Her Heart's Desire (11 page)

“
I notice when you do
speak, you don’t badmouth anyone.”

“
I don’t know about that. I
do talk about what my brothers do to annoy me.”

“
But when you talk about
them, it’s not as bad as you think. I know you’re just frustrated
with them.”

Feeling better, she relaxed. Maybe he
didn’t mind so much that she had a tendency to complain about her
brothers then.

He stood from the porch swing. “I see
a lot of flowers around here. Why don’t you tell me what you like
about each kind?”

Surprised, she got up. “Wouldn’t you
think such talk is boring?”

“
No because you’re the one
who’s doing the talking. I like the way you explain things. You can
make anything sound interesting.”

“
You’re the first person
who’s told me that.”

“
I’m sure others think the
same as I do.”

Maybe. No one said either way, but she
was happy he thought so, and that was all that mattered. She led
him down the porch steps and walked around the property, pointing
out the different flowers and what she liked about each
kind.

Chapter Eight

Ethel Mae pulled the needle through
her embroidery as she hummed one of her favorite songs. It was a
peaceful Saturday afternoon. She loved days like this when she
could sit on the porch swing. The weather was nice and warm, the
breeze wafting around the porch was a little cool but not so much
that she couldn’t enjoy the lovely day. She wondered when she’d get
a chance to see Sally again. Her friend was usually busy during
planting season. She supposed Sally wouldn’t be making a trip into
town for a couple weeks.

Ethel Mae sighed. Maybe she could talk
her parents into letting her visit her friend next week. If Rick
went back out to see Sally as she said he would, then it could be
that today he’d realize how much better Sally was for him. That
would be such a relief. Then he’d stop coming by to see
her.

The sound of running footsteps coming
up the porch steps made her look up from her embroidery in time to
see Vivian rush across the porch and into the house, slamming the
storm door behind her. Curious, Ethel Mae glanced down the sidewalk
and saw Hugh grunt in disappointment before he stomped off.
Whatever was that about? Shaking her head, she turned her attention
back to her embroidery. When it came to Vivian, the best thing was
to let it go.

“
Excuse me,
Miss.”

She looked up from her sewing to see
what had to be the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on. He
wore a nice suit and was tall with blond hair and brown eyes.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Yes?”

“
Are you Ethel Mae
Jordan?”

“
Yes.”

“
Then I got the right Ethel
Mae.” He went over to her and sat next to her on the porch
swing.

She thought to rebuke him for taking
such liberties and sitting close to her when she hadn’t invited him
to do so, but then he shot her the most charming smile she’d ever
seen on a man and all protests flew right out the
window.

“
I ran into a friend of
yours by the name of Rick Johnson,” the man continued. “He is a
friend, right?”

“
Yes, in a way.” She didn’t
really consider him to be a friend. He was more of an acquaintance,
but she didn’t know if she should explain that to this stranger.
After all, she didn’t even know him.

“
Well, he’s under the
impression we know each other.”

“
He is?”

“
Yes, and he also suggested
that you’re interested in me because I make you pursue me, which is
ironic since I’m the type of man who’d rather pursue than be
pursued.” He winked at her. “You’re most certainly worth the
pursuit.”

Her face flushed. “B-but I don’t know
you.”

“
Sure you do. My name is
Samuel Dixon.”

Her eyes grew wide and she swallowed
the lump in her throat. “S-S-Samuel?” Rick met up with a man named
Samuel and told him she was interested in him?

Looking amused, he asked, “Do you have
a tendency to stutter?”

Her face grew warm. “Of course not.
It’s just that…” Just that what? She couldn’t tell him she made him
up in order to get Rick interested in her friend. Even if Samuel
caught her in her lie, she didn’t want to disclose anything
else.

“
I know. I caught you off
guard.” He leaned back in the swing and draped an arm along the
back of the swing.

Surprised by his friendly demeanor,
she scooted away from him and cleared her throat. “I really don’t
think Rick meant you. He meant another Samuel.”

“
Is there another Samuel
Dixon in town?”

She considered her options. She could
lie and claim there was, but look at how much trouble lying was
causing her!

Vivian opened the storm door and
peered around it. “Is Hugh gone?”

Directing her attention to her sister,
she asked, “What?”

She rolled her eyes but repeated, “Is
Hugh gone?”

Ethel Mae checked the street and saw
that it was clear. “Yes, he’s gone.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, she
stepped onto the porch. “I hate it when he sees me walking to my
friend’s house.”

Samuel laughed and crossed his legs,
placing a hand on his knee. “Why should it bother you if he sees
you?”

Vivian gave him a pointed look.
“Because he’s annoying. He seems to think we’re going to get
married someday.”

“
Ah.” He nodded. “Poor lad.
He’s going to get his heart broken when he’s older.”

“
I keep telling him I’ll
never marry him. It’s not my fault if he doesn’t believe
me.”

“
If you hate it so much
that he sees you when you go to your friend’s, then why don’t you
choose a different way to get to her house? I might not have been
in Omaha long, but I can see there’s more than one way to get
somewhere.”

She crossed her arms and stuck her
chin out. “I shouldn’t have to.”

With a knowing grin, he said, “I
suspect you enjoy his attention, even if you’re too proud to admit
it.”

Her jaw dropped and then she quickly
shut it. Turning her gaze to her sister, she asked, “Who is
he?”

“
I’ll do it,” he told Ethel
Mae. “I’m Samuel Dixon.”

This time when Vivian’s jaw dropped,
Ethel Mae swore it almost hit the floor. “But I thought I made
Dixon up!”

Bolting to her feet, Ethel Mae strode
over to Vivian. “Get in the house. We need to talk.” Glancing at
Samuel, she said, “We have something important to
discuss.”

