Read Online No One But You by Leigh Greenwood - Free Book Online Page B

treat,” Rose said with a laugh. “Living inside and having to wash and watch what he says is a severe trial to him. If I didn’t keep his room straight, you wouldn’t be able to get past the door.”
    The room Sarah entered was too Spartan for her taste, but it was clean and neat. There was nothing on the walls, and the only furniture was a plain bed, a plain wardrobe, a small table, and a single chair. The only object out of place in the room was her own small valise.
    â€œMonty insisted on minimal furnishings. I saw no reason not to indulge him. I’ll have one of the boys bring up a pitcher and basin. Monty prefers to use the pump outside.”
    â€œYou don’t have to bother.”
    Rose grinned. “It’s no bother. I’ll have Tyler do it. What’s the use of doing for eight men if you have to run your own errands?”
    After Rose left, Sarah set the small kerosene lamp on the table. Since she had to wait until Tyler brought the water to begin undressing, she crossed to the window and looked out. The sky was clear except for a few small clouds that rolled slowly from west to east. A three-quarters moon provided enough light to make out the dark hulk of the bunkhouse. It seemed like an unlikely place for a man to prefer to a room in his own house. She wondered if Salty preferred it.
    She turned away from the window. Why was she thinking about Salty when she should be thinking about Walter? He filled every one of her requirements as well has having none of the disadvantages. By asking him to meet with her, George and Rose had vouched for his character. She should be relieved and grateful rather than trying to find an explanation for this increasingly strong feeling she was making a mistake. She had found exactly the kind of man she was looking for, and he seemed interested in accepting her offer.
    She dropped down on the bed with a grunt of disgust. In actuality, she didn’t have to look far for the source of her disquiet, her dissatisfaction, her inability to focus her thoughts on Walter; her attraction to Salty was so strong it had thrown her thinking out of balance.
    Sarah got to her feet, determined to put Salty out of her mind. She picked up her valise, placed it on the bed, and opened it. There wasn’t much inside beyond her night clothes. Neither she nor the children had more than three complete changes of clothes—two for work and one for company. Everything else had been worn out by hard use and frequent washing.
    She was relieved to hear a knock. She opened the door to find Tyler standing there with the promised water and basin which he held out to her. When she took them, he turned and left without speaking. An odd boy, made even more unusual by being so tall and thin.
    It didn’t take long to wash and put on her night clothes. After putting out the lamp, she let her body sink into the mattress with a sigh of pleasure. She couldn’t understand why Monty would prefer the bunkhouse to this bed. It was so soft she was sure she would oversleep if she didn’t leave the curtain open for the morning sun to wake her.
    Grateful for the barrier against the night cold, Sarah pulled the thick quilt up to her chin. She was afraid she would lie awake fretting over her fascination with Salty, but once her body heat had warmed the bed, she sank blissfully into a deep sleep.
    She was mortified to find that everyone was up by the time she got dressed and down to the kitchen. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked Ellen who was busy cutting out biscuits, something she never did at home.
    â€œMrs. Randolph said to let you sleep.”
    Jared looked up from where he was cracking eggs into a large bowl. “Mrs. Randolph said with all of us helping, you’d only be in the way.”
    Zac was cutting sausage while Tyler was grinding coffee. The aroma of roasted beans that filled the room brought back memories of Sarah’s mother’s kitchen