Love After Snowfall
Page 6
Crawling back out, she stared down at the lines in the snow again, lines that obscured the further they traveled into the distance, and met Mr. Paulson’s eye.
“He’s taken him,” she said. “I must go.”
Mr. Paulson reached for her, his aged fingers curving around her arm. But she shook him off, and eyes to the ground, shouldered her rifle and tracked the trail. Given the weather, they hadn’t been gone long. That meant he’d made it until morning. Given the weather, the pair of them can’t have gone far, especially with Ezekiel not able to walk on his own.
Ezekiel wouldn’t die. He’d promised her God had brought them together, and God knew no one else but her could rescue him from this danger. God knew no one else would try so hard or push so far. No one else would love him like she did.
The trail wound between the trees, the barest trace, and stopped at the edge of a frozen stream. She stared at the green ice, then across at the opposite side, and a figure arose. Tall, broad-shouldered, wrapped in a heavy fur coat, he dragged something behind him.
She must get ahead and cut the man off. She eyed the path and moved left, over the stream, up the far bank, and around a section of bushes rimed with ice. Walking lightly, she sped up her pace, hooking around the man and pressing to the base of a tree. Raising the gun, she aimed at the stranger between his eyes and called out. “Stop.”
The man paused, and his gaze met hers.
“Let him go,” she said.
Laughter burst from the man’s lips. “I know you,” he said. “Nathan Button’s mysterious wife.”
Shaken, her grip slipped on the weapon. She scrambled to readjust the gun. “Nathan is dead. I killed him,” she said.
The man’s laughter died. “You?”
“Yes,” she said. “But Ezekiel’s death will be on your hands, not mine.”
“And my death?” he asked. “You will shoot me?”
“And leave you for the wolves.”
The man released the burden he’d been holding and laid a hand to his waist.
“Hands up,” she snapped.
He halted. Stepping out from behind the tree, she approached him.
“What if he’s already dead?” the man asked, his hands aloft. “What if I only seek a place to bury him?”
“Then I will bury you together.”
His lips curved into a smile. “Nathan talked about you. He said his Clementine was ‘something else.’ That’s the way he used to say it. ‘Something else.’”
“You didn’t believe him?” she asked.
He wagged his head. “Oh, I did, yes. Just like I believe you’ll shoot me before this is over. So why don’t you do it now?”
She aimed for his heart. “I want to know why first. Why did you shoot Ezekiel out there and not here? Why did you burn down his cabin? For gold?”
The man made a noise in his throat. “The gold is a story. I do not chase after stories. Ezekiel had served his purpose to me, and I was done with him. This land is sacred, and it is mine. He had no right to build here.”
“But you helped him.”
“He helped me. We built a network of traps together and many teepees. More than I could do alone. He put me ahead, but threatened to stay and take what was rightfully mine. So I sent him to you.”
She lifted her head from the gun, though her hands stayed in place. “Sent him to me?”
“It was inevitable, your paths crossing. But you weren’t supposed to come back this way. I figured you’d go east.”
Anger simmered in her gut. “You shot him in the leg to put him with me.”
The man nodded. “However, I counted on too much, and then again, not enough because I see I was wrong. Nathan’s wife is tougher than he knew.”
“Wh-what does that mean?” she asked.
“He used to say without him you’d run home. ‘My Clementine can’t survive without me.’ You’ve proved him wrong.” He waved his hands. “Here I am, shoot me. Shoo …”
A shot rang out and the man’s eyes widened, his mouth falling slack. In a measured, almost sluggish manner, he crumpled to his knees and fell face down in the snow.
Clementine looked past him into the eyes of Mr. Paulson. A cry escaped her lips, and tossing her gun down, she threw herself at Ezekiel’s side. He was cold and stiff, his breathing shallow.
“No,” she said, clutching his face. “Do not die on me. Do you hear me, Ezekiel Knapp? We have a wedding to plan, family to see. You promised me. You promised.” She bent her head to his and pressed their lips together. “Live,” she whispered. “Live. For me.”
CHAPTER 6
It was a similar scene in a different setting. He lay in bed, half-clothed, Clementine’s hair spread over his chest. Only this bed was in a well-furnished room full of hospital equipment, and instead of lying at his side, she draped her head over him from her seat in a chair.
He stared past her at his leg and wiggled his toes. Painful, but still attached.
And it hit him, a two-ton weight. She was here, in town at his side. He swallowed the lump in his throat and brought a hand to her face. Sweeping her hair aside, he caressed her cheek with his thumb.
Her eyelids flickered, and she inhaled a sleep-laden breath.
“Good morning,” he said.
He had no idea if it was morning, afternoon, or evening, but his voice brought her upright. She clutched at him, her fingers wound in the bed cover.
