Love Inspired Historical October 2015 Box Set

by Lacy Williams

  Yet, here she was, already growing attached to another widower’s young daughters. Not a wise move, considering their father was actively seeking a woman to marry solely to take on the role as their mother. Caleb wasn’t looking for love. And Ellie wasn’t looking to act solely as a mother to his or any man’s children. She wanted a real marriage and a family of her own.

  Don’t get too close, she ordered, even as her arms wrapped around the girls’ shoulders.

  Realizing what she’d done, Ellie quickly returned her hands to her lap and focused on the entire group of children. “Who wants to learn the first song we’ll be singing Christmas Eve?”

  Seven tiny hands shot in the air.

  She soon discovered that most of the boys and girls were familiar with the tune that accompanied the song “What Child Is This?” But they were shaky on the words. Repetition would be the key to their success, besides keeping to a single verse, maybe two if they learned the first one quickly.

  She sang the first two lines then had the boys and girls repeat after her. “Well-done,” she praised. “Let’s try that again.”

  On the second time through, she looked over at Kate with the other children. A quick headcount told her that one of the older boys had disappeared from the group. She was just about to alert her friend to the problem when Brody Driscoll reappeared, a mischievous grin on his face.

  Ellie’s heart dipped. She’d seen that look on too many young faces not to recognize that trouble lay but a heartbeat away.

  Proving her gloomy forecast accurate, a frightened female screech cut through the children’s singing, which was followed by several more shrieks—also female.

  Ellie sighed as the girls, still screaming at the top of their lungs, scrambled away from Brody. They hopped up on the pews, dancing from foot to foot.

  The older boys howled with collective laughter.

  Kate, her face drained of color, eyes filled with panic, called for Ellie’s assistance. “Come quick!”

  Ellie tried not to sigh again. But really, how disappointing. Everything had been going so well up till now.

  “Stay here.” She quickly rose to her feet.

  With a hand gesture, she indicated Kate join her in the middle of the church. “Tell me,” she whispered.

  Kate hissed two monosyllabic, oh-so-troubling words. “Dead. Mouse.”

  But of course.

  At least Brody hadn’t brought in a live rodent. That would have brought a whole separate set of issues, namely chasing down the scurrying creature.

  Stifling a grin—because, well, boys were after all boys—Ellie bypassed the screaming girls and shoved into the gang of laughing boys, who were taking turns slapping Brody on the back.

  A quick glance to the floor and, sure enough, the dead mouse lay poised on its back, claws up, head lolled to one side.

  Ellie disregarded the boys pressing in around her and focused solely on Brody Driscoll. He was a good-looking kid, probably about eleven or twelve years old, with dark, wavy hair and eyes nearly the same color.

  He held her gaze almost defiantly, but Ellie saw the desperation beneath the bravado, as if he was determined to get a rise out of her and yet afraid he’d get exactly that.

  Face blank, eyes still locked with the boy’s, she leaned over and picked up the mouse by the tail. “I believe this belongs to you?”

  Brody’s earlier boldness faltered.

  “I…” He glanced at his friends, all still snickering, then, emboldened once again, jerked his chin at her. “Maybe it’s mine and maybe it isn’t.”

  More snickers from the other boys. She’d expected no less.

  Just as Ellie opened her mouth to respond, a deep, masculine voice cut her off. “Outside, Mr. Driscoll. And bring your rat with you.”

  Ellie spun around, her gaze connecting with Caleb’s. Except he was no longer the Caleb she knew. He was big bad Sheriff Voss, the dedicated lawman who kept order in Thunder Ridge. The man nobody challenged, especially not a mischievous boy at a children’s play rehearsal.

  Ellie tried to gain Caleb’s attention, to let him know she had the situation under control, but his gaze was locked with Brody’s. “I said outside, now.”

  Shoulders slumped, Brody took the mouse from Ellie’s fingers and headed toward the exit, Caleb one step behind.

