No Other Will Do (Ladies of Harper's Station #1)(76)

“Let me go, you cow-handed oaf. You promised to release me as soon as Mr. Shaw finished his discussion. Well, Emma’s here now, so—”

His arms let go of Tori’s waist so fast, she staggered backward and would have fallen against the store wall if Mr. Porter hadn’t grabbed her elbow to steady her. Her face flaming pink, Tori batted away his help the moment she regained her footing.

“I’m fine,” she insisted, though the blush on her cheeks told a different story. Emma couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her friend so flustered.

“Mr. Ben wasn’t hurtin’ her,” Lewis chimed in as he popped up from his hiding place behind the bench, giving Emma a turn at being the one startled. “I checked.”

He looked like such a little man making that proclamation that Emma couldn’t help but grin. Which only made Tori’s color deepen.

“He was just makin’ her stay put.”

“Yes, well . . .” Tori straightened her apron and stepped around the freighter, making a concerted effort not to look at him as she did so. “He had no right to hold me here against my will. It’s . . . barbaric.”

Lewis’s nose scrunched up. “But you do it to me all the time, Mama. When I need a bath. When I’m squirmy in church. When—”

“Enough, Lewis!” Tori placed a hand on her stomach, closed her eyes for a moment, and inhaled a long, deep breath. When next she spoke, it was in the calm, rational voice Emma was accustomed to hearing. “Why don’t you go with Mr. Porter on his rounds? He hasn’t made his usual circuit around town and up to the steeple yet. Maybe you can help him spy an outlaw from the bell tower.”

Lewis’s face lit up and his feet started dancing in a tight little circle. “You mean it? You’ll let me go on rounds with him?”

“Only if you promise to be careful and do precisely as Mr. Porter tells you.”

“I will! I promise.” Lewis jumped straight at the freighter, grabbed his hand and started tugging the big man toward the steps. “Come on, Mr. Ben. Let’s go climb the steeple!”

Porter allowed the boy to drag him along, but his gaze pressed into Tori as he passed. Tori stared pointedly at the boardwalk beneath her feet. She might trust the man enough to let her son romp around in his company, but she seemed to be working mighty hard to discourage any personal entanglement.

The freighter apparently had a thick hide to go with those thick muscles of his, for he showed no sign of Tori’s coldness affecting him. In truth, he acted the same as if she had met his gaze and smiled politely to him. He doffed his hat and rumbled the only words Emma had heard him say since she arrived. “I’ll take good care of the boy, ma’am.”

Then he nodded to Emma, ruffled Lewis’s hair, and gestured for the boy to lead the way. Lewis set off for the church in a full sprint. Mr. Porter followed at a steadier pace, his long legs keeping the boy from getting too far ahead.

Emma climbed the stairs to stand beside Tori, who now couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of the big man tromping behind her son.

“The two of them seem to get along well.” Emma’s observation broke Tori’s stare. She immediately spun around, not quite glaring at Emma, but frowning for certain.

“Lewis is a young boy infatuated with the only man of his acquaintance. It’s only natural for him to seek out a male influence in a town full of females.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I don’t see the harm in it.”

“Neither do I,” Emma assured her friend. “In fact, I commend you for allowing Lewis to spend time with Mr. Porter. He seems a dependable sort. Kind. Responsible. Capable. There are far worse examples of manhood your son could emulate.”

Tori pierced Emma with a sharp gaze. Emma held her stare, knowing Tori must be thinking of the man who had hurt her, reminding herself of all the reasons a man couldn’t be trusted. But then she nodded once in belated agreement to Emma’s assessment of Mr. Porter’s character before raking her gaze over Emma, a new intensity lighting her eyes. She grabbed Emma’s hands and held them out wide while she made a head-to-hem inspection.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he? I saw him snatch you off the street and cart you away. You say you trust him, but no one really knows what a man is capable of when he’s angry, Emma. I was worried sick. And then that brute of a freighter wouldn’t let me go after you.”

Tori released her hold on Emma and wrapped her arms around herself instead. “He said Mr. Shaw would never hurt you. But how would he know? They’ve been acquainted for less than a week. For all he knew, the man could have been beating you bloody in that café.”

“Malachi?” Emma laughed softly. “Oh, Tori. Porter was right. Mal would never hurt me. Ever. He’s too honorable. And too dedicated to my welfare and that of the aunts.” Her smile dimmed. “Probably to his detriment.”

Tori’s brow creased. “What does that mean?”

Emma slid her fingers through the tight knot of her friend’s arms. “Let’s go inside and brew some tea. I’ll tell you all about it.”

Well, almost all about it. Emma didn’t think she was quite up to confessing that she kissed the man. Not when her friend was bound to lecture her about the dangers of impropriety between the genders.

Besides, Emma wanted to savor that memory in private. Savor it. Examine it. Memorize it. And perhaps, dream up a way to repeat it.