by Jill Summers
But perhaps she understood that. Her eyes shone. A powerful feeling flickered to life within him as he met and held her gaze. Shaken, rocked to his soul, he cleared his throat, bowed his head and uttered a quick grace.
The girls grabbed the basket of biscuits and offered them first to Clementine, while Jeremiah asked, “What about me? Usually I get first pick.”
“You’re not Mrs. Clementine,” Gracie explained to him.
“I can’t argue with that,” Jeremiah answered with a good-natured smirk. He didn’t look too upset over having to wait for Clementine to pass him the biscuits.
The woman had an odd effect on him. His hearing wasn’t working right. He could hardly hear what everyone was saying—voices were distant and tinny, as if pure background. What remained front and center was Clementine. He couldn’t look away. Even when he ladled chicken, dumplings and gravy from the pot, he missed his plate twice. He hoped Hattie wouldn’t mind the gravy stain on the tablecloth.
“Miss Clementine!” Gracie shoveled in a mouthful of dumpling. “Do you like tree houses?”
“Only it doesn’t got a roof,” Hope added.
“Yes. My sisters and I had a tree house of our own. Our father built it in our backyard.” Clementine took charge of the ladle and filled her plate. “I helped him.”
“Is that so?” Jeremiah looked intrigued as he took over the ladle. “I hear you’re looking for work. We’re roofing one of the barns. We could use another carpenter.”
“I’m not professional quality, perhaps I should be clear about that. My role was mostly hammering a few nails for my father.” Clementine broke apart her biscuit, reaching for the butter dish. “My Walt, he would always fall behind on the chore lists I would make for him. One day I got tired of waiting for him to repair the screen door and helped myself to his hammer. When he saw what I’d done, he kindly said he couldn’t have done better. Even when the door handle kept falling off because of my hammering job.”
“Did you have to nail it back on?” Hope asked.
“Yes, and then it would come off again,” Clementine confessed. “But my Walt never faulted me. One day he quietly fixed the door handle and I could open the screen door without fear again.”
It was hard to miss the sadness in her voice, both the love lost and another quality that mesmerized him. Marriage had been a good experience for her. He could picture how easy it would be to take care of and get along with her.
“Sounds like your Walt was a good man,” Jeremiah added, breaking the small silence that had settled.
“Yes. I guess maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned him.” Her gaze shot down the table, full of apology. “Perhaps that was out of line, Caleb.”
“Not at all. He was a lucky man to have you for a wife.” His voice deepened with emotion. “Here’s another reason why you should be glad you’re not marrying me. I’m a terrible handyman.”
“It’s true,” Jeremiah added, talking around a mouthful of chicken. “When there’s something that needs fixing, I find myself invited to supper. Next thing I know Hattie is handing me a repair list.”
“I can’t deny it.” Caleb actually smiled. Full-fledged and one hundred percent. His grave demeanor vanished. Again, there was the glimpse of the man he must have been. “I’m always rushing off for work. Someone is always getting sick or hurt, so I never get to the list.”
“Not that he’s talented with a hammer,” Jeremiah explained. “Me and Daniel, you’ll have to meet him while you’re in town, we’re the ones who built the girls’ tree house. We’re the impressive ones around here, just so you know.”
“Glad I’ve got that straight.” Clementine bit into the bottom half of her well-buttered biscuit. Crumbly, tasty, just perfect. It was the best food she’d had in a long time. “It must be nice to have your brothers close.”
“I wouldn’t say nice,” Caleb joked. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. What about you? What happened to your sisters? Did they move away?”
“No, I did. Walt worked for the railroad and we moved a lot. When he—” Her voice faltered. “I found myself alone in Dakota Territory with no one I knew.”
“Couldn’t you marry someone there?” Jeremiah wanted to know.
“Shh!” Gracie scolded. “Don’t ask her that.”
“Yeah, cuz we want her here,” Hope explained.