  No. Oh, no, no. Although sweet and certainly well-meaning, Ellie could not let Caleb rescue the situation. Yet she couldn’t question his authority in front of the children, either.

  A quandary to be sure, but Ellie needed the children to know she was in charge.

  She trotted after Caleb and Brody, caught up with them in the vestibule. “Cale—I mean, Sheriff Voss.” She gripped his sleeve. “A quick word, if you please.”

  *

  Caleb hesitated at the warmth that spread from Ellie’s fingers, past his coat and straight into his forearm. “Now? You want to speak to me, now?”

  “Yes, Caleb. Now.”

  Impatience surged. Whatever Ellie had to say couldn’t be more important than taking care of Brody’s willful disobedience.

  “Please,” she pleaded in the soft, sweet voice that did strange things to his gut. “It’ll take only a moment.”

  Frowning, he dropped his eyes to Ellie’s hand still curled around his arm, then raised a questioning eyebrow. “I’m in the middle of something pretty important here.”

  “As am I.” She dropped her hand and favored Brody with a stern, no-nonsense glance.

  “Sheriff Voss will meet you outside in a moment. I suggest you spend the time alone thinking about what you’ve done and, of course, taking care of that.” She looked pointedly at the mouse.

  “Yes, Miss Ellie.” Mouse tail clamped between his thumb and forefinger, Brody headed for the door.

  Caleb stopped him. “Stop right there. Don’t you have something to say to Miss Ellie?”

  The boy sighed, his shoulders now drooping along with his head. “I’m sorry for disrupting play practice.”

  “You’re forgiven,” she said, her tone full of the graciousness inherent in her character. “But don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. Are we clear?”

  “No, ma’am. I mean…yes, ma’am.” Sighing heavily, Brody lifted a frustrated shoulder. “I mean, no, I won’t.”

  She patted him fondly on the arm. “That’s all I ask.”

  Brody smiled at her.

  She smiled back. “Go on outside, now.”

  “Yes, Miss Ellie.” The boy’s eyes were full of remorse as he exited the building.

  Caleb had always known Ellie was a steady sort. Now he also knew she had a large store of patience. He attempted to follow her lead, though it called for great effort on his part. “I’m listening. What’s on your mind?”

  “I appreciate your assistance with Brody, but you must understand. I had the situation under control.”

  No argument there. “Yes, you did.”

  When he’d walked into the church he’d watched her retrieve the mouse from the floor. I believe this belongs to you, she’d said without a hint of inflection in her voice, or fear in her eyes. Caleb nearly smiled at the memory. Despite Ellie’s diminutive stature, she was no delicate, fragile woman.

  He liked that about her. “Your handling of the situation was quite impressive.”

  A frown formed between her eyes. “Then why did you step in?”

  “For Brody’s sake.”

  Her frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”

  “His mother is sick, Ellie. Dying actually. She may not make it to Christmas. He’s not been coping well with the prospect of losing her. This isn’t the first time he’s disrupted a gathering.”

  “Oh, Caleb. I didn’t know, didn’t realize.” Ellie drew in a tight breath, her gaze filling with understanding. “That certainly explains his behavior this afternoon.”

  In a word. “Yes.”

  “Under the circumstances, you’re the best person to talk to him.”

  He nodded, forever gratefu
l Ellie knew his past. He didn’t have to go into detail about how his own mother had died around this same time of year when he’d been nearly Brody’s exact age. Caleb only wished Ellie wouldn’t look at him with sad memories in her eyes. He didn’t want her sympathy for himself, but for Brody. He turned to go.

  “Don’t be too hard on the boy,” she called after him.

  “Only what the situation requires.” He found Brody waiting for him on the front steps of the church, his foot digging into a pile of freshly fallen snow mixed with mud.

  “What were you thinking?” he asked the boy in a stern tone. “You know better than to bring a dead mouse into the church.”

  The boy looked him straight in the eyes. Tears shimmered in his gaze, but he heroically swallowed them. “I’m sorry.”

