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me?” He halted Dolly.
    Caroline eyed the space between them. “It isn’t seemly.”
    “Darlin’, I just returned home from the military. I think having you all the way over there is what isn’t seemly.” He smiled, using the same tone of voice on her he would with a reluctant filly. A bit of his natural drawl slipped in, and he figured it wouldn’t hurt. “Now why don’t you join your husband?” He held out his arm.
    She slid across the bench to sit next to him.
    Travis rested his arm around her waist, holding her against him. With one hand, he managed the reins. He turned his head just enough so he could nuzzle the sweet-smelling skin behind her ear. “Now isn’t that better?” He flicked the sensitive area with his tongue.
    “Keep your eyes on the road,” she admonished, but her words were a little softer.
    “Dolly knows the way.” He drew the fleshy pad of her earlobe into his mouth and suckled. One tug and a shiver wound down her spine. Though layers of her chemise, corset, under dress and day dress kept her breasts from his touch, he bet her nipples hardened. A glance down her chest showed the soft globes plumped inside her corset, a seductively demure show of décolletage. If their lists hadn’t been so long in town, he might have pulled Dolly over to a secluded cove and showed Caroline just how well he could take care of her.
    They couldn’t. The farm’s needs were too great to be forgotten in the pleasures of the moment. Straightening up so he could focus on the road, he contemplated once more everything she’d told him. Perhaps a letter to his parents would help. Anxious to get back to his wife he hadn’t ridden to their farm, though one of his brothers had been stationed with a different company at Memphis, so he’d been able to send word back home. Funny how a war, and a wife, had made him change his mind about the family trade.
    Caroline stood at the counter in Mr. Nash’s mercantile. One of his boys helped Travis load the wagon with enough supplies to see them through for a while. Her husband had taken Dolly to the blacksmith, and she swore when he’d driven the wagon up in front of the store the draft mare had pranced with delight.
    The bell above the door jingled. “The wagon’s all loaded. I think we’re ready to go.”
    Caroline pulled her fingers back from a bolt of cloth the same rich blue as her husband’s eyes. “Thank you again, Mr. Nash, for everything.”
    “It’s the least we could do, Caroline. Your pa was a good friend, as was Samuel. If you hadn’t come into town, why, we’d have come out there with a wagon.” Mr. Nash smiled, the lines around his eyes crinkling. His wild crop of white hair curled around his head like a thundercloud, his clothing impeccably tailored as always. “Glad to see you home, Travis. You need anything just let us know. I know you’ll take care of Caroline, especially after—”
    “You’re always so generous.” Caroline cut off his words. “Next time I come into town, I’ll bring you and your wife one of my apple pies made from my momma’s recipe.”
    “You sure we’re settled?”
    “Fair and square.” Mr. Nash paused. His gaze shifted between Caroline and Travis.
    Silently, Caroline willed him not to say anything. Please let me keep my secret. Let me tell my husband on my own time.
    “How much is the blue cloth?” Travis asked.
    Caroline stilled her fingers, unaware she’d again stroked the soft-spun fabric. She stepped back from the counter.
    Mr. Nash named a fair price.
    “Would you like the cloth, Caroline?” Travis crossed the store to stand behind her. “I’d be happy to add it to our purchases.”
    She nibbled on her lower lip, knowing exactly how many seeds or how much flour the expensive fabric could buy. She shook her head. “Let’s get through planting first. I won’t have much time for sewing.” She touched his arm and fixed a smile on her face. “Ready to go?”
    Travis frowned and didn’t press her