A smile she would never see again.
“You must miss her terribly.”
“Yes. I miss her so much sometimes the pain becomes almost unbearable.”
“Oh, Rainee, I shouldn’t have asked you to share with me. I can see how much it disturbed you to talk about her.”
“Please, do not apologize. While it is difficult to remember those precious times with my mother, for that brief moment it also brings her back to me. So thank you for asking.” Rainee looked at Katherine’s reflection in the mirror and smiled.
“You’re welcome. Any time you want to talk about your mother, I’d love to hear it.”
Rainee just might take her up on that offer.
“There. I’m finished.” Katherine set the brush down on the vanity.
“Thank you so very much, Katherine. It has been a long time since anyone has brushed my hair for me.” She smiled her gratitude.
Katherine lovingly patted her shoulder. “Well, anytime you want it done, you just ask. I love doing it.” She moved her hand from Rainee’s shoulder. “Shall we go downstairs?” Katherine turned to leave.
Rainee twisted in her chair. “Katherine?”
“Yes?” She stopped.
“I just wondered…” Rainee’s gaze dropped.
“Wondered what?”
“People are going to wonder who I am and what I am doing here. And…” She shrugged and glanced up at Katherine.
“You’re wondering what we’re going to tell them,” Katherine finished for her.
“Yes, ma’am. I am.” There. She had said it.
Katherine took her hand and pulled her up. She looped her arm through Rainee’s and smiled. “We’ll tell them the truth.”
Rainee’s heart dropped clear to her button-up boots. “The truth?” she squeaked as panic settled inside her. When she had written the advertisement in search of a husband, she had not planned that far ahead. She never thought about what she would say to people when they met her.
Tears battled in the back of her eyes, begging for release for the unfortunate situation she now found herself in. If only her mother and father had not died. Then
she would not have to concern herself with such dreadful things. No longer able to hold back her tears, they slipped out and onto her gloved hands.
“Rainee, look at me.”
She sniffled, pressed her fist against her mouth and then looked at Katherine.
“The truth we’ll be sharing with them is…” Katherine smiled. “That you are my guest.”
Rainee let out a short breath.
“No one needs to know otherwise because it isn’t anyone else’s business why or how you got here. Haydon and I have already discussed it, and we agreed everyone would announce you as my guest. After all, it’s the truth. You’re my guest for as long as you like.” She smiled.
“But what if they ask how you know me?”
Katherine’s brows furrowed. She released Rainee’s arm and turned puzzled eyes at her. “I’m not sure. Let’s go downstairs and see what Haydon thinks.”
“But Haydon does not like me. And I know he does not want to be burdened with me.”
Katherine laughed.
Rainee did not see anything so funny in what she had just said.
“He likes you, Rainee. He just doesn’t want to admit he does. Come here.” Again she looped elbows with Rainee and led her over to her bed. Katherine sat down and patted the spot next to her. Rainee sat and faced Katherine.
“I want to tell you something about Haydon and then perhaps you will understand why he acts the way he does. But first, I want you to know why I’m telling you this. For more than a year now I’ve prayed for God to send Haydon a wife. And then you came along.”
Rainee’s mouth opened in a very unladylike manner.
“So, we’ll just wait and see what God wants on that point.”
Not knowing what else to do, Rainee nodded.
“One thing I do know about my son is that he may rebel against something and even refuse to do it, but he’s learned the hard way about going against God’s will and following his own desires. Now he only wants what God wants for him.”
Those words caressed Rainee’s heart. She, too, only wanted what God wanted for her. In fact, before she had made her decision to move out here, she had sought the Lord and He had given His approval. Solutions to the obstacles she now faced, therefore, were best left in His hands.
“Haydon would be furious if he knew I was sharing this with you, but I believe it’s the right thing to do.” Katherine tucked a wayward strand of hair back into place. “Before Haydon moved out West with us, he made sure his wife Melanie approved. She agreed even after he told her they would be moving to a ranch far from town and how harsh it would be. She assured him it would be fine. Melanie loved adventure. Even a dangerous one. That was one of the things that had attracted Haydon to her.
“Anyway, Melanie had this romantic notion about the West. And she wasn’t the only one. Many people romanticize it. Haydon warned Melanie a lot of people had lost their lives and their children’s lives because of the harshness of this land.” Katherine got a faraway look on her face.
Is that what had happened to Katherine’s husband?
Shimmering eyes looked back at Rainee. Rainee
wanted to wrap her arms around the woman and comfort her. She knew only too well the devastation of losing a loved one.
