Gracie Joy had loved the ranch and wanted a horse of her own. Because she’d had one leg shorter than the other since birth, their mother had insisted they get her a Shetland pony instead of a full-size mare. He’d tried to explain that Shetland ponies were often mean-spirited and had no sense of personal space, but his mother hadn’t listened.
The morning they’d gone to get the little Shetland, Gracie Joy had been thrilled, and rode with Daniel over to the Carlsons’ ranch to get him. She’d listened carefully how to care for the little horse, and had named him Lightning because of a white blaze that ran down his nose in a zigzag pattern. Mr. Carlson had laughed, and then explained that Lightning was afraid of storms.
After a week, Daniel began to doubt his own judgment of the pony. Lightning and Gracie Joy took to each other like kittens take to fresh milk.
And then it happened.
A storm blew in from the west. In his rush to get the newborn calves in out of the wet weather, Daniel and Levi had hurried to the pastures to gather them. Gracie Joy remembered that Mr. Carlson said Lightening was afraid of storms, and she’d sneaked out to the barn.
When Daniel and Levi returned, they’d found their little sister’s broken body inside Lightning’s stall. The doctor said it looked as if the little horse had kicked her in the head and then run over her chest in his hurry to get out of the barn. He said Gracie Joy probably never even felt the impact.
Daniel sighed. If he had been there, then Gracie Joy wouldn’t have gone to the stables. If he’d refused to get the Shetland as he’d first planned, she would still be alive.
A soft voice pulled him from the nightmare of memories. “Daniel, are you all right?”
He looked into Hannah Young’s heart-shaped face. Soft blue eyes studied him with concern. Daniel cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”
He released her hands and focused on guiding the horse to the house. If he lost his heart to Hannah, and she died, too, Daniel was sure he’d not survive. In desperation, he turned to the Lord. Father, I don’t know why You have allowed this woman to enter my life, but I will do my best to make her happy and keep her safe. But please don’t ask me to love her.
Chapter Four
Gravel crunched under the wagon’s wheels as Daniel pulled it up to the front porch. The sweet fragrance of roses drifted from the rosebushes beside the house. It teased Hannah’s nose as he set the break and hopped down.
She watched as a woman opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. She wore a peach-colored blouse and a tan riding skirt, and brown boots peeked out from under the hem. Her blond hair was pulled back in a braid that hung over her left shoulder. Hannah wondered if this was one of Daniel’s sisters. She had the same green eyes, the same nose.
Daniel jumped from the wagon and then turned to offer Hannah his hand. She studied his stormy eyes. No longer did they look pain filled and haunted.
She laid her hand in his. He helped her down and then turned her toward the woman. “Hannah Young, this is my mother, Bonnie Westland. Ma, Hannah is my mail-order bride.”
His mother?
The same shock that Hannah felt at discovering this was his mother filled Bonnie Westland’s voice. “Your mail-order bride?”
“Yes, ma’am. You said to get a wife. Here she is.” Daniel pulled Hannah’s bags from the wagon.
Hannah stepped forward and extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Westland.”
Bonnie took her hand and gave it a hard shake, then released it. “Same here.”
Hannah felt like a cow at auction as Daniel’s mother walked around her, studying her as if she were sizing her up before making an offer.
“What was wrong with JoAnna Crawford?” Bonnie asked Daniel, placing both hands on her hips and standing in a manner that indicated she expected an answer from her son, and fast.
Daniel stomped past them up onto the porch, his neck and cheeks bright red. “Ma, that girl doesn’t have the sense that God gave a goose.” With that he used his booted foot to push the door open, and then slipped inside.
Mrs. Westland took off after him. “I was talking to you, Daniel Westland. You get yourself back here.” She slammed the door behind her.
Hannah crossed her arms. She didn’t know whether to be insulted, annoyed or happy that they seemed to have forgotten all about her. Obviously, Bonnie Westland didn’t like the way her son had chosen a bride. Had Daniel realized his mother would be displeased?
