“Oh, no thank you—” I protested, shaking her off as politely as I could.I felt a might trapped because I didn’t want to be rude to these girls, who were only trying to help me.
The thump of boots on the porch interrupted my protests, and a moment later the door opened.
Chapter Eleven
An Impromptu Celebration
I craned my neck to look past Bertha and saw Oscar come inside, the soles of his boots thumping on the floorboards.
“Oscar!”I said, placing my hands on Bertha’s waist to try to nudge her aside, and realizing how I must have looked and what Oscar might be thinking.
Fuck.
“Hmph.I see you’re entertainin’ yourself in my absence,” he said in cool tones, staring at me and the girls with narrowed eyes.
“No, I— I only came downstairs to wait for you,” I said, gazing about me at the girls, who seemed to be highly amused at my situation.
“Oh, really?”Oscar frowned and stepped forward.“You seem to be mighty comfortable in the middle of all these pretty girls.I know for a fact they’ve been wantin’ to get their hands on you.”
Bertha laughed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips as she regarded Oscar and me with amusement.
“Well, you’re right about that, Mr.Yates,” she said.
Oscar gazed pointedly at the women gathered around me.
“Git.All of you.Off my man, if you don’t mind.”
’Twas exciting in a way to be claimed, though I still thought I might be in some trouble, until I noticed a quirk in the corner of Oscar’s mouth as the girls sighed and retreated to spots a bit farther away.
“I swear, Oscar, I—”
“Quiet,” he said, as he took off his boots and gloves and laid them on the table beside the door.He took off his hat and placed it on a hook.Then he stalked forward and climbed into my lap real careful, so he didn’t put pressure on my stitches, snuggling against my chest like an affectionate cat, then kissing me on the mouth in a calculated show of possession.
I kissed him back, putting my arms around him to hold him against me, so relieved to have him back and to show that he didn’t care a whit about the girls.He knew I’d never do anything to take advantage of his absence like that.
The kiss softened and sweetened, and when he pulled away, he held my lower lip between his teeth to stretch it out before he released me with a smile.
“I’m back.”
“I see that.”
“So, you don’t gotta be worried no more.”
I was a little breathless from that kiss, and I raised my brows.“Until next time.”
Oscar shrugged, playing with the stubble that had grown in on my chin and seemingly quite content to show off how close we were.He turned to the girls.
“Thanks for keepin’ Jimmy busy.I know you’d never think of getting too friendly with my husband.”
Gasps and exclamations of surprise filled the room.
“Yourhusband?”Sally said.“How on earth did the two of you get married?I ain’t never heard of such a thing!”
She gazed at the others.Some of them shrugged, and some of them smiled.Bertha gazed between us with a calculating expression.
“You ain’t got rings.And I reckon ’twasn’t a legal ceremony.”
Oscar nodded.
