The River Nymph by Shirl Henke

Author:Shirl Henke
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co.
Published: 2008-10-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Sky and Delilah returned to the boat before the captain blew the deafening whistle signaling their departure. All the wood had been gathered and stored for the voracious boilers. Within a quarter hour of their arrival, the boat was once again fighting the upriver current. No one appeared to notice that Clint had returned not long before the two women. Sky and Delilah had obviously been bathing, but no one else knew about the private pool. A dip in a secluded brushy area of the river on a hot day was perfectly reasonable for the two friends. Delilah’s reputation was intact.

But her peace of mind was not. “You’re angry with me, aren’t you?” Sky asked Delilah as the two women stood on the upper deck watching the muddy water churned up by the big paddlewheel.

Delilah’s eyes remained on the wildflower-strewn hill receding in the distance, remembering the taste and feel of Clint’s body. “More with myself, I guess,” she equivocated.

“Did you not enjoy it—oh, I know ladies aren’t supposed to admit such things, not even talk about them, but the Ehanktonwon view has always made more sense to me when it comes to making love.”

Delilah could feel the heat in her face but kept it turned steadfastly toward the cooling river breeze. “Yes, I enjoyed it, just as you were certain I would,” she admitted grudgingly. “Altogether too much.”

Sky’s face lit with a big smile. “I knew you were destined to be together. Anyone with eyes, including your uncle, agrees with me. One has only to watch the way you look ateach other to know.” Then she sobered. “Don’t feel as if you’ve betrayed your husband. Surely he would wish you happiness after all these years.”

“I have no idea what Lawrence would’ve wished. We were two children, fumbling in the dark. Oh, that sounds terrible… but it’s the truth.”

“And there has been no other man since,” Sky said with certainty. “You have a right to be happy, my friend…and so does my brother. He, too, has suffered much.”

“Does he still mourn his dead wife?”

Sky’s expression grew troubled. “He mourns…other things, I fear. His spirit has been wounded. But you can heal it,” she quickly added.

“I’m not certain of that. I don’t understand him…and I’m not sure I want to.”

To that, Sky made no reply. Horace hailed them from across the deck. If Delilah noticed her friend’s sudden hesitation defending Clint, she said nothing.

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