“I see you’ve met Ma.”
She turned to find Levi approaching. His steps were long and even, as if he was never in a hurry to get anywhere. “I did.”
Levi laughed. “Ma doesn’t make a good first impression, but she’s as good as gold.”
A smile touched Hannah’s lips. “I’m sure she is. But she doesn’t seem too happy that Daniel sent for me when JoAnna Crawford is available.”
“I reckon she isn’t. Ma’s wanted him to take up with JoAnna ever since we were kids.” Levi walked to the horse and gave its harness a little tug. “Why don’t you come with me to the barn? We’ll let them hash that out before we go inside.”
That sounded fine by Hannah. She nodded and fell into step beside him. “Why didn’t Daniel want to marry JoAnna? It seems to me that would be easier than sending off for a mail-order bride.”
Levi looked over at her. “Probably for the same reason I won’t marry Lucille Lawson.” He kicked a stone and watched it skip across the ground.
When they got to the barn, Hannah knew he wasn’t going to elaborate without a little prodding. “And that would be because...”
“The girls around here are simpleminded and most of them are too young for us, anyway.” Levi’s face flushed the same shade of red that Daniel’s had a few minutes earlier. He hid his embarrassment by unhitching the wagon.
Hannah leaned against a stall door and inhaled the sweet fragrance of hay. A mama cat looked up from the corner of the barn, where three kittens nuzzled at her. Contentment could be found here on the Westland Ranch, if things were different.
The mama cat licked her babies’ faces.
When Hannah was a child she’d been content. Until the horse stepped on her ankle and shattered that contentment, along with the bones. She’d been saddling her horse to go for an afternoon ride when a snake spooked it and sent it sidestepping. Unfortunately for her, the animal had stepped on her ankle, shattering the bone. Hannah remembered the doctor and her parents whispering in the next room when she’d come to and the doctor telling her father that he should probably put her away. She wasn’t ranch life material anymore. Her world had changed that day. People’s behavior toward her changed.
Her father had no longer wanted his favorite child working beside him on the family farm. He’d swiftly made the decision she was a cripple and not good for farming. Horses were to be kept far away from her, and as soon as she was old enough, Hannah had been sent off to school, where she was trained to be a teacher. Feelings of hurt and anxiety filled her as she recalled being put on a stagecoach and sent as far away from home as one could go. After all these years, resentment and pain still lingered in her heart. Then she’d met Thomas, and he’d promised to marry her and create a home she could be proud of. Only that, too, had shattered with no more than a moment’s notice. She’d pretended like neither mattered, but as soon as she’d completed her education, Hannah had run to New Mexico, as far from Missouri as her money would take her. She’d found working for the school in Cottonwood Springs rewarding, but not having her own place had left her far from content.
Then Eliza had invited her to come live with her, and Hannah had been happy for a while. She felt sick to her stomach as she remembered the humiliation she’d felt when Mr. Miller entered the school and found his sixteen-year-old nephew, John Miller, trying to kiss her.
“Miss Young? Are you all right?” Levi stood in front of her with his hands on his hips, reminding her of his mother. His concerned green eyes studied her.
In a shaky voice H
annah answered, “I’m fine.” She straightened. Earlier, Daniel had said he was fine, too, but Hannah wondered again what had put that haunted look in his eyes.
His brother reached forward and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “You sure?” Levi’s gaze studied her.
“What’s going on in here?”
Hannah jerked her eyes from Levi’s. Daniel stood in the doorway, staring at them. Anger seemed to radiate from the man like hot sun off a flat rock. She sighed and looked back to Levi, who dropped his hand.
“Are you feeling any better?” he asked, just loudly enough for her to hear.
“Yes, thank you,” she whispered back.
Levi winked at her and then muttered, “Then time to have fun with my brother.” In a robust voice he said, “I’m sorry, big brother, I thought since you left Miss Young standing in front of the house, it was all right for me to get to know her a little better.”
