Farmer's Daughter Romance Collection : Five Historical Romances Homegrown in the American Heartland (9781630586164)

by Peterson, Tracie; Davis, Mary; Hake, Kelly Eileen; Stengl, Jill; Warren, Susan May

  “What use is the wide open when you’ve no one to share it wi’?” Ewan’s smile sent a thrill through Rosalind.

  “We’re more than happy to share this beautiful day wi’ you.” Rosalind tried to imbue the words with the depth of her joy but feared she fell far short.

  “I think this is done.” Luke frowned in concentration as he gauged the base for the tiny snowman. “She wants it small.”

  “Here.” Da plunked a large handful of hardened snow atop Luke’s finished portion. “Let’s start on the middle.”

  “I’ll go see what branches and such I can find.” Mam headed for a copse of trees, leaving Rosalind standing alone.

  Since Da helped Luke, she began packing snow to help Ewan. She tacked it onto the already massive chunk he worked to make round.

  “How’s that?” He stepped back to examine the misshapen lump.

  “Well…” Rosalind gave the matter due consideration as she stepped around the beginnings of the sculpture. This one level reached her hip! “Seems to me…” She crouched down and made a show of inspecting it. “Yes…I know what will set it right.”

  “What?”

  “If you look here”—Rosalind gestured him closer and bit back her grin as Ewan moved toward her—“it needs…”

  “It needs what?” He looked down at the huge snow lump, then back up at her.

  “Leveling off,” she told him solemnly before shoving a goodly amount of the excess all over him.

  “Hey!” Ewan straightened up, brushing snow from his face and shaking it from his coat.

  Rosalind laughed as he gave a little dance to free his collar of the icy deluge. He stopped moving. Her breath caught. Bits of the ice clung to Ewan’s coal-black hair, catching the winter sunshine as it melted. Standing tall and proud, he was magnificent.

  “Rosalind.” His voice lingered over her name as though relishing every syllable.

  “Oh!” She spluttered as he took advantage of her gawking to exact revenge. He threw a spray of snow so it coated her. The icy specks melted on her tongue, stung her nose, and trickled into her hair where her cloak fell back. “You’ll pay for that, Ewan Gailbraith!” She packed a snowball and advanced on him.

  “I hope so.” He snagged the snow from her hand and slipped a strong arm around her waist before she could react. His grin had a devilish charm. “I hope I get exactly what I deserve.” The warmth in his gaze left no doubt what he meant.

  Rosalind opened her mouth to tell him she felt the same…then shrieked as she felt her own snowball trickling down her back.

  Chapter 15

  The pond is frozen over!” Luke barreled into the house a week later, his breath coming in hard gasps of excitement.

  Ewan slapped his knee. “Well then. Sounds like we’re going ice skating.” He stood up. “I’ll go get my skates and be right back.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Rosalind promised. “Though I’d like to go fetch Marlene, if you don’t mind.”

  “You get your friend, I’ll get my skates, and you”—Ewan mussed Luke’s hair—“get ready.” He set out, his long stride quickly covering the distance between the MacLean household and Gilda’s house. He opened the trunk where he’d stowed most of his own possessions and withdrew the metal skates.

  Holding them by the laces, Ewan walked back to Rosalind’s home. Luke met him at the door, flushed and eager.

  “Rose isn’t back yet.” The boy’s voice lowered to a confiding whisper. “Marlene always takes a long time to do anything.”

  Ewan crouched down to look at the lad eye to eye. “Someday you’ll see that pretty girls are worth the wait.”

  “But…” Luke frowned. “Rose doesn’t make anybody wait if she can help it.”

  “I know.” Ewan gave the lad a wink. “That makes her worth even more.” He straightened up and saw the girls approaching…with a man escorting Rosalind—Brent Freimont.

  “Luke”—he stooped once more and spoke with urgency—“who is that young man walking wi’ your sister?”

  “Oh. That’s Brent Freimont, Marlene’s brother.”

  “Yes, I know his name.” Ewan tried again. “Has he been courting Rosalind for long?”

  “Courting? He makes big eyes at her and sits next to her whenever he can.” Luke scoffed. “Brent burnt down the outhouse a few months ago.”