  Caleb didn’t doubt Brody’s sincerity, but he suspected the sorrow in the boy’s eyes had little to do with the mouse incident. “How’s your mother feeling?”

  “Not good. She’s so weak and can hardly get out of bed anymore. I hate seeing her suffer.”

  “I didn’t realize her illness had progressed that much since I stopped by last week.”

  Why hadn’t Betsy told him? His housekeeper had ample opportunity and would surely know Caleb would understand if she needed to spend more time with her dying sister.

  “It’s not fair,” Brody said, battling tears. “Christmas is Mama’s favorite holiday.”

  Caleb’s throat seized. He understood the kid’s pain, felt it deep in his own soul. He had to blink several times to keep memories of another Christmas at bay, his mother’s last. “I’m sorry to hear she’s growing worse.”

  The boy kicked at the snow, sending white puffs circling around his foot. “Aunt Betsy is sitting with her now, reading to her.”

  “Tell me about the mouse.”

  The kid shrugged. “I thought it would make everyone laugh. I didn’t mean to scare the girls or Miss Kate.”

  “But you did.”

  “I know and I’m really sorry.”

  Caleb’s throat seized again, painfully. Brody didn’t have a lot of family. He had only his mother and his aunt Betsy, who worked as Caleb’s housekeeper during the day and was due to marry Reverend Wainwright in a month. What would happen to the boy when his mother died? Surely, his aunt and her new husband would take him in.

  But what if they didn’t?

  “Is Miss Ellie going to kick me out of the play?”

  Like most boys his age, Brody was concerned with the immediate future, not months down the road. “Not my call. You’ll have to ask her.”

  “But I’m playing Joseph.”

  “Then you better get back inside and speak with Miss Ellie.”

  “Yes, sir.” Shoulders squared, Brody hurried up the steps.

  Caleb ambled into the building behind him. Graciousness itself, Ellie welcomed the boy with a smile and a clasp on his shoulder. She whispered something to him that made him laugh. The boy nodded vigorously before rejoining his group.

  Ellie’s mother had been equally kind to Caleb during his darkest days. For one brief moment, he let the memories come, let them remind him why he was so determined to establish a stable home for his daughters.

  Left to raise themselves, Caleb and his brothers gained a well-deserved reputation as wild and out of control, primarily due to the flagrant lack of adult supervision.

  Thanks to his friendship with Everett, Caleb soon began spending more time at the Wainwrights’ house than his own. He’d seen firsthand the difference a loving mother brought to a household. She brought a gentleness of spirit and a warmth that no single man could ever hope to achieve on his own.

  Now, with his mind poised somewhere between past and present, he watched Ellie sit on the ground and the twins lean in against her, snuggling close.

  He felt it again, the ping, followed by a surge of longing for something so far out of reach he couldn’t put a name to it. He waited a beat, struggling with an onslaught of emotion and possibilities. Suddenly, the future became a clear, distinct picture in his mind.

  Caleb knew what he had to do. If all went as planned, his family would be complete by Christmas.

  Chapter Four

  After the pandemonium over the mouse incident died down and order was once again restored, the rest of play practice went smoothly.

  Ellie would like to think the children’s obedience was due solely to her skills as a teacher, but she knew better. Caleb’s watchful presence from the back of the church was a powerful inducement for good behavior, as was the glint of his nickel-plated badge.

  Despite her best efforts to ignore him, Ellie’s gaze continually wandered to where Caleb stood with his shoulder propped against the back wall. Each time she glanced in his direction, her breath caught in her throat. He looked so handsome, so impressive bathed in the afternoon sunlight that streamed in from the long skinny window on his left.

  Each time their eyes met, the muscles in her stomach tightened and Ellie had to force herself to remain calm, to act normal, nonchalant.

  A nearly impossible feat.

  She was far too aware of Caleb in every fiber of her being, aware of his strength, of his reliable masculinity. It would be all too easy to imagine him as her husband, all too easy to dream of evenings sitting by a toasty fire with their children, the twins plus at least three more. And—

  Stop right there, warned her better judgment.

