by Regina Scott
“Yes.” Levi crossed to her side. She’d probably push him away, but he thought she needed comforting. He put his arms around her, felt her head rest against his shoulder. The honor of it nearly shook him off his feet.
“It’s all right, Callie,” he told her. “You’ll be fine.”
“No, I won’t.” Her voice wavered in a sob. “I should know how to take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years. But everything is different here. I don’t know how to talk, how to dress. I don’t even know how to drink tea!”
He wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but he rubbed a hand along her back, the hide of her coat rough against his fingers. “It is different here from the gold fields,” he acknowledged. “But different doesn’t have to be bad. You said you liked my cooking.”
She sniffed. “You put too much salt in the rag-oo.”
He nearly smiled at the petulant tone. “Duly noted. I’ll put the salt cellar on the table, and we can each decide how much to add to the plate.”
She was silent a moment. “You don’t fight enough with me.”
Levi paused. “You want me to fight with you?”
He felt her sigh. “I don’t know. See? I don’t even know that!”
Levi held her out so he could see her face. Tears left a muddy trail in their wake. Her eyes pleaded with him for understanding, for encouragement.
“You know plenty of things,” he told her. “I’ve heard all of my sisters-in-law struggled with how to do much with a baby in their arms. You figured out how to cook and wash with water far away. You took care of Mica when her mother died.”
She hung her head. “Doesn’t seem like that counts for much in the scheme of things.”
“It counts for a lot with me,” Levi assured her. “It counts for a lot with Mica, Frisco and Sutter, too. You don’t have to change a thing about yourself, Callie, if you don’t want to.”
“And if I want to change?” She glanced up, lower lip trembling.
He pulled her close. “I’m here to help, whatever you need.”
He felt her sigh again as she rested against him, but the tension in her had lessened, leaving her soft in his arms. He ought to be satisfied with the good he’d done, bask in the contentment of knowing he’d brought her a little peace. But something urged him to hold her a little closer, press a kiss against her hair, promise her he’d stay by her side forever, protecting, cherishing.
They were partners. Nothing more. He might understand her, but she would never understand what he’d done.
He drew back. “You don’t need to be afraid here. Everywhere you look you’ll likely find a Wallin involved. The man who startled you was my brother Drew.”
She stuck out her lower lip. “Was he? No wonder everything has to be so big.”
Levi chuckled. “Simon’s just as tall, but not so muscular. But neither of them would harm a hair on your head.”
“I know.” She looked away, teeth worrying her lower lip a moment. “Do you think I’m pretty?”
He blinked, as much at the non sequitur as the fact that it touched on his thoughts. “Certainly.”
Her look swung back to him, eyes narrowing. “But I’d be prettier with a fancy dress, my hair all piled up like a frosted cake.”
Levi met her gaze. “You’d be pretty wearing Gap-Tooth Harding’s whale skin coat.”
She wrinkled her nose, clearly having no idea how adorable she looked while doing so. “That old thing? It was torn, dirty and smelly and...oh.”
“Oh,” Levi agreed.
Pink suffused her cheeks. “Well, thank you.” She stepped back from him. “I appreciate the help, preacher. I feel better now.”
Levi inclined his head. “Good enough to stop calling me preacher?”
She frowned. “That’s what you are.”
“Then I suppose I should call you mother-father-sister-head-of-her-house every time I speak to you.”
Her mouth quirked. “Point taken. What do you want me to call you?”
“How about Levi? And I’ll call you Callie.”
The pink deepened. “All right.” She glanced around. “Where’s Mica?”
“Napping,” Levi reported with some pride. “Where are Frisco and Sutter?”
She gasped, returning to clutch his arm. “Oh, Levi! I let them go up to see your sister-in-law Nora without me. If we hurry, we might be able to save the farm before it’s too late.”
Chapter Nine
Callie could scarcely catch her breath as she followed Levi up the hill behind the main clearing. First she’d been scared that she’d begun to feel a kinship with Beth, then Levi’s brother had startled her, and finally Levi had gathered her close and told her she was pretty. Even if she was dressed in an old rag like Gap-Tooth Harding’s nasty coat. Now would be a good time to set a spell and think, but she couldn’t leave Levi’s sister-in-law besieged by the twins.
Looking over Levi’s shoulder, safe in his strong arms, Mica waved at Callie. Callie couldn’t help a stab of envy. She’d recently become aware of how nice it was to be held in Levi’s arms.
Her cheeks were heating as he led her out onto a plateau. Very likely her face was red. She hoped he’d put it down to the exertion of the climb, though in truth she’d hiked far higher hills following her father and brother.
Now fields, fallow in winter, lay waiting in every direction. Far on the other side, firs rose as if guarding the area. Closer at hand, a long, low house stood surrounded by the remains of a garden. The sprawling building was made of planed lumber painted white with green trim. Flower boxes sat under each window, curlicues edged the roof and a bench swing waited on the deep porch that wrapped around the house. It was the prettiest house Callie had ever seen. The person who owned it must be fairly fancy.
No one answered Levi’s knock at the green-lacquered door, but voices sounded nearby.
“That’s Frisco,” she told Levi.