Clementine took a shaky breath. “There wasn’t anyone who would have me, or anyone who seemed decent enough for me to marry. It was a rough railroad camp, not exactly a gentile place.”
“And you were alone?” Caleb leaned forward, concerned.
“Everything was all right.” That was all she wanted to say on the subject. She didn’t want the good doctor to know how she’d slept many a night in the church, homeless, and worked two jobs cleaning while sewing on the side for extra cash. “I was able to leave there and move to Dayton Springs, where I worked as a seamstress and at my boardinghouse, but no one was interested.”
“That’s hard to believe.” Caleb smiled at her, making the past less painful.
This was the moment she wanted to remember—the girls, the sunshine, and the happy home. The men chuckling as Jeremiah told a joke. Maybe if she held on to this memory through the days to come, wherever the future took her, then maybe one day she could wind up just like this—at home, with family, with love.
It didn’t hurt to wish.
-Chapter Five-
Clementine set the pile of plates on the counter by the sink. She felt a tug on her sleeve.
“Hattie’ll do ‘em.” Hope smiled up at her. “Do you wanna come see our tree house now?”
“Yeah!” Gracie trotted up. “I’m in the mood to climb.”
She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Oh, it felt good. She hadn’t been this happy in years. She happened to glance out the window above the sink. “Oh no. I see trouble.”
“Not trouble!” Gracie went up on tiptoe, straining to see. “It’s Pumpkin, ain’t it?”
“She’s out of her corral.” Clementine wasn’t at all surprised. She looked like the kind of pony that was hard to contain.
“Again?” Hope swiped her forehead dramatically. “I’m tuckered out from chasing her today.”
“Hurry, Hope!” Gracie pounded toward the door. “She’s heading’ toward the apple tree!”
“She loves them apples.” Hope rushed after her sister. The screen door slammed, echoing through the kitchen.
She was alone with the two men.
“I think I’ll be getting on my way.” Jeremiah pushed out his chair and rose, stretching before he circled the table. “I’ve got things to do, people to charm. Caleb, don’t get up on my account.”
“Sure. I see what you’re doing.” Caleb frowned over his cup of coffee. “No need to rush off, little brother.”
“I think there is.” Jeremiah paced across the room. “Clementine, it was a pleasure. One day maybe Pa will find me a lady as beautiful as you.”
“I hope you find one a great deal better than me.” Clementine wanted to give this young man a big hug, but she held back. She had to remember this would never be her family, and he would never be her little brother-in-law. “Are you thinking your father will find you a mail-order bride, too?”
“Why not? I didn’t know he was looking for one for Caleb. He may as well find me one, too.” Jeremiah winked. “I have problems attracting the ladies. I’ve had bad luck.”
“Maybe your luck will improve. It was nice meeting you.”
“You, too.” He grabbed his hat from the hook by the door and tipped it in a most gentlemanly fashion. “Have a good night.”
He left with a slap of the screen door, leaving her alone with Caleb. Now she felt awkward. Maybe because she liked him so much. Silence settled in the room, as if he didn’t know what to say either.
Finally he cleared his throat, pushed back his chair and stood. “We talked so much about the girls over the meal.”
“The stories were so funny
.” She grabbed the dish basin, intending to take it over to the stove to fill with wash water, but suddenly he was there, all six towering feet of him, taking it from her.
“No dishwashing for you.” Firmly, he returned the basin to the counter. “And you can say the stories about the twins are funny, but you didn’t live them.”
“I don’t know. They are pretty entertaining.”
“You saw their behavior in town today. I can’t watch them when I’m working, and Hattie can’t keep an eye on them one hundred percent of the time. She was making our supper when they snuck off with the pony. They were supposed to walk to the boardinghouse.”
“They wanted to show her to me.”
“They were successful. You saw the good, the bad and the ugly. And the way the ladies in town disapproved.”
“It’s not all that bad having a pony on the boardwalk. Say, compared to losing your husband to small pox.” Shocked, she fell silent. That wasn’t what she’d intended to say at all. The words had simply rolled off her tongue. Now her heart was wide open, when the last thing she wanted was to deepen any kind of tie between them.