“
That’s fine. I’ll wait,”
he called out, rocking in the swing and looking as if he had
absolutely nowhere to go.

Sighing, Ethel Mae nodded. “I
shouldn’t be but a minute.” So he planned to stay. She made a
mental note to bring out something for him to drink when she
returned. Even if she didn’t know him and found this whole thing
horribly embarrassing, she had to be polite. “Come on,
Vivian.”

Vivian went into the house, and Ethel
Mae followed, her hand on her sister’s arm as she directed her to
her bedroom. Once they were inside the safety of the room, Ethel
Mae shut the door and turned to her sister.

“
You told Rick that
Samuel’s last name was Dixon?” she demanded, her hands on her
hips.

Vivian shrugged. “I had to. He wanted
to know Samuel’s last name. Dixon was the first one that came to
mind. I was under a lot of pressure!”

She groaned and paced the room. “You
must have heard his name from somewhere.”

“
I think so. Probably from
Hugh. I’m telling you, he’s no good.”

“
Oh, don’t you dare pin
this on Hugh. This was all your doing.” She stopped and tried to
decide the best course of action. “So, you told Rick that Samuel’s
last name was Dixon. Then Rick happened to run into Samuel Dixon
and told him I’m interested in him because he’s pretending to be
interested in someone else. And now Samuel’s over here.” She
groaned again and rubbed her temples. “How can something so simple
become so complicated?”

“
It’s all Sally’s fault.
She told Rick you’d be interested in him if he pretended to be
interested in her, so we had to make up Samuel Dixon to help
her.”

“
No, it’s not her fault
either.”

“
Then it’s Rick’s. He
shouldn’t be interested in you. What right does a man have in
wanting to court you anyway?”

Ethel Mae gasped. “What?”

“
No, I didn’t mean it like
that. I just meant that if he was smart enough to want someone
else, none of this would be happening.”

She stopped pacing the room and glared
at her. “I get the point.” Taking a deep breath, she mentally ran
through all her options. “Fine. From this point on, no more
lies.”

“
Does that mean we tell
Rick the truth?”

“
Oh, of course not!” She’d
rather die than tell Rick the elaborate lie they all concocted
because then she’d have to tell him she was never interested in him
and hoped to pawn him off on her friend. “It wouldn’t be good for
him to know any of this. Men are fragile. They need to feel good
about themselves in order to get up in the morning and go to
work.”

“
So we have to keep
lying.”

“
Only to him.”

“
But what if he runs into
Samuel again?”

She hated the fact that someone as
young as her sister could be so logical in a moment like this. With
a sigh, she said, “I’ll talk to Samuel.”

“
So you’ll make him lie,
too.”

“
I don’t know what I’m
going to do yet. I just need a moment to think, that’s all.” She
slowly inhaled and then exhaled. When her heartbeat slowed enough
to where she didn’t hear it pounding in her ears, she straightened
her back and held her head high. “I’m going to get refreshments and
talk to him.”

“
What are you going to talk
to him about?”

“
I don’t know yet. I’ll
figure it out as the conversation progresses.”

Crossing her arms, Vivian shook her
head. “You should have a better plan than that.”

Ethel Mae huffed. “Well, never you
mind. You keep hiding from Hugh. I’ll take care of Samuel.” She
opened the door and shoved her sister into the hallway. “Now, you
run along.”

“
Fine. I will.” As she
headed out of the house, she called out, “Next time you want to get
rid of a suitor, don’t bring me in to lie for you.”

“
It’s a deal.”

Ethel Mae let out an aggravated sigh
and hurried to the kitchen to place a pot on the cook stove so she
could boil water. Out of curiosity, she rushed down the hallway and
to the front door. Just her luck. He was still there. That meant he
didn’t get bored and head off to wherever it was he came from. At
the moment, he was sitting in the porch swing and staring at the
street where people rode their horses as they went about their
business. She grimaced. What in the world was she supposed to say
to him?

Pushing the storm door open, she
forced a smile on her lips and called out, “I’m boiling water for
our tea.”

He looked over in her direction and
smiled in return.

Alright, she had to admit he had a
smile that could weaken any woman’s knees, but that didn’t mean she
wanted him to stick around!

“
I’m in no hurry,” he said.
“I’ve got nothing else to do today.”

“
Oh.” Did that mean he
intended to stay until evening? She didn’t know if her parents
would be thrilled to know a young man had invited himself to
supper. Not that she thought he’d come out and ask to stay, but
it’d be rude to send him away on an empty stomach. Trying to figure
out the right response, she hesitated before saying, “I’ll add a
few cookies with the tea.” Yes, that was good. No one could find
fault with tea and cookies.

As she closed the storm door, she
realized they’d need something to set the tea set on. She couldn’t
invite him into the house when her parents weren’t around. Deciding
on the small table in the parlor, she went over to it and took the
vase and removed it from the table. She picked the table up and
carried it out the front door.

He stood up and took the table from
her. “You should have let me get that for you,” he kindly
admonished before he set it in front of the swing.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t
heavy.”

“
But it’s the principle of
the thing. I can’t have a lovely young lady such as yourself
carrying big items when I can do it myself.”

Her cheeks grew warm.
“Well…thanks.”

“
It’s my pleasure.” He
returned to the swing and sat down.

When he glanced her way again, her
heart fluttered with an unexpected thrill. Oh, this was ridiculous!
She didn’t even know this man, and here she was, acting like a
silly schoolgirl. Not wanting to look any more foolish than she
probably already did, she quickly opened the storm door and went
back into the house. She made it to the kitchen in time for the
water in the pot to boil. As she took the pot off the cook stove,
she realized her hands were trembling. Good grief! Samuel was just
a man like Rick. She never had any problems handling a teapot
around Rick.