Free Spoils of Eden by Linda Lee Chaikin Page B

develop stronger roots. What we need is to make certain our relational conflicts are dealt with according to the teachings of the Bible.”
    Should she smile casually? Act grave and sophisticated? Businesslike?
I’ll wait and take the cue from him
, she thought.
    He brought his horse alongside the buggy and looked down at her, his eyes smiling under dark lashes as he studied her with a faint smile.
    “Can it be?” he jested lightly. “What fortune is this that shines upon my path, bringing such fairness to brighten my bleak heart.”He removed his Panama hat and bowed his dark head with hand at chest. “Welcome to Hawaiiana—though we have a long way to go before it competes with Kea Lani.”
    His lightheartedness brought a reprieve to her fears, and she was able to smile. “Hello, Rafe.”
    Almost at once, aware of her vulnerability, she resumed her previous solemnity. Would it be wise to come straight out with the truth about Kip? Or would she appear insensitive? Kip had come to mean so much to him. His attachment to the baby boy over the past months surprised her. Not that she wasn’t attached herself, but somehow she hadn’t seen Rafe as the sort of young man to bond so quickly with a baby. There was much about Rafe she still didn’t understand, even though she’d known him since childhood.
    Oh
, she groaned to herself,
this is going to be one of the worst moments of my life
. Worst, except for that tumultuous meeting they’d had when she’d taken off the engagement ring and he’d accepted it with devastating calmness.
    “I hope you don’t mind my coming here like this,” she began awkwardly.
    “Mind? Now, why should I?” came his suave tone, as though their hearts were as disengaged as east from west. “To what do I owe this privileged attention?”
    So. He’d chosen to play down what to her was a breathless moment. To keep the affections they had for each other tied up, like a dog on a leash, she thought, offended over his casual indifference. Though considering the degree to which their emotions could reignite, perhaps he’d taken a safest approach after all. She ought to be grateful for the latitude it afforded her.
    Then I, too, shall be casual and friendly, as though nothing in all the world has happened between us
.
    “Dr. Bolton requested that I deliver Great-aunt Nora her new prescription. Then I happened to meet Zachary on the road. He had news about Grandfather Ainsworth. He’s returning from San Francisco this afternoon.”
    “Ainsworth?” He frowned.
    “Yes. Candace should be told, and I’m hoping to get her to come with me to Kea Lani before he arrives.”
    “Is that what you wanted to see me about?”
    “Well, there is more I need to speak about,” she said, unable to veil the note of concern in her voice.
    Rafe sat on his horse looking down at her, toying with the leather reins, but beneath the casual manner she read an alertness.
    “Then why don’t I bring you up to the house to see Candace? You can give Nora her medication as well. I imagine they’ve got Kip up by now, playing in the nursery.”
    Eden tensed at the mention of Kip, struggling with the main reason for her visit to see Rafe. Conflict loomed like a shadow cast over the future, and her brightened spirits, enlivened by seeing Rafe, sagged. Their first meeting in months had been so pleasant, and now her dreadful announcement would surely separate them again in mind and heart.
    He swung down from the horse and gave a swat to its hip. The horse trotted back toward the bungalow, and Eden inched sideways to make room for him on the seat beside her. As he stepped up she handed him the reins. He gave them a flip, and the horse started down the path.
    Eden scanned the distant hills of green foliage contrasted with dark boulders, streaked with garnet and mauve.
    “You know the difficulty Grandfather has with the idea of Candace and Keno getting married,” she said. “There’s going to be trouble because Oliver P.