“You look...beautiful, Rebecca.” He watched as a delicate blush spread up her neck and onto her cheeks.
“See, I told you, Mama.” Jenny whispered loud enough for him to hear.
“You did,” Rebecca whispered back.
Ben had to smile at their conversation—had Rebecca wondered how she looked or what he’d think? He certainly hoped that was the case. He held her wrap for her and helped her on with it. She kissed both her daughter and her mother and he whisked her out the door to the hack he had waiting.
Once they were on their way, she turned to Ben. “I didn’t see Matt and Millicent in the parlor. Are we meeting them there? I meant to ask Millicent about it, but with all that’s been going on lately, I completely forgot.”
“I suppose it’s time to confess. I decided against asking them. With so much happening and all the new boarders—I wanted you all to myself tonight.”
“Is there something you need to talk about privately?”
“There might be. But mostly, I just wanted to spend some time with you.”
“Oh...that’s nice of you, Ben. I like spending time with you, too.”
But her tone sounded a bit distant and it was too dark to read the expression on her face. Ben couldn’t let her pull away from him. Not tonight.
They arrived at the restaurant and he took her arm and helped her out of the cab, then proudly escorted her inside. The atmosphere was as warm and welcoming as he remembered, with candles lighting the tables. Ben was pleased when they were shown to a table in an alcove looking out onto the street. It felt private and open all at the same time.
They were given a menu, but it was in Italian and when the waiter left the table, Rebecca smiled over at him. “I don’t know what any of this is, do you?”
“I’ve learned.” He went on to explain the dishes to her. “I like the spaghetti and meatballs, but I know the lasagna is good, as is the fettuccini. At least that’s what the others have told me.”
“I’ll just have what you are having,” Rebecca said.
The waiter came and Ben gave him their order. The quiet sounds of other diners’ conversations, along with the flickering candlelight and soft violin music coming from somewhere in the background, made the atmosphere seem intimate and special. At least it felt that way to him and he hoped Rebecca liked it as much as he did.
“It’s very different from trying to keep up with so many conversations at home, isn’t it?” she asked.
Ben laughed. “It certainly is, although I usually love that about having dinner at Heaton House, too. But it does seem a bit much at times with the new boarders. Not that they aren’t very nice, it’s just that I got used to the smaller group and I find myself missing it now. But I’ll get used to it.”
“I know. I feel the same way at times. I was worried about Jenny adapting to having more people around the table, but I believe I’m having a more difficult time than she is.”
“I believe Jenny could adapt to most anything.”
Their first course arrived and they had no problem keeping the conversation going between each course up through a dessert of cannoli. They talked about the weather, the new boarders and how they were both looking forward to spring.
Rebecca looked around. “I’ve never been to many restaurants here—a few cafés for lunch and the one where we have hot chocolate. This has been wonderful, Ben. Thank you for bringing me.”
“I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it. So have I, and I hope there will be more times like this in the future.”
“That would be nice.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, whenever you are.”
Ben settled their bill and asked the waiter to call them a hack. There was one waiting when they made their way outside and Ben helped her inside.
He quietly gave the driver instructions on where to take them and then settled in the seat beside Rebecca. They took off through the city streets and then entered Central Park. It had such a different look at night. There was lamplight along the way, creating shadows and pools of light. He wanted to pull Rebecca close, but didn’t dare. Not yet.
After driving through the park, they headed back toward Heaton House and it wasn’t long until the driver pulled up at the gate at Gramercy Park.
“I thought we’d walk through the park before going home, if that’s all right with you, Rebecca,” he said, after paying the driver and helping her out of the hack.
“It is. I can’t remember ever visiting this park at night. But don’t we need the key?”
“I brought one with me.”
Ben put the key in the lock and opened the gate. The lamplight around the park, along with lights shining from windows in the homes around it, illuminated the park well enough and yet there were benches here and there that were somewhat shadowed and secluded. They walked round the small park, enjoying the quiet except for the clip-clop of horses drawing carriages and hacks over the nearby streets.
“I love the night sounds of this city,” he said. “And I like that somewhere in New York City there are people awake at all hours of the night. When I was a child at the orphanage, those sounds and that knowledge somehow comforted me.”
“Oh, Ben, I wish you’d had your family then.” Rebecca’s hand tightened on his forearm as they strolled along.
“Yes, so do I, but I’ve found peace with it, and without you I don’t think I ever would have.”
“What do you mean?”
They came to a bench partially hidden by the foliage around it, and Ben turned to Rebecca. “May we sit awhile?”
“Yes, of course.” She sat down and he took a seat beside her.
Ben turned toward her and took her hands in his. Dear Lord, please give me the right words.
“Rebecca...that first night at the little café, where we stop after class—remember, you told me you were certain that my mother leaving me at the orphanage must have been the hardest thing she’d ever done?”
