Instant Prairie Family (Love Inspired Historical) (20 page)

Abby stood in the kitchen waiting for what felt like an eternity, but Will still didn’t come in. Too frantic to stay inside any longer, she pulled on her boots and long winter coat, hat and gloves. She trudged out, fighting the wind that whipped through her clothes as if she were dressed in her summer dress. How cold must Will be by now? He’d been out for hours. What if he had gotten hurt?

She would only check the barn, hoping he was there. She knew better than to stray too far from the house in this weather. Everything seemed to look the same with the snow and wind in her face. At the barn door, she had to shove with all her might to get the big wooden beam out of its place to open the door. Stepping inside, she realized that if the door was closed from the outside Will couldn’t have possibly been inside. Logic told her she should turn around and go back to the house, but the peace and relative warmth of the barn drew her in. Pulling the big door closed behind her, she ventured in, never having been inside in all the time she had been on the farm. While Will and Jake slept out here, Abby felt as if it was their private domain and she had chosen not to trespass. Now that she was out there, she wondered what she might find, even in the muted light.

Honestly, large animals spooked her. She liked the horses Will owned, but even those she preferred to see from afar, up atop the wagon on the way to church. In the dusky light of the barn something moved toward her. As her eyes adjusted to the scarce light, she saw that the cows weren’t in stalls but were all around her and one was behind her, about to bite her. It nibbled at her hat and its tongue, moist and rough like sandpaper, scratched her neck. Shrieking, she fled to the ladder in the middle of the aisle. Tripping over her skirt, she battled her way up the ladder as if she were being pursued by a band of warrior braves. Only once she was up in the hay loft did she turn to see the cow happily munching on her hat, the scamp.

Afraid to come down for fear of the large animals, she sat on the edge of the loft and wondered how she could get out of this mess she had made. She should have at least told the boys where she was going. What if Will came in before she was able to get back down? He’d have all the right in the world to say that she was not suited to be a farmer’s wife, and send her back on the next train just as he wanted to.

Pushing back from the edge of the loft, she looked around. It was full of hay for the winter, but there was a pallet still set out in the far corner with a pillow and a blanket. She sat down and plumped up the pillow. The now familiar smells of livestock, hay and Will wafted up to tease her nose as well as a crinkling sound that puzzled her. She lifted the pillow up completely. There were letters under the pillow. Her letters, all addressed to F. W. Hopkins. They were creased and worn at the edges as if someone had read and reread them. Why would Will have them here? Had he been trying to find a reason in the letters to send her packing earlier?

Thud!
Something hit the door of the barn, causing her to jump and scatter the letters. She collected them again and hid them back under the pillows. Determined not to let the bovines get the best of her, she prayed for courage and breathed deeply. If the boys could come and play in the barn with all the animals and show no fear, then so could she. Armed with a false sense of valor, she pulled her skirts up above her knees, glad no one was around to see her folly, and then she struggled down the ladder.

Thankfully, the cattle were happy to ignore her. They all seemed to be more interested in a trough of oats. Strange, it hadn’t seemed to be that full before.

Abby sighed with relief as she made contact with the door, sure she would escape safely now, except the door wouldn’t budge. It was as if she were pushing on a solid wall. Had the snow drifted against it so quickly? Panicking, she shoved harder, again and again, until her foot slipped on something slippery and smelly. Crying, she pushed off the floor and once again made her way to the ladder.

For the first time since entering into the barn, she heard the wind howling outside and shivered. It was much warmer in the barn than out in the weather, but it was still cold. The heat from the animals helped, but she couldn’t start a fire or the whole barn might burn down. What if she had to stay the night out there? She crawled back to Will’s pallet and wrapped his blanket around her shoulders. It would keep her a little warmer while she thought of another way to get out.

* * *

Will pushed the kitchen door closed with his boot and dropped the last load of wood into the wood box. He’d brought in enough to hopefully last for days if need be. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t be going out into the wind again until chore time tomorrow. What he really wanted was a nice cup of Abby’s hot tea and her sweet smile to warm him all the way to his frozen toes. He’d asked God to intervene and keep him from sending Abby away and it had snowed. Maybe God had a message here.

