Strong and Stubborn (16 page)

“Maybe you should be looking to strengthen your resolve.” Dunstan's brows lowered. “Because Draxley and your partner weren't the only ones responsible for the collapse. They answered to someone else, someone powerful enough to put the plan in motion.”

“Who?” Fists clenched, Braden had to remind himself that he couldn't leap from bed, find the fellow, and throttle the dastard.

“Beyond implying that the man was a Hope Falls investor, it's the one thing Draxley wouldn't tell us.” Far from looking defeated, Dunstan grinned. “So how about you and I exploit that reputation of yours one last time and lure the mastermind back to Hope Falls?”

“If you've got a plan,” Braden promised, “I'm listening.”

“This can't go on much longer.” Lacey flounced in with a frown.

Naomi's heart sank. She'd reached the same conclusion even before breakfast, but hadn't come to terms with it. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to dither. Perhaps if Lacey and Dunstan's courtship had been more measured and conventional, she would have found a solution before they announced their engagement. Then again, Naomi should have known better. Lacey bucked convention at every turn, and Dunstan could hardly be termed traditional.

“We're going to have to do something.” Lacey plopped down on one of the kitchen stools. “This has to be settled today!”

“Jake took care of it yesterday.” Evie's calm pronouncement shook Naomi. “So we wouldn't be obligated to make arrangements.”

“How did he take care of it?” Naomi thought back over breakfast but couldn't remember anything out of the ordinary. Shouldn't there have been some sort of upset? Even if Granger managed to make most of the men happy, there would still be a few grumblers. And what if they needed to overturn Granger's high-handed arrangements because they didn't have adequate funds? “He didn't get our approval or even discuss how much we should pay!”

Lacey looked equally unsettled. “I know he's your fiancé and he has more experience than all of us put together, but Granger is not the owner of Hope Falls. He can't take over our accounts.”

“What on earth are the two of you going on about?” Cora didn't seem to share their sense of outrage. “I, for one, am grateful to Granger!”

“Changing our arrangement with the men,” Naomi burst out. “I know now that Evie and Lacey are taken, we'll need to address the issue, but I'm not ready to abide by whatever Granger set in place.”

Heart pounding, Naomi nevertheless noticed that no one blinked. Wide-eyed, they stared as though she'd sprouted a second head.

“Hold up,” Evie raised her hands. “We're talking at cross purposes here. Jake hasn't changed our agreement with the men!”

“Is that what you thought, Lacey?” Cora looked confused.

“I was talking about the larder,” Lacey ventured. “The last two supply orders haven't arrived, and we're running out of foodstuffs. But Granger isn't in the position to authorize the use of funds.”

“He didn't do that either.” Evie settled herself on a stool. Now that she no longer needed to defend her man, she looked at ease. “Though Lacey's right about how badly the pantry needs restocking.”

“Then what did Granger take care of?” Naomi felt like a fool.

“He had the men move Draxley and cover him with stones. He called it a cairn.” Cora grimaced. “To keep scavengers away.”

“I knew that, and I am grateful to Granger.” Naomi stifled a shudder. “Draxley deserved his fate, but we couldn't leave him.”

“Let's not think about it any longer. Naomi looks ill.” Lacey took her arm. “We'll go try our hand at sending telegrams.”

“Wait.” Naomi pulled her arm free. “Foolish as I sounded earlier, we still have a problem looming. We can't expect the men to continue working without pay—and we need to decide their wages.”

“I say that any man who wants to court Naomi should stay on as agreed,” Lacey sniffed. “Because she's worth as much as Evie or I.”

“But we can't very well expect to ask my … um …”—Naomi needed to swallow before she could say the next word—“suitors to work without wages alongside men who are paid for the same day's efforts.”

“Agreed.” Evie looked thoughtful. “The trouble lies with those men who elected myself and Lacey. We can't expect their free labor when they've no chance at winning one of the Hope Falls brides.”

“What if they still had a chance?” Cora lifted her chin. “I mean to say, what if Naomi wasn't the last Hope Falls bride?”

Evie slapped the countertop loud enough to make them wince. “Absolutely not. Cora, whether you leave Braden or not is your own decision, but we all agreed you aren't ready to wed someone else.”

“Naomi isn't ready to marry one of these loggers, but we all expect her to choose one of them in the near future.” Cora's lower lip began to tremble. “Why should the burden rest on her alone?”

“It doesn't!” Naomi hurried to assure her friends that she was willing to do the last thing she wanted. “Evie and Lacey are holding up their part of the bargain—they chose men who came to Hope Falls and helped set up the sawmill. It's only fair that I do the same.”

Except it isn't fair, is it?
Naomi's conscience sounded as dejected as she felt.
Whatever man you marry won't know he's taking on damaged goods, not a virtuous woman. How can that be fair?

“No it's not.” Cora frowned. “I know you, Naomi. You'll rush your decision to end the tension among the men and because you don't want to make Evie and Lacey wait to marry the men they chose.”

“Yes.” Naomi seized on the opportunity. “It would make things less rushed if Evie and Lacey went ahead with their weddings.”

Silence blossomed as the prospective brides thought it over. Anyone could see that they didn't relish the idea of waiting, but it didn't take long before both of them were shaking their heads.