“I’m sorry.” He looked down, startled. “I guess that explains why you placed that advertisement. I’m glad my girls chose you.”
“They chose me.” That was the simple truth. “I was charmed right from the start. They are why I worked so hard to come here.”
“And not me?” The corners of his mouth twitched, and his blue eyes glittered with the promise of humor. When Caleb Blake let himself go, she bet he could be a funny, amusing man.
“Of course I was captivated by you, too,” she assured him. “But it turns out that you’re not my type.”
“I’m not?”
“No. You’re way too tall and handsome for my taste. I was hoping for short, fat and ugly.”
He nodded in agreement. “If I ever married again, I was hoping for an ugly, shrew of a wife.”
“Seems like we agree. We would have been wrong for one another.”
“Very wrong.” He nodded, and then they were laughing.
The entire kitchen shrank, the world melted away until there was just him. He was all she could see. The dimple in his chin. The bronze threads in his eyes. My, but he was dashingly handsome with his slightly tousled dark hair. His muscled arms that made her wonder what it would feel like to be held by him, safe against that iron chest.
What kind of thinking was that! She flushed, her heart kicking up wildly, and tore her gaze from his. She whipped around to stare out the window where the twins chased after the pony, who was dashing merrily around the yard, and Jeremiah, stopped to offer his advice.
“I suppose I’ll be heading back to Mrs. O’Hurley’s.” She stole her sunbonnet from the peg by the door. “Thank you for supper, Caleb. It was delicious and most entertaining.”
“I can’t argue there.” He leaned in to open the door for her.
At such closeness, her skin tingled. A place in her heart opened a little more. Looking up, she could see past the man’s granite exterior to the soft heart within. To the healer, the father, the broken hearted man. Seeing those layers, those places in him pulled at her, where nothing had touched her in a long time.
He cleared his throat, nodding his chin toward the outside world. “Look at them. The more they chase that pony, the more the pony runs.”
“Pumpkin is playing tag.”
“If the girls stood still, the pony would too. Do you think the twins will always be, this, uh, spirited?”
“If you’re lucky, yes.”
“That’s not helping.” Humor crinkled in the corners of his mouth.
“You’ve stopped being wary of me.” She saw that too. “I can see you don’t trust women easily.”
“Not after my marriage, no. Lena was not easy on me. But you aren’t here to try and talk me into the marriage you need so badly. You’re a good woman, Clementine.” He opened the door to the pleasant evening.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” The long rays of the sun blinded her as she stepped onto the back porch. She liked to think it was the sun that made her eyes water and not the wish for him.
Focus on the moment, she told herself. Not the past, not the future. The sun on her face felt sustaining, the warm breeze in her hair reassuring. The larks chirping and the rustle of grass were like a song. The roll of the Montana meadows were filled with color. The girls chased the troublesome pony, who stopped and started and dashed to evade them. The little girls’ laughter rang loud.
“Where did Jeremiah go?” Caleb called out to them.
“He left us!” Gracie tried to grab Pumpkin’s halter, but the mischievous pony jumped back at the last minute. “He’s a bad uncle.”
“Very bad! He’s in the barn hitching up!” Hope’s laughter belied her words. Pumpkin lowered her head, offering her halter to Hope. When she grabbed for it, the pony ran off again.
“Oh, what a life you have, Caleb.” Clementine looked more than amused. She looked wistful. “Goodbye to you.”
Just like that, she was walking away with a swish of her skirts and a bob of her sunbonnet brim. Her hair fell in ringlets of gold down her back, emphasizing her slender waist and her feminine grace.
She made him remember there was more to life than work and responsibility. More to living than putting one foot in front of the other to get through the day.
And there was more to a woman than her ability to hurt a man.
It seemed as if the sunlight followed her, trailing her as she made her way down the road. She was leaving. Daisies waved in her wake. Dandelions seemed to bow as she passed by. She walked in sunshine, when it felt like he lived in the shadows. Was it wrong that she captivated him? It certainly went beyond his better sense.
