Ethan tossed and turned a bit before falling asleep already uncertain of which of the two women he'd pick to marry. Okay, so it'd just been a bit of socializing over some good food and he'd enjoyed himself but he couldn't pick up any signs of which woman would be best for him.
He liked them both, they were pretty enough, with good social graces and yet Edwina had been more reserved while Stella had flirted with him quite openly. She seemed to be more interested in some aspects of a marital relationship than in others that were more important in this case. Yes, they would share the marital bed after the wedding but what he needed first and foremost was someone who would satisfy the judge enough as a maternal figure so he'd be able to raise his sister's children. Stella had even been touching him any chance she got…even sliding her palm over his thigh during the conversation on what there was to do in Paradise.
Ethan nearly jumped then and she'd just smiled coquettishly at him. He found her attractive but he thought the move too bold on her part…he wasn't interested in thinking about that part of it right now. Well yes he was, but not with either two of these women. When she'd been coming on to him at the table and while he walked the women to the lobby of the hotel, he'd been remembering his relationship with Amelia. It might have been stormy but not when it came to both of them sharing pleasurable moments. He'd been with quite a few women and Amelia, only with her ex-husband…and when she asked him once if that bothered him, he silenced her with a kiss. No it didn't, being without her bothered him but he learned to live with it.
He had to face the facts. One of these two pretty women was going to be his wife. But he'd make it clear to them that he'd wait until it was official before…he rubbed the back of his neck before getting on his horse.
Then he'd ridden by Amelia's old house and thought he'd heard some of the soft music that often wafted from her piano when she'd been playing it. She did that he noticed when she needed some time alone to think…she didn't feel like sharing everything with him after all and he respected that. After all, he'd revealed his own life in bits and pieces to her and only her. He had wondered while sharing dinner with Edwina and Stella if he'd ever share that with them and didn't know at this point.
The ride back home was uneventful and feeling tired from a long day, he settled into bed in a house where everyone else already slept. But his mind kept him awake because he knew that Stella wanted to have some fun before they got married…or maybe some fun before he picked Edwina…he didn't know what she was thinking at this point. It wasn't going to happen that way of course. He just didn't feel that way about either one of them so far.
One woman had branded him with her kisses and with her hands and he knew he'd been lost since she'd left him but he'd found a way to cope and to move on with his life. Family mattered more than anything and that's what he'd focus on.
Yes that would be what worked best for him, he thought as he started to drift off to sleep.
Amelia woke up from another intense dream…damn the man for not leaving her. Oh, she left him but he stayed in her dreams. They evoked so much emotion in her that remained when she woke up from them…her fingers still tingling from stroking his skin, sliding her hands over his strong back while he gave her the most intense pleasure…not that people talked about such things. Just the thought might make a woman blush but she wasn't most women.
She got up to go sit for a while on the porch swing after grabbing a wrap as it had been nippy at night. It waited for her and creaked softly as she pushed it back and forth slightly with a foot. She'd spent many hours here sitting by herself…thinking about Ethan…when she hadn't spent hours here talking to him about anything and nothing.
Damn, she'd wanted so much to forget him and move on with her life. It was too dangerous to care for him…to worry so much about whether he'd come back to her or not after going off on one of his dangerous jobs that became missions. She knew that the part of him that had been a gunslinger all of his life had only been tempered a bit by his job as a marshal. She respected him for picking up that mantle when no one else would touch it but she couldn't live with it.
Only she discovered that she could handle that…she'd find a way to do it because he'd been so damn important but…she had a job to do and she had to focus on it…it wasn't safe for her mind to wander. Besides, she'd just sat for two days in a coach with two women who were vying for the position as his wife and the mother of his children.
Did Amelia really need any other clue that Ethan had moved on with his life and away from her? Not that she had anyone to blame but herself, having walked away first. She'd never expected her to pine for her…she wanted him to be happy and to find a woman who would make him happy…just not so quickly.
She didn't know what she'd do if…when she saw him again. She'd have to fight from going to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him and wanting nothing more but to forget about everything else in the world while she remembered him.
The stars filled the skies like a carpet and she saw a sliver of moon. She thought about Miranda looking out a window and seeing the same sky. The woman had been such a good friend to her when she needed one.
But she needed a friend now even more. Amelia knew she'd help her whatever it took…but she'd have to plan carefully. She had to be careful with Ethan…because even though he moved on…he might wonder what she was doing back…the marshal side of him definitely would want to know if she slipped and told him too much.
So she had to be very careful with more than just her own private feelings.
Ethan got up and after doing some chores headed to the office to put in his time as marshal before meeting the women for lunch. Today would be more serious…he'd need to learn more about the elemental things to help him make his decision. It hadn't helped that he'd woken up and thought of her again…not the two of them. But he'd pushed any thoughts of the past out of his mind to focus on the future.
Edwina or Stella…it'd be one of them and he hoped he'd figure it out soon.
Everything else would just have to fall into the background…or remain in the past.