“Yes, I remember. And I’m still sure of it. But you know that now from the letter—”
“I do. But even before that, my heart was softening toward my mother because of what you said. And after you told me your story...I realized you really did understand how very difficult that decision might be. But you chose to accept the responsibility of raising Jenny by yourself and I know you would do it all over again.”
“I can’t imagine my life without her.”
He couldn’t imagine life without Rebecca and her daughter. “I know. And I can’t begin to tell you how very much I admire you for keeping Jenny, for being the best mother you could be to her.”
“Thank you, Ben.” Rebecca made a funny little sound in her throat before continuing. “That means more to me than I can say.”
“You mean more to me each and every day.” It was time to tell her how he felt about her as a woman. “I...Rebecca, I know you deserve to be courted in a grand way, and my timing might be completely wrong. But I can’t wait any longer to tell you that I’ve fallen deeply, completely, in love with you.”
He heard Rebecca catch her breath as she reached out and placed her hand over his heart. Could she feel it hammering as he could?
“Oh, Ben. I don’t know what to say.” She suddenly jumped up from the bench. “I—never expected to hear you say those words and—”
Ben rose from the bench, his heart falling in anticipation of her turning him down. He put his hands on her upper arms and looked down into her eyes. Did he see the sheen of tears there?
Well, he’d started this and he meant to finish it. He wasn’t giving up without giving it his all. “Rebecca, if you don’t think you’ll ever return my feelings, I’ll have to accept that fact. But if there is even the slightest chance you might, please hear me out.”
“Ben, I—”
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bsp; “Rebecca, my feelings for you didn’t happen overnight. I’ve seen the kind of daughter and mother you are, I know the kind of woman you’ve become.”
He lifted one hand and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m doing this all wrong, I know. But—I love you deeply, Rebecca. I realize this may all be too soon, but I’m asking if I may court you properly, with the intention of marrying you one day. Do you think—?”
“Oh, Ben! I was so afraid that you couldn’t bring yourself to love a woman like me, who—”
“Is the kind of woman any man would be proud of and fall deeper in love with each year? I’ve watched you reach out to others, including me. I’ve held you in my arms and kissed your sweet lips. And I think I know what kind of wife you will be—” He pulled her into the circle of his arms. “I love you with all my heart, Rebecca. I want nothing more than to marry you and spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I treasure you, by being the best husband I can be to you and the best father I can be to your daughter—if you’ll have me.”
“If I’ll have you? Oh, Ben, yes, I’ll have you. I love you with all that I am and I want to spend the rest of my life being your wife.”
Her words spurred him to do what he’d been longing to do for weeks. He pulled her deeper into his arms and kissed her in a way he hoped would convince her of his love for her. She kissed him back and before it ended, neither of them was in any doubt at all about what their future would be.
Epilogue
May 22, 1897
Rebecca Roth stood in her mother’s garden while Millicent took photograph after photograph of her and her brand-new husband.
“Time for Jenny to join us,” Ben said, and Rebecca’s daughter ran straight into his arms. He lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek.
“Now I can call you Papa, right, Mr. Ben?”
“Yes, Jenny. I’m your papa now.”
Her daughter wrapped her arms around Ben’s neck, bringing tears to Rebecca’s eyes. She still couldn’t believe how truly blessed she was. To be reunited with her family, fall in love with her best friend and confidant, and find he loved her, too, and wanted to adopt Jenny so he’d legally be her father, all in less than a year, was almost more than she could absorb at times. Thank You, Lord, for answering all of my prayers in such an awesome way.
Millicent took several more photos of the three of them before saying, “I think that’s enough. I should probably let you enjoy your reception now.”
Rebecca chuckled. “That would be nice.”
Ben still held Jenny in one arm and put the other around Rebecca, pulling her close. “Yes, let’s go taste that beautiful cake Gretchen and Jenny made for us.”
The three hurried inside to join their guests—Rebecca’s family; the boarders, old and new, who’d become family to her; Mrs. Butler from the orphanage—all were there, along with several of those Ben had helped along the way. His aunt and uncle and his grandparents who’d become so precious to her and Jenny had come from Boston, and Molly, Sarah and her husband—so many who’d come to help them celebrate this day.
Rebecca actually pinched her arm to assure herself this was truly a dream come true. She and Ben had decided against a wedding trip, opting instead to spend a few nights alone in their new home while Jenny stayed at Heaton House.
Then she’d move in with them and they’d start their new life as a family. At first Jenny had wanted them to all live at Heaton House, but with Ben’s background in helping orphans when it was time for them to go out on their own, and Rebecca’s gift for mentoring young women, and their desire to help in ways similar to how her mother had with Heaton House, they’d decided to use their inheritances to buy a house one street over from Heaton House.
