Prairie Fire by Catherine Palmer

she would face over having cared for him in secret, he would do it. He loosened his embrace and stepped aside.
    “Go ahead with your friend, Miss Murphy,” he said. “I apologize for the inconvenience I’ve caused you.”
    “Inconvenience?” The flame in Caitrin’s eyes roared to life as she turned on him. “You have caused me more misery—more agony —than you can ever imagine! Sure, you’ve tilted me topsy-turvy, Mr. Cornwall. First you settle yourself in my storeroom and refuse to budge. And just when I think you’ve finally gone away, I begin to dread the thought of your leaving. You call me mouthy and stubborn—but the very next moment I’m your flame-haired Irish beauty. You try to kill my friend and steal his son, yet you treat me with a gentleness I’ve never known from a man. You command me not to preach at you, yet you beg to know what it is that makes me different.”
    She squeezed both her fists together and shook them at him. “A full half of my heart is praying for the moment you walk out of this barn and leave me in peace,” she said. “And the other half can’t—can’t bear the thought of never seeing you again! After all the havoc you’ve caused, will you simply stand aside and wish me away with Rosie—as though I’m the merest of acquaintances?”
    Jack stood rooted, absorbing her words and trying to make sense of the storm crashing around inside him. “Do you think I’m having an easy time here, Caitrin? I wandered into this barn broken and defeated. And then you came along with your lace petticoat and your red hair. You called me a villain, but you treated me like a man. You trusted me. You healed me. I don’t know how, but you gave me hope. I should have left this godforsaken prairie days ago, but—”
    “Now just a minute there, you smooth-talking scoundrel,” Rosie cut in. Taking a step forward, she jabbed Jack in the chest with her finger. “This prairie is not godforsaken. I’ll have you know a better class of people lives here than you’ll ever be good enough to join! We take care of each other. We defend each other. And as for Caitrin—I don’t know what kind of deceitful flattery you’ve tried to pull on her—but you can just take your black horse and ride straight out of here, because Seth and Jimmy won’t abide your presence for a minute. Not a single, solitary minute!”
    “Rosie, please,” Caitrin said. “You don’t understand.”
    “Oh, don’t I? He’s been toying with your heart. If he can’t destroy us by stealing Chipper, he’ll just ruin the prettiest, sweetest woman in our town. He’s trying to sully you, Caitrin, but somehow you’re blind to it. If he can’t lure you into sin right here and now, he’ll probably bamboozle you into running off with him.”
    “That’s ridiculous,” Jack spat out. “Caitrin has a mind of her own.”
    “Yes, she does,” Rosie said. “And a home of her own, too. Caitrin, don’t think for one second about leaving with this man.
    We love you, and you belong with us. Seth has planned a wonderful gift for you. I was supposed to keep it a secret until the wedding, but I’ll just tell you the truth right now. This winter Seth is going to build us a brand-new house and barn—and he’s giving you his soddy, Caitrin. Think of it. Your own house, a store to help manage, a town full of people who care about you. And if it’s a husband you want, well, there’s always Rolf Rustemeyer.”
    “Rolf?” Caitrin said.
    “Who’s Rolf Rustemeyer?” Jack demanded.
    “He’s a wonderful, upstanding, hardworking gentleman,” Rosie said. “He would never steal children. He would never fight for slavery. And he would never seduce a poor, innocent woman in a dark barn. More than once Rolf has told me he would like to court you, Caitrin. So there! Your life is settled and perfect … and don’t you listen to this man for one more minute. Now come with me before Jimmy walks out here and starts shooting.”
    Rosie