Chapter Fourteen
A loud rapping noise awakened Dugan from slumber. He’d worked the night shift and it seemed like he’d barely crawled into bed, utterly exhausted, only minutes ago.
Maybe if he ignored the sound, it would go away.
The rapping continued. Loud. Relentless. Determined.
“If that’s a woodpecker, I don’t care how much Delilah likes them, it’s dead,” he grumbled as he rolled off the bed, glanced at the clock, and yanked on the denims he’d discarded just three hours ago.
Not bothering with a shirt, or even buttoning his pants, he grabbed his pistol and made his way down the stairs to the front door.
“Whatever the emergency is, it better be a dandy,” he said as he pulled open the door, gun at the ready.
“Oh!” Delilah squeaked. Startled eyes widened as her mouth formed a perfect O.
He lowered the weapon and pushed open the screen door. “Mornin’, Dilly. What can I do for you?” he asked, wondering what could have possibly driven her to his door. She appeared unharmed, although she looked unsettled. He took a step closer and her eyes widened even more.
Dugan set the pistol on a small table just inside the door then stepped outside, taking her upper arms in his hands as the screen door slapped shut behind him. Her hair was neatly twisted up and pinned beneath the brim of a plain straw hat. She wore a simple yellow shirtwaist with a deep blue skirt, putting him in mind of a bird she’d pointed out to him the other day, although he couldn’t, at the moment, remember what she’d called it.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone do something to upset you?”
She shook her head and finally closed her mouth, although her eyes remained wide. Her gaze skittered from his chest to his denims, then back up to his face before it started the loop again.
Awareness that he stood before her in only his denims and they weren’t even properly fastened seeped into his consciousness. He’d worry about propriety later. Right now, he wanted to know why she’d sought him out.
Twice, she’d been out to his place. Once to visit the kittens, and another time he’d asked her to accompany him on a ride. She and Button took to each other like a duck to water. He’d offered to let Delilah ride the horse any time she liked, but she’d been busy and hadn’t been back for another ride.
“I, um… the train… my, uh…” Her words stuttered and stammered, like she couldn’t quite figure out a place to begin.
“Are you well?” Dugan asked, deciding to guide the conversation if he had any hope of finding out what was going on.
She nodded.
“Is something wrong?”
A head shake.
He was at least glad to know there wasn’t a problem, but he had no idea what she wanted.
“What do you need, Dilly?”
“You,” she said distractedly, her gaze again fastened on his exposed, bare skin.
If Dugan was a vain man, he would have puffed his chest out a bit at the look of admiration on her face and the yearning shimmering in her gorgeous brown eyes. It would be so easy to wrap her in his arms, carry her inside the house, and lavish her with his love, but he resisted the urge. Delilah Robbins wasn’t a woman to be trifled with and Dugan had never trifled with any woman, regardless of how much he wanted to.
“You need me?” He repeated her statement as he sidled a step closer to her and lightly rubbed his hands up and down the cotton sleeves covering her arms. “That’s mighty flattering, darlin’, but I’m pretty sure how that sounds and what you mean are completely different things.”
She gasped and her glance collided with his. He grinned as embarrassment stained her cheeks a deep shade of pink. “You need my help with something? Is that what you’re saying?”
Another nod. She swallowed hard as her eyes dropped and roved over his bare torso again.
Dugan began to feel his temperature rise under her intense perusal. He positioned his right hand beneath her chin and gently lifted until their gazes met. “What’s going on?”
She inhaled a deep breath then words spilled out of her all at once. “All the household goods my father sent just arrived on the train, including the furniture, and I was hoping you could help move things into the house. Edwin has offered his wagon and assistance, but some of the pieces are heavy and I need a pair of strong arms.”
He watched her eyes dart to his upper arms where muscles bulged even when he wasn’t flexing them.
“I’m happy to help. Just give me a moment to get dressed.” He pulled open the screen door and motioned her inside. “Have a seat. It will just take me a minute.”
