“You misunderstand my hesitation,” Hawk said. “I do plan on asking for Rosalind’s hand, but I don’t want our marriage to be about gaining shares in the mine. Too many men marry for greed, and even though my first marriage was also for love, I want my relationship with Rosalind to be based on love as well.”
Charlie gave him a knowing nod. “Then you should know that I don’t offer shares in the mine to every man in town. That’s the reason Sol is so busy trying to oppose me. He thinks every man should be given an opportunity to have ownership in the mine, regardless of whether or not they’re married, and they should be given a greater say in how the mine is run. It’s my mine, or at least it was, until I felt the need to give back to the people who have given the most to this community. You’re one of those people.”
Hawk hadn’t been part of a community in a long time. No one had told him he belonged like this.
He held his hand out to Charlie. “Then you’ve got a deal.”
After Charlie shook hands with him, Hawk held his hand out to Draven. “And I would be pleased to join your team. I know what it’s like to be overworked and understaffed. Noelle is my home, and I want to help protect it.”
Even though Hawk already had a good relationship with Draven, he hadn’t expected the respect in the other man’s eyes as he shook his hand. It was a far cry from when he’d first arrived and been warned not to cause trouble.
Draven and Charlie quickly outlined Hawk’s responsibilities, all of which were familiar to him. Draven reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a badge, which he handed to Hawk.
“I asked Gant to bring this back for you on his last trip to Denver.”
Hawk stared at Draven. “How did you know I would want to stick around?”
Draven shrugged. “I didn’t. But I hoped. I saw how you and Rosalind looked at each other, and I could tell that leaving her would be difficult for you. More importantly, I watched you work the case, and I saw your dedication to truth and justice. We need more men like you. It took you a while to find your way, but I knew you had it in you.”
The man’s praise of him was humbling, and Hawk couldn’t even find the words to answer him. Draven gave him a tiny shove.
“No more of any of this. Go find that woman of yours and propose to her.”
Hawk gave a small tip of his hat then left the sheriff’s office in search of Rosalind. He didn’t have to go far as he saw her walking toward Nacho’s.
“I was just going to look for you,” Hawk said. “Do you have to work today?”
Rosalind shook her head. “No. Jane left early this morning, and none of us have seen her. She wasn’t supposed to work today, but maybe Fina had an emergency. I need to find her because Mother is asking for her.”
Before they finished crossing the street, the sound of Jane’s laugh made them both turn. Jane was coming around the side of Sheridan’s hardware, laughing at something the young man next to her had said.
Rosalind’s indrawn breath made him take a closer look. The man she was with was Romeo, Sol’s nephew.
“What’s she doing with him?” Rosalind asked. “When we asked Romeo if he would make a stained-glass window for Mother, Sol threw us out and told us that the likes of us weren’t welcome at his establishment.”
Hawk watched the couple interact, separating as they approached the street and looking around like they were making sure they hadn’t been seen. “Maybe Romeo had a change of heart,” he said.
“I don’t think so. Sol told Romeo that no family of his would ever have anything to do with our family. I don’t think Romeo has a choice.” Concern littered Rosalind’s face. “I don’t know what Jane is thinking, because as angry as Sol is with us, I can’t see anything with Romeo ending well.”
Romeo looked around, then darted to the street before entering the store. Jane came out of the space between the buildings and went the other way.
“Jane!” Rosalind called, hurrying over to her sister. “Wait!”
Jane stopped, a surprised expression crossing her face. “What are you doing here?”
Even Hawk knew that wasn’t a good question, considering it was the middle of town. Jane was hiding something, but hopefully, it was nothing as bad as a forbidden romance with a relative dependent on a man sworn to hate them.
“I was just out, getting some books.” She held up a stack of books, but there was something not right about the way Jane looked around. She was up to something, and hopefully, it wouldn’t make things worse for the family.
Rosalind also looked like she didn’t believe her sister. But Rosalind smiled at Jane. “You should hurry home. Mother is anxious about you.” Jane nodded then turned to leave, but Rosalind grabbed her by the arm. “I saw you with Romeo,” she said. “He’s a handsome man, and I’m sure he’s very nice, but if you have to sneak around to spend time with him, you need to ask yourself if it’s really worth it.”
