New Beginnings Spring 20 Book Box Set

by Hope Sinclair

  No sooner than Louise said that, another man stepped out from beside the house. He stared intently at Emma. “I thought you didn’t take rides from strangers,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

  “You!” Emma replied, feeling flush. Her heart was pumping hard in her chest “What are you doing here?”

  Louise and Frank looked back and forth between Emma and the man perplexedly.

  “I work here,” the man replied, turning his nose up in the air. “I’m Frank’s foreman”

  Oh, great! Emma bemoaned in her head. Just my luck!

  “What’s going on here, Ian?” Frank asked. “Do you two know each other or something?”

  “I saw her and that little tumbleweed of hers walking from the train station to town earlier,” Ian answered, glaring at Emma. “I offered them a ride in my wagon, but she declined. She said she didn’t take rides from strangers, which apparently ain’t the case… unless she and Kenneth Foster have some type of history together that we don’t know about.”

  “Tumbleweed?” Louise asked, arching her brow.

  “That’s what he called Charlie,” Emma clarified, “right after he called me beautiful.”

  “I won’t make that mistake twice,” Ian sneered under his breath.

  “Surely, I wasn’t going to get on his wagon after how forward he was,” Emma went on, ignoring his snide remark.

  “Oh, Ian,” Frank chuckled. “I always told you your flirting would get you in trouble someday.”

  Ian rolled his eyes. “Looks like it actually saved me some trouble,” he said with a cough of caustic laughter.

  “Enough bickering,” Louise said in a cool, calm voice. “This is a happy time. Let’s not spoil it with such remarks.”

  “Sorry,” Ian responded almost immediately. He bowed his head in embarrassment and shame, and Emma took her turn to put her nose up in the air.

  “Come on,” Frank added, slapping him on the back. “We’ve got work to finish ‘round back. Go and start counting the cows, and I’ll join you after I take Emma’s luggage in.”

  Ian nodded at his boss, then went around to the back of the house. Frank picked up Emma’s suitcases and followed the women into the house.

  No sooner than they were inside, Louise pulled her sister aside. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Kenneth or Ian,” she said quietly. “But where’s Matthew? Has something happened that he couldn’t come along?”

  Emma felt her heart flutter in her chest in the most peculiar way. In that moment, she realized that despite how crestfallen she’d been for so many days and weeks, she hadn’t thought of Matthew once since running into Ian on the road. But as quickly as she realized this, she just shrugged it off.

  “He left me,” Emma admitted outright. “He secretly ran off with another woman in the middle of the night.”

  “Oh, dear,” Louise responded, moving forward to take her sister into her arms. “I’m so sorry to hear this sad news… though I’m not entirely surprised.”

  “What?” Emma asked defensively, pulling away.

  “Oh, sister, you were so struck by love and so enchanted by his wiles that perhaps you never saw it,” Louise explained. “But Matthew was an awful flirt, and I, myself, saw his eyes wander several times.”

  Emma buried herself in her sister’s arms again. When Frank walked into the room and saw their embrace, he turned around and quietly exited through the back door.

  A few minutes later, after Emma told Louise the whole story, including why she’d come to Moon Crest, Louise invited her to stay with her and Frank as long as she needed. Then the two of them went to the kitchen to catch up some more and finish preparing dinner.

  Once the food was done, Louise handed Emma a stack of plates to set on the table. “Wait, there are four here,” Emma said upon receiving them.

  “Indeed, there are,” Louise replied. “Ian will be eating with us tonight, as he does a few times a week.”

  “Frank’s foreman joins you for supper?” Emma asked with a laugh.

  “He’s not just Frank’s foreman,” Louise smiled. “He’s also his cousin… and best friend.”

  Emma rolled her eyes and, without saying a word, took the plates to the table. But in her mind, she thought, As if my luck wasn’t bad enough already, it just got worse.

  After Louise called for them, Frank and Ian came in, washed up, and sat down for the meal. Louise and Emma carried in the food, sat down, and sat in reverence as Frank said grace. He thanked God for the food He’d given them, as well as for seeing Emma safely to their home.

