“Someone’s got to teach our daughter how to hold her own against her cousins, nieces and nephews, and any brothers that might come along.”
Her face flushed a little at the teasing words, but she didn’t back away. Her fingers still played in his hair.
“Maybe you’d better teach me some of those tricks if we’re going to live close to your brothers.”
He laughed, unable to keep himself from kissing her lips and tasting the sweetness of her in addition to the peach tart.
This time when she pushed out of his lap, he let her go. She went and made a cup of coffee for herself and surprised him by joining him at the table.
Something had changed between them today. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt as if the door had opened. Maybe just a small crack, but open nonetheless.
* * *
The next weeks were filled with a quiet joy of being with his family and learning the new baby, and just spending time with Rose.
Now that the worry of the wolf had been solved, the cattle seemed content to stay in their little valley and he fully expected a good return come spring.
Whatever had changed between Rose and him, whatever door had opened between them stayed open. They talked about everything.
Sometimes as she put the baby to bed she talked about her dreams and about her early memories of her papa. He found it easier to open up more about Ricky, about his own childhood and those old worries that Jonas would change his mind about having Davy as part of his family.
And he only expected things to get better. He felt he was earning her trust with each passing day. Like the first daffodil in spring, popping its head up above the snow, he began to hope that she could really care for him the way that he loved her.
Eventually.
He still hadn’t told her of his feelings. Too afraid to rush things. Too afraid to make a blunder. But he tried to show her every day through his actions.
A few weeks after the baby was born, Breanna came galloping into the clearing, pushing her horse even faster than usual.
Was something the matter down at the homestead?
“What’s the matter?” he shouted from where he’d been mending a broken slat in the paddock fence.
“It’s Ricky!” her voice rang with joy. “He’s home, and he’s brought a new wife!”
Davy saw Rose appear in the doorway with Helen in her arms. He hopped the corral fence, jogged toward her.
“What do you think?” he asked, breathless with anticipation. He saw the answer in her eyes. “I’ll hitch up the sleigh. You can finally meet my brother.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
As they rushed down the mountain, Rose felt a sense of trepidation, but tried to mask it.
Davy was so excited hearing about his brother’s return that he didn’t seem to notice her preoccupation. She was careful to keep Helen bundled up and tucked under the blankets, though she checked on the infant every once in a while to make sure she was all right.
Rose wasn’t sure what to expect from Ricky’s return. These past few weeks, Davy had shared about the hurt he’d suffered from his brother’s desertion. What did Ricky hope to accomplish with his return? Reconciliation?
And he’d brought a wife. Would his wife be a much better fit for him than she felt she was for Davy? Although they’d been getting along well, she still had moments where she wondered when he would discover her faults.
She still had moments where she wasn’t sure she knew what she was doing with the baby. Sometimes she still didn’t know what she was doing as a wife. All she could do was try her best every day.
But what if Ricky’s wife didn’t like her? What if Ricky didn’t like her? She knew how much Davy valued his brother’s opinion, and she knew her past wasn’t spotless coming to the marriage with the new baby.
The very last thing she wanted was for Davy to be ashamed of her. Breanna had ridden along with them. Her chatter and Davy’s preoccupation kept them both distracted from Rose and her troubled thoughts.
When the three of them drew up in the barnyard, the back door was already standing open. Matty and Seb spilled out onto the porch, following another man she didn’t recognize. It had to be the missing brother.
Davy hopped out of the sleigh at the same time Breanna jumped off her horse with a wild whoop. The girl rushed to join the boisterous group. Her trousers allowed her to jump up on Seb’s back. He wildly twirled her around while Ricky and Davy embraced, slapping each other on the back. The genuine joy among the brothers was easy to see.
Breanna quickly came back and assisted Rose from the sleigh, but Rose hung back when Breanna rushed back into the fray of the boisterous greetings.
After their embrace, Davy stood back from Ricky and held on to his brother’s shoulders. They were the same height and looked each other straight in the face. Rose’s stomach hurt as she observed all of it from her place near the sleigh. She finally had to look away from the intensity of their reunion, and adjusted Helen’s wrap.
“Something’s changed in you,” Davy said to his brother.
Ricky nodded seriously. “I’d like to tell you all about it, if you’ll let me.” Ricky’s eyes slid over Davy’s shoulders and landed on her as she trudged in the general direction of the house. “I can see something’s changed for you, too.”
Davy followed his brother’s gaze to her and then he jogged toward her with his brother following a few steps behind.
“I want you to meet my brother Ricky.”
Ricky extended a hand, and she shifted Helen up to her shoulder so she could shake it.
His eyes perused her slowly, landing on the baby and then on her face. He was full of questions; she could see it in his eyes. Her shoulders stiffened slightly.
Davy seemed unaware of her inner turmoil as he slung his arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his side. “This is my wife, Rose, and our little girl, Helen.”
The obvious pride in his voice bolstered her spirits, but the questions remained on Ricky’s face.
