A Hope Unseen (Escape to the West Book 2)

by Leigh, Nerys

  “Close enough,” Will said, a smile in his voice. “So what happened between you and Sara? I just about fell off the wagon when I saw the two of you so cosy.”

  A grin slid onto Daniel’s face. He couldn’t help it. “Well, when I finally realised what an idiot I’ve been and apologised, she kissed me. Or I kissed her. We kissed.”

  “Ohhh. So that’s why you look so pleased with yourself.”

  “And there has been plenty more since then.” It wasn’t meant to be a boast. “I may not be able to see, but there’s nothing wrong with my lips.” Maybe just a bit.

  “I truly don’t need to hear that.”

  “Kissing is so much better when you’re in love. You should try it.”

  “Uh-uh, not me. You and Jimmy are the upright, family men. I am the roguish, devastatingly handsome one who all the girls want but none will ever pin down. No one will ever clip these wings. I’m an eagle that needs to soar in the clouds, free to ride the wind wherever he pleases.”

  Daniel gave his words some thought. “I think you may have overdone that a bit.”

  “Yeah, I did get carried away. It was a good metaphor though.”

  “Supper will be ready in five minutes,” Sara called from the kitchen, “if anyone’s hungry.”

  “Five minutes,” Will said. “Better get the wagon unhitched. Want to give me some help?”

  “I think I can do that.”

  As Will led him to the wagon, he patted Daniel’s hand on his arm.

  “It’s good to have you back.”

  Chapter 24

  Daniel sat on his bed, his Bible clutched to his chest.

  He’d been praying ever since Sara went to bed, although he had no idea how long ago that was. It may have been hours, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Now that he was finally ready to listen, it was as if God wanted his full attention, and He was taking the opportunity to show Daniel a few things.

  Daniel had always thought himself a strong, steadfast Christian. He’d asked Jesus into his life when he was fourteen, he attended church regularly, read his Bible and prayed. There was no doubt in his mind that he belonged to God. He’d accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, knew his sins had been forgiven and wiped away through His death on the cross.

  And yet when this terrible thing happened to him, when he lost his sight and with it all the capability and strength he’d always taken for granted, his assurance in his Lord had failed.

  Daniel hadn’t intended to push God away and he certainly hadn’t intended to blame Him. But it had happened anyway, and God was showing him why - the confidence he’d always thought he had in God had really been confidence in himself. There was so much that was beyond Daniel’s control, and yet he had been trusting in his own strength rather than his Creator’s.

  And when God didn’t heal him as Daniel wanted Him to, Daniel sank into despair. He’d taken his eyes off God and turned them on himself. He now understood that he had been looking for the wrong type of healing; he wanted his body healed when what he really needed was healing for his soul. He had a lot to learn about what was really important.

  Daniel longed to be able to read the Book in his hands and he’d prayed for that. Instead of receiving his sight back, however, verse after verse was coming into his mind. On and on it went, each verse a message from his Father about his life and what had happened to him. God was speaking to him, teaching him, and he listened. For the first time in a long time, he heard what God was saying to him.

  He shed tears more than once during the long process, begged for forgiveness, and was comforted. And when the verses stopped he simply sat and prayed, pouring out his heart about his life, Sara, Will, the rest of his family and friends, the farm, his hopes for the future. He gave everything to God that he’d been taking on himself.

  And finally, having given over every burden he’d been hoarding, he was able to fall into a deep, refreshing sleep, one final message from the Lord remaining with him.

  Fear not: for I am with thee.

  Chapter 25

  Sara gazed through the kitchen window at the patchwork of greyish-white clouds scudding across a blue sky and exhaled a long, dreamy sigh.

  A moment later she was forced to stop chopping the parsnip in her hand before she severed her own fingers.

  Concentration had eluded her all day. All she seemed to be able to think about was Daniel. Specifically, the wonderful way she felt when he kissed her, or held her, or was anywhere in her general vicinity. She’d never experienced anything quite like it and she couldn’t help wondering if he felt the same way.

