by Leigh, Nerys
“I’m sorry, but he hasn’t mentioned anything to me about needing help. But I’ll ask him when he returns. He can contact you at the hotel?”
“Uh... yes. Yes, the hotel. Albert Pulaski.”
“I know, Mr Pulaski.”
He gave a short, nasal laugh. “Of course you do, after all the time we spent on the train together. I very much enjoyed our conversations, by the way. I don’t know if I ever told you that. The time I spent in your company made a long journey a delight, if I may say so.”
“It was my pleasure.” She almost grimaced at her second lie in as many minutes.
This time his mouth stretched into a wide, open smile. One of his teeth was gold. It glinted in the sunshine. “Perhaps we’ll have the opportunity to spend some more time in conversation while I’m here.”
She tried to make her smile look genuine, she truly did. “Well, as you mentioned, there is a lot of hard work here. But perhaps.”
He nodded, still grinning. “I’ll look forward to it, um... may I call you Sara?”
I’d rather eat nails. “I’m sorry, I don’t think that would be appropriate, Mr Pulaski.”
He nodded rapidly. “Of course, you’re absolutely right. It was wrong of me to ask so early in our friendship. Please forgive me.”
Friendship? She was beginning to feel uncomfortable, although she couldn’t put her finger on exactly why. “Well, it was lovely speaking with you, but I do have work to do, so...” She waggled the basket a little to get her point across. That point being, please go away.
“Oh yes, of course. I’ll be on my way then.” He took a small step backwards. “I hope I’ll have the pleasure of your company again soon.”
Even though it was probably rude not to, she didn’t reply. There was simply no polite answer that could have conveyed her true feelings at that moment. Instead, she just smiled and willed him to leave.
He took another step back. “Well, farewell, Miss Wor... I’m sorry, Mrs Raine.” He turned away and strode back around the house. A minute later, she saw his buggy disappear into the trees along the road.
“Well,” she muttered to herself, “that was odd.”
The whole exchange had been strange. She watched the trees for a few more moments, shrugged, and headed for the kitchen.
She could think about it later. Right now, lemon pie was calling her name.
~ ~ ~
Daniel stared in amazement at the lines of clean clothing and bedding shifting in the gentle breeze. “You didn’t have to do all this.”
Sara shrugged as if it was nothing, but he could see it wasn’t.
“At home laundry day was always on a Monday so I thought, why not? If you’d like me to do it on another day in future...”
“Oh no, any day is absolutely fine by me,” he said quickly. “I just meant, you’re still tired.”
She winced. “About that, I promise I won’t get up so late again. I don’t know what happened this morning...”
“I didn’t mean that.” He wanted to kick himself. Why was he saying all the wrong things? “I just meant that I don’t want you to do too much. Will and I can look after ourselves, more or less.”
Her face fell. “But looking after you is my job as your wife. You work to provide for us, I look after you so you can.”
Now Daniel wanted someone else to kick him. “No. I mean yes, I do want you to look after me. I just don’t want you to tire yourself out doing it. I’m not doing this very well, am I?”
At least that got her to smile again. He loved seeing her smile.
Will wandered through the laundry, gazing at it in awe as he ran a hand over one of his now clean shirts. “It all smells so good. What did you use?”
“Um, soap?” Sara replied.
He clicked his fingers as if some great mystery had been solved. “So that’s how you do it.” Grinning, he marched over and threw his arms around her. “Thank you. You are my favourite person in the whole world.”
She laughed and hugged him back. “You’re welcome.”
Daniel tamped down a twinge of jealousy. She was his wife; he should be the one hugging her. If he wasn’t constantly unsure of himself around her, he would have.
“I washed everything that was in the laundry basket in the house,” she said as Will released her. “And I just picked up everything that was on the floor in the bunkhouse.”
At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. “I’ll use a basket from now on.”
She smiled. “That would be helpful, thank you.”
Daniel pushed his hands into his pockets. “For the record, you don’t have to do Will’s laundry, he can do his own. You’re under no obligation to look after him.”
Will smacked his arm with the back of his hand. “Stop discouraging her.”
“I’m not discouraging her from doing my laundry.”
“I don’t mind,” Sara said. “You both work hard.”
Will pointed at her. “Favourite person. Ever.” He began removing his dry clothing from the line. “I’m going to take this inside and just breathe it in.”
Daniel glanced at Sara as she took the pegs from Will and dropped them into the pocket in her apron. He hadn’t really been discouraging, had he? When Will had left them for the bunkhouse, he walked up beside her and began taking down the rest of the laundry.
“I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. I am, very.”
“I understand.” She kept her eyes on the underwear she was unpegging from the line. “I like how you’re worried about me. It makes me feel cared for.”
His heart beat harder as he considered his next words. “I do care about you. Very much.” Why was it so hard to tell her how he felt?
Her hands stilled, her eyes finding his. “I care about you too.”
How long should he wait before he told her just how much he cared about her, that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and just being around her made his insides do somersaults? Because at that moment he would have shouted it to the world if he’d been able to tear his gaze from her face.