A sharp yip split the air, and Callie tensed.
Levi smiled. “And that’s Fleet. Come on.”
He led her around the side of the house to the back door, where a yard opened between the porch and a large vegetable patch. A woman about Callie’s height, with flyaway black hair and a matronly figure, was standing on the shaded porch, toddler up in her arms and another clinging to the skirts of her purple plaid gown. The apron around her waist had bows and scallops a plenty, but it was also speckled with every color imaginable, as if she’d collected bits of everything she’d passed.
Out in the yard, Frisco and Sutter were running back and forth, two boys about half their age and size trailing behind like the tail on a kite. And darting among and between them was a sled dog. She’d seen his like in the British Territories, broad chest and bright eyes. This one had black markings over his head and shoulders, as if he were wearing a hooded cape.
“That’s some dog,” she said as she and Levi stopped to watch the fun.
“His name is Fleet,” the woman said, venturing down the stairs and over to Callie and Levi. “I hope you don’t mind me letting him play with Frisco and Sutter. He loves the exercise.”
He loved the exercise? Her brothers were the ones doing most of the running, cheeks red and mouths open.
Levi nodded to the lady. “Good morning, Nora. I see you’ve met Callie’s brothers.” He lifted Mica, whose head was turning back and forth as she followed the commotion across the yard. “This is Mica, and this is Callie Murphy.”
Nora bobbed a curtsey as if she’d met someone important. “Very pleased to meet you.” She nodded in turn to the children around her. “I’m Nora, in my arms is my Hannah and this is Rina’s Charlotte.”
The little girl beside her hid her face in the purple plaid.
“Out there you have Rina’s Seth and my Lars. They certainly like your bro
thers. I hope Frisco and Sutter can visit often.”
That was the first time anyone had ever said that about her brothers. She was so surprised that Levi had an opportunity to speak first.
“I expect they’ll be starting school soon,” he said as Mica reached for Hannah. The two little girls clasped hands and smiled at each other. Hannah had her mother’s gray eyes and black hair, making her and Mica nearly twins.
“How do you manage them all?” Callie couldn’t help asking.
Nora laughed, a warm, happy sound. “Most days it’s more like they manage me. We do the chores together, read, cook, eat and take naps when I can convince them. Catherine’s Bartholomew is resting inside right now. It all works out.”
Callie had an urge to wrap her arms around this woman and hold her tight. “That’s what I did with Frisco and Sutter. And now with Mica.”
Nora’s broad face saddened. “But I get to send most of them home for supper. You had to do it all. But no more. Now you have us to help.”
Were those tears shimmering in the gray gaze? It was as if Nora Wallin had peeled back the curtain, peered into Callie’s life and understood how hard she’d worked, how joy and sorrow could mix inside her, how she longed for someplace she would be safe, accepted.
“Thank you,” Callie said, feeling her own tears starting again.
Nora’s smile brightened her face. “You’re welcome. Anything I can do, let me know. I’m already planning a dress, and now that I’ve seen Frisco and Sutter, I think long trousers will be needed for winter.” She blushed, dropping her gaze. “I’m a seamstress, you see. That’s what I do, sew for people I love.”
If anyone else had told her she was loved on first meeting, Callie would have called them a liar. But there was something so warm, so open about Nora that Callie couldn’t doubt her. Emotions clogged her throat, and she looked hurriedly out at her brothers.
“We should probably take them back to the parsonage,” she murmured. “They have chores, too.”
“You hear that, Fleet?” Nora called. “Frisco and Sutter have to go home.”
The two younger boys skidded to a stop, faces hanging.
“Why?” one asked.
Frisco threw out his chest. “We got to help the preacher.”
“And we’re fishing for the store,” Sutter added.
Their two devotees looked impressed.
As Levi went with Mica to round up the younger boys, her brothers sauntered over to Callie’s side, the dog pacing them.
Sutter put a hand in the thick fur. “Could we bring Fleet with us, Callie, please?”
“Fleet belongs to Nora and her family,” Callie told him.
“Though he goes where he wants,” Nora added with a smile.
“We’ll come visit again,” Callie promised. She glanced at Nora. “And you could come down to the parsonage any time you want.”
Despite her best efforts, the suggestion came out hesitant. And why not? It wasn’t as if she knew how to phrase an invitation. She’d never had a home she felt comfortable inviting a lady to visit.
“I’d like that,” Nora said. “Thank you. Say goodbye to the boys now, Fleet.” She reached out her free hand toward the dog.
Fleet backed away. “Noooo!”
Callie gaped.
“He talks!” Sutter rounded on her. “Callie, we got to get a dog like Fleet.”
Frisco bent to put his face on a level with the dog’s. “What else does he say?”
Nora eyed her dog with evident pride. “Sometimes he says Nora.”
Frisco’s brows shot up. “Say Frisco,” he commanded the dog.
Fleet brought his leg up to scratch behind his shoulder.
“That might be a little hard,” Levi commiserated, joining them as the two younger boys ran up the steps and into the house. “Let’s leave him to practice. Good day, Nora.”
“A very good day to you all, too.” Her smile and the little girls’ waves saw them out of the yard.
