The Deputy’s Duty

“You made me feel like one.” He turned her in a slow, elegant swirl.

His response encouraged her heart-but then he changed the subject with another question: “Tell me how you came to be a maid for my mother.”

She sighed. “I started working three evenings a week cleaning for the Angel Falls Hotel, but it wasn’t enough. Still, when I heard your parents had moved back in town and were hiring, I did not even think of applying.”

“I believe you.” He winced. “You could not have been eager to come face-to-face with my mother again.”

“It wasn’t your mother but memories of you.”

Joe almost stopped when he heard that. “Did remembering me bring you that much pain?” He winced at the thought. Here she was in his arms and his heart was filling with more emotions than he could count-all of them tender and all of them for her-and she was hurting. He had to stop that. He had to fix it. Somehow he prayed he could make everything right. “I want you to remember the good times, Lanna. How happy we were together.”

“But I do remember! We were always laughing.”

“Yes, we were.” His voice was rough, vulnerable, as memories swept over him. Like the spring they had gone berry-picking near the river. He could still hear her voice… “Ouch! I can’t believe I got stung again.”

“Let me come chase off the bees first, then pick the berries.” He had put down his pail and lifted her hands from the vines. Her soft, slim fingers had been stained with berry juice and two welts were rising where the bees had stung her. “Let me make these better,” he’d said and gently kissed each one.

Memories. He shook them away, bringing his mind back to the present-back to her. Gazing into her lovely face, he could still see the Lanna he had fallen for. Time could not change that.

She continued, oblivious to his thoughts. “But after you left, there was little to laugh about. My job at the hotel couldn’t support the three of us. So last summer, when word spread that your mother was hiring another maid, I had to at least try for the job. I’m told ten other women applied for the one opening your mother had. She did me the favor of hiring me.”

“Ah, Lanna. You are still as generous as ever.” He shook his head. “You know why my mother chose you.”

“To prove a point, I expect, but it was still a benefit to my family, so I’m grateful.”

He shook his head, wishing his mother’s intentions were as pure as Lanna’s heart. “She was thrilled when my father became governor, not only for the social position but because it separated us.”

“I know.” While Geneva had not protested, she had made her displeasure known throughout their courtship. “You broke my heart when you left, Joe.”

“Mine broke, too.” He fell silent, but there was more in his eyes, more that he chose not to say.

Just as Lanna chose silence. For self-protection. To shore up the pieces of her heart. It all seemed too good to be true, waltzing in Joe’s arms.

Yet, all songs came to an end, and this one was no different. The final notes rang bittersweetly through the ballroom. She took a step back and curtsied. Joe bowed.

Their dance was over.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. There, towering behind her was a man she did not recognize. Perhaps a connection to the Wolf family from their political days?

“Miss, may I have the next free dance on your card?” the gentlemen asked courteously.

Her jaw dropped. Why would he ask her? She bit her lip before the question could slip out.

“Oh, no you don’t, Chance Bell.” Joe chuckled. “Lanna isn’t about to keep company with the likes of you.”

Chance Bell? Lanna did not recognize him-then again, he’d been several years ahead of them in school. He’d grown much taller and had a pirate’s grin, one that spelled trouble. Next to him, Joe’s rugged, confident maturity looked even more admirable.

Not that she should be noticing. But she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Sorry, Chance. I don’t have a dance card. I only came by to say hello to Joe.”

Chance raised one eyebrow. “Seems like that waltz was more than a simple hello. I should have known I didn’t have a shot.”

He is only being polite and charming, Lanna told herself as Chance winked at her and walked away. Surely Joe could see that, too. Although that did not explain why he had drawn himself up like a gorilla. “Joe? Are you all right?”

“Oh yes, fine. You didn’t want to waltz with him, did you?”

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s a relief.” He blew out a little air, looking a little more like himself. “Chance is a wily sort. Not the kind of gentleman you might feel comfortable with.”

“Oh, and I feel comfortable with you?”

That made him laugh, though it had not entirely been a joke. Perhaps he had not guessed the truth. After all, he made her uncomfortable because of her feelings for him. Lanna reminded herself that she still did not know what he felt for her.

The music’s tempo had quickened into a lively schottische. Not exactly the kind of dance she liked. But she didn’t need to say a word to Joe-he was already leading the way toward the long rows of cloth-covered tables set up discreetly at the back. Crystal, china and silver sparkled as they displayed rich treats, desserts and beverages. Just like that night years ago. She wished the past could come to life again.

“For you.” Joe slipped a cup of lemonade into her hands. “Still your favorite?”

“Yes, and yours?”

“I haven’t changed all that much.” He paused, his voice lowered. “I missed you, Lanna.”

And there went her heart, falling a little bit more in love with Joe Wolf. She steadied her hands, tried to settle her feelings and took a small sip. The lemonade was refreshingly cold and more sweet than sour. “I missed you, too, Joe.”

“That’s mighty good to hear.” He led the way past a crowd of Geneva’s friends toward a long row of Palladian windows. The night was radiant; moonlight polished the long reaches of snowy ground and the world glowed like a black opal, rich and rare. Lanna took it as a sign that this last night of the year would bring transformation.

“You know, I thought I would come home to hear about how you were a wife and mother, happy with your life.” Joe looked hard at the night instead of at her. “How come you never married?”

The lemonade turned bitter on her tongue. How did she tell him the truth? How did she tell him that deep down she had been secretly waiting all this time? For him to come back to her. For him to love her again. For the chance to love him.

She steeled her spine-there was nothing to tell him but the truth. “No man managed to catch my fancy.”

“I imagine a few tried.” His smile was infectious and made her feel valued.

“There were a few,” she admitted. But they were not you. She held the words back. Too much truth. Too much vulnerability. She did not want to get hurt. What were his feelings for her? Caring was one thing, but she could not mistake the fondness in his manner for anything more.

But was it more? She could not assume that it was. She shrugged one shoulder. “Romance for me simply never happened-and then my stepfather fell ill and our lives changed.”

He nodded, as if he were considering what she’d said.

She took a sip of the lemonade, savoring the sweetness. Her blood thundered in her ears, but somehow she dared to ask the one question she needed to. “Why aren’t you married, Joe?”

“Because deep down, part of me was hoping to come home to you.”

FIVE

Lanna felt the floor tilt and the cup slip from her fingers. Joe’s firm grip curled around the glass cup and cradled her hand. His words echoed within her. Because deep down part of me was hoping to come home to you. It seemed impossible. Unreal. Too good to be true.

And yet this was no dream. This moment was real. His touch was as tangible as the cool crystal against her.