
Rafe,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a
hard kiss on the mouth. “I do love you.”

Damn, he would never tire of hearing
her say that. “Promise me you won’t overdo it.” He kissed her
again.

Tarin lowered her arms and smiled at
him. “Of course not. I would do nothing to jeopardize the health of
our child.”

Rafe brought her hand to
his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “And I would not
jeopardize
your
health.”

Tarin grinned as she kissed him
again.

“We are here,” Rosa proclaimed, as the
carriage rolled to a stop. She squeezed Patrick’s hand.

“I cannot believe the day has finally
arrived,” Tarin added, as she reached across and squeezed Rosa’s
hand, too.

“Tonight, we will celebrate,” Rafe
announced, as he and Patrick ushered the women out of the
carriage.

“Celebrate?” Kit asked, as she met them
on the walk. The three women exchanged hugs.

“Si
,” Rosa replied. “Tarin has finally admitted she is with
child.”

“Finally!” Kit groaned
good-naturedly.

“
What?! Did everyone know
and not admit it?” Tarin asked, hands on hips.

Everyone nodded – except Patrick. “I
didn’t,” he said, with a shake of his head.

“You’re the only
one,
mi amor
,”
Rosa replied, kissing him on the cheek.

Rafe took Tarin’s hand in his and
pulled her aside. “Here you are – starting the life you always
wanted. Congratulations, sweetheart. You did it.”

She gave him a secret smile. “No, you
are the life I want. This is an added benefit.”

His heart stirred. Damn, he was one
lucky bastard. If they weren’t in public without a parasol, he’d
kiss the living daylights out of her right now.

“We have to go, Tarin,” Kit said, as
she and Rosa started towards the door.

Giving Rafe one quick peck on the
cheek, she rushed to meet her friends.

Rafe sighed. There was always tonight –
if she wasn’t too exhausted.

“
Well, there they go,”
Patrick said, as he came to stand beside Rafe, hands in his
pockets, “our liberated women.”

Rafe nodded. “Yes. And, I wouldn’t have
Tarin any other way.”

#####

Later that morning, Rafe and Patrick
were at their dock office when Beau walked in the door.
“Gentlemen.”

“Well, look what the dogs dragged in,”
Patrick teased, as he threw down his pen.

Rafe leaned back in his chair and
gripped the arms. He could use a break. With Worthington’s
“investment” in the company, they had been busier than ever. Once
word got out that he and Tarin had married, they had tripled their
customer base.

He studied Beau. Something wasn’t
right. St. John had perspiration on his brow and looked as bad as
Tarin after a bout of morning sickness.

“Did you get the women off safely this
morning?” Beau asked, as he stopped in the middle of the room,
hands on hips.

“We did,” Patrick replied with an easy
smile. “We are celebrating tonight at supper.”

Beau nodded. “Very good. I
–“

“
Are you well, St. John?”
Rafe interrupted, as he jumped up from his chair. His gut told him
something was very wrong.

Beau stilled, his face going whiter
than before.

Oh hell…

“
I’m fine,” Beau replied,
shaking his head when Patrick offered him a chair. “However, I
would like to speak with the two of you a moment.”

Rafe frowned. This can’t be good. It
wasn’t like Beau to act so formal with them.

“
Confess, St. John.” Rafe
crossed his arms over his chest. “What is wrong with
you?”

Beau met Rafe’s eyes dead on. “Very
well.” Clearing his throat, he said, “Sutherland, you are like a
brother to me.” He looked to Patrick. “And you, Patrick, I consider
a friend.”

Rafe gave him a brief nod. “We feel the
same way, St. John.” He looked at Patrick, who nodded.

Beau took a deep breath. “In… that
light…” He stopped and cleared his throat again.

Patrick stood and walked over beside
Rafe. “Come on, St. John. Spit it out. What is it?”

“I…” Beau started, then shook his
head.

“St. John!” Rafe cried, at his wits end
with Beau’s hesitation. The Frenchman was always good with
words.

“Dammit, Sutherland!” he cried, pacing
back and forth in front of the door. “I’m trying to do this
right.”

“What?!” the brothers cried in
unison.

His face beet red, Beau stopped and
shouted, “I’d like permission to court your mother,
dammit!”

#####

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