Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,13

wasn’t my intention.”

“I know that. Kelley—”

He held up a hand, cutting off her words. “When I asked you to marry me, you had conditions, one of them being that we live in a small town, the smaller the better. So we ended up here. Can’t get much smaller than Prairie Gold. This place suits you. You make your soaps and candles and don’t think about how we’re barely getting by.”

“We’re doing okay.” She ignored the way her heart started pounding in her chest.

“Because I repair jewelry people already own and make a few inexpensive pieces people can buy for gifts. Mostly we get by because I do odd jobs for anyone who needs an extra pair of hands and pick up enough money to pay our bills and buy the food.”

Abigail blinked as if blinking back tears. “Do we need more?”

“I do.” Kelley looked away. “Yeah, Abby, I do. I’m a goldsmith. I love working with gemstones and metals. I don’t mind giving my neighbors a hand when it’s needed, but I do mind that I can’t do the work I love. Especially now.”

Why now? She knew why. That moment when she’d stopped playing sweet Abigail and lashed out at him had shattered the illusion, had been the moment when his Intuit abilities had kicked in and he realized he’d been played.

“They need someone to take over the jewelry store in Bennett,” Kelley said. “They need someone to evaluate all the jewelry from the houses, do an inventory. In exchange for doing that work, I’ll be given the store, which has a workshop in the back where I can make my own designs again. I told Jesse I’d take the job.”

“What? How could she offer that to you? How could you accept without talking to me?” Play the part. If you don’t let the persona crack, you might still convince him it was just a flash of anger and not a revelation. “When did you tell her?”

“I called her while you were in the washroom.”

Damn it! If she hadn’t lingered in the washroom she could have stopped him from calling, or at least delayed his decision until she could figure out what to do. What she couldn’t do was stay here on her own. Now that Jesse had twigged to her not being what she pretended to be, she couldn’t play sad, sweet Abigail who was bewildered by Kelley leaving her.

For a moment, she considered whether she could hook Tobias Walker and live on the ranch, but making that play would give Jesse even more of a reason to examine everything she said and did from now on. No, she needed to get as far away from Jesse Walker as she could, and now that meant leaving Prairie Gold.

“Can I come with you?” she asked in a small voice.

He hesitated. That wasn’t good. Finally he said, “It’s Bennett, and there will be all kinds of folks there. It’s the sort of place you wanted to avoid before.”

“But everything is different now. A new start for both of us.” She took a step toward him. “An adventure.”

Another hesitation. “I think you should do what’s best for you now, and I’ll do the same.”

Kelley stepped back into his own side of the building and closed the door.

Abigail ran back to the washroom. Clutching the sink, she let the angry tears fall.

Damn Kelley for putting those stones in the candles! If he hadn’t done that, there wouldn’t have been that one revealing moment.

No choice now except to go with him to Bennett. Maybe, once they were away from Prairie Gold, she could reverse the effects of the dissonance at least until she figured out what to do.

CHAPTER 6

Earthday, Sumor 29

Abigail washed the dishes from the evening meal, her mind spinning.

Kelley had barely spoken to her since Firesday, hadn’t touched her when they went to bed, despite her trying to encourage him in the shy way typical of sweet Abigail. He’d spent yesterday packing. Phil Mailer and Shelley Bookman had helped him pack up his shop, which didn’t take long. He had some loose gems as well as the semiprecious stones that were mostly in the bowl he’d kept on the counter near the cash register. He had some gold and silver to create his own pieces. And he had his tools.

In the afternoon, he’d filled a box with the books he enjoyed that didn’t appeal to her. He packed his clothes; even washed what was in the laundry instead of asking her to