Cora's Deception (9781476398280) (21 page)

She looked up and caught Aaron’s gaze on
her. The look in his eyes set her heart racing. Maybe a walk into
the woods would be nice. They hadn’t had any fun in a long time.
Her lips curved as her gaze locked with Aaron’s. She nodded. “All
right. I’ll be just a moment while I tell Mother where we’re
going.”

~*~

Ralph and Eliza got ahead several yards with
Ben and Ivy behind them. Cora allowed Aaron to fall into step with
her. What else could she do? She stared at Ben’s back and realized
he held Ivy’s hand in his. How had that happened?

She watched the ground for a few steps,
unsure of herself and of Aaron. A quick glance brought his gaze to
her. “You doin’ all right?”

“I’m fine.” She forced something like a
smile to her face. “I was just thinking that you got stuck with
me.”

He walked with his hands in his pockets.
“There’s no one I druther be with.”

Several yards later, Cora’s palm closest to
Aaron began to itch. What would happen if she accidentally brushed
her hand against his? Would he do like the others and hold it? How
would that feel? She longed to know, but she could never do
anything like that. Only a girl as forward as Ivy would try that
sort of trick. She looked toward the woods just ahead.

“You know a lot about the trees, don’t
you?”

Aaron grinned, his deep blue eyes glinting
mischievously. “I don’t rightly know about that, but I reckon I
could tell you the difference between a oak and a cedar.”

Cora laughed. “I can do that. I was thinking
about the herbs you gathered for your mother. Did they help her
headache?”

His grin disappeared as he looked away.
“They help some. There ain’t nothin’ gonna take ’em away, I
reckon.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Cora, looking up
at Aaron’s firm, serious profile, realized how much he cared for
his mother. He was a man to be admired.

He looked into her eyes. “Ralph said you got
a headache the other day. Reckon I should’ve give you some willow
to take home.”

Cora’s cheeks burned. She touched the bruise
on her face but kept her gaze to the ground. Their feet crunched
twigs with each step. She could smell the pungent fragrance of
cedar that often flowed across this wilderness land. Somehow, it
smoothed her troubled emotions, so she breathed deeply.

“Are you all right now?” Aaron pressed for
an answer. “Ralph said you almost didn’t wake up.”

“I’m fine.” Cora used the same answer she’d
repeated daily. She looked up and saw a play of emotions cross
Aaron’s handsome face, including a frown. Did he think she was ugly
with the bruise covering one side of her face? She gave a quick
laugh. “Except for my looks.”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with your looks.” He
gazed at her with such a tender expression, her breath caught. No
one had looked at her like that before. Her heart picked up a deep,
quick beat. A shaky smile rose to her lips. She couldn’t turn from
Aaron’s gaze and the special feeling that passed between them,
drawing them together on a level she’d never been before.

~*~

June’s warm sun drew Cora outside several
days later. She saw Ben sitting on the ground behind the old
shelter reading. Might as well see what he’d found so
interesting.

When she drew near, he looked up and spoke.
“’Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.’”

“What?” He was talking nonsense. She looked
at his book and her heart sank. He held a Bible.

He grinned. “That’s what Jesus told a man
named Nicodemus. I don’t think the fellow understood it any better
than I do. I guess it has something to do with believing in
Jesus.”

Cora straightened. “I believe in Jesus.”

“But is believing enough?” Ben frowned.
“This says you have to ‘be born of water and of the Spirit.’ Maybe
water means natural birth as a baby. But what is born of the
Spirit?”

Cora tossed her head. “I don’t know. I’m not
sure I even care.”

Ben ignored her surly attitude. “Is there a
special time for that birth like there was our first birth?”

“I don’t know, Ben.” Cora crossed her arms
and glared at her brother. Why was he talking about such stuff
anyway?

He snapped his Bible closed and stood.
“Can’t say as I know, either. I’m going for a ride.”

“A ride? Where?” Ben had been acting strange
ever since he and Esther broke up. Cora searched his face for an
answer to his behavior. Why couldn’t everything be the way it was
before?

He lifted an eyebrow at her questions. “Not
that it’s your concern, but I’m going to see Ivy. Tell Mother I’ll
be back in a couple of hours or so.”