Delilah walked inside the house and plopped down on the sofa while he raced upstairs. He hurriedly dressed, brushed his teeth, and splashed water over his face before he returned downstairs.
She hadn’t moved, but stared at him as he entered the parlor, fastening the buttons of his tan vest over the dark blue shirt he wore. “Ready to go?” he asked.
Silently, she stood and followed him back to the door where he slipped on a light canvas jacket and settled his Stetson on his head. He opened the door and she walked outside without saying a word.
Dugan took her elbow in his hand and guided her down the steps. “Do you need more than one wagon? I can hitch up the horses to mine.”
“Oh, that would be helpful,” she said, starting toward the barn with him.
“Do you have anyone else helping?” he asked.
“Deputy Harter said he could offer his assistance for a while. Maggie said she and Ian could help, too.” Delilah dropped to her knees in the straw of the stall where Prudence kept watch over her kittens. “They get cuter each time I see them,” she said, picking up her favorite kitten and cuddling it close as he caught the horses.
By the time he had Barton and Button hitched to the wagon, Delilah seemed to have regained her equilibrium. Had seeing him shirtless really rattled her cage that much? He’d take time to ponder the possibility later.
Dugan extended a hand to Delilah and helped her up to the wagon seat then swung up beside her.
“Barton and Button aren’t too fond of pulling the wagon, but they’ll cooperate just the same,” he said as both horses shook their manes, as though they wanted to shake the harnesses loose and return to grazing in the pasture.
“I’m sorry for bothering you, Dugan. Were you sleeping when I knocked?” Delilah asked, giving him a sideways glance as he drove the wagon into town and headed toward the train depot.
“I was asleep. I got off at eight this morning and had a few errands to run before I went home.” He glanced down at her. “But I don’t mind getting up to help you.”
“My apologies. I should have known you’d be asleep.” Delilah placed her hand on his arm. “If you want to go home, I promise not to bother you the rest of the day.”
“Truly, I don’t mind, Delilah. It’s my pleasure to help you.”
“But you already do so much,” she sighed. “Although I know it is a burden to you, I do appreciate you accompanying me to the weather station twice a day. It gives me peace of mind to know you’re there.”
After the break-in at the weather station, there was no way on God’s green earth he’d let her traipse out there alone, particularly so early in the morning. Whoever broke in and busted things up was the same person who’d tried to rob Clive Fisher’s mine office. Dugan had found footprints that exactly matched those left behind at the mine. The distinctive star on the heel gave the man away, whether he knew it or not. Dugan just needed to figure out who the boots belonged to and he could throw the hoodlum in jail.
Until that happened, though, he worried about Delilah’s safety when she was at the weather station. So he continued to escort her there and back twice a day. He’d also suggested she not go wandering off in the woods by herself, either.
She’d given him a withering glare, but promised to curtail her bird-watching activities in the woods.
“How much stuff did your father send?” Dugan asked as they pulled up at the depot and saw piles of crates and trunks.
“Everything that he didn’t sell,” she said, grinning at him as he swung off the wagon then reached up to give her a hand. His hands settled on her waist and he lifted her in the air.
“Oh, my,” she whispered, placing her hands on his shoulders as he slowly set her down.
He looked into the warmth of her eyes and saw something spark there, something exciting and unexpected. Something that made him wish he could kiss her right there in front of everyone who watched.
Since the lightning storm a few days ago, he’d barely been able to think of anything beyond how much the kisses they’d shared had shaken him to his core. He’d never experienced anything like it and was sure the reason for that was Delilah.
A slap on his back brought him back to the moment and he looked over at his best friend.
Seth grinned and motioned to the stack of Delilah’s belongings. “Nice to see you dragged your sorry ol’ hide out of bed to help.”
Dugan scowled at him. “Don’t be giving me any sass. You at least had a full night’s sleep.”
“Even if I hadn’t, I’d still look more pert than you, especially if I’d ridden into town with Miss Delilah.” Seth smiled at her and took her elbow in his hand, guiding her over to the crates and trunks. He bent down and said something to her that made her laugh.
