A Convenient Christmas Wedding

by Regina Scott

  “Leave it to us,” Beth said, turning to put an arm about Nora’s shoulders. “We can arrange everything so nothing is disturbed. Right, Nora?”

  Nora nodded, but she felt as if the log walls around her had suddenly grown taller and more formidable. It had seemed such a logical suggestion, but what did she know about barns and animals and winter food?

  Only that Simon had changed his entire life to make sure the family did not lack. Somehow, she doubted he would be as excited about the idea as Beth. When she said as much, Beth waved Nora’s concerns away.

  “You let me deal with Simon. I’m sure I can bring him around to our way of thinking.”

  Rina shook her head. “I quite agree with Nora. Your brother, Beth, has strong opinions on a number of issues. We would be better served to ask before assuming.” She turned to Nora. “Simon and his brothers are working on the hillside above our cabin, just to the south of the clearing, past the barn. Would you have time to seek them out this morning?”

  The idea of seeing Simon at his work had appeal. Maybe she could spot some other way to help. “Yes, of course, Rina,” Nora said with a smile. “I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Bundling her cloak about her, she left the schoolroom and followed the heavily used path past the barn and up into the forest for James’s claim.

  It was not difficult to spot the differences between this claim and Simon’s. The trees had been thinned around Simon’s cabin, letting in light, keeping the roof clear of falling limbs. Here the firs brushed the cedar roof of James’s cabin, which was even more simply built than Simon’s. The two-story log home looked as if it listed a bit, and the shutters on the windows had been rehung recently, if the little holes in the logs on either side of the windows were any indication. While Simon had tapped groundwater with a pump not too far from the front door, Nora didn’t see any such apparatus nearby. Maybe James and Rina used the stream that bubbled by on the east of the cabin, likely on its way to join Lake Union below.

  Of course, being younger than Simon, perhaps James needed more time to improve his claim. But Nora suspected the differences were as much about James’s and Simon’s personalities as the timing.

  Still, it was easy to identify where they were working this morning. Glancing up the hillside to the west of the cabin, she caught the flash of crimson among the trees. A moment more brought the crack of an ax on wood. That had to be Simon and his brothers.

  Rehearsing what she would say to him in her mind, she gathered her skirts to climb up through the undergrowth, detouring around ferns that reached to her shoulders, blackberry vines that snaked past her boots. The ground was moist, the moss slippery underfoot. She could smell the rain in the air.

  But she was so intent on finding her footing that she almost missed the cry of “There she goes!”

  Air rushed past, and Nora pulled up short to see something swinging heavily through the trees toward her. She couldn’t muster a cry before the fir thundered down a few yards away. The fall shook the forest floor. She staggered, sucking in a breath. Branches and leaves plummeted down in its wake, pelting her. She threw up her arms to shield her face.

  “Stop, stop!” she cried. “There’s someone else in the woods!”

  Calls echoed all around her, concerned, searching. Before she could even lower her arms, Simon crashed through the bushes to her side.

  “What are you doing here?” he cried. “You could have been killed!”

  Nora lowered her arms. He sounded angry, but even in the shadows of the forest, she could see his face was white, and his hand, when he put it to her elbow, was shaking.

  “Simon.” Drew moved closer to them, an ax in one hand. “You’re frightening her.”

  She wasn’t frightened. Not precisely. She wasn’t sure how she knew it, but she was certain Simon would never hurt her. And the danger was clearly past. She was more concerned for him.

  Nora put out her free hand and touched him. “It’s all right, Simon. I’m fine.”

  He drew in a shuddering breath. “And thank the Lord for that. A logging claim is no place for you, Nora. Why are you here?”

  James and John had come down from where they had been working as well. James eyed his older brother with a frown, as if unsure what had so concerned Simon, but John moved in to put a hand to Simon’s shoulder in support.

  Nora managed a smile all around. “I’m sorry to trouble you. I had a question about the barn.”

  “The barn.” Simon said the two words as if they had no meaning for him. “You risked your life to ask me a question about the barn.”

  “Simon.” Drew’s voice was firm. “No one was hurt. From what Catherine told me, Nora hasn’t lived on a farm or spent time around logging. She had no way of knowing that she could have been harmed.” He turned to her. “What question did you have, Nora?”

  She couldn’t take her eyes off Simon. He held himself stiffly, and his breath came fast and hard, but she didn’t think it was because of his exertions.

  “Beth and I were wondering whether we might use the barn as the backdrop for the theatrical,” Nora said. “The story is set in a stable, you see, and Beth says there’s room for everyone to sit and watch. I was worried it might disturb the animals.”

  “A play with Beth and Levi in it would be enough to disturb anyone,” James quipped.

  Simon spared him a glance. “I’m sure the play isn’t going to be the problem. You ought to be concerned about your horses, James.”

  His brother waved a hand. “Lancelot and Percival will likely enjoy the show.”

  Simon drew in a breath as if ready to launch into a scold.

  “It’s all right,” Nora said hurriedly. “We’ll go somewhere else. It was just a suggestion.”

