“I’ll think about it, Angel.” And she would, but if she married Dr. Logan, it wouldn’t be until she knew his character better. She could grow to love a decent man maybe, but not one who would harm her or her sister. So far Dr. Logan had been a gentleman, but he hadn’t been here long enough to know for certain.
Travis rode Pride and Joy across the rough fields and through the tree line looking for good places to hunt. He’d found the creek, but it was too cold to fish.
He ducked as a cedar branch came close to swiping his face, and he held up his hand to push it aside. A light, cold breeze slid under his jacket collar, and he hunched his shoulders. Pride and Joy’s gentle walk soothed Travis’s jumbled thoughts. Riding a horse with a smooth gait like this one always did that for him.
He needed some time to think and consider the best way to court Heaven. It would take work, because he knew she was against marrying him. She didn’t know him yet, and he intended to fix that starting this afternoon.
He liked her spunk. Despite yesterday’s mishap with learning to shoot and the head wound—he rubbed the prickly patch on his head where the hair was beginning to grow back—he wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to find out how those lips felt under his and if she fit in his arms just right when he hugged her. The pieces of the puzzle God had placed before him were beginning to come together. God sent him here, not Caleb. God had chosen Heaven for him. Now he needed a plan to get her to see that, too.
Annabelle had grown weary of the train adventure, as had Mrs. Miles. Jake had remained aloof the entire trip. He’d rented a covered buggy at least for the remainder of the trip. He grumbled about the cost and how he should have seen Heaven by now. It was all Annabelle could do to hold her tongue. The last thing she wanted was to be abandoned by him, and she had no qualms that he would leave her behind.
He was not the Jake that went away. Annabelle didn’t think it would be too difficult to convince Heaven to wait a bit before marrying him. She’d need time to reacquaint herself with this new Jake. The outside hadn’t changed, but the inside of him seemed gray and disinterested in anything but his cigar.
Mrs. Miles had grown quieter and smiled less often than when they’d left Memphis on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway.
“Are you warm enough, Mrs. Miles?” Annabelle wished Jake could see how much he was hurting his mother. She missed her own mother dreadfully. That was one of the reasons William’s betrayal hurt the way it did. She had looked forward to having a mother, even if it would have been a mother-in-law.
“Yes dear. I’m fine, but looking forward to warming up at Heaven’s by this evening. We were rash in this, weren’t we? They may not even have room for us to stay.”
“We’ll make do, and if it isn’t possible, I believe there is a hotel in town.” Annabelle knew that’s where Jake and his mom would most likely stay. Heaven’s description of the cabin in the letter she’d written in early spring was that it was quite small. So much so that she and Angel slept upstairs in a loft. She didn’t think she should mention the Wharton accommodations now though. They’d see for themselves soon enough, and then a decision could be made. She would stay with Heaven though, even if it meant sleeping in the barn.
Chapter 12
Heaven hadn’t counted on rain. A darkening sky replaced the sunlight that warmed the cabin a few minutes ago. She glanced out the front window. They’d had an awful lot of rain this fall. There had been talk of the Mississippi flooding and concerns about how far the water would reach if it did. Dark clouds were bunching up like Baptists at a potluck.
Dr. Logan was out there on his horse somewhere. Right after lunch he’d said he needed to think about some things. What did a man think about? She hoped it was about leaving. No, that wasn’t truthful. She wanted her farm, but she’d come to enjoy his company.
Thunder crescendos rocked the air. There wouldn’t be any practicing her marksmanship this afternoon. Lightning arched, fracturing the sky. She twisted her apron strings in her hands. How far away had he wandered?
“When’s Dr. Logan coming back? If he doesn’t hurry, he’ll get wet.” Angel sat on the tufted, black horsehair, serpentineback sofa and hugged her doll to her chest while whispering secrets into its ear.