  Lowering her gaze, she was surprised to see Will by the barn, unhitching River and Ginger from the wagon. When had they got back and how long had she been daydreaming while staring into the sky?

  Daniel was walking across the yard from the wagon, a smile on his face. In fact, he was practically striding, his footsteps sure as he swept the cane in front of him. When it hit the steps he grasped the handrail and walked up without stumbling, crossed the porch and stepped into the open doorway.

  “Sara?”

  “I’m here.”

  Something about him was different, a new confidence she hadn’t seen since the accident.

  He walked across the kitchen to her, grasped her waist and lifted her into the air and she squealed and giggled as he spun her around. There was definitely something different about him.

  “Just to warn you,” he said, “I believe I’m about to claim my right as a husband to kiss my wife until her knees are weak. Or mine are.”

  “How about both?” she said breathlessly.

  He lowered her to the floor and slid one hand up to cradle the back of her head, tilting his head down towards her. “Deal.”

  Her eyes fluttered closed and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he made good on his promise, his warm lips playing over hers until she felt like her legs would have trouble supporting her on their own. Kissing Daniel was fast becoming her favourite thing to do in the world. It was also a far smoother experience since he’d asked Will that morning to help him shave. The week’s worth of beard growth he’d accumulated, while giving him a certain rugged attraction, had been a little rough on her skin.

  “Do you mind? Not in front of the children, please.”

  Sara laughed as Daniel reluctantly broke away and heaved a sigh. “Must you?”

  “I must,” Will said, walking past them to the pantry. “It’s shocking in here. I don’t know where to look.”

  “There are freshly baked biscuits under the cloth,” Sara said, resting her cheek against Daniel’s chest since he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to let her go. He kissed the top of her head and she smiled.

  “Better hurry,” he said. “I feel another bout of shocking behaviour coming on.”

  Will emerged from the pantry holding a plate of three buttered biscuits and a jar of honey. “I’ll be back for supper,” he said, smiling at Sara as he walked out the back door.

  “Is he gone?” Daniel said.

  “Yes, he’s gone.”

  He lowered his face to hers again. “Good.”

  They spent a further few blissful minutes engaging in Sara’s favourite activity before she buttered two biscuits and joined Daniel on the settee, relaxing into his embrace as he ate.

  “So what’s got you in such a good mood?” she said. “Not that I’m complaining at all.”

  He swallowed a mouthful of biscuit. “I realised something today; I’m going to be all right.”

  She lifted her head to look at him. His face held a peaceful, even serene look she’d never seen, even before the accident.

  “God’s been teaching me a lot since yesterday,” he said. “I’ve learned that I was relying far too much on my own strength, believing nothing could stop me if I just worked hard enough.” He placed the biscuit down onto the plate and lifted both hands out in front of him. “This is where I put my faith, but I was wrong. We have no control over what happens to us. Anything can go wrong at an
y time, like the lamp exploding. I blamed God for not protecting me and I got angry with Him.” He stroked one hand down her cheek. “And I pushed you away. I am so sorry for what I put you through.”

  “It’s all right...” she began.

  “No, it’s not. You were suffering too and I made it worse behaving like I did. I don’t know if I can make up for it, but I’m going to do everything in my power to be the best husband I can from now on. I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I’ll try my hardest.”

  She wiped at a tear spilling down her face and stretched up to kiss his cheek. “Anything you do is good enough for me.”

  He found her hand and enfolded it in his. “I think maybe God let this happen so I would learn that the only thing that will never change is Him and He’s the only One I should put my faith in. I don’t know what will happen with my eyes, but today I learned that I can still work, even blind. So even if I stay this way I know I will be OK, with His help.” Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed her palm. “And yours, if you’ll have a blind man who makes more mistakes than he should.”

