Love Inspired Historical November 2014 (52 page)

She nodded, still not liking the thought.

They entered the main room, where Agnes carefully finished up Mr. Dalton's dressing. “We need to get him upstairs. Which room did you prepare?” she asked Leah.

“The one with the green quilt on the bed.”

Cold air filled the room as Will entered the front door. “We're about ready to leave, Jake.”

“Help me get Mr. Dalton up to bed and then we'll join the others.” Jake moved to the wounded man's head while Will hurried to grab his legs.

As they carried him up the stairs, Agnes fussed about like a mother hen. “Be careful, don't jostle him too much,” she warned. “I don't want him to start bleeding again.”

Leah hurried up the stairs in front of them. She held the door while the men carried Mr. Dalton to the bed and laid him down.

Agnes checked Mr. Dalton's shoulder. She
tsked
as she fussed with his pillow. “Jake, before you leave I'll need help getting him out of the remainder of these soiled clothes.”

Leah backed out the door and shut it behind her. She heard Molly running up the stairs and was grateful that it was time to put the child to bed. Leah didn't know how much more of this day she could endure.

Molly's appearance caused her to smile. The little girl stood in front of her wearing a man's overcoat. A straw hat that covered her whole head flopped about as if she were a scarecrow in the wind. Leah expected the child to tell her everything she'd done while they were apart, but Molly peeked up at her from under the brim of the hat and beamed a smile. No words came to explain the joy on her face. Leah wondered if Molly would ever talk.

The doctor had said she'd hold her own council until she was ready, and until then just to be patient with her. That was easier said than done. Leah returned the little girl's smile. “Come along, Molly. Time for bed.”

Molly came forward and grabbed Leah around the legs. The hat fell to the floor as she tilted her head to look up at Leah.

Ike came up behind Molly. He picked up the hat and put it back on Molly's head with a grin. “I think she had fun.”

“I think so, too, thank you.” Leah hugged Molly against her leg. “She appears very happy.”

“Do you know where Jake is? Mr. Frontz is ready to go.”

Leah pointed to the bedroom. “He and Will are helping Agnes get Mr. Dalton into bed. But Jake has already said that as soon as they are done they will be right down.”

Ike nodded. “Thanks. I'll let Mr. Frontz know.” He turned and took the stairs back down two at a time.

Molly released Leah's leg and hurried into their room. She pulled off the borrowed coat and hat, tossing them on the bed. Leah followed her and shut the door. The little girl's skirt spun about her as she danced around the room before scooping up her doll.

Leah watched her romp with the doll for several moments before calling a halt to her fun. “Time to settle down, Molly.” She picked up Molly's nightgown and held it up for the little girl to see that she wasn't teasing.

After she got her undressed and into her nightgown, Leah put Molly to bed and kissed her forehead. Molly held her rag doll up for a goodnight kiss, too. While she waited for Molly to fall asleep, Leah sat by the window and read from her Bible.

She turned to the book of Ruth and began at chapter one. As she read, her thoughts swirled. To Leah, Ruth's life story seemed quite different from her own, and yet in some places they were exactly the same. Ruth ended up marrying a man she'd just met, simply so she could survive and not have to return to her homeland. Leah felt as if she were in a similar predicament. Ruth wanted a new spouse so that she could take care of her mother-in-law; Leah was marrying Jake so that Molly would have a secure home. Ruth and Boaz ended up falling in love. It was there that Leah stopped the comparison and closed her Bible. But, try as she might, she couldn't help but feel a bottomless peace and satisfaction at the turn of events in her life. She wondered briefly if Ruth had experienced the same emotion.

Steady breathing told her that Molly was finally asleep. Leah pulled the covers up to the little girl's chin as her mind chased her private daydream. Would she and Jake fall in love? What would it feel like to know the love of a good man? Leah pushed the thought from her mind. If her own parents hadn't loved her, how could Jake?

The desire to go to bed pulled at her, but in good conscience Leah couldn't go just yet. She needed to check on Agnes and Mr. Dalton. The older woman was probably just as tired as Leah felt. Plus, she wanted to know when the men returned with the stagecoach.

