An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book

by Lorelei Brogan

  Lana adjusted herself and flipped to the page that they were on and began to read. She had read this story more than five times, and yet every single word still kept her captivated. She didn’t feel bored or uninterested as she watched the tale enthrall her young listeners.

  As she read the last sentence of the chapter, silence enveloped the room for a few seconds before the begging started.

  “That’s it?” Freddy double-checked the page as if to make sure that she hadn’t missed anything.

  “That’s all for tonight. We’ll read the next chapter tomorrow before bed,” Lana reassured him.

  “Can’t we read one more chapter? You read two chapters last night, maybe just tonight too?” Lydia looked first at Lana and then to Ginger.

  “I’m afraid not, children. We need to get you off to bed. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  Lydia and Freddy looked as if they were going to keep on begging when a deep voice interrupted them, startling all of them at once. “Miss Lana is right. It’s too late for little ones to be awake.”

  Lana’s eyes scanned the room and locked with Nick’s. He was standing in the shadows of the doorway. She wasn’t sure when he had come in. She hadn’t even heard his entrance and he certainly hadn’t announced himself.

  “Uncle Nick!” Freddy squealed and leaped off the seat, hurrying over to his Uncle’s waiting arms.

  “When did you get so heavy?” Nick asked, tossing Nick over one shoulder, “Pretty soon you’re going to be too big to carry.”

  “No, I’m not!” Freddy protested through a fit of giggles.

  “You most certainly are. I do believe you’re nearly as big as I am,” Nick shook his head back and forth, then knelt down and gave Lydia a quick hug with Freddy still draped over his shoulder.

  “I’ll get these two to bed,” he said as if he were talking to himself, though Lana suspected that it was directed to her.

  She watched as the three of them walked off giggling down the hall.

  “He loves the children. I’m not sure what I would do without him,” Ginger said softly.

  “Does he always come over this much?” Lana didn’t mean to sound rude. She was just genuinely curious.

  “No, I mean, before Daniel died, he didn’t come over every single day. I think he’s just worried about us.”

  Lana smiled a little uncomfortably, “Or about what I’m doing here.”

  Ginger didn’t deny it. “Maybe so, but I’m glad he does come. I know he’s lonely out there on the ranch alone too.”

  “Why didn’t he just live with you guys?” Lana had noticed that Nick seemed lonely. She just hadn’t wanted to believe it. That would mean she had to feel bad for him, and she didn’t want to feel bad for him.

  “He has his own ranch. One day, he’ll probably find a wonderful woman to marry and have a family of his own. When Daniel was alive, I suppose we were his family. He and Daniel were like brothers. Now I think he feels torn between us and his own path. I never wanted him to feel that way about us.” Sadness filled Ginger’s eyes.

  Lana set her jaw in determination. “You won’t have to. I’m going to help you get on your feet and then you can take care of the ranch on your own. Nick will see that he doesn’t have to help you all the time.”

  “You really think so? Even when Daniel was alive, things could be difficult. There are a lot of responsibilities on the farm and even with hired hands, there is a lot for us to keep up with. We tried to do it on our own for a while and then finally hired a couple of men to help with the cattle.”

  “I know that it seems like I don’t know much about living out west, but what I do know is that you have two strong children and determination. With hard work, I am sure you can accomplish a lot more than you think is possible.”

  Ginger’s eyes flicked with hope. “I hope you’re right. I’d really like that. I don’t want to go back to the city.”

  “You’ve thought about going back to the city?” Lana was surprised. Her friend had sounded so hopeful and excited when she had decided to come out west with Daniel.

  “I don’t know. It’s just hard and very daunting to think about doing everything that I used to do with Daniel’s help alone. I’m not sure…”

  “I know that it seems hard. I know that after my parents died I felt the same way, I’m sure that you remember all the letters I wrote to you.”

  Ginger giggled. “I do. You used to complain a lot.”

  Lana smiled at her friend’s joke. Ginger had been one of the only people that had kept her going at that hard time. She only hoped she could be as much of a comfort to Ginger now.

  “You know that I felt so alone, but I always knew you were there for me, even though you were so far away.”

  Ginger smiled, “I’m glad. You know, losing Daniel has been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through.” Ginger paused and wiped tears from her eyes, “But now that you’re here I actually feel hopeful that one day we’ll be able to move on and create a future for ourselves.”