“Wait!” He shouted, but she was too far away. The wind conspired against him, carrying his call the opposite way. His heart ached, seeing her so clearly—her wholesome charm and whimsical grace—and his feet were moving without conscious thought.
Surely reality would hit him any minute. But nothing could change the beautiful way he saw her.
“Girls, here’s the best way to catch a pony.” Clementine reached into her pocket and pulled out a sugar cookie. “Here, Pumpkin. Look what I’ve got.”
Pumpkin’s head whipped around. Her nose was up, scenting the wind. Her brown eyes sparkled. Her dainty hooves charged forward, and she snatched the cookie with her teeth so fast, she was a blur.
“You did it!” Gracie came running.
“You really caught her!” Hope came running too.
“I learned this trick with my pony.” Clementine slipped her fingers around the pony’s halter, holding her firmly in place. “Here’s a whole bag. I brought them with me from the boardinghouse. Mrs. O’Hurley and I thought they might come in handy for you.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Clementine!” the girls chorused. Hope took the bag and Gracie grabbed the halter. “Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
“Leaving you two isn’t easy, but Mrs. O’Hurley is waiting for me. She wants to hear how well the cookies worked.”
“Oh, okay.” Gracie sighed.
Hope sighed louder.
There was no mistaking the longing on the girls’ faces or the disappointment. He wisely chose to remain silent. Worse, he wasn’t sure if he could trust his voice. Seeing her with his daughters made his chest tight and his heart do funny things.
“Good night, Mrs. Clementine!” the girls called out as they led the pony away.
“Good night, Gracie and Hope.” Love warmed her words, made her as luminous as the sun, so bright it hurt his eyes to see.
His throat ached with emotions he did not want to name.
“You can’t walk all the way to town,” he called out after her. “Let me get my buggy. We’ll all take you back.”
“Don’t even think of it!” She whirled around, walking backward, her adorable face framed by her blue sunbonnet brim. “You’ve had a long day, and I rather like walking.�
�
“That doesn’t matter. You wait while I get hitched up—” And that’s as far as he got because Jeremiah chose that moment to come rolling out of the barn, reining his team of draft horses down the rutted driveway.
“I’ll take her,” his little brother volunteered from his wagon seat. He tipped back his hat. “Climb on up, Clementine.”
Disappointment nearly choked him. Caleb cleared his throat, but a lump remained lodged beneath his Adam’s apple. He didn’t trust himself to speak, so he simply held out his hand to help her up into the wagon. She granted him a smile, and her blue eyes twinkled at him as she wrapped her slender fingers around his.
Tenderness flared through him like a new sun rising in a morning sky, blaringly bright and full of promise. She’d taken hold of his hand, but she’d touched his heart.
“Good luck to you, Caleb.” She settled onto the seat and let go of his hand.
“Best of luck to you.” His voice came out too gruff and scratchy. “Thank you for the cookie idea. It seemed to work.”
“It looks like the girls had better keep a few in their pockets.” She laughed, waving as Jeremiah drove away.
Caleb’s feet were rooted to the ground as he watched her drive away. She’d enthralled his daughters, she’d enraptured him and what he felt for her was not sensible. Not sensible at all. But he watched her move farther and farther away until she disappeared around a copse of trees, taking with her all beauty and light.
* * *
“Our father meant well,” Jeremiah told her the instant Caleb’s house was out of sight. “In bringing you here.”
“I don’t doubt that. Not at all.” Clementine turned to study the young man holding the reins.
He had that strength and confidence of youth, but a touch of sweetness, too. It was refreshing. With his thick hair and blue eyes, he probably had young ladies swooning all over town.
“I didn’t know Pa was going to do such a thing.” He tipped his hat against the low slant of the sun. “But he reads a lot of newspapers. Maybe that’s where he got the idea. Saw one of those advertisements and figured it was the solution to our problem.”