Courting Will (Escape To The West Book 8)
Page 19
Then there was that last day, when he looked up into her face, smiled, and whispered how much he loved her and Nicky. When he closed his eyes and didn’t open them again. When, after weeks of struggling and failing to fight off the pneumonia that held him in its cruel grip, he slipped away to be with the Lord.
Her heart had felt like it was drowning that day, and every day afterwards, until Will reached in and pulled her to the surface, back into the air and light.
And he hadn’t even known it.
He’d simply been there, fixing her porch and bringing her food and eating her cooking and reading Nicky bedtime stories and making her laugh. And slowly, the grief and loneliness faded and her happiness returned, all because of Will. He’d healed her drowning heart.
And he hadn’t even known it.
Now here she stood, in the same spot as when she married Gareth, this time with Will at her side. And she was wildly in love, in a way she hadn’t thought she would ever be again.
Yes, it had taken a fair amount of work on her part, not to mention getting kidnapped, but the best things in life were worth fighting for. And since the day Will proposed, he’d done a good job of courting her. He was going to be a wonderful husband and father, just like she always knew he would be.
And finally, he knew it too.
As Pastor Jones talked about how Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, called men to love their wives, she glanced up at Will where he stood beside her, looking more handsome in the suit Adam had lent him than any man had a right to be.
As if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked down at her, a smile tugging at his lips, and her heart did a little flutter. That smile was going to serve him well in their marriage.
“So in light of all that, Will, do you take Daisy to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
Will snapped his eyes back to Pastor Jones. “Uh, yes. I mean, I do.”
Daisy hid her smile.
“And do you, Daisy, take Will to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Maybe it was wrong of her, but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease her about-to-be husband, just a little bit.
Biting her lip, she affected a look of uncertainty.
Will stared at her, his eyes widening.
And then she said, “I do,” and gave him a wink.
Shaking his head, he smiled.
“Will, would you repeat after me…”
He turned to face her. “I, William Michael Raine, take you, Daisy Ruth Monroe, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; and I promise to be faithful to you until death parts us.”
He said his vows with such conviction that she had to blink back unexpected tears as she repeated her own. He may have taken a while to convince, but it was obvious he had no doubts now.
And finally Pastor Jones said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Will, you may kiss your bride.”
She smiled up at him, raising her hand to his cheek. He tilted his head towards her. She raised her face. Their noses brushed.
Abruptly, he pulled back and looked down.
Daisy lowered her gaze to Nicky standing beside them, tugging at Will’s sleeve.
She looked at the empty space beside her mother on the front pew where she’d left her son at the start of the service.
Her mother smiled apologetically and mouthed, “Sorry.”
“Yeah, kid?” Will said to Nicky.
Nicky’s big blue eyes stared up at him. “Can I call you Pa now?”
Daisy’s breath caught in her throat. She’d had no idea he was even thinking about that.
Appearing as shocked as she was, Will raised his eyes to hers in a silent question. As if she would have any objection to her little boy accepting the man she loved as his father.
Tears pricking her eyes again, she smiled and nodded, and Will leaned down to pick Nicky up with his good arm.
“Nicky, I would be very happy and honored for you to call me Pa.”
Nicky nodded and, yawning, rested his head on Will’s shoulder.
It was all Daisy could do to not burst into tears as Will, his eyes shining, leaned forward a little to kiss her around her son. Their son.
The congregation erupted into applause and she wiped at a tear sliding down her cheek.
God had blessed her three times in one lifetime with wonderful men to love,
but somehow she knew that Will would be the one who stayed with her for the rest of her life.
Chapter 28
Ten months later.
“You ready?”
Will flexed his knees, raised his hands, and made his best attempt to stare his brother down. “Always.”
Daniel made the first move, lowering his shoulder and grabbing Will’s waist in an attempt to force him down onto his back. Will twisted, but their feet tangled and they both went down.
Cries of encouragement erupted from their audience as they grappled with each other across the porch.
“Pin him, Daniel!” That was Sara.
“Get him on his back, Pa!” That was Nicky.
“No, get your arm around his shoulder!” Daisy, of course.
Bess barked, but Will had no idea who she was cheering on.
Dan managed to flip Will onto his back and threw himself across his chest. Sara erupted into cheers.