  Lana nodded, “I hope that you can. I really do. I can tell you that it slowly gets better. You will never stop missing him and you will never forget him, but you will learn to live again.”

  “I wonder what’s taking them so long?” Ginger sat up a little more and tried to peer down the hallway.

  “I don’t know,” Lana shook her head, “I’ll check on my way to bed.” Lana walked across the room and gave her friend a quick hug, “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” Ginger gave her another smile as Lana slipped around the corner of the room.

  As she approached the children’s room, she ran straight into Nick who was coming out.

  He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, steadying her and keeping her from toppling over.

  “I- I’m sorry, I was heading to-” Lana motioned toward the room she was staying in.

  Nick nodded and stepped back. “Don’t let me keep you. The children are either sleeping or will be soon.”

  Lana nodded and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. “I should go.” Lana interrupted the silence, realizing how close they were to each other in the small hallway.

  “I’m not stopping you,” Nick said with an amused smile on his slightly comical face. His mustache twitched twice and she wondered if he did that on purpose.

  Lana felt her cheeks burn with heat and turned, walking briskly down the hall and into the room across from Ginger’s bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  What was wrong with her, freezing up in front of Nick that way? Her heart was beating a little faster than normal and her breath came fast.

  For a moment, the thought that he was actually handsome scurried through her mind. Nonsense; Nick was Ginger’s brother and he was the last person who seemed to want her out west.

  She didn’t have time to have silly thoughts like this. She needed to impress him so that he would approve of her being here for her friend and for no other reason.

  Still, despite her efforts to convince herself of the reason for her reaction, Lana still felt a little jittery and couldn’t banish his face from her mind.

  As she changed into her nightdress, she heard the front door of the cabin close and a few seconds later, she heard the sound of the barn door opening.

  She wasn’t sure what Nick was doing in the barn, but it was probably some chores for Ginger.

  She padded across the wood floor to the straw tick bed and pulled back the blanket.

  In the soft light of the lamp, Lana spotted the medium-sized green lump in the middle of her bed immediately.

  It was a frog and his throat went in and out like a tiny airbag as he stared up at her. He sat without moving and then hopped across the bed, making a wet plopping sound as he fell to the wood floor.

  Lana couldn’t contain the scream that rose in her throat as she took a few steps back. Once the surprise had worn off somewhat, it began to be replaced with anger.

  She knew that she hadn’t left the doors or windows op
en, nor had she seen any frogs in her entire stay here.

  Nick had been in the hallway all alone with Freddy and Lydia. This was definitely his doing. Whether he’d had help from the children was debatable, but it didn’t matter. Lana was more than a little frustrated at his childish behavior.

  She thought about calling for help, but that help could only come in the form of Nick and she wasn’t interested in him seeing her afraid of a frog as well as a spider. She would have to take care of this herself.

  It took a few moments, but after a little bit of searching, she found a piece of brown paper in the clothes chest.

  It must have been used to wrap a package from the general store. It had the faint smell of peppermint and was wrinkled from use.

  It took some time and a few close calls, but finally, Lana managed to corner the frog and push him onto the brown paper.

  She then gathered up the four corners, trapping the animal in the center. Once she had done this she held it in one hand while she awkwardly pulled her coat on over her nightdress and tucked her feet into her boots.

  Once she was ready, she made her way through the hallway back into the parlor. She was hoping that Ginger hadn’t fallen asleep yet because she didn’t want to be the reason that Ginger lost any sleep.

  “What is it? Is everything all right?” Ginger asked.

  Lana breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Ginger indeed hadn’t been sleeping yet.

  “It’s a frog,” Lana finally said through closed teeth. She wanted to tell Ginger that it was nothing, but it was fairly obvious that she was holding some sort of live critter in the paper.

  “Oh, how did it get in the bedroom?” Lana could tell that Ginger was trying not to laugh.

  Under other circumstances, Lana might find this situation funny, but at the moment, she only felt frustrated at being bested by Nick once more.

  At that moment, Nick poked his head into the room. “I’ve finished up in the barn, I’ll be heading back-” he paused mid-speech, his gaze landing on Lana. “Everything all right?”

  Lana recognized the smirk and the laughter in his eyes immediately. His mustache twitched several times. She knew it had been him. It had to have been.

