The Unlikely Wife by Cassandra Austin Page B

what she had done. In her heart she had wanted to see him again. She had been willing to imagineanything in order to give in. Still, he had asked her. The night before hadn’t been the rejection she had imagined.
    Unless he was feeling guilty about it. Or thought that was the real reason she had come.
    She had never been so confused by a man in her life. She had half a mind to turn around and ask him. “Just what do you mean by dumping me one day and encouraging me the next?” she would ask. “If you are determined to resist my charms why make me want to use them?”
    Rebecca stopped suddenly, catching a gasp with her fingertips. She had turned around! Or wandered in a circle like some poor soul lost in a blizzard. But now that she was here, she couldn’t pull herself away.
    His back was bare except for the towel slung across his left shoulder. He leaned toward the mirror, brushed lather on his face, and began to shave. Rebecca watched every flex of his muscles, every efficient motion of his hands. He was halfway through the process when the approach of another soldier brought his head up, and Rebecca’s as well.
    “Good morning, Sergeant,” Clark said, and Rebecca turned and hurried back to the ambulance.
    Rebecca spent the morning trying to sort out her feelings. By noon she realized she could no longer deny that she was in love with Clark. She had been so certain that love was simply romantic foolishness.She had found the perfect alternative: enjoy a man’s attention, then move on to another. But she couldn’t imagine flirting with another man now. She toyed with the idea of blaming him for ruining her life, but she had a feeling he had saved it instead.
    During the noon stop, Rebecca decided she would ride with Clark and the sergeant. Aunt Belle, choosing to continue in her dresses, kept herself hidden away in the wagon, and Alicia, when she was out where Rebecca might have talked to her, sulked beside the new driver. She saw no reason to remain alongside the ambulance and much to tempt her to the front of the line.
    The familiar creak of leather and jingle of harnesses was almost hypnotic. Clark suppressed a sigh. Another long day’s march with the June sun giving them a taste of what August would be like. It would take three more days to reach Fort Hays. There would be three more evenings to spend with Rebecca before the social life of the fort sent her in pursuit of someone else. He wondered if he could keep her attention for that long. He marveled that he even wanted to, knowing how quickly she would forget him. Instead of admitting that he was better off losing her sooner than later, he felt compelled to spend every possible moment with her, no matter how few.
    He found himself wishing for an emergency that would allow his military training to return his familiarcontrol. To have all thought of Rebecca Huntington banished from his mind sounded liberating.
    “Miss Huntington.”
    The sergeant’s greeting brought Clark’s head around. An emergency all right, just the wrong kind.
    Whiting tipped his hat to the young woman as she rode up beside him. “Glad to have your company, ma’am.”
    “Why, thank you, Mr. Whiting,” she said, flashing him a smile.
    She hadn’t spared a glance at Clark. But then, the sergeant rode between them. Spending the afternoon listening to her flirt with Whiting was going to be worse than missing her.
    “Ma’am, if you don’t mind,” Whiting said, “I’d like you to ride between us. Not meaning to frighten you or anything, but I’d be more comfortable knowing you had that little bit of protection.”
    He drew his horse around, and they quickly traded places. Clark wasn’t sure if Whiting was really being chivalrous or if he was playing matchmaker. He didn’t care. She was right where he wanted her. He gave her a polite smile but wondered if his eyes hadn’t betrayed his pleasure. Her grin looked almost wicked.
    “I trust the new driver is acceptable,” he said,