“This is not a mirage, Brooke. What you see in me is real. It’s not going to fade away before your eyes, because what you see in me is Jesus. My love for Him won’t allow me to mistreat others, because I know how much He cares for them. He cares for you.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I can’t force you to turn to Him, but I want you to think about what I am saying. Will you do that for me?”
He saw tears rise in her sea-green eyes and spill over, trailing down her cheeks. She nodded. And he was surprised beyond words when she reached out her hand and let her thumb trace over his cheek bone, brushing away a tear. He hadn’t realized that his own tears had brimmed over until that moment. She let her hand fall back into her lap and turned to survey the milk-sodden table.
Sky knew no more needed to be said right now. He got up slowly and began to wipe up the spill.
7
Sharyah Jordan placed the bowl of fluffy, steaming mashed potatoes on the table and straightened the silverware for the umpteenth time.
Mama, coming in from the kitchen, smiled at her nervous actions and patted her shoulder. “The table looks fine, dear. You can’t make that knife any straighter than straight.”
True, but she wanted this meal with her brother’s best friend, Cascade Bennett, to be perfect. Sharyah grinned over her shoulder at her mother.
“There is straight, and then there is straightest.”
Rachel threw back her head and laughed even as they heard the knock on the front door.
Sharyah smoothed the front of her dress and patted her blond curls into place as best she could. Her curly hair usually had a mind of its own. “Do I look all right, Mama?” Her dark brown eyes, so much like Skyler’s, shone with anticipation.
Sean entered the dining room on his way to answer the front door. “You look wonderful dear. Any man would have to be blind not to notice how beautiful you are tonight.”
Sharyah sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders, and Rachel smiled. Had she ever been this distressed over having a young man come to dinner? Then she remembered the first night she had gone to dinner at Sean’s house. She had practically run in circles that night trying to make sure she looked just perfect. Still, I was a couple of years older than sixteen then. I can’t stand to see her growing up so fast. My last baby...
Rachel’s thoughts were cut off as Sean ushered Cade Bennett into the dining room, and Rocky entered the kitchen from the back door, having finished the nightly chores out at the barn.
“Cade, how’re you doing?” Rocky called from the kitchen sink where he had paused to wash up.
Cade, Rocky, Sky, and Jason had all been the greatest of friends—and the worst of enemies—during their maturing years. Fishing, hunting, and sports had brought them together, and it was usually a girl that drove them apart. But the bonds of friendship had been greater than the throes of infatuation, and as they grew and matured they had become very close.
Since Jason and Sky had moved away, Rocky and Cade spent every moment they could spare from their busy schedules together. I imagine that’s how Sharyah fell for Cade. He’s been at our house so much in the last several years. With the young man’s charm and good looks, how could a girl keep from noticing him?
Rachel was afraid, however, that Cade only saw Sharyah as a younger sister, and hoped and prayed Sharyah’s heart would not be broken too badly.
Cade removed his hat and tossed it on the hat rack in the corner. An easy gesture that said he felt at home. “Hey, Rock! Just fine. Looking forward to some of your mother’s and Sharyah’s fine cooking. I don’t get fed like this out at the ranch, you know.” His dark hair and face, deeply tanned from all the hours spent in the sun on his father’s ranch, contrasted with his twinkling, ocean-blue eyes as he glanced around at the people in the room.
Rachel laughed. Cade’s mother, Brenda, her best friend, was one of the finest cooks in the whole county. “You are a flatterer, Cade Bennett. I will admit I enjoy compliments about my cooking, but wait until I tell your mother what you said.”
A pained look crossed his face. “Ma’am, if we could keep that little comment between you, me, and the doorpost, I would greatly appreciate it.” He gave a mock shudder. “I might live a whole lot longer, too.” Rachel, Sean, and Sharyah burst out in laughter at his exaggerated, pained contrition.
