His horse turned his head, the length of rope that tied him in his stall limiting his movement. And for a long moment, Max was tempted. His pride was taking a beating.
It would be an easy matter to saddle the animal, although any sane creature, man or beast, would be reluctant to ride out into the downpour that pounded unceasingly against the barn roof. Yet Max could probably make the horse obey him, force him to carry him to town, and to the hotel. A train would be heading east within the next twenty-four hours. That was almost guaranteed.
If he had any sense at all, he’d be on it, making arrangements for Faith’s inheritance to be deposited for her use, once the papers were delivered to the lawyers in Boston.
The papers. They were even now in his pouch, beside the bed where he’d slept. And wasn’t that handy? The deciding vote had been cast, he thought, leaning his head against the wide doorjamb. Leaving right now was not an option. And unless he left while he was still angry enough to walk away, he feared his stubborn need for Faith would keep him here until he could breach her defenses and…and what?
Make love to her? His manhood’s urgent plea for attention had subsided during the trek through the rain, but now it made itself known again at the thought of Faith in his bed. Or him in her bed. Either way would do, he decided with a rusty laugh. And neither way seemed to be in his immediate future.
He spent a long moment contemplating a vision of Faith awaiting his attentions, and somehow could not visualize the body that hid beneath coarse cotton and sturdy underclothing. For he’d almost guarantee that the lace and fine fabrics she’d worn beneath her dresses in Boston no longer had a place in her wardrobe.
“And who cares?” he said aloud, then looked around at the dim interior of the barn, as if some listener might have heard his words. His horse, and Faith’s in the stalls beyond, were patently uninterested in his presence, standing patiently in their beds of straw.
He cared, he admitted. For a moment he desperately desired the chance to view her slender form again, to take special note of the formation of breasts and hips, the narrowing of her waist, the changes time had wrought in the body he’d once been privileged to own as her husband.
Now, he stood little chance of ever owning more than he’d already snatched from her. She’d refused his suit, denied him in no uncertain terms. And he was hiding in her barn like a callow youth, pouting over his inability to seduce the love of his life.
The love of his life. He was taken aback at the idea. He’d thought, long ago, that he could set her in a compartment labeled Wife and keep her there, taking her out now and then for his pleasure or to grace his arm, or sit at the head of his table as his hostess. And he’d never really known the woman inside the shell of elegant beauty she possessed.
Now she was set free, had escaped the mold he’d formed for her, and in freeing herself, had filled him, heart and mind and soul, with her presence.
The love of his life? Was she? Could he find another woman who appealed to him as Faith did? Did he even want to try? The answer was clear, as clear as if he looked in a mirror and faced the dour countenance he knew he wore at this moment.
“I beg your pardon,” Max said. He stood outside the screened door, looking as bedraggled as any man she’d ever seen. The rain had long since ceased, and Faith had fed the hens and gathered the eggs, one eye on the closed barn door, behind which her husband was taking his ease.
The sun shone brightly, and a nice wind blew from the west, drying up the puddles that dotted the yard. He’d trudged through them on his way to the house, his hair dry, but totally disordered, his clothing clinging to him, even as it dried against his body. He’d shed his shirt halfway across the yard, hanging it over the clothesline, then continued on his way.
Sitting on the edge of the porch, he’d tugged his boots off, then wrung out his stockings before he hung them on the short line between two posts, where she made it a practice to pin her dish towels to dry. Now he stood before her, his dark eyes shadowed, his beard causing him to look unlike the male creature she had known in Boston, who took immense pride in his immaculate, elegant facade.
He resembled nothing more than a man with an apology to offer, and she hesitated as she decided if she was willing to hear it. “You beg my pardon?” she asked, facing him through the screen.
“Yes. I need to ask your forgiveness for my behavior earlier.” Humble was not a word she would have chosen to portray the Max she remembered from her earlier life. Yet it seemed an appropriate description for his appearance at her door. Hat in hand would be a more accurate depiction, she thought, except that his hat was even now hanging on a hook inside her kitchen.
“My forgiveness?” she repeated, attempting to digest his meaning. “For the kiss you took? Or the assumption you made that I would toss back the sheets and invite you into my bed?”
He looked taken aback at her words. “You’ve changed, Faith,” he said finally.
“Have I? Because I speak my mind?”
His nod was slow, his eyes lighting with amusement. “Not only that,” he said, “but you’re so damned independent.” He chuckled and opened the door, walking past her to stand near the stove, rubbing his hands together. “Your barn doesn’t provide much in the way of creature comforts. It’s cold out there.”
She shrugged. “You’re the one who chose to tramp through the rain and spend half the morning with the horses. I hope you put them out to pasture, by the way.”
He seemed ready to make amends as he nodded in reply, and then reinforced it with a quiet plea. “If I ask nicely, will you let me have a cup of coffee?”
She considered for a moment, enjoying his penitent mood, although he had almost ruined it with his smile and smart remarks. “There’s enough in the pot, I think. Probably too strong, but still fit to drink if you’re desperate.”
“I am,” he said solemnly. And the glance he shot in her direction appeared to hold more than one message in its dark depths.
It was something she decided not to examine too closely, and instead, lifted a cup from the shelf and poured it full of the strong coffee she’d kept warm for just this moment. “Did you clean the stalls?” she asked casually.
“Yes. I used the wheelbarrow and lugged the whole mess out to the manure pile. Managed to ruin my boots. I’ll probably end up buying another pair.”
Her shrug was uncaring. “You’ll learn how to clean them if you stick around long enough. I manage to get by with one pair.”
“You wear house shoes,” he reminded her. “Your boots stay on the porch for the most part.”
“I’d say it was a good place for yours, too.” She turned from him, lifting her dish towel to wipe at a spotless pane of glass in her kitchen cabinet, then concentrated on watching her fingers as they traced the wooden framework.
“By the way, I’m sticking around,” he said, catching her attention. “I haven’t given up on changing your mind.” His hesitation was long and then he spoke again. “Will you go to town with me, Faith?” he asked quietly. “I think we need to send off the papers you signed, and I’d like to buy you some things at the general store.”
Her breath snagged in her throat at the thought of appearing in Benning with Max at her side. “What sort of things?” she asked.
“Turn around and look at me.”
She did as he commanded, leaning back on the cabinet. “All right. I’m looking.”
“Do you need to make everything so difficult?” he asked quietly. “Can we just be…pleasant to each other for one day?”
“Does being pleasant involve you spending money on me? For things I can do very nicely without?”
“I want to buy you new dresses. Nothing fancy,” he amended quickly as she opened her mouth to deny her need for such things. “Just