With a strength born from the intense desire to not be milking Peapod on his own for the next two weeks, Will surged upwards and pushed his brother off.
This time, the cheers were Daisy and Nicky’s.
It had taken Will and Dan ten months to get around to the wrestling match they’d first talked about while Daisy was courting him, although admittedly, it was a busy ten months.
In addition to the work on the farm, they built a house across the yard from Dan and Sara for Will, Daisy and Nicky. That had taken a little longer than first expected when, near the end of the construction, Daisy became pregnant, and the two-bedroomed home was revised into a three-bedroomed home. Then they built another room onto Dan and Sara’s house for the twins. And then there was winter and neither Will nor Dan wanted to be wrestling in the cold and snow.
But now it was March and getting warmer, and the idea of the wrestling match had surfaced again. Something Will was beginning to regret as he and Daniel rolled across the porch in front of his new home. He may have overestimated his chances of winning.
After what felt like hours but was less than ten minutes, Will was panting, and no nearer to victory. The cheers reduced to the occasional “yay”, and then they ceased altogether.
“Stop a minute,” Dan gasped.
“Right when I’m about to win? I don’t think so.” Will was far from winning, but he wasn’t going to admit that.
“No, they’re gone.”
He looked up from where he had one arm pinned around Daniel’s back. The bench where Daisy, Sara, and Nicky had been sitting was empty.
“Where are they?”
“I think they went inside.”
Will took the opportunity to gasp in some much-needed air. “So what do we do now?”
Dan twisted his head to look at him. “Call it a draw?”
It was probably the best Will was going to get, since clearly he wasn’t going to beat his brother. “I’m man enough to let you have a draw, even though I was about to win.”
Dan released his hold on him and sat up, panting. “You’ve got that the wrong way round.”
Will flopped onto his back and concentrated on breathing. “I guess both of us really, really don’t want to lose.”
Dan rested back on his hands and blew out a breath. “Never underestimate the desire to not milk Pea.”
“You think there’s any way we can persuade Sara and Daisy it would be in their best interests to take over all the milking from now on?”
“And how would we do that? We both married smart women.”
Will considered that. “Tha
t’s true. We may have to wait until the kids are old enough.”
Dan raised one finger. “Pass Pea off onto our children. Now that is a good idea.”
An idea came to Will. “Do you think that’s why Ma and Pa had us mucking out the stalls when we were young?”
“You’re only now figuring that out?”
He sat up. “I feel like I’m only now just beginning to learn all the subtle nuances of parenting, like using your children as a source of free labor.”
“So are you saying you won’t have Nicky milking Pea as soon as his hands are big enough?”
“I’m not saying that.” Will sat up slowly. “Besides, Nicky loves Pea. He wants to milk her. I’m not above taking advantage of that enthusiasm while he still has it.”
The door to Will’s kitchen opened and Daisy stuck her head out. “Are you finished? Who won?”
“Do you care?” Will replied, attempting to look affronted.
“Of course I care. I just prefer to care from inside, where it’s warm. You were taking too long.”
Dan stood and held out one hand to Will. They clasped each other’s wrists and Dan pulled him to his feet.
“We both won,” Will said, holding out his hand to Daisy and drawing her into his arms when she stepped out to meet him.
Daniel went inside, leaving them alone on the porch.
Daisy slid her arms around Will’s neck and smiled. “You mean it’s a draw.”
He raised his voice. “I mean I graciously allowed the match to end so that Dan wouldn’t be embarrassed by losing to his younger, stronger, handsomer brother.”
“I heard that,” Dan called from inside the house.
“You were meant to,” Will called back.
Daisy erupted into giggles, and then suddenly stopped.
His mouth fell open as he looked down at where his body pressed to her expanding stomach.
“Did you feel that?” she whispered.
He nodded mutely, not daring to move, or even speak, in case it happened again. When it didn’t, he lowered to his knees in front of her. “Was that his first kick?”
“It was. I’ve been feeling movement for a while now, but that was his first real kick.”
Will placed his hand onto her belly. He wasn’t sure why, but feeling the movement had suddenly made his baby even more real to him. “Hey, little one,” he said. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m your father, and I love you so much.”
He grinned when he felt movement against his palm.
Daisy touched his hair. “I think he can hear you.”
He pressed a kiss to her stomach then rose to his feet and drew her close. “Do you have any idea how happy I am?”
She slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “I’m pretty sure I do.”
He silently thanked God for how blessed he was, as he did every day. Gratitude had replaced his shame, and he’d discovered it was a far better way to live.
The familiar sound of small running feet interrupted the moment. “Pa, may I have some cake?”
Will raised his head from Daisy’s hair and looked round to see Nicky pushing past Daniel at the door.
He ran across the porch towards them and Daisy slipped from Will’s embrace to face their son. “It’s almost time for supper. You may have cake afterwards.”
“But may I have some now instead? I promise it won’t spoil my supper.”
She leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “You can wait.”
“But Ma!”
“You’ll be glad after supper when you still have cake left to eat,” she said, herding him in the direction of the kitchen door.
“There’s a whole cake. I could have some now and some after supper too.”
There was a possibility Will’s son was beginning to take after him.
“You’ll be too full by then,” Daisy said.
“No, I won’t.”
Dan stepped outside to let Daisy and Nicky past then walked over to Will.
“The baby kicked,” Will said, unable to contain his grin.
“I guess there really is something to be said for becoming a responsible adult.”
“It most definitely has its moments.”
Dan smiled. “A lot has changed in the past couple of years.”
“Yep.” Despite having been married for almost a year, Will still sometimes wondered at how much he’d changed. He’d gone from being convinced that he would never settle down, to blissful happiness as a husband and father.
“Some things will always stay the same, though,” Dan said. “Like you not being able to beat me at wrestling.”
Will threw his hands into the air. “All right, that’s it. We are having a rematch.”
Dan grinned. “Just name the date.”
They walked into the kitchen where Daisy and Sara were preparing supper and Nicky was playing with the twins and Bess on the rug.
A lot had indeed changed.
And Will was loving every moment of it.
Dear Reader
Thank you for reading Courting Will and I hope you’ve enjoyed Will and Daisy’s story! If you have a moment, I would love if you could leave a review on AMAZON, even just a few words. Reviews are very important and really do help other readers find my books. Thank you!
Next in the series will be Aaron Wetherington’s story. If you’ve read An Agent for Clara, my second book in The Pinkerton Matchmaker series, and also The Truth About Love, you’ll know that Aaron is the son of a marquess, and he thinks Jo’s baby could be his. Now he’s traveling to Green Hill Creek to find her. And he’s British, so you can imagine his dialogue in an English accent if you like! Although, being British myself, I hear everyone’s dialogue in an English accent!
The prequel novella The Blacksmith’s Heart is free for newsletter subscribers, and features appearances from a seven-year-old Will and nine-year-old Daisy. To get your free ebook and never miss a new release, sign up here - http://eepurl.com/b-Gj2T. You will receive emails with news and exclusive stuff once a month.
We first met Will in book two of the Escape to the West series, A Hope Unseen, but did you know that wasn’t the first mention of him? The very first time he’s mentioned is way back in book 1, No One’s Bride, on the day the original five mail order brides, Amy, Sara, Lizzy, Louisa, and Jo, have their first lunch together. After church, Sara says she’s going to ask Will to let Daniel know she won’t be home for lunch. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t know who he was when I wrote that! I thought he was just a farmhand. It wasn’t until I started writing A Hope Unseen that I found out he was Daniel’s brother. Some writers plot out their series in advance, but I am not one of them, which does require some mental gymnastics when I write five books that take place concurrently!
Before you go off searching for it, Nicky’s favorite book, The Adventurous Ladybug, doesn’t exist. I made it up. But I’d quite like to read it now!
If you’d like to contact me about anything, please do get in touch via my FACEBOOK page or WEBSITE or at nerys@nerysleigh.com. I love to hear from readers!
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Books by Nerys Leigh
The Escape to the West series
No One’s Bride
A Hope Unseen
The Wayward Heart
An Unexpected Groom
The Truth About Love
More Than Gold
The Judge’s Daughter
Courting Will
The Pinkerton Matchmaker series
An Agent for Belle
An Agent for Clara
An Agent for Kitty
An Agent for Phoebe
Bible Verses
These are the verses quoted or referred to in Courting Will, this time taken from the New International Version (NIV) translation.
Chapter 8:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jo
hn 1:9
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8a
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11-12
Chapter 20:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23
Chapter 26:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her… each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself. Ephesians 5:25 & 33