She slipped out the bedroom door and walked the short distance to Mr. Dalton's room. The door was ajar so Leah stepped inside. Agnes sat beside his bed. Lamplight illuminated her face. In sleep the older woman looked much younger.

As if sensing her presence, Agnes jerked awake. She sat up and looked at Leah for several moments as if trying to remember where she was.

Leah whispered, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you.”

Agnes brushed the hair off her forehead and looked to Mr. Dalton, who appeared to sleep peacefully. “That's all right.” She felt his forehead and sighed. “Good. He doesn't have a fever.”

“Would you like for me to sit with him for a while?” Leah asked, stepping closer to Agnes and the bed. She looked down on Mr. Dalton. He was a little pale but otherwise looked fine.

The older woman shook her head. “No, child. That wouldn't be decent and you have to watch over Molly. I'll be fine until the men get home and then I'm sure me and the boys can come up with a schedule of sorts so that we can all get some rest.” She walked over to the window and looked out.

Leah followed her. Snow blew against the house and the wind howled at the window. She hadn't noticed it before, but now felt a shiver sweep over her at the sound. “I wonder how much longer they'll be gone.”

“Hopefully not much longer,” Agnes whispered back. “Charlie took all the men so that they could make quick work of righting the coach and getting it back here.”

They stared out at the falling snow for several minutes. Agnes searched the yard and surrounding area with her eyes. Leah could tell she was worried about the men, too.

Agnes turned from the window. “Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll be fine until the men return.” She patted Leah's arm. “That youngin will be up bright and early, and will want you up, too.” She walked past Leah and returned to her chair beside the bed.

“All right. If you need me, don't hesitate to wake me.” At Agnes's nod, Leah slipped out of the room.

Leah went to the kitchen and got a fresh water pitcher for her room. She'd hate for the child to wake up and want a drink.

The house creaked as she descended the stairs. Leah hurried to the kitchen, found the pitcher and filled it with fresh water. Looking about she realized that the kitchen hadn't been cleaned and rolled her sleeves up. The last thing Agnes needed was to come in in the morning and have to clean up dirty dishes.

As she worked, Leah realized the men would be freezing and a hot cup of coffee would make them all feel better before going to their beds. She set the coffee to brewing and continued to work.

An hour later, the kitchen was clean, mugs sat on the table waiting to be filled when the men arrived, and the kitchen smelled of freshly brewed coffee. The sound of the front door opening and boots stomping on the front porch had her racing to the main room.

Her heart did a little skip when she saw Jake enter the house. His hands and face were red, but the smile in his eyes and on his lips assured her he was fine.

“I've made coffee,” she said in the way of greeting.

They all looked tired but happy to hear that she had something hot and ready for them to drink. Leah hurried to the kitchen and grabbed the pot. She poured each man a mugfull.

Jake took his. “Thank you, Leah.”

“I'm sorry. I don't know what Agnes did with the cider, so I didn't make you any.” She felt a flush come to her cheeks.

He touched her cheek in a gesture of reassurance. “The coffee is fine. Thank you for making it.” Jake wrapped his hands about the mug and drank deeply.

His hand had felt chilled against her skin, and yet Leah felt warm inside. Her cheek still retained the cold from where his hand had briefly touched her face. She felt her cheeks flame and decided to focus on the job at hand, seeing to all the men's comfort and not just Jake's.

As she refilled Mr. Frontz's cup, he asked, “Is Agnes still up there?” His gaze moved to the top of the stairs.

Leah nodded.

He turned to the men. “Who goes out next?”

Ike raised his hand.

“Son, you go on to bed.” He looked at the other young men. “I need volunteers to sit up with Mr. Dalton.”

They all raised their hands.

“Good, we'll each take a shift. Will, you go on up and relieve Mrs. Frontz. Timothy, in an hour you relieve him. Cole, you're next. I'll take over after Cole if you'll step in after me, Jake.”

Everyone nodded.

Mr. Porter stepped up. “What about me? I'll take a turn like the rest of you.”

