Gage pulled the team to a stop and set the brake as the group of relatives gathered around the wagon.
“I don’t believe what I’m seeing,” Aunt Lillian said, her eyes moist with emotion. “Ella, you’re wearing a dress.”
Adella laughed and waited for Gage to help her out of the wagon. He gently slid his large hands around her waist and lifted her off the seat. She rested her hands on his broad shoulders. Was he always this muscular? She didn’t want to look at his face this close, but she found his hazel eyes so mesmerizing. For a moment, she detected confusion in his gaze, but as soon as he released her, indifference replaced his expression once again.
Before she could analyze this, her aunt wrapped her arms around Adella and held her tight. They held each other for long moments, and then Aunt Lillian pulled back, holding Adella at arm’s length.
Lillian hadn’t changed. Still short, plump, and healthy looking. Her brown eyes sparkled with love as they gazed into Adella’s. The only thing different was a few more strands of gray hair in the brown knot at the back of her head. Most certainly from the stress of caring for Uncle Marvin.
“Welcome home, sweet Ella.”
“Oh, Aunt Lillian, it’s good to be here with you all once again.”
Giggles from her cousins had Adella turning to look at them all—so very different from what she remembered.
“Ella, sweetie,” her aunt began, “you remember my oldest boy, Nate. He’s fourteen now.”
“Of course I remember.” Adella grinned and tousled his hair. “You are growing into quite a handsome young man. And what’s this?” She rubbed her palm across his cheeks. “A beard coming in?”
“Of course not, but I’m trying.” He laughed as his face grew crimson red.
She moved to the sister two years younger than Nate—Elizabeth. She looked as pretty as Violet. Emily at age ten had that awkward gangly look, all arms and legs, with her hair in ponytails instead of a fashionable coil. Charles was the youngest at age eight. She barely remembered him since he was only one year old when she last saw him. As she studied their awestruck faces, she almost laughed.
“You all have grown so much. Seven years are too many.”
Lillian gave Adella another hug. “I think you had better tell us what happened to the little tomboy we used to know and love.” She winked.
“That person grew up to be a schoolteacher, and I’ll have you know I haven’t worn a pair of trousers for quite some time.”
Worry creased young Nate’s brow. “Does that mean you ain’t gonna play leapfrog with us anymore?”
Her heart softened, realizing he had remembered. “Well, if you can find me a pair of breeches, you bet I’ll play.”
“How about sling-shot and fishin’?”
She tilted her head and grinned. “You just try and stop me.”
All at once, everyone had an attack of the giggles as they bombarded her with hugs. Both Elizabeth and Emily’s had their father’s dark hair, and Nate and Charles’ hair was more of a cinnamon color.
After completing the round of hugs and compulsory teasing, Adella faced her aunt. “Where is Uncle Marvin?”
The happy expression on Lillian’s face wavered. “He’s waiting for you in the parlor, dear.”
Chapter Seven
Adella entered the house and familiar smells brought back a flood of memories. The nostalgic scent of her uncle’s pipe overwhelmed her with homesickness and longing for days gone by.
She glanced across the hall to the parlor. The faded yellow curtains and the well-worn brown rugs brought comforting reminders of cold winter evenings when she and her sisters used to visit with their grandfather as they sat by the fire to warm themselves.
Uncle Marvin sat in his favorite over-stuffed chair, facing the hearth with his back to her. She could see that his grayish-black hair had thinned, leaving a bare spot on the top of his head. As Violet and Gage had warned, each leg was strapped with leather braces. Adella’s heart pounded as she stepped into the room.
“Uncle Marvin?”
“I’m here, Ella.”
She ran to the front of his chair and knelt at his feet. He looked so much like her grandpa before he had died, that she had to blink a few times to realize this was her uncle, instead. “Oh, Uncle Marvin, what happened to you?”
He touched her cheek lovingly. “My dear, sweet, Ella. Come, give me a hug.”
She lifted and embraced him. Taking in a deep breath, she realized he even smelled like Grandpa.
“My brother’s daughter is finally home where she belongs. I’ve missed you and your sisters so much, and I’ve worried about your welfare.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “We missed you terribly.” Her voice shook with emotion, but she held back from crying.
He pulled back and looked at her as his smile stretched wider. “You are a grown woman now, so beautiful and kind. I will enjoy catching up with you now that you’re here.” His gaze skimmed over her. “And I’m for certain not going to get used to you wearing a dress.”
Smiling, she stood and did a little pirouette.
His brows creased. “Why are you wearing a dress, but still look as if you’ve been climbing trees?”
A laugh escaped her throat. “I had a devil of a time getting here, I’m afraid.”
“Tell me all about it.”
The family gathered in the living room and Adella retold her story. For her uncle’s sake, she covered her worry and made her tale humorous. As she talked and joked with her cousins, her gaze wandered to the man who had set off her temper this morning...well, since meeting him, actually. Gage sat next to Violet with his arm casually resting on the back of her chair. His attention focused on Adella. An odd and tender expression touched his face—almost like the one she’d seen for a split second when he lifted her from the wagon.
