by Davis, Mary
Lucas nodded in agreement and introduced Trevor to Cinda’s aunt. Cinda had already introduced the twins.
Travis and Marty came racing toward them on horseback. They were neck and neck until Travis veered around a pyramid of three bales of hay at the edge of the yard. Marty sailed over them and into the lead. She skidded to a stop. “Yee haw.” She jumped off Flash. “Better luck next time,” she gloated to Travis, who was just coming to a halt. “You do my chores for a whole week.”
“Mrs. Crawford, this is my other brother, Travis, and my sister, Martha,” Lucas said, pointing to the pair.
Aunt Ginny had a horrified look on her face that she quickly replaced with a sterner one. “I have never seen such rowdy behavior from a young lady.”
Martha stepped directly in front of the older woman and planted her balled fists on her hips. “I ain’t no lady.”
Aunt Ginny stood taller. “That’s obvious.” The battle of wills had begun. It was a toss-up as to who might win.
Cinda knew her aunt wouldn’t back down as easily as she had. In fact, her aunt wouldn’t give up at all. She would have Martha in a dress if it were the last thing she did. And it just might be, if Martha had anything to do with it. Life would be interesting with those two.
Aunt Ginny stepped away from Cinda when she saw Dewight approach, eyeing him suspiciously.
“A rose, a rose. To see its beauty. At last it wilts in the desert sun.” Dewight looked up to the clear blue sky, smiling and shouted, “The rain comes!” He began twirling around with outstretched arms. “The rose will bloom again.” He spun away.
Daniella grabbed one of Cinda’s hands and pulled her toward the house. “Come on. You gotta come see the new kitchen.”
Daphne quickly grabbed the other hand and pulled as well. “It’s so beautiful. Hurry, hurry.”
Cinda allowed herself to be dragged in and through the house to the kitchen with everyone tagging along behind. She stopped and caught her breath at the sight.
The worn floorboards were replaced, and the whole floor and the walls had been whitewashed. Cinda ran her hand along the worktable that had been sanded and refinished. Her gaze settled on what used to be the broken-down pantry. The old shelves were gone and replaced with what appeared to be new pantry shelves draped in yellow gingham. Cinda stared at the bright, cheerful room.
Daniella and Daphne pulled back the curtains of the pantry to reveal the shiny new metal mixing bowls and new ceramic serving bowls. The tears Cinda was trying hard to hold back broke free. She tenderly touched the bowls.
“And new spoons, too.” Daphne held up an array of metal and wooden spoons.
Daniella snatched a spoon from Daphne’s grasp and handed it to Cinda. “Uncle Lucas carved this one hisself.”
Cinda clutched the spoon with tear-stained cheeks. He had done all this for her.
“It isn’t much, but I guess it will do,” her aunt said, looking around.
Lucas looked down.
“No. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.” Cinda smiled lovingly at Lucas when his eyes met hers. “Thank you.”
He smiled back.
twenty-four
Over the next couple of days, Lucas became more and more distant. He was scarce all day. He didn’t come in for either lunch or supper. He didn’t even come in after supper for their walk. Cinda’s stomach twisted, wondering what was wrong. She fixed a plate of food and took it out to the barn where Lucas stood, brushing his horse.
“I brought you something to eat.” She held out the plate for him.
“I’m not hungry.” He kept stroking his horse.
“You haven’t eaten since breakfast. You need to eat.”
Lucas yanked the plate from her hand and plopped it on a nearby crate. “I said, I’m not hungry.”
Cinda realized she had been wrong—it did bother him that she brought her aunt without asking him first. “I’m sorry for bringing Aunt Ginny without asking you first. I just couldn’t leave her all alone.”
“You’re sorry. You’re sorry.” He dropped his head, shaking it. “It’s not your aunt. She’s welcome, if you want her here.”
“Then what is it?” Cinda was confused. “What have I done to upset you?”
“You haven’t done anything,” he said softly. “And you have done everything.”
Cinda cocked her head sideways. Her confusion was compounded with each passing moment.
“You have done everything I hoped for in a wife and more. I deceived you and dumped my whole family on you. I only heard you complain once. I don’t deserve you.” He paused, struggling with his emotions. “Why did you come back? There certainly isn’t much for you here.”
“You’re here.”
He stopped her before she could say more. “I know you never wanted to marry me.”
“But I did. It was my choice.”