  “He burnt—” Ewan stopped himself. There was more important information he needed right away. “And your sister?”

  “No.” Luke gave him a strange look. “He didn’t burn Rose. ’Twas an accident wi’ the privy.”

  “I meant,” Ewan clarified, torn between exasperation and amusement, “did Rose encourage his attentions?” The lad made a nuisance o’ himself at the husking bee, but from the way Rose dismissed him, I thought he was no serious rival.

  “Hardly.” Luke snorted. “Everyone hereabouts thought she’d marry Brent, but she looks on him as a brother, same as me. Almost.” He thought for a moment. “She likes me better.”

  “As do I.” Ewan patted the boy on the shoulder and stood to his full height as the three companions joined them. His jaw tightened as he saw Brent’s hand laid possessively over Rosalind’s, which lay nestled in the crook of his arm.

  “Thank you, Brent.” Rosalind looked anything but pleased as she tried to disentangle.

  Ewan’s sudden good cheer vanished as Brent tightened his grasp, saying, “Of course, Rose. I’ll escort you all the way to the pond. We wouldn’t want you to stumble again.”

  “As I’ve already told you, Brent, ’twas naught but a bit of snow I was shaking from the top of my boot.” Rosalind tugged free at last. “I did not stumble at all.” She gave Ewan a beseeching glance.

  As Brent reached for her hand once more, Ewan stepped between them. “I’d be pleased to carry your skates, Rosalind.”

  “Thank you.” The heartfelt appreciation in her tone spurred Brent into action.

  “I’ll do that.” He yanked the laces from her hand.

  The lad fell for it! “Well, since your hands are full, I’ll be happy to escort the lady.” Ewan smoothly offered Rosalind his arm. “Miss Freimont”—he gave a slight bow to Marlene—“good to see you.”

  “And you, Mr. Gailbraith.” The amusement in her smile let him know she hadn’t missed how he stressed the last word. “You’ve met my brother, Brent Freimont, haven’t you?”

  “Oh, we’ve met.” Ewan looked at the lad in disgust before smiling at his sister. “Shall we go on to the pond?”

  With that, he and Rosalind led the way, leaving Brent to trail behind. Ewan set a quick pace, deliberately putting more distance between Rosalind and him and the others.

  “He needs time to come to terms wi’ it, that’s all.” Rosalind spoke only when they were out of earshot. “Brent has nurtured certain…hopes, for a long while now.”

  “Hopes?” Ewan raised a brow. “Or expectations, Rosalind?”

  “Expectations.” Her whisper made him uneasy. “Expectations encouraged by his parents and my mother—but not by me.” Her blue eyes transfixed him. “Though I never told him plainly. I should hae, long ago.”

  “He’s not the sort to understand the subtle approach,” Ewan agreed. “Though it should be clear as day by now.”

  “ ’Tis clear to him now,” Rosalind assured him. “He just hasn’t accepted it yet.”

  “Accepted what?” He knew what she meant but had an itch to hear her say the words aloud.

  “That you”—her smile plainly told him she knew what he was up to and didn’t mind humoring his whim—“are the only man I’m interested in courting.”

  “He’s your brother,” Rosalind grumbled to Marlene as Brent skated in circles around Ewan, edging closer in a blatant bid to make him uncomfortable. “Can’t you do something?”

  “They’re competing over you,” Marlene shot back. “And since when has my brother ever listened to a word I say—unless it’s ‘dinner’?” She watched as Ewan changed directions, leisurely skimming backward w
hile Brent continued his annoying tactics. “Nice footwork, there. If you ask me, I’d say Ewan can handle Brent without any assistance from either of us.”

  “Of course he can.” Rosalind beamed with pride. “Ewan’s handled far more than whatever ice tricks Brent can throw at him. I just wish…” her voice trailed off.

  “You wish what?” Marlene did a neat turn and stop, narrowly avoiding Luke as he zoomed around the perimeter of the pond.

  “That Brent hadn’t invited himself along.” Rosalind sighed. “Not that he doesn’t have every right to come to the pond, but…this was supposed to be a fun outing. And now…well, you see.” She gestured to where the two men had evidently decided to stage an impromptu race across the pond. “They’re being…” She searched for a word other than competitive and came up short.

