He looked down at her, shaking his head, a light smile raising the corners of his mouth.
“What?” she asked, holding his gaze.
“I...love you.”
She smiled, bit her lip, then let out a little giggle.
“And I...love you.”
In that moment, everything felt right with the world and he bent down to claim her lips in another kiss.
It wasn’t long before the room swarmed with an army of Redbournes and ranch hands, but Eli didn’t care who saw them. He was exactly where he wanted to be and with exactly whom he wanted.
Hannah broke their kiss, smiled, then stood up on her toes and placed another light kiss on his lips, before turning to face her brothers. The four of them stood, their mouths gaping open.
Raine was the first one to recover.
“It’s about time, Whittaker,” he said, winking at Hannah.
Ethan chuckled, then clapped him on the good shoulder. “I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“At least you didn’t choose Eustice Hollings,” Cole said.
“He’s young,” Hannah said dismissively. “Ignore him.”
Eli laughed.
“Now,” Raine said, clearing his throat and commanding attention, “does somebody want to tell me exactly what happened here? The sheriff is going to want to know everything.”
“Thank you,” Hannah whispered, so that only Eli could hear.
He slipped his hand over hers and squeezed.
“Now, let’s go see the children.”
The moment Hannah opened the door to the twins’ room, the children jumped up from Jonah’s lap and ran toward them.
Eli scooped up Mirabelle and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
“You saved us, Mr. Whittaker,” she said sweetly, then kissed him on the cheek.
Hannah watched as Eli’s heart melted. He was falling in love with that little girl.
Archie thrust his arms around her waist and squeezed.
“I’m glad you’re not dead,” he said innocently.
She bent down and tapped him on the nose, then wrapping her arm around his shoulders, pulled him close.
“Thanks to you,” she said.
“You were both very brave in there,” she told them.
Mirabelle nodded.
“But I was scared,” she said.
“So was I,” Hannah admitted.
“Me too,” Eli added.
Archie looked up at him with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“How come? You wasn’t in there with him.”
Eli thought about it a moment before he answered.
“Because, he was trying to hurt people I care about. People I love.”
“Do you love us?” Mirabelle asked.
“Yep. No doubt about it,” he answered without hesitation.
His response warmed Hannah’s heart and she slipped her hand back into his.
“Me too,” she said, leaning her head onto his shoulder.
“Me too,” Mirabelle echoed with a giggle.
Archie looked from their hands up into Eli’s face.
“Does this mean I was right?” Archie asked, nodding his head with exaggerated motions.
“Right about what?” Hannah asked.
“Well,” Archie said, running his finger across his chin, “you see, that’s our little secret, right, Mr. Whittaker?”
Eli laughed uncomfortably and Hannah raised a brow.
“I want in on your little secret,” Jonah said as he stood up from her Grandma Redbourne’s old rocker and joined them. “And I will expect a full report tonight, Mr. Whittaker.” He looked at Eli with a single raised brow and nodded. He then pulled Hannah into a firm hug. “I’m also very glad you’re not dead,” he said, then placed a kiss on her temple. “All right, well, I’m going to go see if they need any help.” He hugged Eli, then made for the door.
“Wait,” Mirabelle called.
Jonah stopped and turned around.
Eli put her down on the ground and she ran to Jonah, wrapping her arms around his leg.
“Thank you for taking care of us, Uncle Jonah,” she said.
Color flooded Jonah’s cheeks and he bent down to pick her up.
“It was my pleasure, little one,” he said with a squeeze, then put her back down. He opened his arms and Archie ran to him.
“Don’t you forget to tell Aunt Hannah here to bring you for a visit sometime,” he said with a smile.
“I won’t forget.”
“All right, I’ll see you in the morning.” He opened the door and strode out toward Will’s room where most everyone else had congregated.
“By the way, Archie,” Eli said in a whisper loud enough Hannah could hear. “You were right.”
“I knew it,” he said with a grin that reached from ear to ear.
Hannah shook her head in amazement.
Not that they wouldn’t suffer any repercussions from today’s events, but these children were resilient, special, and she hoped that a few years down the road they’d look back on today for the good things that had happened and not the bad—though there was still one thing that bothered her.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Archie asked.
“Of course,” Hannah said.
Eli nodded. “You can tell us anything.”
“I was scared too.”
“It takes a big man to admit when he’s scared,” Eli said.
“Does that mean I’m as big as you?”
Eli handed Mirabelle to Hannah and picked Archie up, lifting him high enough that they could see eye to eye. “It looks like you just might be.”
They all laughed.
After a moment, Archie’s expression became serious.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him sooner.”
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
The boy avoided looking at her.
“Archie,” Hannah said, “did you know that man? Was he the bad man who tried to take you from the orphanage?”
“Yes,” he said nonchalantly, kicking at nothing in particular on the ground. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Who was he?”
He looked up at Hannah, a tear brimming in his eye.