When the laughter had died down and Rocky had sauntered into the room, Sean spoke up. “Have a seat, Cade.” He indicated the seat immediately to his left. To Cade’s left sat Rocky. Rachel was at the head of the table closest to the kitchen, and Sharyah sat across the table from Rocky and Cade.
They all held hands for grace and then the meal commenced with the clatter of utensils on bowls and plates and easy conversation. Rachel noticed that Sharyah hardly ever took her eyes off Cade, but he seemed oblivious.
Halfway through the meal he grinned across the table at her. “Sharyah, you are looking especially nice this evening. Do you have an admirer coming over later?” He winked at her with a teasing glint.
Sharyah blushed and shook her head.
“What’s the matter with those boys in town, Rocky? Don’t they have eyes in their heads? Why, when we were kids—” Rachel and Sean caught each other’s eyes and lifted napkins to their mouths to hide their smiles. At twenty Cade was hardly more than a kid himself—“we would have gotten into our biggest fight ever if there had been a girl as beautiful as Sharyah in our class.”
Rachel pierced Rocky with a stare. She did not want him to embarrass his sister further.
He gave her a discreet nod and made no mention of the number of boys who had indeed shown interest in Sharyah, only to be turned down. Instead, he met his sister’s warm brown eyes across the table and smiled reassuringly.
“Yeah, I guess we would have.” Then he turned the conversation away from Sharyah. “Remember the fight we all got into the day that Victoria came to town?”
“Remember? I still have the scar along my jaw where you cracked me with that uppercut! Sky and Jason—”
“I can’t believe you boys!” Rachel tossed her serviette on the table in disgust. “Still laughing and reminiscing about that day! Brenda and I were so disappointed in you, and all Sean and Smith could do was laugh after we finally got you all apart. Oh,” she threw her hands up in disgust, “that was one of the worst days of my life, seeing you boys brawling like that and over a girl, and here you sit laughing about it like it was one of the most exciting things you ever did. I will never understand the male species! Never!” She marched into the kitchen to get the coffee pot, but not before she glared daggers at her husband, who was busy trying to hide his smile as he stared into the bottom of his empty coffee cup.
Sharyah watched the whole exchange with a quizzical look. Rachel knew she hardly remembered the day of the fight. She’d been drawing at the kitchen table when Rachel and Brenda, Cade’s mother, had come into the kitchen crying, but she had been too young to really understand what it was all about. The boys had been ten, Jason and Sky a little older, and she had only been six at the time.
A long awkward silence enshrouded the room as Rachel refilled each coffee cup, returned the pot to the stove, and took her seat once more.
Rocky was the first to break the silence. “We got a telegram from Sky the other day, Cade. He got married.” Rocky left out all the details. He would probably fill Cade in later.
Rachel sighed. Her firstborn son had gotten married to a woman the family had never met and no one from the family had been at the wedding. No one had even known about it until afterward. To top it off, Sky’s new wife apparently wasn’t even a Christian—that was the hardest of all.
Before Cade could respond to this surprising statement, Sean broke in, “Your mother and I have been meaning to talk to you and Sharyah about this, Son. Since Cade is practically family, we can discuss it now. We feel like we should go and meet Brooke, so we want to take a couple of weeks and go out there to visit. Do you think you could handle the Sheriff’s office for a coupl
e of weeks?” The question wasn’t necessary. Rachel and Sean both knew that their son was perfectly capable of handling any situation that might arise in his absence.
Rocky shrugged. “Sure, Dad. If anything big happens, we will leave any decisions until you get back.”
Sean nodded and then turned to Sharyah. “With school about to start, I don’t think you should make the trip with us. Do you think you could handle the household chores while your mother and I are gone?”
Sharyah began to nod when Cade spoke up. “My parents would be happy to have Rock and Sharyah stay out at our place for a couple of weeks. It would mean a little longer ride in the morning for both of you to get to town, but you’re more than welcome.”
“That would be such a relief,” Rachel said. “I worried about Sharyah trying to do her school work and the cooking and cleaning, too. That would set my mind at ease some about leaving.”
