by Regina Scott
She didn’t want to know what Simon had said, if it could put such a scowl on Levi’s face.
Charles drew himself up and looked down his nose at the youth. “Where I come from, young men know their place and respect their elders.”
“Welcome to Wallin Landing,” Levi replied. “Here we pretty much get our own say. And I say you better be nice to Nora.”
“How dare you,” Charles said, but Levi was turning to Nora.
“If they give you any trouble, come get me. And if they won’t listen to me, I’ll go and bring Simon and the others right home. They won’t put up with any nonsense.”
Nora’s heart swelled. “Thank you, Levi.”
With one last look to Charles and Meredith, he went to see to their horse.
“Barbarian,” Meredith said with a sniff that wrinkled her dainty nose.
“To be expected, I fear, living this far from civilization.” Charles shot his cuffs with great self-importance.
Feeling embarrassed to be related to them, Nora directed them toward the path to Simon’s cabin. But as they neared the trees, Meredith balked.
“Where are you taking us?” she demanded. “I can see two houses in that clearing, rustic though they may be. Why must we venture into the woods?”
“The largest house, where you found me, was the original one for the Wallin family,” Nora explained. “Mother Wallin, Simon’s brothers John and Levi, and their sister, Beth, live there still. The smaller house on the edge of the clearing belongs to Simon’s brother Drew and his wife, Catherine, whom you just met. His brother James and James’s wife, Rina, live a ways beyond the barn. Simon and I have a cabin to the north.”
Charles glanced back at the clearing. “Exactly how many people live out here?”
“Enough so I’m never alone,” Nora said.
Charles turned to face her, his smile strained. “How comforting.”
They lapsed into silence as she led them through the woods. She tried to see things from their point of view, but failed. She’d never been able to think the way Charles did. Like Simon, her brother and sister-in-law saw only darkness and danger out among the trees. When she gazed into the forest, she saw life brimming with purpose, promise. That point of view might put her at risk, she supposed, but she would not trade it for the dark.
They were not impressed with Simon’s cabin either. “It’s so small and mean,” Meredith said, gazing up at the pitched roof.
Charles ran a hand over the peeled logs. “Barely more than stumps.”
Nora couldn’t agree with that statement either. When she looked at the cabin, she saw Simon’s handiwork and foresight everywhere, from the carefully cut square corners that fit together perfectly for stability to the solid chinking that kept out the cold. But Charles and Meredith always found fault, so instead of defending Simon, Nora opened the door and ushered them inside. If she was going to have to listen to their complaints, at least she could be warm while doing so.
She went to poke up the fire, which she had left banked. Meredith came to stand beside her, rubbing her hands together before the spreading warmth as she glanced around.
“How can you abide this?” she murmured. “No pump inside the house. The two of you squeezed into so little space. It’s positively primitive.”
Charles shook his head from where he stood by the table. “You were meant for more than this, Nora.”
Was she? Funny. She’d never felt particularly cramped in the cabin, even when Simon filled it with his presence. He was conscientious about keeping the water bucket filled, so she hadn’t missed having a pump inside. And with the thick log walls and heavy cedar shake roof, the house was actually cozier than the boardinghouse in cold weather.
As Nora straightened from the hearth, Meredith took both her hands, gazing deep into her eyes, her own blue eyes sorrowful.
“We’ve missed you, Nora,” she murmured. “Without your help, I’m simply a wreck. Please come back with us. Your family needs you.”
Nora stared at her, then glanced at Charles, who inclined his head. “She’s right. We are never as good alone as we are with you. We realized that the moment you left Lowell.”
Meredith nodded eagerly. “I should never have encouraged you to leave, Nora. I understand that now. I merely wanted to give you an opportunity to see the world.” She glanced about again. “Such as it is.”
That couldn’t be right. As much as they complained about her efforts, she’d thought they’d be delighted to be left without her.
“You just need to give Seattle a try,” she told them. “I’m sure you’ll make friends.”
“Well, certainly we’ll make friends,” Meredith said, raising her chin as she dropped Nora’s hands. “I’ve already had Mrs. Horton and two Denny ladies over to dinner. Their husbands are very important in the area, you know.”
Nora knew Hannah Horton and Mary Ann and Louisa Denny, all of whom had been clients at one time or another since she’d arrived in Seattle, but she decided not to mention that to Meredith. Likely, her sister-in-law would see sewing for the women as far inferior to receiving them at dinner.
“There, you see?” Nora said. “You don’t need me.”
Meredith and Charles exchanged glances.
“Oh, but we do,” Meredith assured her. “You are family, Nora. We need you there beside us.”
She simply could not make herself believe what was happening. “Family without a room to sleep in,” Nora reminded her. “Your house may be significantly bigger than Simon’s, but you still have only one bedroom.”
“We’ve already begun remodeling the house, making sure there’s a room just for you,” Charles told her.
“And you won’t have to cook or clean,” Meredith promised. “We’ll hire someone in.”