“No. We've already found out the hard way that it's not safe. Even with four of us living together, we had to bring in Mr. Lawson.” Evie's logic couldn't be assailed. If it weren't for Granger's fists, the men would have broken in under cover of darkness to “claim their brides” and take away their choices.

The reminder sent a chill up Naomi's spine. Afterward, Mr. Lawson and his widowed sister moved in with the women. The engineer made his bed in the downstairs study. Even then, his presence wouldn't be acceptable if Arla weren't so heavily pregnant.

“Besides, we all planned to marry on the same day,” came Lacey's more sentimental logic. “I want us all to stand together as united as when we came to Hope Falls. The joy of the day can't be complete unless we've all found the husbands of our hearts.”

“Then I might as well go up alongside Naomi.” Cora's quiet resolve ruined the romance. “Because unless he can convince me otherwise, and I don't think he can, I won't be marrying Braden.”

C
an't say that I blame you.” Granger's voice made Cora jump. “Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Just popped in to ask if anyone needed to add their telegrams to the ones Braden gave me.”

“As a matter of fact, we haven't received the last two supply shipments we ordered.” Lacey expertly smoothed things over, sparing Cora from having to reply to Granger's comment about Braden.

The thing of it was, Cora wanted to reply. “You don't?”

“Nope.” Granger didn't miss a beat. “In fact, I'm glad to hear it. Braden's a friend, but he needs to break through that crusty cocoon he's built up around himself and come out a better man.”

“You think that's possible?” Cora caught her breath. She might not be willing to marry Braden as things stood, but she couldn't help but hope that would change. And even if he couldn't change her mind, her feminine heart still wanted him to want her enough to try!

“All things are possible through Christ.” Granger angled over to Evie. “It's a matter of whether or not Braden's going to lean on God's strength or his own as he recovers and gains independence.”

Lacey frowned. “We Lymans have always had trouble with that. Braden's gone sour
because
he's lost his independence.”

“Helplessness is a harsh torment for any man,” Granger agreed.

“There's more to it than that.” Cora didn't want to defend Braden, but there was more to his transformation than thwarted independence. “Pain doesn't improve anyone's disposition.”
And the festering pain of his guilt makes things ten times worse!

She bore no illusions. Braden probably wouldn't be improving at all if it weren't for the absolution of Dunstan's discovery. Her love certainly hadn't been enough to pull him from his despair. If anything, Cora wondered whether her steadfast support hadn't enabled Braden to wallow in his own misery. She could only keep praying.

“It doesn't mean you have to marry him,” Evie argued fiercely. “And it certainly doesn't mean you have to marry anyone else!”

“What?” Granger, normally so stoic, looked shocked. “Who?”

“I don't know.” Cora flapped her hands as if she could shoo away the question. “Naomi shouldn't be the last Hope Falls bride when there's another one of us who isn't engaged to be married.”

That set off another round of vehement protests from the women. Interestingly enough, Granger didn't look nearly as appalled as he had when Evie first mentioned the possibility. He looked as though he were considering the option and finding it had merit.

“Why not?” He broke through the arguments being volleyed about the kitchen. Granger even ignored Evie, who looked as though she'd dearly love to apply a cast-iron skillet to her fiancés thick skull.

Cora knew that look as well as she knew her sister, and it couldn't help but make her smile to see it directed at someone else. Of course, it didn't hurt that Granger was taking up Cora's cause.

“She doesn't have to marry anyone,” he clarified. “But why not let Cora decide whether or not to allow a man to try and win her heart? The men will all know she's fresh from a broken engagement, and we can make sure they won't expect any speedy decisions.”

“I don't think distracting her from Braden is the answer.” Now that the tides had turned, Naomi looked deeply concerned. “A hurt heart seeks comfort, and affection can be mistaken for love.”

“I'll be careful, Naomi.” Cora couldn't help but give her friend a warm hug. “My friends will always be my greatest comfort and trusted advisors. Remember, we set up safeguards. At least two of you have to support my choice before I can marry anyone.”

“Including Braden?” Evie had a shrewd look, and Cora realized that her sister didn't trust her not to fall back in love with him.

“Are you joking?” Lacey was fervent. “
Especially
Braden!”

“It's a wise woman who knows when to walk away,” Granger encouraged. “And a wiser one still who knows she's worth the chase.”

What if Braden doesn't come for me?
Cora ruthlessly squashed her first thought. She deserved a man who valued her—a man who looked at her the way Granger looked at her sister. And besides …

“Braden's spent a lot of time trying to chase me away.” Cora gave a tiny grin. “Now we'll see if he's man enough to catch me.”

“A man's only a man when he works hard for those he loves.”
Dad's advice cut through Mike's growing fatigue as steadily as his saw bit through felled trees. Back and forth, give and take, progress made and measured in mere inches. But every inch brought Mike closer to the time he and Luke could call Hope Falls home. Together.

As an admitted “sapling”—the logging equivalent of a greenhorn—he'd been paired with Gent as a “bucker.” Bucking consisted of stripping the branches from felled trees then using a two-man whipsaw to cut the massive pines down to more manageable sizes. It made for less dangerous work than wielding an ax and less skilled labor than making precise undercuts and swift, even back-cuts to determine which directions the trees would fall. But what bucking lacked in those areas, it more than made up for in the monotonous, muscle-straining push and pull pattern of the crosscut saw.