When Rebecca told her mother she felt she was letting her down by moving out, her mother had sliced her hand through the air. “Nonsense! You’re going to be right around the corner and I can see you anytime I want. I will miss seeing you all each day, but I am so very thrilled that you’ve found true love, Becca. I’m more than happy that you and Jenny have Ben. He’s a fine man and I love him already, of course. I’m overjoyed that Ben will be the husband you deserve and the papa our Jenny needs and I’m delighted to have him join the family.”
“I will still keep the books for you and I can do the shopping for both of us—”
“You can do that when I can’t. But we can still go shopping together and I’d enjoy that most.”
Rebecca had hugged her. “Oh, Mama, so would I.”
Now, as she and Ben stood with knife in both hands to cut the cake, she looked up at her husband to find his loving gaze on her. Together they sliced the cake and cut one small piece before handing over the knife to Gretchen to slice the rest.
He leaned over and kissed her in front of all their guests, then whispered in her ear. “I love you, Rebecca.”
“I love you, too.”
Jenny pushed her way in between them. “And I love you both! May we have cake now?”
They pulled her up into the circle of their arms and kissed her on each cheek. “Yes, we can have cake now.”
Bubbling over with happiness, Rebecca laughed with all the others as she thanked the Lord above for allowing her the longing of her heart by bringing her and Ben together. She’d been blessed more than she’d ever imagined.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from BIG SKY HOMECOMING by Linda Ford.
Dear Reader,
Rebecca Heaton Dickerson has been an integral part of the Boardinghouse Betrothals series since the very first book, Somewhere to Call Home. Even though we don’t meet her in that story, we know of Rebecca and find the reason Mrs. Heaton started Heaton House was because of her having gone missing.
Then, in A Place of Refuge, she’s found in the tenements by Kathleen and reunited with her family. In A Home for Her Heart, with Heaton House full, Rebecca and her daughter have moved in with her brother Michael and his wife, Violet, to make the adjustment of starting a new life easier on her daughter, Jenny.
In A Daughter’s Return, after several boarders marry and move out, Rebecca and Jenny move into Heaton House, where the relationship with her mother continues to heal and grow, as Rebecca tries to make amends for the pain she caused her mother. She’s been forgiven by God and by her family but is still having trouble forgiving herself, and while she longs for true love, she’s sure no man will ever have her once they learn about her past.
Little has been known about Benjamin Roth, other than that he’s a good man and fits in with the other boarders at Heaton House quite well. But Ben has a past that pains him, also, and makes him want to help single mothers with children to raise. Rebecca’s daughter, Jenny, sees Ben as her hero, and Rebecca must fight to keep from seeing him as her own. But with the Lord’s and each other’s help, Rebecca and Ben are able to get beyond the pain of their pasts and have hope for their future.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Rebecca and Ben better and seeing their love story unfold as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Blessings,
Janet Lee Barton
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.
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p; Chapter One
Bar Crossing, Montana
January 1890
Rose Bell pushed back a scream of frustration. Even so, she spoke with more anger than sorrow. “The poor creatures. Pa, let me off here. You take Ma to the house and I’ll take care of these animals.” The sheep had been turned out of their pen and one of the older ewes was mired in a snowbank next to the shed. The others milled around, uncertain as to whether they should enjoy their freedom or panic because there were no fences to keep them safe.
At least they wouldn’t drown in the river today. It was frozen over. That was a mercy.
She hopped down before the wagon stopped moving and raced toward the ewe. “Come on, girl.” She pulled and tugged and cooed but the sheep had been there long enough her wool had frozen to the snow, anchoring her firmly.
“Can I help?”
With a startled squeak she turned around to stare at Douglas Caldwell, the golden-haired son and heir of the Caldwell family.
Everyone else called him by his nickname, “Duke,” but she couldn’t bring herself to. It sounded friendly and neighborly and the Caldwells were anything but that. Pa had bought this bit of land eight years ago and turned it into a productive farm. But it happened to encroach on the boundaries of the Caldwell Ranch. They learned later that the filing clerk had made a mistake. Despite that, the land belonged to the Bells—clear and legal.
To this day Mr. Caldwell refused to accept the facts. He had tried every means he could think of to get them to leave. He’d offered money. He’d talked; at first kindly then threateningly. When none of that worked he’d had his cowboys harass the Bells and their animals. The garden had been trampled a number of times. Caldwell cows had eaten or destroyed portions of the oat crop. Just a few months ago, one of the lambs had drowned when the animals had mysteriously escaped their pasture and found their way to the river. But the worst thing they’d done to date was stampede the cows through the yard as the Bells harvested the garden. Pa had been injured. He still had sore ribs. She knew by the way he moved and the number of naps he took that he felt poorly.
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