  As the foursome started eating their food, Ian kept his eyes locked on Emma, and he watched as she tossed down a large, luscious piece of meat for Charlie, who was sitting on the floor by her feet.

  “Where I come from,” Ian said, swallowing the delicious parsnip he’d just chewed, “we don’t allow dogs at the dinner table. We set them outside on the porch and give them scraps.”

  Emma looked up at Ian and narrowed her eyes. “Well, where Louise and I come from, that is not the case,” she retorted. “And mind you, Charlie is no ordinary dog. He’s like a member of our family, and we treat him as such… which means he’s just as welcome at this table as you.”

  Ian chuckled and nearly choked on the bit of meat he’d just put in his mouth. “If you say so,” he replied. He said nothing more because, though he would never have admitted it, he was at a loss for words.

  SEVEN

  Midmorning two days later, Ian Sanders stood by the barn, staring out at the road beyond Frank and Louise’s ranch. A wagon was approaching, and though he couldn’t make out the face of the person behind the reins from where he stood, he knew exactly who it was and why he was coming their way.

  “Looks like your sister-in-law has a suitor,” Ian said.

  “Huh?” Frank asked.

  “Look yonder,” Ian replied. “There’s a wagon approaching.”

  Frank looked out across his land, nodded, and shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t see who it is,” he said.

  “I’d wager today’s salary that it’s Kenneth,” Ian came back. “And I’d wager tomorrow’s that he’s here to see Emma.”

  “You’re probably right,” Frank laughed. He waited for Ian to laugh as well, or to make some sort of cleverly cutting remark—but no such response came. Instead, Ian just stared off into the distance with a despondent look on his face.

  “Glory be,” Frank laughed, even louder than before. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

  “What?” Ian replied immediately, swiftly turning his head. “I’m no such thing!”

  “I think you are, cousin,” Frank said, assuming a more serious tone. “I think you’re sweet on Emma too, and you envy Kenneth for calling on her because you’re too caught up on yourself to do the same thing.”

  “You think I’m sweet on Emma?” Ian asked, arching his eyebrows and forcing out a laugh. “How can I be sweet on someone who’s been so sour to me? Haven’t you seen and heard the way we get along?”

  “Oh, I’ve seen,” Frank said sarcastically, arching his eyebrows as well. “And I haven’t seen you act that way since we were children in the schoolyard.”

  “Ha!” Ian roared. “I know what you’re getting at. But I assure you, Emma and I aren’t ‘teasing’ each other like lovelorn children… In the two days since that woman arrived, she’s done nothing but give me a hard time. She’s outspoken and challenging, and quite frankly, she tugs at my nerves.”

  “At your heart too,” Frank rebuked.

  Ian looked at his cousin and shook his head from side to side. Then he turned to look at the road again, and he felt a pain in his chest that only confirmed what Frank had just said was true. But of course he neither said nor did nothing to let Frank know as much.

  Meanwhile in the house, Louise and Emma were talking in the kitchen, unaware of the caller who approached. Emma had just awoken a short while ago, and she was still trying to get her senses about her.

  “I didn’t sleep
very well last night,” Emma admitted.

  “I hope it wasn’t because thoughts of the terrible man kept you awake,” Louise said, sitting down across from Emma.

  “I wouldn’t call him terrible,” Emma replied nonchalantly. “He just seems a bit too proud and bold.”

  “What?” Louise asked, confused.

  “He’s not terrible,” Emma repeated. “He’s just challenging to deal with, that’s all. I’m sure I’ll get used to him in time.”

  “Are you talking about Ian?” Louise inquired. A small smile crept across her face, and she tried to hide it.

  “Of course,” Emma answered. “Aren’t you?”

  Louise didn’t reply immediately with words, but shook her head. “I was talking about Matthew,” she clarified after a long pause. “I was hoping that you didn’t spend your night awake lamenting how he’d jilted you.”

  “Oh,” Emma responded. Her face felt warm, and she found it difficult to look her sister in the eye.

