to find Howard Jones in the examination room there. His cheek was swollen.
Colt took one look inside the man’s mouth and sent him to the dentist for a tooth extraction. He could have done it, but he had a gentleman’s agreement with the local dentist, and Colt always kept his word. As soon as Jones stepped outside into the cooling evening air, he locked the office door.
The half-dozen prophylactics he had in his medical bag called to him. Two days of being with Stella without being inside her was killing him.
In spite of his recent lamentable behavior with an unmarried woman, he was a gentleman. Stella was a lady, well-bred and raised by one of the leading men in industry. He had to do right by her.
He wanted to do right by her, in spite of her forward-thinking ways. She was an odd combination. For a midwife to come from her background and standing was rare. Unheard of, actually. Most midwives these days were from immigrant families, and a concerted effort from the medical community was afoot to rid the country of all of them.
He slipped into his coat, grabbed his hat, and stepped out into the gathering gloom with nothing but Stella on his mind.
All in all, she had been lucky to establish herself with the women in Perdition House. He supposed it was the measure of respect he’d seen between Stella and Belle Grantham that allowed for the easy rapport Stella had with the women who worked in the house.
He and Stella had agreed on no penetration, but he already found that agreement untenable. Preparation was the only sensible way to handle their attraction.
He wanted Stella, in ways he’d never wanted another woman. The thoughts that ringed his mind were like a band of hedonistic pleasures that tightened every hour and made his blood heat to boiling.
It wasn’t just physical release he craved. He wanted so much more. He wanted her love, her kind thoughts; he wanted a life with her and children! The thought of children with Stella made his footsteps falter and halt.
With one hand on the door of his automobile, he stood stunned at the vision before his mind’s eye. Stella with a baby in her arms and a toddler clutching her skirt.
It was all a man could wish for, as he saw the imaginary Stella raise her eyes to his with heated promise.
He climbed into his automobile and headed with determination to her apartment. They had much to discuss.
6
T he apartment over the store was as busy as a train station. Blue swore that anyone who had ever met Stella McCreedy had stopped by in the last couple of days. She had a pantry full of fruit preserves and pickled beets, and an icebox stuffed with a chicken, butter, and eggs. A burlap sack full of potatoes sat on her kitchen floor. She planned on dragging it into the pantry as soon as she caught her breath.
Blue had never had so many friends and well-wishers. Her life as Blue McCann had been lonely from birth. Left in a back alley by her mother, she’d been blue with cold when she’d been found. The nurses had given her the name, and no one had seen fit to change it. Blue she became. McCann had come from the head nurse, who’d called child services that first day.
In this life as Stella, she was flummoxed by all the attention and good wishes. Stella was well-liked and appreciated by friends and patients. It seemed that Stella was a proud woman, and everyone who stopped by was prepared to push the food at her. So when Blue stumbled through the thank yous, no one seemed to notice that Stella wasn’t her normal self.
As for Blue, she held every moment of appreciation to her heart and let it warm through her. There was even a point where she felt a tiny bit jealous of Stella. To have a life in 1913 where she was her own woman, in charge of her own affairs, was remarkable.
And yet, Stella was no longer living her life, Blue was. So it was up to Blue to live Stella’s life without doing any damage. She was a guardian of Stella’s existence, and the responsibility weighed
Colt took one look inside the man’s mouth and sent him to the dentist for a tooth extraction. He could have done it, but he had a gentleman’s agreement with the local dentist, and Colt always kept his word. As soon as Jones stepped outside into the cooling evening air, he locked the office door.
The half-dozen prophylactics he had in his medical bag called to him. Two days of being with Stella without being inside her was killing him.
In spite of his recent lamentable behavior with an unmarried woman, he was a gentleman. Stella was a lady, well-bred and raised by one of the leading men in industry. He had to do right by her.
He wanted to do right by her, in spite of her forward-thinking ways. She was an odd combination. For a midwife to come from her background and standing was rare. Unheard of, actually. Most midwives these days were from immigrant families, and a concerted effort from the medical community was afoot to rid the country of all of them.
He slipped into his coat, grabbed his hat, and stepped out into the gathering gloom with nothing but Stella on his mind.
All in all, she had been lucky to establish herself with the women in Perdition House. He supposed it was the measure of respect he’d seen between Stella and Belle Grantham that allowed for the easy rapport Stella had with the women who worked in the house.
He and Stella had agreed on no penetration, but he already found that agreement untenable. Preparation was the only sensible way to handle their attraction.
He wanted Stella, in ways he’d never wanted another woman. The thoughts that ringed his mind were like a band of hedonistic pleasures that tightened every hour and made his blood heat to boiling.
It wasn’t just physical release he craved. He wanted so much more. He wanted her love, her kind thoughts; he wanted a life with her and children! The thought of children with Stella made his footsteps falter and halt.
With one hand on the door of his automobile, he stood stunned at the vision before his mind’s eye. Stella with a baby in her arms and a toddler clutching her skirt.
It was all a man could wish for, as he saw the imaginary Stella raise her eyes to his with heated promise.
He climbed into his automobile and headed with determination to her apartment. They had much to discuss.
6
T he apartment over the store was as busy as a train station. Blue swore that anyone who had ever met Stella McCreedy had stopped by in the last couple of days. She had a pantry full of fruit preserves and pickled beets, and an icebox stuffed with a chicken, butter, and eggs. A burlap sack full of potatoes sat on her kitchen floor. She planned on dragging it into the pantry as soon as she caught her breath.
Blue had never had so many friends and well-wishers. Her life as Blue McCann had been lonely from birth. Left in a back alley by her mother, she’d been blue with cold when she’d been found. The nurses had given her the name, and no one had seen fit to change it. Blue she became. McCann had come from the head nurse, who’d called child services that first day.
In this life as Stella, she was flummoxed by all the attention and good wishes. Stella was well-liked and appreciated by friends and patients. It seemed that Stella was a proud woman, and everyone who stopped by was prepared to push the food at her. So when Blue stumbled through the thank yous, no one seemed to notice that Stella wasn’t her normal self.
As for Blue, she held every moment of appreciation to her heart and let it warm through her. There was even a point where she felt a tiny bit jealous of Stella. To have a life in 1913 where she was her own woman, in charge of her own affairs, was remarkable.
And yet, Stella was no longer living her life, Blue was. So it was up to Blue to live Stella’s life without doing any damage. She was a guardian of Stella’s existence, and the responsibility weighed
Similar Books
