Touched by Fire

by Gwyneth Atlee

  “Oh, I think about my words all right,” Daniel said. “I think about how they turn on me every time I talk to you. Lord, Hannah. You’re in my mind every minute, but when I try to tell you, nothing comes out the way I planned.”

  Though her shoulders stiffened with disgust, she let him turn her face toward his, then kiss away the cold tears on her cheek

  “I was wrong, Hannah.” His voice shook with emotion. “Wrong because even though you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, I didn’t say it. And wrong because I never told you how you’ve ruined Saturday night sprees. Whiskey, other women —nothing’s been the same since I met you. I never told you how you make me want to be a better man, even a better father to Amelia. Those are words that need a voice, but I kept them all inside because I was afraid they’d all get tangled. That and saying them made me take too a hard a look at the man I’d been. I thought you’d marry me and we’d have no need of a bunch of fancy words.”

  With one cool hand, he cupped her cheek. “I love you, Hannah Shelton, and I’d be honored if you would marry me. In October, when Mrs. Brannon said those things about us, I was almost glad. I thought that would give me the excuse I needed to take care of things. I know now I should have stopped to ask you first.”

  His handsome face grew blurred as her eyes teared.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Did I say something wrong again?”

  She shook her head and freed a last tear, which rolled onto his fingers. “I —I’ve been so afraid. I never imagined anyone who knew my past would love me. I didn’t think it possible. Oh, Daniel, I love you, too. From the beginning, you listened to me. You never turned away, no matter what.”

  “Then, does that mean you’ll say yes?”

  “Why?” She brushed away the chilling moisture from her face. “Did you hide the minister behind the seat somewhere?”

  “Hannah.”

  “Daniel, do you realize what you’re getting? I can never give you children.”

  “You once reminded me, I already have a daughter. A daughter who loves you as much as I do. Marry me.”

  She leaned into his embrace. “Yes, I’d like that. I’d like that more than anything.”

  He kissed her fervently, but this time her fire matched his own. Reaching behind her, she felt him unpin her hair. The dark waves tumbled to her waist, and he ran his fingers through the silken mass.

  More kisses fell upon her mouth and then her neck. She shuddered with anticipation as his big hands reached beneath her cloak. First, he spanned her slender waist with his long fingers. Then, he moved slowly higher, until he cupped her breasts.

  Despite the cold, Hannah felt her body tingling, eager for his touch. She shrugged the cloak off and moaned as his kisses fell upon her upper chest. His fingertips reached inside her bodice and stroked her tenderly.

  A cold wind shook the carriage, and she shivered with it. Daniel, to her disappointment, pulled away.

  “Let’s wait. I don’t want you sick again.”

  Speechless with desire, she pulled the cloak about her and nodded in agreement.

  “John and I are almost finished with the cabin. We’ll build another in the spring, one just for you and me and of course Amelia.”

  She snuggled against him. “Right now I only care about the fireplaces. Make them big and warm.”

  He kissed her once more, briefly. “Don’t worry. The next time I see you shudder, I mean to be the cause.”

  o0o

  They returned to Robertson’s and shared a sumptuous steak dinner and desserts. After the meal ended, he fished in his jacket for a ring.

  “John and I buried our valuables when the fires looked like they might get out of hand. This ring was my mother’s. She gave it to John. But he wanted me to have it, to put it on your finger.”

  Tears rolled down her face as he slipped it on her finger. After what she’d done, John had managed to forgive her. She felt sure that was more than she deserved.

  She leaned forward and kissed Daniel. “Thank you. It’s so beautiful. And I’ll thank John as well.”

  She looked down at the ring, its golden gleam kaleidoscopic with her tears. At its center, a ruby sparkled like a single drop of blood.

  “Will you come with me to tell Bess?” Hannah asked. “There’s someone at the orphanage I want you to meet.”

  Daniel paid the bill and walked with her outside. He tied his uncle’s mule behind the carriage.

  “If the Brannons see that creature following their coupe, they’ll be mortified,” Hannah teased.

