The Lumberjack's Bride (4 page)

“The foreman took him,” Ben Wheeler said.

Caleb turned to the small man with wire-framed glasses. “Where'd he take him to?” He shifted the baby to his other arm.

“He didn't say and we didn't ask. Just loaded him in the wagon and took him out of here.”

Caleb thought about following them. The deep ruts of the wagon would be easy enough to follow. At that moment, the baby stretched and warm moisture coated Caleb's arm. He looked down at the tiny red face as the baby strained, his arms flailing, and the diaper became heavier. Jonathan thrashed his legs and Caleb knew from experience that if the diaper wasn't changed in the next few moments, things would get ugly. First things would have to come first.

Sloan stood off to the side, “I want my money, Hansen.”

Caleb dug in his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollars. “There, that's all you're getting. Stay away from Julianne.” He waited for Sloan's stoic nod, and then hurried back to the cookshack.

Chapter 3

J
ulianne woke slowly. Her cheek burned, and her head hurt. She reached up to touch her throbbing neck.

“Don't be messing with my handiwork,” Maggie scolded gently. She caught Julianne's fingers before they could touch the material at her neck. “It's just a scratch.”

The recent nightmare flooded in on her. She sat up. “Where is he?” The cry tore from her raw throat.

Maggie put a hand on her shoulder. “He's not going to hurt you anymore, Julianne. Caleb and the lumber boss made sure of it.”

Julianne pushed her hair out of her face. “They
did?”

The older woman nodded, “They did.”

Caleb came through the side door, Jonathan screaming in his arms. “I'm sorry, Maggie. He's wet, and I have to get his things.”

“That's okay. She's awake now.” Maggie got up and went to a saddlebag that sat in a corner.

Julianne watched Caleb jiggle the baby while he waited. She knew she owed him her life. A new fear entered her heart. How much would he demand for payment?

“Here, I'll take him.” Maggie took the crying baby and moved to one of the side tables to change his diaper.

“Feeling any better?” Caleb asked. He squatted down beside Julianne.

She nodded.

“He won't bother you again, I promise.” He raised his hand to touch the white cloth that bound her neck, and then dropped it to his side.

“Thank you.” Julianne felt his gaze sweep over her face. Whatever words she would have added vanished with his appraisal.

Caleb rose to his feet and extended his hand to help her up. “Do you feel like taking a walk with me? Or would you rather stay here and talk?”

Julianne studied the tanned, callused hand. It was large and full of strength, much like his broad shoulders. Would he hurt her, too? She raised her gaze to his face and sought the answers to her question in his eyes. He had an air of calm that comforted her.

“Trust me, Julianne. I promise I will never hurt you.” Caleb continued to hold out his hand.

Julianne placed hers in his. He'd protected her before; she had to trust he meant what he said. “I think I'd like some fresh air.”

He turned to Maggie with a questioning gaze.

“You two go on. I'll take care of this little boy.” Maggie held a bottle to Jonathan's mouth.

Caleb led Julianne out the side door and into a grove of trees. They walked a bit, Julianne focusing on the dirt tracks beneath her feet. They were smooth as glass and it was obvious something heavy moved across them regularly, but the tracks were not the same as those that carriage or buggy wheels made.

Curiosity got the better of her. “What are these tracks called?”

“They're skid tracks. We use metal skids to haul the timber over to the sawmill. Folks round here call this Skid Road.” They continued walking until they came to a small clearing. Pink, purple and white flowers grew all around them. Julianne sat down on a large stump. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh clear air as she waited for Caleb to speak.

“We need each other,” he blurted.

Julianne didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. And she definitely didn't need a baby.

You needed him a few minutes ago
, her inner voice reminded her. She decided to do the polite thing and hear him out. When he finished, she would explain to him that she was willing to reimburse him for paying off Sloan, and then she'd go back to Seattle and find a place to live. The thought that she had no money to pay for a home tugged at her exhausted mind, but she ignored it.

When she didn't argue, Caleb continued. “You need someone to protect you, and I need a mother for Jonathan.”

He knelt down in front of her. “Julianne, I will make you a good husband.”

Husband?
Who said anything about him becoming her husband? All he competed for was to pay off her debt to Sloan. What was it with men? First Marcus had thought he owned her, and now so did Caleb.

“I don't want nor do I need a husband, Mr. Hansen.” She looked into his green eyes. “I'll pay you back, if you will pay Sloan off for me, but I'm not going to marry you.” She watched the soft eyes turn to hard emeralds.

He stood to his feet and looked down on her. “Didn't you come here to marry Sloan?”

“Yes, but I was…”

Caleb cut off her words. “What? Were you or were you not going to marry him when you got here?”

Julianne jumped to her feet at the anger in his voice. Could she make it back to the cookshack before he lost his temper and did who knows what? “That doesn't matter now. He's already married.” She stood her ground even though her brain told her to flee.

He tilted his head to the side. “Are you afraid of me, Julianne?”

She knew he'd seen her fear. What should she say? Yes, all men scare me? Or deny the truth?

“A little.”

* * *

Caleb watched her bottom lip quiver. He didn't enjoy seeing fear in the eyes of any woman. Towering over someone only made that person feel more threatened. He sat down on the grass in front of her and stretched his legs out in front of him. “I'm sorry. I won't hurt you.” He prayed his actions convinced her that his words were true.

