by Cassie Hayes
A white blur darted across her path, startling her so badly, she dropped her bundle. The blur darted toward her, and suddenly she was in a tug-o-war with a little white fox. Minnie had mentioned a fox had followed them from Cochrane all the way to Reindeer Rock, running along with the team as if it wanted to be harnessed to the sled along with all the dogs In fact, she’d named it Finnegan, which seemed like a rather big name for such a small animal. Finnegan must have smelled the small bit of salt pork Annie had given Gemma and decided to try stealing it.
“That’s mine!” The pretty little monster didn’t seem bothered at all by her scolding, and continued tugging at the bundle. “Let go, I say!”
But Finnegan refused. As sharp as his teeth looked, the rascal’s tail wagged furiously as they each vied for the delicious prize inside. If she didn’t know any better, Gemma might think he was playing.
She’d always had a soft spot for dogs, and what was a fox but a tiny dog? Her mother hated that side of her daughter, and had often punished Gemma when she’d fed a stray. But Gemma had always felt a kinship to the mangy strays of Ottawa, scrounging for enough food to stay alive, doing anything to survive.
Just like Finnegan.
But the pork inside would be the basis for the stew she was going to make Colton, and as much as she wanted to let the bratty fox have it, they lived in a dog-eat-dog world. She needed to prove to her husband she could cook before he started asking harder questions. Poor ol’ Finnegan would just have to look elsewhere for dinner — such as behind their shared outhouse, where Annie had been leaving him food.
One final tug and Finnegan released his hold, which sent Gemma tumbling backward on her rump, right into a big, slushy pile of snow. Biting her tongue to not say the words her mother had always used when she was mad, Gemma sat up and glared at Finnegan. He panted as he stared at her, and she could have sworn he was grinning. Then he spun around and disappeared around the corner of the house.
“Stupid fox,” Gemma muttered as she got back to her feet, brushing clumps of snow from her backside. Still, she couldn’t help admiring Finnegan’s tenacity. Perhaps that was a good omen and she’d make a wonderful meal for dinner.
She’d just started chopping carrots when the footsteps approached the cabin. Finnegan was all but forgotten, and her train of thought had returned to kissing Colton. She’d just vowed to keep her distance from him going forward because any more kissing might lead to deeper feelings, and that would only hurt him even more when she finally left.
So don’t leave, a little voice whispered in her ear as she turned to greet Colton. Gemma wasn’t sure if it was the angel on her right shoulder or the devil on her left, but she knew it was advice she couldn’t follow. Ignoring the risk to herself, she wouldn’t saddle Colton with the shame of her past. Better to leave before anyone discovered the truth than to embarrass Colton with the fact she’d tricked him. He deserved so much better than that.
Yet she couldn’t stop a smile from spreading, anticipating seeing him again, even though it had only been a few hours. Her smile faltered when he ushered in an Ojibwe woman and two children. He glanced up, his eyes pleading for understanding before he spoke a word.
“Gemma, I’d like you to meet Lizzy. Her home burned down this morning and she has nowhere else to stay. I invited her to stay with us for a few days until Robert and Calvin come back from their trip and other arrangements can be made. These are her children, John and Mary.”
The boy and girl clung to their mother’s skirt as they peered at Gemma. She looked between the little family and Colton a few times, unsure whether she should feel irritated that he brought them home without asking her first or honored to have such a generous man as her husband — even if it was only temporary. Bronwen would have been furious, but tears of gratitude stung Gemma’s eyes.
Crouching, she waggled her fingers at the kids, but they both turned away. Poor things! Their mother didn’t look much happier. And she was barefoot! Gemma remembered well how cold the streets could be with holes in her shoes, she couldn’t imagine what Lizzy must have been going through.
“Oh my goodness!” Gemma cried, pulling a chair close to the fireplace. “Come sit by the fire, all three of you. Colton, go find all the blankets we have.”
Colton bolted into action while Gemma got the family settled. Her own dresses would be far too small for Lizzy, but the woman looked to be about Annie’s size. She’d send Colton over there right away to fetch a spare dress.