The regal settee against the backdrop of rough wooden walls was as out of place as she and Angel were in this cabin. So many of the things they’d brought belonged in a fancier home. Still, she was grateful to have these bits and pieces of their old life. They’d arrived at the cabin, expecting it to be furnished. And it was, according to a bachelor’s lifestyle, Ma had said. Her brother didn’t need much—a table, a chair, and a bed. Heaven thought that’s probably why he never found a woman to marry him. He was an odd fellow, Ma had said. As if Heaven couldn’t figure that out. All she had to do was look in the root cellar at all those canned green beans.
“I’ll check the kitchen window. Maybe he’s coming from that direction.” She hurried across the puncheon floor, leaned across the sink, and searched through the wavy glass for a glimpse of him or his horse. When had the trees grown so thick? A movement in the grove of cedars caught her eye. Horse and rider burst through the trees. For a moment, his eyes connected with hers, and her heartbeat kicked up its rhythm. Travis was back. “He’s coming.”
The sky broke apart and released hail. She watched in horror as the ice dropped like eggs from the sky, striking Travis and his horse. The ground in front of them disappeared into a field of white. He angled his head down and seemed to knee the horse to a run toward the barn. Her heart slammed against her chest as she watched him hold his arm across his face in an attempt to protect it from the bruising hail. She wanted to shout at him to use his other arm, protect the wound on his head, but he wouldn’t have heard her through the thick log walls. “He’s going to the barn.”
“That’s good.” Angel started humming a lullaby to her doll.
Heaven popped on her toes of her good foot to see him better. The hail was slippery, and Pride and Joy could go down. He could roll over and crush Travis. She swallowed even though her mouth was dry. Her mouth formed the words Be safe. Be safe, Travis. Travis? When had she decided to call him by his name instead of his title? So informal, and yet his name felt right on her lips. A smidgen of disloyalty to Jake’s memory pricked her heart. She’d loved him and promised to forever. But Jake wasn’t here to love anymore—the man was dead and not coming back. But Travis was here to love.
Love? She didn’t love Travis did she? Impossible. She was just worried about him, that’s all. Wasn’t it?
He would be wet and cold when he came inside. She reached in the reservoir and dipped out water and filled the coffeepot. She’d make some to warm him.
His footsteps thudded against the wooden porch, and Heaven threw open the door before he reached it. “Come in. You’ve got to be soaked. Did the hail hurt? How is Pride and Joy?”
Travis’s eyes widened as he brushed past her. “He’s fine.” She drew back in shock at his brusque reaction. Maybe she was overmothering. And she did not want to be his mother.
Heaven was having difficulty seeing her stitching. She’d have to use precious oil if the storm didn’t move on soon. Lightning sparked light through the bare windows and caught her attention. She had planned on making this cabin a home, so why not start now?
Travis sat in her rocker with nothing to occupy him but the drying of his clothes.
Angel busied herself at the table with the abacus they’d brought with them.
Heaven narrowed her eyes and focused on Travis’s strong, capable body. She wanted to move the furniture, and with his foot tapping, he became the most likely candidate. But would he willingly move the heavy pieces? Ma had a way to get Pa to do things he didn’t want to do. She said all she had to do was be a lady and he’d smile while he did her bidding. Would it work for Heaven?
Angel slid the beads across the wire and softly counted. Heaven smoothed her long hair behind her ears and remembered what Ma w
ould say about presenting herself as a lady. She straightened her shoulders and wished for a bit of Ma’s honeysuckle perfume to dab on her wrists. She could get it from the trunk, but Angel would be sure to notice the scent and ask why she wore it. She’d have to do this with just her charm. Using dainty steps, she walked toward Travis, presenting her best smile.
“Are your clothes getting dry?” He looked up at her and blinked. “Gettin’ there.”
“That’s good. You wouldn’t want to catch your death of cold.” She felt silly, like a little girl playing dress-up with her mother’s finest hat perched on her head. She let her shoulders fall back to their normal position, but she kept the smile. “You must be wondering why we have our furniture arranged so oddly.” She waved her hand around the small room as if it were stuffed with priceless belongings.
She waited for a response, but all she received was a raised eyebrow. “When we moved here, Pa brought our furniture inside and left it. He promised Ma he would put it where she wanted it this winter.”