“Our pa.”
Chapter 22
Once the children had finally fallen to sleep last night, Hannah had dragged herself to bed, believing that, for once, she would be able to sleep in a bit. But, alas, when the sun had arisen in the sky, shooting small, airy beams of light into her room, Hannah had awoken, still smiling with the memory of their kiss.
She now sat at the kitchen table, helping Lottie slice the potatoes that would go into this afternoon’s supper of a Redbourne favorite, Tortilla de Patata. The Spanish meal consisted of potatoes, eggs, peppers, onions, and several other spices along with loaves of fresh-baked breads and savory oils to dip them in.
The children had already been up for an hour and Grace had them over at her place to play again with Lukie, so the morning was hers to do with as she pleased.
She glanced out the window where she saw Eli stacking wood as Ethan worked to finish cutting a large tree trunk into manageable chunks that they could store for the winter. She smiled, raising a finger to her lips as she remembered the feel of his lips on hers.
“Lottie, have you ever been in love?” she asked.
“Ay, sí, carina,” the cook responded positively. “But it was a long time ago.”
Hannah could not remember a time at Redbourne Ranch when Lottie had not been a part of their family.
“You seem happy, Miss Hannah.”
“I am.”
The door opened. Eli and Ethan walked in. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Eli walked up to her, bent down, and kissed her smack on the mouth.
“Good morning,” he said with a smile.
“Good morning.”
“Lottie, do you think it would be possible to put on an extra pot of stew
tonight?” Ethan asked, taking off his gloves and snatching one of the cook’s muffins from the tray in front of her.
“Is it for the Millers again?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, leaning down onto the counter.
“Then, I shall also make an extra loaf of bread.”
Ethan smiled. “Thank you,” he said between bites, and kissing the woman on the cheek. “You are an angel.”
Lottie was more like a beloved aunt than a cook to all the Redbourne children. They loved her and she loved them.
“Hannah,” Eli said, picking up a knife from the counter and joining them at the table. He reached out and took a potato from the bowl and began to peel. “I find myself faced with a decision and would value your opinion on the matter.”
The door opened again, and her father stepped inside. While Cadman’s bullet had shot clean through the man’s side and had missed anything important, Rafe had warned him about overdoing it. But her father was a stubborn man, as were all her brothers. And Eli. Maybe it was just men in general.
From the look on his face and the fresh, red stain on his shirt, Hannah guessed he had not taken that counsel to heart.
Eli stood up and pulled out a chair for her father to sit.
“Can I get you anything, sir?” he asked.
“Those muffins sure smell good.”
Lottie placed muffins on two small plates and handed them to Hannah’s mother as she entered the kitchen as if on cue, along with a steaming mug of her father’s favorite cocoa.
“Hello, dears,” Mama said to everyone as she placed one muffin and the cocoa in front of her husband and the other plate in front of the chair next to him. Her hand lingered a moment in his before she moved aside and pulled out a chair to sit next to him.
Hannah had grown accustomed to the playful and loving relationship between her parents and realized that the only reason her mother had not sat across her father’s lap for a morning kiss wasn’t because they had company—since that had never stopped them before—but because she was afraid of hurting him.
“You should have Rafe look at that before he leaves tomorrow,” she said as she bit into a muffin of her own. “So, Eli, I understand that you are supposed to be leaving us at the end of the week to head back home with Jonah.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Wait,” Hannah said, looking over at him, searching his eyes for something she didn’t understand, “you’re still leaving? Now?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Deep breaths, Hannah, just breathe.
Knock. Knock.
“Excuse me a moment,” she said with a feigned smile, grateful for an excuse to get away from the table for a moment.
She’d only just found Eli again and the thought of losing him was more than she could bear, but the thought of moving hundreds of miles away from her family wasn’t exactly an alternative she would have chosen either.
Hannah opened the door to a tall, lanky, and very fair-skinned gentleman in a very stylish pin-striped suit and a bowler hat.
“Good morning, miss,” he said with a slight bow. “I am looking for a Miss Hannah Redbourne. Might you be she?”
“I would be she. I think.” She shook her head. “I am Hannah Redbourne,” she said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”
“Very good, miss. My master would like to request an audience with you this afternoon, if that would be acceptable.”
“I’m sorry, who did you say you are again?”
“Forgive me, miss. My name is Reginald Lewis Bremerton III, but you may call me—”
“Lew, is that you?”
Hannah took a step back from the door to allow her friend to see the odd man who’d come for a visit.
“Maeve de Clare? I would have thought this most unexpected encounter quite impossible. Might I say that while I am certainly most pleased to see you, my dear, I must admit, I am, frankly, quite astonished at the coincidence.”
“It’s Stillwell now,” she corrected him. “Remember?”
“Of course. My apologies.”
“Mr. Bremerton, would you like to come in?” Hannah asked.