  “But I guess I don’t have to worry about you sulking over Matthew anymore, now do I?” Louise went on. “It seems you’ve got another man to keep your mind busy.”

  Emma was just about to try and explain herself, when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Louise stood up and went to answer it. When she returned a moment later, she was wearing a smirk. “Make that two men,” she giggled. “Kenneth’s come to see you… He’s waiting in the front room.”

  Emma stood up, smoothed down her clothing and hair, and gently patted her cheeks to give them some color. Then she went out to the living room and greeted her caller, who greeted her with a large grin and even larger bouquet of freshly picked flowers.

  “How lovely,” Emma said as she accepted the gift.

  The two of them sat down and went on to chat for a little over an hour. To be honest, it was Kenneth who did most of the talking, and he mostly talked about himself. But Emma didn’t really mind him controlling the conversation, at least not at the moment. She was too distracted to contribute to the discussion as she normally would have. Kenneth’s visit had caught her off guard; she was still a little groggy from just waking up and hadn’t had any breakfast, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the mix-up she’d had in the kitchen.

  So when Kenneth stood up and said he had to get back to his homestead, Emma felt relieved. For the most part she’d enjoyed his company, but his leaving meant she could get back to the kitchen, get something to eat, and finish up her conversation with Louise.

  Emma saw Kenneth to the door, then immediately went to the kitchen.

  “How did things go?” Louise asked, sipping on a cup of tea.

  Emma shrugged her shoulders and smiled, trying to think of a way to change the subject. And when she glanced down at the floor, she found one—though it led the conversation to Charlie, not Ian.

  “Where’s Charlie?” she asked, gazing down at his unoccupied blanket.

  “He went outside a while ago,” Louise replied.

  “Hmm,” Emma hummed back. “Well, I’m gonna go fetch him. I need to eat a proper breakfast, and I reckon he does too.”

  Emma went outside and called out for Charlie. After she called out a few more times, she heard him bark from somewhere near the barn, and she headed off in that direction.

  When she made it to the barn, Emma found Charlie curled up beside none other than Ian, who was leaned back against the side of the barn, with his hat lowered over his forehead. Emma’s heart was warmed by how adorable Charlie looked beside a big strong man like Ian, and as Ian pushed his hat back and looked up at her, she felt a tickle in her tummy, which she again attributed to hunger.

  “Come on, Charlie,” Emma called out to her dog. “Let’s go inside and have some breakfast.”

  “Breakfast?” Ian laughed. “It’s a little late for breakfast, don’t you think? Plus Tumbleweed here ain’t hungry. He just helped me finish up my lunch.”

  Emma could feel her blood moving through her veins. She was heated. “I thought you didn’t share food with dogs,” Emma retorted.

  “I never said that,” Ian countered. “I just said I wasn’t akin to having dogs at the dinner table. The way I was raised, dinnertime was a special time for people to come together and take a break from their other distractions… But I know dogs have got to eat too, and I have no problem sharing my food with them—so long as it’s in the right place and time. And Tumbleweed just happened to find me at the right place and time today, and the little rascal near ate half of my sandwich.”

  “Stop calling him that,” Emma said, unable to find much else wrong with his statement. “His name’s not Tumbleweed, it’s Charlie—and you know that.”

  “I know that whatever I call him, he likes it,” Ian replied, petting Charlie on the head. Charlie’s tongue and tail were both wagging, and he looked at Ian adoringly.

  Emma stomped her foot on the ground and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Charlie, come, now,” she said in a firm voice. The dog got up immediately and ran over to her with his tail between his legs.

  “See ya later, Tumbleweed,” Ian called out with a laugh.

  “You really are insufferable,” Emma said, rolling her eyes.

  “Think what you will about me,” Ian replied as he stood up and brushed the dirt, crumbs, and dog hair off his pants. “But don’t let your opinions of me blind you to what else, and who else, is around you… I don’t know Kenneth all that well. But from what I do know of him, I don’t trust him—and I’d advise you to be careful around him.”

