Orphan Train Romance 1 - 5 (43 page)

“Thank you,” Katrina whispered.   Emotion swelling within her, a pure tenderness towards this man.  She was glad she told him.   “I was planning on sending a letter after my birthday explaining why I left and that I don’t want any of their money, nor do I want any contact with them.”

“That is a good idea.   You might as well send it as soon as you get it written,” Luke advised.   “It will take a week or so to get to Maple Grove.   By the time it arrives, you will have already had your birthday.   I know an attorney in Pine Valley.   We can ask him to send a note with the letter advising them to leave you alone and to not contact you again.”

Katrina felt relief at his words.   It felt so good not to have to keep this problem to herself any longer.  

When they returned that evening with a total of about 25 head of cattle, Katrina helped with the evening meal and then she quickly wrote the letter.   She gave it to Luke, who promised he would ride into town the next morning to see that it was mailed.   He would also find the attorney and ask him to write a short note advising the Porters that Katrina was of legal age and to respect her wishes of no contact.

The next few weeks were some of the happiest Katrina had ever experienced.   She continued to enjoy teaching at the school.   Luke always was available when she left for the school and he made sure Stormy was saddled and ready for her, along with Sage’s horse.   In the evenings, the group of adults spent many hours in the great room talking or playing games.   All six of them, along with Sage, got along together very well.   Katrina liked to watch Anna and Alex together with their baby.   She could tell they loved each other very much.   One evening Serena and Paul announced that they were expecting.   Over the loud congratulations that were being given to the couple, Katrina glanced at Luke and saw that he was looking at her with an unreadable expression.  Her heart jumped again, just like it always seemed to when he looked at her.   It was then she realized she was starting to fall in love with him.   She felt a closeness to him, like a touch to her soul, even though he was across the room. 

She quickly looked away as she hugged Serena.   She knew he likely would not return her feelings because of his previous marriage.  She hoped she would be able to hide her own feelings from him and that he would never know that she had fallen for him.

Sometimes though, it seemed that Luke would seek her out.   One time he gave her a book of poems to read that he had told her about.   Another time, he walked with her around the ranch, their feet crunching in the newly fallen snow.   It was November by this time and the weather was getting colder, but Katrina loved to walk every evening around the ranch.  She had started a habit where she went for a short walk by herself every evening after the dinner dishes were done.  She loved the outdoors, breathing the fresh cool air, and watching the night settle over the ranch.  On some evenings, the sunsets were incredible, multiple colors that spread over the nearby mountains of purple, orange, red, and yellow.  It was as if God was painting the sky, letting them know that all was right in their part of the world. 

Katrina had received an answer to her letter from the Porters about a month after she sent it.   It was a harsh letter, letting her know that she was ungrateful and selfish after all they had done for her, taking her in as an orphan and giving her all that they had.   They informed her that they disowned her and she would not receive a penny of her inheritance.   They even informed her that Joshua had already found another woman who was glad to marry him and that they knew Katrina would someday regret her decision in rejecting him.   Katrina let Luke read it.   While he was reading, anger flared in his eyes, but Katrina quickly assured him she did not care.   They were going to leave her alone and let her lead her own life and that was all that mattered.  

One evening, Katrina left for her usual evening walk.   Since it was the night before Thanksgiving, it was already dark by the time dinner was over, and it was getting very cold.   She did not care though.   She loved her evening walks.   Since school had been closed for the holiday, she had spent the day helping Anna and Serena prepare what food they could for a large Thanksgiving dinner they were having for the hired hands and their families.   The men had cleaned out part of the horse barn and set up some makeshift tables and chairs.   They had added the wood stove that had originally been in the shack Katrina was supposed to have used when she first arrived, so the barn would have some heat.   She was exhausted from all the cooking they had done, and was looking forward to some time to herself.

Katrina had grabbed a heavy quilt and wrapped it around herself to keep warm.   She had only walked a few steps when she heard her name called.   It was Luke.

“You must be going on your walk,” Luke commented as he caught up to her.   She knew he didn’t like it when she walked on her own and had given her strict instructions as to how far she was to go in the dark.  

“Yes,” Katrina said.  “Would you like to join me?”

Luke smiled and started to walk beside her.   They conversed for a while on what still needed to be done for the meal tomorrow.   Katrina thought it was great that they made this meal for all the hired families and told him so.   He explained that it was a tradition his mother had started many years before when she had first married his father.

They circled the two large barns as they talked and soon they had arrived where they started, in front of the horse barn.   Katrina was starting to get cold, so she agreed to go inside the barn where the dinner was going to be held and warm up for a bit before going back to the main ranch house.

Once inside the barn, they both sat on some chairs and continued talking.   Katrina was coming to love these talks with Luke.   He had often joined her on her walks.  They talked about many things and she felt she knew him well.   The only subject that he avoided was his marriage.   She could tell he was starting to have feelings for her.   He had held her hand a few times on their walks and one time he hugged her when they were saying goodnight.   He had not kissed her, though she desperately wanted him to.   She knew that he needed to get past whatever happened in his marriage if they were going to get any closer.

“Can you tell me about your marriage?” Katrina dared to ask this evening.   Luke looked sharply at her and she was afraid he would refuse, but then he sighed and nodded.  

“I met Pamela when she was visiting some of her relatives on a nearby ranch.  I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.  I soon learned that beauty is only skin deep.  I courted her that summer and was able to convince her not return to her family back east, but to stay and marry me. 

“She agreed and, for a while, things went well, but I soon learned that she hated living on the ranch.  She missed the life she used to have.  She continually tried to talk me into selling my share of the ranch to Paul and Alex and taking her back east.  I refused.”

