by P. Creeden
The men around him in the group all nodded solemnly and shook his father’s hand with words of comfort and commitment. Ethan didn’t much like the way his father tended to manipulate words and people to get what he wanted. It had always been a weakness of the old man. Some of the members of the group shook Ethan’s hand and offered words of support to him as well. Once they’d left, he turned toward his father. “Are you sure you know everything that’s going on? It’s possible that you’re jumping ahead of yourself. You don’t know for sure who the men are that are coming to town, or that they would even be offering work at a discount.”
“It doesn’t hurt to get ahead of trouble,” his father said with a shake of his head. “Now the pastor’s coming in. Maybe we should get to our seats.”
Ethan shrugged off his father’s hand on his shoulder and then headed toward the pew where he’d left Ruth. As soon as he turned toward it, his eyes caught sight of Tanner Scott sitting next to Tabitha. Ethan’s heart dropped toward his stomach. Tanner Scott was the very man who’d taken Laura. And as Tanner leaned in toward Tabitha, Ethan finally started to realize that it was more than just a passing affection he’d been growing for Tabitha. Otherwise, why would his heart hurt so much?
Chapter 7
Tabitha forced a smile as Tanner Scott leaned in a bit too intimately. When he’d asked if the seat next to her was taken, she hadn’t realized that he’d wanted to do more than just sit next to her. He hadn’t stop talking to her a bit too close to her ear since he’d sat down. His occupation of her space didn’t endear him to her, it repulsed her. Her heart raced in the man’s presence, but in a different way than it did with Ethan. Instead, she felt like a rabbit caught in a trap and coveted a means of escape.
“I hear you play the piano. I’d love to come by sometime and hear you play. Maybe you could invite me for dinner?” he suggested.
Fingernails bit into her palms as she squeezed her hands into fists. “I’m a bit nervous about having someone listen to me play. Perhaps later, when I’ve settled into Belle.”
“Oh!” Tanner said with a wide smile. “Of course. If you need an escort to show you about town, though, feel free to inquire about me. I’d never let a lady in need go without.”
Every bit of her felt frazzled, and she was at her wits end as her core began to quiver. When the pastor stepped up to the podium and asked for everyone to stand to sing the hymn, it relieved Tabitha’s closed in feelings. At least it had felt like some sort of escape. Her gaze fluttered toward the other side of Ruth just as Ethan returned. Her heart warmed at the sight of him, even though he didn’t look her way. And then everyone began to sing.
Tanner’s deep voice drowned out most others, and he was tone deaf. Tabitha’s mouth nearly dropped open, and it was all that she could do not to stare. Then his pronunciation of “legion” caught her funny. She worked to keep in the laugh so as not to embarrass herself or the man standing next to her. This was church, for goodness sake. She couldn’t go busting out in a fit of laughter. But the more she tried to hold it in the harder it became to do so. By the time everyone was given the signal to sit down, Tabitha felt as though she might explode with laughter.
Instead, she hung her head and closed her eyes, knowing her shoulders shook, but she couldn’t control that feeling. She should have been ashamed of herself. Who acted like this in church? What kind of person laughed at the way words were mispronounced in a song? Was she really so mean? As she asked herself these logical, rational questions, slowly her fit of laughter died down. She swiped at the tears that had fallen from her eyes as she’d tried to hold back.
And when she looked up, she found Ruth looking at her with an eyebrow raised and Ethan staring with worry lines on his brow. Swallowing hard, Tabitha swiped the tears from her eyes and breathed slowly, trying to keep her composure. And then Tanner set a hand on hers and squeezed it. “Are you all right?”
Revulsion turned her stomach at the feel of the stranger’s touch, even through her glove. She fisted her hand, all the feeling of mirth she’d had a moment before instantly gone like a puff of steam from Ethan’s water bucket when he put a hot shoe in it. Slowly she pulled her hand away and nodded, unable to look the man in the eyes. Then, finally, the sermon began.
The very moment that the congregation finished the last song of the day, Tabitha wanted to run away, but she couldn’t. She was trapped between Tanner and her Aunt Ruth. Tanner leaned in toward her. “Perhaps I could come by some time and call upon your aunt. I’m sure you and she could use a bit of company or a man around the house?”
Finally, she’d had enough. Enough of how this man made her feel. Enough of the fear that overwhelmed her and kept her silent. Tanner seemed the kind of man to prey upon her silence. She cleared her throat as her anger began to swell in her chest. “Actually, my aunt and I are fine company for one another. And if we need a man around the house, Ethan is there for us anytime we need him. Thank you for your offer, but it’s unnecessary. Now, if you’ll excuse me?”
And with that, she turned from him and toward her aunt whose amused eyes met hers.
Tabitha tightened her lips. “You heard me?”
Aunt Ruth huffed a laugh. “I believe everyone in the church heard you.”
Tabitha’s gaze shot toward Ethan, who stood on the other side of Ruth. A small smile tugged at his lip and his brows were both raised in an amused way. Heat rose to her cheeks and she darted her gaze from his. “I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn, Ethan.”
“You didn’t,” he said with a laugh. “You didn’t.”