Lucas pulled a stack of letters out of his back pocket. “I’ve been asking God what I should do about these. He keeps giving me the same answer. . . ‘Ask her.’ So I’m asking.” He divided the letters into two piles. He held up the group of four letters. “These were written before we were married. Those two were written after we were married. Your handwriting changed.” He weighed the two stacks. “Who are you? You’re not the woman I asked to marry me.”
Cinda reached for the four letters Lucas held. He gave them to her. The writing was Vivian’s.
“Are you really Cinda Harrison? Is our marriage even legal?” he asked, sounding as though he really didn’t want to know.
Cinda felt bad she hadn’t told him about the letters. “Vivian,” was all she could manage to whisper.
“Your name is Vivian?”
Cinda shook her head. She looked up at him. “It’s Vivian’s handwriting.”
“Then you are Cinda Harrison?”
Cinda shook her head again and stood up tall. “I’m Cinda Rawlings.” Lucas stared at her suspiciously, waiting for her to continue. “Vivian and Eve decided to find a husband for their shy friend before she became an old maid.” A tear splashed on her cheek. “It was kind of a joke. I didn’t know anything about it until I got your letter the day you arrived.”
Lucas caressed the tear away. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have bothered you any more. You know that.”
“I was terrified. I didn’t know you then. I didn’t know how you would react to being tricked like that. How do you tell a stranger he came a long way for nothing? When I got to know you a little in those few days, I felt God leading me to you. I thought maybe life with you would be easier than with my aunt.”
“But it wasn’t, was it?” Shame coated his words.
“No, it wasn’t. It was hard in a different way. But something strange happened. I was needed here. I needed to be needed. I was an only child and wasn’t used to all the commotion of a large family. I’m still not used to it, but I do know this is where I want to be—with you.”
Lucas grabbed her and held her tight. “Whatever did I do to deserve a blessing such as you? The more I get to know you, the more convinced I am I don’t deserve you.” He stepped back from her. “When I married you, I wasn’t thinking of you as a person with feelings. To me you were the solution to a problem. And if you were the woman of character I hoped and prayed you were, you would stay out of a sense of duty even after you met my family.”
He leaned against a stall post and looked down at his boots. “I always wanted to have a loving relationship like my parents, but I had to give that up a long time ago.”
“When your parents died?”
He nodded and continued. “I didn’t have time for anything. My brothers and sisters needed me. The farm needed me. Then Lynnette and her girls needed me. I thought if I could find a good mother for Lynnette’s girls, that was all that was important. I didn’t have to have love as long as they did.” He turned his focus back to Cinda. “I’m sorry for not being honest about my family. I have always felt bad for not telling you. Can you ever forgive me?”
He held her close for a long while. “I thought I was going to die when you left. I never expected to love you.”
“I love you, too.” She could feel Lucas’s arms tighten around her. “You really don’t mind about my aunt? I just couldn’t leave her all alone.”
“If you can live with my family, I can live with yours. You only have one relative, I sprang five on you. Six if you count Dewight.”
Dewight definitely counted. Cinda decided now was a good time to spring another one on him and held up two fingers. “Two relatives.”
“Two? I thought your aunt and uncle were your only ones?” Lucas pulled his brows together. “You have another relative coming? When?”
Cinda shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “In about seven months. But it’s not just my relation, it’s yours as well.” She patted her stomach.
Lucas looked from her stomach up to her face and smiled broadly, his eyes bright with hope. “You’re going to have a baby?”
“We are going to have a baby.”
Lucas picked her up and spun her around. “I’m so happy.”
“Me, too.”
“You know what this means?” he asked, putting her down.
Cinda shook her head.
“No more my family and your family.” He gently put his hand on her stomach. “This baby ties us all together as one big family. Our family.”
Cinda nodded. They headed to the house. She hadn’t slept well since she left, but she would tonight. She didn’t know if it was the hard work or the company—maybe both. She didn’t care. She was home with her family and the man she loved.
About the Author
Mary Davis is a full-time writer whose first published novel was Newlywed Games from Multnomah. She enjoys going into schools and talking to kids about writing. Mary lives near Colorado’s Rocky Mountains with her husband, three children, and six pets.
Dedication
To Zola who planted the thought in me to get published, then watched it grow. Thanks mom! To my sister who graciously plucked the weeds in my writing. And to my husband who encouraged my writing into full bloom!
A note from the author
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Mary Davis
Author Relations
PO Box 719
Uhrichsville, OH 44683