Singing Montana Sky (The Montana Sky Series Book 7)

by Debra Holland

  Sophia shuddered, remembering her fear when the dreadful lumberjack grabbed her.

  Lily raised her left arm and pointed past the house. “The Kelleys live out there in the forest. Nina and Leith. Kael is their only child. He spent a lot of time here when he and Tyler were boys. Now, he works as a lumberjack and lives most of the year at the logging camp. Recently there was a terrible accident. Two men were killed. Kael broke his arm and is recuperating at home. He hasn’t spoken about it, but he isn’t the same. I know Tyler’s concerned about him. Not that he’d come out and said so. Men,” she said in an exasperated but affectionate tone. “But I can tell.”

  Sophia soaked in the information, surprised at how much learning about Kael Kelley mattered.

  Lily rocked back. “Kael is such a wonderful man. He’s good to his parents and a staunch friend to us. Oliver adores him. From something Tyler said, Kael dislikes working as a lumberjack but is very loyal to his men. He usually spends his time off with his parents rather than going into town and carousing. He helps out at the ranch when he can to repay us for the horses and wagon we lend his family when they need to go to town. He brings us firewood—” She waved toward a big stack.

  Sophia liked knowing that Kael Kelley lived nearby where she might see him. Once again she returned to the notion of a summer flirtation. After all, the man hadn’t seemed to mind her appearance. Just what I need to pass the time without going crazy waiting for my voice to heal and my hair to grow.

  She motioned for Lily to hand her the pad and wrote, I’d like to thank him for my rescue. I didn’t have my pad with me that night so I couldn’t write and do so. Except with a kiss—one that turned out to be far more than a thank you kiss.

  “Well, Kael should come around here in the next week or so, given that he’s not working. He’s been one-handedly chopping railroad ties to sell. Tyler or one of the ranch hands has been helping him load and unload the wagon. Kael tried to pay my husband part of the proceeds, can you imagine?” Lily shook her head. “But he does pay any cowboy who helps. So instead, he’s been chopping firewood for us in repayment. The Kelleys are poor but proud. Tyler says they choose to sustain themselves on a small clearing in the forest, surrounded by the beauty of nature. We have other neighbors who also prefer the natural surroundings of the forest.”

  Kael’s family sounds interesting.

  “We might go visiting.” Lily waved in a different direction. “The Walkers—Gid and Darcy, their daughter Julia, and a baby due any day. I believe you met them at the Christmas party. Darcy’s from a wealthy Eastern family. They even have a summer cottage in Newport, Rhode Island—the mansion type of cottage.”

  Remembering the couple, Sophia nodded.

  “They have the most charming house—like one from a fairy tale. I’ll take you to see it…” Lily broke off and eyed Sophia’s hair. “Oh, dear.” She hesitated. “When you’re ready for visitors or to go calling, that is.”

  I don’t know when that will be. Sophia pointedly turned her gaze from her sister to focus on her niece. They watched Adeline push to reach a block with the red letter A on it.

  “Adeline’s grown so quickly. She’ll be crawling all too soon,” Lily said proudly. “I can’t wait to see her scoot across the room. Yet, at the same time, I want to hold onto each precious moment, for I know she’ll never be at this stage again. I capture as much of her as I can in sketches.”

  I’d like to see them, Sophia wrote and held up the pad for Lily to read.

  “And so you shall. Some are quite rough, because Adeline moved almost as soon as I started drawing.”

  The baby seemed a safer topic of conversation than a discussion of Sophia going out in public. She still wanted to learn more about Kael and wondered how she could ask without betraying her interest.

  Lily got up to retrieve a spool that had rolled off the blanket and placed it in front of the baby, then glanced at Sophia and narrowed her eyes. “I know that look.” She fisted her hands on her hips, an expression of accusation on her face.

  What look?

  “You’ve singled out a man to indulge a flirtation with. You’re about to let loose your charm on some poor, helpless man, whom you’ll fell harder than Cupid’s arrow.”

  Sophia couldn’t believe her sister could read her well enough to discern her thoughts about Kael Kelley. She tried to keep her face serene.

