you know her? Have you forgotten you and I have been friends our entire lives? Did we not travel to this country and across this continent together? If you’d met her before today, I would have met her as well.” Charles grunted and shook his head. “The fact that she played on your attraction to her is how I know she’s after something.”
“I might be a pup, but you’re as tightly wound as a clock spring. You greet every new encounter and every stranger with suspicion and distrust.” He glanced at his friend. “That’s no way to live, Charlie. Let’s reserve judgement until after we’ve read the letter she brought, aye?”
“To each his own,” Charles replied.
Sighing, Daniel divested himself of his work clothes and reached for the soap they kept on a shelf with their other cleaning supplies. He dunked his head into the trough, scooped water over himself with a wooden ladle, and washed faster than usual. “Don’t pretend you don’t find Miss MacCarthy as comely as I do,” he said, toweling off his wet hair.
“I never would. She is an attractive woman, but it’s the pretty ones you need to worry about, Dan.”
Daniel dressed in his clean clothes, shook out his work clothes and hung them on pegs on the wall for the next day’s labor. “So … you hope one day to marry a dowdy lass?”
Charles nodded. “Aye, and just so you know, my dowdy wife and I will be quite content in each other’s company.”
Daniel barked out a laugh. “Like you said, to each his own. Spend as much time as you like with your ablutions. Doing so is not likely to improve your looks or your disposition,” he teased. “Also, it’s your turn to feed and water the mules.” With that, he dressed, left his friend and hurried back to the cabin to the alluring young woman who caused his blood to sing as it raced through his veins.
Good, lord what did they have to feed the two? He’d have to add water, what few vegetables they had left, and the last of the potatoes to yesterday’s venison stew. He grimaced. Tomorrow he’d be heading into Garretsville for supplies. Perhaps Miss MacCarthy might agree to join him. If so, he’d take her to Klein’s Diner and treat her to a proper meal. His mouth watered in agreement with the idea. Prudence Klein and her children were very fine cooks indeed.
Grinning, he stomped the grit from his boots and stepped inside. Meredith stood by the window, she turned and smiled. His stomach flipped, and his blood once again hummed. Time seemed to stop as their gazes met and held. “How do I know you?”
Oliver rose from the chair by the stove. “Well, you see—”
“Oliver, this is not your story to tell,” Meredith glared daggers at her half-brother. “You’ve never laid eyes on Daniel until today.”
“No, but I knew he was there. You know I felt his presence.”
What the hell did that mean? Daniel’s gaze went from Meredith to the gangly youth. Clearly the two did not get along. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried up to his loft and gazed around his space, making sure it was tidy. He wished he had more than one set of sheets for the bed, so he could change them for her. He’d give his room to Meredith for however long she stayed, which he hoped might be for a long while indeed. As he came back downstairs, he found the two in the middle of an exchange.
“Please go outside and get my duffle bag and your backpack, Oliver,” she said, her tone schoolmarm stern.
“Are you going to order me around like I’m your servant the whole time we’re here?” Oliver grumbled.
“Well, let’s see,” she quipped, placing her hands on her hips. “Your debit card is useless here, kiddo. Do you have any currency of your own that can be used in this era?”
Debit card? Daniel frowned in confusion. This era?
Oliver’s face turned a blotchy red. “Nope.”
“I did not invite you to join me on this venture. Don’t forget that for a moment.” Her brow arched, she nodded toward the door, and Oliver stomped out.
Sighing, she turned to face to him. “He’s not my half-brother or any relation to me at all. He followed me here uninvited.”
Daniel’s brow shot up, and a trace of unease edged its way into his mind. “I don’t understand.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” She bit her lip and her eyes took on a sheen of