Page 21 of The Forever Cowboy (Noble Ranch #1)

“We probably shouldn’t be rearranging the room, Violet.” Hyacinth stood back from the settee she’d moved to the opposite side of the fireplace.

“It’s part of the job.” At least, that’s what Violet had been telling herself.

Sterling and Beckett had done the heavy lifting of righting the furniture before they’d left. Then she and Hyacinth had spent most of the afternoon sweeping and picking up belongings, primarily in the kitchen and pantry and in the bedrooms.

Now that the house was in order, Hyacinth had suggested they work in the parlor first. But Hyacinth’s idea of work and Violet’s were different.

Hyacinth fisted a hand on her hip. “Sterling hired us to clean the house, not to rearrange and redecorate.”

“I’m sure he won’t mind.” Sterling had always seemed to appreciate her decorating abilities, like at the cabin when he’d humored her by finding all the supplies she’d requested.

Violet rested on the piano bench as she surveyed the newest position of the settee and the two wingback chairs. This placement was better than the previous one, which had been too contained and not open enough.

The trouble was that now they needed an end table to go between the two wingback chairs to balance out the settee. Preferably a round pedestal table. And a lamp, one with a light-blue shade that matched the damask upholstery.

Of course, Mrs. Noble didn’t have that kind of lantern.

But in one of the bedrooms there was a lamp with a pretty, glass shade containing silver threads.

Surely Mrs. Noble wouldn’t care if they moved it to the parlor.

If she didn’t like the changes when she returned in the spring, Violet would help to move things back to their original places.

Unless she was gone by then…

She pinched her arm.

“What are you doing?” Hyacinth asked with a pointed glance at Violet’s arm.

“Making sure I’m not dreaming.”

Hyacinth turned her head away, but not before Violet caught sight of her smile.

“What’s so funny?”

Hyacinth faced Violet, this time letting her smile free. “I told you that you’re still in love with him.”

Violet didn’t have to ask who Hyacinth was referring to. “No, I just can’t believe Sterling agreed to let us stay here. That’s all.”

“I think he’s starting to let himself love you again too.”

Violet’s pulse leaped at her sister’s declaration. Was Hyacinth right? Did Sterling still have feelings for her?

There had been a few times since the candy-eating incident that she’d felt him looking at her with interest—or at least, it hadn’t been irritation.

They’d come a long way from his ordering her off the front porch earlier in the week and telling her he never wanted to see her again to now hiring her to be a maid.

Violet pushed herself up from the bench. “I don’t want to let myself think about what he’s feeling.” Because what if she were wrong? What if he was still just being nice like he would to anyone in need?

“I scolded him for being a coward.” Hyacinth’s smile faded, and her brow furrowed. “Do I need to scold you now too?”

“That isn’t why Sterling hired us, so that he and I could fall in love with each other.”

“Sure it is.”

Violet opened her mouth to contradict Hyacinth but couldn’t formulate a response.

“He wants you. All he needs is a little encouragement, a nudge in the right direction.” Hyacinth paused, tapped her chin, then nodded. “A kiss. That will do it.”

“Hy-a-cinth!” Violet couldn’t hold back the surprise at her sister’s boldness. Even if Violet had thought about the kisses she’d once shared with Sterling, that didn’t mean she wanted to kiss him again, did it? No, of course not. “I will not kiss Sterling.”

Hyacinth shrugged. “It was obvious the last day in the cabin that the attraction between you two is alive and well.”

“No.” Embarrassment rushed through Violet. “That’s not true.”

“He fed you candy.”

Violet buried her face in her hands. It had been a charged incident, and she should have known Hyacinth would bring it up.

“And he can’t keep his hands off you.”

“What?” Violet’s head shot up.

Hyacinth was needlessly adjusting one of the pieces of furniture as though she hadn’t just spoken crass words.

“Don’t say such things, Hyacinth.”

“It’s true. He carried you far more often than he needed to.”

Had he?

Violet glanced at the door to make sure Sterling wasn’t standing out in the hallway and listening to their conversation, which was going from bad to worse very quickly.

“He knows I’ll kill him if he hurts you again.” Hyacinth spoke the words casually as she brushed the armrest of the settee.

Violet gasped. “Kill him? Hyacinth, you’re too much.”

Hyacinth paused and rolled her eyes. “I’m jesting. Well, not really. I will make him pay if he hurts you. But I don’t think he will this time.”