  But apparently she didn’t succeed, for Lily wagged a finger. “Oh, no, Sophia Caroline Maxwell. Don’t you even think about Kael! Don’t work your wiles on him. And, certainly, don’t break his heart!”

  As if I could. Sophia tugged on her short hair and waved a hand down her thin body to indicate her lack of curves, or at least her usual curves.

  Lily threw up her hands and sat back down. “You have more charm in your little toe than most women possess in their whole body.” She enunciated each word. “Your lack of hair and loss of weight won’t change that. Every man on the ranch, Oliver included, as well as my own husband and Habakkuk Pendell—two happily married men—have all fallen under your spell. And that’s with you just being your normal self and not flirting on purpose. I’m sure Kael will soon be enamored, as well, if he isn’t already. But that’s as far as any attraction should go. He’s vulnerable right now, and I won’t have you toying with him.”

  Sophia picked up the pad and scribbled something untrue that would throw her bloodhound sister off the scent. As if I’d ever be interested in an uneducated lumberjack.

  Lily’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Kael is not uneducated,” she said, her words clipped. “His parents are. But they are lovely people who made sacrifices for Kael’s education. He spent a lot of time here so he could attend school with Tyler, and if the weather was too bad, then my mother-in-law taught them. As for higher education.” She shook her head. “That’s not readily available here, but many people are self-educated.”

  Chastened, Sophia bowed her head and let Lily’s unexpected tirade break over her, reminded again how different life was in a frontier town.

  “You should see the way books are cherished and passed around this town,” Lily continued to scold. “If you buy a new book, once you’ve read it, you lend it to your neighbors. You might not have that volume back for several years as the book makes its rounds.”

  Sophia glanced up at her sister, intrigued by the idea of wandering books.

  “The Walkers—” Lily pointed toward their home again “—have a big library, which is filled with the writings of philosophers. I know for a fact, Kael has read plenty of those books. Trudy Flanigan—” she pointed straight ahead “—not a neighbor, but a good friend to us all, brought a huge library when she moved here as a mail-order bride to marry Seth.”

  Sophia held up a hand in an I concede motion.

  Adeline started to fuss, obviously disliking the charged energy between her mother and her aunt.

  Looking mollified by Sophia’s response, Lily scooped up Adeline. “Now, now, sweet girl. Are you hungry?” She took a seat and unbuttoned the front of her dress, pulled down her chemise, and bared her breast to her daughter’s searching mouth.

  The baby sucked hungrily, making little grunting noises.

  With a doting smile, Lily gazed at her daughter. “Little piggy,” she said fondly, her ire with Sophia apparently abated. “I’m so pleased she has a good appetite. I suspect I’ll worry and hover over her far more than most women with their children, knowing she’s to be my only one.”

  I thought Dr. Cameron said two were possible, Sophia wrote and held up the pad for Lily to read.

  Shaking her head, Lily pulled a face. “Tyler put his foot down, saying we are richly blessed with our son and daughter, and he doesn’t want me risking my life for a third.” She fluffed the dark, downy curls on Adeline’s head, and then gave Sophia a mischievous smile. “Perhaps in a year or two, I can convince him to change his mind.”

  Sophia had no doubt she’d end up with another niece or nephew. Lily possessed her own share of
the Maxwell charm—even if, due to her lameness, she’d never really exercised it.

  A year or two. Sophia wondered what would happen to her in that time span. Hopefully, she’d be performing again, as she so desperately longed to do. But Kael Kelley flashed into her mind, and for the first time, she fantasied about the possibility of having her own baby—maybe even one who’d be born about the same time as Lily’s second. So the cousins could be playmates.

  * * *

  The next day, Sophia gamely tried to help Mrs. Pendell and Lily cook dinner, which consisted of roasted grouse, from a batch the cowboys shot, carrots Sophia helped Lily pull from the garden, and peas she’d shelled. Thankfully, Lily had dug up the potatoes.

  No one had asked her to help, but seeing her sister work, often doing tasks with Adeline carried in a sling, made her feel guilty. She didn’t want to be a burden.

