Somewhere to Call Home (Love Inspired Historical)

by Janet Lee Barton

  It was from their winter line, made of ivory satin and lace, and Mrs. Waters had made it for her. Violet felt beautiful in it, and as she stood at the landing at Heaton House, she thanked the Lord for the blessings He’d bestowed on her.

  Now, Violet took a deep breath and held her bouquet with trembling fingers to her heart as Elizabeth straightened her skirts from behind.

  “Just wait until Michael sees you,” Elizabeth whispered. “He’s going to fall in love all over again.”

  Violet smiled just thinking of her husband-to-be. Michael would be all she’d ever hoped for in a husband. He was loving and kind, affectionate, honest and strong. Best of all, he loved the Lord as much as she did.

  “I hope so. Because I think I fall in love with him more each day,” she whispered back.

  She and Michael were going to spend a few days in her home in Ashland and try to decide whether to keep the house or sell it, then they’d return on Christmas Eve just in time to celebrate with Mrs. Heaton—Mother Heaton—and the boarders who’d been so happy for the two of them. The plan was to have everyone over to their house for New Year’s.

  As the “Wedding March” began playing in the parlor below, Elizabeth gave her a quick hug and started down the stairs before her. Violet’s heart hammered against her ribs with each step she took as she followed her maid of honor down the stairs, into the foyer and on into the parlor.

  She almost forgot to breathe as she saw Michael waiting for her, standing with Luke, his best man. They were in front of the Christmas tree his mother had made sure was up and decorated for this day. Garlands graced the mantel and the windows, and Violet couldn’t think of a better setting for a wedding.

  Michael looked regal and so very handsome standing there in his tuxedo, the expression in his eyes touching her heart, drawing her to him, past their friends from Ashland, Mrs. Waters and several of her coworkers and Michael’s agents, too. Then there were Julia, John and Ben—the boarders she’d come to think of as family—and even Gretchen and Maida dressed in their finest and ready to serve the guests after the ceremony. How blessed they were to have so many friends.

  She stopped beside Michael’s mother and placed a kiss on her cheek as she handed her a flower from her bouquet. Then she took her place beside Michael and they turned to the minister.

  Her fingers trembled holding the bouquet and only Michael’s gaze kept her steady as they said their vows in front of the people they loved. They both promised to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives and she handed her bouquet to Elizabeth before Michael slid the ring that’d been her mother’s on her finger.

  “I pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said. “You may kiss your bride, Michael.”

  Michael pushed back the veil and tipped Violet’s face up. “I love you, Vi. Today, tomorrow and forever.”

  Violet barely got out, “I love you, too,” before her new husband claimed her lips in the sweetest kiss she’d ever known—the very first one as Mrs. Michael Heaton.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Handpicked Husband by Winnie Griggs!

  Dear Reader,

  After 9/11, watching how New Yorkers handled it and reached out to one another, New York City became a real place to me, with people and families who cared deeply for each other.

  I became increasingly interested in the history of the city and found that at the end of the nineteenth century women flocked to New York City, finding work as seamstresses, telephone operators, department store clerks and lamp makers. Trying to support themselves or help their families, many of these young women lived away from their loved ones for the first time. But where did they live? In my research, I found that many lived in boardinghouses, where some even found their mates.

  Michael Heaton and Violet Burton are two lonely hearts who need someone to love. I hope you enjoy their love story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Blessings,

  Janet Lee Barton

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  When Harlan Black offered to forgive the loan if Violet agreed to marry him, she turned him down, deciding she’d lose her home before marrying the likes of him. What do you think most women in that time period would have done? Do you think Violet did the right thing?

  Finding it hard to trust a man, Violet isn’t really interested in finding a husband. Have you ever felt that way? How did you get past it?

  Michael chose to search for his sister instead of staying in Virginia, and it prevented him from marrying the woman he loved. Did he do the right thing? Was his fiancée wrong or right in breaking off the engagement?

  Even feeling that Lila doesn’t like her, Violet would like them to get along. Would you go out of your way to befriend someone who obviously didn’t like you? What do you think the Lord would want you to do?

  Michael didn’t feel anyone would understand his need to look for his sister and help his mother after his fiancée broke the engagement. Did he have good reason to feel that way? Would you have felt the same way?

  Sometimes things that happen in our past hinder our decisions in the future. How did past events hinder Violet and Michael’s relationship? How did they get past that problem and move ahead?

  Violet and Lila feel totally opposite in how they view Mrs. Heaton taking in temporary boarders. What do you think about it? Would it be something you’d do?

  When Michael finds out about Harlan and that he’s obsessed with finding Violet, he feels more responsible for her. Does that hinder his falling in love with her or make him realize that he really cares about her?

  Michael’s fear is that Violet will return home once things are cleared up about her home. It keeps him from letting her know how he feels. Do you think he should have told her earlier? Or would you have done the same thing?

  When Violet sees the tenements and the two little boys, her heart breaks for them and she has a hard time getting them out of her mind. Have you ever felt that way when you’ve seen poverty up close? Did it change you?

