Within the Candle's Glow (25 page)

Eight eager couples, a mixture of young and aged, moved forward. Lyle jumped on a wooden box to start calling the first dance. But before he could speak, Miles left his wife’s side and strode to the center of the
barn floor. He clapped and raised one hand for silence.

A startled hush fell over the people.

His hair was a riot of loose, deep-brown curls. His rock-solid shoulders and narrow hips spoke of strength and vigor. Ella experienced a surge of pride. She could be proud to have him as a father.

Leona gripped Ella’s hand.

“I want to thank everyone who came this evening,” Miles said. “It’s a bit chilly outside, but we’ll soon have this barn warmed up. A bountiful harvest is complete. Wasn’t God good this year?”

A warm cheer went up from the crowd.

“Recently, God has helped our schoolmaster heal from a terrible fall. Because of your prayers, he is with us tonight.”

Thankful applause filled the new barn. Lyle slapped his thigh and gave a yodeled call.

Miles cleared his throat. “Tonight we’re going to have fun and raise the monies needed for furnishing our school with books—after we raise the walls. See all those handsome food baskets? Some are decorated.” He nodded to the side where a couple of women stood guard over the coveted collection. “You men start figuring up how much you’re willing to pay for your wives’ and sweethearts’ endeavors. That’s right—you are going to buy the contents of the baskets tonight and eat with the one who cooked the food.
And
you better hope you pick the right basket! I don’t want no fights. Can’t be knocking down my barn walls. Wives, don’t act jealous if your husband has to eat with another woman. You should’ve warned him which basket was yours!”

A twitter of laughter ran through the barn’s lantern-lit interior.

“What if you hain’t got a wife or sweetheart?” a skinny man yelled.

Miles chuckled. “Then this is the night to find one. We’re going to have fun. Only the poor cows, stuck outside for the night, will be the discontented ones.” He waved his hand at the tables. “Also, there’ll be plenty of food for those not doing any bidding. One more thing—keep the barn doors almost shut, so we can block the cold wind.”

“Hey!” Lyle yelled out. “We might blow those new doors wide open with our dancin’ an’ music!”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

“It’s fine by me.” Miles turned and motioned Leona forward. “Before we start tonight, my lovely wife and I have an announcement.” Slipping his right arm around her shapely waist, he gazed down at her for a moment. A smile played about his lips.

Silence fell on the mountain people, the homesteaders, and farmers. Mothers hushed the children.

“Goin’ to be an addition?” someone hollered, and more laughter burst out. A fat farmer lifted a hat and cheered, but Miles held his hand high.

The noise died down.

“An addition—of sorts. Ella Dessa, come stand with us.”

Taken by surprise, she shook her head no.

He insisted. “Come now. Don’t be afraid.”

She walked to Leona’s right side and faced the people. She quailed under their stares, and she noticed Samuel push through a group of young men and slip clear of them. His curious green eyes met hers, and he raised his brows in two question marks. Her attention slipped sideways. She caught sight of a twosome come through the door—Jim and Sophie.

“Leona and I are new to these hazy mountains. But God led us to settle here, to build a school for Beckler’s Cove, and to be near my nephew and his family. I now believe God also had
another
reason for us to be here. Nothing is by chance. Doesn’t He lead us where we should go?” Miles’s voice quivered as he paused for a moment.

A round of amens answered him, but Ella’s eyes stayed glued on Jim and Sophie stopping near Inez.

Sophie placed her hand on Jim’s arm and leaned against his shoulder. In the muted light of the barn, her cornflower-blue dress was a bright spot, and it accented her dark, upswept hair. The sight of the girl’s undeniable beauty squashed any hopes Ella had wistfully entertained. Her fervent wishes faded away. As she heard Miles’s next words, her divided attention snapped back to what he was saying to the crowd.

“As you know, Leona and I have no children. God’s blessings come when we least expect them.”

A murmur of speculation washed through the men and women. Men hooted and whistled. Leona’s arm tightened around Ella’s waist, coaxing her to step to the left, next to Miles.

