Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi

Author:Pamela Morsi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466033009
Publisher: Pamela Morsi

CHAPTER 12

Jesse Best had never fiddled better. That's what everyone was saying and Althea Winsloe couldn't help but agree. Like a house afire he'd played everything from "Molly Lockett" to "Ryestraw," and "Fisher's Hornpipe." It was all wonderfully executed and without Jesse even hesitating to catch his breath.

Althea had hardly had time to catch her own. She'd danced every dance, stopping only on two occasions to assure herself that Baby Paisley had not gotten himself into any trouble. After an exciting evening of play, the little fellow lay spent and sleeping in a pile of quilts and like-minded toddlers near the edge of the clearing.

Althea herself was nearly breathless with exhaustion. Surely Jesse, who had played full tilt all night, must be nearly ready to drop.

Observing Jesse, however, he did not appear overly fatigued. He looked so strong and tall and masculine standing in the glow of the pine-knot torches. His fingers moved with such dexterity upon the fiddle's fine curved neck, and when he drew the bow, it was as if his body, all of it, were a part of what made the sound. He was handsome, very handsome. And he seemed so whole. That was it, Althea realized. When he played the fiddle, none could tell that he was simple, slow witted, less than other men. Perhaps, Althea thought, that was because when he played he was not. She glanced at him once more as Oather Phillips twirled her in that direction. Jesse fiddled music from his heart, not from his mind. So when he played it, you couldn't

tell that he was feebleminded. She couldn't tell it when he'd kissed her either.

The thought brought a guilty blush to her cheeks. She'd spent much time pushing away the traitorous feelings that had come upon her when Simple Jesse Best had held her in his arms. She trembled even now at the memory of it. For that one wonderful moment she'd felt safe, desired, beloved. One sweet moment, and she was so ashamed!

She had never shirked Paisley's touch, but it had never thrilled her as Jesse's had. That was because of the illicitness of it, she assured herself. Paisley had been her husband. He'd had a legal and moral right to her body and she'd had a legal and moral obligation to make it available to him. There was nothing legal or moral about kissing Jesse Best. It had been sin, plain as day. Breathless, heart stopping sin. And one of the worst kind. The sin of taking advantage of a lesser creature. As the set ended, she glanced up at him on the porch. His eyes were bright, his smile was wide, and a thin sheen of sweat plastered his thin cotton shirt to the masculine contours of his body. He did not look at all like a lesser creature, and certainly not one that had been sinned against.

Determinedly she focused her attention back on Oather Phillips and the other folks who surrounded her. It had turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant evening.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.