Strange, the kitchen remained quiet and Abby hadn’t appeared as she normally did every time the door opened. Dinner was on the stove and the water was boiling, but there was no sign of his wife.... His wife. Could he really ask her to stay? Would she be willing? After the snowfall today, maybe she would see the dangers of the prairie and change her mind. But he had to at least try.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and he peeled his gloves off quickly, shedding his coat and hanging it in the stairwell to the cellar as he crossed the kitchen to greet Abby, except it was Jake who descended the stairs.

“So you finally came out of the cold.” Jake chuckled. “I bet Abby’s glad to see you’re safe.”

“I haven’t seen Abby yet. Is she upstairs?” From the doorway he could see the boys were playing blocks on the front-room floor, but Abby wasn’t with them.

“No, she’s not upstairs. She was in the kitchen when I came in. And she was powerful worried about you.” Jake grinned, like the Cheshire cat.

“Well, maybe she’s down in the cellar. I’ll go look.” Will had turned around and was headed back to the cellar when he remembered what he had wanted to talk to Jake about. “Jake, next time you go out to the barn, especially in this cold, remember to shut it up well.”

“I did. I made sure the doors were secure before I came in.”

“Then why did I find Gerty back in the yard while I was bringing in more firewood?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t gone back out since I came in an hour—” But Will didn’t wait for Jake to finish.

“Boys, have either of you seen your mother?” His voice must have conveyed urgency because both boys popped up from the floor and looked at him strangely.

“She put on her coat and hat after Jake went upstairs. Then we heard the door open and close a whole bunch of times. I think she was bringing in firewood,” Willy reported.

“Maybe she went to go sledding,” Tommy volunteered, blissfully unaware of the dangers of being out too long in a storm.

“I brought in the firewood,” Will said, “and I didn’t see her at all. Jake, go check back upstairs. Boys, I want you to stay here. I’m going to go back out to the barn. Jake, did she say anything to you? Did you tell her where I was?”

“I told her you were looking for Gerty but not to worry because you’d be in in a little while. Do you want me to go out to the pasture?”

“No. I’ll check the barn first. Then, if she’s not there, we’ll go looking. But look for her inside first. And pray, boys. Pray that she’s safe and out of the storm.”

His heart pounding as if it were going to explode at any time, he retraced his steps through the kitchen, not even bothering to button his coat correctly and pulling his new knitted cap, compliments of his missing wife, haphazardly over his head. His fingers were still numb from being out so long, but he shoved his wet gloves back on his hands as he rushed across the slippery barnyard.

Just as he had left it, the barn door was shut from the outside. He hefted the beam and set it on the ground. Pulling the door open, he peered into the darkness of the warm barn. Only the moos of the cows greeted him. He lit a lantern and hung it from its peg. “Abby! Abby, are you here?” he yelled out, knowing the panic in his voice betrayed his feelings more than anything else. Rustling above him over by his pallet drew his attention to the loft.

“Will!” Her voice floated down to him above the din of the animals. “Are you all right?”

He pulled the barn door closed behind him, latching it from the inside this time, and raced over to the ladder as if the barn were on fire. He wanted to shake her silly for scaring him so bad but then he wanted to kiss her silly in relief. He was halfway up the ladder when her face peered out over the edge.

“Are you all right?” they both asked at the same time. She giggled and then sat back as he reached the top rung, putting him eye level with her.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded, out of breath from his climb.

“I...I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were okay. I couldn’t stay inside any longer and came out, hoping you were in here. Then one of the cows tried to eat my hat and I got scared and climbed up here. When I came back down, the door was stuck and I couldn’t go back to the house. I’m sorry. You’re probably cold and hungry and here I am—like such a fool—making you come back out in the cold and worrying you....” He could see her shaking and wanted to hold her tight, to promise her she would never be frightened again.

