Winning the Spinster's Heart (Clear Creek Brides #1) - Kit Morgan Page 0,32

and stumble through “Abide with Me” while the whole town watched.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Merritt groused. “If only to show you, Liam, that I can!”

“That’s the spirit,” Liam said. “We’ll head over to Ruby’s next and ask her.”

“If she knows you’re playing, I’m sure she’ll say yes” Adele told Merritt.

Merritt leaned against the door jamb and fanned herself. “God help her, then. God help us all. I need some iced tea after this – would you like some?”

“Yes, thank you.” Adele smiled at Liam, who nodded in return. She was actually enjoying this, despite knowing it would be a disaster. And all because Liam was spending time with her. But should she be enjoying it so much?

As Merritt ushered them inside, Adele wondered how much more of this she could take. If this kept up, she might toss out her list. Maybe today she should go over it again – once she saw that Liam didn’t measure up, it might make her feel better.

Chapter Eleven

Adele tapped the end of her pencil against her chin a few times. “Let’s see, what could I change?” She perused her list and read the items to herself:

MY FUTURE HUSBAND MUST:

Be handsome, at least to me.

Be strong and hard-working.

Like my family.

Have a family that I like.

Be intelligent; able to carry on a decent conversation.

Be up to date on world affairs.

Have enough money to travel.

Be willing to buy me pretty things.

Laugh at my jokes.

Gaze longingly into my eyes several times a day and tell me he loves me dearly.

Not be fussy about my cooking.

Have friends in the right places.

Understand if I hire a maid.

None of them, by themselves, were unreasonable – well, maybe “several times a day” was a bit much to ask. But put together, the thirteen items had proven daunting.

She sighed. “Well, I suppose Liam qualifies on the first item.” She put a checkmark next to “Be handsome” and another by “Be strong and hard-working.” “I’m sure Liam likes my family.” Check. “And I like his.” Check. Four-for-four already. Huh.

She tapped her pencil on her chin again. “He’s certainly intelligent. But is he … too intelligent? I’m not a mathematical genius like he is. Don’t you have to be as an engineer?” But he could certainly carry on a conversation. She skipped it for now.

The next item … hmm. It was hard to keep up on what was happening in the world when you lived in Clear Creek. The town didn’t even have a real newspaper, just the single sheet Baxter Adams’ younger brother Ephraim printed now and then, and he had to take the train to Baker City to do it. Local news, people could get from Fanny Fig or Wilfred Dunnigan. Maybe they should start a newspaper. Otherwise, it was whatever came in on the telegraph or the railroad. She had no idea how well-informed Liam was – skip that one for now too.

She continued down the list. Liam had never bought her anything pretty, nor had they traveled anywhere except the Triple-C and around town. She’d never cooked for him, and she didn’t know what friends he had elsewhere. But he had laughed at some of her jokes and he did gaze into her eyes a few times. Hiring a maid … who knew?

She sighed and tossed the list onto her desk. Six yeses, and seven maybes or incompletes. Checking things off it wasn’t helping, because … well, because she didn’t know him well enough to answer them all. Still, not a single negative. She left her chair and went to the window. Too much she didn’t know – and if he was leaving soon, not enough time to find out.

She stared at the barnyard below and remembered years ago watching her older brother Jefferson and Lorelei speak to each other near the woodshed. It had been snowing and she could just make them out by the lantern near them. She’d seen them embrace and thought it all so romantic. By Christmas everyone knew they were meant to be together.

She was a firm believer in love at first sight, even if it got a little bumpy upon second or twenty-fourth sight. Father saw Mother get off the stage in front of Dunnigan’s Mercantile and fell in love on the spot. Why couldn’t something like that happen to her? Is that what she’d been waiting for all this time?

No, she hadn’t. She’d been waiting for someone to go thirteen-for-thirteen against that list. Maybe everyone who’d made fun of her for it was