pulled the curtain by the bath and disappeared behind it. “Get out of those wet clothes and I’ll toss you dry ones. Uncle Travis keeps a set of work clothes here. They should fit you.”
He looked at the tall shelves squared into boxes, each with sets of shirts and trousers. He’d never really noticed them before, but now he knew they were a change of clothes for every McMurray. Any member of the family who’d worked hard was expected to change and clean up in the mudroom before stepping in the house. A washstand stood in each corner of the room, and he knew without testing that there would be fresh water in the pitchers.
He glanced over at her silhouette on the curtain. She was tugging off one of her boots. “What are you going to wear?”
She froze for a moment, then said, “I can wear Emily’s work clothes. We’re almost the same size and she rarely needs them.”
He tugged his shirt off as he watched her shadow. “You’re a little taller,” he commented, wishing to add that she was braver and bolder and more strong willed.
“Am I?” she said as she wiggled out of her wet jeans.
He stopped moving. He even stopped breathing as he watched the shadow peel away clothes. What he’d thought was almost a man’s body was very much a woman’s. She was tall and lean, but she definitely had curves in all the right places. Fighting down a yell when she tugged on a shirt, he forced himself to look away.
“You about ready?” She wiggled into new trousers that washed away her shapely figure and made her look boxy again.
He poured water into the basin and splashed. “Give me one more minute.”
When she pulled the curtain, he was buttoning his shirt and facing the wall. Part of him didn’t want to look at her. He felt like he’d learned some grand secret and she’d have to kill him if she knew he knew.
Lewt made up his mind he’d never say anything to her, or to anyone. He wished he could forget about the body he’d seen outlined in shadow, but he knew he never would. He’d see that body in his dreams probably every night for the rest of his life.
When he turned, he kept his head down as he buckled his belt. “Any chance you’ll eat dinner with us tonight, Em? I’m not sure I can handle both the Watsons alone, and Emily never has much to say. Half the time I think she’s dreaming about something else and not bothering to follow the conversation.”
Em laughed. “I didn’t think guests could invite guests.”
He frowned, guessing she was right. “Probably true, but if you don’t join us then I plan to eat with you and those two giggly girls in the kitchen.”
“All right. Emily and I have been friends since we were in school. I’ll ask if she’d mind if I join you all tonight. I often do when just the girls are at home.” She watched him finish dressing. “Besides, if you eat with the girls, you’ll be eating in the barn. They both have taken a liking to the wrangler Boyd brought along to care for his horses. Sumner tells me every night the meal in the empty stall lasts a little longer. He claims the giggles are keeping the horses up.”
He looked at her. “So you’ll join us?” He studied her eyes, deciding that when she wasn’t mad about something, she had wonderful eyes. They reminded him of the blue Texas sky.
“I will.”
Lewt smiled at her. “Thanks.” Then he thought of her body and had to look down again.
She hit him in the head with a pair of rolled-up socks. While he put them on and rubbed his hair dry with a towel, she went to find Emily.
He was standing in the kitchen downing a cup of coffee when Miss Emily came in, looking flustered.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said, twisting her hands together. “I’ve asked Em to join us for dinner, if you have no objections.”
“I have none,” he said, thinking he could never marry a woman who got so flustered over one guest for dinner. She was a beauty, like her sisters, but in a million years Emily McMurray would never be wild enough for him.
With less sadness than he’d thought he’d have, Lewt realized he would be going back to Austin alone. None of Duncan’s cousins were right for him. He liked them all, admired them even, but he