On the way home from church, Ethan felt as though he were floating on air. Even Ruth’s leaning upon his arm felt as light as a feather. Tabitha had shot down Tanner, but even better than that, Ethan had been her bullet. He certainly didn’t mind being used by her in that way. She walked on the other side of Ruth, and shyly, she’d been avoiding looking at him. He wanted to smile at her and hear more... tell her more. She had done the one thing that Ethan had been wishing all these years that Laura had done. Tabitha had put Ethan before Tanner and in front of the whole church. The look on Tanner’s face had been priceless as he couldn’t get away from Tabitha fast enough. Ethan had almost laughed. He was certain that he’d heard someone behind him snickering.
Tabitha had made quite the impression on the whole town of Belle, and it had made Ethan’s heart swell. When they got back to Ruth’s house, Ethan had made a decision. He leaned in toward Ruth. “I’ll be back for dinner tonight if that’s all right?”
She patted his arm and smiled wide. “Of course. It’s more than all right. Supper will be ready at five.”
He nodded and released Ruth’s arm then bowed slightly toward Tabitha. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
Her cheeks were still a delicious shade of pink when she nodded toward him, barely letting her gaze slip over his. She was still embarrassed about what she’d said. As usual, Tabitha had her heart on her sleeve, and it was one thing that endeared her greatly to Ethan. He stepped backwards as he took the first few steps away from the ladies, keeping an eye on the woman he hoped would agree to be his bride, and then finally turned about and started back toward his shop, floating on air.
But everything came crashing down the minute he entered the shop and found his father standing in front of him. His father threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “There you are. Those people are here. I need you to come with me over to the north end of town. We need to both go over and introduce ourselves and make our presence known. If we need to, we’ll let them know that we have no intention of giving up this town to a bunch of blacksmiths from California—with Mexicans, no less.”
“Father!” Ethan said sharply. “Whether these people are Mexicans or not makes no difference. And no matter what happens, we need to be polite. It isn’t neighborly to go over there making threats to people who’ve just moved into town.”
His father narrowed his eyes at him again, but this time, Ethan stood his ground. He was tired
of being his father’s kicking can. And he wouldn’t allow his father to ruin relations with the townspeople—even new ones, if he could help it. With a deep breath, Abraham finally broke the silence between them. “Fine. But you’re still coming with me.”
Once he nodded, his father gestured for Ethan to follow him. Begrudgingly, Ethan did.
As they drew near the north end of town, Ethan was surprised to find a sign already up over the shop: Hill Blacksmith. Six strong men were unloading a cart full of tools and equipment. Each of them had the musculature of a metal worker. Was it truly possible that this many men could be moving into town to take over all the smithing? For the first time, Ethan began to fear that his father might not have just been having a “Henny Penny” moment. His heart dropped toward his stomach.
The men shouted to each other in Spanish, and Ethan’s father leaned in toward him. “See I told you. Mexicans.”
One of the men in charge took notice of Ethan and his father as they drew near. Chances were, that just as Ethan had noticed the men had metalworker’s builds, that the man had noticed the same about him and his father, too. The man removed his hat and stepped over. “Hello, there. I’m Elias Anthony Hill. You two must be from the blacksmith shop on the other end of town.”
Ethan felt his father tense next to him.
“Abraham Younger. This is my son, Ethan. And you’re right. We do run the shop on the south end.” Surprisingly, his father offered Mr. Hill a hand to shake.
Then, not so surprisingly, it turned into a battle of grips. Elias’s smile slipped from his face as he narrowed his eyes at Ethan’s father and squeezed his grip harder as well. The two of them had a long moment of staring each other down while squeezing each other’s hands before something finally registered, they both nodded and let each other go. Mr. Hill was a young man, not much older than Ethan, himself, but he’d just earned at least a measure of his father’s respect, which offered a small relief to Ethan.
Ethan wasn’t interested in having a contest of wills, so he shook the man’s hand like a normal gentleman. “How many metal workers do you all have? Do you have plans to stay in Belle for a long while?”
Elias nodded. “We do. The railroad is coming through this way and continuing south, east, and west. We’re here to expand our territory with a more central location than California.”
“Railroad?” Ethan’s father asked, his eyes going wide.
With a smile, Elias nodded again. “Yes, sir. We work with metal for the railroads.”
“So, you’re not here for working the horses? You’re not farriers?” Ethan asked as the knot in his stomach loosened.
Elias shook his head. “We aren’t horsemen—strictly metalworkers.”
Ethan’s father suddenly reached forward and grabbed Elias’s hand again in both his. Abraham shook it hard and huffed a laugh. “It’s a pleasure to meet you then. It looks like you have a lot of hands helping you all unpack and get your things set up, but if you need help with anything at all, feel free to ask us. After all, what are neighbors for? I hope you all find that Belle is a friendly, welcoming town.”
The smile on Elias’s face widened. “Thank you.”
As they turned about to start back toward the south end of town, Ethan’s father leaned in toward him and said, “You see. I told you there was nothing to worry about.”
