William stood there, broad-shouldered and well-tailored, the morning sun glistening in his sandy, straight hair. “Good morning.” His focus was solely on Nicki. “May I come in?”
Nicki nodded, and he brushed past Tilly without ever acknowledging her presence.
Tilly rolled her eyes at Nicki behind his back and returned to the sink. Nicki averted her gaze, lest she smile and give the girl’s annoyance away. William was always thoughtful and gentle toward her, but to others he could be a little difficult sometimes.
“Good morning, William.” She placed a spoonful of eggs in Sawyer’s wide, waiting mouth and continued, “What can I do for you?”
William ruffled Sawyer’s black curls, but his attention was on her face when he said, “Come riding with me today.”
She looked at him askance. When she had awakened this morning, for the briefest of seconds she had forgotten all of the terrible things that had befallen her in the last couple of weeks. Then realization had dawned, and a stark depression had gripped her. The last thing she felt like doing was going for a ride.
He quickly amended his demand. “Do you have time?”
Nicki glanced around the already tidy room. She had nothing to do. There were no excuses, and to refuse him without one would seem rude. “I suppose. Tilly was going to go home early today, but I could just bring Sawyer along.”
William’s face fell a little at this last statement, and he looked over at Tilly, finally acknowledging her. “You don’t mind staying a little later than you had planned, do you?”
Tilly’s mouth opened, but Nicki spoke indignantly before she could voice her reply. “William, Tilly has worked here from dawn till dusk every day except Sundays for the past three weeks, and I want her to have this day off. If you really want to go riding with me, Sawyer will be no trouble to take along. He can sit on my horse with me.”
William glanced at Sawyer and something chilled the warmth in his hazel eyes. Was it anger? But then it was gone and he smiled. “Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry, Tilly.” His smile turned charming. “I would hate to be the man who took away your day off.” He spread his hands and arched his brows with a look that pleaded for forgiveness.
Tilly waved a hand. “Think nothing of it, Mr. Harpster.”
He turned back to Nicki. “How long will you be?”
“Give me five minutes.”
“I’ll be outside waiting with the horses.”
Nicki emerged from the house five minutes later bundled to the gills, with Sawyer—looking like a mini snowman in his many layers topped off by a white sweater and knit cap—resting on her hip.
William gazed fondly at them. “I suppose it is a bit chilly for a ride,” he said as he walked toward them leading the horses, “but I couldn’t stand to be away from you for another minute.”
Nicki barely stopped a frown from creasing her brow. Something in his tone struck a raw nerve. She mentally shook herself. William had been a big help to her since John’s death and a good friend even before that. He was only being nice. His words held nothing more than friendship. Hadn’t he warned her that there might be trouble?
Her mind flashed briefly to his earlier proposal, but she shrugged that off.
He had merely been trying to take care of her as John would have wanted him to.
Refusing to allow her emotional upheaval of the last several weeks to ruin the first outing she and Sawyer had had in months, Nicki forced her thoughts toward more pleasant things. The fact that she was now a widow and her son fatherless was something she could contemplate and worry over at any hour of the many long, lonely nights ahead. She was determined to at least act pleasant for William’s sake, even though she didn’t really want to accompany him. Her bout of flu had flared up again this morning. But the outing would be good for her, even if she didn’t feel that way inside. Besides, Sawyer needed this time out of the house, and he wouldn’t relax and have fun if he noticed her tension.
William was just helping Nicki up onto a paint named Patch when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing toward the bunkhouse as she settled herself into the sidesaddle, she saw Jason leaning casually in the doorway, his arms resting on the lintel above his head.
His face was yet rough with stubble, but she knew he had already been out riding this morning. She wondered what had taken him away so early. It had still been dark when she’d heard his horse leave the yard.
Pushing back off the lintel, he stepped out into the sunlight. He held his black hat in one hand and wore a heavy, wool-lined leather vest over a dark blue flannel shirt. The morning light glinted off his blond curls as he raked his fingers through them, his eyes on her face. Even from this distance Nicki noted the dizzying blue of his eyes. ¡ Qué guapo es ! Nicki caught herself and blushed even at the thought of how handsome he was.
William gave her a strange look as he handed Sawyer up to her. He turned to mount his own Morgan, and Nicki inwardly cringed, knowing he had noticed her blush. Clicking to his horse, William heeled him forward, but Nicki waited a moment. Jason would want to know where they were going.
Jason sauntered toward her, settling his hat on his head and then stuffing his hands in the pockets of his denim pants. He looked directly into her eyes as he approached. Taking note of Sawyer, his eyes hardened to granite blue before he spoke. “Not backing out on our deal, I hope.”
Nicki was quick to shake her head. “No. William wanted to go for a ride. I’ll be back before noon.” She wondered why she wanted his approval so much.
Jason tossed William a hard look, then spoke in a low tone not meant to carry. “I went to see the sheriff this morning. He’s aware of the situation now and said he’d send one of his men out later to look around.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded, removing his hands from his pockets and gesturing toward Sawyer. “Let me watch him for you.”