She tried batting her eyes at him, but he furrowed his brow and looked at her oddly.
“Are you all right?”
She covered her face with her hands and rubbed at her eyes with her fingers as if she’d caught an eyelash in one of them. She hoped it covered the heat of the blush that was surely creeping across her cheeks.
“Yes sir. I am, thank you. I’m just feeling a bit sad. It’s winter, and now Ma is gone, and so is Pa. And seeing you sit by the fire like he did.…” A tear sprang up, surprising her and apparently scaring Travis, for he jumped from the chair as if a cinder had landed on his sock-covered foot.
She thought she’d done all the grieving she could when they buried Ma. How was it possible for a body to hurt this much in one lifetime? Her breath collapsed in her lungs as a sob fought for an exit. Dizziness slammed against her head.
“What can I do to make you feel better?” He leaned toward her with outstretched hands as if he wanted to pull her into a hug, but then he dropped his arms to his sides and backed away. “I know I can’t bring them back, and I’m truly sorry about not finding a way to bring your pa here for burial.”
“It’s distressing not having him lie beside Ma. Not holding a graveside service makes it seem less real. I start thinking, as soon as Pa gets back …” She swallowed another piece of her grief. “Then I remember. He isn’t coming back. We won’t be together again until we’re in heaven.”
Angel sniffled. The abacus slid across the table.
Heaven turned, and saw her sister’s tears dripping down her cheeks. The numbness she’d been feeling since she’d heard about her pa’s death finished melting away, leaving behind raw pain. She hastened to Angel’s side and pulled her out of her chair into an embrace. They rocked back and forth on their feet together while they expressed their grief through rivers of rain. “It’s going to be okay, baby. We still have each other.”
Somehow Travis had gone from trying to comfort two distraught females to shoving around furniture. All he’d intended to do was to stop the crying. Watching the two of them mourn and not being able to help them while bearing guilt for not saving their father, he’d blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. He asked Heaven if she wanted him to move the secretary desk, with its bookcase covered with glass doors, closer to the window. The tears had desert-dried in a flash.
“Just a little to the left, I think.” She splayed her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side. Happiness rode across her face. “After this we can move the sofa across from the fireplace and the hutch closer to the kitchen so we don’t have to walk so far to put away the dishes. But first it would be best if you would get the carpet from the loft. It will be nice to have that piece of home under our feet again.”
Where were those tears? Even Angel strutted around with her hands on her hips giving orders about not scratching the floor. Heaven’s smile was as bright as the sun that had gone missing around lunch. He shoved the heavy desk an inch. He hadn’t planned on decorating a house, but it was worth it to see her bustling about looking like she’d been given the title to the farm.
She hadn’t given up. The little minx was making the cabin into a real home. She probably thought he wouldn’t want to take it from them then. She was right, but she was wrong. He had every intention of keeping everything promised to him in Caleb’s will. Especially Heaven.
“It looks like you’re planning on staying around.”
She swung around and faced him, her sapphire eyes sending sparks his way. “Of course we’re staying. Why would you ever think we’re leaving?”
“Good. That’ll make Mrs. Reynolds happy. I’ll ride to town tomorrow and talk to the preacher about arranging it.”
The smile dimmed and disappeared. Her face hardened. “I never said I would marry you. I said we weren’t leaving our home.”
Chapter 13
Travis had escaped the cabin right after he set the heavy sofa in place on top of the ugliest rug he’d ever seen. Heaven clapped her hands with joy when he rolled the threadbare thing across the floor. Angel had taken off her shoes and said she needed to feel colors. The design was almost impossible to figure out. Heaven said it had belonged to their family for a long time. He wanted to say he could tell but thought better of it. Heaven’s face shone with excitement, and so did Angel’s. He didn’t want that light to extinguish.
