Eddy studied his serious features. “I don’t think bothering is the right word.”
“Then how would you phrase it?”
She heard the muted censure in his tone. Dealing with Rhine was enough to handle. She didn’t need Zeke trying to lay claim to her, too. “Let’s just say Mr.Fontaine seems interested in me.”
“Is that interest returned?”
“No.” Her response was both a lie and the truth.
“Good.”
Nothing else was said on the matter.
Cherry roomed in a house a few blocks away from Sylvia’s, and once they arrived, Eddy and Zeke bade the engaged couple good-bye and continued on.
“Have you lived in the city all your life?” she asked.
“No. Augie and I are originally from Maryland. Came out here five years ago hoping to make our fortune in the mines, but we’re about ten years too late. So he went to work at the hotel and I fell back on the carpentry skills I learned from my father.”
“Do you have your own shop?”
“Not yet, but I’m working towards that. And you? What are you working towards?”
“Saving up so I can open my own restaurant.”
He stopped. “Really?”
“Yes. Do you find that odd?”
He assessed her silently for a moment. “I guess not, but I figured a woman as pretty as you would be looking for a husband to settle down with and raise some babies.”
She laughed softly, “I’m more than just a pretty face, and a bit past the wanting a husband and babies stage. I figure if I’m very frugal I can save enough to be on my way to California by maybe this winter.”
“So, you’re one of those newfangled women?”
Eddy sensed his stock sinking within her. “Both my parents worked to provide for our family. Many of the women I know worked, so if that makes us all newfangled, I suppose we are.”
“Didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just I’m the kind of man who feels a wife should be at home when her husband comes in at the end of the day, but a pretty lady can make a man reevaluate this thinking.”
His stock rose again.
They’d reached Sylvia’s. “Thanks so much for walking with me, Zeke. I enjoyed myself.”
“So did I. Got something special to donate to your auction.”
“And it is?”
“A secret.”
“Oh come now. I need to know.”
“Nope. Not telling you, but it’s something a lot of people are going to bid on.”
Eddy was intrigued. “I’ll need you to drop it off at the orphanage beforehand though, so we can put it on display.”
“I understand and I will.”
Eddy saw his smile and wondered what his donation might possibly be.