The Homesteader's Sweetheart (19 page)

“You and Walt have been
helping
so much, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

His words earned him another poke with her foot.

“We didn’t do it expecting anything back. Well, except for what you promised about getting Grandfather’s kitchen and barn back in shape.”

She continued nudging him with her foot and it tickled. He shifted his leg away, didn’t reply.

“I can’t say what his motives are for helping you out. Probably the same as mine.”

Again, she scooted her foot closer although she didn’t visibly shift on the blanket.

“Because he likes you.”

Her words froze him for a moment. If she said her motives were the same as Walt’s, did that mean she liked Jonas, too?

Oscar stood suddenly. “We’re going to go check on the other boys. See if they’re having any luck with the fish.”

“We are?” Maxwell asked, a perplexed look on his face.

Jonas was sure he wore a similar expression. What was Oscar’s hurry?

Oscar yanked on his brother’s arm. “We are.”

“All right already. Help me up.”

Oscar nudged his father with his boot as he hefted Maxwell to his feet, winking as he and his grumbling brother walked off, Maxwell leaning on a makeshift crutch.

A glance at Penny revealed she wore a secretive smile, and Jonas felt distinctly as if he’d missed something.

She kicked his leg again, and this time her confusing words and the fact that they were alone gave Jonas the courage to clasp her foot in his hand, his thumb pressing into her arch. He hoped it was acceptable, but didn’t know for sure. Didn’t know anything. Was inside out, still floating from her kiss.

He wanted to believe she’d meant it.

She wiggled her foot in his grasp but didn’t pull away. “You don’t have to do everything, conquer everything alone, you know. It’s okay to need help sometimes.”

He looked into her serious blue eyes and wanted to believe her. He really did. But his experiences had taught him otherwise. He had to be strong enough to take care of himself, of his family, on his own.

It wasn’t safe to depend on others.

Except…

Penny had begun by watching Breanna and then sewed shirts for his family. Then helping driving the hay wagon.

And she’d brought light to his home. Laughter that hadn’t been there before her arrival at Walt’s place.

She’d even given the boys advice on romance.

What if he
did
have a chance at winning her heart?

Chapter Eighteen

T
he next morning, as Penny fumbled around in the semidarkness, preparing for another long day in the hay wagon, she marveled at her actions from the previous day.

She had admitted to her developing feelings for Jonas, at least to herself.

She had acted on her feelings.

She had really kissed Jonas White.

A blaze of heat crept over her cheeks and she pressed shaking hands to her face, even though there was no one to see her. She would never have dared such a thing with men of her previous acquaintance. She had never actually kissed anyone before.

And Jonas hadn’t seemed to think less of her for it. He’d seemed uncertain at first, but stayed at her side under the shade of the trees and talked for a long time, until the boys had returned carrying a wriggling, bulging burlap sack.

The fish they’d fried had been excellent. Sam seemed to be growing up, getting along with the White family and in his help with his grandfather’s place. She was happy. Happier than she’d been in a long time.

She tiptoed through the kitchen, just in case her grandfather hadn’t woken yet. On the back stoop, she nearly tripped over a bunch of weeds. No, no weeds. Wildflowers?

Kneeling to gather the somewhat smashed blossoms tied by a piece of string, her attention was diverted by the multiple pairs of boot prints in the soft dirt near the step. Prints of varying sizes.

What was going on?

Had some of the boys snuck over here with the flowers? It was the only thing she could think of, and the different sizes of the boots might indicate that.

Was she meant to think the flowers were from Jonas, after the children had witnessed their embrace yesterday? She would have to try to find out without letting the boys know she was on to their game. After all, leaving the flowers was a sweet gesture. And it meant they were listening to her advice on courting ladies.

Feet and heart light, she made her way toward the White homestead as the sun began to rise.

Cresting the last hill before she would catch sight of the White cabin, she was startled to see a figure on horseback, unmoving, close to a copse of trees not far away. One of the boys? But what were they doing out so early?

Unease tightened her stomach. Something felt wrong.

“Oscar?” she called out tentatively, hazarding a guess to the person’s identity.

The figure turned toward her, but made no other move. Against the shadows of the trees behind him, she couldn’t make out his face, only a dark outline. Goose bumps broke out along her arms, and not from the cool morning air. What if it wasn’t one of the boys? Or Jonas?

Quickening her steps, Penny topped the hill and saw movement in Jonas’s valley. The Whites were up and about. So who was this, half-hiding on the hilltop?