Feeling as if he’d come calling without a chaperone, he left them to putter around. At least in the barn he knew there would be something to do. He spent time with Mrs. Jackson. It seemed she would be dropping her kid any day. For some reason, unlike Heaven and Angel, the goat let him get next to her. As he was in the stall with her, he started thinking about Heaven’s idea of making fancy soaps and cheese to sell. She’d need to get more goats to make it profitable. He could get them for her with the little money he had left over from purchasing the breeding mare. That horse would be coming in soon. He’d have to ride to Dryersville to get her.
Travis unfurled his bedroll onto the barn floor. He slipped his suspenders from his shoulders, wincing at the soreness.… It was one of many places on him that had taken a beating from the hailstorm. He couldn’t remember ever seeing hailstones that big. He unbuttoned his shirt and checked out the purple and green spot. It was warm to his touch; his body already doing its healing work.
It felt warmer in here tonight. He didn’t know if it was because the woman had worked him so hard or because the weather was changing. Still, it was December, and that led him to the conclusion it was Heaven’s doing that kept him warm.
He settled into his makeshift bed. The night sounds of the barn were comforting. Horse hooves rustled the hay. Pride and Joy might be feeling some soreness from the hail, too. He noticed a lack of livestock, guessing Caleb had planned to send for his daughters the minute he’d found a place to live. There was the one sad-looking cow, the two goats, a horse, some chickens, and no pigs. He was guessing they’d canned a lot of green beans, as it seemed they had them every day. Sometimes twice.
Fresh meat would be good. Maybe tomorrow he’d find a rabbit or two. A stew would go a long way to making those beans tolerable.
He stretched his hands over his head, and something soft swatted his fingers. A barn kitten. He wiggled them again, and a soft, furry ball pounced on his hand. He grasped it and brought it to his chest. A marmalade-orange fluff ball assessed him with wide green eyes.
“You’re a young one, aren’t you? Quite brave, too, to attack a defenseless man on the floor.” He stroked the kitten behind the ears and was rewarded with a noisy purr. It kneaded his chest and then settled for a rest. Travis watched as the kitten’s eyes opened and slowly closed a few times before staying shut.
He lay there thinking about what it would take to get Heaven to fall in love with him. If she weren’t so stubborn about this being her farm, her home, her whatever she wanted to claim at the moment, she might be able to see him as someone besides the man who wanted to take it all f
rom her.
The kitten’s purr quieted. Its little body heated him as well as a woodstove would. He stroked the tiny head, and the low rumble started again. “Shh. Go back to sleep.”
Maybe Travis should tell Heaven how nice the cabin looked. That it looked like a home. But he wouldn’t. Not yet. He’d wait until she said she would marry him. Besides, the cabin had looked fine before he’d had to shove the sofa, haul furniture, and unfurl a carpet. At least she hadn’t hung curtains or spread a cloth across the sawbuck table.
Heaven flung the cotton tablecloth across the kitchen table and then straightened it so the sides were even. She then placed the lit candlestick in the middle. Taking a step back, she surveyed the room, admiring it. “We did it, Angel. It looks like home. I wish you could see it.” Heaven grasped Angel’s hands, and they twirled in a circle.
“It smells like home.” Angel’s smile spoke of pleasant memories.
Heaven released one of her sister’s hands but held on to the other. She closed her eyes and inhaled the room’s scent. She could smell Ma’s honeysuckle and an underlying trace of Pa’s cherry tobacco. Small moments of time hugged her.
“You’re right. It does smell like home and Ma and Pa. I was thinking of using one of Ma’s old skirts for curtains. Would you mind?” Heaven knew the perfect one. Ma had a white damask skirt that had a grass stain across the bottom. She could trim that piece off or fold it over, and no one would see it.
“Can I help?”
She squeezed Angel’s hand and let go. “Yes you can. We’ll work on it tomorrow. Now it’s time to blow out the candles and go to bed.”
Travis smelled the biscuits burning before he opened the door. He stepped inside the smoke-filled room. “What are you doing?”
Heaven appeared out of the haze. “Leave the door open.” She fanned the bottom of her apron, attempting to shoo the smoke from the cabin. “We were making breakfast and talking about the stories Pa used to tell. Then Angel …”
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