Katrina knew Luke would never leave this land.  Didn’t his wife know that the land was in his blood?  That he would never willingly give it up? 

“After she gave birth to Sage, I hoped she would settle down and learn to be happy here, but she never did.  When Sage was three years old, she got very sick with what the doctor said was a burst appendix.  She died of it.”

Katrina grasped his large hands with her own.  “I am so sorry, Luke.”

Luke clenched and then unclenched his jaw.  “A few months later, I decided to go through her things.  I wanted to set some of her belongings aside for Sage to have when she is older.  I was planning on sending some of them back to Pamela’s family.  I found some letters.  I learned she had been writing an old beau for quite a while and was planning on secretly leaving me and going back to her family and this man.  She was going to take Sage with her.”

Katrina could not believe what she was hearing.  Didn’t his wife realize how lucky, how blessed she was?  She had a family.  A man who loved her and a sweet daughter.  Why would she want to give it all up? 

“I guess I just lost it when I learned about her plans,” Luke continued his story.  “I don’t remember much after that.  I do know I built a fire in the yard to burn the letters and ended up burning all of her belongings.   I…I just wanted to get rid of everything that reminded me of her.  I regret doing that now.  Pamela was Sage’s mother.  Sage has nothing of her mother’s that I can give to her when she is older.”

****

Luke stopped talking when he realized that for the first time, he had been able to talk about his wife without feeling the intense anger he usually felt.  Maybe he was finally able to get past everything that had happened.  He looked at their clasped hands and then into Katrina’s sky blue eyes.  

Luke stood and then pulled Katrina up next to him.  He intended to give her a friendly hug, but his feelings instantly turned into something more than friendship.  Suprisingly, he no longer wanted to fight his feelings that had been growing inside him for her over the last few weeks.  He more than cared about her.  He loved her.  He lifted her chin and lightly touched his mouth with hers.  He then gathered her in his arms again and silently thanked God that he was being given a second chance.   They talked for another hour until Anna came looking for them. 

“There you two are,” she announced when she entered the barn.  “We were wondering what happened to you.”  Anna said her words as if she was disgusted with them, but there was twinkle in her eyes letting them know she was very happy to see them together. 

“Luke was telling me about Pamela and what happened to her,” Katrina explained almost shyly. 

“Including about burning all of her things.”  Luke again felt a deep regret at some of his actions over the past few years. 

“Not everything burned,” Anna told him.  He looked at her wondering what she meant.  Even though he left before the fire was put out, it had grown very large.  His brothers arrived and expressed concerned about keeping the fire under control, but he was too mad to care.

“Alex told me that after you left, he and Paul immediately put the fire out.  There was a shawl of Pamela’s that had not burned.  Alex saved it to give to Sage someday.”

Luke swept Anna in a brotherly hug.  He felt so relieved at her words.  Alex had salvaged something of Pamela’s for Sage.   His daughter had started to ask questions about her mother which Luke had been reluctant to answer.  Now, he had something to at least give her. 

****

On Thanksgiving Day, Katrina woke up early, along with Anna and Serena, so they could make sure the large meal would be done in time.   Anna put a turkey into the oven.   Serena and Katrina peeled a large pile of potatoes, sweet and white.   A number of apple and pumpkin pies had been made the day before, along with many loaves of bread.   After the potatoes were peeled and cut, Katrina taught Sage how to peel and cut some carrots.  

It was great to be able to spend the entire day with the people she loved and cared about.   She couldn’t help comparing this Thanksgiving Day to the ones she had shared with the Porters.   She had never helped with the meal.   The cooks had always prepared it.   Most of the time, it was only Mr.  and Mrs. Porter, along with herself, who ate the meal.   Meal times in the Porter household were quiet and the Thanksgiving meal was no exception.   She remembered one time when they had had guests, but she had eaten by herself since she had still been considered a child and, therefore, not allowed at the table.  

The day ended early since the men could tell a large snowstorm was coming, and the hired hands and their families were sent home before it became too bad.   Katrina had heard about how bad snowstorms could be in Montana.   Sometimes they were so bad, there were white-out conditions where you couldn’t even see a few feet in front of you.   The men had strung thick ropes between the main house and the barns.   They also had strung a rope between each cabin that led to the main ranch house.   Anna had explained to her that sometimes it was the only way to get around safely during a storm.   People still needed to eat and the animals still needed to be cared for, even during a storm.

Everyone retired early that evening.   Anna and Alex had quickly left with their baby first, with Serena and Paul following soon after.   Sage had fallen asleep on one of the sofas in the main ranch house from the excitement of the day.

“Why don’t you leave her here tonight,” Katrina suggested to Luke when it looked like he was getting ready to leave.   “She seems comfortable there.   I will be here if she needs anything.”

At first, Luke looked like he was going to argue, but then he nodded.   He watched Katrina carefully as she walked over and gently covered his daughter with a couple of thick quilts.   She then brushed some strands of hair from her face.  He could tell that Katrina cared for his daughter very much.   For the first time, he realized he had moved on from the horrors of his first marriage.   He studied Katrina as she moved around the room straightening things that really did not need to be straightened.   He could tell she felt a little nervous.   Seeing her with Sage made him realize that he had fallen in love with her.  He wanted to marry her.   He knew she would be a good wife to him and a wonderful mother to Sage.  

He walked over to where Katrina was restacking some books on a shelf and grabbed her hand.   He turned her towards him and tilted her chin so she was looking at him. 

“I would like you to consider something,” he paused and closed his eyes. What if she turned his proposal down?  After all, she had just recently left her hometown because of a bad relationship.  Maybe she wasn’t ready yet for a new one.

“Yes?” Katrina asked, looking puzzled when Luke did not continue talking.