“Here you go,” he said as he passed her three warm, wool blankets. He cleared his throat and looked awkward for a moment before mumbling, “Plus there are the blankets in the pallet I’ve been sleeping on.”
Then it struck Gemma. Not wanting to rush her into a physical relationship, he’d graciously slept on the floor in front of the fire, while she’d slept in the bed. Now there were three more people in the house, and the obvious choice would be for them to take over Colton’s spot, while he finally moved into the bed. As tempting as the idea was, she couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Why don’t you three take our bed, and we’ll sleep on the floor?” she asked Lizzy brightly.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Colton gaping at her, so she kept her eyes trained on Lizzy. She didn’t want to see disappointment in his eyes. After a bit of back and forth, Lizzy finally agreed to take the bed, and Colton left to get a dress from Annie. He brought it back quickly enough, but then headed back out, supposedly to go write up his report on the day’s events.
“See you later,” Gemma called, a split second after the door had closed. He hadn’t seemed angry, but he’d been patiently waiting to get closer to her, and all she wanted was to push him farther away.
Sighing sadly, Gemma left Lizzy to clean up her tykes while she continued chopping the rest of the vegetables. Good thing they were onions, so she had an excuse for the wetness in her lashes.
Just as she scraped the last pile of unevenly cut onions into the pot, Lizzy stuck her nose inside and took a deep sniff. She looked up at Gemma, her nose crinkled in distaste.
“I know, onions smell bad,” Gemma said as she put the lid on the pot.
Lizzy stayed her hand. “You need spices.”
“I put some salt and pepper in there.” That’s all the cabin had come stocked with, and since Gemma didn’t know anything about spices other than salt and pepper, she hadn’t bothered to buy or order any from Mr. Harper’s general store.
Lizzy shook her head, and pulled a paper packet from a pocket in her skirt. “Here. Use this.”
“What is it?” Gemma leaned into examine the round, yellow pellets in the packet.
“Mustard. Heat them in a skillet first.”
“Why?”
Lizzy shook her head again, then reached past Gemma to pull the cast iron skillet from its hook on the wall. She set it on the stove and poured some mustard seeds into it, then shook the pan gently as the seeds toasted. A sharp, delicious scent filled the room.
From that point on, Lizzy showed Gemma exactly what to do in the kitchen. In the few hours they spent together that first day, she learned more from Lizzy than she’d learned from her mother in a lifetime.
“Thank you so much for helping me, Lizzy,” Gemma said as they pulled two loaves of beautiful bread from the oven.
“Thank you for taking us in,” Lizzy said, her voice tight.
“Will you be moving in with some of your relatives soon?”
Lizzy’s jaw tightened and she cast her eyes toward her children, a sure sign that something wasn’t right with her. Gemma sensed no avarice or even any real dishonesty from the woman, but something was…off, as if she was ashamed. But Gemma couldn’t imagine what such a doting mother would have to be ashamed of. Whatever it was, Gemma knew it couldn’t compare to all the bad things she’d done while under Bronwen’s control.
“No matter,” Gemma said lightly, pulling butter from the icebox. “You can stay here as long as you need.”
For the
first time since she’d arrived, Lizzy actually smiled, and Gemma wondered if she’d just found a new friend.
Chapter 5
Colton hadn’t been happy when Gemma had offered up the cabin’s only bed to Lizzy and her kids. He’d rather hoped that would be the day he’d finally graduate to sleeping in the same bed as her. Not that he would have tried anything with others sleeping just a few feet away, but he longed to hold his wife in his arms until they both drifted off. Clearly, Gemma had other ideas.
When he finally came home that first night, he realized how wrong-headed he’d been. Not only was offering the now-homeless family a bed the right thing to do, Lizzy had helped prepare the most delicious stew he’d ever eaten. Then after dinner, John had asked him to play a game, during which shy, little Mary had quietly climbed in Colton’s lap. He’d grinned up at Gemma, who had clapped her hands to her mouth at the preciousness of the moment.