Daniel stalked into the barn. He passed Levi and came to a stop at Hannah’s side. “Get to know her like a sister-in-law and not like a sweetheart and we’ll be just fine.”
Levi tilted his head. “And if I decide to give you a little competition and see if she’d rather marry me, what then?”
Hannah couldn’t believe what Levi was saying. She’d not led him to believe she’d choose him over his brother, but that’s what he was insinuating. The first time they were alone, she was going to set him straight. She refused to come between the brothers. Although from the looks of things, they didn’t seem very close. Still, Hannah planned on setting them both straight.
* * *
“I suppose that is up to Miss Young. She’ll have to decide the right thing to do.” Daniel directed Hannah to the barn door, leaving his brother standing there staring after them. Had he just called Levi’s bluff? Or ignited the flame of competition in him? He wasn’t sure.
And what about Hannah Young? She’d stared up at him like a newborn calf at its mother. Had she expected Daniel to fight his own flesh and blood over her? He continued propelling her across the yard toward the house. “Mother is waiting for you.”
Hannah pulled her elbow from his hand. Anger flashed in her pretty blue eyes. “And whose fault is that?”
“I didn’t say it was anyone’s fault.” If he lived to be a hundred, Daniel would never understand women. First his mother was angry with him for bringing home a mail-order bride, and now Hannah was angry with him, too.
She huffed. “No, you implied it was mine.”
Daniel straightened his shoulders. “Well, you did run off to the barn with Levi.”
“Because you left me standing in the front yard as if I was a stray puppy and not your fiancée. By the way...” she paused, then squared her shoulders, too, and tilted her head back to look him in the face “...I did not run.”
“You two stop that squabbling and get in here! You’re acting like children,” his mother called from the front door.
He had the satisfaction of watching mortification wash over Hannah’s face. His pleasure was brief as his mother continued, “Wipe that smirk off your face, young man.” She turned and stomped back inside the house, leaving the door open.
Daniel assumed that if she’d left the door ajar, his mother was getting over being mad. He’d known she wouldn’t be too happy about him marrying a girl from anywhere else but Granite, but he hadn’t expected her to be this angry.
His gaze moved from the door to Hannah. She looked ready to bolt. Once more he took her arm and propelled her toward the house. “Ma will be fine and so will you. You know, if we were already married, she wouldn’t be able to say much.”
Hannah seemed to ignore his comment. “You told her we aren’t married yet?”
He followed her up the porch steps. “Sure did.”
She sighed. “Good.”
Daniel followed her over the threshold and swung the door shut behind them. Hannah stopped suddenly, causing him to bump into her, almost knocking her to the floor. He reached out and pulled her back against his chest and stomach.
Bonnie Westland stood in front of them with Hannah’s suitcases propped in front of her. Her arms were crossed and her mouth was set in a hard line. She hadn’t looked at him like that since he was a little boy. And then it had been a baby skunk and not a girl he’d brought home. “Daniel, I suggest you take your future bride back to town. She’ll not be staying under my roof.”
Chapter Five
Hannah gasped at the venom in the older woman’s words. She thought Daniel’s mother would have been happy that her oldest son had brought home a prospective bride. Hadn’t she been the one to set up this contest? Hannah squared her shoulders and asked, “May I ask what you have against me, Mrs. Westland?”
Bonnie’s eyes narrowed. “No, you may not.” She looked over Hannah’s head at her son. “Get this woman out of my house now.” With that, she spun on her booted heels and stomped up the stairs.
The way she’d said “woman” made Hannah feel dirty. She spun on her heels in turn and stepped around Daniel. As she did so, Hannah saw that his mouth was gaping open and his eyes were wide. Obviously this wasn’t normal behavior from Bonnie Westland.
Still, it hurt.
Hannah fought tears.
