her hand and focused his attention on her. Oh God, there had to be another way. She couldn't marry him. She really couldn't.
The idea of moving back to Boston had come slowly to her. There were no jobs for girls her age in Waco. But there were plenty of jobs back East. Her mind worked on an alternative to a bleak life spent with a man she didn't love. As scary as moving away from Waco was, it seemed infinitely more preferable than marrying someone that made her skin crawl. And all because her friend Miranda Cox broke down and told her what happened after marriage. Miranda's father owned the dry goods store in town, and she had gotten married the year before. She had described to Becky in detail what happened when a man and woman shared the same bed. And that was precisely why Becky could never, ever marry Kyle. Why, oh why, had she pestered Miranda so much about it? Now apprehension and uneasiness dominated her every waking thought.
Before, Kyle never really bothered her much. She saw him as a friend, and never really thought about him with an eye toward romance. But finding out the truth about the marital bed had been so shocking that she knew she was hearing the truth. At about the same time Kyle started becoming amorous, she started becoming nauseous.
Suddenly, the world around her tipped with the new knowledge she held. She began to see things differently, with a new eye. It was like holding the key to a door. Before, she hadn't even realized the door was there. But the last few months, she began noticing all kinds of things. She began observing the guests at the boardinghouse. Some married couples slept in the same room. They were the same guests that ate their breakfast together, smiled at each other, and strolled down the boardwalk hand in hand. Other married guests stayed in separate rooms. She never saw those couples smile at each other or even accidentally touch. Coincidence? She thought not. Her brain began putting two and two together.
She also noticed the saloon girls, when they were out and about town. And she noticed the way the men looked at them . A shiver ran down her spine.
A mortified feeling of unease went through her. She also began to notice how certain men looked at her . Were they thinking about that? Did they look at her and think of the things that people did in the marriage bed? Anxiety rose within her at an alarming rate.
It all seemed perfectly uncivilized to her, and the thought of having to take part in any of it seemed awkward at the least and downright petrifying at the worst.
And then a pair of dark, velvet brown eyes rose up in her mind. Her knees weakened, and the enticing image of him rising over her in bed infiltrated her mind. A quivery feeling snaked through her, and she pushed the sinful thought away.
She absolutely had to stop worrying about this! It was going to drive her crazy.
As she rounded the corner in front of the drugstore the bane of her existence, Kyle Bolton, stepped in front of her. Had he been waiting for her? The coincidence of running into him at this time of day was small, and a harassed feeling tightened the soft lines of her face.
His hands landed on her upper arms in a move that apparently was meant to steady her. The feel of his smooth white skin touching her through the cotton of her dress inspired nothing but irritation and a small queasiness in the pit of her stomach.
She tried to put her feelings aside and attempted for a congenial tone of politeness. She wouldn't be rude to him, but she mustn't encourage him, either.
Her face was blank and composed when she lifted it to his.
"Hi, Becky. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Becky pulled back but he didn't let go. She could feel a mental wall rise inside of her to block him out. Her body stiffened. "I've got to go, Kyle. I need to get to the sheriff's. I haven't started his supper yet."
"You're always running around town, shopping for
The idea of moving back to Boston had come slowly to her. There were no jobs for girls her age in Waco. But there were plenty of jobs back East. Her mind worked on an alternative to a bleak life spent with a man she didn't love. As scary as moving away from Waco was, it seemed infinitely more preferable than marrying someone that made her skin crawl. And all because her friend Miranda Cox broke down and told her what happened after marriage. Miranda's father owned the dry goods store in town, and she had gotten married the year before. She had described to Becky in detail what happened when a man and woman shared the same bed. And that was precisely why Becky could never, ever marry Kyle. Why, oh why, had she pestered Miranda so much about it? Now apprehension and uneasiness dominated her every waking thought.
Before, Kyle never really bothered her much. She saw him as a friend, and never really thought about him with an eye toward romance. But finding out the truth about the marital bed had been so shocking that she knew she was hearing the truth. At about the same time Kyle started becoming amorous, she started becoming nauseous.
Suddenly, the world around her tipped with the new knowledge she held. She began to see things differently, with a new eye. It was like holding the key to a door. Before, she hadn't even realized the door was there. But the last few months, she began noticing all kinds of things. She began observing the guests at the boardinghouse. Some married couples slept in the same room. They were the same guests that ate their breakfast together, smiled at each other, and strolled down the boardwalk hand in hand. Other married guests stayed in separate rooms. She never saw those couples smile at each other or even accidentally touch. Coincidence? She thought not. Her brain began putting two and two together.
She also noticed the saloon girls, when they were out and about town. And she noticed the way the men looked at them . A shiver ran down her spine.
A mortified feeling of unease went through her. She also began to notice how certain men looked at her . Were they thinking about that? Did they look at her and think of the things that people did in the marriage bed? Anxiety rose within her at an alarming rate.
It all seemed perfectly uncivilized to her, and the thought of having to take part in any of it seemed awkward at the least and downright petrifying at the worst.
And then a pair of dark, velvet brown eyes rose up in her mind. Her knees weakened, and the enticing image of him rising over her in bed infiltrated her mind. A quivery feeling snaked through her, and she pushed the sinful thought away.
She absolutely had to stop worrying about this! It was going to drive her crazy.
As she rounded the corner in front of the drugstore the bane of her existence, Kyle Bolton, stepped in front of her. Had he been waiting for her? The coincidence of running into him at this time of day was small, and a harassed feeling tightened the soft lines of her face.
His hands landed on her upper arms in a move that apparently was meant to steady her. The feel of his smooth white skin touching her through the cotton of her dress inspired nothing but irritation and a small queasiness in the pit of her stomach.
She tried to put her feelings aside and attempted for a congenial tone of politeness. She wouldn't be rude to him, but she mustn't encourage him, either.
Her face was blank and composed when she lifted it to his.
"Hi, Becky. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Becky pulled back but he didn't let go. She could feel a mental wall rise inside of her to block him out. Her body stiffened. "I've got to go, Kyle. I need to get to the sheriff's. I haven't started his supper yet."
"You're always running around town, shopping for
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