Heart pounding as she perceived the danger she’d put herself in by calling out, Penny hiked up her skirt and hastened toward the cabin she’d come to feel was as safe as her grandfather’s place, or her own home.

Hoofbeats sounded behind her, echoing her pounding heart and she broke into a full run, calling out for Jonas, for anyone. She didn’t dare look back.

And there was the barn, and the yard beyond it.

A tall figure turned to meet her, reached out for her. Jonas!

As if he sensed the malevolent presence behind her, he swept her into his arms, turning his broad back to shield her.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “Is it Walt?”

“No,” she gasped, resting her cheek against his muscled shoulder, clinging to him. “Someone on horseback. I couldn’t see a face, but he was half-hidden behind that stand of trees on the hill.” She motioned over Jonas’s shoulder to where she’d seen the man. She panted, trying to regain her breath.

“I called out to him—thought he was one of the boys—he might’ve ridden away.”

She couldn’t stop shaking, thinking about the menacing presence she’d felt.

“It’s all right,” Jonas murmured, his mouth close to her ear. He seemed to hesitate, and then gently cupped the back of her head. “You’re safe now. You’re here.”

“Pa?”

A voice from the porch had them both turning that direction, only to find an audience of grinning boys. But when Penny glanced at Jonas, his jaw was set, expression hard.

“Oscar, saddle up a couple of ponies. Davy, grab my rifle, will ya?”

“What are you going to do?” Penny asked as Jonas released his loose grasp on her waist.

“I’m going to ride up there and see if I can find out what someone was doing on my land.”

“But what if that man—or whoever it was—is still there?”

“That’s what the rifle is for.” The coldness in his tone surprised her. She knew he was simply protecting his family, protecting her, but she’d never seen Jonas in that light before.

Within minutes, Jonas and Oscar rode up the hill, leaving Penny to sink down on the front porch steps because her suddenly weak legs wouldn’t hold her. She wanted to call out for Jonas, tell him not to go. What if he was hurt?

But he and Oscar were already gone before she’d decided, and soon they were riding back into the yard, mouths grimly set.

“What—” Penny couldn’t even force a whole question out from her parched lips. She used the porch railing to pull herself up on shaky legs.

Jonas shook his head after he’d dismounted and allowed Oscar to lead his horse away. “Nothing there except tracks. Whoever it was is long gone. I’ll talk to the town marshal on Sunday, see if anyone else has been having trouble.”

“But—”

He shook his head again, this time imperceptibly, and Penny forced herself to quiet.

“We need to get out in the fields. Got a lot of ground to cover today. Maxwell, can you get this herd to eating, so we can go?”

The teen shooed the other children inside and Jonas moved closer to Penny, speaking in a low voice for her ears only. “Tracks looked like that horse was standing around all night.”

Her breath caught in her chest. “What does that mean?”

“Maybe he was just passing through and needed somewhere to rest his horse for the night.” Jonas’s skeptical expression indicated he didn’t think that was likely.

“But wouldn’t he have come down to the house? Hospitality and all that?” Penny asked.

“Or at least have laid out a bedroll…” Jonas’s mouth continued to be set in that grim line. “He could’ve been watching the place all night.”

Just the thought sent shivers down Penny’s spine. “What—what would be the purpose of someone doing that?”

As if he sensed her turmoil, Jonas’s warm hand closed over hers. “I dunno. I can’t help but wonder…”

“What?”

“There’ve been some other things. When the cattle got loose during that storm, it looked like the fence had been knocked down by someone. And the ladder that broke when Max was climbing it…”

“You think someone purposely damaged the barn ladder?”

“I went and looked at it after Max got hurt. Someone’d loosened the boards so the whole thing would come apart.”

“Are you certain?” The thought of anyone making trouble for Jonas and his boys seemed ludicrous. They might not be accepted by everyone in the community, but who would do the things Jonas had said? The cattle were the Whites’ livelihood. If more of them had gotten hurt or run away, it meant less money for the Whites to survive on. And Maxwell had ended up with a broken leg. What if someone else had been climbing the ladder and been injured even worse?

Instinctively, Penny shifted closer to Jonas’s warm, safe presence. Their shoulders brushed above still-clasped hands.

“The barn ladder wasn’t that old. I hadn’t paid attention to it specifically, but I don’t think it could’ve come apart like it did on its own. And with someone watching the place, it makes me even more suspicious.”

“Should you…perhaps you should ride into town and talk to the marshal today.”

