Buckeye Dreams (36 page)

“Where are Anne and Jacob?”

“With Mary. Will and Charles Franklin went out to look at Mr. Morgan’s place, so I will help you do the chores.” She wondered at the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Maybe you should stay here in town tonight. To be safe.”

“Don’t be silly. You cannot do all of those chores by yourself. ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.’ ”

He nodded and dropped her hand.

She looked at him. What did he feel for her? She could only wonder as the last few months flew through her mind. Since he had begun to heal, their friendship had redeveloped and even grown. Yet he had kept a certain distance from her. Until the day of the fair. He had acted as if he wanted something more. She thought of that long look he had given her right before they had judged her quilt. He had always broken off such looks before.

But then after the babies were born, he had left her so quickly. He almost pushed her away. Had Jonah come to decide that friendship was all he would ever feel for her? She desperately hoped he hadn’t.

Suddenly Nathaniel’s face filled her mind. What would he think of her feelings for Jonah? She had been sure he would have wanted her to help Jonah in any way she could, even to the point of marrying him. But this was different.
Father, is it wrong for me to feel as I do for Jonah? Would Nathaniel object? I will always love him, but I love Jonah, too
. The answer the Lord placed on her heart thrilled her to the very core.

Fred greeted them at the mercantile, very glad to hear Jonah had been cleared. They asked about Will, but he and Charles had not yet returned.

Jonah told Mr. Decker to have Will stay in the hotel and he would pay for any expense. “I don’t want him walking home in the dark,” he said.

By the time they got home and finished the chores, they were exhausted. So it surprised Adele to be awakened a few hours later by the sound of Jonah moving around in his room. She quickly pulled on the dress she had worn earlier over her thin nightdress and, lighting a lamp, took it with her to the door.

Jonah was leaning in the doorway of his room, staring at the stairway. He didn’t have his gun, and she could just make it out at the foot of his bed by the light of the moon that shone through his window.

She set the lamp down on the hall table. “Jonah?” she said softly.

He started slightly and looked at her, his eyes widening.

She raised a suspicious hand to her hair and sighed. It had loosed itself from its braid again. Every night she worked her hair into a long braid, and every night it managed to free itself from its tie and unravel. She gave him a little smile, embarrassed. “I am sorry,” she said. “My hair likes to do whatever it wishes. I must look terrible.”

“No,” Jonah said quickly. His eyes held hers, and she felt almost mesmerized. “You look—” He stopped and looked down.

Adele found herself grasping the door frame to steady herself. What was he going to say? That she looked beautiful? Taking a few moments to still her heart, she spoke again. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t sleep.” He glanced back at his gun in his room. “I don’t want to go out and take that with me, but with everything that’s happened, I can’t go without it.” He glanced in her direction but didn’t quite look at her. “Don’t worry about me, Addie. Go back to bed.”

Squaring her shoulders, Adele pushed herself away from her door and approached him. She couldn’t bear it anymore. She had to know what he felt. “But I am already dressed.” She drew a shaky breath and reached out and turned his face to hers. “There is a chair in your room. We could talk.”

The look in his eyes made him handsomer than she ever remembered. He pushed himself away from the door frame, and her hand fell away from his face as he stepped closer to her. He brushed back a strand of her hair, and his eyes drifted to her lips. Her eyelids drooped, and she tilted her head slightly. Just as she thought their lips would touch, he pulled away.

The shock and dismay she felt was almost physical. What was it? Was it her?

“I can’t,” he said roughly as he walked to the stairs.

“Why?” He must have heard the tears in her voice, because he stopped cold and clenched his fists.

“You belong to Nate. You’re his. You always have been.” He took a step forward. “You always will be.”

Tears fell freely down Adele’s face as the truth finally dawned on her. “No, Jonah. The dead cannot keep the living. I belong to you.” He turned and stared her full in the face, an incredulous question in his green eyes. “I love you with my whole heart.”

In less than a second, Jonah bridged the distance between them, and his lips found hers. His hands buried themselves in her long, thick hair, and she clung to his broad shoulders for support. It wasn’t a light or hesitant kiss, but deep and slow with an intensity that shocked her into the realization that his love for her had been held in check for years, not months or weeks.

She wanted to speak, but when they parted, all her questions died on her lips as she took in the passion in his eyes. Questions could wait. Taking only a moment or two to bask in the glow of his green eyes, she returned his kiss with equal passion and pulled him toward her door.

He stopped as they crossed the threshold and looked at the room. For a split second she feared he would leave. Instead, he shut the door behind them.

T
he next morning, Jonah had a good start on the chores when Will arrived from town. He was about halfway through milking when the young man walked into the barn.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Mr. Kirby,” he said as he grabbed a stool and bucket.

“That’s all right, Will,” Jonah replied. “I’m sorry we left you in town last night.”

“Oh, don’t trouble yourself over me, sir. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin run a very comfortable hotel.”

“What did you and Charles find out at Cyrus’s place? Did it look like he packed up and left?”

Will didn’t answer right away, and Jonah rose from his stool and stood in the doorway of the stall where he was working. The young man had a frown on his face. “It was the strangest thing, Mr. Kirby,” he said. “All his things are there except a few traps. Like he just went out to check his lines and never came back.”

Jonah frowned. He knew Charles and Will had gone out there thinking Cyrus might have had something to do with Henry’s death. Jonah had disagreed. Having worked with the man for several months, he just couldn’t see Cyrus harming anyone. He’d honestly thought Cyrus had his fill of Ostrander and moved on. This was unexpected. “You told the sheriff what you found?”