She stopped at the porch railing and looked out over the Westland Ranch. Cows grazed in the pastures and horses stood in the corrals. A pond could be seen in the distance and dots that might be ducks floated on its watery surface. Chickens scratched in the dirt. Several fruit trees stood off to one side, with blooms of various colors promising a healthy harvest. To Hannah it was the most beautiful place on earth.
“I’m sorry for my mother’s brisk behavior. Normally she is not this ill-mannered.”
Hannah turned her head and looked at Daniel Westland. His dazed expression spoke volumes about his confused feelings. She sighed. This day hadn’t gone well. “Maybe she’s right.”
“No, she isn’t.” Daniel’s gaze moved to the orchard. “She wanted me to marry and I will. But I will chose who I wish to wed.” His chin rose stubbornly. The glint in his eyes matched that of his mother’s.
“But where will I stay?” Hannah didn’t know what else to say. Right now she was homeless, and disliked by the only woman she’d seen on the place.
“The schoolhouse.” He picked up her bags and headed down the steps.
“You have a schoolhouse?” Hannah hurried after him. “Won’t the schoolteacher need it?”
“School’s not running right now.” Daniel continued across the yard. His feet carried him over a grassy pasture to the edge of the orchard.
Hannah picked up her skirts and hurried after him. The sounds of a gurgling stream played in her ears as she looked about. Green, lush trees surrounded them as they continued on. She wondered how much farther they’d have to go. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, they came out of the orchard and she saw the schoolhouse sitting on a hill.
It was whitewashed and rather large, with two big windows looking out over the yard. She wondered if more windows were on the other side. A tall tree stood in front and she saw where a rope had been hung over one limb. A loop at the bottom indicated it was a swing.
Daniel’s legs were too long for Hannah to try to keep pace with, so she gave up and looked about. Her sides were aching and she felt out of breath. The stream she’d heard earlier wound behind the school, with tall cedar and pine trees lining its banks. Birdcalls filled the early evening air.
A sense of peace enveloped her. The schoolhouse felt like a beacon in a storm. Could she be happy here? At least for a little while? Hannah believed she could.
She slowly began to follow Daniel again, watching his wide shoulders sway as he climbed the hill. He’d seemed annoyed with his mother, but not truly angry. Had Hannah chosen a man with a slow temper for a future husband? She hoped so.
He put her bags on the porch and then turned to wait for her. She was aware of his eyes upon her as she climbed the short hill. He had yet to comment on her limp.
Hannah tried to walk without favoring her injured ankle.
She pretended to ignore him, and took in her surroundings. Wildflowers grew about the building and she wondered when the school had been built. It looked and smelled new.
Once she’d climbed the steep, widely spaced steps and stood beside him, Daniel asked, “Ready to go inside?”
“Yes.” She felt a little out of breath.
He must have heard it in her voice because he said, “Good. I hope you can manage that climb. When I built the stairs it didn’t occur to me that...” He let the sentence hang between them as he opened the door.
Hannah took mercy on him and continued his sentence. “That a small child might have trouble making the climb? Maybe if you added another plank between each step that would help. They are a little steep.”
He nodded. “I’ll get on that first thing in the morning.” Daniel retrieved her bags once more.
“Thank you,” Hannah said, entering the room. The scent of fresh-cut wood filled her nostrils and she inhaled deeply.
The bags looked small in his large hands. Hannah knew they were heavier than they looked. She had packed at least ten of her favorite books, along with her dresses and two pairs of shoes. The muscles in his arms bulged. What would it feel like to someday have those same arms around her in a tender hug?
She shook the thought off and turned from him to focus on the large room. A bookshelf filled each of the four corners. He’d placed a blackboard on the far wall. She turned and looked back the way they’d come. There were several hooks beside the front door, low enough for children to hang their coats and jackets on, but there were no desks.
A fireplace rested on the west wall, between two large windows that matched the ones she’d seen while coming up the hill. It was made of red bricks, and he’d placed a metal screen in front of it—to keep the children out and the wood within, she assumed. She’d expected to see a stove there, but was happy the fireplace was so large.
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