“You didn’t die,” she said.
He smiled at her. “No. You saved me again.”
“It was Mr. Paulson,” she said. “He shot the Eskimo.”
The Eskimo. George. Ezekiel’s hand dropped to the bed. “Half-Eskimo. His dad was white.”
Her brow wrinkled. “He said it was his land, and you were on it.”
Nodding, Ezekiel looked away. “He always fancied himself more than he was, but I figured he was proud of his heritage. Plus, he was helpful to me.”
“He said you were helpful to him, and he was through with you.”
Ezekiel winced. “He said that?”
“Yes. But he didn’t want to kill you, so he waited until we were close together then took advantage of the situation, shooting you where I’d find you. He thought we’d go east, not west.”
“So he burnt the cabin …”
“To clear the land,” she said. “He didn’t believe in the gold.”
“That’s a shame,” Ezekiel said. “Because I have a secret.” Her hands relaxed and he captured one in his, folding their fingers together. “But, first, say you’ll marry me.”
A smile rose on her face brighter than the sun, and he sucked in a shaky breath. “You are so beautiful. Make me the happiest man on the planet.”
“I have one condition,” she replied.
He drew her toward him, her face inches from his. “Name it.”
“I want to go home.”
“Done.”
“Now for your secret.”
He smiled and backed up an inch. “Where’d you get the clothes?” She’d changed, bathed, and an empty plate at her side said she’d been fed.
“The church,” she said. “When they brought you in, a Pastor and his wife were visiting folks. They talked with me; we prayed together, and I told them, you were the man God had brought to me.”
“You said that?” he asked.
Clementine nodded.
“So does that mean …”
Her lips curved upward, and she gave a short nod. “I will marry you, Ezekiel Knapp.”
He grinned, feeling more like a silly boy than an adult.
“Now, the secret.”
Unable to wipe the smile from his face, he tugged her to his side. She climbed into bed and wrapped herself around him, mashing her cheek to his chest.
He ran one hand through her hair. “I found the gold.”
She craned her neck back, her eyes wide. “You found it?”
His smile grew wider, near splitting his face. “When I built the place. And I took it to to
wn and put it in the bank. It’s a nice nest egg, which will take us anywhere we need to go.”
“But …” Her voice trailed away.
“But what? Aren’t you happy?”
She laid her face flat again. “I’m happy, but I don’t understand why if you had so much money you’d stay and trap. You took unnecessary risks, and …”
“Clem, look at me.”
She twisted her head around.
“It brought me to you. Isn’t that enough?”
She lifted her mouth to his and silenced him with the moisture of her lips and the heat of her breath. Longing in his heart until, drunk on love, the room spun. She pulled back and nestled her face against him.
“It’s enough. I love you, Ezekiel Knapp.”
“And I …” he began, his heart lighter than air. “Love you.”
***
The thick darkness of night was lit only by fireflies, which pulsed and danced past the window. Yet Clementine’s eyes were only for Ezekiel and his only on her. He hovered over her, his weight an anchor to her soul, a comfort to her heart, a fire racing along her limbs. She curved to him, giving herself fully to his every embrace, and sailed out over the verdant mountains, her breath escaping into the night air.
She fell back spent after, the ring on her finger imprinted against his chest, a never-ending bond signifying their unity to each other.
“Mama likes you,” she said.
She felt his smile in the darkness with the shape of his lips over hers.
“I like her, too,” he replied. “You’re like her, you know.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
“Well, the hair, for one.” He twined his fingers through her locks. “Your faces, for another. Her surprise at seeing you was much like your surprise at finding me in the snow.”
Clementine laughed, once. “She did seem angry. And then to hear I was married to someone, who wasn’t Nathan …”
“I can see where you get your temper,” he said.
“But she came around.”
“Yes, she did.” Clementine paused. “Annalise is married. I can’t believe it, and I missed the whole thing. But I remember her husband from our youth. He’s nice. I like him. However, I have a confession to make …” She let her voice trail away.
“Does this involve all the secrecy the two of you had earlier?”
“Mmm. Sisters are like that.”
She’d missed her sister and found their reunion like picking up where she’d left off. As much as she’d loved Nathan, he’d taken that from her.
A cricket beneath the window sill creaked loudly in the room.
“So?” Ezekiel asked. “What’s this confession?”
“We made a bet.” A girlish giggle rose in her chest and escaped.
His hand sought her face and traced itself down her neck. “Does it involve me?” he asked.
“Mmm, yes. Us.”
“Let me guess,” he said. “We’re going hunting together.”
She curved her face into his chest, muffling her laughter. “That depends on the game.”
“Deer? You shot a moose once.”
“Twice. I shot two moose.” She spoke frank.