“Yes, sir. He said he would go take a look at Mr. Morgan’s place himself and might stop by the farm in a few days. When I told him about the missing traps, he wanted to know where he laid his lines.” Will pushed his hat back on his head and looked up from his milking. “About yesterday, sir, I know you told me not to go after Mrs. Kirby, but it just didn’t feel right not to.”

Jonah smiled and patted him on the back. “No, it’s all right. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Say now, I had myself breakfast at the hotel. Why don’t you let me finish all this? You and Mrs. Kirby can eat without the wee ones about.”

“Thank you, Will,” he said quietly. “There is something Mrs. Kirby and I need to talk about.” He walked out of the barn and stopped for a moment to look at the house.

He could see smoke rising from the chimney of the summer kitchen. Even though the weather had cooled a little, Adele liked to use the little structure behind the house as long as possible. She enjoyed cooking out in the fresh air.

Slowly, he walked around to the back and saw her pumping water to fill a wooden bucket. Her hair was up in its usual braided bun, but the memory of it falling softly to her waist, loose and free, filled his sight. He shook his head. If he kept thinking like that, he would never be able to say what needed to be said.

She started to reach for the bucket when he walked forward and grabbed it. “Let me get that for you,” he murmured.

Her brilliant blue eyes caught his. “Good morning,” she said, smiling.

“Good morning,” he said and looked down at the bucket. “Where do you need this?”

She cocked her head. “In the washtub, on the stove.”

As he headed toward the door of the summer kitchen, he heard her following him.

“I will move the trundle bed out of our room later. Anne can sleep in your room now.”

He stopped short of the kitchen door and took a breath. “I wouldn’t do that, Addie.”

“It is not very heavy. I am sure I can do it myself.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He looked out at the kitchen garden, glad he wasn’t looking at her. “Things need to stay the way they are.”

“Why?” Her voice was soft with confusion and hurt.

He laid a hand on the kitchen door frame to steady himself. “Because of Nate.”

“Nathaniel is gone, Jonah,” she said.

He looked at her and immediately felt like kicking himself for making her look so sad.

Adele took his hand. “I love you.”

Her words made him drop the bucket and gather her into his arms. “And I love you.”

“I know. You have for a very long time, haven’t you?”

He pulled away, hands on her forearms as he stared at her.

She smiled. “How long?”

He was so surprised that the words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Since the day we first met. How did you know?”

She ran her thumb across his cheek. “That first kiss,” she said. “It said more than you know.”

He grabbed her hand and gently lowered it, and then he stepped back and ran both hands through his hair. “I shouldn’t have told you. This is all such a mess.”

“Why? I will always love Nathaniel, but he is with the Lord now. I love you. Now.”

“It’s not that. I promised Nate this would never happen.” He walked over to the pump and laid his hand on the cool, wet spout. “The night before you married him, he found out how I felt about you. He got angry, and I told him I’d never tell you how I felt.” He turned to go into the house. “Just leave the trundle bed where it is.”

“No.” Her answer stopped Jonah in his tracks, and he swung around to face her. The calm, yet resolute look in her eyes made them bluer than ever. “Last night, before we came home, I wondered what Nathaniel would think of my feelings for you,” Adele said. She took a deep breath and continued. “I asked the Lord if what I felt was wrong.” She walked up to him and stood very close. “He said no.”

Jonah stared at her.
Lord, I promised
. God placed the same answer on his heart as He had months before. Yet even with His blessing, Jonah still felt a sense of betrayal. “He was my best friend,” he murmured.

Adele took his hand. “Nathaniel was a godly man, Jonah. He would have wanted what God wanted.”

Tears sprang to Jonah’s eyes. The simple truth of her answer dissolved any other objection he might make, as easily as snow melted in the spring sunshine.

He pulled Adele into his arms, and as they embraced, he knew Nathaniel was smiling down on them from where he sat in heaven.

“They should be back anytime now, Addie,” Jonah said with a smile as he watched his wife look toward the road yet again. He and Adele were working in the kitchen garden while Will drove into Delaware and fetched Anne and Jacob.

“Do you think she spent the night well?” she asked as she reluctantly turned her gaze to him.

He stood and laid a few more carrots in the basket she held. “I’m sure Annie slept fine.”

“You had better remember not to call her that when she gets here,” his wife said with a reproachful smile.

“I know. I’ll get ‘the look.’ ”

Jonah’s habit of changing or shortening people’s names didn’t sit well with the little girl. Every time he tried to call her anything but Anne, her little face scrunched up and her bottom lip pouched out to the side. Jonah chuckled. She looked so adorable he was tempted to call her Annie as soon as she arrived.

He knelt down and started to pull more carrots while Adele got another basket. But the sound of a wagon caused her to drop it and smile at him before quickly making off in the direction of the drive. He followed, and soon both of them were getting hugs from two very delighted children.

“Ma!” Anne squealed as she clung to Adele.

Jonah was gratified by the strong hug Jacob gave him. “I’m glad you’re home, Uncle Jonah,” he said.

Will jumped down from the wagon, and Adele turned to him as she picked up Anne and wrapped her son in a one-armed hug. “How is Mrs. Kirby?”

“Mrs. O’Neal told me to assure you she and the wee ones are right as rain.” He smiled and turned to Jonah. “Dr. Kirby was all ready to send his lawyer, Mr. O’Conner, back with me, but I told him it wasn’t necessary, seeing how the sheriff let you go.”

Jonah nodded. “I hope he can catch whoever this is soon. In the meantime, we need to keep a sharp eye out while we’re in the fields.” He looked down at Jacob. “I think it might be best if you stayed close to the house today.”

“But we’re getting ready to bring in the wheat,” the boy said.

“I know, but your ma needs a good strong boy out in the kitchen garden.” He gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I’m not trying to coddle you, Jake. I just want you to be safe.”