So did her nerves, especially in light of Penny’s awkward welcome in those early days.
The back door opened again and the patriarch of the family called out for the boys to come inside.
Ricky shot a proud smile of his own and told Davy to “Come inside and meet my Daisy. You’ll love her.”
Rose swallowed hard, expecting Daisy to be a vision of loveliness. A slender girl without a baby burdening her down. Someone Davy deserved for a wife. Her legs were stiff as they carried her to the house.
Inside she was surprised to find Daisy was a slender, fiercely beautiful young woman with auburn curls spilling out of a simple braid down her back. But she had only one arm; her right sleeve was pinned to the bodice of her dress. She sipped a cup of tea at one end of the kitchen table with Penny across from her.
Penny quickly jumped up and embraced Rose. “I’m so glad you came down with Davy! Let me see that little one.”
Before Rose could protest, Penny had taken the baby out of her arms and was crooning to Helen, walking back and forth in the parlor.
Ricky introduced his wife to Davy and Rose. Davy gave her a hug immediately. It was obvious he was completely happy for his brother, and he acted as if he hadn’t even noticed her impairment.
How could Rose do anything different? “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, embracing the other woman even though the action felt strange and uncomfortable.
This was her family. Davy’s family.
Davy and Ricky stood between the parlor and the kitchen, talking. They seemed oblivious to Matty, Seb and Breanna, who were cutting up in the parlor and making lots of noise.
Rose felt as if she was in the way and she skirted the table, sneaking behind Daisy. She would be out of the way back here. There was a moment of sile
nce between the two women before Daisy looked up and whispered, “Are they always like this?”
That was when Rose saw the uncertainty in the other woman’s eyes. She was just as unsure in this situation as Rose.
In that moment a spark of camaraderie was born. Rose sat down on the bench beside the other woman. “I’ve only been a part of the family for a short time, but I have never seen it be anything else.”
They shared a small, conspiratorial smile as the brothers continued their horseplay. In the parlor, they heard Jonas join in the fun and shared a smile.
* * *
Even as he enjoyed reuniting with his brother, Davy kept watch over Rose, looking for any sign of discomfort or that she was feeling left out. Edgar teased both he and Ricky for not being able to take their eyes off of their new wives. And they marveled over how they both had married women named after flowers.
After supper he found himself alone in the kitchen with Ricky. Somehow they’d both been assigned dish duty.
Ricky explained why he’d felt he had to leave. Davy had known about his guilt over what had happened in the past, but he hadn’t realized how deep it had run for his brother. Ricky shared about how meeting Daisy had changed everything for him and about how he’d finally found God and found freedom from the things he’d carried for so long.
Davy was happy for the peace that was obvious in his brother’s countenance. But there was a small part of him that was still hurt that Ricky had never felt before now that he could share those things with him.
He was immensely grateful that his brother was back, even though Ricky planned to return to Daisy’s ranch. Ricky had been touched by Davy’s offer to split the profits from the winter herd, but had gently refused the gesture. He had a paying job on Daisy’s family ranch, and the ranch was a family business that he would one day take over.
Which meant Davy would have funds enough in the spring to build Rose a nice house, providing the herd made it through the winter intact.
Now that he knew where his brother was and it was only a short train ride to visit, he could take the girls for a visit in the spring.
He was so glad to have Ricky back, but that one small kernel of hurt remained as they joined the rest of the family in the parlor after they’d finished the dishes.
Rose surprised him by threading her arm around his waist when he joined her on the couch. Cecilia was walking with Helen across the floor, the baby awake and watching all the noise around her for once. Rose leaned into him, offering the comfort that assuaged the hurt remaining after the conversation with Ricky.
She whispered that she’d accepted Penny’s invitation to stay the night. Maybe she had guessed that he wanted more time with Ricky before his brother had to leave in a couple of days.
He knew it was time. There was no reason to delay telling her he loved her. He felt it so often, so strongly, that it might just pop out one of these days. The next time the moment was right he would do it.
* * *
Breanna and Walt had been elated to be relegated to the bunkhouse for the night with their two older brothers while Ida and Andrew had been stuck with Penny and Jonas. That had left Ricky and Daisy with one bedroom and Rose and her family with the other. Davy and his brother had stayed up late into the night catching up. Rose had gone to bed early because she’d known the baby would be up in the night.
When the time came for Helen to nurse, she didn’t want to wake Davy, so she sneaked out into the living room and sat in the rocking chair near the hearth. A few glowing coals remained, giving off just enough light.
She’d almost nodded off as Helen nursed, but a soft tread from the hall brought her fully awake. Penny was there dressed in a long flannel wrapper.
“I thought I heard someone,” she said softly. “Do you want a cup of tea or something? When I was nursing my babies, sometimes that helped me get back to sleep.”
Rose shook her head slightly. “I don’t want to be a bother. She won’t be long, and then I’ll be back to bed.”
