Hart's Desire (Pirates & Petticoats Book 1) by Chloe Flowers

understand how the other creatures sleep.” She closed the curtains around her bed then leaned over and extinguished the candle at the bedside.
    Sleep did not come.  
    Her mind skipped from thought to thought like a bee buzzing from flower to flower. Too hot to breathe, Keelan slipped out of bed and pulled a dressing gown over her chemise. Perhaps Papa was still awake. She decided to sit with him a while, awake or not.
    She crept in bare feet, careful to avoid the creaky boards. The bedroom doors were recessed in small alcoves along the hallway. Loud snores emanated from behind Cousin Doreen’s door, and Keelan suppressed a giggle as she slipped past. Outside her father’s room, she paused.  
    A low murmur of voices indicated that someone else was inside. Curious, she listened close to the keyhole to identify who conversed with her father.
    “I would like to see Keelan properly cared for, before I die, Jared.”  
    “Don’t talk like that, George,” Uncle Jared responded. The doubt in her uncle's voice drifted under the door.
    Her father gave an exasperated sigh. “We both know my health is not improving. If anything, I am worse.”
    “George, as Keelan’s guardian, I assure you, I will take excellent care of her.” Uncle Jared paused. “She’s almost twenty. She should marry after harvest season. Pratt is a keen businessman and has tripled his family’s estates and coffers since he accepted control thirty some years ago. When he dies, Keelan would be one of the largest plantation owners in the state.”  
    Silence.  
    Keelan winced. The silence meant her father was contemplating Uncle Jared’s words and from the duration of the silence, nothing had yet come to mind that would create a valid argument against what Jared proposed.
    Uncle Jared coughed. “Dr. Garrison is interested, but he has no experience running a plantation.”
    “Yes,” Papa’s gravelly voice replied. “He talked to me this morning and asked for her hand in marriage.”
    An involuntary gasp escaped her lips.
    “And did you consent?”
    “I told him I would consider it. I almost rather Keelan consider him, since I fear her preferences do not lie with Pratt or plantation life.”  
    Keelan leaned in closer toward the door.
    “George,” her uncle retorted, “that daughter of yours has sent every young buck in three counties home with their tails twixt their legs. It’s a very small pool of fish from which she has to choose in these parts.” She heard Uncle Jared pacing the floor. “Her husband should be of the ilk who can handle Twin Pines in her best interest. Pratt would see it better done. I cannot continue to split my time between my Charleston business and Twin Pines for much longer. It’s only a matter of time before one of the two starts to show severe signs of neglect.”
    Papa hesitated then spoke, “Well, it would be a tremendous comfort to me if she is married and cared for.”  
    “Of course it would,” Uncle Jared consoled.  
    She clenched her teeth and held her breath, waiting for Papa to respond.
    Her father sighed. “You’re right, Pratt’s the better decision. However, I promised Keelan she had until after the ball to make her choice. I doubt a better solution will present itself, but I gave her my word. I would much rather she concur with the decision than object to it.”
    Keelan leaned back in despair, then froze as the floorboards creaked.
    Uncle Jared cleared his throat. “I will…” he paused. “Did you hear something?”
    She clapped her hand over her mouth then whirled and flew down the hall. She heard the opening click of the latch to her father’s chamber and ducked into the alcove of Doreen’s bedchamber. Breathless, she pressed flat into the shadows as her father’s door opened. She dared not breathe, as the soft light of the bedroom fanned out into the hall. A shadow fell across the floorboards, remaining for several long seconds before it disappeared back into the room. The latch