“Haydon doesn’t know I’m aware of how miserable Melanie made him, but I noticed it shortly after they arrived here. Melanie hated living here. She had a hard time dealing with the harsh reality of this place. She despised it even more when she realized she wouldn’t be attending any more fancy parties. That there was no place to show off her expensive silk gowns. No more servants to tend to her every whim. And no more extravagant shopping sprees. Haydon had warned her about that, too. But the poor thing just couldn’t cope.
“Many times I heard her screaming at Haydon, telling him what a horrible failure he was as a husband and as a man. She would say cruel and hateful things to him. Things a mother couldn’t bear to listen to. She told him he was worthless and it was all his fault she was so miserable. Said she would never forgive him for the anguish he was putting her through.” Disbelief and heartbreak flittered across Katherine’s face.
Horrified, Rainee covered her mouth. How could anyone say such cruel things to another human being? Let alone their own husband?
“Finally, Melanie told Haydon if he really loved her, he would move them back to New York. Haydon promised her he would, but they had to wait until spring because travel was much too dangerous in the winter. But she had no desire to wait. She snuck out during the night, and the next morning Haydon found her battered body at the bottom of a steep hill not too far from here. She had slipped on the rocks and fallen to her death.”
Rainee gasped. “Merciful heavens. How dreadful. Poor Haydon.”
“He hasn’t been the same since. He still blames himself for Melanie’s death, and he’s built a stronghold around that soft heart of his to keep himself from feeling that hurt again.”
Rainee’s heart broke for what Haydon had endured. Everything made sense to her now. She even understood why Jesse had sent for her. He just wanted his brother to be happy again. Rainee wanted that, too. Perhaps she could make him happy. After all, not all women were like Melanie.
Rainee was not. She loved helping people, not being helped. Fancy balls and extravagant gowns meant nothing to her. She loved the outdoors and the wide-open spaces. The only thing she did not love was pigs.
R
ainee stepped into the living room, and Haydon did his best not to stare at the beautiful woman. He expected to see her dressed in her fancy frippery, but her attire surprised him. The simple yellow dress she wore brought out the gold in her hair and eyes, and her overall appearance was wholesome and not that of a rich socialite.
Something about the way she looked at him caused his breath to hitch. He couldn’t say what the look conveyed exactly, but something was definitely different.
“Are we all set up outside?” his mother asked.
He pulled his gaze away from Rainee and looked at her. “Yes. I was just coming to get you two. Shall we?” He offered each of them an arm and tried to ignore the tingling sensation Rainee’s touch created.
His mind froze, and the silence in his brain was deafening.
He needed to quit feeling like this, no matter how remarkable Rainee was. But every time he saw her, he liked what he saw more and more, not her outward beauty but her inward beauty. And when she touched
him, even as innocent as this was, his feelings became stronger.
His hand itched with the temptation to yank Rainee’s arm from his and to flee far away from her while he still could. But he feared it might be too late already and besides, his manners wouldn’t allow him to. He corralled his emotions and did what needed to be done—and found he enjoyed doing it far too much.
Outside, under the clear blue sky and warm morning sun, he escorted his mother and Rainee to the rows of flat log benches situated under the morning shade on the east side of the house.
He noticed a small huddle of people off to the side. Jesse and Hannah were among the group, talking to the neighbors. Haydon turned his back on his brother. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Jess before a church service.
He’d tried to forgive his brother, but every time he got around Rainee, he was reminded again what Jesse had done not only to her but also to him and anger over the situation would settle on him again.
His gaze touched on his mother’s for a brief moment. She wasn’t pleased or fooled by his actions, but he needed to stay away from his brother for a little while longer. Otherwise he might say or do something he would regret. And he had enough regrets to last him two lifetimes.
Rainee gazed up at him. Her countenance appeared sweeter than it had last night. He couldn’t quite read the look in her eyes—nor did he want to—so he broke contact and looked in front of him to where all the neighbors were seated. He was met with glances and stares of curiosity, gaping mouths and whispering.
He glimpsed Rainee’s flushed face and wondered
again what would drive a beautiful, kind woman to do what she had done. Desperation? Lack of money? What? The more he pondered her reasons for leaving her home and how hard it had to have been for her to place an advertisement, the more his heart softened toward her. It took a brave woman to do what she had done. He admired her for that. She deserved a suitable husband.
Not liking where his thoughts were leading him, he gave himself a mental shake and looked for an empty seat.
Leah and Abby sat with the neighbor’s daughters, who were close to their own ages. Michael and Smokey sat at the far end of the back row. Haydon followed Michael’s trail of vision to a young blonde beauty talking with Mrs. Swedberg. The girl appeared to be close to Michael’s age. Haydon smiled, relieved that his brother had taken their talk to heart and given up his infatuation with Rainee.
