Debra Ullrick - Groom Wanted

Besides, she was way out of his league, anyway. Going from a large home to a small three-room house would be hard for anyone used to living in the luxury she was accustomed to. Plus, staying where she was, Leah never had to want for anything. If she married him, she would. Oh, he could support her by keeping food on the table and clothes on her back, but there wouldn’t be much left for anything extra. And the woman deserved every good thing life had to offer. None of that mattered now, anyway. Leah had made it clear that nothing would stop her from moving back to New York. Why she wanted to go there, he had no idea.

Personally, he hated the city and would go crazy if he ever went to one again.

Literally.

His childhood had seen to that. In 1864 fire blazed throughout Atlantic City. The crowd had gone berserk trying to flee to safety and in the process he had gotten separated from his mother. The crowd trampled him, leaving him for dead at six years old. Ever since then, he had a fear of crowds. He could be around a small group of people, but he couldn’t handle being closed in a building or surrounded by people—he felt trapped. For twenty-two of his twenty-eight years he’d tried to overcome his fear. Had even made a trip back to Atlantic City. Big mistake that was. While walking down the crowded streets, suddenly everyone seemed as if they were right on top of him again, just like when he was six.

He’d felt trapped.

Closed in, even.

His heart had pounded hard and fast, his breathing came in short gasps, his arms felt heavy, his palms coated with moisture, and his head swam until his vision clouded.

The need to flee had pressed in on him.

Only when he had escaped to an open field had his heart stopped racing and his breathing returned to normal.

Even now, whenever he found himself crowded in, even by the smallest mob of people, fear stampeded over him. His only recourse was to get alone until his heart and breathing returned to normal and the fear lifted. When people asked him what was wrong, he’d make up an excuse because a long time ago, he’d learned not to tell anyone or ask for help. The few times he had he’d been made fun of and he hated how small that made him feel. For a man his size, it was hard to make him feel small, but ridicule did. The worst part of this whole thing was his phobia punctured the dream of him ever moving to New York to be with Leah.

“You do know, Jake, that I will have to bring Abby with me again. Propriety and all that, you know.” Leah’s voice snatched his mind back from the dark caves of the past. “That means she’ll know what you’re doing, too.”

“Already figured as much. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Wouldn’t do anything to ruin your reputation, even if that means having Abby know what I’m up to.” He gave a quick nod. “So be it. Besides, I enjoy your sister. Who wouldn’t? She’s a pistol.”

“She sure is. A very discreet pistol, though, I assure you.” Leah smiled and the dimples on each side of her pink lips winked.

“Well, let’s get this over with.”

“Have to put it that way?”

Leah waved her hand, “No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant...”

He placed his fingertips on her soft lips. “It’s okay, Leah. You don’t have to explain. I know what you meant. Was just teasing you.” When he realized where his fingers were, he quickly removed them.

“When do you want to start?” She fiddled with the strings of her reticule.

“Now, if that works for you.”

Leah’s gaze brushed his. She tilted her head in that cute way of hers, then stared at him as if she were considering his offer.

“Hmm.” She settled her fingertip against her lips. “I am finished in town, and Mother isn’t expecting me until later. So now will work just fine. I’ll run and go get Abby, then follow you to your place.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Leah tilted her head even farther and a blond lock slipped across her eye.

He reached to brush it away, then snatched his hand back to his side. Doing that seemed intimate somehow. A line friends didn’t cross. “Think about it, Leah. How would that look, us riding off together?”

Leah tapped her forehead. “How could I have been so dim-witted? Of course, you’re right. Thank you, Jake.”

He glanced out to the dirt street that ran right through town. “Tell you what. I’ll head on out now. You and Abby leave ten or fifteen minutes after me?”

“What time is it now?”

He pulled his pocket watch out of his vest pocket and flipped it open. “One forty-five.”

“I’m supposed to meet Abby at her friend Phoebe’s house around two. So that will work perfectly.” There were those dimples again.

“Great. See you at my place in about half an hour then?”

This smile went all the way up to her eyes. Eyes the color of a spring day dotted with clouds.

“We’ll be there.”

Unable to think of anything else to say, Jake clasped the brim of his hat, gave a quick nod and headed toward the blacksmith shop to pick up his horse.

* * *

“Phoebe!” Leah gaped at Abby’s friend, who was a little more than a year older than Abby’s seventeen. “Your wedding dress is absolutely gorgeous. You look so beautiful in it. Like Cinderella at the ball.”

Phoebe’s lips curled upward and her face turned as red as her hair. Her big green eyes were shielded when her eyelids lowered. How the sweet girl ever managed to snag Markus Donahue, the banker’s son, when she was so shy was beyond Leah, but she was glad Phoebe had. If anyone deserved a nice man like Markus, it was Phoebe.

“Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you excited?” Leah curled a stray strand of hair around her ear.

Phoebe dipped her head down and nodded. Two seconds later her head popped upward and alarm marched across her face. “You two are still coming, aren’t you?”

Leah walked over to Phoebe and grabbed her hands. “Of course we’ll be there. Nothing would stop us from coming.”

“But you know how unpredictable the weather is here in May. What if it rains or snows and you can’t get into town because the roads are too muddy?”

Horrified was the only way Leah could describe Phoebe’s face.

“Then we’ll ride the horses into town. They’ll be able to make it even if the buggy can’t.”

Phoebe’s head jerked with short, nervous nods. “Oh. Okay.”

Leah clasped Phoebe’s hands again. “We’ll be there, Phoebe. I promise. Now.” She released her hands. “Come on, Abbynormal.” Leah used the nickname she often called her sister. The one that best suited Abby’s personality. Abby was anything but normal, but Leah loved her sister for it and envied her at the same time. How wonderful it would be to be so carefree. “We need to get going.”

Abby stopped talking with Phoebe and faced her. “Why?”

“Because...” She gave Abby that look. The one that let her know she was going to Jake’s again. Something the two of them had done ever since his accident many months back when he’d fallen and hit his head. Back then, the idea of him alone and needing help had eaten at Leah until she couldn’t bear it. She was so glad Abby had agreed to go with her to help him until he had healed. During that time Leah and Jake had become great friends.

Make that the three of them. Abby enjoyed going to Jake’s farm as much as Leah did and thought it was great fun playing the role of her older sister’s chaperone. Leah was glad she found it fun, but it was necessary more than anything. If she didn’t drag her sister along, Leah could never have gone to a single man’s house alone. It would be improper and, most importantly, her reputation would be ruined.

Being seen with Jake too much in public would give people the wrong idea about the two of them. Like a wildfire out of control, all of Paradise Haven would spread rumors that they were courting. She’d seen it happen to several other couples who eventually wed or ended the whole thing in a ruinous scandal—neither of which she wanted with Jake. Besides, it wasn’t like that between her and Jake. To be sure, they enjoyed each other’s company, but neither of them had feelings that went beyond friendship.