Chase the Wind (3 page)

Faith tentatively reached her hand up to smooth the silky locks back. “No, I don’t think he would approve.” She cast her eyes to the ground. Ian put a long bronzed finger under her chin and lifted
her face up to his.

“Then I guess we just won’t tell him about it.” He flashed his grin, and Faith answered with one of her own. “Should I see you
home?”

Faith had a mental image of her father’s face if she showed up
with Ian. “No, I’ll be fine.”

He adjusted the quilt around her again and stood with his hands on her arms. He lowered his head towards hers, and Faith felt the hair come down on his forehead when his lips touched hers. She
tilted her head back to give him better access to her mouth, and
he pulled her into his arms. Her own arms went around his neck, and her fingers made their way into the close-cropped hair at the back of his head. One of his hands came up behind her head, and
she marveled again at the gentleness of his touch. He took his
mouth from hers and drew in a ragged breath. Their foreheads touched, and Faith realized she was breathing in the very essence
of him.

“You’d best be off,” he said after a moment. She nodded, afraid
to speak, and turned to step away. Instead of making a graceful exit, she tripped over the ends of the quilt and fell to her hands and knees. Ian instantly dropped beside her. “Are you all right?” he asked, concern all over his face. Faith started to giggle and
looked up at him in wonder. He joined her laughter as he pulled her to her feet. “What’s so funny?” he asked when she covered her mouth with her hand to halt the tide that was overflowing from
within.

“I’ll tell you later,” she managed to get out and started down the
trail. She gathered the quilt around her and broke into a run. When
she finally reached the safety of her room, she jumped on her bed
and kicked off her shoes. She stretched her legs out in front of her and wiggled her stocking-covered toes. “Oh, Momma, my toes
curled!” She laughed and fell back on the bed.

A breeze had gently come down from the north and its soft caress cooled Faith’s body. She relaxed into slumber, the weeks she had spent with Ian passing as seconds in her dream. After that first
Sunday afternoon, she had spent time feverishly praying for beautiful weather. God had answered each week, and after Sunday din
ner she had sped down the trail behind the barn to meet him. Ian
had faithfully attended church each week and waited across the
road after service for her to make her appearance at the door. While
her father was shaking the minister’s hand. Faith was watching for the tip of Ian’s hat that said he would be there waiting for her. He
had taken to riding the chestnut closer to her house each week,
until he was soon waiting under the maples right behind the barn.
One time he had brought the bay mare with him, and they had spent the cool, crisp fall day exploring the hills that rolled down
to the river.

Faith’s life became a cycle. She was with Ian or waiting to be with Ian. There was nothing else. The time she was spending outdoors had brought a golden hue to her porcelain skin, and her sky-
blue eyes sparkled with a life they had never shown before. She
felt as if a piece of her had been missing and Ian had miraculously
put it in place. She had a glow about her now, one that was hard
to ignore, and she noticed Miriam studying her when she thought
she wasn’t looking.

The time they spent together was precious, and they talked about
everything. Ian had a way of bringing humor into every conver
sation, and Faith soon found that she had her own sharp wit. When
she voiced her observations, Ian would flash his grin and wink, as if they shared a deep secret. The best part about being with Ian, however, was his kisses. They left her breathless and excited, and wanting so much more. She knew Ian felt the same way because
each week he had a harder time pulling away. The last beautiful
fall day they shared was especially difficult. They were in the grove
of hemlocks again, on the quilt, when he pulled her to him. The touch of his lips to hers was intoxicating as always, but this time she felt an urgency in him. He pulled her down beside him, so that
she was on her back looking up at him when he pulled away.

“God, Faith, do you know what you do to me?” he asked, his voice husky with emotion.

“Probably the same thing you do to me,” she whispered, losing herself in his gaze. He placed his hands on either side of her heart-shaped face and looked into her eyes.

“I love you, Faith. Since the first time I saw you, I loved you.” She looked up at him and saw everything that was Ian reflected in his deep blue eyes. She knew he was good and she knew there would never be another for her as long as she lived. Her mother’s words came back to her.
When you find the man you love, don’t ever let him go.

“I love you too.” Her hand caressed his cheek, and he lowered his face to hers, their lips barely touching, their eyes open, searching the depths of each other. His hands on her head became possessive, and he suddenly bore down on her lips, asking her to respond in kind. She opened her mouth to receive his kiss, and Faith felt as if her very soul was being drained out by the play of his tongue on hers. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, her fingers wove through his hair, and she felt herself suffocating. He dragged his lips away and began to kiss her neck. Faith tilted her head back and gasped for air. Her head was spinning, and she felt as if she was being sucked down into a whirlpool. His hand caressed her arm and moved around to take possession of her breast. It surged up to meet his touch, the heart beneath it pounding frantically.

Suddenly he was gone. In the seconds it took for Faith to get her raging body under control, she realized that he had removed himself from her. He was sitting on the edge of the blanket with his back to her, running his hands through his hair. She rose to her knees and tentatively touched his shoulder. A shudder ran
through him at her touch, and she dropped her hand. She gathered her skirt around her and sat beside him, facing him. His face was flushed, and he turned away to look up the river.

“Would you come away with me then?” he finally asked, when the color in his face had returned to its normal bronze hue.

“To Richmond?” she asked, her face curious as to what he had in mind.

