by Linda Ford
Would he welcome her into his home? Into his life? Into his heart?
She slept, and wakened to Merry crying. She bounced from bed, took the baby, and rushed over to the cookhouse to prepare the bottle. Dawn crept over the horizon on pink tiptoes.
She sat where she could see the ranch house, anxious to see a lamp lit or a door open to indicate Sam and Elin were up. Merry finished her bottle and fell asleep in Agnes’s arms before Sam left the house and crossed toward the barn. He saw Agnes and waved.
Agnes waved back. The girls stirred inside the bunkhouse and she went inside, put the baby in her cradle, and helped the girls get dressed. She put all their belongings in the satchel and boxes.
“We’re going home?” Lila bounced on her tiptoes, her face full of anxiety.
“Yes, we are.”
“When?” the child demanded.
“This morning. As soon as Aunt Elin is ready. But first, we must have breakfast.”
“Why? Can’t we go now?”
“You’ll be hungry before we get there, so we’ll eat first.”
Hettie and Lila both argued that they wouldn’t be hungry until they were back home.
“I think Aunt Elin will want to make breakfast for Uncle Sam and Joey.”
She shepherded the girls across to the cookhouse and prepared breakfast.
They ate hurriedly.
“Now can we leave?”
“We have to wash the dishes and leave this place as spotless as we found it.”
The girls rushed dishes to her. Lila dried the dishes. Hettie put them away.
Agnes was every bit as anxious to be her way as they were, but Elin still had to bring the wagon round. “We’ll wait in the bunkhouse so we can be near Merry.”
Agnes intended to return and tell Nels she would marry him. She loved him and believed he loved her. But until he said so—well, she was so near joy she could hardly contain it in her heart.
She jerked toward the sound of a wagon. “Here she comes.” She rushed to the door and stopped so suddenly that the girls bumped into her.
“It’s Uncle Nels,” Lila squealed, and the pair of them raced toward him.
He jumped down, caught them both, and hugged them tight.
Agnes stared. Why was he here?
He set the girls down. “Go see Aunt Elin so I can talk to Aunt Agnes.”
Lila tugged at his sleeve. “You came.”
“Yes, I did.” His gaze locked onto Agnes’s, sunshine on his face filling his eyes with warmth.
Her joy was here. But why had he come? Her throat tightened and she coughed.
He crossed to the bunkhouse, took her hands, and drew her inside.
“How did you find me?” she asked, purposely delaying anything he had to say. She feared bad news would destroy her, and good news would make her heart explode into a thousand ruby pieces.
“Tex talked to Mr. Smith. The man wouldn’t break his promise not to tell but happened to mention that I had a sister near Buffalo Hollow. And so I came.”
“I see.”
He held her hands and faced her. “Agnes, where you go I will go.”
She must have misunderstood him. “You have your farm. Your cattle.”
“Tex and Braydon can have them. Without you and the girls, they mean nothing to me.”
“But they mean something to me.”
He leaned back as if to see her better. “I don’t understand.”
“Wasn’t I plain enough? I was planning to return this morning.”
“To the farm?”
“To you.”
He whooped and pulled her into his arms. “Agnes Bland, marry me and we’ll go wherever you need to go. As long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m done running from Millicent’s cruel tales.” She told him what the lawyer had said about her letter. “You realize that marrying me will involve you in those ugly stories. I’ll understand if you don’t want to go back to the farm.” She thought of the words she’d overheard in Independence at the wagon train. “My home is with you.”
“Agnes, I love you. I know what sort of person you are. So do the people of Grassy Plains. If some of them choose to believe gossip, that’s their business. It won’t change my feelings for you and the girls.”
“Then yes, Nels Hansen, I will marry you.”
He bent, his intention to kiss her clear.
She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “I will marry you, not to get a home, which, by the way, is a very nice home, nor to have you defend me. I will marry you because I love you with my whole heart.” She removed her fingers and lifted her face to receive his kiss.
At first her heart banged against her chest. Then it settled into the path of joy.
They married upon their return to Grassy Plains. Nels wondered if she wanted to do something special. “Maybe invite some guests.”
“I just want to go home and start my life with you.”
Reverend Sorrow had been pleased to marry them. “I wish you health and happiness, joy and abundance.” He’d placed his hand on both their shoulders. “And don’t you worry about the schoolteacher. There is a meeting tonight, and I know for a fact she’ll be asked to leave.”