Jane glared at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She shrugged out of her sister’s grasp and continued down the road back to the boarding house. Rosalind turned to look at Hawk. “I’m worried for her,” she said. “I think she really likes him, and I can’t see this ending well.”
Hawk smiled at her. “She’ll figure it out. But maybe, instead of worrying about your sister’s romance, you could think about your own.”
Rosalind gave him a brilliant smile. “Last night was almost like a dream,” she said. “So to hear you mention it again makes it seem almost real.”
Hawk placed her hand in the crook of his arm. “It is real. I just spoke with Draven and Charlie, and they’ve asked me to become a deputy. And, Charlie has said that if I married, I could become a partner in the mine.”
“Like the original residents of Noelle?”
Hawk nodded. “But I told him that I don’t want to marry just to gain part of the mine. I want to marry for love.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes, back toward the boarding house. But when they got to the bridge over the Cayuga, Hawk paused.
“Charlie says it’s up to me to accept his offer or not. So I thought I would first offer for the woman I love, and then see what she would like to do. Rosalind, will you marry me?”
Tears shown in her eyes. “Yes. And of course, you’ll be part of the mine. Now we must go home and tell Mother. Perhaps our wedding will give her the hope she needs to carry on. This may be the very thing she needs to cheer her.”
They walked arm in arm back to the boarding house, where Rosalind shared her news with her joyous family.
Epilogue
Thanksgiving day, Rosalind woke to a light dusting of snow that made Noelle look exactly like a painting. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate her wedding to Hawk. The news of her engagement hadn’t cheered her mother as much as Rosalind had hoped, although she had made an effort to get out of bed a time or two. She and Hawk had decided to marry quickly so that at least her mother could be present for that moment. And they’d chosen Thanksgiving, her mother’s favorite holiday, as a way to celebrate.
Their friends from Noelle were all coming for dinner, not knowing that they were also attending a wedding. Hawk and Horatio had gone hunting earlier in the week and had brought back two turkeys. The other families were each bringing a dish to share, and Rosalind was looking forward to the wide variety they were sure to have at their table.
Hawk joined her on the porch and put his arm around her waist. “It’s a perfect day to be married, isn’t it?”
“That’s just what I was thinking,” she said, smiling up at him.
Hugh had offered them the living quarters at the assayer’s office to start their married life. Being just across the road from the boarding house made it easy for Rosalind to still come and go to take care of her family’s business but also start married life with a bit of privacy for her and her husband.
“It was good of Draven to let you have the day off, considering it’s a holiday,”
she said.
Hawk pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I didn’t have to tell him. But he’s promised to keep our secret, and it will be a surprise to everyone else.”
Standing on the porch for a quiet moment before the bustle of the holiday, they looked out at the snow in the mountains surrounding them. Being with Hawk made her feel safe, secure. And even though she knew there were many uncertainties in Noelle’s future, facing them with Hawk, she knew she had nothing to fear.
More in the series
Want to learn more about Hugh and Minnie, and how they came to Noelle? Read The Lord: The Tenth Day, part of the Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides series.
Reader Letter
Dear Reader,
A few months ago, a bunch of us authors sat in a hotel room, sharing a bottle of wine, discussing where we hoped Noelle would go and what was happening with the train. As a result, we came up with the storyline you’ve just read. I’ll admit, I hate ending a book with unanswered questions. But as the authors all discussed what we wanted to see happen in Noelle and what the ultimate endgame for the bad guys is, well, it’s going to be quite the ride. I was excited to be part of the setup and I hope you all are ready for an exciting journey as the Noelle story continues.
If you want to keep up on all of the Noelle books and the continuing adventure, be sure to join our reader group here.
Danica Favorite
Dedication and Thank You
Thank you to Julie Tague for her excellent copyediting and formatting skills. I so appreciate you!
Thanks to the rest of the Noelle authors for your contributions to the series as well as for helping keep me straight on your characters and storylines.
Thank you to my beta readers for making sure my story was consistent with the Noelle world.
And to all of my readers, thank you for taking the time to read this story.
About the Author
A self-professed crazy chicken lady, Danica Favorite loves the adventure of living a creative life. She and her family recently moved in to their dream home in the mountains above Denver, Colorado. Danica loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily ever after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps are what refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of all of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun.
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Rosalind: A Thanksgiving Day Bride (Brides of Noelle Book 8) Page 24