Nicki didn’t respond immediately, first of all surprised that he would offer and second, torn between the opportunity to have a few minutes away from the demanding toddler and the desire to let him get fresh air. “I wanted him to be able to get out of the house a bit.”
He shrugged and indicated the dilapidated corral. “I need to get to work on the corral. He can stay out here with me.” At her uncertain look, he continued, “It’s warmer today and you have him bundled up good, but if I notice him getting cold I’ll take him inside.” Then he added softly, “The break will do you good, ma’am.”
“Have you ever watched a little one before?”
“No, I can’t say that I have, but I’ve never let a corral pole drop on a baby’s head either.” His eyes lit up with humor.
Nicki looked askance. “That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
His only response was a heart stopping grin.
“Do you know how to change a diaper?”
Jason scratched his head in pretended befuddlement. Glancing from her to the horse and back, he noted her lack of any diaper-changing essentials before his eyes widened in mock awe. “You can change a diaper and ride a horse at the same time?” Nicki couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped as he stepped toward her and asked, “May I touch you, oh talented one?”
“Stop.” She pushed him away with her foot. “This is serious. Okay, so he probably won’t need to be changed in the next couple of hours, but one never knows.” She pulled an extra diaper and a rag out of her coat pocket with a flourish, dangling them before his face, a twinkle in her dark eyes. “I always travel prepared. Maybe I should just take him with me.”
Jason dropped to one knee, crossed himself in knightly fashion, and pressed his forehead to her boot. “I will guard your son as if he were my own. And,” he added quickly, merriment dancing in his eyes as he glanced up at her, “I’ll have Tilly show me everything I need to know about changing a diaper before she leaves.”
Nicki leaned over, peering down at the crazy man before her, whispering as much in Sawyer’s ear.
The toddler gi
ggled, clapping his mittened hands together and chanting, “Loco! Loco! Loco!” His eyes fixed on Jason.
Jason stood, still grinning, but said, “No. Seriously. Take a break. I’ll be very careful with him. I’ll have Tilly show me everything before she leaves for the day.”
Nicki, still somewhat reluctant, handed the boy down to Jason. “What if he falls and hurts himself out here?”
Jason’s tone was suddenly very serious as though he knew how hard this was for her. “Do you have bandages in the house?”
“Yes, and ointment.”
“I’ll remember to have Tilly show me where to find them as well.”
“He likes to get into everything, and he’s very quick. You’ll have to watch him closely. In fact I’m afraid that, with him, you might not get any work done at all.”
“We’ll be fine.” Jason looked at the toddler and jostled him on his arm. “Won’t we, pal?”
“Nicki! Are you coming?” William called peevishly from where he sat on his horse several feet away.
“Sawyer, you be a good boy for Mama, eh? Hasta la vista.”
Sawyer stared at Jason as though assessing whether he could trust the man or not. And then, as Jason crossed his eyes and made a funny face, Sawyer raised one chubby hand, flopping it from the wrist as he waved his mama out of the yard with a giggle.
As she and William topped out on the first rise, Nicki glanced back and saw that Jason had swung the boy onto his shoulders and was galloping around the yard, his hat already knocked from his head and laying on the snow.
She grinned. Sawyer was in good hands, and she needed to enjoy these precious minutes to herself.
Brenda Jeffries added another stick of wood to the already blazing stove. “John,” she spoke to her twelve-year-old, “ya go on over there and bring one o’ the quilts of’n you young’ns’ bed here. You can all snuggle under it ta keep warm an’ I’ll tell ya a story whilst I cook dinner.”
The shivering boy, did as he was bade, hurrying back to throw the quilt around the shoulders of his younger brother, Bobby, sister, May, and himself.
The walls of their hastily erected summer home were proving to be inadequate, at best, against this harsh Oregon winter. Rolf had promised that before the next snows flew, he would cut sod to stack around the walls outside and that next year they would all be comfy cozy. But that did little to alleviate the shivers of her precious children this year.
If they stayed very close to the stove, they could pretty well keep warm, but both May and Bobby, her eight-year-old twins, had burned their fingers while trying to warm their hands and cooking a meal with the three of them underfoot was next to impossible.
Brenda glanced around the interior of their shack. Five years. In order to prove up on this tract of land, they had to live here for five years. The flyers they had seen back home had been so promising. The best land you’ve ever seen, they had promised. Mild winters, dark rich soil, soaking rains when a farmer needed but plenty of sunshine, too. A veritable promised land awaited them in Oregon if they would just pack everything up and move.
The banker they had spoken to in Portland had assured them they would have no trouble lasting out the five years to claim title to their land and in the meantime, kind man that he was, he would be happy to lend them any money they needed.
Of course they had needed money. Two of their horses had expired on the long, hot trip west. And then there was seed that needed to be purchased and some food supplies to last them until they could harvest their own produce. Lumber for the shanty and the crucial wood stove had not been cheap. And two of the children had grown two inches in the six months of travel time, so new shoes and fabric also added a small sum to what they borrowed.
The banker had smiled and told them the amount they requested was just fine. He helped out new homesteaders all the time and almost all of them needed at least this much, most of them considerably more.
They had been given a year to pay the money back. It would be tight what with the crops just coming to harvest as their money was due, but Rolf was sure they would make out all right. “The Good Lord won’t be forgettin’ us,” he’d said.
