Free Whiskey Dreams by Ranae Rose

Mr. Van Tassel had mentioned that he’d like to acquire a gentle animal for his daughter, Brom had spent quite a while searching for the perfect horse. He’d purchased the mare several counties away and brought her to Sleepy Hollow. “I’m glad you’re pleased with her.”
    Brom glanced briefly around the room, refusing to let his gaze linger on John, who was engaged in conversation with some farmer. It was impossible not to notice most of the other men in the room, if only because they were directing envious gazes in Brom’s direction. “Shall we dance?” Brom asked. A farmer with a penchant for playing the fiddle had begun a lively tune and was attempting to make his music heard over the dull roar of chatter.
    “I’d like that very much.”
    As Brom’s fingertips met Katrina’s soft skin and the fine fabric of her gown, Brom felt the heat of at least a score of jealous stares, all directed at the space between his shoulder blades. Instead of shrugging them away, he twirled Katrina around the room. The fiddler played louder, faster, and their dance was infectious. Couples began pairing up around the room, and soon the center of the floor was filled with dancers. Those who remained lost in conversation moved to the sides, against the walls. Brom caught sight of John stepping lively with a red-headed farmgirl, whose eyes gleamed and cheeks flushed as she gazed up at John.
    Katrina was an excellent dancer, light and graceful beneath Brom’s hands. As the fiddle’s music filled the room, Brom was shocked to realize that he was enjoying himself. The nervous knot in his middle had nearly been untied. Nearly – every time he caught a glimpse of John, he felt it again. He focused on Katrina for the remainder of the dance. By the time they stopped, she was breathless, and his heart was thrumming in his chest. “That was wonderful, Brom.” She smiled as he handed her a cup of punch.
    “Yes, it was.” He smiled back, just as a shadow loomed dark in the corner of his vision.
    It was the stranger, with a greedy look in his eyes as he sidled up to Katrina, inserting himself in the narrow space between her and Brom. “Good—”
    “Sorry!” A female voice interrupted his greeting, half-laughing even as she blushed in embarrassment. It belonged to the girl who’d been partnered with John. Apparently dizzy from dancing – or with giddiness, Brom thought as he noted the way she beamed up at John – she’d bumped into Katrina’s elbow. “My apologies, Katrina,” she huffed. “I’m a bit dizzy…”
    “Nonsense, it was my fault,” John said gallantly. “I’m afraid I’ve subjected you to my clumsiness for too long, Belinda.”
    “Oh, no.” The girl’s – Belinda’s, apparently – eyes went comically wide. “You’re not clumsy at all, Mr. Crane. Just the opposite, in fact.”
    “Either way, it’s quite all right,” Katrina said with a smile. “I think we’re all a bit dizzy at the moment.” She sipped her punch, her cheeks prettily flushed as she drank. “Mr. Van Dyck is quite the musician, isn’t he?”
    “Oh yes,” Belinda said, tucking a stray lock of her rust-red hair beneath her cap. “He’s wonderful.”
    John handed Belinda a cup of punch, and she beamed at him as if it were a Christmas gift.
    Brom didn’t mean to catch John’s eye, but he did, and was barely able to keep his mouth from twitching into a smile. With his looks and charm, John was bound to capture the attention of Sleepy Hollow’s younger female population. Brom couldn’t blame Belinda, or any of the other girls who’d cast hopeful looks in John’s direction as he’d danced with her. John had the sort of face that was destined to break hearts, and was kind to a fault on top of it.
    John gave the slightest of shrugs and flashed a tiny smile of his own.
    “John, allow me to introduce you to Katrina Van Tassel,” Brom said, noting from the corner of his eye that the stranger who’d attempted to intrude upon their