Mr. Frontz clapped a hand on the other man's shoulder. “Yes, you will. Jake's shift will be finished at five. You can take over from him.”

Mr. Porter nodded.

“Now that that's settled, I suggest you all get to bed.” Mr. Frontz watched as each young man headed out of the house through the kitchen. He turned and headed up the stairs, Will close behind.

Leah assumed Mr. Frontz would collect Agnes and then head on up to their rooms on the third floor. She picked up the mugs and cups and took them back to the kitchen. She dropped them into the pan of soapy water. Her back hurt, but she wasn't about to leave the kitchen with dirty dishes in the sink.

“You wash and I'll dry.”

Leah jumped. She hadn't realized that Jake had followed her to the washtub. “No, you're tired and need your rest.”

“So are you. If we work together, we can both get our rest.”

His deep voice pulled her gaze to his. He was serious. Did he really care that she was tired, too? She suddenly felt wide awake.

* * *

Jake picked up a dish towel and waited for Leah to start handing the cups to him. He'd seen the surprised look on her face. Was she truly unspoiled? Hadn't anyone ever offered to help her with chores before?

He realized he knew very little about the woman standing beside him. She handed him a cup without meeting his eyes.

Earlier in the barn, she'd listened as he'd talked about the horses and the care required to prepare them for their long rides with the pony express riders. She had kept her thoughts to herself, seeming content to listen to him. Was she used to keeping her own counsel? It felt strange, but Jake knew that if they were going to create a happy home for Molly, they were going to have to spend time together and communicate while doing so.

“Leah, what was your childhood like?” The shocked expression on her face had him wishing he could take the spontaneous question back.

She cleared her throat. “I grew up in an orphanage. My parents dropped me off on the doorstep when I was somewhere between six months and a year old.”

He heard the hurt and bitterness in her voice. “I see. But that doesn't really tell me what your childhood was like.” Jake didn't know why he was pushing her, just knew that he had to get to know her better. After all, she would be raising his niece with him.

Leah blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and handed him a cup to dry. “It wasn't horrible. We had a very strict schedule. We rose each morning and made our beds, had breakfast, did our morning chores, went to lessons, ate lunch, went back to lessons, and then after dinner we did our evening chores. Only then were we allowed to read or play quietly.” She handed him the last cup and picked up the tub to toss out the dirty water.

Jake set the mug down and reached for the washtub. “Here, let me do that.” He was surprised when she handed it over with no fuss.

He dumped the water and returned to find her wiping down the counter. Jake set to putting the mugs back in the cabinet where they belonged.

“Why do you want to know about my childhood?” Leah asked, weariness dripping from her words.

Did she expect him to renege on his marriage offer? Her crystal-blue eyes studied him. It was if she were waiting for the other shoe to fall, as his grandmother would have said.

Jake walked to the table and pulled out a stool for Leah to sit on. When she sat, he answered, “We need to get to know one another. I simply thought talking about our childhoods would be a good starting place.” He sat down in Molly's usual spot.

Leah looked down at her hands. “Oh, I see.”

Did she really? Did Leah realize that with just that one question he'd learned how defensive and hurt she felt about growing up in an orphanage?

“What was your childhood like?” she asked.

He was surprised by the question, but realized that he shouldn't have been. “It was hard. My papa bought a small farm in the middle of nowhere. We worked that land from sunup to sundown and half the time ended up with nothing or very little to show for the work. Mama raised hens, so every Saturday afternoon she'd go to town and sell the eggs in exchange for flour, salt, coffee and sometimes sugar.”

“So, you didn't have much fun, either.” Leah picked at the scrap of material that covered the table.

“I wouldn't say that.” He grinned as he thought of the good times he and his brother had enjoyed together as kids. “I learned how to hunt and fish, that was fun. And, in the summer, after the fish were caught, we'd swim in the water hole.” Jake thought about the fun he and his brother had had, splashing each other and oftentimes their parents, too. “Sometimes, Mama and Papa would help Grams down to the watering hole and we'd have picnics on the shore.”