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical story.

  You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.

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  Chapter One

  Northeast Texas, 1894

  An ear-splitting shriek ricocheted through the forest, startling a raucous cloud of blackbirds from the roadside trees.

  “Easy, Trib.” Adam Barr patted the horse’s neck as the animal shied. What now?

  The buggy behind him slowed to a stop, but Adam ignored it, along with the uneasy questions from the three men seated inside. He’d promised to escort the men from Philadelphia to Texas, not be their nursemaid.

  The wailing continued and Adam fought the urge to tilt back his head and answer with a wild, full-throated howl. He’d gritted his teeth so often these past few days the muscles in his jaw hurt. Taking on this job when more important business waited for him in Philadelphia had him in a foul mood, as his companions could no doubt attest.

  After six years of biding his time—six years, two months and thirteen days to be exact—he’d thought he could finally pursue his goal without distraction.

  If this assignment had come from anyone but Judge Madison...

  Adam scanned the brush-skirted hardwoods lining the trail. Whatever the source of that eerie sound, it was headed their way.

  He eased his rifle from the scabbard. Anticipation stirred his blood. He might have to employ his “company manners” with his three charge
s, but this bellowing beast was another matter.

  No telling what manner of creature roamed this forsaken backwoods. The wail was too high-pitched to belong to a bear. A large cat maybe?

  He urged Trib closer to the trees. There seemed to be a pattern to the sound, a certain mangled cadence. Almost as if—

  Well, what do you know?

  He leaned back. Not a wild animal after all. Too bad.

  “Do you think it’s a wolf?”

  Adam glanced over his shoulder. Chance’s expression, like his tone, held more eagerness than worry. Did the kid think it would be some kind of lark to face down a wolf? Of course, from what Judge Madison had told Adam, the twenty-one-year-old was on this expedition precisely because he was prone to seek out trouble.

  “Sounds more like an infernal wildcat.” Everett adjusted his shirt cuff with exaggerated care, doing a creditable job of appearing unconcerned. But his British accent was more pronounced now, something Adam noticed happened when anything rattled the dandified cynic.

  Mitchell, who controlled the skittish carriage horse with ease, refrained from comment. Nothing unusual in that. The loose-limbed bear of a man had spent most of the trip west with a sort of sleepy-eyed disinterest. What was different, however, was the subtle alertness that radiated from him now, as if he were a cavalryman waiting for the enemy to appear over the rise.

  Another strident note drew Adam’s focus back to the roadside. He didn’t bother to disabuse them of the notion that it might be a wild animal. It’d do the pampered trio good to have something to worry about besides the unorthodox plot they’d gotten themselves embroiled in.

  “Perhaps you should get the carriage moving,” Everett said. “I’m sure our escort can handle this better without us to distract him.”

  “We shouldn’t abandon Mr. Barr,” Chance shot back. “He might need—”

  “This is about common sense, Junior, not courage,” Everett interrupted. “Besides, I do believe Mr. Barr is more interested in getting rid of the lot of us than having us guard his back.”

  “I told you before—the name’s Chance, not Junior.”

  Adam’s jaw tightened. Everett was right. Even if it had been a grizzly headed this way, he’d rather face that than listen to more of this petty bickering. This assignment couldn’t be over soon enough to suit him.

  A heartbeat later, the source of the ear-grating racket stepped onto the roadside. As soon as the creature caught sight of them, the discordant warble ceased.

  “It’s a man!” Chance’s tone carried as much disappointment as surprise.

  “Not quite.” Adam didn’t blame the youth for the mistake. The party responsible for that unmelodic braying wore baggy overalls and an equally oversize shirt, both of which had seen better days. There was even a smudge of dirt on one cheek to match those on the clothing.

  But this was no man.

  From Adam’s closer vantage, he spied a frizzy brown braid long enough to brush the seat of the overalls. That, along with the slender neck and hint of curves below, proclaimed this person as most definitely female. He hesitated, though, to use the word lady. She appeared more a disheveled forest waif than a civilized being.

  The girl seemed as startled as the men in the carriage. But a flicker of something else—disbelief? wariness?—shadowed her surprise.

  Remembering he still cradled the rifle, Adam resheathed it and tipped his hat. No point scaring her more than they already had.

  Besides, she might be a good source of information.

  He dug deep for the polite pleasantries that had grown rusty with disuse. “Good afternoon, miss. My apologies if we startled you.”

  “Good heavens, it’s a girl.” Chance’s whispered-but-easily-heard comment only served to heighten the color in her cheeks as she broke eye contact with Adam.

  “Or what passes for one in this barbaric wilderness.” Everett didn’t bother to lower his voice. “Do you think she speaks English?”

  Adam narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Did the men think just because she looked like an uncivilized rube she didn’t have feelings?

  But before he could say anything, the girl snapped out of her slack-jawed immobility. Her lips compressed and her eyes flashed daggers. So, there was more wildcat than rabbit in her, was there?

