Her Silent Burden_Seeing Ranch series

by Florence Linnington

Rosalie giggled. “I am not sure what that means, but yes. A lot, a lot.”

  “Good.” Noah’s face turned serious. “Because I care for you too.”

  A deep swell of emotion rose in Rosalie’s chest. She wanted to fling herself into Noah’s arms and never leave. Instead, she squeezed his wrist before pulling her hand away.

  Yes, she wanted more from him. Perhaps one day, if things went well, they would have that opportunity.

  In the past, she’d had trouble imagining remarrying, but now she saw it so clearly. Her, Noah, and Jacob. Living in this little cabin. They would go about their lives as they did now, spending each day at the saloon and school. The only difference would be they’d have more time to share.

  And Jacob… how would he take that?

  Rosalie dispelled the thought. Noah had said nothing about marriage, although she hoped he would one day. Until then, she needed to enjoy each day as it came.

  The task would have been made a lot easier if only Jacob would join her in that enjoyment.

  “What are you thinking about?” Noah asked. “You’re being real quiet.”

  Rosalie looked his way, her heart filling with tenderness again at the mere sight of him. “I was thinking about you,” she admitted. “About us. Jacob.”

  He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about us too.”

  Rosalie’s heart skipped a beat. “Dare I ask?”

  “Don’t worry. Only good things.”

  “The same here.”

  “Great.” Noah picked his fork and knife back up, and for the time being, Rosalie was satisfied.

  If there was a future for her and Noah, it would take some work, for, it seemed, Rosalie had found herself in a love triangle--just not the typical kind.

  Chapter 11

  let everything develop

  11. Noah

  Chapter eleven

  “You ever done this before?” Noah asked, casting into the still pool in the river’s bend.

  “Fishing?” Jacob asked. “I’ve been fishing. Just cuz I don’t have a father doesn’t mean I haven’t done things.”

  Noah recoiled. The jab hurt briefly, but he knew Jacob’s game, and he was ready for it.

  “Coulda fooled me,” Noah answered. “Since you’ve been walking around with that mopey look on your face all week.”

  Jacob’s eyebrows rose in surprise and then hurt, and he nearly dropped his fishing pool.

  Noah sighed. “Look, Jacob, I ain’t trying to be rough with you.”

  Predictably, Jacob scowled.

  “I thought we got along well when you first came here,” Noah said. “What changed?”

  Noah knew right and well what had changed, but he wanted to hear it straight from Jacob’s mouth. He wanted the boy to show he was ready for this conversation, because, until he was, Noah wouldn’t be doing much other than pulling teeth.

  “I know you’re only taking me fishing because of my mother,” Jacob said.

  “No, I’m not,” Noah answered, maybe a little too quickly. “And you didn’t answer my question. What changed between the two of us? And don’t shrug. That ain’t no answer.”

  Jacob glanced over at Noah. “Nothing changed, Mr. Hahn. I spend time alone. I like stuff other boys don’t. Is that a crime?”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Books. Collecting things.”

  “How do you know I don’t like the same?”

  Jacob chuckled. “I’ve never seen you read a book.”

  “That’s because you’re not with me every minute of the day, now are you?”

  “I guess not,” Jacob mumbled. His line started to tug, and Noah nodded at it.

  “You’ve got a bite.”

  Gasping in surprise, Jacob pulled the catch in.

  “Cutthroat trout,” Noah announced. The fish wiggled at the end of the line, its pink and green scales flashing in the light and water droplets flying through the air.

  “Is it a big one?” Jacob asked, excitedly. The joy of catching a fish had overshadowed his determination to be surly towards Noah.

  “About medium, I’d say.”

  They added the fish to the three others in the bucket, and Jacob stood up. “I need to get to my chores.”

  Noah checked the afternoon sun. They couldn’t have been fishing more half an hour. Supper was a good way off.

  “You’re sure?” Noah asked. “She knows you’re out here with me. I doubt she’ll mind if you come home a little late.”

  Jacob’s face was stoic. “My chores are important.”

  Noah raised his palms in surrender. “All right. All right. Don’t let me get between a man and his work ethic.”

  Jacob didn’t crack a smile. Shouldering his rod, he set off through the trees without a backward glance. Noah just sighed and picked up the bucket of fish and followed.

  He’d been cocky on their way to the river, thinking he’d be able to get through to Jacob. Since supper at Rosalie’s several days before, Noah had been working on what he would say to Jacob once he got him alone.

  As it turned out, there were some conversations you couldn’t prepare for. Noah had expected Jacob to crack under the pressure of blunt questions, but that hadn’t happened at all. For the first time, Noah really understood Rosalie’s plight.