Dugan clenched his jaw and counted to ten before he marched over and slugged Seth in his all-too-perfect nose.
“I know just the thing for what ails you,” Ian said, clapping a hand on Dugan’s shoulder as he and Maggie stepped beside him.
“Who said anything ails me?” Dugan asked, glaring at the lumberman.
Ian chuckled and shook his head before settling an arm around Maggie’s waist and pulling her near. “I’ve suffered from a similar condition, Deputy. The symptoms are easy to recognize, even if you haven’t yet figured out the cure.”
“Stop teasing him, Ian. Let’s get to work,” Maggie said, smiling at Dugan as they moved over to the crates and began loading them.
After taking two loads to the house, Maggie and Delilah stayed there to start unpacking. Maggie sent the messenger boy to round up additional help.
Before long, Brianna and Tully arrived followed by Lon Bryant, the manager at Ian’s lumber mill. Tad and Posey Palmer joined them along with Pastor Eagan and his wife.
The men grunted, groaned, and grumbled when they moved in Delilah’s upright piano. They repeated the serenade of strained sounds when they hefted a huge marble-topped sideboard with an ornately carved, mirrored top and carried it inside the dining room.
Maggie and Posey oversaw the kitchen and dining room while Brianna and Mrs. Eagan took charge in the bedrooms. Delilah focused her attention in the parlor and her Papa’s office.
Then Dugan opened a crate full of her birdhouses and lawn statuary. Delilah picked up a stone fairy with a bird on her shoulder and cradled it to her breast. He grinned and caught her eye. “I take it you’re happy to have your things,” he said.
“Delirious,” she said with a broad smile.
“We’ll move this outside. Front or back yard?” he asked.
“Back, please,” she said, following the men who hefted the crate outside to her backyard.
Hours later, the furniture was all moved in, the crates had been hauled off, and Delilah was left with a dozen trunks to unpack.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for your help today. May I treat you all to dinner?”
“You don’t need to treat us to dinner, Delilah,” Maggie said, looping her arm around hers. “This is what neighbors around here do.”
Dugan saw her struggling with the emotion that threatened to swamp her. Tears glistened in her eyes and she swallowed twice before she spoke. “Then I’m most thankful for such wonderful neighbors and friends. However, if any of you would allow, I’d be most honored if you’d join me for dinner at the hotel. I need to send the evening weather report, but perhaps we could meet there at half past five?”
“We’ll see you there,” Brianna said, giving Delilah a hug before she and Tully left with Sammy, who had come over after school.
One by one, the helpers left until Delilah was left alone with Dugan.
“Shall we go get that weather report taken care of?” he asked, walking with her down the front porch steps and out to where he’d left Barton and Button.
“Yes, let’s hurry.”
“Want to take the wagon or walk?” he asked.
“Oh, let’s walk,” she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him forward. Delilah grinned at him, lifted the front of her skirt with her free hand, and broke into a run.
Dugan kept step with her as they raced up the hill to the weather station. He waited as she unlocked the door then watched as she took the readings, wrote a report, and jotted down the cipher she intended to send.
“That didn’t take long. Did you get everything you needed?” he asked as she locked the door.
“Yes, it’s going to rain again, so I’m glad we finished moving in the furniture before it started.”
Dugan glanced at the clear sky overhead, but he’d learned when she said it was going to rain to believe her. “Are we in for another lightening storm?”
“I don’t think so. This should be a soothing spring rain,” she said, turning to look at him, although her gaze fastened to his lips.
He wondered if she recalled the kisses they shared with the lightning sizzling around them the other day. If so, perhaps she’d be open to sharing another one or two in the near future.
Before he could further contemplate the possibilities, they arrived at the telegraph office. She sent the message and then he walked her home.
“Will you join us for dinner, Dugan? I know you must be exhausted, but I’d be quite pleased if you would.”
“I’ll be there. I have the next two days off and can catch up on sleep later,” he said, walking her to the door. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take the horses home and come back for you.”