  Instead of baring claws, however, she bent down to pluck a stem of grass. Straightening, she favored them with a broad, neighborly grin as she stuck the weed between her teeth.

  But something in her stance told Adam the claws were there, merely out of sight for now. He also noticed she didn’t step away from the protection of the trees.

  This girl was no fool. He mentally saluted her precaution, then leaned back in the saddle, ready to enjoy whatever performance she had in store for his companions.

  “Howdy, gents.” Her words were drawn out in a thick, rustic drawl. “I reckon I was a mite surprised at that, but no harm done. We don’t get many strangers out this way, especially fancy-lookin’ gents like you ’uns.”

  Her gaze flickered to Adam’s again. Some trick of the light lent a luminosity to her irises, made them appear to change from green to blue and back again. The image of a statue he’d admired in a museum years ago shimmered through his memory. The scales of the dragon had seemed to glow, had rippled with a fluidity of color that was mesmerizing.

  This girl’s eyes were just like that.

  She turned to the men behind him, and the spell was broken. Adam collected himself, annoyed at the fanciful turn his thoughts had taken. This trip must have worn on him more than he realized.

  Mitchell remembered his manners first. “Are you all right, miss?”

  She slid the stem of grass to the other corner of her mouth with bucolic nonchalance. As she did so, Adam saw her size up the speaker, no doubt weighing Mitchell’s intimidating size against his concerned gaze.

  She finally flashed a friendly grin. “Fit as a filly in a field of clover. Why’d you ask?”

  Let it go, Adam silently advised. But Mitchell apparently hadn’t figured out what was all too obvious to Adam.

  “It’s just, well, that screeching we heard. I thought maybe something had frightened you.”

  Adam watched for her reaction with interest. Would she dissolve into tears of mortification, or give Mitchell a blistering set-down for his innocent blunder?

  To his surprise, she did neither. Instead she winced and gave a rueful smile. “My kinder friends call what you just heard a ‘joyful noise.’”

  Adam tilted his hat back with one finger. A female who could laugh at herself? Now there was a novelty.

  Ruddy color crept into Mitchell’s face along with the belated light of understanding. “I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean any disrespect. I—”

  She smiled and raised a hand. “Don’t fret none, mister. No offense taken. Why do you think I wait ’til I’m out in the woods to really give it my all?”

  She looked around, including each of them in her gaze. “You fellas lost? There’s not much out this way but trees and critters. If you’re looking for the road to Bent Willow, you passed the turn about three miles back.”

  “Actually, we’re looking for Miss Regina Nash.” A flicker in her expression told Adam she knew the name. “I understand she’s staying somewhere out this way.” He’d hand it to the judge’s granddaughter, she’d taken great pains to make it as difficult for him to find her as possible. But she obviously didn’t know who she was dealing with if she thought a trek through the woods would deter him.

  The girl nodded, pulling the stem from her mouth and waving it in the direction they’d been traveling. “Her place is about a twenty-minute ride farther on. Can’t miss it.” She rolled the stem between her fingers, eyeing him speculatively. “I was by there a bit ago, though, and it didn’t seem like they was expecting company.”

  He swallowed a sour laugh. “No, I don’t imagine they are.” He watched her toss the blade of grass away, still intrigued by her in spite of himself.

  G
oodness knows it didn’t have anything to do with her looks. In that grubby getup and with smudges on her face, and her hair indifferently tamed into a bushy braid, she lacked anything resembling sophistication or feminine wiles. No, it was more the glimpse of personality he’d seen in her eyes, and the complete lack of apology for her untidy appearance, even after the tactless comments from the men in the carriage. The girl seemed a product of her environment, completely lacking artifice or slyness.

  “Do you live nearby?” he heard himself ask. “Can we give you a ride?”

  Now why had he made such an offer? It wasn’t like him to act impulsively. Too late to retract the offer now, though.

  “No, thanks. I’m headed that’a way.” She waved toward the trail behind her.

  Adam nodded with more relief than disappointment. As interesting as this backwoods miss was, he didn’t have time for distractions right now. The sooner he found Regina Nash, the sooner he could be done with this mess.

  “Then I suppose we’ll be on our way.” He gathered the reins. “Good day.”

  “Nice talking to you fellas.” She hooked her thumbs under the straps of her overalls and rocked back on her heels. “Tell Miz Nash I said hello when you see her.”

  Adam raised a brow. “Who shall I say sends her greetings?”

  “She’ll know.”

  Being coy, was she? He’d already decided the girl wasn’t quite as guileless as she seemed. That drawl was a bit too thick, that gleam in her eyes a bit too knowing.

  Not that he thought the worse of her for it. Under the circumstances, she probably felt safer pretending to be simple. Living down to their expectations, as it were.

  He turned back to the carriage. “All right, gentlemen. Time to move on.” But as he set Trib in motion, Adam felt her gaze on him, like a prickle between his shoulder blades.

  A moment later when he glanced back, however, she’d disappeared.