by Etta Foster
Her eyes turned back to Richard in hurt surprise. But before she could ask him what was wrong, he turned away from her, flipping onto his side.
Soon his back faced her, and Louise was left speechless. Even if he had had a rough morning, she couldn’t imagine someone being so rude.
It reminded her of her father when he was in his nasty moods. She swallowed hard and rubbed her hands.
“But…” She racked her brain to think up the excuses she had thought of on her way to his room.
Richard didn’t give her a chance. “Just leave me alone.”
Though Louise hadn’t been the most obedient daughter for her parents, she knew a stern order when she heard one. Heat climbed to her cheeks as she hastened over to the door to go.
Embarrassment climbed up her spine, making her shudder.
What had she been thinking? Louise felt the shame spread as she hurried away from the room.
They hardly knew each other. Confusion filled her head, distracting her from looking where she was going until she ran into a wall.
“Whoa, Louise.”
It wasn’t a wall. It was Jacob. The man put his heavy hands on her shoulders with a concerned expression as he looked down at her.
Putting a hand to her forehead where she had struck his chin, Louise only felt more humiliated.
She wondered why she could never seem to do anything right. Not only could she not be the daughter her father wanted, but she couldn’t help Richard, and now she was in Jacob’s way.
“I- I’m sorry,” she felt the heat spread across her cheeks as she looked away. “I shouldn’t have been walking so quickly. I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking.”
He gave her what she supposed was meant to be a comforting squeeze. But she was too distracted to mind. “It looks like you could use a walk. That always helps me clear my mind.”
Louise stepped out of his grasp with a quick shake of her head. “Thank you, but I should return to the kitchen.”
“Mrs. Pennyworth has everything under control,” Jacob assured her. “Just a short walk. The fresh air will help you think right. Come now, I won’t take no for an answer.”
She didn’t know what else to do.
After a moment, Louise supposed that a short walk might be just the thing to help her out. And perhaps she could speak to Jacob about his brother.
So she gave the young man a nod and followed him out of the house.
Chapter 15
Paralyzed.
He hadn’t heard a lot about that word before. It was a whisper that people spoke of, an idea that never came to fruition.
Jacob could hardly believe it. His stomach had protested the idea, roiling around so much that there was a bitter taste on his tongue for a day and a night after the news.
It left him unbalanced, leaning against the walls to stay on his feet.
The following day brought him some peace of mind. He had a hard time sleeping at first, but then Jacob rested like a babe exhausted from their new world of existence. When he arose, he almost laughed.
Richard was paralyzed.
After a lifetime of living in the shadow of the golden boy, Jacob couldn’t help but be stunned. For everything that this meant for them, he could hardly imagine.
It took all of his strength not to tell the town what had happened when he rode in to purchase more feathers. He just wanted to tell someone what it meant for him.
He could almost sing.
The situation became much more real when he helped the doctor offload the wheelchair. Jacob had never heard of such a contraption until the man had explained it to him.
They had discussed measurements, options, their best choices. Eventually Jacob had given the doctor one of the kitchen chairs that Richard sat in.
And now the chair had returned with cushions tied to it, a footplate, and four wheels. Two large ones and two small ones. It was a clever contraption. He could readily admit that.
But no matter how clever a chair was designed, it couldn’t hide the truth. His brother had become a cripple.
When he had muttered in his brother’s ear about his expected trouble, Jacob hadn’t expected anything so severe as a lifetime sentence in a chair.
He could hardly believe his luck. The future suddenly felt unlimited and free. All he had assumed was a broken leg and some ribs.
Something that would heal within a short period of time. Just enough that would deter a pretty young girl like Louise from him. And just enough that Richard would have to realize how much better Jacob was at running their family ranch.
He would be. He would have to be. Richard would be trapped in his chair.
They weren’t even sure if the man would ever be able to ride a horse again. That meant there was nothing he could do from outside of the house.
Picturing his brother trying to wheel around in the dirt and snow made him laugh.
With a shake of his head, Jacob told himself to sober up as he finished dressing. He couldn’t hate his brother that much. He was just glad that the young man had finally been put in his place.
It was about time. He had waited long enough.
Now, anything was possible.
Jacob headed outside and handled the morning chores. The work didn’t feel as difficult as it used to.
He found himself whistling as the sun made its way up. After the chores he headed back to the house in hopes of finding food on the table.