“I like her,” Sutter said as they started down the path for the main clearing. “She’s nice.”
“You like her dog,” Frisco corrected him.
“He’s nice, too,” Sutter allowed.
“They’re all nice,” Callie said, hearing the note of longing in her voice. Everyone of Levi’s family was going out of their way to make her feel welcome. She needed to find a way to return the favor, especially with Levi.
* * *
Levi was smiling as he led Callie and her family back to the parsonage. It looked as if they’d discovered a way to harness the boys’ energy. He’d speak to John and Simon about getting Frisco and Sutter involved with the animals. And Callie and Nora seemed to get on; perhaps his kindest sister-in-law could help Callie feel more at home. He was still congratulating himself on how well things were going when Rina arrived that afternoon to evaluate the twins, bringing Mica’s cradle with her.
It was a question as to whether Drew’s wife, Catherine, or James’s wife, Rina, was the most formidable of his sisters-in-law. The regal brunette swept into the parsonage with a pleasant smile, but he was certain entire nations rose and fell behind those changeable hazel eyes.
“Forgive me for not coming to welcome you sooner,” she told Callie and the boys, who were clustered around the table looking at books that John had brought over. Mica banged on her chair with a spoon as if to get their attention.
Rina twitched her lavender wool skirts aside as she joined them. “I’m trying to end lessons at a good place before Christmas, and there’s the theatrical to consider.”
“The Lake Union School puts on a Christmas play each year,” Levi explained.
“This time in the hall,” Rina said with a fond look his way.
“But not the church?” Callie put in with her own look to Levi. “We found things moved around yesterday.”
Rina frowned. “We won’t decorate until a few days before the event, and we aren’t going to use the church. Perhaps Beth and Nora were cleaning.”
He was fairly sure his sister and Nora hadn’t overturned the benches in the process. By the way Frisco and Sutter were squirming, they were still the most likely culprits. As if she thought so, too, Mica blew bubbles at them.
Rina laid the book and slate she’d been carrying on the table. “Boys, I’d like you to show me how well you read, write and cipher so I know what kind of work to give you in school.”
Frisco pushed the slate away. “I’d probably be at the head of the class.”
Sutter pulled the book closer. “I like reading.”
“Do not!” Frisco declared with a scowl.
Sutter scowled back. “Do, too!”
Levi was ready to intervene, but Callie rose and came around beside him. “That’s enough. You ought to thank Mrs. Wallin for visiting us. How’d you like to test in front of the whole school?”
Sutter closed his eyes as if it were a fate too awful to contemplate. Frisco crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t need to be tested. Ain’t going to school.”
“That’s a shame,” Rina said, rearranging the slate closer to him and setting a piece of chalk from her pocket beside it. “We could have used a bright young man such as yourself for the theatrical. Standing up in front of the whole community. Leading the school.”
Levi wasn’t sure how the lad would take the challenge. Neither was Callie—he could feel her tensing beside him. Mica reached for the chalk.
Frisco grabbed it first. “I suppose I could help. But only until Christmas.”
Rina inclined her head. “Let’s call today a trial. All great actors have to try out for their parts.” She nodded to the book in Sutter’s hands. “Sutter, would you read a page aloud for me?”
Sutter began reading, stumbling over a few of the words in the simple pr
imer. Callie jerked her head at Levi and stepped back from the table, out of earshot.
“They have to keep going to school after Christmas,” she whispered, eyes dipping down with concern. “She can’t let them off.”
“If I know Rina, she won’t,” Levi murmured back. “Don’t worry, Callie. The boys will be fine. I heard Frisco read Adam’s letter. Neither of your brothers is stupid.”
Her gaze remained on her brothers. “You can be smart and do poorly in school.”
“And you can be brilliant and waste every opportunity given you,” Levi countered. “I won’t let that happen to the boys.” He took her hand in promise, but the touch sent a tremor through him. Once more he wanted to hold her close, make all her dreams come true.
When all Callie wanted, all she requested, was a future for her brothers and Mica.
She let go of his hand and moved back to the table. Very likely she thought to keep an eye on the twins, but Levi caught her glancing his way from time to time as if she wasn’t too sure about him, either.
After Rina had Frisco and Sutter practice arithmetic on the slate and write some words she spelled aloud, she drew Levi and Callie aside.
“Very bright young gentlemen,” she said with a nod. “The biggest impediment will be their ability to sit still long enough to attend to lessons.”
Callie sighed. “That’s only the truth, ma’am. I don’t know how to focus them unless they’re playing some game.”
“Make sitting a game,” Rina suggested. “You could read to them—adventure stories, Biblical passages appropriate for their age like the birth of our Lord or the story of David and Goliath. Ask them questions about the work from time to time, so they listen expecting to contribute.”
Levi nodded. “We’ll start with the books John sent over. We can read before bed like Ma and Pa used to read to me and the others.”
Callie nodded, too, but one hand had strayed to her shoulder again.
“The boys will be fine,” Levi repeated after Rina had taken her leave and the twins were out bringing in the evening’s firewood.
“I know,” Callie said. She stood taller, as if making a decision. “How can I help with dinner?”