Out of all the people in the room, Gage was the one person her attention kept wandering. Still, she couldn’t understand why she thought him to be handsome, so muscular, so much more a man, especially when she had not done that when they met. She didn’t even mind the mustache he’d grown in the three weeks since she last saw him.
Her mind quickly brought back the image of him tying the horse to the hitching post earlier today. His clothes practically strained across the cords of his muscles.
She mentally shook out her thoughts and tried to think negatively. Thankfully, she didn’t have to work hard to assess his faults. For one, she didn’t like the way he treated her uncle. Instead of trying to pamper and care for him, Gage’s lazy, good-for-nothing tush melded with the chair as he allowed her aunt to run her legs ragged. He even had the nerve to argue with Uncle Marvin—though it was all in fun. She needed to bring these flaws to Violet’s attention. If Gage truly cared for her uncle, he wouldn’t act like this.
Time passed slowly, and luckily her aunt didn’t need much help which gave Adella time to spend with her uncle. They talked about the business and he explained the new changes recently made to the livery stable before the accident.
“I want to help any way I can. I’ll get right to work tomorrow morning, first thing.”
Marvin chuckled. “Oh, no, you won’t. I’ll not have you turning into a tomboy. I like seeing you in those dresses too much. Besides, you’re at the age where courtship and marriage should be on your mind. If you go back to your boyish ways, I’m afraid we’ll never get you married.”
Adella laughed as she circled her arms around his shoulders. Would her father have been this way if he was still alive? She wanted to believe so.
She rested the side of her face on her uncle’s much-too-thin shoulder. “I have only been here a little while and already you’re trying to get rid of me.”
“No, Ella. If I had my way, you’d never get married. I’d keep you by my side as a little girl, forever.”
Tears stung to her eyes, and she struggled to hold them back. “That would be a nice dream, indeed.”
“Yes, it would, but it’s enough that you’r
e here with me now.” He turned his head and kissed her cheek. “Besides, we’ll make do in the livery. We’ve been holding our own since the accident.”
Adella held him tight, knowing he was fibbing to her. She’d been so busy these past seven years trying to forget she had an extended family that she hadn’t realized how much she missed being here with them. Suddenly, she felt as if she had wasted all this time. Had she been selfish or had she truly wanted to keep them safe by not leading the Buchanan Gang to the Lancaster’s door?
But right now, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was finally back with her family. She’d missed them all so much her body ached.
She didn’t want her uncle to see her cry, but she was on the edge of tears and couldn’t hold them back any longer. “I see my trunks are finally here, so I’d better go unpack.”
She kissed him and quickly ran upstairs to the room she and her sisters had always shared when they came to visit. When she reached the bed, she fell upon her pillow and let her tears flow freely. Everything she’d been through these past few weeks finally took a toll on her emotions. Not only that, but she genuinely worried for her uncle and his family, and she hoped she would be able to help them in some way.
As her sobs subsided, she noticed the frilly pink and yellow daisy bedspread. In spite of her disheartened mood, she smiled. She used to hate this particular cover because of the feminine colors, but now it actually appealed to her.
As she ran the fingers of one hand over the patchwork and dried her tears with the other, peacefulness settled over her. One way or another, things would work out. She just knew it.
Everything in the room was the way she remembered, except maybe cleaner. The unused vanity still held hair brushes, ribbons, and perfumes.
She moved off the bed and stepped to the table. When she caught her reflection in the mirror, she nearly fell over. She looked horrible! Her clothes were torn, her face splotched with dirt, and matted hair framed her head.
Since her cousins had brought up her trunks, she quickly unpacked. She asked Nate and Charles to haul up some hot water for her bath. When that chore was completed, she spent the next little while tidying her appearance.
Within an hour, Adella pulled a rose-colored dress over her freshly washed hair, and tugged it down around her hips, settling the bustle in place. She traced the white lace around the neckline, stitching carefully sewn by Sally St. James who had made certain it was perfect.
Glancing into the mirror, Adella turned side to side and was grateful she now looked like the woman who stared at her in the mirror every morning. She lifted the silver brush off the vanity table and pulled it through her hair, taking care not to touch the bump on the side of her head. Instead of the respectable coil she always wore as the town’s schoolteacher, she decided to arrange her hair by pulling back the sides and tying it with a rose-colored ribbon instead.
Satisfied with her appearance, she moved to the window and looked out on the yard. Immediately, she could tell it hadn’t been taken care of. Probably because of what happened to Uncle Marvin. Helplessness swept over her when she envisioned him downstairs, and her buoyant spirit faded.
According to her uncle, he didn’t need her at the livery stable, but her cousin Violet’s opinion was different. She knew her uncle wasn’t going to confess how bad business was. Violet had always been too girly to help out in the livery when grandpa was alive, and Adella suspected she was that way even now. Although Nate was getting older, he still couldn’t do it all by himself.
Adella was sure Nate could find her a pair of old trousers and boots so she could put herself to work in the livery. One way or another, her cousins needed another helping hand...and she had two of them that were very useful.
With her mind made up and a good attitude about her future, she descended the stairs. Near the bottom, she noticed her uncle trying to move from his cushioned chair to the roller-chair. His grunts and groans magnified the supreme effort it took. Her stomach churned at the sounds of him gasping for breath as he fell into the roller-chair.
