The Hired Husband

Commotion at the sitting-room door caught Rachel’s attention. She turned, grateful for the distraction and expecting to see Chelsey in tears again, but found Claudia Everhart rushing into the room instead. Rachel hadn’t even heard the door chimes.

Gracious, had she been that deep in thought over Mitch Kincade’s chest?

“Rachel! It’s happening!” Claudia announced, her eyes wide, her cheeks as pink as the frothy gown she wore. “Tonight!”

Rachel gasped. She and the pretty, blond Claudia had been friends for years. That look on her face could mean only one thing.

“Graham?”

“Yes!”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight!” Claudia rushed to Rachel and clasped her hands. “Mother told me that Graham has asked to speak with Father. Tonight! He intends to ask Father’s permission to marry me. I rushed right over here. You’re the first to know!”

Rachel shared a quick hug with Claudia. “Graham Bixby asking for your hand. He’s the perfect husband.”

“Oh, yes he is, isn’t he?” Claudia sighed. “The Bixbys are one of the finest families, and Graham is so handsome and so refined, and so dignified. He’s terribly successful. He’s—he’s perfect.”

“He’ll look gorgeous in his tuxedo,” Rachel said, smiling along with her friend. “Your groom waiting at the altar for you.”

“Oh, and our wedding will be perfect. Absolutely perfect—” Claudia gasped and her eyes widened. “Oh, goodness, Rachel. How thoughtless of me. Rushing over here, prattling on about my news when you—”

“Don’t give it a thought,” Rachel insisted, forcing aside the unpleasant memory.

“But if things had been different, you and—”

“Please,” Rachel told her, shaking her head. “It’s over and done with.”

“Benjamin Blair,” Claudia said, disdain in her voice. “He should be shot for—”

“Has your mother started planning?” Rachel asked, anxious to talk about something different.

Claudia smiled. “Mother started planning a year ago when Graham asked permission to court me.”

Rachel’s heart swelled with delight over her friend’s good news. Claudia Everhart and Graham Bixby would truly make the perfect couple. They would have the perfect wedding, the perfect reception.

“I must get back home,” Claudia declared, rushing out of the sitting room. “I have to decide what to wear this evening when Graham comes over.”

“Something pink,” Rachel suggested, hurrying alongside her. “It’s your favorite color and it will—”

Mitch Kincade and Uncle Stuart stepped out of the study, stopping Rachel and Claudia in their tracks. Rachel’s gaze jumped between the two men. Mitch looked taller, sturdier, stronger next to her aging uncle.

And his shirt collar was buttoned up tight.

Rachel felt her cheeks color as the very unladylike thought zipped through her mind.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Uncle Stuart said with a smile.

Pleasantries were exchanged and, finally, Rachel had to introduce Mitch. She’d made thousands of introductions. Why did this man unnerve her so? Because he held the future of her family in the palm of his hand?

Or was it something else?

“Claudia, I’d like you to meet Mr. Mitch Kincade,” Rachel said. “Mr. Kincade is one of our family’s oldest and dearest friends, and he’s visiting with us for a while.”

Mitch seemed to bristle slightly at Rachel’s introduction, but gave no indication of anything amiss as he and Claudia exchanged greetings.

“Will you stay for supper, Uncle Stuart?” Rachel asked.

“No, dear, I must get home.” He turned to Mitch. “I’ll be speaking with you soon. Good afternoon, ladies.”

Mitch nodded to Rachel and Claudia as Stuart disappeared down the hallway, then returned to the study.

Claudia leaned close to Rachel, her gaze on the study door. “Oh, my…where have you been hiding him? He’s gorgeous.”

“Claudia! Have you forgotten about tonight?” Rachel asked.

“Graham is handsome, but Mr. Kincade…”

“He’s only here out of respect for Father,” Rachel insisted, hoping she sounded sincere. “When he heard about Father’s illness, he rushed down here to help out, if needed.”

“Lucky you,” Claudia murmured.

“Go home,” Rachel told her, taking her elbow and urging her toward the foyer. “You’ve got the perfect man coming to ask for your hand.”

“You’d better prepare yourself for what will happen when word of Mr. Kincade gets out. Every young woman in the city will try and steal that man right out of your own house.” Claudia said, with a crooked grin. Then she gave Rachel a quick hug. “I’ll give you the details tomorrow.”

“You’d better,” Rachel called as her friend hurried out the front door.

In the silence, Rachel’s smile faded. Claudia’s life was set, it seemed. Tonight she’d become engaged to Graham Bixby, a truly perfect man, presenting Claudia with a truly perfect future to look forward to. While Rachel’s life…

She fought off the sadness that crept into her thoughts and drew in a breath. She’d make it perfect again, just as it used to be. And the place to start was with Mitch Kincade.

Another troubling thought from earlier landed squarely in Rachel’s mind once more. What if he left? Before he finished his work here?

That brought on another recollection of Benjamin Blair. Determinedly, Rachel shoved it into the deepest recesses of her mind and focused once more on her family.

If Mitch threatened to leave, she’d forbid it, Rachel decided. Though he hardly seemed like a man who did anything that didn’t suit him, she would force him to stay. Somehow.

In the meantime, she had to get on with things. Mitch had insisted he be left alone to work, but that was impossible. He was a guest, after all. To ignore him simply wasn’t done.

When Rachel entered the study she found Mitch seated at the desk but his gaze was trained on the doorway, as if he’d expected her to walk in. He got to his feet immediately and Rachel thought once more how out of place he looked here among the ledgers and account books stacked up around him.

Surely the man was better suited for outdoor work, something physical, something in the sunshine, something that required no shirt.

Rachel winced and tried to force the heat from her cheeks. Good gracious, what was wrong with her?

Mitch seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and didn’t appear to notice her momentary distress. Rachel pushed on.