  “Men?” Marlene zigzagged. “And you don’t think it’s even a tiny bit fun to have two men competing for your affection?”

  “No!” Rosalind slid to a halt. “I’m not a prize at some country fair to be won by the man who can skate the fastest or eat the most pies in a single sitting. ’Tis pure foolishness, Marlene.”

  “Love makes fools out of us all, sooner or later.” Marlene moved gently, leaving wavelike tracks in her wake as she circled Rosalind. “If a race or pie could bring Johnny back right now, I’d do it without thinking twice. But it’s not so simple.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Rosalind reached out to clasp one of her friend’s hands, and they skated side by side. “Here I am, going on about myself when my Ewan is scant paces away. Do you miss Johnny terribly, Marlene?” She gave a soft squeeze in sympathy.

  “Part of me does,” she admitted. “But I’m more worried about the part of me that’s glad he went on with the railroad. I keep thinking that since he’s gone now—when we’ll be snowed in most of the time anyway—he’ll be here in the spring. That’s when we’ll be able to see each other more. That’s when he can start working the land he’ll buy and building our house. If he stayed now, he’d be gone then. This way is best.”

  “Exactly!” Rosalind stared at her friend. “This is the way I knew you’d be once you’d thought it o’er.”

  “I did behave like the worst brat.” Marlene flushed. “I’m blessed that you understood, Ewan forgave me, and Johnny wasn’t scared away forever by my terrible temper!”

  “You’ll have to do far worse to frighten any of us away.” Rosalind let go of Marlene’s hand to do a quick spin. “We know what a wonderful woman lies beneath a passing mood. And in just a few short weeks, you’ve already unearthed her! Johnny will find an even better catch than he remembers when he comes back.”

  “I hope so—oof!” Marlene fell into Rosalind as Brent whizzed by too closely, throwing her off balance. Both girls crashed to the ice in an ungainly heap of arms and skirts and skates.

  “Ooh,” Rosalind moaned, rubbing the back of her head where it had met the ice so suddenly. “Are you all right, Marlene?” She disentangled her skates from her friend’s and knelt beside her.

  “Yes. I—I think so.” She gingerly sat up, rubbing her elbow. “Just caught me off guard. Where is…Brent!” She glowered at her brother. “See what your showing off has done?”

  As Ewan helped Rosalind, Brent yanked on Marlene’s arms to pull her to her feet.

  “I’ll help!” Luke came speeding toward them, only to hit a slippery patch and come crashing down himself.

  “Luke!” Rosalind pushed away from Ewan and raced to her brother’s side. “Are you all right? Say something.” Her brother’s labored breathing chilled her in a way the hard ice and winter wind had not. “Let’s get you back to the house.”

  “Knocked the wind out of you, did it?” Ewan lifted the small boy to his feet. “Well, I’d say we’ve done enough damage for one afternoon. Let’s see if we can talk your mam into giving us some more of that wonderful mulled cider of hers.” He led Luke to solid ground, and everyone unlaced their metal blades for the trek home.

  Rosalind took care to walk slowly, leaving Ewan’s side to hover around Luke. His flushed cheeks and continued coughing made her throat clench shut. I was so busy worrying about myself and talking wi’ Marlene, I didn’t watch him closely enough. We should hae left before any o’ this happened. ’Tis my fault he struggles so.

  Lord, please be wi’ my brother. Put Your healing hand o’er him and help him to breathe. I’ll sit him by the hearth and get him something warm to drink. Please don’t let this episode worsen from my negligence, Father. His breath rasps and his chest heaves—please ease his breathing, Lord. Please.

  Before they got to the house, her fervent prayers had been answered. While he still rasped, Luke’s coughing had abated. She bundled him by the fire and gave him the first cup of hot cider, relaxing only when his faint wheeze was barely audible.

  “Rosalind,” Ewan spoke from behind her. “Why don’t we walk Marlene and Brent home?”

  “Of course.” Rosalind shot him an apologetic smile. For a short time, she’d all but forgotten about everyone else!