“Marvin, we need to get you to bed so you can rest,” Lillian spoke softly.
Adella peeked into the room, but stood back as not to be seen. Aunt Lillian hovered over her husband, his weary hands drooping from fatigue.
Agony stabbed at Adella’s heart, and her eyes again blurred with tears. She’d missed her parents so badly since their deaths, and now seeing her father’s brother so helpless...she just couldn’t watch anymore. She didn’t want to lose any more family members!
She darted into the kitchen, past Gage and Violet, and ran out the back door before letting go of her emotions.
Chapter Eight
Gage stood next to Violet at the sink basin as he helped her wash the vegetables for dinner. Quick footsteps behind him made him turn to see who was running in the kitchen. Adella whirled through the kitchen like a mini tornado in a fit of anguish, her face drawn in grief. He couldn’t stop his heart from going out to her.
“Oh, that poor dear,” Violet whispered as she handed him another potato. “She has been through so much. I knew if she saw Pa in this condition it would upset her.”
“Was she and her sisters really close to your family?”
“Yes. Because Pa is her father’s brother...well, it’s only natural for her to be upset at a time like this.”
“I agree.” There was a small pause before he asked, “What happened with her family seven years ago? I only heard bits and pieces, and none of it made sense.”
Violet rested her hands on the sink and turned her heard toward Gage. “A gang of men killed her father—who was a doctor—before attacking their home, and killing her mother and brother. Ella and her two sisters escaped their burning house, thank the Lord.”
“Why did the gang attack their home?”
“We don’t know for certain, but we assume it’s because the gang wanted every last one of them dead. Her father was the only doctor in the county, and he had tried to save one of their men, but the man died.” She shrugged. “We think that’s why they sought revenge.”
Moaning, Gage shook his head. “That’s not good at all.”
“Ella was fearful to locate us after this happened just in case the Buchanan Gang discovered they were still alive, so Ella and her sisters found Mr. and Mrs. St. James and changed their last name to become their daughters.” Violet frowned. “I can’t say I blame her. I probably would have done that, too.”
“True.” He stared at the wall as things began making sense, now. Her reaction at the mayor’s house when Doctor Johnson had been shot... No wonder she looked as if she would swoon.
Violet turned fully and faced him. “Gage? Would you go talk to her? She needs some reassurance.”
He snapped his focus back to her, blinking his eyes wide as panic swept through him. “Me? She’s not going to hear anything I have to say.”
Violet touched his arm gently. “Ella’s had quite an upset,” she continued in softer tones, “and you’re the only one free to talk to her at the moment. I’m about ready to put the kettle on and add the vegetables for the stew.”
He was sinking by the second and he needed to find a shovel and dig himself out quickly. “Where are your sisters? Your brothers are due back from the stable any minute. Can’t we wait for them?”
“Gage, Ella needs somebody now.”
“But, she...I...we can’t talk.” His mind scrambled, trying to think of a way out. “Ever since I met her, all we ever seem to do is argue.”
She tilted her head, her gaze narrowing. “Exactly how did you two meet? You were only in Lewiston for a few days.”
“Lewiston isn’t that big of a town, either.”
“What could you have possibly done to make my cousin upset?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, eventually I want you to tell it to me, but for now, my cousin needs someone to go talk to her.”
He chuckled, although humor wasn’t in the emotion
running through him right now—more like scared to death. Scared to be shot down by Duchess, the dragon-tongue lady. “And you are sending me to soothe her fears? Honey, if I go out there, you’ll have to call the Calvary soon. Our conversations are that bad.”
The corners of her mouth lifted into a grin. “Then it’s time the two of you settled your differences. I don’t want you constantly at each other’s throats once we’re married. Now that Ella is back in my life, I want her to be my best friend. Always.”
Gage silently cursed. He couldn’t argue with Violet. Not about that.
Grumbling, he turned and stormed out the room. Women! Why did men fall all over themselves to please them? The reason was beyond him. He understood Adella’s turmoil, though. It tore at his own heart to watch his father’s best friend wither before his eyes. Marvin Lancaster had always been a robust man. Always so full of life. Now Gage felt helpless watching the man he’d idolized as a boy slowly shut down.
Adella sat in the tree swing, staring up at the tall elm. He slowed his steps, pondering on what he could possibly say to make her feel better. Nothing came to mind. The only thing he heard was the sound of chirping crickets in his ears.
As he studied her attire, he shook his head in disbelief. The rose-colored dress made her look prettier than a flower, and the sunlight made her auburn hair even redder.
He scratched his chin. Why was he noticing things like that on her? If someone asked him now what Violet was wearing, he didn’t think he could answer correctly.
It didn’t matter what she looked like, Adella would always be the same disagreeable pain-in-the-rear he’d become acquainted with. She would always dislike him no matter what he did.
Although, right now she did look lovely against the sunset’s backdrop. Her auburn locks spilled over her shoulders and down her back. The sides were pulled away from her face with a ribbon. Suddenly his fingers itched to feel the texture against his skin. Would it be as silky as it appeared?
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