“You’re not a bother.” But instead of returning to bed, Penny came closer and sat on the sofa near Rose’s elbow. “I remember those days,” she said softly, looking at Helen’s dark head. “Soon she’ll be as big as Andrew.”
Rose hummed, not sure what—if anything—she was supposed to say.
Penny looked her straight in the face, and she struggled not to flinch. It was clear the other woman had something else to say. Rose steeled herself for the worst.
“I’m sure you sensed that I was uncertain about Davy’s decision to marry you.”
Rose lowered her eyes. No one knew that she’d overheard the conversation that morning when Penny and Jonas had warned Davy against marrying Rose. She wanted to keep it that way.
“I see you gazing on your baby, and I know how strong a mother’s love can be,” Penny continued.
Rose nodded, confused at the turn in the conversation.
“I saw how hard Davy took his brother leaving and...” Penny reached out and touched Rose’s forearm. “I knew he was hurting and I was afraid for him—afraid he wasn’t ready for this marriage. But I’m very sorry if I made you feel unwelcome.”
Rose smiled stiffly.
“I could tell you were uncomfortable the moment you came down the mountain with my son. I could tell that he wanted to protect you, but I wasn’t sure it would be a good match—and I was perhaps too protective of Davy.”
Hadn’t she worried about the very same thing? She couldn’t blame Penny. Not one bit. But that didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt.
“But what I see now is how happy, how at peace he is. Even before Ricky got here, Davy was more settled. He cares deeply for you.”
Rose inhaled sharply, unable to believe what the other woman was telling her. They’d grown closer these past couple of weeks, but she was uncertain of Davy’s feelings for her.
“And so,” Penny said, “I just wanted to thank you for making my son happy again.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she whispered. “Davy is the one...” She left off the sentence, helpless to explain all the ways in which Davy had changed her life for the better.
“Who loves you,” Penny finished the sentence for her in a whisper, leaving Rose in open-mouthed silence.
It couldn’t be true. She hadn’t done anything to deserve his love. She had only accepted his generosity and his protection.
“I’m glad that you found your way to our family, no matter how it happened,” Penny whispered with a final pat to Rose’s hand. She stood up and disappeared back down the hallway.
The baby made a soft, sleepy noise, and Rose raised Helen to her shoulder and began patting her back so that she could release the burps that would allow her to sleep soundly. Hopefully for the rest of the night.
She sat in the rocker for long moments with the baby snuggled on her shoulder. Penny couldn’t possibly be right about Davy’s feelings for Rose.
Could she?
The hope that Rose had carried since the night the baby had been born ignited, lighting her up inside like a firework she’d seen once at an Independence Day celebration.
She couldn’t deny the feelings she had for Davy, not any longer.
Was it possible that he might love her, too? She was sniffling at silent tears as she sneaked back into the room where Davy slept.
She slipped back beneath the quilt but couldn’t hold back one last sniff, and Davy rolled over toward her, instantly awake.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep. He rubbed one hand down his face as if trying to come fully awake.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Before Rose could say anything to her husband, Helen protested with a soft cry from where she lay on the bed between Rose and Davy.
Rose reached for her but one of Da
vy’s large, work-roughened hands settled on the baby’s belly and he whispered something into her ear.
Soft moonlight slipping in the window illuminated Helen’s rosebud mouth as it widened in a sleepy smile and the baby drifted off to sleep.
Davy looked down on her with tenderness obvious in his gentle smile.
And Rose’s raw emotions boiled over. She valiantly sniffled back the tears, considered burying her face in her pillow.
But of course, he noticed.
“What happened?” His words were a whisper, his breath warm on her cheek. They were that close, with only the baby, only scant inches between them.
She shook her head. She would tell him everything that happened with Penny, but later. Not now.
“You’re so good with her,” she whispered in return. “I thought things would be different...”
His forehead crinkled, his eyebrows drawing together.
“I mean...” She didn’t know how to say what she meant, so she ended up blurting, “I thought you might see her differently, since she’s Jamie’s.”
He frowned slightly. “Jamie’s not here,” he whispered. “She’s yours. Yours and mine.” The fierceness of his whisper startled her.
* * *
The room was so shadowed that Davy only had a glimpse of Rose’s eyes. He saw the emotion trickle through them at his declaration and wondered if he’d said the wrong thing yet again.
His heart was full to bursting with love for her—so much that he couldn’t contain it anymore. Even if now was the wrong time to tell her.
He gently removed his hand from Helen’s softly rising and falling chest and tangled his fingers with Rose’s on top of the quilt.
“I love you,” he whispered fiercely. “I want you to know that I love you, and I love that little bundle of joy as much as any man loves another person. I know it’s too soon for you to feel the same way toward me, but I aim to prove my love for you every day until you believe me. And until you can love me back.”
She stared at him in silence for a long stretch. The only sounds were Rose’s breaths and the baby’s adorably soft snores. There was no movement throughout the rest of the house, only this moment between them.
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