  “Would you rather I rode after you?” Daniel asked.

  “No. I’m feeling reckless. Come with me.”

  As they rode, Hannah told Daniel about the orphans’ coming move. “Bess made it sound like the church home is staffed already.”

  “You sound disappointed,” Daniel said, his voice gentle. “But you couldn’t very well stay there and be my wife. Remember, Amelia needs a mother, too.”

  “I know that,” Hannah said. “But it will still be hard to leave them. Especially Charlie.”

  “Is that who you want me to meet?”

  She nodded. “He crawls into my bed almost every night.”

  Daniel grinned. “Are you trying to make me jealous? Lucky kid.”

  “Don’t be silly. He’s three, and no one even knows his last name. You should hear him talk. He’s a smart little thing and so cuddly at night.”

  “It’s going to make you sad to leave him, isn’t it?”

  Hannah hesitated. “I know I shouldn’t have let myself get attached, but it’s hard to live with children and not grow to love them. Charlie especially. As happy as I am about our marriage, I’m really going to miss that little boy.”

  Daniel squeezed her hand. “Then don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t miss him. He needs parents, and a little brother will give Amelia someone to boss around, other than me, that is.”

  Hannah blinked at him. “But —but you haven’t even met him, Daniel.”

  “You love him. That’s enough.”

  “Are you sure? A wife is one thing, but this will be like adding a whole family.”

  Daniel smiled sheepishly. “I may decide things quick, but I mean what I say. As soon as we get married, we’ll see about adopting him. But let’s not wait too long. I don’t want this little fellow getting used to sleeping in my spot.”

  He stopped the team as she kissed him. “Thank you, Daniel. This has been the best day of my life.”

  “And you said you couldn’t give me children. You’re just faster than most women.”

  By the time they reached the social hall, the light was growing dim. Even so, they saw a buckboard pulled in front.

  Hannah felt a lump forming in her throat. She climbed down from the carriage without waiting for Daniel’s assistance. With quick steps, she rushed into the social hall. Had the Presbyterians come to take the children so soon?

  Bess was talking with a small man with a reddish beard. She smiled and nodded, then went into another room. Before Hannah could even formulate a question, Bess returned with Charlie in her arms.

  The moment the little boy saw the stranger, he squirmed to get away. Bess put him down, and he ran and leapt into the man’s arms, shouting, “Papa home!”

  The bearded man was weeping, kissing his son, and murmuring, “Thank the Lord!”

  Hannah wept, too, if only for selfish reasons. She would lose Charlie for certain, despite Daniel’s generous offer. Daniel put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Go kiss him goodbye. Try not to cry, for his sake.”

  Hannah dried her eyes with the handkerchief he offered and walked nearer to the man. He, too, wiped tears away.

  “Thank you, both of you,” he said to Bess and Hannah, “for taking care of him. We got separated, all of us. His mama and I made it, but we lost all five of the boys —” He began to weep again but fought to regain control. “We found the other four, but
not Charlie. I thought he burned for sure, but Jessie wouldn’t let me give up. She’s in Oconto, in a hospital they made. I’ve been checking every hospital and orphanage from Green Bay north. His mama burned up her hands and feet real bad, but maybe now —maybe now my wife can smile again.”

  At the mention of his mother, Charlie wriggled and looked around. “Mama! Go see Mama!”

  “We will, son. We’ll go see her as soon as we can get to her. Thank the Lord!” The man extended his right hand and shook Bess’s, Hannah’s, and then Daniel’s. “I’m Jess Hankins. May God bless you all.”

  He kissed the boy again. Charlie spotted Hannah for the first time and reached out toward her.

  “Ha-nah!” he said.

  Holding back her tears, Hannah hugged and kissed him. “Save some for your mama. You be good.”

  “Good. Be good.” Charlie gurgled a devilish laugh.

  “He doesn’t have much, but there’s an extra set of clean clothes. I expect you’ll need them,” Hannah said. She collected the boy’s clothing and gave them to his father.