He frowned, considering her words. “I can’t lose a day of haying. We’re rushing it to get done as it is. Sunday’ll come soon enough.”

She stayed close to him, drinking in his strong, stoic presence. He didn’t seem shaken by what had happened, not like she was. How did he always manage to be so calm?

He leaned his chin against her hair. They were barely touching, only their clasped palms and shoulders, but the moment seemed intimate, as if he knew the turmoil in her heart and was offering comfort.

Until Maxwell called from the kitchen, “Pa, you want a plate?”

Following Jonas into the cabin, Penny joined in the chaotic, rushed meal. It wasn’t until everyone was about to spread out for the day that she remembered her flowers and turned to Jonas. “Thank you for the lovely bouquet.”

He choked on the coffee he’d just swallowed, setting his cup on the table with a rattle. “What?”

Her suspicions about the boys’ involvement in the gift were confirmed when Maxwell and Ricky both turned red, while none of the other boys would look at her.

Jonas must’ve noticed the boys’ suspicious miens, as well, because he growled out a warning, “Boys…”

“Gotta get the wagon hitched, Pa,” said Ricky, springing from the table.

“I’ll help him—” “Me, too—” Davy and Seb were gone, too.

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Penny murmured to Jonas, as the other boys rushed out the door.

When the room was clear, she began stacking dishes, though Seb would be in charge of the washing today, since he was too small to do the haying work. “I found a bouquet of wildflowers on the front step this morning on my way out.”

“And you thought they were from me?” Jonas’s voice sounded strangled and she took pity on him.

“Not unless you wore five pairs of boots—of different sizes.”

“The boys.” His face showed his consternation and she laid a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s actually very sweet.”

“But how would they—why would they—”

He was really uncomfortable. Wouldn’t look her in the eye. So Penny sat down on the bench beside him, facing away from the table while he still faced in.

“You saw their faces after they saw us kissing yesterday.”

His face tinged pink as she mentioned the kiss.

“They probably started talking. You know how they are at cooking up schemes. And decided they wanted to help their father with his courting.”

“C-courting?” he blurted. “But I’m not—we’re not—”

She leaned back against the edge of the table and looked full into his face. “We could be.”

His mouth hung open long enough that she had to hide her smile. Hesitantly, he asked, “And you would accept those kinds of attentions…you would let me court you?”

Before she could reply, he rushed on, “Because I don’t know the proper way to do things. I wouldn’t have thought to bring you flowers.”

His uncharacteristic hesitancy, the uncertainty in his voice touched her heart. Jonas was completely different from Mr. Abbott. Jonas was someone she could trust.

“I think, for right now, we should do what we have been doing. Getting to know each other. And then…when I have to go back to Calvin, we’ll see where things stand.”

* * *

“What happened to your leg?”

Pausing just before the front steps of the church building, Jonas turned his head to catch sight of the speaker.

“It’s all right,” Penny whispered, squeezing his arm with the hand she had tucked in the crook of his elbow. “It’s just Emily.”

She was right. The girl Penny had invited to picnic with them at the barn-raising had approached Maxwell, who stood a little apart from the rest of the boys, his crutch supporting him.

“Had an accident in the barn. Fell off a ladder,” came Maxwell’s quiet answer.

The girl said something too softly for Jonas to hear over the patter of other conversations, both inside and outside the church.

Jonas watched Sam intercept Matty and Davy when they would have moved toward Maxwell and his girl. The boy was more sensitive than Jonas had originally thought. He was a good friend to Maxwell.

Jonas should be looking for the marshal, since he had to rush his family, Walt, and the Castlerocks home after services, but he couldn’t ignore the tableau in front of him, not when this girl had upset Maxwell once before.

“Shouldn’t we go over there?” he asked Penny. He didn’t know what the proper etiquette for this type of situation was, but he didn’t want Maxwell hurt again. Maybe Penny could start a conversation with the girl?

“No, no. Maxwell can handle it. I hope,” the last was said under her breath.

Maxwell used his free hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Miss Emily, I…umm…” Then he seemed to freeze, looking down into the girl’s pretty, upturned face. Jonas could imagine how his palms were probably sweating…heart racing…the same way Jonas felt every time the boys conspired to get him alone with Penny.

“I’m real sorry for the way my brothers acted at the picnic. They shouldn’t have made fun—”

“That’s all right.” She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “I know siblings can be a nuisance sometimes. Mine are. I wanted to tell you, I think it’s swell that you’re learning to read.”