Brenda flicked her gaze at her shivering children huddled by the stove, and then around the inside of the small shanty again. Could she stand to live in this box for five years? Were her arms six inches longer she could stand in this room as it ran the narrow way and touch both walls. The other walls of the rectangular little building were considerably farther apart, but when you detracted the space taken up by beds, a small table, a cabinet and washbasin in the kitchen area, the room was very crowded indeed.
Now, Brenda, she mentally chided herself, the Good Lord be knowin’ all about yer troubles. Ya just leave things up to him.
“Mama, will ya tell us a story now?” May asked, her large blue eyes pleading as she scooted from under the blanket and wrapped her slender little arms around Brenda’s waist.
Brenda smiled and suddenly knew true contentment. She had been blessed beyond measure by her loving Savior, and the blessings were right before her. A tow-headed girl who looked just like her and two brunettes with physiques identical to their papa’s.
“Let me see...” She tapped her chin with one forefinger. “Have I told ya the story o’ the Knight and his Lady of late?”
“Yes!” May scrambled back to the blanket, inserting herself snugly between her brothers.
“That one. I like it!”
“It’s my favorite.”
Ten minutes later, when their papa entered the house, none of the children even noticed, so engrossed were they in their mama’s story.
9
As they pulled up in front of Farewell Bend’s mercantile, Nicki patted the shiny brown splotch on Patch’s neck. She glanced over at William as he dismounted his Morgan and came around to help her from the saddle. His face showed the tension of their riding conversation.
The ride to town would have been a pleasant diversion were it not for the discussion that had marred the morning’s serenity. And she could tell by the look on William’s face that he wasn’t through. If she had thought this morning that William’s interest in her was mere friendship, she now knew better. He seemed sure he could convince her to marry him.
She sighed.
Looping Patch’s reins around the hitching post, he reached up, slid his hands around her waist, and pulled her into his arms. Her heart seized with an unexplainable uneasiness at his touch and she tried to step away. With a horse on either side of them, shielding them from the view of the town, the situation felt far too intimate.
He tightened his grip, holding her close to him for a moment as he looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, Nicki.”
She expelled a quiet breath of exasperation. “I’m sorry, William. I can’t say the same to you. I need more time.” She tried to loosen his hands even as she searched his rugged face. His grip remained firm, and rather than make a scene, she gave up and looked away.
Could I ever learn to love this man, Lord? He has been so good to me since John died. It would be so nice to let him take care of me, but I know that I don’t love him now. And I don’t know where he stands with You. Show me what to do, Lord. Please.
Looking toward the door of the mercantile, she tried again to take a step back, but his grip tightened even more. “This is where you belong, Nicki.”
She arched a brow skeptically. “I’ve always liked Farewell Bend, but I much prefer living out on the ranch.”
He chuckled, a dry unpleasant sound, and let her go so abruptly that she had to take a step back to catch her balance. “I have to go to the telegraph office. Is ten minutes enough for you?”
She nodded and watched him stalk into the building next door to the store. Ryan and Peggy Sanders not only ran the local mercantile but the telegraph office as well so the two buildings were connected.
She shook her head at his retreating form, lifting her skirts and moving up the steps. She never would understand William. One
minute he was ready to lay his coat across every puddle and the next he was stalking off in a fit of temper.
As she stepped through the jangling door of the mercantile into the spice sweetened warmth of the interior, Nicki rubbed her aching lower back, hoping that William would want to go directly home after this. If this flu doesn’t go away soon, I’ll have to pay a call to Doctor Rike.
Janice Sanders came out of a storage room at the back wiping her hands on her apron. “Oh hi, Mrs. Trent. How are you doing?” Her tone softened into one of sympathetic question, her cornflower blue eyes showing genuine concern.
“Hello, Janice. I’m doing as well as can be expected, thank you.”
“I’m so glad that Till has been able to help you out. How is she doing? I haven’t gotten to chat with her in just forever!”
Nicki smiled fondly. “She is doing fine. She has been more of a help to me than I can say.”
“Are she and Conner still getting on?”
Nicki remembered Conner’s lingering touch on Tilly’s waist as he had helped her out of the wagon just that morning and the blush that had shaded Tilly’s cheeks as she entered the house. “Sí. I’d say ‘getting on’ is a good description.”
Janice beamed. “Good! I’m so happy for her. Till has had her eye on him ever since he came to work for you and started coming to church.” Janice heaved a great sigh as she stared at a shelf of ammunition, not really seeing it. “Do you ever wonder if there is one certain person in the world for you? Like someone God made with just you in mind?” Not waiting for Nicki to answer she went on, “What happens if you’re supposed to meet one day but, say, you lose a button and have to take time to sew it on, so you’re not at the right place at the right time and you don’t meet him? Or you happen to be looking in the other direction when he walks by?”
Nicki chuckled. “Don’t you think, señorita, that if God made the perfect man for you, He could orchestrate it so you would meet?”
Janice smoothed the front of her apron. “I suppose you’re right, Mrs. Trent. I just wish that God would get on the ball and send him my way, you know?”
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