wasn’t hard to do. He thought back to the picture of her asleep on the bed when he’d gone in to let her know dinner was ready. He’d tried to wake her, but she’d rolled away from him, deep in slumber.
“I always knew that when you got married, you’d attract a pretty woman.”
Was Victoria attracted to him? He didn’t think so. She might flirt with him once in a while. But that’s the way she was with men. “Guess I take after you. You always said Mom was the prettiest girl you ever met.”
“That’s true. She still is the prettiest girl I ever laid eyes on.”
Tom nodded. His dad had always spoken of his mom with the highest praise. In fact, Tom couldn’t remember ever hearing his dad speak a negative word about her.
“Victoria seems like a nice girl,” his dad pressed.
“She’s very sweet.” Again the admission was easy. Victoria might be spoiled and self-centered. But she had a good heart.
“I pray that God will bless you with the kind of marriage that your mother and I have.”
Even if his relationship with Victoria had been genuine, he didn’t see how it would be possible to have the kind of marriage his parents had. He’d seen few like theirs. But he said the words he knew his dad expected. “Thanks, Dad. I hope so too.”
He sensed that his dad wanted to say more, but after a moment he moved toward the hatch and the ladder protruding from it. “Speaking of your mother, I need to go check on her and carry her up to bed.”
Tom’s gut twisted at the thought of his dad caring for his mother day after day, especially over the past week without any help or relief from Ruth or Greg. He wished there was more he could do. Perhaps he’d check into hiring a nurse to live with them. For now, while he was there, he’d do all he could.
He took one last look up and down the coast, assured himself that no one was in sight, and followed after his dad. “I’ll help you.”
Against his dad’s protest that he could do it himself, Tom carried his mom up to his parents’ bedroom, which was directly across from Victoria’s. He helped to situate his mom on the edge of the bed and tried not to notice how much thinner and frailer she was compared to the last time he’d seen her. After kissing her goodnight, he offered to watch the lantern so that his dad could have a night off. But his dad insisted that Tom get a good night’s sleep.
Tom crossed the hallway and peeked in on Victoria. Seeing that she was still asleep, he closed the door and backed away. The room he’d given her had belonged to Greg and Ruth. The smaller room at the rear of the house had belonged to their two young children. He could sleep in one of the beds in there. Maybe he could even push the beds together to be able to stretch out more comfortably.
He hesitated.
“Is something wrong?” The question startled him, and he spun to see his mom and dad, both sitting on the edge of their bed, watching him. Dad had his arm around Mom, and she’d leaned her head on his shoulder.
Inwardly, Tom chastised himself for his sloppiness. He should have closed their door on the way out. Even then, he should have made a show of going into Victoria’s room like any eager new husband would. He didn’t want them suspecting anything was wrong this early in the month.
Instead, he smiled. “Nothing’s wrong. I wasn’t sure if I should disturb Victoria. She’s sleeping so soundly.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind a little disturbing from you.” His dad winked.
The implication brought forth a bucket full of images, especially ones from earlier in the day when he’d embraced Victoria on the steamship and all of her soft curves had pressed against him. When he’d nuzzled her ear, he’d caught the fragrance of hydrangeas and tasted the delectable smoothness of her skin. He may have started off acting, but his body’s reaction had put him in a dangerous state of mind. He’d needed to cool off, and so he’d gone above deck for a few minutes.
“Go on in,” his mom said with a knowing smile. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to have you nearby.”
If Victoria awoke and found him sleeping in the same room, she certainly wouldn’t be glad. She’d be livid. But what choice did he