Her Heart's Desire (2 page)

Ethel Mae glanced at her with furrowed
brows but didn’t remind her that she was supposed to visit with her
for the entire afternoon.

“
I’ll speak to you again
soon,” Sally told her friend, hoping she understood the subtle hint
in her message.

Ethel Mae’s eyes lit up with
understanding. “Oh, yes. Well, then soon it will be.”

Sally joined Rick as he followed Ethel
Mae to the front door. She had to be careful in how she talked to
him. The slightest wrong word might make him suspect she was
planning to snag him from her friend, and there was no way he’d
willingly court another woman—at least not this early in the
game.

Rick took his hat from the coat tree
and placed it on his head. Smiling at Ethel Mae, he asked, “May I
visit you on Saturday?”

Ethel Mae gave a slight wince. “I’m
not sure what my parents have planned for that day. Can I answer
you at a later time?”

Though he looked disappointed, he
said, “Of course.”

Sally retrieved her bonnet from the
coat tree and put it on, pulling the strings loosely under her
chin. “Are you heading straight for the courthouse?” she asked
Rick.

“
Yes,” he said as he opened
the door.

“
I’m going in that
direction,” she said. “Mind if I join you?”

“
No, I suppose
not.”

Refusing to let his lack of enthusiasm
get to her, she waited until his back was turned and mouthed the
words, “I’ll be back,” to her friend who nodded. She followed Rick
out of the house and pulled the brim of her bonnet further out so
it shielded her eyes from the sun.

After her friend shut the door, Sally
joined Rick and strolled down the side of the dusty street. Rick
motioned for her to walk on his other side. “If a horse comes by
too fast, the dust won’t get on you,” he explained.

“
Most riders don’t race
through here,” Sally replied as she went to his other
side.

“
Not most. But why take the
chance?”

“
You’re right. And thank
you.”

He shrugged. “It’s common courtesy.
There’s no need to thank me.”

Maybe not, but she still appreciated
his thoughtfulness. Taking a deep breath, she decided to put her
plan into action. “I notice you’re quite taken with my
friend.”

His face grew pink. “I’m sure she’s
noticed, too.”

“
Do you plan to ask her if
you can court her?”

“
Yes. I thought I’d visit
her a couple more times, see how things go, and then ask. I don’t
want to seem too eager.”

Pretending to be relieved, she
chuckled. “That’s good because you have to be careful in how you
approach things.”

His steps slowed and he gave her a
good look. “I do?”

“
Of course.” She slowed
down to meet his new pace. “Have you ever courted a
woman?”

“
No.”

“
Then I’m glad I happened
to be visiting my friend when you stopped by.” Granted, Ethel Mae
asked Sally to come because she knew Rick was coming over, but he
didn’t need to know that. Choosing her words carefully, she
continued, “My friend is wonderful. You will be very happy with
her.”

His smile widened and he opened his
mouth to speak, but she decided to beat him to it.

“
The problem is, my friend
prefers men who aren’t easy to get. I hate to tell you this, but
you’re a little too excited about courting her. She’ll see that and
wonder why.”

“
It should be obvious why
I’m excited about it. She’s beautiful and kind and—”

Sally yawned and held up her hand.
“But where’s the challenge? Does she have to fight for you? Does
she have to wonder if you love her or not? You understand what I’m
saying, don’t you? It’s all too easy.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “I’m afraid I
don’t understand.”

“
All I’m saying is that
women like to know that the man could have had someone else but
chose them. You’d be more desirable to her if you feigned interest
in another woman who feigned interest back.”

He laughed and shook his head. “That
doesn’t make any sense.”

Her heart sped up. He wasn’t falling
for it! She had to use another tactic, and the sooner she slipped
something else in, the better. Turning wide eyes in his direction,
she sweetly asked, “Doesn’t it?”

“
No. If Ethel Mae is
interested in me, she should want me even if no one else does. I
should attract her on my own merits, not because some other woman
is interested in me or because I’m interested in another
woman.”

“
Hmm… You really don’t
understand women then, do you?”

Looking uncertain, he said,
“Well…no.”

“
Not only am I a woman, but
Ethel Mae is my friend. She likes a challenge.”

He stopped walking and turned to face
her. She also stopped, met his eyes and clasped her hands behind
her back. Putting on what she hoped was a charming smile, she
waited for him to respond because if he responded the way she
wanted him to, then her plan was all set.

After a glance around them, he
returned his gaze to hers and asked, “So what do you
recommend?”

Good! That’s exactly what he was
supposed to say. She counted to four so she wouldn’t sound too
excited. “Ethel Mae is my dearest friend in all the world, and I
want to see her with a man who’ll treat her right.” That man wasn’t
him, but he didn’t need to know that. “I propose that you pretend
to be interested in me.”

He shifted from one foot to another.
“I don’t know. It seems rather devious to me. I could see making
allusions to another woman to pique Ethel Mae’s interest, but it
wouldn’t be right since you two are friends.”

Drat! Running through a
list of possible arguments, she finally settled on the one that
seemed to make the best comeback. “But Ethel Mae might not believe
you unless she sees you paying attention to another woman. Granted,
it would be me, and she’s bound to experience some
jealousy.”
More likely relief.
“However, when you admit your undying devotion to
her, she’ll know you are hers, and I’ll back out graciously while
still being her friend. There will be no hard feelings since I am
only pretending to enjoy your attention.”

“
I’d have to think about
it,” he replied, looking unsure.