  Eager to return to his wife, Jess Hankins took his son and walked out of their lives.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Bess pressed a cool cloth to her eyes, but she was far too late to ease their swollen redness. Only Father could have done that, if he had the spine. Instead, as always, he sided with her mother, even though she suspected he really sympathized.

  In the weeks since Daniel and Hannah had become engaged, she’d spent more time than ever in the company of John Aldman. Her father watched warily last Sunday, when John escorted her to church, but beneath his gray mustache, he frowned and held his tongue. A veteran of two older daughters, Bess’s father had seen gentleman friends come and go. He tended not to take such things too seriously, for his other girls had settled into suitable marriages.

  Her mother, on the other hand, had panicked, as if she sensed the growing depth of Bess and John’s feelings. “A farmer, of all things,” she complained. “Just imagine, a life of plowing right beside him, your whole social sphere reduced to church, and children without end. And without help. Not a cook or a nanny or even someone to keep the house.”

  Bess liked to imagine exactly that. Helping John to build a farm and family. Working together, through the years. John had told her his plan to breed draft horses, and it, like everything about him, filled her with admiration.

  It couldn’t be long now until he proposed marriage. Even Hannah said he spoke of nothing but “his Bess.”

  But now, only a few days before Christmas, her mother presented her a train ticket. To Chicago.

  “Go visit my sister Nora for a spell,” Mother commanded.

  Bess had been shocked. She’d never heard of Nora before this.

  “If you want to see what happens when a woman marries beneath her station, go see her. She eloped. Tomorrow, Bess. I’ve already written. She’ll be expecting you.”

  “For a visit or a cautionary tale?” Bess asked. “I can’t possibly go. I promised John.”

  “You’re going,” Mother insisted. In the chair across from her, her father looked away as if embarrassed. He never cared much for what he termed “female antics.”

  “You don’t understand. I love John. Staying with some sad case you’ve never bothered to acknowledge won’t change that.”

  “Alfred,” Mrs. Brannon said. Her husband pushed aside his dessert plate. A servant whisked it and the women’s away, then retreated politely into the distant kitchen.

  “Bess, your mother is doing this for your own good. You’ll have to go. Particularly if you wish me to continue funding your ‘private charity’.”

  Hannah. Bess stared at her feet. Her father, unbeknownst to Mother, had financed her gifts to her friend. And there were others, as well. Bess had always had a penchant for families in distress, old people, and lost puppies. Mr. Brannon rarely turned down her requests. But the implication of his words was crystal clear. All of that would change if she didn’t heed her mother’s ridiculous request.

  Feeling ineffectual as a child, Bess ran from the room crying. Why couldn’t she think of anything else she might do?

  And how would she find John to tell him? The Aldman brothers were hours away, at their farm now, and wouldn’t come to see them until Christmas. By Christmas, she’d be safely shipped away.

  After locking her door, Bess knelt by her bed and slipped out her gift to John from beneath her mattress. Something store-bought wouldn’t do for him at all. She looked down at the needlepoint, with their two names stitched in a clever rose petal design. She knew instinctively he’d cherish it, but not for its perfection. She spotted several minor flaws. He’d love it because she’d made it with her hands.

  She’d meant to have it framed, but now there wasn’t time. Brushing away tears, she promised herself they’d have more time later. A lifetime, to be precise. But for now, she’d have to find some way to get to Hannah, to tell her what was happening and deliver John’s gift.

  Before it was too late.

  o0o

  Malcolm smiled to himself and blessed the wisdom of the drunkard. As he’d passed time in a saloon, the old man had reminisced about a long-forgotten place, a cabin he had used when he made wood shingles by hand. Oh, he missed the old spot, with its hard bunks and the endless, silent meals of beans and bread and bacon. Sure, he imagined it would still be standing, but that section had been logged out long ago. The trees there would be too young for the taking for another fifteen years or so. After Malcolm bought drinks, the old man babbled about a swift creek and mumbled crude directions. He’d been happy to rekindle a few fond memories.

