The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,15

would be honored.”

Unable to believe that it had been this easy after all, he stood abruptly, pressing his lips exactly and properly against the shocked pout on her mouth before she could change her mind.

“There! Our pledge has been sealed!”

For added measure, he let his hand trail suggestively from her cheek to the upper edge of her bosom. When he might have ventured further, he decided to leave her wanting.

Sophie was in shock. Her pulse was racing, her eyelids fluttering. All this time and she hadn’t known he possessed such fire.

“I fear that I should leave now before I compromise your reputation,” he said.

Sophie followed him back into the living room with thoughts in a flutter. Before, his idiosyncrasies had bothered her. Now, they were enticing and intriguing. She pictured them side by side at the altar, and then down through the years, growing old together. She shivered longingly. Thank God, she would never be lonely again.

Out in the hall, Alfonso was trying to maintain his dignity, when in truth he wanted to kneel at her feet and thank her for rescuing him from an empty life. He slipped on his coat and then reached for his hat before turning to her with a smile.

“I have a friend back East. I’ll write and ask for a preacher to be sent here immediately. Plan whatever kind of wedding you think proper for a lady of your standing. I will let you know his approximate arrival date.”

She simply grinned and nodded, trying not to show her disappointment that he was leaving.

“Until tomorrow, my dear Sophie.”

He grasped her cheeks with both hands and sucked a kiss from her face before she knew it was coming. Then, quick as the lizards he so reminded her of, he was gone.

Sophie began to clear the table as visions of bodily satisfaction and earthy pleasures filled her head. Once she’d cleaned up the remnants of their meal, she took all of the letters from her secret admirer and retired to her bed. One after the other, she read them through. This time, picturing dear Alfonso as the author and imagining his feelings and his longings as he put pen to paper for her. She fell asleep with them in her lap, and for the first time since they’d buried Nardin Hollis in his grave, she slept the entire night through without awakening.

The next day, she began to plan for her wedding. Word began to spread of the coming nuptials and the citizens of Lizard Flats began plans of their own for the preacher’s arrival. Letty was trying hard to curb her jealousy, but it wasn’t easy. Every time she turned around, someone was talking about that blamed wedding. It wasn’t as if she begrudged Sophie Hollis the permanent company of one of her more frequent clients because there was always someone else to take their place. But she couldn’t help but remember that handsome gambler who’d treated her special. Every night since he’d disappeared, she’d cursed herself for the way she’d behaved and then cursed herself for thinking he had meant anything by it. She wasn’t the kind of woman who had a chance at happy-ever-after and that was that. Still, each night as she sang at the bar, she couldn’t help but look toward the back of the room, wishing Gentleman Jim Dupree was sitting there.

A few days later, she got up earlier than usual. It was her habit to sleep until after the noon meal, but she’d ordered some things special from Matt Goslin and he’d sent word by Will that they’d come in. She washed her face and brushed out her hair without bothering to curl it back up on her head. Instead, she secured at the back of her neck with a ribbon, then took her only decent dress from the armoire and put it on. After fastening her shoes, she stuffed some money into her purse and started down the stairs.

There were two men in the saloon. One was Eulis, who was trying to sober up with his morning whiskey, the other was Will the Bartender, who was polishing glasses behind the bar.

“Where are you off to?” Will asked.

“The General Store.”

“Want me to fry you up a steak for when you get back?” Will asked.

She hesitated. Will was certainly going out of his way to make sure she stayed happy.

“Sure. That would be nice. I won’t be long.”

She walked out onto the sidewalk, and then had to sidestep a pair of young