Strong and Stubborn (45 page)

She tilted her head back and looked at him through half-lowered lids, apparently enjoying having him play with her hair. “I'm sure it wasn't anything so horrible.”

“I didn't marry my first wife for love.” Reluctantly he stopped toying with the texture of her silky locks. “I married for money.”

Her eyes snapped open in shock. “Why did you do that?”

“I just said.” Her surprise was almost comical. “For money.”

“No. I meant why did you need the money?” she pressed him. “I know you. There had to be some very important reason to make such a sacrifice.”

“You believe in me that much?” He had a hard time getting the words out.

“No less than you believed in me.” Naomi reached up to thread her own fingers through his hair. “You saw in a second what I never considered because you were looking for an explanation while I was busy wallowing in blame.”

“My mother had consumption, and she was dying a slow, painful death. Dad passed on not long before and didn't leave much of anything behind. I'd just sunk my money into my workshop with nothing left to pay for the doctors, medicine, and help to keep her comfortable until God called her home.” He resisted the urge to lean back like a cat, pressing against those soothing fingers.

“See? I knew you had a reason. And even if you entered into it for the wrong reasons and struggled afterward, you got Luke.” Seeing her smile, Mike reached up and pulled her hand down, clasping it against his chest. What was the old saying? In for a penny, in for a pound …

“Luke's the reason Leticia needed to marry in a hurry.” Mike brought her other hand up so that he held both. “He doesn't know. I don't want him to ever know, but I won't hide things from you.”

“I won't tell him.” She looked down at their entwined hands then back up. “Now I understand why you were so horrified by my ad. It touched on a sore spot, didn't it?”

He tightened his grip. “That, and I couldn't figure out why such an incredible woman had such a hard time finding a husband.”

“Now we know each other's secrets.” She brushed her thumb back and forth across his knuckles, sending chills up his spine. “Do you still mean what you said before the dance?”

“Which part?” Mike found it hard to think at the moment.

“The part about how I'm worth waiting for?” She tried to duck her head, but he released one of her hands so he could tilt her chin back up.

“Absolutely.” He looked into her eyes for a long moment then lowered his head for an overdue kiss. After several more, he pulled away and drew a ragged breath. “Just don't make me wait too much longer!”

Hope Falls, August 30, 1887

L
uke grasped Decoy firmly by the collar, both hovering a respectful—or perhaps apprehensive—distance from the fidgety bunch of brides. The cheery notes of Gent's fiddle grew fainter. Soon they would fade altogether in the late summer sunshine—it was time.

“Ready?” Cora twitched her nose, trying to stop the telltale tingle of tears to come.
You can't fall apart before the ceremony starts!

“One last time then?” Naomi reached out and snagged one of Cora's hands and one of Lacey's. Evie swiftly joined in and closed their circle. “Since we'll no longer be ‘The Lovelorn Logging Ladies'!”

“I forgot one of the responses was labeled that way!” Lacey's giggle was punctuated with a suspicious sniff, and Cora knew she wasn't the only one struggling against swelling emotion. That in itself was telling. Lacey almost
never
cried.

“It's a good reminder of just how blessed we are.” Evie's smile lit her whole face. “The music's ending—we'd best offer up some of our thanks.”

“Dear Lord,” Naomi began, and all four of the women bowed their heads.

Cora didn't close her eyes, unwilling to unleash the tears yet. She prayed along with the others all the same, cherishing the sisterhood they'd forged through sheer determination and difficult decisions.

“Thank You for the men we're about to marry. Thank You for the burgeoning success of our humble sawmill. We know we went about things wrong and struggled through those mistakes, but today we're reminded of how You can shape all things to Your will and for our good.” Naomi paused for a moment, and her voice cracked when she continued. “But most of all, thank You for the sisters surrounding me. They are the family of my heart, even as we branch off into our own marriages. I pray we maintain that bond, and I pray that You use it to strengthen Hope Falls for generations to come.”

“Amen.” Cora joined the whispered chorus and groped for a handkerchief. Keeping her eyes open hadn't helped in the face of Naomi's prayer. The words echoed the hopes of her own heart too closely.

“You're gorgeous,” she told her sister for the dozenth time that day after they'd all wiped their eyes and the final note of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” faded away. “Let's make Granger goggle all the way down the aisle.”

“Oh, Cora!” Evie gave a watery smile, took Cora's proffered arm, and they started forward.

Every man stood, and when the women reached the first row, Cora heard Volker Klumpf's order ring out.

“Hat's off to the chef!” At the words, every man swept his hat from his head and held it over his heart.

Evie's laughter rang out, joining Granger's deeper notes in a harmony that boded well for the marriage and set the tone for the wedding. The lighthearted gesture helped Cora gather herself, and she managed a heartfelt smile at Braden.

Because every step that brought her sister closer to her groom brought Cora closer to Braden. A bittersweet longing lodged in the back of her throat, and Cora barely managed to answer when the preacher asked who gave Evie away to be married.

