the time to make good on his promise, to stand up and be the son his father wanted and needed. 'Father is going to require constant care for some time, and the doctor fears he may never fully recover.'
'Aye.'
Jonah paused, considering. Inspiration struck. Why hadn't he thought of it before? 'Then I'll need a wife willing to tend to Father. It would only be logical.'
'Logical?'
A trickle of hope flickered inside Jonah's chest. Could it work? Why not? If he could find a woman who wouldn't mind caring for a sick old man, then perhaps…
The hope inside him grew, warming him from the inside out. That would be the test, the way he would know which of those young, terribly inexperienced females had a genuinely caring heart. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be the kind of female who would dominate his life or tear him apart with her guile.
'What are you saying, brother?'
'I think I've found a solution.' Ah, it felt good to have at least one burden lifted. 'This is a neighborly village. People care for one another, pitch in and help out when there is an illness such as Father's.'
'What is your point?'
'I will watch the young women who come visit today.' Jonah stood, his knees a little shaky, but his heart firmly resolved. 'And I will marry the one who genuinely offers to do the most for Father.'
'What? Have you gone mad?'
'Probably' Jonah could not deny it.
'What if it's the widow with the warts?' Thomas cried out, horrified.
Jonah set his jaw. It mattered little what he wanted, only what he had to become.
The golden light of morning warmed the room with its cheerful presence, and Tessa knew she must leave. She had her furious grandfather to appease, who was only tolerating her long night of service to Colonel Hunter because Grandfather hoped to impress Jonah Hunter.
Violet was now of marriageable age, and apparently Grandfather had high hopes for her.
Half stumbling, Tessa carried the sheets to the kitchen and piled them by the back door. Surely one of the Hunters' servants would know to wash the sheets. As it was, she was far too weary to do more than find her way home.
Of course, more work awaited her there.
'Are you leaving?'
Jonah's rich voice warmed her like rum. Such reactions she had to this man. Tessa lifted her chin. 'Chores are awaiting me at home.'
'I understand. I don't know how to thank you for all you've done for my father.' Jonah smiled, tired and troubled, but that smile stretched all the way to his eyes.
Such deep eyes, a woman could get lost inside them. Lose all common sense. She knew the taste of his passionate kisses, knew the heady luxury of being enfolded in his strong arms. 'Twas a feeling she had only dreamed of before now.
Then she shook her head, dispersing the spell he cast on her. The way he was looking at her, and remembering the liberties she'd allowed him, made her blush. 'I help anyone who's ill. Coming here was nothing out of the ordinary.'
'Oh.' The light died in his spectacular eyes.
Tessa's heart darkened at the sight. She didn't want Jonah to think she was doing him any special favors. Still, she hadn't meant to hurt him. He'd been absent from this village a long time, didn't realize she helped wherever she could. Knowing Jonah, he probably thought she'd come especially because of him, the self-important oaf.
Now at least he no longer thought so, even if he didn't gaze at her with eyes of liquid heat.
'When your father awakens, give him a cup of the tea I left right there.' She gestured. 'By the hearth.'
He was a man of silence, of unreadable emotion sheltered in the shadows. Solid and strong as steel. The sight of him made her heart catch.
He cleared his throat, his voice as somber as a funeral. 'Thank you, Tessa. You are a better woman than most'
Dark eyes snared hers, cool but somehow intimate.
'You're very pretty when you smile. You should do it more often.'
'False flattery doesn't fool me.'
'Then I shall have to try all the harder.'
Captivating. He could lure the angels from heaven with that slow stretch of a grin. It was lopsided and carved a dimple into his left cheek.
'I thought charm comes naturally to a man like you.'
'Aye, 'tis a gift' His smile deepened, lighting his eyes.
Touching her heart.
Tessa's head reeled. Air wedged in her lungs. 'You best watch out for lightning after telling a lie like that'
'So, now I'm a liar.' Two dimples shaped his smile, so wickedly handsome her brain forgot to function.
'A charming liar. A lethal combination.' Tessa swallowed. What was she doing, bantering with this man? What would her grandfather say if he knew? Pain twisted in her heart
Those words rang like a death knell in her head, so sharp and clear from the morning when she'd returned from the Hunters' house, her grandfather holding the ruined cloak up as evidence.
There would be no loving marriage, no happy home for her. And what of the child she wanted so badly? How could she let Horace… Lord, she could not even stomach the thought. There was no way she would beget a child without love. Duty wasn't good enough. Not for her heart. And not for the daughter of her dreams.
'I'll try to return some time after noon, if I can get away from my work.' Tessa lifted her shawl from the wall peg.
'Not if, when.' Jonah stepped into the thin light Fire flickered in his eyes. 'If Father takes a bad turn, then I will come to fetch you. Whether your grandfather can spare you or not.'
His command whirled her around, temper stirring. 'And consequences be damned, right?' Tessa raged. 'Why would you care? 'Tis not your life and not your hide if Ely becomes angry.'
'I care only about my father.' A muscle jumped in his tightly clenched jaw, square and hard. There were no dimples, only furious power and muscle-hard man. If softness lived within him, she could not see it now.
What had she expected? Jonah was nothing more than the very type of man she feared. Pushy. Domineering. Never saw himself as wrong. 'This is not the militia, Hunter. You are not a commander, and I will not be ordered by you.'
'What? Now you're refusing to come help my father?' Jonah roared, fury snapping through him like lightning.
'I will come.' She wanted to give him a good thwack with her basket. Knock some civility into him. 'But don't think that I am helping your father because you asked me.'
'Not even in my wildest dreams.'
Anger emanated from him like heat from a hearth. Tensed his strong jaw. Drew taut his magnificent shoulders.
His words struck her like a blow. No man would dream of her. Oh, she knew why he'd sought her out for a kiss. He was afraid and wanted comfort, that was all.
She didn't want to be reminded of it. She clenched her teeth, willing her hurt to stay buried deep in her heart, and headed straight for the door, her basket clutched in both hands.
She would not look back. She would not let him see how accurate his aim had been. A blow straight to the heart, like only a man could do. Even Jonah Hunter, so revered and heroic everyone in the village respected him. Then how would Horace Walling treat her? How could she begin to expect anything but servitude from her inconveniently arranged marriage?
Damn Jonah Hunter. That was his fault, too. If he hadn't blackmailed her, Grandfather never would have
