Free Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

a mule, had gone off after the Union army. He wondered if the mysterious Sophronia had returned. Eli had made several references to Risen Glory's cook, but Cain hadn't yet seen her.
    "Evenin', Major."
    Cain stopped in his tracks as a small, much-too-familiar figure appeared at the end of the hallway. Then he began to curse.
    Kit's hands twisted nervously at her sides. She wasn't moving any closer until he'd had a chance to adjust.
    She'd left Cain's house in New York the same way she'd entered it. Over the back wall. She'd taken her bundle with her, along with The Sybaritic Life of Louis XV , which was the inspiration for the desperate plan she'd conceived the day after Cain left.
    Now she plastered a smile on her face that was so big and fat it made her cheeks ache. "I sure hope you're hungry, Major. I got some fried chicken and hot buttermilk biscuits just beggin' for somebody with an appetite. I even scrubbed down the table in the dining room so we could eat there. 'Course, it's kinda scratched up, but it's a gen-u-wine Sheraton. You ever heard of Sheraton, Major? He was a Englishman and a Baptist to boot. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Seems like only Southerners should be Baptists. I—"
    "What in the hell are you doing here?"
    She'd known he'd be mad, but she'd hoped he wouldn't be quite this mad. Frankly, she wasn't sure she was up to it. She'd endured the train trip back to Charleston, a bone-jarring wagon ride, and, just today, a fifteen-mile hike that had left her with blisters and a sunburn. The last of her money had gone to buy food for tonight's dinner. She'd even taken a bath in the kitchen and changed into a clean shirt and britches so she didn't smell. She was surprised to discover that she liked being clean. Taking baths hadn't turned out to be such a bad idea after all, even if it did mean she had to look at her naked breasts.
    She attempted a simper even though it about curdled her stomach. "Cookin' dinner for you, Major. That's what I'm doin'."
    He clenched his teeth. "No. What you're doing is getting ready to die . Because I'm going to kill you !"
    She didn't exactly believe him, but she didn't entirely disbelieve him, either. "Don't you yell at me! You'd of done the same thing!"
    "What are you talking about?"
    "You wouldn't have stayed up there in New York City while somebody was takin' away the only thing in your life you ever cared about! You wouldn't have sat in that fancy bedroom readin' books and tryin' on ugly dresses while it all slipped away. You'd of got yourself back to South Carolina as fast as you could, just like me. And then you'd have done anything you had to so you could keep what was yours."
    "And I'm getting a pretty good idea what you've decided to do." In two long strides, he closed the distance between them. Before she could jump back, he began to rake his hands over her body.
    "Stop that!"
    "Not till you're disarmed."
    She gasped as he touched her breasts. A tingle of sensation shot through her, but he didn't seem affected. He moved on to her waist and her hips.
    "Stop it!"
    He found the knife strapped to her calf. "Were you planning to use this on me when I was asleep?"
    "If I didn't have the guts to kill you with a gun, I'd hardly do it with a knife, now, would I?"
    "I suppose you were carrying it to open cans?"
    "You took my gun. I couldn't travel without some kind of protection."
    "I see." He set the knife out of her reach. "Then if you're not planning to kill me, what do you have in mind?"
    This wasn't going the way Kit had hoped. She wanted to tell him to stop towering over her, but she wasn't that much of a fool. "Why don't we eat dinner first, and then I'll tell you? Food's hard to come by. No sense in lettin' everything get all dried out."
    He took a moment making up his mind. "All right, we'll eat. But afterward we're having a serious talk."
    She hurried toward the kitchen. "Supper'll be on the table in a minute."
    Cain should have confronted her right away, but he was