Nora stared at them. How could they be so nice to her? She’d moved out once before, coming all the way to Seattle, and only when their finances were threatened had they thought to follow. They couldn’t be missing her after less than a week.
“You can have whatever you want,” Charles said as if he saw her resolve wavering. “Just say you’ll come back with us to Seattle, Nora. You should be where you can be appreciated.”
“Which is why,” Simon said, pushing through the door, “she’s staying right here.”
* * *
Nora’s brother bristled, and her sister-in-law blanched, but Simon didn’t care. He and his brothers had finished the spar work early, and he’d come home to pick up a shovel before heading out to clear the new land. John and James had offered their help, and he had hopes they could make real progress this afternoon. But then he’d seen the cart in the clearing and feared what it might mean. He’d hastened to the house only to hear Charles’s ridiculous claim as Simon had opened the door.
“You have no right to hold her against her wishes,” Charles blustered now. “My sister is coming with us.”
“We can give her better than this,” his wife agreed with a contemptuous sniff.
Perhaps they could, at least materially. But from what he’d seen of them and the way Nora feared them, they could give her nothing so far as encouragement and support.
He widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest, effectively blocking the door. “Nora goes when she says she wants to go.”
Nora smiled at him. “Thank you, Simon. I’m staying.”
Just hearing the words made the day seem brighter.
Charles sagged. “But, Nora, surely you see this fellow is a bully.”
He was a bully? Had the man no understanding of his own behavior?
“He is using you,” Meredith insisted with a glare to Simon. “I don’t know his game, but I’m certain it will end badly. We can protect you.”
“Simon protects me,” Nora said, crossing to his side and standing
next to him. “He rescued me and Britta just the other night.”
“Britta?” Charles said with a frown. “Who’s Britta, another of these Wallin people?” He made it sound as if Simon and his family had somehow expanded beyond all propriety.
“A three-legged milk cow,” Simon supplied. “Nora made her welcome at Wallin Landing. So I will make you welcome, as her kin. But there will be no more talk of her leaving.”
“Well, I...” Charles clamped his mouth shut.
“Would you like some tea, Meredith?” Nora offered. “Perhaps something to eat?”
“Make it fast,” Simon said before the woman could answer. “You’ll want to start back within the hour or you could be caught in the woods after dark.”
Nora scrunched her face. “Simon says it’s really dangerous then.”
“In that case,” Charles said, putting out a hand to his wife, “we should start back straightaway. We only came to see how Nora was getting on.”
“Quite nicely, thank you,” Nora said. “The Wallins have made me feel like one of the family. Safe travels back to Seattle.” She tugged on Simon’s arm, and he stepped away from the door so Charles and Meredith could escape.
On her way out, Meredith paused next to Nora. “If you’re sure you’re happy, dear.”
“Very,” Nora assured her.
Meredith sighed as if that was the most depressing news she’d heard all week. But she managed to shuffle out after her husband.
“I’ll just make sure they leave,” Simon said, turning to follow them.
Nora caught his arm. “Thank you. For a moment, they almost had me.”
That was what he’d feared when he’d walked in. “You have to learn to stand up to them. You can’t give them control of you.”
Her sigh sounded more heartfelt than Meredith’s. “I know. But for now, I’m glad to lean on your courage.”
He was equally glad he’d returned home when he had. Once more it seemed Nora had required his protection.
But what would happen the next time Charles and Meredith visited, and Simon wasn’t there?
Chapter Thirteen
Nora was very glad to watch Charles and Meredith leave the clearing. Even though her brother and sister-in-law had offered her a better life with them in Seattle, she couldn’t make herself believe their promises. Wallin Landing might not be high society, but at least Simon’s family treated her with respect. And she was beginning to hope for more, from Simon.
So, she immersed herself in life at Wallin Landing. With only a week left until Christmas, there was much to be done. Teamsters from Seattle had come to haul off the spars, so Simon and his brothers focused on clearing the new land. Nora worked with the Wallin ladies at the main house, preparing for Christmas, in addition to their usual chores.
Christmas had been a simple affair back in Lowell. Her mother would put a wreath on the door, perhaps a spray of ivy on the dining table. They would go to church services and have a fine dinner. If her parents had given each other gifts, they never mentioned it in her hearing. Meredith had expected Charles to give her something elaborate—a new fur stole or a pendant with a gemstone—and she’d been very cross for days afterward if he did not come up to scratch.
Though Mrs. Wallin mentioned that she and her children generally exchanged gifts, Nora knew Catherine and Rina were working on presents for their husbands. Surely she should do something for Simon.
She had enough material left from a commission to make him a waistcoat. But measuring him without him noticing was proving challenging. She’d estimated the breadth of his shoulders by watching where he fit against the hearth, his back length by counting the logs behind him when he stood near the door. But she could think of only one way to gauge his circumference.
She rose when he did in the morning so she could milk Britta. One morning before he could put on his coat, she went up to him and wrapped her arms about his middle.
And immediately forgot her task.
He smelled cool and clean, like crisp winter air, the flannel of his shirt spiced with the tang of fir resin. His warmth seeped into her, making her want to cuddle closer. She could hear his heart beating, steadier than her own.