Noting the two separate pallets Gemma had made up for them, he’d assumed the best part of the day was over, but after the lamps had been blown out, and the soft snores of tired children echoed though the cabin, he discovered how wrong he’d been. That night — and the two nights since — they’d talked into the wee hours of the night, mostly her asking for more tales about life as a fisherman.
The morning after Lizzy and her family had come to stay, he’d woken up to find Gemma’s hand resting on his. The morning after that, she’d scooted closer to him at some point in the night. He’d thought he’d died and gone to heaven, but then he’d woken up on the third morning to her snuggled deep in his arms.
“Pancakes, bacon, and over-easy eggs,” Gemma said, pulling him out of his thoughts as she set breakfast in front of him. “Just the way you like them.”
Before she had a chance to pull her hand away, he grabbed her wrist and gazed deeply into her eyes, trying to communicate how much she meant to him. Her pulse sped up under his thumb as he stroked the inside of her wrist, and he knew she felt the same.
“Thank you,” he murmured so only she could hear.
A blush crept up her cheeks, and she giggled like a schoolgirl before she scurried back to the kitchen. Happier than he ever thought he could be, Colton took a bite of the pancakes. He expected sawdust and was delighted to find them to be tender and delicious, unlike her first several tries. And she was right, the eggs were done exactly as he liked them. He was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, but he marveled at her progress in such a short time. It was almost as if she’d never cooked before in her life until they arrived in Reindeer Rock.
The cabin was a whirlwind of activity as Gemma helped Lizzy get the kids bundled up for an outing to their village. Colton couldn’t understand why Lizzy went there every day, when none of her people had seemed interested in taking her in. Colton had asked about that a couple of times, but she’d just clam up and get busy with some activity or another. There was plenty to do around the cabin, that much was sure, but it still bothered him that no one would take in a homeless widow and her children.
“I don’t suppose you could get any more mustard seed while you’re there?” Gemma asked Lizzy.
Lizzy pulled on a coat donated by a local woman and shook her head. “All my seeds burned up,” she said sadly.
Gemma sighed. “And I highly doubt Mr. Harper carries them in his store.”
Colton swallowed his mouthful of pancake and chuckled. “Yeah, Harper’s is no City Market, is it?”
“Hmm?” Gemma was too busy jamming a knit toque on John’s head to pay much attention to Colton.
“City Market. I’ve never found another market quite like it. Have you?”
Gemma frowned as she turned her attention to little Mary. “I’m sorry, Colton, but I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about. Now would you mind passing me Mary’s scarf? It’s hanging on the back of your chair.”
That’s odd, Colton thought as he handed her the scarf. City Market was Saint John’s largest and oldest public market. The building itself was famous for being designed to resemble the keel of a ship — a nod to the city’s booming shipbuilding trade. Even if a resident of Saint John grew all their own food, they’d eventually need to frequent at least one merchant in City Market. Christmas was especially wonderful, as the place was turned into a magical wonderland that every child begged to visit.
Colton watched Gemma as she watched Lizzy head out into the elements from the doorway until she shivered from the cold. Closing the door, she caught him staring and jumped a little, then laughed it off.
“I’m sorry about earlier, I was distracted,” she said. “Now what were you asking me?”
Of course! She simply wasn’t paying attention and didn’t hear him. “Nothing, it wasn’t important. I’m sorry to leave you all alone, but I need to get to the station. Thank you again for a wonderful breakfast. Best yet.”
He grinned as he stood and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him. She fit him so well, even as small as she was, and he loved holding her. And he really loved the way she held him. It seemed strange that Lizzy’s family moving in had somehow drawn him and Gemma closer, but the emotion — dare he say ‘love’? — in her eyes was a testament to their growing affection.
Dipping down, he paused before his lips touched her. Holding her gaze, he asked, “Is this okay?”