Perhaps that would give him an opportunity to talk to the pretty lady.
“Jacob.”
Pulling off his hat, he looked up to see a lady. But it wasn’t the one he was looking for.
Jacob quirked his eyebrow up at Luanne. “Good morning, ma’am.” He didn’t want to get familiar with her. “Is there something you need?”
He realized he should probably check on his brother. Make sure he was going to eat something. Jacob couldn’t very well leave his brother to rot.
He would change, check on Richard, and then eat food. It sounded like a solid plan and one that didn’t include Luanne.
“It’s lonely in here,” Luanne stuck out her bottom lip. “You’re always out there in the cold, it seems. I could really use some company.
“Why don’t we see about spending some time together? We don’t need the kids or the old mother hen around.”
Jacob narrowed his gaze at her as he tried to understand what she was saying. But her fingers were distracting as they kept playing with her hair.
Luanne leaned against the wall, watching him take his jacket off.
He supposed Mrs. Pennyworth was something of a mother hen. That made sense.
But it didn’t make sense for him to spend time with her. She wasn’t the one he had decided he wanted.
“No, thank you. I have other duties to attend to,” Jacob added as way of an explanation and then passed her in the hall.
He thought he could hear her mutter something under her breath, but he decided not to bother with her.
Jacob stopped to put his scarf on his bed before passing Mrs. Pennyworth in the kitchen and moving on to check in on Richard.
His brother didn’t sound thrilled at the prospect of getting up, but he was easily convinced to try out his chair.
It would be the perfect opportunity for Louise to understand what it would mean to continue such a ridiculous courtship.
Whistling again, Jacob changed his shirt and wondered if Louise was up for the day. He could picture her sparkling eyes and it made him smile.
She was a pretty girl. Now, she would have no choice but to see him as the better option.
He headed over to the kitchen, but she wasn’t there.
When Jacob heard his brother’s familiar squeaking door open, he stepped back into the hall to find Louise stumbling out of Richard’s room.
His heart skipped a beat as he took a step forward. He wasn’t even disappointed that he had found her with his brother. After all, he was hardly any competition anymore.
She was pretty, even
as he could tell she was clearly upset.
Her eyes glistened as though she were close to tears. And when she bumped into him, it was clear something was wrong.
As Jacob led her out of the house, proud of himself for getting her alone, he realized Richard must have been the reason she was upset.
His brother had done something to hurt her feelings. Jacob frowned and wished he had told her sooner not to bother with him. Just because he was the golden boy didn’t mean he was perfect.
Clearly, Louise deserved better than Richard. And she needed someone who could be there for her, who would treat her better. Like he could.
They started down the path around the house.
It was hard to take his eyes off her. She had the prettiest oval face. There was something about her that he simply couldn’t ignore.
“I do hope Richard will be all right,” Louise murmured.
Jacob swallowed the annoyance down as he stepped closer to match her step. “He will be,” he assured her. “He might not be the same as he was before, but he’s alive.
“And that’s the important thing. It’s only a shame that he can no longer do, well, anything.”
“Anything?” Louise glanced up sharply.
He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his jacket. “The doc didn’t want to promise anything. It’s hard to say. But Richard is going to have a hard time of everything moving forward.
“He’ll have to change his way of life, everything. Of course, I’ll do everything I can to help him. But he has to figure out a lot of it on his own.”
Jacob didn’t know where he was going with his talk. One moment, he was almost making his brother sound good.
But he didn’t want to put Richard down too much so he himself sounded bad. It was a complicated situation he had put himself in.
Yet he was ready for the challenge.
“Oh dear,” Louise murmured with a shake of her head. “I can’t possibly imagine what it’s like. Do you know if he is in any pain? Surely he is feeling well.”
He bit his tongue and shrugged. “Well enough. But he isn’t up for much company.”
The more he could separate them, he knew, the better. Jacob watched Louise nod softly before pinning a strand of hair behind her ear.
His thoughts wandered back to all the occasions where he had joked with Richard about the mysterious letters he insisted on writing and receiving.
Now he wished he had stolen one to read.
He was curious what she had seen in Richard and what she had told him about herself.
The few girls in town had pined through their youth over Richard. What made Louise so different that he had picked her?
His thoughts were beginning to wander off track. Jacob wasn’t certain how much he cared. Only that he wanted her. As they made their way around the large house, he knew he could have her.