No, no
, Ella silently begged, even as she obeyed and stood between the two of them. The barn floor seemed to ripple and slant sideways.

I’m goin’ to fall down!

Miles captured her left hand in his warm palm and lifted it to his chest. His fingers tightened and pressed the back of her hand over his heart. She could feel its wild beats through the material of his shirt.

“Tonight, I have the pleasure of making a declaration, which may shock many of you. Maybe it’ll harden your hearts toward me or make you feel inclined to condemn a wonderful, God-fearing woman who lived and died among you. Through no wish of her own, she was
forced
to give up her desire to marry the man she truly loved … the man, who
asked
to marry her. Her father wielded what he thought was his right and said no.” Miles’s voice wavered, and he dropped his head. He wiped at his face with his free hand.

Ella noticed his hand shook—his confidence crumbling. The crowd stood frozen in expectant silence.

Leona moved to her husband’s left side and entwined her fingers with their hands. “
Coraggio
. Take courage, my husband. Go on.” Tears trickled down her pale cheeks.

Miles faced the hushed men and women. “This woman, I speak of, you knew as … Meara Huskey. Her parents hastily brought her to these mountains a little over seventeen years ago and hid the fact she was
with child
.”

A rush of sharp whispers wafted through the barn.

“Her father struck a deal with a man you all know as Jacob Huskey—a man Meara
didn’t
love. She was
forced
by her father to marry him, while the man who loved her—desperately hunted and searched for her.”

Dismayed murmurs rose and rippled through the crowd. Ella shivered at hearing Jacob’s name spoken so loudly.

“I tell you this … to say what needs to be said,
loud and clear
, before the people of Beckler’s Cove and before my Heavenly Father, who
forgives all
.” He swallowed hard, squeezed the hands clutching his, and said, “Ella Dessa is my blood kin.”

Gasps and then stunned disbelief echoed through the barn. Voices rose in puzzled questions.

“Before you stand two of the most important women in my life.” His dark eyes overflowed with heartfelt emotion. He still clasped both of their hands. “Leona, my wonderful wife, and Ella Dessa, my only child … my
daughter
.”

Something let loose in Ella’s heart, as if chains snapped and rent. A sob tore from her throat, and she found herself enveloped in the protective arms of her father, shielded from stares. Her head came to rest on his wide chest, where she heard his madly beating heart.

He hugged her while Leona patted her back.

The astonished hush broke.

Cheers and shouts erupted. People surged forward.

Filled with gratefulness, Ella turned to face accepting smiles and loving hugs, as she tried to wipe tears from her face. Miles led her and Leona to Konrad’s chair, so he could join in the throng of well-wishers.

Konrad grinned. “Welcome to the family,
cousin
. You can’t deny us now.”

Grace gave her a kiss and faced others pushing forward. She answered questions. “Yes, we’ve known, and we love Ella Dessa all the more.”

A fiddler struck a lively tune, and a loud shout went up. Couples flocked to the center of the floor and squared off, and Lyle gave a
whoop
of approval and barked the fast-paced calls.

Velma clasped Ella’s hands in hers. “It were in the Bible all the time,” she blurted out. “You an’ I sat down years ago, when you first cames to live with me. We read a strange name beside yours. It was Kilbride. I forgot!”

“Yes, I suspected the truth when Miles—” She paused over his name. She didn’t know what to call him. “Ahh, when he came to town the first time, and I saw his amazin’ artwork. Remember Mama’s carved box?”

“Yes!” Velma squeezed her tight. Their tears mingled. “I’m happy for you. Isn’t it strange how God works? I’m hitched to Walter, an’ you have a new papa.”

Ella spent the next half hour hugging people and talking. She was too busy to be unhappy over Jim and Sophie—but not quite. She fought to shove Jim out of her mind forever. Love wasn’t for her.