“Aye, to Richmond, to live over a stable, with a trainer of horses as your husband.”

“Husband?” she asked, a smile turning up the comers of her
mouth.

He gave her an exasperated look. “Yes, husband. I mean to be your husband, if you’ll have me, and I mean to do better for you
than what I can offer now.”

“I think what you’re offering now sounds just fine,” she said with
a laugh.

“Are you having fun with me?” he asked, his exasperation turn
ing to annoyance.

“Yes, I am, and I’d like to have fun with you for the rest of my life, if that was indeed a proposal of marriage. Was it?”

He looked down at her. Her face was positively merry, her smile
wide, her eyes tilted up at the comers with happiness.

“It will be,” he said. He became very serious. “Faith, I mean to make you my wife, but it will have to wait until I can make us a home. Can you wait?” His eyes were desperate as they searched
hers. She reached up and smoothed his hair back.

“Ian, all I want is to be with you. I can wait. I don’t want to, but I will.” He took his hand in hers and raised it to his lips. Their eyes met and made promises to each other. He pulled her up from the
quilt and gathered it around her.

“Off you go,” he said and kissed the end of her nose. He turned
her in the direction of her house and swatted her backside. “Try
not to trip.”

She turned back around and stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’m going to think things through, and we’ll talk next Sunday,”
he said as he gracefully swung up on the chestnut and turned
around to give her a salute. “See you in church.” And then he was
off.

Faith watched him disappear through the trees and turned to
wards home. The wind had picked up—it was now the middle of
November—and she realized that they had probably exhausted
their supply of beautiful Sundays. Winter was sure to come, and then what would they do? Ian would think of something, she was
sure.

The next Sunday it rained. Faith stood with Miriam in the portico
of the church waiting for her father to bring the carriage around. Ian rode by on the chestnut, his brown suit covered with a dark rain slicker. The brim of his hat barely tilted as he rode past, and
Faith’s mind whirled with confusion. “He sure is dedicated for someone who’s not from these parts,” Miriam mused as she watched his progress up the rutted road.

“Who?” Faith asked, although she knew the answer. Miriam indicated the darkly garbed figure that was melting into the sheets of rain.

“The Masons’ new trainer, or should I say trainer on loan? They speak very highly of his ability,” Miriam said with the authority of one who had knowledge of every happening in town.

“I hadn’t noticed,” Faith answered and anxiously looked for their carriage in the procession that was lined up in front of the church. When Faith turned back, she caught Miriam staring at her. Faith instantly wondered if all her secrets were showing on her face. Miriam did not look pleased, and the corner of her mouth gave way to the tic. She would have to be more careful now, now that there was so much at stake. There was no doubt in her mind that her father would never approve of Ian. She knew the only way they could ever be together was if she ran away with him. But there had to be a place to run to, and she had to trust Ian to take care of that. He had said he would have some answers for her today. She knew he would find a way for them to be together.

Once again the family’s Sunday dinner was a stilted affair. Faith shoved her food around on her plate and complained that the rain had made her sleepy. Miriam frowned at her when she excused herself and fled up the stairs. She shivered as she entered her room and realized that her window had been left open. She rubbed her arms to erase the chill and crossed over to lower the sash. The rain had blown in and left a wet patch on the floor, wetness that led to the dressing screen placed in the comer. She cautiously approached the screen and peered around the side. Ian was standing there, dripping wet, his shirt unbuttoned, drying his face and hair with a towel she had left there earlier that day. He brought the towel down the front of his chest and flashed his grin at her. He tossed the towel over the screen and pulled her into his arms for a kiss.

“What are you doing here?” she asked when they finally came up for air.

“I didn’t think you should be prancing out for a bit of poetry on such a rainy day, so I came up with an alternative.”

“How did you know which was my room?” she asked incredulously.

“I’ve known since that first Sunday,” he replied. “I’ve come by
every night to bid you sweet dreams.”

Faith looked up into his deep blue eyes with wonder. She knew
in that moment that she didn’t care where they went; she would follow him into hell, as long as they could be together.

“Let me tell you what I’ve decided.” He led her over to the bed and they sat down together on the side. “Any chance we’ll be dis
turbed?”

“No, the door’s locked. I always lock it when I’m in here, and it
used to be my habit to spend Sunday afternoons in my room.”

Ian leaned back against the pillows and pulled Faith up against
him. She waited patiently for him to speak, content to have her
cheek against the bare skin of his broad chest, listening to his heart
beat within. She wrapped her arm around his waist, and he
squeezed her closer. She was quite sure there was no better place
on earth to be at that moment.

“There are two possibilities before us,” he began. “The first involves me getting you with child as soon as possible and making
the deed right as soon as it becomes known.”

A smile split Faith’s face at that delicious thought. “I don’t think
you would survive the telling,” she replied, poking a slim finger
into his bronzed chest to drive the point home.

“Me either,” he agreed, rubbing his hand over the injured area. “The second involves going to my employer for help. I know he thinks highly of me and would lend me a small amount for us to find a place of our own. I have some money saved, but I will need to buy stock so we can support ourselves. Without an income, we
would be sorely pressed in a short time. The only problem with
this plan is that we will have to wait until my job here is done. I cannot tell the man I have failed him and then ask for a loan the
same day.”