It was obvious.
Richard would no longer be one of her suitors now that he was a cripple trapped in a chair. Since Louise had only just arrived, it would give him all the time he needed to convince her that he was the right choice - not his brother.
After all, Richard had had everything handed over to him for much too long. Now it was Jacob’s turn to have everything.
He nodded along as Louise spoke. She was saying something about her sister being there and how helpful Mrs. Pennyworth had been for their arrival.
It went something along the lines of hoping she wasn’t a burden. Or something like that.
She had a pretty voice with a pretty accent. That was what Jacob noticed the most.
They slowly made their way back to the front door. On the steps, Louise turned around and gave him a smile. His heart quickened, feeling it was just for him.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You were right. The fresh air was helpful. My mind is clear again and I’m ready to return indoors. And you?”
As she stood on the next step up, they were nearly eye level. The air was crisp, and he could feel his blood rushing in his veins. Jacob could hardly believe his good fortune.
Everything was going his way.
For the first time in his life, he was the golden boy. He just knew it. And it was time to enjoy it.
His eyes dropped down to Louise’s pretty pink lips. They looked to have grown plumper since they had stepped outside.
The moment felt right, and the urge struck him to kiss her.
She would be his. That was clear now.
Jacob gave her a grin and leaned forward. It had been too long since he kissed a pretty girl, and he knew it would make her feel better. She had to feel the sensational moment between them. He bent over to reach her lips.
But the lingering kiss he imagined never happened.
Instead, a heavy thud struck his cheek so suddenly that he saw stars dancing around him.
Jacob covered his injured cheek with his hand, nearly falling off the stairs. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief as he realized what had just happened.
Louise had just slapped him.
“What are you doing?” She wore a shocked expression in return. She took a step away from him. “Jacob, that is entirely inappropriate and - and much too forward. Why would you assume I would do such a thing?”
He gaped at her, wondering where the fire between them had run off to.
She had to be crazy to have not noticed it earlier. It wasn’t like he could have imagined it. He tried to say something in his defense, but his voice faltered as she stared at him sternly.
“That is entirely unacceptable,” Louise announced.
Now appearing more upset than she had the night before, the young woman whipped around and stomped up the stairs.
She left Jacob standing there, stunned, wondering where they had gone wrong.
Chapter 16
Her lips burned as she ran back into the house.
Louise’s heart jumped as she fumbled for the door. But she wouldn’t turn back. She couldn’t. Her hand twitched, itching after the sharp slap she had given Jacob.
She hadn’t meant to. Not really. She had never injured anyone like that before, whether on purpose or by accident. One had to respect other people.
But he had overstepped his bounds.
Now Louise wanted nothing more than to get away from him. A loud sigh of relief escaped her as she stumbled inside where she was bound to be safe. Not that she was in danger.
At least, she hoped she wasn’t.
Closing the door behind her, Louise closed her eyes to relax. It had only been a kiss. Her first kiss, stolen by a man she did not love and did not like.
She wrinkled her nose. She tried hard not to have negative feelings toward others.
It never sat right on her shoulders and the Bible said that it was important for people to forgive. Most folks didn’t do rude things on purpose.
Her lips still tingled, and she considered making an exception. Louise couldn’t bring herself to regret the slap nor the scolding. Jacob had taken something from her, and taken it without permission or invitation.
She had no idea what he must have been thinking to suppose she might favor him in such a manner after traveling so far to meet his brother.
It was Richard she had come for. Not Jacob.
Only then did she realize she could hear Richard somewhere close.
Louise jerked her head up, still dazed. She blinked before focusing on the hall around her. Richard was nearby as he talked. No, she realized a moment later, he was much too loud to be talking.
The man’s voice was raised. It wasn’t quite a shout, but possibly on the verge of one.
Her shaking hands slipped over the folds of her dress in a quick effort to smooth out any wrinkles. She had hoped it would help her calm down.
Tugging off the shawl, Louise redirected her attention from Jacob outside to Richard inside. As she took a step, however, she realized who he was talking to.
Luanne.
“You’re just being a child,” her sister called out in her infamou
s snide voice. “If you want it, come and get it.”
Alarm ran through Louise’s body.
Jerking away from the door, she picked up her skirts and hurried down the hall. She looked in the dining room, but they weren’t there. Nor was there anyone in the kitchen.