Samuel soon pressed close enough to receive her undivided attention. “I want to tell you your dress is pretty, your new family is wonderful, and I want this dance.” His eyes searched her face. They appeared tender and hopeful. “Say yes.”

“Yes.”

She couldn’t refuse him. Josh hadn’t shown up, so she was free from the man’s intimidation. Taking a deep breath, she released her jealous thoughts of Jim and Sophie. Warm fingers wrapped around her hand. Samuel pulled her toward the other dancers pairing up for the next set. He grinned at her over his shoulder.

“Hey, you ought to see your cheeks. They’re as red as the raspberries we picked this summer.”

She fanned her face. “It’s been heart-stoppin’—what Miles said. He didn’t warn me. I’m shaky.”

Samuel hesitated as the fiddling started. He bent close and placed his lips near her ear. “Do you want to sit this one out?”

“Could we?” She clasped his hand in both of hers. “Please?”

“Anything you wish.” He drew her over to an empty wall where no one else had congregated and continued to hold her hand. “When did you—Miles find out?”

“Samuel, it was the day we took Deer blueberry pickin’—the week ’fore your papa died. I suspected Miles
might be
my father ‘cause of somethin’ inscribed in Mama’s Bible. Miles didn’t know, but when he walked me to Mama’s grave he saw her name, an’ I explained.”

“Ella Dessa, I need to hear the whole story.” He had an accepting smile and laid an affectionate hand on her shoulder. “Hey, now you might become the teacher’s pet. Can I get test answers from you?”

She slapped his arm. “Don’t bug me no more. I’ll have my teacher cousin beat you up and give you a bad grade to
end
your school years.”

He tipped his head back and laughed. “You wouldn’t. Besides, I’m near done. School’s over for me this spring. I’ve got other things on my mind.” His right hand slid down the length of her arm and clasped her hand.

“Such as where you’ll study next? Will you leave the cove? Konrad mentioned you might.” She stood close and fixed her gaze on her best friend.
Why cain’t I fall in love with him?

Samuel sighed. “I don’t know what to do. My heart’s torn. There’s something—”

He kept talking, but the sound of the three fiddles and Lyle’s deep voice drowned out the rest of his words. He rolled his eyes and made her laugh.

#

Jim longed to talk to Ella, but he didn’t want Sophie with him. He had been dazed, like all the others, at Miles’s announcement. He also experienced joy for the pretty girl in the rust-colored dress. With a troubled ache of jealousy in his chest, he watched Samuel talk with her. They stood so close! He wanted to run and jerk them apart.

At his side, Sophie adhered herself to his arm. Her touch became possessive and annoying. She chatted with two other girls and ignored him, except to cling tighter. He could hear snatches of their conversation over the fiddles, but it didn’t interest him. The knowledge Sophie was content to be at his side scarcely patched the hollow spot in his chest.

I don’t want to be here
, he thought, as he saw Samuel lead Ella to an
open door at the end of the barn. His brother’s hand lingered on the girl’s back. They slipped out into the night. The autumn color of her new dress faded into the darkness.

Minutes ticked by. Jim’s feeling of torment grew as his imagination led him to believe he knew what went on outside the barn walls. He wanted to strangle his brother.

He impulsively disengaged his arm and muttered an excuse, despite Sophie’s startled, wide-eyed look. He skirted the makeshift dance floor, strewn with straw, and crossed the barn to the food tables. Without much thought as to what he was doing, he snatched up a cut piece of ham. As he turned from the table—the slice of meat posed in front of his mouth—Jim came face to face with his mother.

“Breathtaking announcement tonight.” Her attentive hazel eyes scanned his face.

“Yes.”

“I’m happy for our Ella Dessa, even though there will be those who must have their say about the past.”

“I know.”

“You haven’t spoken to her. Why?”

He caught sight of Ella entering the barn. He ignored his mother’s statement and bit into the salty meat. Samuel followed the girl. Hand in hand, they walked to Konrad.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes,” he muttered, still chewing the meat.

“You’re looking elsewhere—not at Sophie.”