  Emma couldn’t catch herself before she laughed. “Ha!” she roared. “I’d be better served to take advice from a cow patty than from you.”

  Ian shrugged his shoulders and started off toward the pasture, to resume his work. “Good day, Emma,” he said in parting. Emma watched as he walked away and felt a burning inside of her that she’d never felt before. She was infuriated, yet enraptured at the same time.

  EIGHT

  Over the next several days, as Emma spent more and more time with Kenneth Foster, she saw nothing to justify the warning Ian had given her. Though Kenneth proved to be a bit high on himself, he seemed an otherwise down-to-earth man, and Emma couldn’t find good reason to be any more “careful” around him than she needed to be around any other man.

  If anything, the person who was proving to be a hassle, nuisance, or looming threat of any kind was Ian—for every time Kenneth called on Emma, he snuck around and spied on them.

  When Kenneth and Emma sat on the porch, sipping on tea and chatting, Ian tended to chores along the side of the house, even though his job as foreman demanded his presence out back. When Kenneth brought a picnic lunch for Emma the next day, which they enjoyed in a patch of grass near the end of the Sanders’ ranch, Ian lingered about on the far end of the pasture, tending to the same three cows over and over again.

  When Kenneth and Emma went for a stroll one evening after supper, sure enough Ian decided to take one of Frank’s old mares out to “stretch her legs” at the same time. And when the pair went into town one afternoon on a whim, Ian chose to go into town as well to pick up some specialty feed and other supplies for the ranch.

  It seemed that, no matter where Kenneth and Emma went together, and no matter what they did or when, there was no escaping Ian. On a few different occasions, Emma said something to Ian about his behavior after the fact, but he always found a way to shrug it off to coincidence and avoid being labeled a “stalker,” at least in his own mind.

  “He’s just jealous,” Kenneth told Emma when she raised the subject with him. “You’ve seen the way he carries on. He’s likely upset that you didn’t fall for his tricks, but instead fell for my charm.”

  “You’re probably right,” Emma replied. But her reply was only half-hearted. The truth of the matter was, she hadn’t really “fallen” for Kenneth’s charm. In fact, he wasn’t really all that charming. But he was persistent, and he was a “safe” distraction from the other things Emma felt and thought
, particularly regarding Ian.

  Though Emma wouldn’t admit it, and didn’t want to think about it too much, Ian stirred something in her that she didn’t want stirred. In coming to Moon Crest, she came to mend her broken heart, and she’d never expected to find a man who’d make it race. But that’s exactly what Ian did to her. He made her heart race, and every time she saw him, talked to him, or even thought of him, she tried to convince herself that the “racing” feeling was no good. She’d just been terribly hurt by Matthew—a man who didn’t affect her heart nearly the same way Ian did—and she couldn’t take the risk of being hurt again. Feeling anything for Ian was just setting herself up for disaster.

  Feeling something for Kenneth made more sense. Even though he was full of himself and a little boring at times, he wasn’t a flirt, and he wasn’t challenging or difficult to deal with. But there was one problem, and it was a big one. Feeling something for Kenneth may have made more sense, but Emma simply couldn’t feel anything for him. The only things he appealed to were her eyes, her sensibilities, and her want of security. Nothing about him touched her heart, let alone made it race.

  So that’s why, one afternoon when Kenneth proposed that he and Emma take their “casual friendship” to the next level and officially start a courtship, Emma bowed her head and politely declined.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, “but I can’t. My heart was recently wounded, and it’s not yet ready for love.”

  Kenneth took this as a huge blow to his pride, but he remained steady in his reply. “Perhaps in time, when your heart heals, you’ll reconsider my offer,” he said softly. “And until then, I am more than happy to remain friends.”

  Little did Emma know, but Ian was eavesdropping during this exchange. Given his way of spying on them, she expected he was near, but she had no idea just how near he was. He’d been watching, and listening, from just a few yards away, crouched down behind a bush—and when he heard what Emma said, his heart fluttered in his chest. He felt compassion for her that she’d been hurt, but more so, he felt relieved that she’d turned down Kenneth.