Agnes’s heart stalled. “What about Braydon?”
“He’s told her he’s staying here.” Nels said. “She tried to force him to choose otherwise but found no one was willing to help her.”
Agnes laughed as they continued on their journey to the farm. “He’s living with us?”
“I don’t think he could be persuaded otherwise.”
Agnes hugged Nels’s arm. “I never thought to be this happy. The girls, Braydon, and you.”
Nels pressed a kiss to her brow then chuckled. “Don’t forget Tex.”
“Good thing you built a large house.”
“I always wanted to fill it.”
“What if I’m not able to have children?” It was a worry she’d confided to him on the trip back from Sam and Elin’s. Five years of marriage to Truman and no child.
“My love, we have a wonderful family already. If God blesses us with more I will rejoice. If He doesn’t, I will still rejoice.”
Epilogue
Two Months Later
It was Christmas Eve day and Nels asked them all to join him outside. Tex now walked without crutches and with barely a limp. The cows were corralled next to the barn where Nels and Braydon fed them daily.
She looked about at their family. “My heart overflows with joy.” She’d said it so often that the others chuckled.
Braydon draped an arm about her shoulders and hugged her. “Mine too.”
Hettie and Lila stood close to her side. “Mine too,” they both said.
Tex planted a hand to her shoulder. “Never imagined I’d find a home when I was old.” He’d told Nels and Agnes that his entire family had died of cholera when he was eight years old and he’d never had a home since.
Agnes covered his hand with hers. “Our lives are richer for having you here.”
Nels wrapped his arms about them all. “We are one special, blessed, and happy family.” He pressed a kiss to Agnes’s nose.
“Now the reason I’ve called you out here.” He stood beside a sheaf of wheat. “In Norway we always save our best sheaf of wheat from the harvest and start the time of Christmas celebration by putting it out for the birds.”
“Why?” Lila asked.
“I will explain. I’m not sure how it got started, but Grandfar had his own story.” He chuckled. “Grandfar’s version goes this way. When Mary and Joseph were on their way to Bethlehem, they did not have enough food. They tried to buy some, but so many others had been before them that people weren’t willing to share. They tried to glean grain from the nearby fields but again, so many people had been there already they couldn’t find even a kernel. Both were very hungry. Joseph was concerned for Mary. He knew she needed to keep up her strength for the journey and for the sake of the baby who was to come soon.”
The girls were so caught up in the story they didn’t move. Braydon’s expression had grown sober. Agnes couldn’t see Tex’s face but she knew that all of them, herself included, had known fear of the future.
Nels continued. “Joseph lifted Mary from the donkey and made her rest while he went a few feet away and prayed, beseeching God to provide their need. Nothing happened right away, but it is said Joseph returned to Mary’s side and comforted her. ‘God will provide,’ he said. As they sat there, they heard the rush of wings and looked up to see hundreds of little sparrows flying overhead. Each dropped a stalk of wheat with heavy heads of grain. Mary and Joseph ate and were strengthened. And in gratitude, we always put out grain for the birds.”
“What a beautiful story.” Agnes’s eyes stung with unshed tears.
The girls released a sigh.
“Will birds come and eat?” Hettie asked.
“Not while we’re here, but if you watch from the window, you’ll see them come.” Nels pulled Agnes to his side. “What special things did you do with your parents?”
It took a moment for her to remember. “I guess I’ve pushed aside those days because I was so busy trying to make it through the challenges after they died. I wasn’t part of a family celebration after that.” She chuckled. “What I remember most is my papa letting me hang the red and green ropes on the wall behind the couch. Every year he would ask me to explain what they meant. Green for the continuance of Jesus’s life, and red for the blood shed at His crucifixion.”
That night, he handed her two lengths of rope. Her mouth dropped open. “Where did you get these?”
“I made them.”
“But they’re colored.” Red and green, just like in her childhood. “How did you do that?”
“It’s a cowboy secret.” He and Tex exchanged looks. Neither would tell her how they’d managed to color the ropes. “Would you like to hang them?”
Her throat tightened. Tears stung her eyes. With his help, she put the colored ropes in a cross shape on the wall next to the couch in the sitting room.
Lila ran and got her parents’ Bible. “Papa always read the Christmas story.”
Nels turned to Braydon. “Do you have any traditions from your childhood?”
Braydon looked at Agnes. “I remember you always serving hot chocolate Christmas Eve and that’s when we opened our presents. Before my father and the others joined us and wanted to do more serious things.”