He led his mother and Rainee to the only available bench. He stepped back and motioned Rainee forward, but his mother stepped ahead of her and sat down, forcing him to sit beside Rainee. His gut twisted, knowing his mother had done it on purpose.
He sat down on the cramped seat. His leg brushed against Rainee’s, and warmth spread down his leg. With one jerk, he moved his leg over as far as he could.
Reverend James walked in front of the makeshift podium and removed his hat. The sunshine blazing down on his head brought out the orange highlights in his copper hair. His green eyes connected with each person. “Thank you all for coming. I look forward to our time together.” He smiled. “Today I feel led to teach about the importance of seeking God’s will for our lives.
Have we become so independent and self-sufficient that we think we don’t need our Heavenly Father or His direction? If so, where has that attitude gotten you?”
A deceased wife and nothing but misery.
It would have been nice to be able to get clear of those thoughts, but they were chained to Haydon’s spirit as surely as if they were physical.
“Whose will do you want in your life—God’s or your own?”
Haydon’s shoulders dropped. At one time he had longed to do God’s will and sought it out on a daily basis. But not once had he sought God’s will concerning Melanie.
He had loved Melanie and wanted to marry her, despite the many warnings he’d received from his friends, his father and, if he could bear to admit it, from his Heavenly Father.
He thought back to all the warning signs. Signs he had chosen to ignore. He’d been deceived not only by his own willful stubbornness, but also by his wife and her many charms.
Back East Melanie had attended church regularly. She said and did all the right things. But after they’d married and moved out West, she refused to attend their local meetings. Instead she holed up in their cabin until everyone went home because she refused to socialize with these “backwoods lowlifes,” as she called them.
And it had only gotten worse over their short time here. In one of Melanie’s fits of displeasure, she mockingly confessed the only reason she had attended church in the first place was to show off her new dresses and to impress everyone with her high social standing. He should have seen that, but he’d been too blinded by what he wanted to see, by what he wanted to be real.
The ultimate blow came when she told him she wasn’t a Christian and she didn’t believe in God or Christ. She’d faked faith because she knew Haydon wouldn’t marry her otherwise.
Haydon’s heart ached afresh, knowing Melanie had possibly died not knowing Jesus. He could only hope before she’d drawn her last breath, she had asked Christ into her heart. After all, Melanie had heard the salvation message plenty of times.
The sound of people singing splintered his mind from its painful memories.
Haydon closed his eyes and sang the words that meant so much to him. A few choruses later, his concentration switched to the sweet but slightly out-of-tune voice next to him. Only it wasn’t Rainee’s off-key singing that had hooked his attention, it was the conviction in her tone. She sang as if the words meant something to her.
He stole a sideways glance, and what he saw mesmerized him—Rainee’s face raised toward heaven, shiny drops sliding down her sun-bronzed cheeks and glowing face. Gone was the snobbish image he had engraved in his mind from their first encounter.
Reverend James said the closing prayer. The women excused themselves and started setting out the generous fare.
Haydon stood back and watched Rainee as she jumped right in and helped. She draped tablecloths over the makeshift tables and made several trips to the well, filling bucket after bucket with water and carrying them to the table. She made numerous trips in and out of the house, her arms loaded with homemade desserts.
Melanie would have never done any of that. In fact,
Melanie did nothing but read her dime novels, sit in front of a mirror or bark orders at his sisters. When he had found out she had been ordering them about, he had immediately put a stop to it.
Abby’s cry snapped his attention in that direction. His little sister was sitting on the ground, looking at her knee, crying loud enough to alert everyone within a 30-mile radius to her plight. He started toward her but stopped when he saw Rainee hurrying toward Abby. Haydon watched as she dropped to her knees in front of the child, never once giving heed to what the dirt was doing to her dress.
“What happened, Abby?” The kindness and genuine compassion in her voice touched a chord deep inside him. A chord he would rather not have strummed.
“I hurted my knee,” Abby cried.
“Oh, sweetie. I am so sorry. Come. We will make it feel all better.” She scooped Abby up and carried her into the house.
Minutes later, they stepped outside together. Abby held Rainee’s hand, smiling and skipping happily at her side.
Haydon picked up another bench and carried it over to one of the tables, eyeing his neighbors as they too watched Rainee’s every move. They had to be wondering who this woman was. So far, his mother had offered no other information other than her name. It wouldn’t be long, though, before someone asked how she came to be here.
