“I’ll take care of it. You need to stay back. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He guided her to the end of the bed.
Coralee clutched a column of the four-poster bed and watched Houston work. He poured the laudanum, took hold of Daddy’s chin, and pulled on his jaw firmly but gently until his teeth parted. Despite being battered by his wildly swinging arms, Houston succeeded in getting the medicine into Daddy’s mouth, tipping his head back, and forcing him to swallow. Houston perched on the bed, rubbing Daddy’s arms and speaking words of encouragement and support as the medicine took effect. Thankfully, it did so quickly.
Houston’s compassion touched her deeply. Not once during the ordeal had he shown impatience or judgment. He’d treated Daddy with the dignity he deserved.
She sniffed and blinked rapidly, but she couldn’t keep the tears from falling.
Houston was on his feet in an instant. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. She pressed her face into his work shirt, soaking the cotton as shudders racked her body. He rested one hand on her back and stroked her hair with the other, twirling one of her ringlets around his finger the way he used to.
When her flood of salty tears finally stopped, he rested his hands on her upper arms and pulled back until he could look into her face. Even though it must be a splotchy mess, he gazed at her with a hint of a smile lifting his lips. Ever so slowly, he leaned toward her. Was he going to kiss her?
Her eyes slid shut as though of their own accord. Her senses heightened. She could hear Daddy’s shallow breathing and Calvin snoring in the distance. A gardenia-scented breeze wafted through the open window, reminding her of the time Houston had plucked one of the fragrant blossoms and twined it in her hair. She waited, standing as still as the bedpost she’d been clutching for support moments before, each second an eternity.
At long last she felt Houston’s breath warm on her face and the brush of his lips on … her forehead? No. That’s where he’d kissed her moments before asking her to marry him.
The memory of that horrible afternoon when he’d turned and walked away, leaving her alone and bereft, brought her to her senses. She stepped out of his embrace and swiped at her damp cheeks with the handkerchief wrapped around her wounded hand. What a fool she’d been to drop her guard and welcome his affections. If he’d kissed her on the lips, she would have been powerless to resist. He’d spared her further humiliation.
She hadn’t cried in years, not since he’d broken her heart when she was sixteen. “I’m sorry to turn into such a fountain. It’s just that I’ve never seen Daddy like this. He’s had bad days before, but this was the worst.”
Compassion filled Houston’s eyes, a deeper shade of blue than usual. “I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve been through—or all you’ve done.”
“It’s been hard, but when Momma was at the end, I promised her I would take care of Daddy, and I wasn’t about to—”
She realized too late what she’d said. No one but Calvin knew about her deathbed pledge. Her brother understood, having seen the early stages of Daddy’s forgetfulness even before she did, but other people might feel sorry for her. She didn’t want their pity. What she’d done, she’d done out of love.
The trouble was that Houston had asked her to make an impossible choice that day. When she couldn’t give him the answer he wanted, he’d put as much distance between them as possible.
Although she’d appreciated his comfort and the feeling of closeness she’d experienced in his arms a minute ago, she couldn’t trust him to be there for her. He could up and leave at any time, a possibility she didn’t want to consider. She couldn’t leave, even if she wanted to. Little did he know how much she’d wanted to do just that years ago. How deeply she’d loved him and wanted to be his wife.
Her promise had kept her here, though, and that was just as well. Houston might not have loved her enough to find out why she couldn’t marry him and go to California, but her daddy had loved her. She loved him, too, and would be here for him, no matter what. She couldn’t think about anything beyond that, because a life without her father and her one true love would be too much to bear.
Chapter Nine
Thanks for letting me beg off on the job, Austin.” Houston gripped his reins and glanced at yet another field of grass ready to be cut. At least he had his father’s assurances that tasks more suited to his abilities and in keeping with his standing as member of the family awaited him. “I’ll see to the haying when I get everything sorted out.” Between the situation with Calvin and his partner’s ultimatum, Houston had a lot on his mind.