  When Malcolm pulled on the door, it creaked open. Inside, something clattered and rustled in debris. Weak December sunlight streamed through several places in the rotted roof. But the chimney and the fireplace looked sound, and that was most important.

  When he brought Hannah, he would need a warm place to hole up.

  o0o

  Hannah’s silver needle flashed like a dragonfly darting along the water’s surface: stitching, looping, knotting. In the needle’s wake, soft cream-colored cloth merged with the lace that Bess had given her as an early Christmas gift.

  She felt uncomfortable with all the presents; Hannah was a woman used to making her own way. But she began to realize Bess needed to give them, to help her newfound friend.

  Hannah began to suspect Bess had two types of companions: those in keeping with her father’s station as a local lumber baron and those humbler sorts, the ones she truly cherished. The brunette was honored to be among the latter group.

  The dragonfly bit, and Hannah dropped the needle quickly to keep her blood from spotting the lace neckline. As she sucked the tiny wound, she thought back to that other white dress, the one she’d sewn for Robert and worn to marry Malcolm.

  She wondered how he fared, back on the horse farm. With a small smile, she imagined how surprised he’d be that she survived. Surely, even the citizens of Shelton Creek had heard by now of the region’s devastating fires. But she had done more than survive; she’d prospered. After all those lean months, she was living in Mr. Simonton’s fine hotel, sewing silk and lace, and looking forward to marrying a handsome, generous man.

  Very generous. She recalled Daniel’s offer to adopt a child, just because she’d grown attached. She still felt a tender, bruised spot when she thought of Charlie, and she chided herself for selfish thoughts. The boy needed his own parents, and even more clearly, his poor parents needed him. The future she looked forward to would be enough for her.

  In a way, the fire helped guarantee it. If Malcolm thought her dead, he’d have no reason to come for her again.

  If he’d even consider such a thing, after his last humiliation.

  She looked up at a knock. Did Mrs. Tanner need help again so soon? She’d helped feed those still sick and injured just an hour before.

  Bess’s eyes teared as Hannah opened the door.

  “What’s wron
g?” Hannah asked.

  Bess came in and told her the whole story. “And I just knew John would propose this Christmas. They’re spoiling everything!”

  “Do you suppose they knew already? John might have asked your father. It sounds like something he would do.”

  “I don’t know. I thought he was at the farm with Daniel, finishing the building.”

  Hannah shrugged. “I haven’t seen him, but I’d be glad to give him this. It’s beautiful, Bess. I know he’ll love it.”

  “Thank you. Tell him it’s a token, a token I’ll come back.”

  “Of course you will. And you’ll convince your parents this is not some passing fancy. Or at least your father. I don’t know how convincible your mother is.”

  “Not very, I’m afraid.” Bess examined the dress Hannah had been sewing. “This will be so beautiful. I hope I’m back in time to see you wearing it.”

  Hannah put her arms around the blonde. The wedding was only a week past Christmas, so her return seemed unlikely, at best. “Even if you can’t, you should know how important you’ve been to me. If it weren’t for you, I’d be living in one of those makeshift shelters for refugees, alone. Instead, I feel like a queen. Thank you, Bess, for everything. Every day, I ask myself what I’ve done to deserve you.”

  “Don’t you know, Hannah? You’re my friend. I’ve learned so much from you. Even after you lost everything, you still held your head high. You might have been sick, but the moment you were able, you wanted to help others. I want to be as strong as you are.”

  “God forbid that you should ever have to be,” Hannah said.

  “Besides, you introduced me to John Aldman.”

  “It’s a wonder your mother hasn’t shot me yet. She doesn’t speak to me, you know.”

  Bess smiled. “Most people would be grateful.”

  Hannah squeezed her hand. “You will always be welcome in my home. And someday I believe we’ll be family, when you marry John.”

  Bess’s green eyes sparkled. “Then he said something to you? Was he going to propose? I have to know.”

  Hannah laughed. Sometimes she almost forgot that Bess was only twenty. The eight-year gap in their ages made a difference. She wondered if it bothered Bess that John was twelve years older, but she didn’t mention it.