  “And a good one,” Drew told her, with a look to all his brothers. “Rina has already spoken to me and Catherine about lending a hand, so I know what she has in mind for the theatrical. I don’t see any reason you can’t put it on in the barn. Thank you for asking, Nora.”

  Nora nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling she’d somehow let Simon down. “And it’s all right with you, Simon?”

  Her husband snapped a nod. “If Drew knows it won’t disturb the animals or the grain, then I have no objections.”

  Some of the tension seemed to leave John’s shoulders, but Simon still looked as if he wanted to eat one of the trees.

  “Oh, good. Well.” Nora took a step back. “I’ll just be going, then. Good luck with your logging.”

  She turned to go and promptly tripped on a blackberry vine.

  Simon’s arm snapped out to catch her, and once more she found herself in his embrace. She expected to see anger in his eyes this time for sure, annoyance that she had disturbed his peace again. But what she saw in his eyes was nothing short of terror. The marked fear shut off as he averted his gaze and helped her back on her feet.

  Drew reached out and put a hand on Simon’s shoulder. “John, walk Nora down to the clearing. That way Simon will know she’s safe.”

  John nodded, stepping around Simon through the brush to offer Nora his hand.

  Nora glanced up at her husband. “Simon?”

  He drew in a breath. “Go with John, Nora. I’ll see you this evening.”

  She wanted to do something—touch him, stroke the worry from his brow, tell him everything would be fine—but she doubted he wanted her to do any of those things. She wasn’t really his wife, after all. Just his partner in their bargain. Still, she wished she understood why he had been so very concerned when his brothers, who must have the same experience logging as he had, could be so calm about the incident.

  With a final look to her confusing husband, she took John’s hand and let him lead her from the woods.

  * * *

  “That was quite a reaction,” Drew said the moment
John and Nora disappeared among the trees down the hillside.

  Simon nodded. In truth, his heart was still hammering from Nora’s near miss. When he’d heard her call, he’d felt as if an icicle had stabbed his heart. But he shouldn’t have berated her. Drew was right; she could have no understanding of the danger posed by logging. And he hadn’t thought to apprise her.

  It wasn’t like him to fail to think ahead. How many other dangers would Nora face because of his thoughtlessness?

  “That was a bit much, especially for you,” James said, cocking his head as if he could see up into Simon’s mind.

  “She could have been killed,” Simon told him, turning for their work area. “You of all people should understand that.”

  He waited for the clever retort, but James shoved past him for the trees.

  “I’ll clean off the upper branches,” he muttered, striding ahead.

  “Quite an effort you’re making this morning,” Drew said to Simon. “You’ve managed to frighten your wife out of her wits and annoy the one brother impossible to discompose. Ready to take me on in a bare-knuckle brawl?”

  Simon eyed his brother’s bulk. “Don’t push me, Drew. Not now.”

  Drew shook his head. “I’m not trying to push you, Simon. I’m trying to help you see that you overreacted. Admit it—you were thinking about Pa.”

  Their father had been killed by a falling branch while logging. Simon had watched him die. Drew was likely right that the memory had fed his reaction now. But Simon couldn’t claim that was the only reason for his response.

  “My concern was for Nora,” he insisted. “If that tree had come down on her...” He couldn’t finish the sentence, feeling that icy chill again.

  “Nora is fine,” Drew said. “I’m not sure she was ever in any danger. The tree missed her by yards. She was only surprised.”

  Simon cleared the distance between them, until he was nearly nose to nose with his older brother. “This time. What about the next time?”

  Drew met him gaze for gaze. “There will be no next time. She’s learned she needs to let us know when she’s coming near.”

  There was that. By the pallor on Nora’s face, the incident with the tree was not one she’d soon forget. Simon took a step back. “I’ll talk to her tonight. She has to know there are a dozen ways to die out here.”

  Drew barked a laugh. “Now you sound like me. When Catherine first came to nurse Ma, all I could think about was how she might be hurt. I didn’t want to take care of one more person. I already had enough on my hands with you all.”

  He started back toward the work area, and Simon followed him through the brush. “You still have a hard time remembering we’re grown. We don’t need you to protect us.”

  “And Nora might not need as much protection as you think,” Drew told him. “She’s obviously more sturdy than Catherine or Rina. She may not have been raised on a farm, but she seems willing to learn. You just need to be patient and teach her what she needs to know.”

  James, who was hacking away at the limbs on the fallen fir, glanced up at that. “Simple. Simon is known for his patience.”

  Simon glared at him.

  Drew hefted his ax. “Simon knows how to bide his time, James. You could learn from him.”

  James laughed, cutting through one of the limbs in one blow. “And he could learn something from me. When Rina first came to us, she knew far less than Nora. She’d never even lit a fire.”

  Rina had been raised with servants at hand to care for her least need before her so-called parents had been found guilty of fraud and sentenced to years in prison. But Simon hadn’t realized she’d known so little.

  “Look at her now,” James bragged, blissfully chopping away. “She can cook, sew, milk a goat and collect eggs from chickens without getting pecked, besides being the best teacher west of the Mississippi.”

  “And she’s the most accurate shot out here,” Drew reminded him.

  James colored. “Well, I can’t take any credit for that. Her father taught her to shoot in competitions. My point was that Rina has grown accustomed to living out here. So will Nora. You just have to give her time.”

