"Because you'd been through so much. I didn't know if my
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presence would complicate things or help them. And I wanted
to get things ready," he added
Smokey looked a little confused and he went on.
"This is no passing fling for me, Smokey. The night that
Brandon's coachman came back to say Darsey had been
arrested was the night I planned to ask you to be my wife."
Smokey was utterly speechless as Dallas slowly covered
the distance between them. When his hands held her upper
arms, he went on.
"You did understand about the additions to this house,
Smokey, didn't you? The first is you, as my wife, and then as
God blesses, a bunch of little people who strongly resemble
Dallas and Smokey Knight."
Smokey's eyes slid shut, and Dallas pulled her into his
arms. Dallas loved herl God had given her all her dreams and
more.
"I was in such pain when you didn't come." Smokey's voice
was broken.
"I'm sorry. I thought it was the right thing, and I wanted
this house, our house, to be so perfect."
He stopped speaking when Smokey moved and grasped
the front of his shirt with both small fists.
"The house is wonderful, Dallas " she told him, her eyes
pleading with him to understand "But it's you I wanted, only
you. Outside of that, nothing you could give me would mean a
thing." The tears came then, and Dallas wrapped her in his
arms once again.
"I'm so sorry," Dallas whispered as she sobbed, "so very
sorry. I'm here now, and you don't need to cry anymore."
His words did little. He led her to the parlor then, and to
the sofa to sit beside him. It was some time before she let her
head fall against his shoulder and tried to control her tears.
"You know," she heard him say, his voice gentle, "I may
never want your hair long again."
Smokey raised her head "Do you mean that?"
"Of course. Why?"
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"I thought you would hate it," she wailed Dallas only
laughed
"I can't think of any hairstyle I would hate on you," Dallas
told her, punctuating his words with a soft kiss. When he drew
away, Smokey's eyes were thoughtful on his face.
"YouVe lost weight," she said as the backs of her fingers
stroked his lean cheek.
"I haven't felt very hungry," Dallas admitted before hesitating
and going on. "Was it awful?"
"Yes," Smokey told him without pause. "I know it could
have been far worse, but it was the worst thing I've ever
known. To keep us controlled, they fed us very little."
Now it was Dallas' turn to close his eyes. He wondered if
he would ever forget the sight of Smokey's frail frame in that
courtroom. From what Brandon told him afterward, he was
almost relieved not to have seen the duel.
"You didn't answer my question," Dallas said when he had
reined in his wild thoughts.
"You haven't asked a question," Smokey reminded him
and then bit her lip when he slipped off the sofa, took her
hand, and went down on one knee before her.
If Smokey had read such a scene in the pages of abook, she
would have laughed There was no laughter in her right now,
however. The man she loved was fixedly gazing at her, his eyes
telling her in ways he could never verbally express how
deeply she was loved
"Will you marry me, Miss Simmons?"
"Yes, Mr. Knight, I will."
No other words were necessary for quite some time.
Smokey and Dallas sat wrapped in each other's arms and
talked about their dreams. Not until Dallas mentioned a possible
wedding date just a few weeks down the road did some of
the sparkle die in Smokey's eyes. Dallas would have questioned
her had he noticed, but someone knocked on the door
just then and he rose to answer it.
It was Tate, looking for Smokey to come to supper. Smokey
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was so amazed at the lateness of the hour that she laughed, the
joyful sparkle back on her face.
"I'm sorry, Tate, but I had other things on my mind."
"May I be the first to offer my congratulations?"
The two men shook hands, and Tate grabbed Smokey in a
fierce hug. "I've got to bring you home right now with this
announcement, or Jen will have my head"
Dallas, whose appetite suddenly seemed to increase, was
more than ready to comply. The three of them walked together,
but only Tate and Smokey talked Dallas felt as if he
were stepping on a cloud--Smokey was going to be his wife!
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missed something important and was driving Smokey away
from him. He simply had to see her to find out.
less than a week later, Dallas rode a borrowed horse
toward the port where Smokey usually docked the Aramis. His animal was already lathered and flagging with exertion,
but still he drove him on.
In Dallas' front pocket was a note, delivered earlier and
from Smokey. It was brief, and in Dallas' estimation, said
nothing.
Dallas--
I need time to think, so I'm headed out on the Aramis. I'll come see you when I return.
Yours, Smokey
Desperate to talk to the woman he loved, Dallas rode like
a man possessed. He hadn't stopped to pack a bag or say
goodbye to anyone. Smokey was on her way out to sea, and he
had to have some answers.