She said nothing, only nodded and stood on her tiptoes to meet him halfway. Not counting their wedding day, they’d only kissed a few times, and each time was better than the last. Colton memorized the way her fingers tickled the hairs on the back of his neck and how the heat from her body warmed him. No doubt it would keep him toasty all day whenever he thought about it.
When they finally came up for air, Gemma studied him, a soft smile on her lips. Then she laid her cheek against his chest and sighed. “My mother says men like you don’t really exist.”
He chuckled as he rested his cheek on her head. “Oh? What kind of man is that?”
She tipped her head back so her chin perched on his chest and their lips were just inches apart. “The kind of man who’s too good to be true.”
“I could say the same thing about you,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.
Colton couldn’t be sure, because he was pulling away so he could leave for work, but he thought he felt Gemma stiffen at his words. Dismissing it as a figment of his imagination, he tromped over to the door to grab his coat, but he thought he heard her mumble something under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Oh, I just asked if you wouldn’t mind picking up some beans from Mr. Harper’s before you come home tonight,” she said, keeping her back turned to him as she cleared the table.
Whatever she’d muttered hadn’t sounded anything like that, but Colton shrugged and promised to do as she asked as he walked out the door. Just as he’d thought, the heat from her body lit a fire in him that kept him warm as he walked through town. She really was a remarkable woman. Only…
It really was strange that she didn’t seem to have the slightest clue about City Market. She’d grown up there and should have remembered the place at Christmas, if not the rest of the year. It didn’t make sense.
Not that it mattered. They were clearly becoming closer as a married couple, and maybe once Lizzy, John, and Mary moved out, they could finally share that big bed. Obviously, Lizzy was traveling to the village every day, looking for a new living situation, and though he truly enjoyed having them there, he was also eager to take his relationship with his wife to the next level.
A thread of a thought niggled at him as he walked, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. Something about the way Gemma had watched Lizzy leave that morning…
“Morning, Constable Leeds,” said an older man as they passed.
Colton tipped his hat, but his thoughts were wrapped up in Gemma. Why had she seemed so interested in Lizzy visiting her own village? It seemed only natural to Colton, but the look in Gemma’s eyes had been almost…suspicious. Strange.
&n
bsp; Shaking the uneasy feeling from his head, he smiled at the idea she thought he was too good to be true. What groom didn’t want his bride thinking such flattering things about him? Of course, he had all sorts of faults — picking his teeth at the table was one his mother had always complained about mightily, but he’d managed to refrain from the crass habit so far — while Gemma was practically perfect.
Almost too perfect, a voice in his head whispered.
Where had that come from? Gemma was sweet, kind, smart, and the prettiest gal he’d ever met. Besides, anyone who’d had to suffer through one of her meals could confirm she wasn’t perfect. Still, something else she’d said that morning tugged at that thread of a thought, but he couldn’t quite…
Her mother! She’d spoken of her as if she was still alive. That couldn’t be, because she’d told him she’d been orphaned at six, when she’d gone to Ottawa to live with a relative. Maybe he’d simply misheard. Replaying the sweet interaction over in his head brought a surge of affection for her, but then the memory of her words broke his stride. Standing in the middle of the street, oblivious to a wagon passing by just a few feet away, Colton heard her words as if she was standing in front of him, her cheek still pressed to his chest
My mother says men like you don’t really exist.
Present tense. If her mother really had died when she was a child, she would have become accustomed to speaking of the woman in past tense.
Then another memory came to him unbidden. It was Malcolm teaching him how to spot a liar. “If someone tells you something that doesn’t make sense,” his commander had said, “it probably isn’t true.”
Colton lurched out of the street toward the boardwalk, where he clutched the nearest post for balance. He suddenly felt lightheaded as his carefully constructed world crumbled down around his feet. Gemma had probably never even been to Saint John, much less lived there. Now that he thought about it, whenever he’d brought it up, she always spoken in vague terms about growing up there. The same went for almost every detail about herself, which were few and far between. She’d always managed to steer any conversation about herself back around to Colton, never revealing too much about her life before the day they met.
