But no matter how his heart betrayed him, Simon couldn’t even consider staying on the frontier. He could visit the town now and then if his travels brought him to the area. But marriage was out of the question. He couldn’t keep helping the orphans and settle down to married life at the same time. He’d never known a woman who would choose to travel the country helping abandoned and neglected children rather than having her own and he didn’t expect to find one out here.
When Simon reached Lily’s Café, he was surprised by how busy it was. But he managed to find a seat at a small table, the right size for two people. He had barely settled into his seat when the sound of footsteps close by grabbed his attention. Expecting Cat, he looked up and lost himself in lovely, intelligent eyes instead of flirtatious ones. Cecilia.
Her smile was a bit shy and Simon wondered if she felt as awkward as he did after the way they’d left things the week before. “Hello, Simon. It’s nice to see you here at Lily’s.”
Simon stood to greet her. “Well, she introduced herself last week and invited me, so I thought I’d take her up on the offer.”
Cecilia tucked her bottom lip under straight teeth. “Could I join you for a minute? There’s something I’d like to say.”
He gestured at the open chair with a shrug. Cecilia seemed to avoid his gaze as she seated herself while Simon did the same. An awkward silence fell between them. Simon glanced around the room, taking in the other patrons and trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make the moment more uncomfortable. But Cecilia broke the silence with a rush of words. “I think I owe you an apology. I know I was a bit rude last week when we parted and I’m sorry for that.”
Her face was so earnest that Simon couldn’t have held a grudge against her even if he’d wanted to. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I pushed too hard. I’ve been told I can be overbearing.”
Amusement crossed her face and he wondered if she would have made a joke about his words if he hadn’t made her so uncomfortable before. The look passed and she shook her head. “No, I don’t want any distractions or tension when we’re out visiting the children, so I need to explain. It isn’t that I didn’t trust you to take me home or that I have anything to hide. I simply value my independence. Men so often treat single women like we’re unable to handle ourselves, but I’ve been doing fine for several years on my own. I don’t want you to think you need to take special care with me. I’m not weak and fragile.”
* * *
The statement wasn’t untrue. Cecilia didn’t want to be coddled because she was an unmarried female. There was just so much more to it. But she couldn’t tell him about the years she’d spent pining over men who were never interested in her. Or about how, after Mama died when the girls were small, Papa used to treat Cecilia like she was a china doll, so delicate he was afraid to touch her. He’d never treated her sisters like that. Coralee’s strength always commanded respect rather than overprotection. And Cat’s carefree confidence tended to keep people at arm’s length. All too often, people treated Cecilia like she wasn’t able to handle life on the frontier on her own.
Simon’s tilted head and furrowed brow confirmed that keeping her deepest reasons to herself was the right choice. It was clear he didn’t see why being treated as if she couldn’t manage alone was a bad thing. And how could he? A man who had spent most of his life with no one to answer to would never understand why she had to work so hard to do things independently.
She was quite glad when he nodded and the confusion on his face cleared as if he’d considered all the angles and decided to accept her simplified explanation. She felt a little of the tight knot in her stomach relax. Spending hours side-by-side with him when they visited the children would have been unbearable if that awkwardness had persisted.
Looking across the small table at Simon, she was struck by the urge to stay and learn more about him. She’d seen him at the church service the day before, but she had wondered all week what he was doing and if she’d run into him around town. “Were you able to fill the rest of your week with any interesting activities?”
Before Simon could even open his mouth to answer her question, the room stilled and Cecilia turned to see Cat. After making her usual dramatic entrance, she sashayed to their table in a cloud of delicately flowered skirts. Every dark hair was in a perfect, flattering arrangement that looked like it had taken her hours. And had she pinched her cheeks before coming in? How else could she have such a charming pink flush on her skin all the time?
Cat’s dusky voice grated on Cecilia’s nerves as she flashed her favorite flirty smile at Simon. “Hello, Simon. Cecilia.”
Cecilia raised an eyebrow at her sister. “I’m surprised to see you here today. You usually do anything you can to get out of helping at the café. There was no excuse Aunt Lily would accept this time?”
Cat’s eyes flashed with humor. “Oh, I’m not here to work today. But can you believe she didn’t think I really agreed to help rescue a child from a well outside town yesterday? There’s no reason that couldn’t be true.”
A sudden cough brought both women’s attention to Simon, who had his mouth covered with one hand. In spite of her irritation with Cat, Cecilia bit back her own laugh. He was trying so hard to be polite. Cat caught his concealed humor, as well, responding with an audacious wink. “Well, I suppose it could be a little far-fetched.”
Cat and Simon burst out in laughter, but Cecilia couldn’t help the sudden burn of jealousy that hit her heart. Every male eye in the room turned and locked on her sister as her tinkling giggle echoed. Cecilia was certain that nothing she did had ever garnered that kind of attention.
Simon’s deep chuckle drew her gaze back to him and Cecilia was surprised to find that he was looking right at her, rather than watching Cat. She turned away, hoping the sudden flush in her cheeks wasn’t showing as much as she felt it. Unlike Cat, she looked splotchy when she blushed. But she was soon distracted when Cat pulled an empty chair from the next table and joined them without even bothering to ask if she was welcome.
Cecilia plastered a smile on her face. “Don’t you have any business that brought you to the café, Cat?”
Her sister nodded, oblivious to Cecilia’s irritation, then turned to smile at Simon. “Yes, of course. Simon, won’t you explain why you invited me for supper? I’ve been dying to find out what’s going on since you sent that messenger.”
Cecilia’s gaze shot to Simon to see him blinking rapidly, his face blank. “Uh, well. Yes, supper.” He was usually so self-assured. Had Cat’s presence affected him more than he let on? Cecilia’s heart sank. She would have loved to think that Simon was different, impervious to her sister’s stunning beauty rather than enthralled by it. But he was as distracted by Cat as every other man.
Shoving her chair back with more force than she’d intended, Cecilia felt eyes around the room shift to her. Sure, they looked at her now, when her face must be redder than the flowers embroidered on Cat’s dress. Fighting to maintain some dignity, she thrust her chin in the air and spoke so only Simon and Cat could hear. “Well, allow me to get out of your way so you can get to that important business.”
She turned to walk away, but it didn’t seem that a graceful retreat was possible for her. Her foot caught on the leg of a chair that was pushed out too far and she stumbled. And found herself falling straight toward Simon.
His hands shot out and grabbed her upper arms, holding her steady against him even as he stood to help her gain her footing. She had a horrible suspicion that he could actually feel the heat coming off her cheeks. She tried to shake off his hands, but he held her for a moment longer, leaning close to speak in a low voice. “Cecilia, you aren’t in the way. There’s nothing private about what I need to discuss with Cat.”
Unable to pull her gaze from the intensity