When he failed to say anything further, she lowered her eyes and continued working on the washing. “I had a visitor today.”
It was a couple of seconds before Daniel could gather his wits enough to grasp her meaning. “You did? One of the other ladies?”
“No, it was a man.”
He stopped working abruptly. “A man? Who?” He should have thought of this. Sara would sometimes be on her own all day. He had to make sure she was safe.
“His name is Mr Pulaski. He was on the train with us, all the way from New York. We spoke briefly a few times. I didn’t even realise he was staying in Green Hill Creek until he showed up this afternoon.”
“What did he want?” He tried to keep his tone casual. Who was this man who visited lone women unannounced?
“He said he was looking for work and had heard you might be hiring.”
Daniel would have laughed if he hadn’t been so concerned. “I don’t know who would have told him that. Everyone in town knows this is just a small farm. Maybe if it was harvest, but not at this time of year.”
She placed the last of the pegs into her pocket and led the way to the house. “He didn’t say.” Her brow furrowed. “He seemed... I don’t know.”
She held the back door open for him and he walked in and placed the mound of clean laundry onto the table.
“Seemed what?”
She stared unseeing at the table for a few moments then shook her head. “It’s nothing. He just came as I finished the laundry and I was tired. To be honest, on the train I dreaded being caught in a conversation with him. I don’t like to speak ill of someone, but he was awfully boring.”
He couldn’t help smiling at her longsuffering expression. “Sounds terrible. And you trapped on a train with him for a week.”
“Sometimes I would duck into a compartment if I saw him coming, any compartment. Once there was a couple inside kissing. I was so embarrassed, but they were very
understanding once I explained.”
He burst into laughter, imagining the scene. “You’ve suffered so much just to come and marry me.”
She shrugged and picked up one of his shirts. “It was worth it.”
Daniel’s stomach flipped. He longed to hold her. Was it too late to follow Will’s lead and thank her for washing his clothes with a hug?
She stopped folding the shirt and stared across the kitchen. “Oh, that must have been him.”
“I’m sorry?”
She placed the folded shirt onto the table and picked up a sheet. He took one end and they backed away from each other, stretching it out between them.
“Yesterday when I went into church Mrs Goodwin said a tall, thin man had been asking after me,” she said as they worked. “I had no idea who it could have been at the time, but it must have been Mr Pulaski. That’s a mystery solved.”
The man was asking about her and then turned up while she was alone. Daniel was probably overreacting by being concerned, but still. “Have you ever used a gun?”
Her eyes widened. “A gun? No! Why?”
“You need to be safe here while Will and I are out. I’d like to teach you, just in case you ever need it.”
She took the folded sheet from him, placed it onto the table, and picked up another. “You don’t have to worry about Mr Pulaski. He’s harmless.”
“Not necessarily for him. It’s lonely out here and it’s not just people. There are coyotes and bears and wolves. I’ve rarely seen them and they don’t come near the farm, but I just want to know you’re safe. I’m sure you’ll never need it, but I’d be happier knowing you’re prepared.”
She looked uncomfortable, but nodded. “I didn’t think of that. Not many wild bears in New York.”
“So you’ll let me teach you?”
“If you think I need to learn, then of course.” She smiled. “Wouldn’t do for me to come all this way only to get eaten.”
He let out a relieved breath. “It wouldn’t. I’m too young to be a widower.”
She laughed and handed him a pillow case to fold. It occurred to him how natural working with her came, even if they were just folding laundry.
“Oh,” she said, “I think possibly the real reason Mr Pulaski bothered me was he turned up when I was about to have a slice of lemon pie.”
All of a sudden there were more pressing issues than this Pulaski person or teaching Sara to shoot. He looked around the kitchen in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. “You made lemon pie?”
Chapter 10
When Sara woke on Tuesday morning the sun was barely above the horizon. This time, she was determined to have breakfast ready for Daniel and Will before they began their day.
Even though none of them had to prepare it, her mother had instilled in her and her brother and sister the habit of rising early enough that they could eat breakfast with their father before he left each day for his office. Sara had decided before even coming to Green Hill Creek that she would do the same for her husband, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. Today was the first day she hadn’t overslept.
She pressed an ear to the bedroom door and listened for signs in the parlour that Daniel was already up, but she heard nothing. Hopefully, that meant he was still asleep. After washing, dressing and making herself presentable, she quietly eased the door open and peeked out.
She was slightly apprehensive that she might walk in on Daniel in a state of undress which was a mortifying proposition. Despite being married to him, she wasn’t quite ready for that. But she was safe; Daniel wasn’t even awake yet. He lay on his back on his bedroll, the blanket tucked around his tall frame and his chest rising and falling in deep, even breaths.
She walked on silent feet towards the kitchen, almost making it before her burning curiosity brought her to a halt. It took her a few seconds to build up her courage, watching Daniel to make sure he wasn’t in imminent danger of waking, before she crept across the room. She lowered into a crouch at his side, thankful her dress was made of soft, silent cotton instead of the starched material of many of her dresses back at home that rustled with even the slightest movement.