Agnes looked to Tex. “Do you have any special Christmas memories?”
“Ma’am, this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I will cherish every moment.”
Agnes made hot chocolate for them all. They gathered round and Nels read the Christmas story.
They’d already decided to open gifts that evening so they could join the rest of the Hansens at Anker’s the next day.
Agnes had knitted socks for all the men. She’d made the girls sweaters. The men had made little wooden dolls for the girls and Agnes had made little dresses for each doll.
Tex pushed forward a package. “For everyone. Agnes, you open it.”
The girls clustered round as she peeled back the brown wrapping paper to reveal six books. “Books. Oh how I’ve wished for more books.” She examined each and passed them around. There were two storybooks for the children. One was an illustrated book by a naturalist. One was a history book, and the last, a novel. Around the World in 80 Days.
“Thank you,” Agnes said. “This is lovely.” The others echoed her thanks.
“I didn’t know what to give you.” Braydon sounded shy and half embarrassed. “So I don’t have much.” He slipped into his bedroom and returned with a small package. He handed it to Agnes. “It’s for everyone but ’specially for you.”
She unwrapped the parcel to reveal a carved wooden heart about the size of her fist and in the middle, the word Joy. Her throat tightened. Her nose stung. She hugged Braydon, unmindful of the tears that salted her face.
After the girls had gone to bed, Nels pulled Agnes into his arms. “I like having traditions from all our families.”
“Me too. I have something for you.” She pulled a package from her pocket and handed it to him.
He opened the tiny box to reveal a pin bearing the flag of Norway. He kissed her. “I have something for you as well.” She opened the parcel he gave her to find a painting of the three girls.
“Oh, Nels. How lovely.”
“A lady in town did it for me.”
“Oh, and here I thought you’d done it yourself.” They both laughed at that idea.
“My heart overflows,” she whispered.
“Mine too.” They kissed and held each other a long time.
The next day they made their way along the snow-covered trail toward Anker and Lena’s home. “I am looking forward to spending Christmas day with your family,” Agnes said.
Agnes and Nels sat in the front of the wagon on which Nels had placed runners. The girls were bundled up warmly behind them, Merry between the older girls. At three months old, she had a tendency to kick off her covers, but Lila and Hettie would make sure she stayed wrapped.
Tex and Braydon sat behind them. A cozy little family on the way to join the larger Hansen family.
The whole family was there—Sam and Elin and Joey. Freyda, Ward, Milo, and Kit. And Anker and Lena and Charlie to welcome everyone.
They joined the others in sharing a toast to the new life they had discovered in America. Another to the family back in Norway and a third to the new families they had found here.
The meal was traditional American, with roast venison, potatoes, and root vegetables followed by seven kinds of treats—a Norwegian tradition.
They laughed and visited. Then the women went to the kitchen to clean up.
Lena signaled them closer. “I’m going to have a baby in the spring.”
They hugged her and congratulated her.
Freyda laughed and looked a little shy. “So am I.”
More hugging and congratulations.
Then Elin smiled at them all. “I am too.”
The three of them looked at Agnes.
“I’m sorry if we’re leaving you out.”
Agnes grinned. “You aren’t. It’s too soon to be certain, but I might be in the family way too. Mind you, I haven’t even told Nels yet, so please keep it a secret.”
The four of them hugged all over again.
Elin said, “It will be almost like Norway, so many cousins the same age.”
“It will be home and love and every good thing I’ve ever dreamed of,” Agnes said.
Her heart overflowed with joy. She’d found the family and belonging she’d always wanted.
God had indeed worked everything out in a way that exceeded her dreams.
Dear Reader
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Sneak peek of Crane’s Bride
Preparing to travel west to begin a new life, Byler Crane has thought of everything. Everything, that is, except a wife. An impromptu ad placed in the local mercantile brings Maggie Malone into his life--and a whole lot more than he bargained for. Before the ink on their marriage certificate dries, the feisty new bride has managed to add a foundling girl and a young boy to the "family."
Maggie has no reason to trust men. But Crane promises to give her a home in the west. She’ll take a chance with him if for no other reason than to escape her present situation. But she will not tolerate any sort of injustice which lands her in one situation af
ter another.
Through it all, Crane remains true. Is this enough reason to trust him with her heart?
Buy it now
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Copyright © 2018 by Linda Ford
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