  She could not—would not—allow herself to view Caleb in any role other than friend, not even in the privacy of her own mind.

  She forced her gaze back to the children in her group and caught two of them poking at one another. Shoving would soon follow. Were they the only ones growing antsy? Ellie took a fast assessment of the entire room and immediately noted the telltale signs of boredom in shifting feet, wandering gazes and general inattentiveness.

  With the idea of preempting the inevitable, she called an end to rehearsal. “We’ll pick up where we left off next Monday afternoon, same place, same time.”

  A mass rush to gather coats and gloves accompanied this announcement. Goodbyes were tossed between the children. Feet pounded toward the exit. Soon, the only people left in the church besides Ellie were Kate, Brody, Caleb and his daughters.

  After a none-too-subtle nudge from Caleb, Brody apologized once again to Ellie and Kate. “I’m sorry for bringing a dead mouse into the church.”

  Although Ellie had already forgiven the boy, she did so again.

  Kate wasn’t so quick to excuse Brody’s behavior. “Your shenanigans certainly got my blood pumping, and I don’t mean that in a good way.”

  Brody sheepishly repeated his apology, then added, “I didn’t mean to scare you, Miss Kate.”

  “Apology accepted. However,” she said, ruffling the boy’s hair with a little more force than necessary, “you will leave all rodents and other critters outside where they belong. Are we clear on this?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The incident now settled between them, the boy gallantly offered to walk Kate back to her shop and she graciously accepted.

  Then there were four.

  Hannah and Grace crowded around Ellie, asking if she needed someone to walk her home, too, and maybe they could do it, with their father’s assistance, of course.

  Ellie’s first response was a rush of longing, the kind of achy wistfulness she didn’t dare allow to take hold.

  She was already dangerously enamored with Caleb’s daughters. More time spent in their company would only make it harder to watch another woman eventually become their mother.

  “While I certainly appreciate the offer, there’s no need. I live right next door.”

  “Nevertheless,” Caleb interjected before his daughters could respond. “The girls and I would very much like to escort you home.”

  Something about the set of his shoulders, the look in his eyes—a sort of decisiveness she didn’t know quite how to interpret—made Ellie’s blood vibrate with nerves. “But my ho
use is out of your way.”

  “Not that far.”

  He was right, of course. Caleb and his daughters lived on the other side of the street, barely a half block to the north. Ellie could see his front door from her father’s porch. She really had no reason to resist the kind offer.

  Yet, resist she did.

  Her inner conflict was so intense, so tangled with tempered hope, that heat surged into her face.

  “It’s settled,” Caleb declared, taking advantage of her silence. “While you gather your belongings I’ll help the girls into their coats.”

  Ellie capitulated. Arguing any further would only make her appear ungrateful. Besides, a few extra moments with Caleb, and his daughters, would be a treat worth savoring for many days to come.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll only be a moment.”

  *

  Over the next two days, Ellie made a concentrated effort to avoid the entire Voss family. She managed to do so easily enough, primarily by sticking close to home. But her self-imposed isolation came to an end Sunday morning. Church beckoned, as did the promised dinner with Caleb and his daughters, a meal Ellie was looking forward to more than was probably wise.

  The day dawned clear and cold. The sky was a brilliant blue that looked brittle enough to crack. Tucking her hands inside her muffler to keep them warm, Ellie stepped onto her father’s porch, smiled up at the heavens, then made the short trek next door to the church.

  She’d dreamed of Caleb again last night, the same dream she’d had the night before and the night before that. They’d been sitting together in front of a roaring fire, the scene playing out exactly as she’d imagined at play practice. While she read to their children, Caleb stoked the fire. The twins were there with them, plus a babe in a cradle, and…

  It had only been a dream, she reminded herself, triggered no doubt by a long-ago affection for a boy who had grown into an attractive man. A man so averse to falling in love he was prepared to take wedding vows with a stranger.

  Ellie would be smart to keep her distance, especially emotionally. She would see the Voss family today, and then go back to avoiding them.