But the thing that caused her heart to beat a little fast, her limbs to tingle with excitement, was the warmth she noticed in George’s eyes.
And it wasn’t merely lust.
It amused her that stoic George—in her daydreams she had dubbed him St. George of the Texas plains—should have to struggle with his physical appetites like ordinary men. She didn’t want him to lose the struggle, but it would have hurt her vanity if he hadn’t been a little unsettled by her continual nearness.
And he liked her.
Despite the fact that she was a stranger, that he got angry with her at least once a day, he liked her. She could see it in the friendliness he showed when he didn’t remember to act cold. She could see it in his gaze when he looked at her when his mind was on something else. She could see it in the many little things he thought to do to make her work easier, her day more pleasant, her relationships with his brothers more smooth.
He might remember he didn’t mean to act so friendly—it was amusing to see him catch himself in the middle of some little act of kindness and struggle over whether to continue or bow out gracefully—but he couldn’t keep the warmth from his voice. Rose doubted he even knew it was there.
Rose was aware that her determination not to marry an army man was growing weaker. It wasn’t something she had done consciously, and it shocked her to find she was actively considering ways to make her dreams compatible with the life of an army officer’s wife. After all, hundreds of other women managed it. Why couldn’t she?
She had already thought of a dozen reasons why George wouldn’t act like her father.
Rose repeatedly cautioned herself to keep a tight rein on her feelings—George had told her he didn’t want to be married—but it was a losing battle. She realized now she had lost it that morning George came into the Bon Ton Restaurant.
“Why would you want to leave a town like Austin to come out here?” Monty asked Rose. They had fallen into the habit of relaxing around the table after dinner.
“Not everybody likes living in a town,” Rose replied.
“I know that. Tyler wants to live in the mountains. But you’re different.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re a woman.”
Rose chuckled. “Don’t men who live in mountains need women who want to live in mountains?”
“Sure they do, but you’re too pretty for that.”
“Can’t a pretty woman like to live in the country?”
“Yes, but not until after she’s married.”
George could see that Rose was uncomfortable with the drift of the conversation, but he was reluctant to interrupt. It was inevitable the boys should become curious about her. He was curious, too.
“You aren’t running away from some man, are you?”
“Not the way you mean. If you spent more time in town, you’d know men don’t look at an unmarried woman the same way they do a married one.”
“I should think not,” Monty said, a devilish gleam in his eyes.
“Don’t be stupid,” Hen said. “She’s not talking about men wanting to marry her.”
“You mean they…” He couldn’t find any words he wanted to use.
George almost laughed at Monty’s indignant response. He wasn’t as sophisticated as he liked to believe.
“Yes,” Rose said, coming to Monty’s rescue.
“Why didn’t your brothers shoot them?” Zac wanted to know.
“I don’t have any brothers,” Rose said. “I don’t have any family at all.”
“Then you can be part of our family,” Zac offered.
“Thanks,” Rose said, her lips quivering slightly, “but one of your brothers would have to marry me for that to happen.”
“George can marry you.”
Zac’s words caused chills of excitement and dread to shoot through George. The notion that Rose would continue to be near him gave birth to a feeling of pleasant anticipation from deep within. But the realization that he would be bound to one person for the rest of his life caused an even greater feeling of apprehension.
“You can’t expect George to marry me just to protect me,” Rose said to Zac. “Men get married for quite different reasons.”
“What reasons?” he asked.
Rose didn’t want to answer that question, especially not in front of George.
“Why don’t you ask your brother?”
“You made the statement,” George said, the suggestion of a smile on his lips. “You ought to answer it. Besides, I’d be curious to know why a woman thinks a man marries.”
“You’re just trying to embarrass me,” Rose objected. “All three of you will probably pounce on anything I say.”