From yards away, Haydon’s gaze zoned in on nineteen-year-old Jake Lure strutting up to Rainee like a bull on the hunt. Haydon dropped one end of the bench. It thudded as it hit the ground.
Abby pulled away and ran toward her friends.
Jake cocked his shoulders back and tipped his nose up higher than normal. He reached for Rainee’s hand and kissed it.
Her cheeks suddenly reddened. To make things worse, within seconds, forty-five-year-old Norwegian widower Tom Elder, seventeen-year-old John Smitty, and twenty-three-year-old Peter James, Reverend James’ brother, each took turns introducing themselves and kissing her hand. Each tried to outdo the other. They reminded Haydon of a bunch of young bucks trying to claim their territory. It would have been funny if he could have allowed himself to laugh about it, but his protective side had already kicked in.
He wanted to forget moving benches and go stand next to Rainee’s side to keep the predators away.
But what gave him the right to do so?
Her new admirers were only doing what he refused to do.
Rainee looked around until her gaze touched his.
His heart did an upward kick like a frisky colt on a brisk spring day. The quiet desperation in her fawn-colored eyes pled with him to rescue her. And rescue her he would. After all, a promise was a promise, and he had promised the Lord and himself that he would watch over her today. Even so, he would have done it without a promise, knowing how desperate men out West were for womenfolk.
Haydon finished setting the bench down and strode over to where she stood. He extended a hand to each of the men. “Hello, gentlemen.” They each shook his hand but never took their eyes off of Rainee. He couldn’t really blame them. She was a very beautiful woman.
A woman who was under his care for the time being. “The ladies have the food ready now if you’d like to grab yourselves a plate.”
“Miss Devonwood, would you do me the honor of joining me?” Tom bent his elbow and offered her his arm.
John stepped in front of Tom. “I’d be mighty honored iffen you’d join me, Miss Devonwood.”
“She’s eating with me.” Jake grabbed Rainee’s arm and yanked her to his side.
This whole thing was getting out of hand. He needed to do something and fast. Haydon stepped up along the other side of her. “Sorry, gentlemen.” He eyed each one with a warning glance. “Rainelle is with me.” The second those words left his mouth, his gut cringed. Where did that come from? Couldn’t he have said something else?
She looked up at him. Her smile of approval warmed his soul. Even though it felt hypocritical, he knew he had done the right thing. He tucked her hand through his arm, and the sudden fluttering of his heart made him even more confused about what the right thing was.
As he led her to the food tables, the men’s stares bore through him like railroad spikes. No doubt, the men believed he was staking his claim on her. Well, let them think what they wanted. His only intention was to watch over her while she was a guest in his mother’s home.
Just keep telling yourself that, Haydon, and you just might believe it yourself pretty soon.
Then, a few steps forward, he realized his mistake. The perfect resolution to the mess Jess had gotten him into might very well be standing in the food line. If she married one of his neighbors, he would be free of his burden.
Burden.
But was she really a burden? Or was he scared to death she wasn’t?
Since her arrival, she had helped his mother and sister prepare meals, bake bread and desserts, weed the garden, scrub the kitchen floor, clean the house, wash clothes and do any other chore that needed done.
He liked that about her. She was at home being one of them. More important, when he was honest with himself, he realized he liked her. He always had. In fact, the word like was starting to feel too tame.
Reverend James’s message trailed through his mind. The point here wasn’t whether or not she was a burden. But what did God want him to do? Determination rose in Haydon. He needed to find out just what God’s will was in this situation. This time he needed to know before he let his feelings take over.
While Rainee gathered a small amount of food onto her plate, Haydon filled his with fried fish, quail, a thick slice of ham, morel mushrooms, potatoes boiled with dill, a slab of butter to eat with his potatoes and Lefsa.
She grabbed two tin cups and dipped them into one of the buckets of water and handed one to him.
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” There was that smile again. The one that could turn a man’s head and heart into mush, including his. He mentally shook himself.
Drinks and plates in hand, he led her to an empty table. At least it was empty—until Rainee sat. Then her group of admirerers barreled to their table and sat across from her.
Guess they didn’t think he was staking his claim on her after all. Haydon sighed inwardly and lowered himself next to her. His shoulder brushed hers. Their gazes
connected. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled that sweet smile of hers. Haydon’s heart melted like sugar in a cup of soothing hot tea, and his lips curled upward.
She looked away, and he heard her suck in a sharp breath.
Wondering what was the matter, he followed her gaze. Locked in one of the pens, Kitty’s little beady eyes looked directly at them through the slats in the fence. The sow dropped her nose to the ground and started scooping up the dirt under the bottom fence rail. After several scoops, she looked through the slats again. Then repeated the process.