Cora stood with her mouth open as he
disappeared around the corner of the shelter. She ran after him,
but couldn’t think of a reason why he shouldn’t take up with Ivy.
She was obviously willing, which was more than could be said for
Esther. Cora watched him saddle Flash and ride away.

One thing was certain. Ivy wouldn’t tell Ben
he was a sinner who needed to read the Bible. What he’d said just
now disturbed her. She’d rather he stopped trying to figure out
things like being born in the Spirit. Talking about that reminded
her too much of her close brush with death. She shivered and went
back to the house.

A few days later, Cora took the water jug to
the field where the men were working. She relished the freedom of
going barefoot through the knee-high grass. Clouds drifted lazily
across the blue sky, and honeybees buzzed from one wildflower to
the next. When she reached the plowed ground, her feet stirred
little puffs of dust. She paused to wiggle her toes into an
especially soft mound, reveling in the sensation.

Her father’s laugh boomed out, and she
looked up. “We’re going to make a farm girl of you yet, Cora. Get
that water out here. We’re ready for a break.”

She laughed and ran the remaining few feet.
A bothersome bee buzzed around her head, and she slapped it away.
She handed the jug to her father. “Those bees are all over the
place. I could even hear them in the grass.”

“You’d better watch where you step, then.”
Ben grinned before he took a swallow of water, his eyes filled with
teasing laughter. His trip to see Ivy seemed to have cheered him
considerably.

Another bee flew past. This one seemed
intent on its purpose as it headed straight for the forest. Father
stared after it. “Come on, boys. I think that one’s going home.
Let’s get us some honey.”

“Yahoo! Let’s go.” Ben took off after
Father.

John drained the last of the water. He
handed the empty jug back to Cora with a grin. “What do you want to
bet that bee gives them a merry chase if they can even keep it in
sight?”

Cora watched her father and Ben run and jump
over soft ground and growing crops, chasing a tiny bobbing speck.
In all truth, they were a comical-looking pair. She met John’s
laughing eyes. “Why are they chasing a bee?”

John threw back his head and laughed. “Some
folks say you can follow a homing bee to its tree where the honey
is stored. I’ve never seen it done, so I don’t know. I sure don’t
intend to go off chasing one across the country to see if it
works.”

He turned to the waiting team. A grin lifted
the corners of his mouth. “It’s a good thing they’ve got me to
work. Of course, if they happen to find that tree, I won’t be
against helping haul in the honey.”

Cora stepped carefully as she went back to
the house. The thought of the sweetener her father might bring home
brightened her day. Already the ten-pound cone of sugar they’d
brought back from St Louis had a large gouge in its side.

That night at supper, John laughed again as
Father and Ben told of chasing the bee through the woods. Cora was
amazed they’d kept the tiny insect in sight as long as they
had.

Father looked around the kitchen as he
picked up a slice of bread. “Where’s the sugar, Opal?”

“In the cabinet where I always keep it.”
Mother frowned. “Is something wrong with your food?”

“I want sugar for bait.” He waved his bread
as he talked. “I remember back when I was a boy, a neighbor mixed
some sugar and water and soaked a corncob in it. The bee loads up
on the sweetening and then heads for home. We’ll soak a cob and put
it out in the morning near where we lost that bee. More than likely
the honey’s in a big hollow oak.”

The next day when Father sent Ben back home
from the woods to get the wagon, John didn’t laugh. They threw the
laundry tub and a couple of pails in the back of the wagon, then
John climbed into the driver’s seat.

Cora stared at the honey and honeycomb when
they returned from the woods. There was so much, and they’d gotten
it just from chasing after a tiny bee.

Mother clasped her hands together, and her
eyes shone. “Oh, Orval, I didn’t think you could really do it. This
is wonderful.”

Father grinned. “There’s more where this
came from.”

Mother stood beside the wagon and stared at
the golden syrup lapping the rim of the laundry tub. “Are you going
back?”

Father laughed. “No, I think we have enough.
I sent Ben to tell the Starks. It’s a big tree. There’s plenty and
more to share. We’ll let them have the rest.”

“Yes, that’s the thing to do.” Mother’s
smile was wider than it had been in weeks. “Maybe we can share some
with the Newkirks too. How much do you think we have?”