“Shush, don’t worry, Abby. I’m so glad you’re all right. You are all right, aren’t you?” He pulled off his glove and caressed her cheek. Even with numb fingers, he felt her warm, silky skin and the moisture of fresh tears. She nodded, looking down below them instead of into his eyes. He’d do anything for this woman. If she couldn’t be happy on the prairie, he’d leave. They could find somewhere else to live, he didn’t care where, as long as they could be together.

“Don’t worry about anything. We’ll move South, where there aren’t any snowstorms to scare you. I can sell the land or maybe leave Colin to sell it and take what we have. Texas is always warm, they say. We can start over. It won’t be as nice right away and we’ll have to work hard, but—”

“What are you talking about?” Abby stared at him as if he were out of his mind. He grinned. How foolish it must have sounded.

“When you weren’t inside the house and I knew you could be out in the storm, I was so scared. I had promised to take care of you, protect you. You could have been hurt or worse....” He couldn’t force himself to even finish the thought. “I realized no piece of land is worth losing you, Abby. I want a real marriage, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that we can make it work. If you want me to move back to Philly, I’ll do it. I’m just sorry I held you at arm’s length for so long.” He drew a ragged breath, wondering if it was already too late for them.

“But I don’t want to leave here! I don’t know why you think I do. I love the prairie that goes on and on forever. I know it’s a dangerous place, but God is just as able to keep me safe here as He is in Philly or in Texas.”

“You don’t want to leave here?” Will asked, afraid to hope.

“No, I don’t want to leave you, or the boys or the farm. I have come to love you all. This is my home, my family. I—”

“You still want to stay with us? Even now that you’ve seen how the winter storms can be? And this is just the start. There will be more storms.”

“Yes. I want to stay.” Abby nodded but turned away.

Joy exploded in Will’s chest, squeezing the breath from his lungs. She wanted to stay. She wanted to stay! Had she really said she loved him? Or just his family? It didn’t matter. He could be patient. He’d learn to court her. He’d bring her flowers and tell her how lovely she was to him. Why had he waited so long?

“I know that you didn’t want a wife either time you married and I...” She swallowed and he saw her struggle with some hidden emotion. “I don’t understand the way it is between a husband and his wife. I guess I was too young when I lost my own parents and my sister never took the time, not that her marriage was a good model. Anyway, I guess I never will be a woman to attract a man’s attention in that way, but—”

“Abby, sweet, beautiful, darling Abby,” he whispered, his finger having silenced her ramblings, relishing the feel of her sweet breath across his fingertips. “There is nothing lacking in you. You had my attention from the day you fell into my arms at the train station.”

“I—I did? But I—”

“Shush. Yes, you did. I did everything I could to keep from showing you how I felt because I thought you needed to move back East. I thought... I was a fool. Jake and Colin both told me, but I didn’t listen to them. I didn’t believe you could come to love us enough to want to stay. I do love you, Abby. I’ve loved you for a long time. That’s why I wanted you to go, so you would be safe, not because I didn’t care for you or want to be married to you. It was tearing my heart out to even think about letting you go.”

Her bright eyes turned up to meet his, glinting in the semidarkness of the barn, the lantern he had hung down below sparkling off the green-blue specks in her eyes. Eyes filled with wonder and tears. “You—” she swallowed hard, staring at him “—you said you love me?”

“Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Hopkins. I love you.” His fingers smoothed over her cheek, tucking her hair back behind her ear. She shuddered, whether it was from his touch or the cold he wasn’t sure. “I’m a fool for not telling you or showing you before. I’ll try and make up for that.”

He grinned, wondering at how the cold and wind seemed to be in another time and place. Even his throbbing fingers as they thawed out didn’t bother him nearly as much as they normally did. He needed to get her back to the house, back into the warmth of the kitchen and to the rest of their family so they could stop worrying, but he didn’t want to spoil the moment.

“I love you, too,” she whispered softly, her eyes closed, her face turned away. “I want to be your wife.” Her voice almost inaudible.

“Do you, Abby?” Will asked, hoping she knew what she was saying. His fingers pulled her face back toward him. “Do you really want to be my wife? To live your life here, with me? To let me love you like a man loves his wife?” He held his breath for her response.