  Easy for James to say. His wife worked in the safety of the schoolhouse. Simon had thought Nora would be content to stay inside the cabin and work on her sewing. He knew John had brought back commissions for her. If she was determined to wander about in the woods, he’d have to explain a few things to her, show her how to protect herself. If only she didn’t go off on these odd tangents. Decorating the cabin. Holding a theatrical in the barn.

  James and Drew advised giving her time. But did he have the time to teach her before Nora’s own curiosity and whims put her in danger, a danger from which he couldn’t protect her?

  Chapter Nine

  John saw Nora safely back to the clearing. She felt a little guilty taking him out of his way. She’d managed to find the logging claim all on her own, after all. But she was still a little shaky after the tree coming down so close to her, and Simon’s strong reaction, so she kept in step with him until they reached the barn.

  “And you think it’s really all right to hold the theatrical inside?” she couldn’t help asking as they paused beside the building. At more than two stories tall, the weathered log barn certainly looked strong enough to shelter a score of animals and a few actors.

  John glanced at the barn. “It will be fine, Nora. I’m sorry Simon frightened you. He knows the dangers in the woods, better than most. He was just concerned for your safety.”

  And wasn’t that an amazing thought in itself? “I’ll try to stay closer to home for now,” she promised John before sending him off with an airy wave.

  She thought that would be an easy promise to keep, but after spending most of the day on her commissions, she could hardly wait to get out of the cabin and talk to Beth. She had never considered herself the type to thrive on companionship. She and her parents had lived fairly solitary lives, entertaining a select group of longtime friends and going out only to attend church services, the theatre or the opera. The circle of acquaintances had narrowed even further when her parents had become ill. And of course Charles and Meredith had kept her closeted.

  But after near-constant company on the ship from New York, at the boardinghouse and when she was working at the store, she had to admit she needed to see more than her own face in the mirror once in a while.

  She met Simon’s sister just as Beth was leaving the schoolhouse that afternoon.

  “Simon and your brothers say it’s perfectly all right to use the barn for the theatrical,” she reported.

  Beth beamed, broadening her round face and brightening her blue eyes. “Oh, wonderful! I already sent Scout to look at it. Let’s go find him.” She linked arms with Nora and tugged her toward the barn.

  Sure enough, a thin boy with unruly brown hair and a forlorn expression on his narrow face was waiting for them beside the massive door, which had been rolled open just wide enough to let a person inside.

  “Nora Wallin, this is Scout, that is Thomas Rankin,” Beth told her.

  Thomas bobbed a nod. “Nice to meet you. I always wondered who’d be brave enough to marry Simon Wallin.”

  “Scout!” Beth scolded.

  Nora smiled at him. “I don’t know how brave I am, but it’s a pleasure to meet a friend of Beth’s.”

  The lad colored, hanging his head so that the knot at the top of his crooked nose was more evident. “I’m no friend. I’ve just known her since she was little.”

  “Yes, you are too my friend,” Beth insisted. “And Levi’s as well. Now, let’s see what we all think about the barn.”

  She darted inside, and Thomas stepped back to let Nora follow her. Nora had a feeling it didn’t much matter what she and Thomas thought about the space. Beth had clearly made up her
mind.

  “Nice and warm in here,” Thomas murmured as he followed them into the barn.

  He probably needed the warmth. Nora and Beth had on their cloaks, but the youth wore only a red flannel shirt and frayed-hem trousers, both of which had seen better days. A pair of good wool trousers, in a nice brown tweed, and an emerald-colored wool shirt would certainly warm the boy and brighten his demeanor. Nora knew just where to tailor them to make the most of Thomas’s lean physique. But very likely he wouldn’t have the money for such trappings. Perhaps she could ask Beth if there was a way she could sew for him for free without hurting his pride.

  “This will be perfect,” Beth said, glancing around. “I can see the angel there, the manger there, and the threshing floor has plenty of room, just as I’d hoped.”

  Nora followed her pointing finger. With a hazy light slipping in through the cracked door, she could just make out a wide aisle with stalls on one side and an open wood floor and a large bin on the other. The loft overhead seemed to be filled with hay if the golden straws hanging off the edges were any indication. The air was spiced with the scent of animals and earth.

  Beth was tapping her chin with one finger. “Something isn’t right. The picture of the Nativity in Godey’s showed cows, a donkey and sheep in the stable. I suppose we could get by with goats instead of sheep, and of course we have Lancelot and Percival rather than donkeys, but I don’t like the oxen. We really should have more animals for the background.”

  Nora wasn’t so sure. Wouldn’t more animals need more space, more food?

  Thomas wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Mr. Paul has a cow he doesn’t want anymore. He told Pa he’s fixing to butcher it before Christmas. I reckon he’d let us borrow it first.”

  Beth nodded. “Good idea, Scout. Let’s ask him.”

  “Yes, of course,” Nora said. “Let’s just ask your mother first.”

  “Ma won’t care,” Beth declared, sailing toward the door with Thomas right behind her. “We can be to the Pauls’ claim and back before dark if we hurry. Come along, Nora.”