  The walk passed pleasantly enough, with Marlene and Brent soon ensconced in the Freimont house. Rosalind found herself suddenly alone with Ewan as they made their way back home.

  Ewan waited until they were midway on the return to stop. “Rosalind, what’s wrong?”

  “Wrong?” Rosalind frowned. “Nothing. Marlene’s seen the wisdom of Johnny’s decision, neither of us suffered more than a bruise from the fall, and Luke’s fine. What could be wrong?”

  “Go back to the part about Luke being fine. ’Tisn’t usual for a sister to fuss so o’er a twelve-year-old boy.” Ewan peered at Rosalind. “He’s nearing manhood, by then.”

  At about that same age, I was taking care of Mam wi’ my father gone on to America. I worked hard and checked for Da’s letters every day, trying to fill his shoes and hold everything together.

  “He fell, too,” Rosalind reminded him, but the answer didn’t satisfy. Her gaze wouldn’t meet his completely.

  “I know.” Ewan tilted her chin toward him. “I can see for myself that Luke’s small for his age—small enough not t’ spend all his time at the forge. But I’ve never seen him there. And today, when a small tumble knocked the wind out o’ him, he gasped for breath all the way back home. So I’ll ask you again, Rosalind…” He paused meaningfully. “What is wrong?”

  “Will you start to treat him differently if something is?” she hedged, her eyes searching his face intently. “Or will you continue to see him as a normal boy and not coddle him?”

  “You coddle him enough for both of us, t’ my way of thinking.” He said it gently, but firmly enough to reassure her.

  “Luke’s never been strong.” She pulled her chin from his grasp to hold his hand in hers. “He was born wi’ weak lungs. The doctors say ’tis nothing short o’ a miracle he survived past infancy. He can’t abide the smoke o’ the forge—that’s why he doesn’t work wi’ Da. We don’t speak on it, as it pains them both.”

  “I see.” Ewan nodded. “And the cold? ’Tis the reason he coughed and you stopped the snowball fight?”

  “Aye,” she admitted. “He had an episode then…and again today. I keep close watch o’er him so they don’t worsen, but today I wasn’t careful enough. It could hae been much worse.”

  “ ’Twasn’t your fault that he fell, Rosalind.”

  “No, but he’d probably begun rasping afore that even.” She looked down at the toes of her boots. “I should hae checked on him sooner. He will not admit when he’s done too much.”

  “What happens when it worsens?” He pulled her closer, putting his arm about her waist.

  “He coughs so hard his body is racked wi’ it. His chest heaves and he fights for breath until his face goes pale and his mouth turns blue. There’s not a winter as goes by but he gets terribly ill. A simple cold sets him coughing, and it settles in his chest, and then”—the tears in her eyes when she looked up at him flooded his heart—“we all fight so he’ll see the spring
.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He cupped her cheek and used the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears. “Let me help you.”

  “I didn’t want you to treat him as though he were too fragile to do anything. He’s a boy like any other and needs to laugh and play and feel useful. Luke brightens whenever you’re around because you don’t mollycoddle him.” She bit her lip. “Da loves him and tries so hard to give him freedom tempered wi’ safeguards, but Luke sees through it. I didn’t want that for you or Luke.”

  “I understand.” He took a deep breath. “And I’ll treat him no differently. We’ll leave it to you to shoo us back into the warmth of the house when you feel ’tis the right time.”

  “Thank you, Ewan.” She rose on tiptoe to plant a soft kiss on his cheek.

  He fought the urge to turn his head, knowing it wasn’t the right time. Ewan settled for keeping his arm around her waist as they walked back to the house.

  I may not be able to protect Rosalind from Luke’s weakness, he reasoned, but I can make it easier for her to look after him. A nice group we’ll be…Rosalind watches o’er Luke, I’ll watch o’er Rosalind, and God will watch o’er us all. May Christmas come to find us all hearty and full of joy.

  Chapter 16

  “ ‘…And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.’ ” Da’s voice rang with conviction as he read the Christmas story. “ ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ Luke, chapter 2, verses 10 to 14.” He reverently shut the family Bible.

  Rosalind blinked, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. The wonder of that scene—the majesty of a newborn king come to save all men.