They'd parted just two days earlier, when Smokey had
decided she needed to get back to Willa's. All had seemed fine
when she left. Smokey had grown rather quiet at different
intervals, but considering her life in the last weeks, Dallas felt
this understandable. Right now he was terrified that he had
Darsey moved like an old man as he prepared the Aramis to cast off. Never had he made it take so long. He knew that if
he carried on too long, Smokey would come up and ask
questions, but if he moved any faster, Dallas would miss them.
Darsey was as certain as any man could be that he was riding
to find Smokey right now.
To most people, Smokey seemed to be a very controlled
woman. But she also struggled with fears, fears that plagued
her because she would not stop thinking. Just yesterday morning,
Darsey had stared at Smokey in dumbfounded amazement
when she asked him a question.
"Do you really think I should marry Dallas?"
Darsey blinked. "Don't you?"
Smokey shrugged. "I've been thinking that he doesn't
really know who I am."
"So tell him. It's not as if he won't want to listen." Darsey
stopped because she was clearly not convinced "He's not
going to change his mind," Darsey added flatly.
"You never saw his girlfriend, did you Darsey? Kathleen is
beautiful."
"I see," Darsey said when he didn't see at all. "I don't think
you're giving him a bit of credit."
"I don't know what you mean."
"I mean, you assume he's not sincere or has some hidden
motive. It's not as if he wer
e marrying you for your money."
Smokey's face showed surprise, and Darsey instantly regretted
his words.
"You know he's not, Smokey," the mate reasoned "He
doesn't even know how much you have."
"That's just it," Smokey spoke with sad logic. "That's just
one more thing he doesn't know about me."
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Darsey looked at her in despair. He honestly didn't know
what to say, but then he wasn't really given time. Before the
day was out, Smokey had gathered her crew, sent Dallas a note
that said she would be away, and gone to the Aramis.
Now Darsey had begun to give up and put them underway
when he caught sight of a rider. He squinted up the docks and
noticed a tall man leaping from a horse. He watched as Dallas
pressed a coin and the horse's reins into a young man's hands
and ran for the ship.
Darsey continued to put them off while Dallas came
aboard and labored to catch his breath. He then handed the
ropes over to Robby and moved toward Dallas, who was still
breathing hard
"I didn't think you were going to make it, lad I couldn't
have stalled much longer."
Dallas nodded "What's going on?"
"I'll let her tell you."
"Is she in her cabin?"
"Yes, but I'd wait until you're sure she can't swim for
shore."
"That bad, is it?"
"Well, it's not good. I only pray that you'll be able to
convince her."
"Convince her of what?" Dallas was completely in the
dark.
"That you'll love her no matter what. You best go below
and clean up so she doesn't see you."
Darsey didn't wait for an answer, and a rather bewildered
Dallas made his way to the crew's quarters. After washing up
and using Scully's brush on his hair, he sat on a bunk to wait,
praying all the while that Smokey would believe and accept
his love.
"You're being ridiculous." Smokey threw herself on her
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bed and spoke to her empty cabin, but felt no better. No
matter what she said, she could not convince herself that all
was going to be well with her and Dallas.
She knew the best way to clear the matter was to talk with
him, but what if her worst fears proved to be true? She had
wanted to get away to prepare her heart for what might be. Yet
she hadn't done a bit of preparing, only fretting and stewing.
She felt the Lord calling her to trust Him, but at the moment
she was too worked up, and choosing not to listen.
Smokey hated the jumble her thoughts were in and dozed
for a time. When her thoughts began moving to Dallas and the
last time he'd kissed her and held her close, she jumped up
and reached for her brush.
Wanting to dispel any and all thoughts of Dallas Knight,
she gave her hair a ruthless brushing and then tied it in a small
ponytail at the back of her neck. She didn't bother to fuss with
anything else because she was going topside into the wind
They had been at sea for over an hour, but Darsey had
taken forever to cast off and Smokey wanted to check on
everything. She didn't have the foggiest idea where they were
headed, something for which her father would have given her
a tongue-lashing, but she planned to go up now and act as if
she were in control.
Her short legs climbed the stairs quickly, and she stormed
onto the deck like a woman with a mission. She saw a tangle of
rope that needed attention and was about to yell for Pete, but
something stopped her. Leaning against the mainmast, legs
stretched out seemingly for miles, was Dallas. His face was
expressionless, but his eyes were intent as they studied her.
"How did you get here?" Smokey asked after a moment.
"It wasn't easy," Dallas answered cryptically.
Smokey couldn't take his intense stare, and she turned her
gaze to sea. "I had to get away and think."