  At the road, Noah handed Jacob the bucket of fish. “Take this home to your mother.”

  For an instant, it looked like Jacob wouldn’t accept the fish, but then he did wordlessly.

  Tell her hello, Noah almost said, but he held back. Jacob was aggravated enough, and Noah didn’t want to prod him anymore. He’d tried his best for the afternoon. Tomorrow was another day.

  “Have a good night,” Noah said.

  “Night, Mr. Hahn,” Jacob answered, looking away. Bucket in hand and fishing rod on his shoulder, he headed in the direction of home.

  Shaking his head, Noah looked after the boy. Were all children this… ornery?

  He didn’t think so. He also wanted to believe that what he’d told Rosalie was true: that Jacob just needed time. Once he fully settled into life in Whiteridge, it was likely he’d come around to Noah’s presence.

  It was a positive thought Noah would continue to cling to because he didn’t plan on stepping back from his relationship with Rosalie anytime soon. Though they’d only known each other a month, he was more certain about her than he’d been about anything in his whole life.

  Turning, Noah walked up the road, away from Rosalie and Jacob’s and away from the saloon. A few minutes’ walk took him to the relatively new side road. Only a few homes were off of it, and the largest plot of land remained untouched.

  It hadn’t been cleared yet, but it had a stream running through it and the rocks were minimal. Plus, there was enough flat ground for a house, a stable, and a garden.

  With some work, it would become the perfect family home.

  Walking into the trees, Noah surveyed the area once more. The house would go right in the middle. There was enough room for three rooms: a main one and two bedrooms.

  And then the stable and barn. How big would that need to be? Noah had two horses, but it would be a good idea to get a cow. Maybe some pigs.

  Running his palm over his hand, Noah walked back down the road. Much as he wanted to stay at the plot of land, there wasn’t anything new to see there. In the last two days, he’d inspected every foot of it. Far as he knew, no one else was looking at it.

  That meant all he had to do was put in a request for it. He had the money. He’d been saving for years, putting away more than half of everything he made.

  The only thing he didn’t have yet was a wife.

  What would Rosalie say if he were to suddenly propose marriage to her? Would she think it was too soon? Would she worry even more about Jacob?

  Noah didn’t even need to wonder how Jacob would take the proposal. He’d be furious. Maybe he’d retreat further into himself.

  Because of all that, Noah couldn’t make his move yet. He needed to bide his tim
e, to wait and let everything develop.

  Until then, though, he’d be thinking about his dream life each and every second.

  Chapter 12

  rare moment of honesty

  12. Rosalie

  Chapter twelve

  The banging of hammers on nails. The gleeful shouting of children. The reciting of lines. All these sounds rose in the air from the yard behind the schoolhouse.

  “Turn around,” Rosalie instructed Minnie Walsch.

  The little girl complied, and Rosalie finished stitching the felt flower to the costume’s skirt.

  “There,” Rosalie said, standing up. “You will make a beautiful fairy. Anna. Let’s see your costume. How is it faring?”

  With the two little fairies costumes deemed in working order, the girls ran off to rehearsal on the far side of the yard. Rosalie followed behind them, passing the older boys working on the stage.

  “Miss Flinn.”

  Rosalie stopped and turned around. Had that been…?

  Yes, it was Noah, crossing the street to her. At the sight of him, she smiled wide. They’d only run into each other a couple times since supper at her cabin the last weekend, and each interaction had left her hungry for more.

  “I was confused when you called me Miss,” she said, as Noah walked up to her.

  He smirked. “I didn’t think you would like me shouting your first name in front of a schoolyard full of children.”

  “Yes,” she smiled, “I suppose it is a good idea to keep things professional.”

  “How are rehearsals going?”

  “Well… for the most part. There have been some hiccups, but those are to be expected.”

  Noah hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and relaxed into his stance. “A play in Whiteridge. I still can’t believe it.”

  “If you’re hoping for some grand production, I’m sorry to say you’ll be disappointed.”

  “I’ve never been to a real play, so I don’t know what to expect anyway.”

  “Never? Not once?”

  “Some shows at church when I was a kid. Nativity scene and all. And traveling medicine shows.”

  “Those certainly count.”

  Noah’s gaze strayed past her. “They seem to be enjoying it.”

  Rosalie turned and looked. All the students were still working away, either rehearsing or putting the finishing touches on the stage.

  Turning back around, Rosalie found Noah a couple steps closer to her.

  “Oh!” she gasped in surprise.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t be inappropriate in front of the children. I just wanted to get a little closer, that’s all.”

  Rosalie gulped, desperately curious to know what Noah’s idea of ‘inappropriate’ was.

