Mistaken Devotion

Chapter 6

After tossing and turning all night, she finally climbed out of bed with a sigh, dressed and went downstairs before it was even light out. There was no point in trying to sleep any longer. Every time she fell asleep, she began having dreams about Mr. Beckman and that just wouldn't do. She should have known this would happen.

When James had kissed her goodbye, it had caused her to have strange dreams also. Not exactly the kind of dreams she was having after Mr. Beckman's; more like dreams that she'd been kissed by a frog, or a fish. But still, it had caused her some tossing and turning.

The dreams she'd started having about Mr. Beckman, however, made her wake up all night long, feeling guilty and ashamed of herself for having such thoughts about a man who was not her fiancé. And even more guilty that she wasn't having those thoughts for the man who was.

She sat at the table for a long while, sipping on a cup of tea, but when the sun began to come up, she went out to the barn to do her chores. The cows would not milk themselves, and the chickens weren't going to deliver their eggs to her back door.

She was carrying the bucket of milk towards the house when she saw Mr. Beckman walking around the house towards her. She let out a soft groan and wondered what he was doing there so early.

"Good morning." He said.

Letting him take the bucket from her, she looked at him suspiciously. "Good morning. What do you want?"

"I don't want anything." He shrugged. "I just came by to say hello."

"Some how I don't believe you." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because you didn't seem to want anything last time you were here, either, and look where that got me."

"Where did that get you?" he asked, a smug look on his face.

"Well, it got me thinking about how much I miss my fiancé." She retorted.

"Hm," he mused.

"What?"

"Well, it wasn't quite the reaction I was looking for."

"And what reaction were you looking for? You thought you could take advantage of me like that and I would just fall into your arms?" She rolled her eyes as she headed for the chicken coop. "You have far too high of an opinion of yourself and your charms,"

"So you think I'm charming?" he smiled, following along behind her.

"I think you think you're charming. I never said I did."

"So, you're saying that you felt absolutely nothing when I kissed you?"

"Nothing."

He waited until she came back outside from gathering eggs and leaned down and kissed her quickly on the lips before she could avoid him. "Nothing?" he asked.

"Would you stop that?" she pushed him away and walked towards the house.

"Maybe I would if I thought you were telling me the truth, which I don't."

She huffed and tried to ignore him as he easily kept up with her.

"I think the truth is, you enjoyed that kiss as much as I did and you're just being stubborn." He said.

"Well, there's your problem." She quipped. "You think too much."

"Oh, ha ha!" he grinned. "I think you need to stop thinking so much!"

"So that's how you like your women?" she asked. "Ignorant and addlebrained?"

"No, I like you."

"Please, Mr. Beckman," she sighed. "I can't. How do you think I would feel if...if...you and I....."