Sharyah wondered how she was going to stand staying in the same house as Cade when he didn’t even seem to notice that she existed as a woman. He treated her like a little sister! She held the threatening tears at bay and escaped to the kitchen on the pretense of filling the sugar bowl.
Sighing inwardly, she thunked the sugar bowl onto the counter and leaned heavily on locked elbows. She stood still for a long time, staring down with unfocused eyes. Timothy Jorgenson had come calling again, yesterday. Maybe she ought to accept his invitation to Friday night’s dance. She gave herself a shake and reached for the sugar canister.
Someday, Cade Bennett, you will see I’m a woman. I just hope I’m not old and gray by then.
It had been two weeks since the morning of her last nightmare about Hank. Brooke was very thankful for the reprieve in her nighttime torment. The days began to fall into a pattern. Waking up with the call of the cock she would get up, make the bed, start the coffee, then head for the hen house to collect the eggs, always finding an empty bucket on which to stand.
By the time Sky finished the morning chores and came into the house to wash up, she had a sumptuous breakfast on the table. This day wasn’t any different than the others. Watching as he heaped hot cakes onto his plate, Brooke smiled. It never ceased to amaze her how much he could eat.
She was beginning to feel more and more relaxed in his presence. She still didn’t understand why, but this man had not mistreated her in any way and somehow, after having known and watched him for the last two weeks, she couldn’t envision him doing any such thing. He was always gentle and thoughtful. What made him different she wasn’t sure. He said it was Jesus in his life, but whatever the reason, she was very thankful for his kindness.
Her mind wandered to what he’d said, about letting Jesus bring her to a place of rest and peace. Was that even possible? Sky didn’t know about her past improprieties. Maybe God sent all the hard things in her life to punish her for the way she’d lived. Maybe God wanted her to suffer. If I weren’t so bad, maybe my baby...
“How is Old Bess’s leg this morning?” she asked, refusing to allow herself to continue the thought.
Sky frowned as he swallowed a mouthful. “Not good, I’m afraid. I have tried every trick I know to get the swelling in that leg down, but nothing seems to be working.” He shook his head. “I might have to take her down to Orofino and have Doctor James look at her.”
Brooke nodded. She wanted to ask if he would mind if she looked at the cow’s leg but didn’t know what he would think of a woman working over an animal. Uncle Jackson would have punished her just for asking.
When he finally pushed his plate back and leaned into his chair, she said, “What? Only twenty pancakes?” She deliberately exaggerated. “There are still five on the platter. Won’t you have some more?”
He groaned and put one hand to his stomach. “Woman, you are going to be the death of me.” Then he winked at her. “You better quit cooking so well, or you are going to have the fattest husband this side of the Mississippi.”
She eyed his trim form as he got up to pour himself a cup of coffee and gave a snort of derision. “I can see. You’ve really put on weight since I got here.”
He froze, quickly looking down at his stomach. Then he laughed, shaking a finger at her. “You had me there for a second.” He took a sip of coffee, his eyes smiling at her over the top of the mug.
She gave him a cheeky grin, and his gaze suddenly turned thoughtful but did not leave her face.
At his serious, thoughtful look Brooke’s smile faded. I have become far too comfortable with him. Staring down at her plate, she moved a piece of pancake back and forth with her fork. She couldn’t look into those deep brown eyes and keep her thoughts straight. She vowed, yet again, not to let her guard down so easily.
Setting his cup on the table he reached for the door. She could feel his dark eyes still on her face when he said, “I’ll see you later.”
He was almost out the door when she blurted, “Do you mind if I look at her?”
“What?” He turned back.
“Would you mind if I looked at Bess’s leg?”
He shrugged. “Sure, I don’t mind. Do you want to come out right now?”
“No. I’ll come out as soon as I’ve finished with the dishes.”