  “I trust you,” she whispered.

  His gaze softened. “You do?”

  Rosalie slowly nodded. “Yes.”

  With her heart speeding up, her skin tingling, and a lightness rapidly filling her, Rosalie realized it was time to change the topic. She trusted Noah, but she could no longer say the same about herself. At that point, she was just as likely to kiss him in front of the children as she was to keep her distance.

  “Thank you for the fish,” she said, choosing a safe topic. “They were delicious. I wish you had come over for supper as well.”

  Noah’s warm gaze caressed her face. “I wish I could have. You know how it is with the saloon, though. My help was gone that night, and things don’t get to kicking till after sunset.”

  “Yes,” Rosalie murmured. She glanced over her shoulder, found everything still right as rain in the schoolyard, and turned back to Noah. “And how was the actual act of fishing?”

  “You didn’t get a full report from Jacob?”

  Rosalie laughed, but the question was as painful as it was humorous.

  Noah sighed, perhaps feeling the same tug of emotions. “I tried a couple different tactics, but he still didn’t want to talk.”

  “I wish I could be surprised by that,” Rosalie bitterly answered. “Listen, Noah…” She paused, not quite knowing how to word what came next. “Do not feel you need to help me with this. Jacob is my child, and I am the only one responsible for him. I will talk to him again about being rude to you. If he keeps it up, he will be punished.”

  How she would punish him, she didn’t yet know. They’d never before had problems like this, and he was no longer a small child. As far as containing him, what was there to keep him from? Going outside and collecting leaves?

  The things he loved, like books, were the very things that were good for him. Rosalie would not want to take those away. She would if she had to, though. Jacob could not go on treating people this way.

  “Rosalie.” Noah’s hand brushed hers the slightest bit. Likely, not one child had noticed, but the contact sent a shiver of pleasure through Rosalie.

  She sucked in a breath, her full attention captured.

  “If there is anything you need from me,” Noah breathed. “Anything… I want to give it to you. As far as Jacob is concerned, I care about him. If he’s having trouble, I want to be here for him.”

  Rosalie nodded, struck dumb from the impact of Noah’s words. She’d known some men could be this kind and generous, but it wasn’t until meeting him that she truly experienced that kind of sweetness herself.

  “In fact, I…” Noah paused and swallowed.

  “Yes?” Rosalie encouraged.

  Noah still hesitated. “There are more things I want to say, but this isn’t the time or place.”

  “Are they good things?”

  “Very good,” Noah grinned. “At least, I’m hoping you’ll think so.”

  Rosalie laughed, feeling light as a feather. “I’m sure I will.”

  “I’ll let you get back to your school.” Noah stepped back, his eyes still on her. “See you soon.”

  “Have a good day,” she murmured, fighting back the urge to reach out and pull him to her.

  Noah trekked back across the road, and Rosalie turned and, chin tucked in so no one would see her gigantic smile and ask why she was so over the moon, walked for where the children rehearsed in the shade.

  Under the trees, all the actors were in place, Jacob included. For the play, the students had decided on a comedy that took place in the forest. Fairies, elves, and goblins galore filled the story. As they’d been limited in their number of actors, some puppets had needed to be made from wood. These sufficed as ‘chorus’ members.

  “In all my years as huntsman in these woods,” Jacob was saying, “never have I come across a mermaid.”

  “I live at the bottom of the old well,” Margie, who played the mermaid, explained. She flipped her hair for effect.

  Jacob brandished his bow. “What do you want with me, mermaid? And how is it you can be out of water?”

  “I want… I want…” Margie frowned. “I don’t remember the line!” she moaned.

  “It’s that you want to be free from the well,” Jacob answered.

  “Yes, but I don’t remember how I’m supposed to say it.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Jacob snapped. “Only say it.”

  “Jacob,” Rosalie hissed, stepping toward him. “There is no need for that kind of tone.”

  Jacob’s cheeks grew red. “If she’s not gonna learn the lines, what’s the point of this?”

  “I will too learn the lines,” Margie protested. “The play’s not for a few more days. I have time.”

  Jacob made a face that showed his doubt, and red-hot anger flared in Rosalie.

  “Actors,” she said from between clenched teeth. “That’s enough for today. It’s almost time to go inside.”

  Everyone started walking away, but Rosalie stepped forward and took hold of Jacob’s arm. “There is no need to talk to her like that.”

  “I already know my lines, Mother. She should, too.”

  “Well, good for you,” Rosalie sarcastically answered. “I am sorry the rest of the world cannot be as per
fect as you are.”

  Surprise flashed across Jacob’s face. She had never spoken to him like that before. Rosalie quickly closed her eyes.