Chapter 8
Tabitha’s heart fluttered when she heard a knock at the door ten minutes until five o’ clock that evening. When had she begun looking forward to seeing Ethan each day? And it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him at church. Somewhere along the way, her affection for him had grown beyond mere acquaintances. They were friends. At first, she thought that’s all that they would be, because she refused to acknowledge that there was anything more she was feeling for him than simply the fact he was a man who was in her proximity when the only man close to her before was her husband, who she missed dearly.
But after what had happened in church earlier with Tanner Scott, Tabitha had come to the realization that she’d felt more for Ethan than she’d admitted before. She swallowed hard. But what if he didn’t feel the same? How was she going to behave around him now? All her fears were coming to fruition, though, because she only needed to open the door to see the very man her heart fluttered for. After taking a deep breath, she pasted on a smile to combat her fear and opened the door.
Ethan stood on the porch with a shy smile of his own and a plate of cookies. “I brought something other than pie this time.”
With a smile, she took the plate. “I see that. But you really don’t have to bring anything.”
“You keep saying that, but I can’t imagine coming empty-handed. It would just feel wrong.”
She stepped to the side to allow him in and then closed the door behind them both. His strong shoulders and back stood in front of her and all she could think about was how she was going to handle this. What was she going to do? Why would Ethan want to saddle himself with a widow? She used to be someone else’s bride. Could she really even imagine that he would let her be his?
“There you are, Ethan!” Ruth called from the dining room as Ethan stepped in. She put her sewing aside as she sat in her usual position of head of the table. “Tabby’s been slaving over a hot stove all day for you.”
Heat rushed to Tabitha’s cheeks as she set the plate of cookies on the end of the dining table. “It’s just a roasted chicken. It’s not worth saying all that for.”
“Well, if I can’t praise you once in a while for what you do,” Ruth said with a smile. “What can I do to show gratitude?”
Shaking her head, Tabitha began heading toward the stove when she found Ethan by her chair, pulling it out. He cleared his throat and met eyes with her. “Actually, Tabitha, could you have a seat? I have something I’d like to discuss with both you and Ruth.”
Tabitha’s heart squeezed in her chest as she nodded and wiped her hands on her apron, even though they were clean. “What’s this about?”
Instead of answering, Ethan made his way to his seat and sat across from her. He rested his hands in front of him and for the first time, she noticed the wrinkles in his forehead and the way his hands were twisting each other. And he was chewing his lip—all signs that he was nervous. It made her more nervous. He swallowed, then met eyes with her. “Tabitha, I know that you came here to Belle for a new life after losing your husband. Ruth told me a lot about you before you came. I’m not sure if marrying again was in your plans or not. Regardless, as we’ve spent time with each other over this week, I’ve come to realize that I have affection for you. And if you feel the same, I’d like to see you more officially, to court with marriage in mind.”
Tabitha gasped and suddenly felt lightheaded.
Ruth laughed. “I was wondering when you two might get around to that. I could tell the moment Tabitha first arrived in Belle. There was a lightning-like charge between the two of you right away. I couldn’t be happier about it.”
He waved his hands and shook his head. “Now, I want you to know that I’ve thought all this through. I’m going to ask my father to make good on the promise he made me years ago that if I ever married, I could raise my family in the same house I grew up in. He’d live in the shop where I do now. I’ve got a good savings, so I know that we can make any changes to the house that we need to. Now that we’ve found out that the new blacksmiths in town are here for the railroad and not the horses, I’m not worried about keeping a steady income. I’ll be able to provide for you as well.”
Tabitha shook her head as her heart dropped from what he’d said. Tears stung her eyes. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
Both her aunt and Ethan’s eyes widened as they stared at her. Ethan blinked. “I... I’m sorry if I was too forward.”
She swallowed hard and waved her hand in front of her. “It’s not that. I just... I don’t want to get married again only to lose my husband. John died because a horse spooked and trampled him in the street. He was run over
by the cart. It was horrid. I know that you work with horses, but I... I just can’t go through that again.”
Even though she wanted to look away, she kept her eyes focused on him. She blinked away the tears as they blurred her vision and then swiped at them.
Slowly, he nodded. “If I have to leave my job as a farrier, I would do that for you.”
Her heart sank and she shook her head. “No! I couldn’t ask you to do that either. It’s what you’ve been doing all of your life. Ruth said you’re naturally good at it and that it’s your calling. I can’t take you away from that.”
The smallest of smiles tugged at his lips. “Then I don’t know what to do. I want to fix it so that we can be married, or at least make it so you could consider it.”
She pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s not you. It’s my fear. I... I’ve been praying over it and trying to give everything over to God. If he’s calling you to be a farrier, then you are where you’re supposed to be.”
“But I believe he’s calling me to be your husband, too.”
She nodded, her heart lifting. “I believe he’s calling me to be your wife.”
His smile grew wider as his eyes crinkled more. “Then what do we do?”
“Pray,” she answered. “Promise me that you’ll protect yourself and not shoe dangerous horses or even ones that make you nervous. And that we’ll cover our lives in so much prayer that I can give this fear over to God instead of trying to carry the burden myself. Because, Ethan, as strong as you are, you’re still not strong enough to fix this.”