The Star Series by Catherine Coulter

Author:Catherine Coulter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2012-04-25T04:00:00+00:00

There were several women in Hock’s General Store and they blinked at Chauncey’s clothes, but their look wasn’t at all disapproving, only curious. As for the men, they didn’t seem to see anything out of the ordinary. One of them even tipped his felt hat at her. If I were seen like this in London, Chauncey thought in some amusement, there would be a riot! As for “old” Bernie, he was all of forty, as round as he was tall, and had a merry smile.

“We’ll fix both of you right up, Del!”

And he did. The two gowns Chauncey decided on were made of sturdy cotton, as were all the underthings. No silks or satins, my girl, she said to herself, smiling at a particularly flashy gingham skirt.

Even as she smiled and nodded or shook her head as old Bernie presented her with different garments, she felt raw fear eating away at her. She wouldn’t let Del face Paul Montgomery alone. She couldn’t.

“Do you have enough money for all this?” she asked her husband as she eyed the pile of men’s and women’s clothing atop the counter.

“Madam, I’ll contrive,” he said.

That evening, they ate in a small restaurant called Curlie’s just off Main Street. The food was most plentiful and Chauncey felt her mouth water at the sight of bread and butter. “A feast,” she said, rubbing her hands together.

“I’ve always found that a little deprivation makes one appreciate the more basic things in life.”

“You’re salivating too, Mr. Saxton!”

“True enough,” he agreed, and bit into a thick crust of warm bread.

A harassed waiter brought them thick steaks, green beans, fried potatoes, and huge slabs of apple pie.

“Oh goodness. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

She saw Delaney stiffen and knew he was thinking about their close brush with death just that morning.

“Del,” she said sharply, “stop it! We’re both alive and quite well and we’re going to stay that way.”

He gazed at her intensely and she saw the glittering desire in his golden eyes. She sucked in her breath, her body responding to him, and her forkful of potatoes plopped onto her plate.

“You really shouldn’t be thinking what you’re thinking,” she said, her voice somewhat breathless.

“How do you know what my thoughts are?”

She looked him straight in the eye. “Because I’m thinking the same thoughts, that’s how.”

“Good,” he said, and the caressing softness of that one word made gooseflesh rise on her arms.

They enjoyed their dinner in silence. Chauncey dropped her fork and leaned back in her chair. “Not another bite or I’ll pop out of my very fancy new gown! That was the most delicious meal I’ve ever eaten.”

Delaney nodded, still seemingly interested in his dinner plate. “Do you know, Chauncey,” he began after a moment, “I will never let another day go by in my life without realizing how sweet it is to simply be alive, and how sweet it is to have my wife by my side, laughing with me, even arguing with me. Life can be too bloody fragile.

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