Up close, his face was peaceful and serene in sleep. Sara counted herself more than blessed, and maybe a little lucky. She’d been smitten with his letters, but she’d known what was on the outside may not have matched up to what was inside. It worried her that she thought that way. In the first book of Samuel it said that God looked at the heart, not the outward appearance. Sara wanted to do that too, but it was hard not to want at least a small amount of physical attraction to the man she would be spending the rest of her life with. Thankfully, Daniel’s face was easily as beautiful as his heart.
Deep in slumber, he looked even younger. Not that he looked old anyway, but his lightly tanned skin was smooth and unblemished. Thick, dark lashes brushed his cheeks and his hair tousled over his forehead. Sara wondered if it was as soft as it looked. One curl stood up, crying out to be touched. Did she dare?
Holding her breath and biting her lip, she reached out a hand, slowly edging forwards until her fingertips gently brushed against the dark, shiny lock.
Daniel’s eyes snapped open. He gasped in a surprised breath.
Sara leaped backwards with a yelp, tripped over a low stool behind her, and stumbled onto the settee, landing in an ungainly heap with her skirts splayed around her. She rapidly pushed them down.
Daniel had pushed himself up onto his elbows, his mouth hanging open as he stared at her. To her acute embarrassment, his blanket had slid down and his shoulders and chest, his very bare chest, were now exposed.
“Sara?”
She scrambled to her feet, looking anywhere but at her half naked husband. “I’m sorry... I was... sorry... I’ll go and...”
And then she fled into the kitchen and slammed the door shut behind her.
~ ~ ~
Daniel stared at the kitchen door in astonishment. After a few seconds, he closed his mouth.
Waking up to Sara’s pretty face hovering above him, her hand touching his hair, was far from unpleasant. But it had been a surprise. Had she been watching him sleep?
A smile spread slowly across his face as he thought about it. She must have been. The smile threatened to escalate when he recalled her chaotic scramble to get away from him. He clapped one hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. The startled look of horror on her face when he’d caught her in the act had been adorable. How he looked forward to the time when she would be the first thing he saw every morning.
He shrugged the blanket off and climbed to his feet, finding his clothes where he’d thrown them the night before. He was really going to have to be tidier in future. He was a married man now.
A married man with a wife who made him happier than he’d ever thought possible.
Truth was, he loved how she’d come along and changed his life. He loved how she occupied his thoughts almost constantly. He loved the way just thinking of her made him smile.
He loved... her.
He abruptly stopped buttoning his shirt, drawing in a breath of realisation. He was completely and utterly in love.
Closing his eyes, he slowly released the air in his lungs and whispered on the sigh, “Thank you, Lord.”
Bringing Sara to him had been God’s doing, he had no doubt of that. His dream of a wife and family to fill his heart was becoming a reality and the knowledge gave him so much joy he almost laughed out loud.
Thank you, Lord!
Dressed, he went to the kitchen door and knocked lightly, not wanting to startle her again. When there was no answer he opened it to find Sara sitting at the table, her head resting on her folded arms and her face hidden. He slipped onto the chair opposite and touched her elbow.
“I feel like such a fool,” she said into the tabletop without moving.
“That’s the most fun I’ve had waking up since, well, forever. It certainly beats Will’s smelly sock draped across my face which I had on an
almost daily basis when I was thirteen. Until I threatened to smash his favourite toy train if he did it again.”
She snorted delicately and lifted her face to look at him. “I didn’t mean to... I mean... I didn’t think you’d wake up.” She winced. “Not that I was intending to touch you while you slept.” Her eyes widened and she dropped her head back onto her folded arms with a groan. “I’m going to stop speaking now.”
Daniel couldn’t help it, he burst into laughter.
She raised her head again and a few seconds later she was laughing with him.
“I’m sorry,” he said when he’d caught his breath. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just...”
“I know,” she said. “It was kind of funny when you think about it.”
He looked out the window, considering if he should say what he was thinking. “You know, I don’t mind if you watch me when I’m sleeping.”
She didn’t answer immediately and he wondered if he’d made a mistake in being so honest.
Then she smiled. “We have a whole lifetime of marriage ahead of us. I imagine it might include times when I watch you sleep.”
He caught his breath, staring into her shining eyes, the urge to wrap her in his arms so strong that he had to stop his hands from sliding across the table towards her.
Her cheeks turned pink and she lowered her gaze, a smile playing across her lips. Darting another glance at him, she pushed back from the table and stood. “I’d better get breakfast started.”
He leaned back in his chair as she walked past him to the pantry, following her with his eyes. His wife. His beautiful, fun, incredible wife.
Oh yes, he was definitely in love.
And, without a doubt, he was the most blessed man in the world.
Chapter 11
Sara swirled the soapy cloth slowly around a cup as she watched Daniel walk across the yard through the kitchen window.