  “Everything’s fine,” Lana said, her eyes snapping between Ginger and Nick.

  “She found a frog in her room,” Ginger said, this time a little giggle escaping.

  “I found a frog which was placed in my bed,” Lana corrected.

  “I see. Do you need help?” Nick stood there with a look on his face that was a bit too sincere.

  Lana knew that he was searching for a weakness on her part, and she was determined not to show any. “No thank you. I actually don’t mind frogs. I have it handled.”

  “Well, that is a relief. Freddy loves frogs. I’ll be sure to mention to him that you like them too. I bet he would be the happiest boy in the west if you would go frog hunting with him. In fact, we could all go together.”

  “I-” Lana froze, unsure of how to fix her mistake.

  “I can actually tell him tomorrow. I have some free time this weekend. We can make a day of it. Lydia enjoys it on occasion too. It will be a jolly way for you to get to know the children.”

  Lana opened and closed her mouth but no excuses came out. Instead, she hurried across the room, pushing past Nick and out into the cool night.

  She dumped the frog unto the ground unceremoniously and let out a little yelp when it hopped toward her.

  “Looks like he likes you too,” Nick said from behind her.

  “I’m sure if he likes me it’s because I put him in the grass where he belongs and not in a bed,” Lana retorted dryly. She knew that she couldn’t go back on what she had said now about not minding frogs. She had a feeling that there were going to be many more frogs in the future of her stay here.

  Chapter 16

  Nick chuckled softly as he watched Lana disappear back into the cabin. She was certainly a sight with her hair every which way and her coat wrapped around her, the long hems of her nightdress poking out below it.

  He would have to tell Freddy the next day that his frog friend had done a splendid job of making Lana feel special.

  He was also not going to forget to mention that Lana didn’t mind frogs one bit. He hadn’t expected tonight to go so well and now felt in high spirits as he rode back home.

  He could see how uncomfortable Lana had been. He was sure that she was thinking about how to get back to the city this very moment.

  He chuckled again as he thought of all the other things he had planned. Besides serving a purpose, his jokes were turning out to be great fun.

  Nick did have to admire Lana’s resolve. Up until now, she hadn’t gotten angry at him for his antics. In fact, she’d taken all of them fairly bravely. He wondered how long she would stick it out. Certainly, she couldn’t for long.

  He knew many women from the city that would have turned back at the first sign of trouble. He was sure that if he kept it up she would be convinced that she was not cut out for the west.

  He hurried to put his horse in the barn and get into bed. He had promised Ginger he would take Lana to the general store the next day.

  Ginger thought that the two of them could use some time to get to know each other. Nick was certain that he didn’t agree, but he couldn’t argue. His sister needed some supplies and Lana probably needed a few things too.

  Hopefully, the trip wouldn’t be too bad. How hard could it be to spend the day with Lana?

  ---*---

  The next morning, Nick was surprised to find Lana waiting by the barn for him. He thought that he would be early and waiting for her, but instead she was standing there with a big smile on her face.

  She looked a little too cheery if someone were to ask him. He eyed her suspiciously as he pulled the wagon up beside her.

  “Good morning, Nick, and how was your night?” Lana climbed up and sat down beside him, keeping her cheerful smile on her lips the entire time.

  “Fine, what about yours?” Nick couldn’t keep a smirk from his own face as he mentioned the night before. He couldn’t get the frog out of his mind.

  “Wonderful. It couldn’t have been better.” Lana’s tone was even and guarded. He could tell she was being cautious.

  The silence stretched between them with only the sound of the horses' hooves against the dirt road breaking it.

  Nick finally spoke. “So, do you know what you need from the general store? I’ll leave you there to pick it up and grab some things at the feed store to save some time.”

  Lana nodded, “Ginger and I made a list before I left.”

  “This might be forward, but do you miss the city yet?” Nick couldn’t keep himself from asking.

  “Actually, no. I like being here with Ginger and the children, despite your attempts to scare me with spiders and frogs like a common schoolboy.”

  He was silent for a moment and his eyes were laughing, although his cheeks felt a bit heated at her chastisement.

  He felt awkward and finally spoke again. “Don’t your family and friends miss you?” Nick wondered how it was that Lana had managed to leave everything behind for a friend she hadn’t seen in years.