  She slid both arms around his neck and nuzzled into his shoulder. “I’ll have you no matter what. You must know that.”

  His hand wrapped around her back. “I think I finally do. Thankfully.”

  Chapter 26

  The wagon bounced along the road, causing a continual susurrus of tinkling as the glass jars of amber coloured honey jostled against each other in their boxes.

  Sara glanced back at them in concern. “Do they always make all that noise?”

  “Yep.”

  “How do they not break?”

  “We’ve learned just the right amount of packaging to keep them from cracking. I should probably admit it took a few tries to get it right. Honey is really hard to scrub out of a wagon bed, let me tell you.”

  His smile took her breath away. The orange sun was still fairly low in the sky and it shimmered in the waves of his hair and glowed over his skin. There were times when she was still amazed that she could be married to such a beautiful man.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder and he circled his arm around her waist, gently tugging her against him.

  She sighed happily. “What time do we have to be there?”

  “Seven thirty. Why?”

  “I was just wondering if we had time to... stop for a little while.” She could feel her cheeks reddening at her own forwardness and was glad he couldn’t see them.

  “Why, Mrs Raine, are you suggesting you want to take advantage of me? In public?” His arm tightened around her waist.

  “There’s no one else around,” she said, her voice slightly breathless. “Besides, if anyone does come all they’ll see is a man kissing his wife. Nothing overly scandalous about that.”

  His mouth moved to her ear and he whispered, “Stop the wagon.”

  A shiver skittered down her spine and she had to swallow before speaking. “But if we don’t have time...”

  He felt for the reins in her hands and pulled back, saying, “Whoa,” while never moving the rest of his body away from hers.

  As River and Rosie came to a halt, he wrapped both arms around her.

  “We’ll risk being late.”

  ~ ~ ~

  By the time they reached the town, most of the other market stalls had already set up.

  Sara brought the wagon to a halt and patted her hair, making sure it was at least halfway tidy. She’d had to re-pin it after the prolonged pause in their journey, Daniel’s roving hands having succeeded in thoroughly messing it up. She couldn’t help smiling at the thought and hoped her face wasn’t too flushed. Before Daniel she’d only ever kissed two other men, although she wasn’t sure she could even compare kissing them to kissing him. She’d been thoroughly unprepared for the experience of having a man take her breath away with just the touch of his lips. She was certainly getting used to it though.

  They’d barely finished setting up their stall of honey and fruit before Mrs Goodwin bustled up to them.

  “Oh, thank goodness, I thought you might not be coming and I’m in dire need of your delicious honey. If Mr Goodwin doesn’t get his honeyed ham this Friday I think he might just up and leave me. I’ll take four jars and twenty apricots. And throw in a pound of those cherries.”

  Sara dealt with the money while Daniel placed the jars carefully into Mrs Goodwin’s bag.

  “Mr Goodwin is far too smart to leave you,” he said as he measured out the apricots and cherries, using his fingers to feel the pointer on the scales. “He’s the envy of every man in Green Hill Creek.”

  She laughed and patted his hand. “You’ve always been a charmer, Daniel. No wonder you got yourself such a lovely wife.” She smiled at Sara.

  “Thank you, Mrs Goodwin,” she said, glancing up at Daniel next to her. “He certainly has charmed me.”

  The older woman stood back and cast a searching gaze over them. “You seem happier than you were last week.”

  Daniel slid his arm around Sara’s shoulders and smiled down at her. “With God’s help, I finally came to my senses and realised that no matter what happens, I am the most blessed man on earth to have Sara by my side.”

  Tears suddenly tingled at the back of her eyes and she leaned her head against his shoulder as she dabbed at them with her fingertips.

  “Oh my, I think I’m going to embarrass myself and weep right here in the middle of the street,” Mrs Goodwin said, fanning her eyes with one hand. “I’m real happy for you both. And we’re all praying for your sight to come back, Daniel.”

  “Thank you, Mrs G,” he said. “I know I’m going to be just fine.”