“There’s no need. Just meet me at the hotel.” Delilah opened her door but remained standing on the porch. She reached up and ran her hand over the stubble on his cheek. “Thank you for everything, Dugan. You’re a wonderful friend.”
He tipped his hat to her and hastened to the wagon. A friend? Is that how she saw him? Just a good friend?
Although he cherished her friendship, it was her love that he truly wanted.
In record time, he unhitched the horses, brushed them down, milked the cow, fed his critters, then rushed into the house to change his clothes and loped back to town.
He was five minutes late arriving at the hotel, but figured no one would notice or care. Quickly opening the door and striding inside the lobby, he lifted a hand in greeting to Herbert Isaac, the front desk manager, before he stepped in the restaurant.
Several tables had been pushed together to make one long table where Delilah sat sandwiched between Sammy Barrett and Seth. She’d taken time to comb her hair and change into a lovely Prussian blue gown with enough braid, trim, and buttons to outfit three dresses.
Dugan surveyed the table and made his way to the only empty chair on the opposite end from Delilah, far enough away he could barely hear anything she said.
Once everyone placed their orders, Tully raised his glass in a toast. “To good friends, old and new, and to our resident meteorologist: May you always have more sunbeams than lightning bolts to light your path in life.”
Everyone laughed and offered words of cheer.
After the passionate kisses he’d shared with Delilah the other day, Dugan had a whole new appreciation for lightning. But if Seth leaned over any closer to Delilah, he might wish an electrified bolt would strike his best friend.
Was Delilah leading them both on? Had she shared the same type of kisses with Seth? Was there anyone else vying for her affections?
Disgruntled and irritated, Dugan felt his anger rising with each passing minute. Seth settled his arm around the back of Delilah’s chair in a familiar gesture that put Dugan on edge. Who did Seth think he was, snugging up close to her?
By the time their meals arrived, Dugan was so annoyed with Seth he wanted to jump across the table and knock out a few teeth. Instead, he picked up his knife and savagely carved a hunk off his tender steak then shoved it in his mouth.
Ian and Maggie attempted to engage him in conversation, but he offered only the briefest of replies to their questions. Finally, they gave up.
It was just as well. Dugan couldn’t concentrate on anything except how mad he was at Seth for hanging all over Delilah and her for letting him.
When Seth leaned close and brushed a stray lock of hair away from Delilah’s face, Dugan pushed back his chair and started to rise to his feet, but a hand on his arm stayed his initial reaction.
“Cool yer heels,” Ian warned in a hushed tone.
Dugan glared at him but plopped back down in the chair and picked up his knife and fork again. He wouldn’t have eaten at all but he’d worked through breakfast and skipped lunch helping Delilah move her things. If his belly wasn’t as empty as a bottomless bucket, he’d have stormed right out of the restaurant, regardless of Ian’s attempts to get him to see reason.
Mindful he couldn’t continue shooting daggers across the table at Delilah and Seth, he shifted slightly in his chair until he faced Tad and Posey Palmer who were seated across from them.
With a calming breath, he asked Tad about a new display in his shop window and Ian and Maggie joined in the conversation. Delilah insisted they all join her in dessert. Dugan ignored her and Seth as he ate the delicious, flaky-crusted canned cherry pie.
When they’d finished their meal, Dugan watched his friends make their way out the door. He gave one last glance at Delilah speaking to Seth. She turned and looked at him, her gaze questioning and uncertain.
He tipped his hat and strode away, too upset to even offer a civil word of thanks for his supper.
The woman was as fickle as the weather she predicted if she could ogle his form when he answered the door then turn her full attention to Seth as if he was her special beau.
“If that’s the way she wants to play it, then so be it,” Dugan muttered as he stormed out of the hotel. Rain fell in gentle patters, plopping in the dust of the street. He glanced at the sky and released a pent-up breath. Was that infuriating woman always right?
Determined to put her from his thoughts, Dugan marched home in the softly falling rain.