  Now, Sophia scrubbed dirt from the potatoes. Her sleeves were rolled back because she was elbow deep in dirty water. After just a few of today’s tasks, she could feel her hands becoming rougher and dreaded what a few months of exile would do to her skin.

  The room was big for a frontier kitchen-dining room combination. The family used this space far more than the parlor—something Sophia, who’d rarely ventured into her own kitchen, had to get used to on her first visit. The house seemed quiet without the men, and early in the morning, Oliver rode off to school with a gaggle of neighboring children. Apparently, Green Valley Ranch was where the Barrett siblings and Julia Walker converged to ride together into town.

  Once the potatoes were clean, thank goodness, Mrs. Pendell took over to peel them. “Why don’t you help Lily with the biscuits?”

  Sophia moved over to her sister’s side, where she deftly rolled dough into balls. Before Lily had moved to Montana, she hadn’t known how to cook or bake. The Maxwells had servants, and their parents assumed their daughters would marry gentlemen of means. Thus, the three girls received the educations suited for ladies, although Lily had extra art lessons and Sophia her voice lessons.

  So far making a meal thoroughly bored Sophia. She wondered how her sister could seem so content, humming a little tune as she worked, occasionally glancing over to check on Adeline, sleeping in a cradle near the table.

  Lily looked up and smiled at Sophia. She had a white smudge on her cheek. “Come here, and I’ll show you how. Flour your hands, help yourself to some dough, and just follow my motions. Goodness knows, we go through so many biscuits per meal you’d think we were feeding an army.”

  Sophia dipped her chin.

  “Lightly knead the dough, then pat it out. Use a cookie cutter—the one without the center hole—to cut out the rounds. Then put them on the metal sheet to bake.”

  Sophia struggled to follow Lily’s instructions. In spite of the flour, the dough stuck to her fingers. She wrinkled her nose and persisted. If I can memorize the German lyrics of Brünnhilde’s role, I can surely make biscuits.

  Although why anyone would want to…. She rolled the dough into a lopsided ball.

  I’ll never take my cook for granted again. She had a not-so-idle thought of importing the woman to Sweetwater Springs. And while I’m at it, a few more servants couldn’t hurt.

  She sighed. But having my cook here would probably put Mrs. Pendell’s nose out of joint, as if I thought she wasn’t competent, which would never do.

  Once dinner was in the oven, and the smell of roasting grouse filled the room, Lily left Mrs. Pendell to oversee the cooking and moved onto the next task. Sophia held in a groan when she learned they’d be ironing all the clothing that had been washed and dried on the line the day before, including the items of the ranch hands.

  “Here are mine and Mrs. Pendell’s oldest aprons.” Lily handed over a stack of faded material. “I’ll set a towel on the table, and you can practice on them, while I use the ironing board.”

  Sophia had no wish to practice ironing on anything, but she also had no desire to embarrass herself and ruin the garments. The irons were heavy, and she had to keep switching them out—one heated on the stove, while she used the other one. Soon her arms grew tired and her back ached, but she persisted, encouraging herself by thinking, I’m building up my stamina.

  In the same time Sophia took to finish two aprons, Lily had gone through one entire basket and started on another. My doing this is ridiculous. If my admirers could see the Songbird now….

  A headache pounded across her forehead. Sophia set down both irons on the stove, her whole body shaking. Ignoring Lily’s questioning glance, she tottered outside for some air and collapsed in a rocking chair on the porch, feeling on the verge of tears. She closed her eyes, rested her head against the back of the rocker, and thought, I hate this life!

  “Sophia?” Lily followed her outside. She walked around the rocker to Sophia’s front. “You’re so pale.” Remorse crossed her face. “Oh, dear me. What was I thinking? Here you are just off your sickbed, and I put you to work. I’d forgotten how tiring the tasks can be when you’re just learning them.”

  Without opening her eyes, Sophia shook her head, not wanting Lily to feel guilty.

  “Why don’t you lie down?”

  Sophia knew she should respond to her sister, but she was too exhausted and a little too nauseated to even write, much less move.

  Lily patted Sophia’s knee. “You sit there and rest, dear. I’ll make you some tea.”