“Nora?” he asked. “What are you doing?”
Stop feeling and think!
Taking note of where her fingers met behind him, she stepped back. “Just giving you a proper send-off. Have a good day.”
Her face was flushed as he left the cabin, a bemused smile on his lips.
And then there was the theatrical. She finished sewing the costumes and fitted them to the respective players. With so few students, Rina had enlisted several members of the family to play certain roles. Nora listened to Beth and Levi recite their lines, offering encouragement when they stumbled.
One of the afternoons, after school was out on a rainy day, Nora was helping Beth put together decorations for the main house. The girl had brought out red and green paper, which Nora was cutting into even strips that Beth pasted together, interweaving the red and green loops for a long chain to hang across the mantel. Rina was sitting by the fire, reading ahead in a book from which she was teaching, while Catherine sat across the table from Nora and Beth, squishing something into powder with a marble mortar and pestle. Nora was fairly sure it was some sort of medicine, but she hadn’t wanted to pry.
Mrs. Wallin, who was tending the fire, spoke up. “And how are you and Simon getting on, Nora?”
“Oh, fine,” Nora said, cutting through the red paper. “He has very precise ideas about how things should be done, but I’m learning to please him.”
In the utter silence, she heard the log settle on the fire.
Nora glanced up to find them all staring at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Should I have asked your advice?”
Catherine recovered first. “No, indeed, Nora. You are an intelligent, capable woman who needs no advice to determine what is best for her.”
Nora wasn’t sure how she’d given Catherine that impression, but she offered her sister-in-law a smile.
“Although, if we were to offer advice,” Rina said in her polished voice, putting a marker in her book and setting it aside, “we might have encouraged you to please yourself first and Simon second.”
Nora frowned. “But the Bible says to love others as yourself. I think it would be wonderful if someone put my needs first.”
Catherine opened her mouth to respond, then shut it again. She looked to Rina in obvious appeal.
Mother Wallin came to put her arm around Nora. “And that’s what you deserve, my darling girl. Simon is blessed to have you as his wife.”
“You are kind and considerate,” Catherine added.
“Of excellent character,” Rina maintained.
“We love you,” Beth said.
As Mrs. Wallin pulled back, Nora stared around at them. Catherine’s blue eyes were bright with her convictions. Rina’s pretty face was equally determined. Mrs. Wallin nodded, setting her hair to glinting red in the firelight. And Beth positively glowed with her appreciation.
They loved her? How could they love her? She was slow to understand, clumsy. She inconvenienced people with her whimsies. She could think of more than a dozen things she’d done that her brother and Meredith had complained about in the last few years before she’d left for Seattle, and several more they’d added since they’d arrived.
Just then she heard a sound like sleigh bells jangling just outside the house. It couldn’t be a sleigh. They hadn’t had any snow, just a relentless rain. A moment later, boots thudded on the boardwalk that surrounded the house.
“Hi, ho, the Wallins!” called a deep voice.
Beth hopped to her feet, sending red and green links tumbling to the floor. “It’s Father Christmas!”
Nora frowned as Beth ran f
or the hearth. Charles had never held with the custom of Father Christmas, or St. Nicholas as he was coming to be called after the publication of Mr. Moore’s poem “The Night Before Christmas.” Charles said it was indulgent to encourage children to believe someone would give them presents for nothing. Besides, it wasn’t even Christmas yet!
As a knock sounded at the back door, Beth returned to the table carrying a tin canister that jingled as she ran.
“Oh, please, Ma, if he still has that jet trim from last time, may I purchase it?” She dropped the canister on the table with a clang. “I’ve enough saved up from the egg money, and I’ve been regretting not buying it since he called last summer.”
“If it means so much to you,” Mrs. Wallin said with a smile, beckoning to the others. “Rina, Nora, come meet Mr. Christopher Masters, better known in these parts as Father Christmas.”
They ventured out onto the back porch to find a man heaving a massive pack from his shoulders. Copper pots and pans clanged as they bumped into each other, and something squeaked as the bag landed on the wooden porch.
“Ladies!” he declared, throwing wide his arms. “I have everything you need. Just ask.”
He was an older man, with an ample girth and a bushy beard turning a silvery white. His long wool coat was nearly as white and striped in broad swaths of red and yellow. Mud speckled the hem, and rain glittered on the shoulders, salting the wool of his tasseled red hat. His brown eyes crinkled as he looked over his audience.
“Welcome back to Wallin Landing, Mr. Masters,” Mother Wallin greeted him before turning to her daughters-in-law. “Mr. Masters carries his goods in a wide circuit, stopping here each summer and winter.”
The man wiped his broad hand across the air. “I travel from the gold fields of the British Columbia colony to the bounty of the Willamette Valley, and from the jagged Sawtooth to the noble Olympics. But my goods, why they come from farther still. Mysterious China with its grand palaces hidden from foreign eyes. The majesty and pageantry of France. The glittering golden halls of Egypt. No distance is too great to bring my customers what they need.”