  The morning saw a steady stream of customers visit the stall. The fruit was popular, but it was the honey that went fast. After only an hour almost half of the jars they’d brought had been sold.

  “So far I’m the only one who keeps bees around here,” Daniel said when Sara asked him about it. “I’m thinking of setting up more hives for next year. I can barely keep up with the demand.”

  At just before nine Sara saw Amy and Adam approaching and she stepped out from behind the stall and ran to greet her friend.

  “How are things?” Amy whispered as they hugged.

  “Much better.” Sara lowered her voice as she glanced back at Daniel and Adam where they were talking. “We had our first kiss on Monday.”

  “How was it?” Amy said, smiling.

  Sara couldn’t contain her long, blissful sigh. “Incredible. I don’t know what the other two men who’ve kissed me were doing, but they definitely weren’t doing it right.”

  Amy burst into giggles. “What happened to the proper New Yorker I travelled here with?”

  “She married the man of her dreams and realised she was going to love life out here. But what about you? How are things with Adam?”

  It was Amy’s turn to look towards the two men at the stall. Adam glanced at her and smiled and her cheeks flushed. “To tell you the truth, I’m confused. I’ve had this dream of going to San Francisco for so long it’s like a part of me, but every time I’m with Adam all I can think is how good it would be to stay with him. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Stay,” Sara said immediately. “There’s a chance I’m not entirely unbiased in my opinion because I don’t want you to leave, but if you’re happy with him, stay. Being in love is the most wonderful feeling. Now that I am, I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

  A smile crept onto Amy’s face. “Maybe you’re right. But I don’t know if he’d want me after what I did.” The smile faltered. “All I’ve done is make his life harder.”

  “And yet his face still lights up whenever he looks at you.”

  Amy’s eyebrows shot up. “It does?”

  Sara shook her head in disbelief. How could her friend be so oblivious? The man was obviously crazy about her. But it wasn’t her place to tell Amy. That was Adam’s job.

  “Come on. Let’s...”

  She was interrupted by a
throat being cleared emphatically. Both she and Amy looked round. At the sight of Mr Pulaski standing behind them Sara’s stomach twisted. She took a step back, glancing at Daniel.

  “Good morning ladies.” Mr Pulaski smiled and tipped his hat.

  “What do you want?” Sara said, not bothering to hide her anger. Even in the midst of the crowded market he frightened her, but she wasn’t going to let him know it.

  “I wanted to check that you’ve had no more trouble from that ne’er-do-well I chased from your farm last week,” he replied, either oblivious or uncaring about her animosity. “I still hate to think what might have happened if I hadn’t been there to save you.”

  “From what I’ve heard, the only person Sara needs saving from is you,” Amy said, glaring at him.

  Sara silently applauded her friend.

  Mr Pulaski scowled at her. “And you are?”

  “Mr Pulaski,” Sara said, taking courage from Amy, “after what happened on Saturday I don’t wish to speak to you. Please don’t bother me or my husband again.”

  She took Amy’s arm and steered her towards Daniel and the stall. Before they’d gone two steps, Mr Pulaski stepped into their path.

  “Sara, I understand why you’re upset at that unfortunate misunderstanding on Saturday, but truly I meant you no harm, as I explained to the marshal. Please forgive me anything I may have done wrong.”

  Sara gritted her teeth and spoke slowly. “It’s Mrs Raine.”

  “Of course.” He smiled.

  She had no idea what to do. Whatever she did or said, he still didn’t get the message. It seemed nothing would make him leave her alone.

  “Do you mind?” Amy snapped. “You’re in our way.”

  His eyes darted between the two of them before he stepped aside. “My apologies.”

  Sara pulled Amy past him before he had a chance to say anything more, only breathing out once she’d reached the stall and was back at Daniel’s side.

  “Awful man,” Amy muttered. “I was this close to slapping him.”

  “Who?” Adam said.