A tremor wavered through Violet’s stomach. Was it hope? Did she dare believe Hyacinth? “I don’t know. Maybe you’re making too much of everything.”

Hyacinth shrugged and then plopped down onto the settee. “After watching him the past three days…”

Violet held her breath and waited for Hyacinth to say more.

“Like I said, it’s obvious he still wants you.”

The hope inside Violet made another wave, this one bigger. “What if you’re wrong?”

“Kiss him and find out.”

And here they were. Back at the kiss again. Even though she could feel the heat creeping up into her cheeks, she ignored it. Hyacinth’s request was absurd. Wasn’t it?

“It won’t hurt anything,” Hyacinth offered.

Did she dare? Violet’s muscles tensed at such a bold move. She couldn’t. “It wouldn’t be right to stir things up.”

“They’re already stirred.”

“Not a lot.”

“Enough.”

Violet blew out a breath. “No, Hyacinth. I will not kiss Sterling.”

“Too bad.” She hopped back up. “It might make him realize how strong his feelings for you still are.”

Violet paused her rambling thoughts. Would a kiss really awaken him to his feelings? And would he be willing to give her a second chance?

“At the very least, it would make it clear to him that you’re still interested in him too.”

Was she interested?

Emotions swirled up like a rising flood—emotions she didn’t want to think about.

Using her crutch, she started toward the settee. “Can we just put aside all this talk about Sterling and focus instead on our work?”

“You know I won’t let it go.”

“At least for now?”

“As long as you promise you’ll give him a fair chance this time.”

“You heard what he said about having a different future wife.”

“He wanted you to be his wife once. He’ll realize you’re the one he wants again.”

“You can’t say that. Now, let’s focus. We need a pedestal table. Could you please search the house and find one?”

As Hyacinth headed out of the room, she grumbled under her breath about the cleaning versus decorating again. But Violet refused to let her sister’s more practical nature interfere with the opportunity to transform the room into something truly special.

Violet shifted several decorations and then stood back again. The settee was slightly off-center. She laid her crutch on it and then began to nudge it.

“What are you doing?” Sterling’s voice came from the doorway, irritated and accusatory.

She startled, then stumbled. To keep from falling, she grabbed the edge of the settee.

His footsteps thudded rapidly across the room, and before she could sit down, he was lifting her up into his arms.

She would absolutely die of mortification if he’d heard any part of her conversation with Hyacinth from a few minutes ago.

“Did you just come into the house?” She tried to keep her voice nonchalant.

“Yes, and it’s a good thing I did, so that I could put an end to whatever you were doing.”

Relief made her weak, and she sagged against him.

He situated her against his chest and glared down at her. “You shouldn’t be lifting heavy furniture. Not with your injury.”

“I was just pushing it a tiny bit.” She tried to speak sternly, but her voice came out breathy.

“If I remember right, the settee was on the opposite side of the room.” He cocked his head toward where it used to be located. “And now it’s here.”

She couldn’t hold back a laugh.

His brow furrowed even more. “That’s no laughing matter. You need to stay off your injured foot.”

“Hyacinth moved it, not me.” She swallowed the rest of her humor and couldn’t stop herself from lifting a hand to his forehead, where she gently fingered the lines, trying to smooth out his worry.

Apparently her conversation with her sister was making her bolder and giving her permission to touch Sterling more freely.

The lines didn’t go away. But the fierceness of his glare began to dissipate. “You’re doing too much.”

“I’m being careful.”

“Not enough.”

This time she lifted her hands to the brim of his cowboy hat and tilted it up just slightly so that she could see his eyes more clearly.

The brown was filled with a concern that went straight to her heart and seemed to ease some of the tightness there. Had her father ever looked at her with such concern? Had he ever taken such tender care of her?

If she’d once been afraid of Sterling being like her father, maybe it was time to see all the ways he was different instead of finding all the ways he was similar.

“Thank you for caring about my injury, Sterling.” She loved the feeling of his strong arms holding her up and his broad chest sheltering her.

Hyacinth’s words echoed in the back of her mind. All he needs is a little encouragement, a nudge in the right direction. A kiss.

She’d told Hyacinth that she wouldn’t. But was Hyacinth right? Should she find out if he wanted more?

She’d never initiated a kiss with him in the past, had always waited for him to ask.

She moved her hand from his hat to his jaw and let her fingers graze along the hard line leading away from his chin. This exploration of his face was new territory, and she liked the solidness and the scruff and the nearness.

He grew immobile, hardly breathing.

What was he thinking? That she was being too forward?