Sighing, she realized she wasn’t going
to get anywhere with him, at least not today. What she needed to do
was talk to her friend, and fortunately, her friend would be more
agreeable to the arrangement. “Alright then. But if you should
change your mind, let me know.”

Resuming their walk, he said, “It is
kind of you to want to help.”

“
I want to see my friend
happy. She’d do the same for me if she were in my
shoes.”

Laughing, he shook his head. “It’s a
strange way to help someone.”

Stopping in front of the mercantile,
she thanked him for walking her to her destination and entered the
building, ignoring the few patrons in the store. Peering through
the window, she waited until he was further down the boardwalk
before she left the store.

When Sally returned to Ethel Mae’s
house, she saw that her friend was waiting for her on the porch
swing. As Sally hurried up the porch steps, Ethel Mae jumped off
the swing and rushed over to her. “What happened? Is Rick smitten
with you?”

Sally shook her head. “No. We spent
the whole time talking about you and how much he adores
you.”

Ethel Mae’s shoulders slumped.
“No.”

“
I’m afraid he is one of
your more devoted suitors.”

“
Oh no!”

“
Oh no, indeed.” Sally
plopped down on the swing and sighed. “I can’t remember seeing a
man so in love before. Well, except for my brother Richard after he
married Amanda.”

Ethel Mae sat next to her and groaned.
“What am I going to do? I have no such interest in him. I’m fond of
him, I suppose. He’s pleasant enough, but I have no desire to marry
him.”

Crossing her arms, Sally tried to
resist the urge to pout. “And he has no desire to talk to me again,
let alone court me.”

“
Well, one part of my plan
worked. You like him. But then he likes me, so what good does any
of it do?”

Exactly. What good did it do? “He
doesn’t know me well enough to want to be with me. I need to spend
more time with him.”

“
I could invite him over
when you’re here.”

“
I don’t know if that’ll do
any good.” Sally tapped her index finger on her lips and gave
careful consideration to her conversation with him. “I was foolish
enough to think he’d pretend to be interested in me to make you
jealous. How silly is that? Of course, he saw the folly in that
idea. He’s smarter than my brother. Tom would have went right along
with it.”

Ethel Mae straightened up in the swing
and turned to face her. “That’s not a bad idea!”

“
Of course, it is. He said
if you were interested in him, you’d be interested even if he
wasn’t hard to get.”

“
But what if I got Vivian
to tell him I’m interested in a young man who fancies another
lady?”

Sally bit her lower lip. “You think
your sister would do that?”

“
She would if I did her
chores for a week.”

A smile spread slowly across Sally’s
face. “If Rick heard it from Vivian, he might start thinking my
idea has some merit after all.”

“
Then he’d spend time with
you in hopes of making me jealous.”

“
And he’d get to know me
and fall in love!”

“
Yes!” Looking pleased,
Ethel Mae sat back in the swing and added, “Just be your usual
charming self, and he won’t be able to resist you.”

Feeling much better, Sally
contemplated what she might say the next time she saw
him.

Chapter Two

After supper that night, Sally
scrubbed one of the plates in the sink full of hot water. Cleaning
dishes was one of those tasks where a person’s mind could wander,
which was good because she kept thinking of Rick’s deep brown eyes
and warm smile that lit up his face. He was incredibly handsome.
She couldn’t recall a time when she’d been so attracted to anyone.
But what could she possibly say to grab his attention?

Her mother set more plates and
utensils on the work table and wiped her forehead with the back of
her hand. “That’s the last of it.”

“
How Tom, David, and Joel
eat so much, I’ll never understand,” Sally replied.

“
They’re growing
boys.”

“
They’re like a bunch of
dogs with the way they fight over who gets the last piece of
food.”

Her mother chuckled. “My mother was
sure that my brothers would eat her out of house and home. If you
have sons, you’ll think all your time is spent fixing something in
the kitchen.”

Sally groaned. “Thanks for giving me
something to look forward to, Ma.”

“
All men go through it
while they’re growing up. They can’t get enough food.”

Sally grimaced as she thought of Tom
whacking Joel on the head for the last biscuit. She was sure Rick
would never do anything so crude. No. Rick, Sally was sure,
maintained proper manners at all times.

“
Alright. Spill it,” her
mother said, interrupting her thoughts.

Realizing she was staring out the
window with a goofy grin on her face, Sally turned her attention
back to the dishes in the sink.

“
What’s going on with you?”
her mother asked, looking amused. “You’re usually a chatterbox, but
tonight Tom and Jenny did most of the talking.”

Sally debated whether or not to say
something to her mother. There wasn’t anything to tell her, really.
Rick wasn’t going to court her, yet, so she feared it might be
premature to gush on and on about the wonderful man she met that
day. But, on the other hand, her mother succeeded in nabbing her
father, so she knew something about courtship and
marriage.

Setting the clean dish on the dish
rack, Sally took a deep breath and faced her mother. “Well, there
is this young man I met while at Ethel Mae’s today.”

“
Oh!” Her mother
straightened up in a manner that indicated she forgot she was
tired. Picking up a clean cloth, she took the dish from the dish
rack and dried it off. “How exciting! I remember when Richard first
told me he was going to marry Amanda.” Chuckling, she added, “I was
devastated because my oldest was growing up, but now they’re
married and she just gave me twin grandsons.”

“
Uh…yes.” Sally wasn’t sure
what her older brother had to do with Rick but shrugged. “Anyway,
his name is Rick Johnson, and he’s a judge.”

“
A judge? What a great job!
He’ll provide for you very well.”

“
That would be true if he
was interested in me. He seems to be fond of Ethel Mae.”

Her shoulders drooped.
“No.”