“That’s fine. I’m going to be working in the south field today, so I won’t be around, but if you think you need my help, just ring the triangle hanging on the porch.”
“Thank you.” She was pleased he was willing to let her look at the animal and hoped there would be something she could do for the lame cow.
She rushed through the dishes, looking forward to getting out of the house for a while. The days during the past weeks had begun to be a bit monotonous. Once she had thoroughly cleaned the cabin, she had to search for things to fill her long days, so the prospect of caring for the cow was a welcome distraction.
Setting the last of the dishes on the shelf above the counter, she removed her apron and headed out to the barn with a song in her heart. The sun felt pleasantly warm as it beat down on her shoulders. A large bee rumbled by on its quest for flowers, and a fat squirrel, stocking up for winter, busily dug a hole in the ground a few yards away.
She pushed the squeaky barn door open and stepped into the dim interior. Old Bess lowed a welcome. Brooke loved taking care of animals. Uncle Jackson had owned a ranch and she had always wanted to be out in the barn, but he had deemed it an “unladylike” place and had forbidden her from ever stepping foot there. Often when he had gone away on business trips, she had ventured there, though, and Solomon, the old black stable hand, had welcomed her. He had shown her many different cures for sick animals, and she now hoped one of them would come in handy.
Stooping, she ran her hand softly over Bess’s injured leg. “Hey, girl,” she crooned, “do you have a sore leg? Let’s take a look at that and see if we can’t fix it.”
Her soothing words set the cow at ease as she checked over the leg. She began to sing as she examined the leg, probing here and there, trying to see exactly what the problem might be. Deciding on a warm poultice, she headed back to the house to mix it.
Within ten minutes she had the poultice mixed and plastered on the animal’s leg, and found that she was once again left with trying to find something to fill the rest of the day.
He lay on his belly in a thicket of brush, binoculars pressed to his eyes. As Brooke crossed the barnyard, he followed her with the glasses. “Mmm...Mhhh!” His gaze roved up and down her slender form. “She looks better today than she did last time. Mmm...Mhhh!” he exclaimed again. “That is quite the little tart. Maybe I have time for a bit of a diversion today.”
Turning the glasses, he scanned the surrounding fields. There was no one in sight.
Satisfaction curled through his belly. “Yes, I think I do have time for a little diversion today,” he said cheerfully. He started to move toward the house but saw Brooke pick up a pail and head into the forest.
Moving quietly, he followed.
8
Deciding that the da
y was too beautiful to waste indoors, Brooke picked up a pail and went in search of a berry patch. She really had no faith that she would find one, so was quite pleased when, a short way from the house, she came upon a large patch of blackberries at their peak of ripeness. Humming to herself she happily plopped the juicy purple berries into her bucket.
When she heard a horse approaching a moment later, apprehension crept across her spine. Should she have come out here on her own without telling Sky where she was going? What if she met Jason out here by herself? What would she do if he chose to get nasty again—with Sky nowhere around to come to her rescue?
Suddenly she noted how still the forest had become. There were none of the natural sounds that one normally heard in the woods, except for the wind rustling the tree tops.
Somewhere a twig snapped, and Brooke’s heart lodged in her throat. Her pulse raced, and she dropped into a crouch.
She looked around frantically for a place to hide but saw nothing. She was turning to flee when she noticed a Chinese woman riding her way. Brooke stopped, her heart rate slowly returning to normal.
The woman had jet black hair that was pulled away rather severely from her round face, accentuating the slant of her eyes. Her full, plump figure stretched a bright red dress adorned with gold, fire-breathing dragons at the hem and cuffs. Some Chinese characters were also embroidered down the front of the dress.
When the woman saw Brooke, she reined in her horse. As she swung down from the saddle, she eyed the brush behind Brooke as if to make sure she was alone. Her dark eyes then turned back to Brooke and she smiled pleasantly, her face lighting up. “Hello.” Her voice, low and melodic, held a heavy Chinese accent. “You come heeya by yourself?”
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