“Okay, so two moose.”
“And not a deer,” she added.
He grabbed hold of her and lifted her atop him. “Turkeys?”
“No, though I’d like to go in the fall.”
“Then we will,” he said. “Will you miss it?”
Her hair did pirouettes around his face. “Alaska?” she asked. “Will you?”
“I will always miss it in some fashion, but anywhere you are is home for me,” he replied. “Except we have to visit Minnesota or my family will explode. They can’t believe I married and never told them. Now …” He curved his hands in the small of her back. “Answer my question, then tell me what you and your sister have cooked up.”
Her laughter returned. She fell against him. “I will miss it some, like you said. I’d like to go back one day, to visit, but … and this involves what happens next …”
He nuzzled at her neck, and she stretched her hands out on the bed.
“But I want to take our children.”
His hand on her face, he turned her gaze to his. “Did you just say children?”
She bobbed her head. “That’s the bet. Whoever gets pregnant first.”
His laughter joined hers and reformed itself in her gasp, as he laid his mouth to her throat.
“We’d better keep trying then,” he said, his lips wandering along her skin. “If you want to win …”
FROM THE AUTHOR
This story was birthed out of my watching way too many shows about Alaska. I have trapped, hunted, fished, chased criminals and wild game, rode snowmobiles, gotten stuck in the ice, had to start fires, and slept under the stars. Realizing all the research I’d been doing without any use for it, I simply had to write a story.
Clementine Button was a fun character, but a troubled one, to create. That she would stick it out after the death of her husband to appease some ideal he had for her soon wove itself onto every page. Ezekiel Knapp was meant to be her opposite in many ways, the antithesis to Nathan Button, but more of what she needed than Nathan had ever been.
I threw in the suspense for good measure. After all, what’s a story about Alaska without mention of gold? I wasn’t sure Ezekiel had found it until I reached the end, however. But I did know she’d go home.
Yet home is really, as the trite saying goes, where your heart is, and for Clementine, that’s with Ezekiel, and I’m thinking two beautiful little redheaded girls.
Suzanne D. Williams
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Best-selling author, Suzanne D. Williams, is a native Floridian, wife, mother, and photographer. She is the author of both nonfiction and fiction books. She writes a monthly column for Steves-Digicams.com on the subject of digital photography, as well as devotionals and instructional articles for various blogs. She also does graphic design for self-publishing authors.
To learn more about what she’s doing visit http://suzanne-williams-photography.blogspot.com/ or link with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/suzannedwilliamsauthor.
Also by Suzanne D. Williams:
Nonfiction:
Fearless
Short Stories:
The Amanda Series
Christmas Angel
Me & Timothy Cooper
I Kissed The Boy Next Door
The Best Week of My Life
Of All The Ways He Loves Me
The Life And Times Of Lucas McGilley
Flight Risk (The Italian Series #1)
Italian With A Side Of Pasta (The Italian Series #2)
Something Italian (The Italian Series #3)
Blue To Remember
Ichabod & Penelope
New ~ Jersey
Glass
Eden
A Miracle For Mari
All About Romeo
Love After Snowfall
Fiction:
MISSING (The Sanders Saga #1)
FOUND (The Sanders Saga #2)
Love & Redemption (The Florida Irish #1)
Life & Deliverance (The Florida Irish #2)
For Eternity (Time-Travel Romance #1)
Upcoming Fiction Novels:
Faith & Forgiveness (The Florida Irish Series#3)
Maire’s Song (The Florida Irish Series #4)
Crossing Eternity (Time-Travel Romance #2)
Tattooed
The Quarter
Wings
Upcoming Short Stories:
Love in Lilac
SUIT (Best-Dressed Series #1)
Painted Bride (Best-Dressed Series #2)
The Girl In The Pink Bikini (Coralee Chronicles #1)
The Bride Wore Blue Sneakers (Coralee Chronicles #2)
Say It With Flowers (The Italian Series #4)
And That Was Paradise
She Loves Me Anyway
Lawn
&nbs
p; Sit Down And Die Quietly
Dadgumit
Walter’s Baby
Drivin’ Me Crazy
Sweep Me Off My Feet
Go Ahead And Kiss Me
Love & Roses
Come Back To Me
No Done Living
Atlas
Down Fall
Love Dangerously
Also in audiobook:
Me & Timothy Cooper
The Best Week Of My Life
Of All The Ways He Loves Me
Love & Redemption
For Eternity
If you have enjoyed this book, please support the author by leaving a book review at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, KOBO, and Goodreads. Thank you!
Table of Contents
© 2013 LOVE AFTER SNOWFALL
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
FROM THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
If you have enjoyed this book, please support the author by leaving a book review at Amazon, Barnes &...