Soon enough Evie would walk her down the aisle. Braden wanted to wait until he could stand through the ceremony, so today they stood as best man and maid of honor for all three couples.

As soon as the whoops died down for the new Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Lacey started down the aisle. With her full skirts and long—at least for the Territories—train, she looked a vision. Normally Braden would walk her down the aisle, but there wasn't room enough for her splendor and his wheeled chair. Besides, he was standing as best man for each of the three grooms. So Dunstan and Lacey dredged up another escort.

Dignified and handsome, with touches of gray threading through his hair, Lacey's escort was undeniably dapper in his jaunty bow tie. Luckily, Decoy was also tall enough to cut an impressive figure as he led the bride down the aisle. When the preacher asked who gave Lacey away, everyone laughed at the wolfhound's single authoritative bark. His part finished, Decoy politely edged out of the limelight and sat at attention beside Braden's chair while his master pledged his troth.

But as wonderful as the wolfhound was, Cora believed Naomi's escort topped them all. Dressed to the nines in a top hat and tails, brandishing a silver-topped cane Lacey slipped him that very morning, Luke Strode looked every bit as proud and happy as his father. Arm stretched high to support the bride, he visibly counted the steps so he could, as he'd put it, “get it right for Mama Naomi.”

When they reached the end of the aisle, he rose on tiptoe to kiss her cheek. Amid many female tears and good-natured male whoops, he took his place beside Decoy and beamed through the rest of the ceremony.

By the time the last couple said “I do,” Cora had gone through all six of the handkerchiefs she'd tucked up her sleeves and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. She gave each of the brides a hug for good luck while the loggers scrambled to form what they called “the kissin' queue,” lining up to buss each bride on the cheek.

Cora threaded through the crowd, retrieving baby Dorothy from Mrs. McCreedy and feeling grateful for something to snuggle. The weddings were wonderful, and Cora knew Braden would be back on his feet soon, but the entire thing did leave an unmarried woman feeling a bit wistful.

Apparently she wasn't the only one to have that reaction.

“Well,” Bobsley sighed to Riordan after they'd filtered through the kissing queue, “that's it. Last one's spoken for by the mill owner, so I reckon we'll be bachelors for a good long while yet.”

Cora's heart twisted for them. She had Braden—the real Braden—to look forward to. These poor loggers had come up here looking for love and were sticking around empty-handed.

“Or maybe not.” Clump joined the other two and pulled something from his pocket. As always, excitement increased his accent. His darting glance missed Cora as he rustled a battered sheet of newsprint from his pocket and showed his friends. “Haf you ever heard of mail-order brides?”

Kelly Eileen Hake
Mistakes, Love & Grace!

Kelly received her first writing contract at the tender age of seventeen and arranged to wait three months until she was able to legally sign it. Since that first contract a decade ago, she's fulfilled twenty contracts ranging from short stories to novels. In her spare time, she's attained her BA in English Literature and Composition, earned her credential to teach English in secondary schools, and went on to complete her MA in Writing Popular Fiction.

Writing for Barbour combines two of Kelly's great loves—history and reading. A CBA bestselling author and member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she's been privileged to earn numerous Heartsong Presents Reader's Choice Awards and is known for her witty, heartwarming historical romances.

A newlywed, she and her gourmet-chef husband live in Southern California with their golden lab mix, Midas!

1. Sometimes it's healthy to find a fresh start, and sometimes we try to run away from our past. Between Naomi and Mike, who would you say was running and who was beginning again? Why? What's the difference?

2. The issue of forgiveness winds through the story in more than one way. What about you? If you were in Naomi's shoes, would you find it harder to forgive Charlotte for what she'd done, or would you have struggled much more to forgive yourself? Why is that?

3. A lot of the characters in this series have high expectations for themselves. How does this transform into self-doubt, making them overly willing to believe the worst about themselves? For the characters in the story, this issue leads to more mistakes. Does that happen to you? How does it tie into forgiving ourselves for shortcomings?

4. Throughout the series, the four heroines—Evie, Lacey, Naomi, and Cora—are more than friends and business partners. Facing the loss of their parents, their homes, and more, they banded together to form their own family. Do you have friend-family members? Is there more of a danger of letting yourself be talked into something (like, say, advertising for husbands!) than there would be otherwise? Why could this be an issue, and how can you guard against it?

5. In the beginning of this novel, and throughout the series, Braden maintains that he loves Cora enough to let her go—or, in this case, push her away. What is his rationale? Is he right? What is the difference between protecting someone you love and betraying the love you share, and how did he go wrong?

6. In light of Braden's trauma (both mental and physical), do you think Cora would be right to forgive him and trust him with her heart again? How does this fit into the “in sickness and in health” vows of marriage?

7. When Cora relates the myth of the Loathly Lady, she says that the thing women most want is sovereignty—or to be able to make their own decisions. How is it an expression of love, trust, and respect when someone more powerful allows us to make our own choices? Who first gave us this incredible gift, and what does it mean for our relationship with Him?