“Oh, there’s a good sixty pounds here and
probably half that left in the tree. It’s the biggest store of
honey I’ve ever seen. Let’s have a party. We’ll invite all the
neighbors—the new ones moving in too. Tell everyone to fix some
food to bring, and we’ll make up the sweets. Bill Reid can bring
his fiddle, and we’ll have a barn dance.” Father grabbed Mother’s
hands and did a little jig.

Cora giggled with Eliza to see her parents
acting so silly.

Mother resisted his pull even while she
laughed aloud. She cradled her rounded stomach. “Orval, you’ll wear
me out. Stop this nonsense and help me get the honey put away.”

“Wear you out?” Father laughed and pulled
her into his arms for a quick embrace. “You’re the one talking
nonsense, Opal. You have to break free and dance before you can get
worn out.”

Mother’s face tinged with pink. A smile sat
on her lips even as she pulled away from Father. “Yes, Orval. Now
if you’re finished celebrating your wonderful find, I’ll go get the
crocks.”

~*~

They scheduled the party for the last
Saturday in June. After two full days of the women baking, a
delectable array of sweets lined the work counter. The men worked
too. They cut three long planks from a straight pine to make a
tabletop and benches. They set their new table in the yard. Father
used his scythe to cut the grass and make the area as presentable
as possible for the guests who would be arriving just before
noon.

Cora watched the Starks emerge from the
woods as their first guests. Mrs. Stark rode in a small wagon just
large enough for one or two people. A long rope was attached to it
with a harness on the end. Aaron had slipped his arms through the
leather straps of the harness to pull his mother. Cora’s heart
swelled with pride for him.

Mr. Stark, Ralph, and Ivy left Aaron and
Mrs. Stark behind and hurried toward the party. Cora met them as
she walked out to greet Aaron and his mother. She acknowledged
their greetings, but her attention was centered on Aaron. He’d
converted the sled he made last winter into a wagon for his mother.
Where wooden runners had been, wooden wheels now turned, easily
carrying his wagon across the uneven ground.

Aaron could do anything he set his mind to.
No one else would have been able to plan and build such a wonderful
conveyance. Ralph would have never thought of his mother in the
first place.

Cora smiled at Mrs. Stark. “Hello. I’m so
glad you could come. Mrs. Stark, how are you feeling? Was the ride
over too hard for you?”

Mrs. Stark gave Cora a snaggle-toothed grin.
“This here wagon’s as comfortable as my own rockin’ chair.”

“I’m glad.” Cora fell into step with Aaron.
“You did this, didn’t you? You turned your sled into a wagon for
your mother.”

He barely glanced her way as he nodded. His
brows drew together in a frown. Color crept up his neck and touched
his clean-shaven cheeks.

Cora’s heart pounded with admiration for
this backwoodsman who seemed a cut above most men. Did he
understand what a wonderful thing he’d done? “I think it’s great. I
admire your ingenuity.”

“My what?” His scowl deepened.

Cora mentally kicked herself for her choice
of words. Maybe he didn’t understand. “Your ability to take
something simple and make something so wonderful with it.”

“Wonderful?”

~*~

Aaron shook his head. He sounded like an
echo. Cora would think he was a country bumpkin and an idiot.
Problem was he couldn’t get his mind wrapped around anything except
her smooth skin and shining hair. That fancy blue dress with
ribbons tied in a bow on each sleeve, and little bows all around
the skirt, brought out the golden color of her hair and the blue in
her eyes. Little golden curls on each side of her head bounced when
she moved. He’d like to capture one of those curls and feel it wrap
around his finger. If he could, he’d touch her smooth cheek to see
if it was as silky as it looked. And her lips, pink and fresh like
roses in bloom, drew him like—

No, he couldn’t think such thoughts. It was
all foolishness. He was a poor man and ignorant. Cora knew it too.
She wouldn’t ’a told him what she meant when she used that big word
otherwise. She wasn’t the girl for him. He couldn’t never be so
lucky.

She gave him a sweet smile. “Yes, Aaron
Stark. Wonderful. You can do anything. You’re very special and I
think you’re wonderful.”

He stopped near the table in her yard and
grabbed the straps on his shoulders. Her eyes shone as she gave him
one last smile before she walked away. Had he heard her right? He
yanked the straps off. He’d been harnessed to a homemade wagon like
their old ox, and she thought he was wonderful? His heart beat out
a rhythm that promised something exciting to come. Maybe this party
would be more fun than he’d thought.