  Sophia must have dozed off, for the clink of china woke her. She opened her eyes and saw her sister had set down a teacup and saucer next to a plate with the gingerbread cookies Mrs. Pendell baked yesterday.

  “Drink the tea, dearest,” Lily coaxed. She picked up the cup and saucer and placed it in Sophia’s hands. “I put in a little more honey than you like. But I thought you needed the sweetness to perk you up.”

  Sophia nodded her thanks and straightened in the rocking chair. She lifted the cup and sipped. The brief nap had helped, although she still had a headache and felt lethargic.

  Lily hovered over her until Sophia drank all the tea and ate the cookies. “That’s better.” She took a seat in the other rocker. “Your color is returning.” She bit her lip. “Sophia, why didn’t you say anything? Well, not say particularly. But you should have stopped working when you started to feel tired. Instead, you pushed yourself beyond your limits.”

  A familiar story.

  Revived enough to write, Sophia picked up her pad. Guess I haven’t yet learned my lesson.

  “Sophia, you almost died.” Lily’s tone held reproach. “If that didn’t teach you about taking care of yourself, what will?”

  She settled back against the rocker, thinking about her sister’s question. Like today, she’d prepared for performing Brünnhilde by ignoring her body’s warning signs and persevering toward her goal. Sophia knew how to nurture her throat and her voice. But she was used to physically pushing herself. Opera singers had to develop great stamina to be on their feet for performances that could last up to five hours, in heavy costumes, projecting their voices over the noise of the orchestra, to be heard throughout the entire theater.

  Why didn’t I take better care of myself? Looking at her sister’s worried expression provided an answer, although not one she intended to share. After Lily’s accident, for weeks, a pall of fear and despair had lain over the house, especially with Papa, who blamed himself.

  Still, Lily was bedridden for months, and all the family’s attention, rightfully so, had centered on the invalid. They’d all joined forces to cosset and amuse her. Sophia had sung and played music. Emma brought in her animals, including her latest patients.

  Up until that point, Sophia usually was the center of their family’s attention. She’d felt horribly guilty and selfish when she missed being in the limelight and had redoubled her efforts to entertain her sister.

  Lily shook a finger at her. “You are hereby banned from housekeeping duties,” she said sternly.

  Thank goodness! Then in sudden guilt, Sophia wondered if
she should find something else she could do. Perhaps I can help with hand sewing. I used to be good at that task, and my sampler was better then either Lily or Emma’s.

  “You have no need to feel guilty.” Lily apparently read Sophia’s expression. “You are family and company. And it’s not as if you came here empty-handed. You brought a whole trunkful of gifts—the new dress, the pearl and amethyst bracelet for me.” She ticked off a list with her fingers. “The suit for Tyler. Clothes and toys for the children. Mrs. Pendell’s new shawl and the tie clip for Habakkuk. The men’s new neckerchiefs…. Not that you had to bring anything. Just having you here…alive.” Lily’s eyes filled.

  She rose, dropped the pad and pencil on the table, and crouched to hug her sister, feeling bad for worrying her so. If their situation were reversed, Sophia could only imagine how helpless she would have felt—Lily so ill she might die and living halfway across the country. I’m sorry. She kissed her sister’s cheek instead of saying the words and returned to her chair.

  Lily fished her handkerchief from her sleeve and blew her nose. “I’m such a watering pot. Seemingly carrying a child increases your emotional volatility, although my friend Lina Barrett tells me that once Adeline’s weaned, I’ll be more myself.”

  To tease her, Sophia rolled her eyes.

  In response, Lily wrinkled her nose. “Oh, you.”

  Sophia reached for the pad and wrote: What do you expect me to do while you work? Laze around?

  “Well, you certainly need to relax. You’re here to recuperate, remember? As for the rest of the time….” Lily’s brow furrowed then cleared. “I know. How about if I teach you to drive the Falabellas?” she asked. “The little buggy is easy to maneuver and doesn’t take much strength. Once you’re familiar with handling the horses, you can travel anywhere on the ranch or even to our neighbors.”

  Sophia immediately thought of one neighbor she intended to call upon, and her spirits rose. I’d like that, she wrote. When can we start?