the man’s chin before embracing him as tightly as he could. Lenore couldn’t tell if the old man was aware of the gesture at all.
“Father, you’re looking well,” Phin said, setting his handkerchief on the table beside the man’s chair and brushing his fingers through the man’s hair. “I’d like you to meet someone very dear to me,” he went on. “This is Miss Lenore Garrett, from Wyoming. Remember, I wrote to you about her. Hazel read you those letters, I trust.”
Phin beckoned for Lenore to approach. Lenore swallowed and did as she was asked. Only when she saw a slight flicker of movement in Phin’s father’s eyes did she realize that he was at least somewhat aware of what was going on around him, though not very.
“How do you do?” she asked, putting on her best smile and reaching for his hand as it rested on top of the quilts covering him. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
He didn’t reply. He barely moved. A sound of some sort came from his throat. Lenore assumed that was the best the man was capable of. It was heartbreaking, particularly as Phin gazed down at his father with a combination of adoration and utter grief.
“Miss Garrett will be staying with us for a while, Father,” Phin said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I really should show her to her room, since it’s terribly late. You two.” He turned to his sisters. “Can you help Father to bed?”
“Can’t we stay up and get Princess Lenore to tell us stories of the Wild West?” Gladys asked. “That’s the least we deserve, since you didn’t bring Lionel home with you.”
“Are there wild Indians where you are from?” Amaryllis asked.
“You can ask her all those questions tomorrow,” Phin said, shooing them away from Lenore. He squeezed his father’s shoulder as he passed his chair, gesturing for Lenore to follow him. “For now, help Father to bed.”
The girls groaned and complained, but did as they were told. As they worked together to shift Mr. Mercer out of his chair, Lenore noticed a narrow bed in the corner of the room.
“I should have warned you about Father as well,” Phineas said once they were alone in the hall.
“I remember hearing that your father was ill,” Lenore said, overwhelmed by it all, “but I had no idea he was this ill.”
“The doctors have no idea what it is or how long it will last,” Phin said, running a hand over his face. He took a deliberate breath before saying, “I sometimes forget how dire the situation is, and then I come home.” He glanced toward the parlor’s doorway.
Lenore couldn’t help herself. She stepped into him, throwing her arms around Phin and hugging him for all he was worth. She needed to feel his solidity and strength, and she needed him to see that she cared.
The worst part of it was, there was so much she could have done. She saw it now as clearly as if the sun had come up and illuminated every part of the house. Her inheritance could have changed the lives of the Mercer family in innumerable ways. Unlike the fortunes of other Dollar Princesses, if she had had the freedom to marry Phin, her money would bolster a family, not just a flagging and outdated estate. And she knew with painful certainty that she could, and likely would, fall madly in love with Phin’s entire family the way she’d fallen head over heels for him.
Yes, love. She had to admit it to herself now, after seeing Phin at home. What she felt for him wasn’t mere lust or overheated friendship. She didn’t just want him as a bedmate or a co-conspirator. The more she discovered him, the more she was certain what she felt was brilliant, beautiful, inconvenient love.
“That isn’t the reaction I expected,” Phin laughed, closing his arms around her in return. “I rather expected you to—”
She silenced him by lifting to her toes and slanting her mouth over his with all the hopeless passion that boiled away inside of her. Her heart and soul longed for him so deeply that it made every part of her ache. He was quick to kiss her in return as well, holding her close and parting her lips with his to tease his tongue against hers. The passion between them was undeniable. It was enough to make her believe she could do wild, risky, utterly mad things.
“I’m overwrought,” she said, stepping back and pressing