“I’m afraid not at this time. However, Mr. de Clare would like to come by this afternoon to discuss a matter of the utmost importance.”
“Wait, my father wants to come here?”
“That is correct, mistress.”
Maeve’s face nearly drained of color.
“Whatever for?”
“There is a matter of two orphaned children, he believes to be under your care at this time.”
“Yes,” Hannah replied, “Archie and Mirabelle. Mr. de Clare’s grandchildren.”
“Do you really think that I am going to allow Malena’s children to grow up in my father’s care?”
“Good heaven’s no, mistress. Your father simply wants to make sure the children receive the best care and education money has to offer. He would like to provide compensation for those charged with their care.”
“Since when has my father cared about anyone, but himself?”
“Maeve,” Lew addressed her directly, “he is a changed man. After your sister passed, the children disappeared, and he was led to believe they were dead. He turned to God for strength and answers, for healing. Then, one day a couple of months ago, he received an anonymous letter that contained a photograph of a young boy and girl with a striking resemblance to Master Archibald and Miss Mirabelle.” Lew handed Hannah the picture.
It was the children.
“The last contact we received from the woman came from the post office in Stone Creek. It was the first time she’d sent a telegram instead of a letter and it was also the first time she told us her name. A Miss Rhea Hampton. She told us the children were in danger, and begged for our assistance. Mr. de Clare made sure we came post haste.”
“Mr. Bremerton...”
The man looked at Hannah with raised brows.
“Lew,” she corrected, “we would be delighted to entertain Mr. de Clare this afternoon. Would one o’clock be acceptable?”
“Indeed, miss,” he said with a tip of his hat. “We will return promptly at one.” He looked at Maeve. “And might I say, mistress, that you are looking very well. I am sure your father will be most pleased to see you, as am I.”
Maeve snorted most unladylike. “My father has never been happy to see me unless I was doing his bidding, Lew, but it is good to see you.”
The gentleman nodded.
“Good morning to you,” he said as he turned back to the beautiful, but crisp autumn morning.
Hannah watched as the man skillfully avoided the remnant puddles from last night’s storm on his way back to his horse and buggy, and closed the door.
Maeve sat on the settee and Hannah moved to join her.
“Remember when you told me that you know God has a plan for you, but you don’t know what it is yet?”
“Of course.” She nodded.
Hannah placed a hand over Maeve’s. “What if a part of that plan is having these children come into your lives?”
Her friend shook her head, a tear escaping down her cheek.
“Brant and I spoke last night about them.” She laughed. “Mirabelle reminds me so much of Malena. And Archie actually reminds me of Brant. Is that odd?”
“No. Rafe always talks about how there are no coincidences.”
“I know, there are just too many here to ignore. Do you believe in fate, Hannah?”
“I believe we are the architects of our own fate, but sometimes we are given choices between two good things, and we must decide which would be those that would result in the most good. The things that will make us happy.”
Even as she spoke, she knew that if she had to make the choice between moving away from her family to live in the beautiful Oregon country or losing Eli again, she would pack her bags today.
“I’ve got to go.” She stood up, then sat back down a moment. “Maeve, I believe those children are here, r
ight now, because they belong in your family. With you and Brant. They need parents who will love them first and foremost. They need parents who will teach them to enjoy all life has to offer and to be kind to those around them. And they need parents who will train them to become useful, moral, and productive members of society. But, my friend, you have to find out what it is that you believe.” Hannah wrapped her arms around her in a brief hug. “It is your decision to make.”
By the time she returned to the kitchen to talk to Eli, he was gone, as was Ethan and her father.
“Mama, do you know where Eli went?”
Her mother took a sip of her cocoa and patted the chair next to her. “You went through quite an ordeal yesterday. How are you feeling?”
A rush of emotion flooded her mind and she leaned over, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder.
“I’m in love with Eli Whittaker, Mama.”
“There is not a soul in this house who hasn’t already figured that one out.”
She laughed.
“There was a moment yesterday when I truly believed that Cadman Lowell was going to kill me. But it was in that moment that I had a sudden burst of clarity.” She sat up and looked at her mother. “It was like I had a new appreciation for life, and for the people in it. How did you do it, Mama?”
“Do what, honey?”
“How did you move over a thousand miles away from Thistleberry, Montana and everyone at Whisper Ridge to come to Stone Creek, Kansas?”
“That’s easy,” she said. “I loved your father and didn’t want to miss out on the greatest adventure of my life because I was afraid to make a sacrifice that counted.”
“So, you think I should move with Eli back to Oregon?”
“Is he asking?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He said he loves me.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll do whatever is right for you when the time is right. But don’t go packing your bags just yet. That Eli is a smart fella. He may just surprise you.”
“Thanks, Mama.” Hannah stood up out of her chair and leaned down to hug her mother. “I needed that.”
“Love you, honey.”
“Love you too.”
Chapter 23
The Lumberjack Page 22