"About?"
"You and me. I can't think straight when I'm with you."
Smokey had given Dallas her profile as she said all of this, but
he asked her a question that brought her eyes back to his.
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"Do you love me, Smokey?"
"Yes," she answered without a drop of uncertainty.
"Do you know that I love you?"
"I know you love the person you think me to be," Smokey
told him. Dallas was more confused than ever. "Dallas," she
now went on, frustration rising within her. "There is so much
you don't know about me. Take my family, for instance."
"I didn't think you had any family." Dallas' voice was calm
even as he attempted to piece together what was going on.
"I don't, not now, but I did You've never even asked me
about my father or mother."
"You've never asked me about my mother or father either,"
Dallas replied, trying to reason with her.
"I didn't need to," Smokey retorted. "Jenny told me all
about them."
They fell silent for just an instant, and Dallas' mind raced.
"Your mother died having you?" he finally tried and
watched Smokey nod
"Yes," she said, glad that he knew that much.
"And this was your father's ship at one time?"
"Yes."
"But you want me to know more before you'll believe that
I love you?"
Smokey nodded, calming somewhat. "Do you remember
the first time we met?"
"I think so; at Jenny's wasn't it?"
"Yes. You had just come into port and stopped for a few
minutes to see your family. You told a story that night about
seeing another young sailor. He'd raced through the coral
reefs, and you thought he was trying to rival Clancy for daring
acts. The way you spoke that night made me think you saw
Clancy as a fool."
"Are you trying to tell me that because I ridiculed a legend
that you admire, I don't love you?" The question sounded
absolutely absurd even to his own ears, and Dallas saw in an
instant that he should have kept it to himself. He watched
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rather helplessly as Smokey turned and walked toward the
bow.
Dallas followed slowly, but for her sake kept his distance
There was something far wrong here, and he had to keep his
head if he was going to find out what it was. If he followed his
first impulse, he would grab Smokey and hold her until there
was no doubt in her mind that he was a man in love.
"I was a little girl when I learned who my father was."
Smokey spoke softly as she looked out over the sea, her small-booted
feet planted perfectly to balance her body against the
waves. Dallas watched her profile and listened intently.
"He told me he never wanted to be a hero to me, just a
loving father." This said, Smokey turned to look at Dallas, her
heart in her eyes. "It seems silly to be bothered about your
opinion of Clancy, but I am. He was my father."
Smokey could see that she had thoroughly stunned him,
but she went on.
"I started thinking about the fact that you didn't even
know that. Here we are planning to spend the rest of our lives
together and you didn't even know Clancy was my papa. How
much does it cost to build one ship, Dallas?" Smokey's change
in topics so floored Dallas that he stuttered when he spoke.
He named an approximate figure, and Smokey went on.
"I could build you ten ships on just what I have in the
Kennebunk bank alone"
Again Dallas felt as if he'd received a hard blow to the gut.
He was surprised over these things, but he still couldn't
believe they made Smokey doubt his love. He spoke carefully,
hoping he had the right words.
"I am surprised that Clancy is your father, but I also think
it's wonderful. And I wouldn't care if you had one dollar or
one million, I would love you just the same. I believe with all
my heart that we love each other, Smokey, and knowing that, I
also believe we can talk all of this out."
"I also want a white dress and a fancy wedding," Smokey
told him as if this would be the final straw. Tears began to
puddle in her eyes.
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269
"Well, you can have both," Dallas told her with a smile.
"Not if we get married in two weeks," she said, and Dallas
watched a single tear roll down her cheek. She looked so
forlorn that Dallas wanted to cry himself. All this was very
important to her, and she hadn't known how to tell him. As he
gazed at her, she turned back to the railing and stood still. She
didn't move or speak even when she felt Dallas come to stand
behind her.
He reached with long arms and grasped the railing on
either side of her, effectively locking Smokey between his
arms. He bent and placed a kiss on the top of her head and
then one below her right ear.
"I never meant to rush you," he began softly, his chin
resting on her hair. "In the future all you have to do is come to
me, and we'll talk the problem out."
"Will there really be a future?" Smokey wanted to know.
"Definitely. In fact, it's starting right now."
Smokey turned in the circle of his arms, and looked up
into his beloved face.
"From this point forward," Dallas told her, "I'm not going
to rush you. Whatever is important to you is important to me.
You're going to have the wedding you want; I will see to it
myself. We're going to talk every day and not let any upset or
anger go undiscussed
"I don't know of any other woman who could survive what
you have this past year, and your self-sufficiency sometimes