Julianne cautiously sat back down on the stump. “It's not your fault. I…” Her voice trailed away, and she bit her bottom lip.

“It's okay, Julianne. The last two days have been hard on you.”

He watched her swipe at her eyes as she nodded her head. His stomach clenched, and he wondered how she would take his suggestion. If she was this afraid of him now, what might she say when she heard him out?

“Julianne, if you don't marry me then you need to prepare yourself for the reaction of the men. There are more men in these parts like Marcus. Unfortunately, this land and the men in it aren't tame. They are a rough bunch looking for female companionship and not necessarily the marrying kind.” He stopped to let his words seep in.

Lord please let her understand I'm trying to help her, not scare her.

He stared intently at her face, willing her to accept the truth of his words. Her skin appeared transparent. Caleb wondered if it was from the knife wound or if his words had further terrified her.

“You could always return home.”

“I can't.”

The raw sounding whisper tore at his heart.

“If it's money, I'll help you.” It would take all the money he had saved, but he'd rather see her home safe than in Washington where things were still too rough for a single woman, especially a frightened single woman.

Her tear-filled eyes met his. “No, I can never go back,” she whispered, as if afraid her thoughts might turn to reality if she said them aloud. She seemed to fight some inner battle before she straightened her shoulders and looked him square in the eyes. “I'll marry you.”

Caleb stood to his feet. “Are you sure?” He took both her hands in his.
Why can't she go back?
What has she done?
Again, the thought occurred to him that he knew nothing about the woman in front of him. Yet, he felt the need to protect her from her present as well as her past.

“Julianne, whatever you are running from will probably find you.”

Her head snapped up and her mouth shot open.

Caleb witnessed wild terror fill her eyes. “With that in mind, do you still want to marry me?”

His gaze followed the line of her throat. He saw her swallow hard.

“More than ever.”

“How about today?” He searched her sapphire-blue gaze.

“Do you think we can today?” Again her voice was barely above a whisper.

“I'm pretty sure the preacher is still in town.” At her quizzical look he explained. “Some of the Mercer brides who came in on the ship with you planned on getting married today.” He could have kicked himself at the hurt look she shot him from under soot-colored lashes.

He gently squeezed her hands. “I'm sorry. It seems I keep saying the wrong thing, doesn't it?”

He watched her lips tremble in a watery smile and she squared her shoulders bravely before answering. “I guess we'd better get the baby and go to the church.”

Caleb admired her quick decision-making. She was a game little thing. Approval warmed his insides.

“We don't have to take Jonathan with us, if you don't want to. I'm sure Maggie won't mind watching him for us.”

Julianne pulled her hands from his and settled her shawl more securely about her shoulders then looked at him.

“Mr. Hansen, if we are going to become a family, we might as well start acting like one now.”

He walked beside her. “In that case, Julianne, maybe you should call me Caleb.”

* * *

She followed him back to camp, masking her inner turmoil with a deceptive calmness. A faint thread of hysteria threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to scream and beat her fists against his wide shoulders at the injustice of it all. She hadn't even had time to think through each decision. It was a matter of do this, or else. What kind of choice was that?

He seemed very alert to the woods around them and Julianne wondered if he was as worried about Marcus as she was.

He could protect her from bullies like Marcus. But what kind of life would she have without love? When she'd escaped New York, she'd thought there would be the opportunity to fall in love with her new husband—the very thing she craved more than anything else in the world. Sloan's letters had promised that he would love her. How she'd been fooled!

She looked at Caleb. He'd never promised to love her. He just needed a mother for his baby. Her throat ached with defeat.

“So you two are back.” Maggie stood in the small clearing by the kitchen, holding Jonathan in her arms. “I hope you've come to your senses and decided to marry each other.”

Julianne watched Caleb take his son and cuddle him in his big arms. His eyes gentled as he looked down on the baby.

“We have. Can you gather up his things, Maggie?

Maggie let out a whoop. “I'll keep the baby. You two go on.” She reached for Jonathan.

“No!” both Julianne and Caleb stated at the same time.

The baby let out a squall, and Caleb pressed him to his chest and jiggled him up and down.

Julianne wondered why Caleb didn't want to leave the baby with Maggie. Moments earlier, he'd offered to. Her gaze moved to the man who would soon be her husband. His voice was low, reminding her of warm honey as he soothed the infant.

Jonathan settled against Caleb's shoulder. In the same soothing voice he told Maggie, “We decided to take Jonathan with us. We'll feel more like a family.”

“Won't help much with the honeymoon,” Maggie grumbled.

Julianne felt an unwelcome blush creep into her cheeks. She averted her gaze from him, humiliatingly conscious of Caleb's scrutiny, and studied the mass of trees to her right. Would he expect her to perform her wifely duties tonight?

“Here's his bag and a fresh blanket, but I really think it's too soon to take this little one on a trip.” Julianne turned just in time to have the baby's things thrust into her arms.

Caleb laughed. “It's only an hour's ride, Maggie. I'm certain he'll be fine. We'll have a late lunch at the wharf and make it home by dark.” He pushed back the blond hair that fell across his forehead. The tensing of his jaw betrayed his deep frustration. So, Julianne permitted herself a quiet assurance.
He's nervous, too
.

Maggie moved to his side and kissed the baby on the cheek. She turned around and crossed her arms with a stern look directed toward Julianne. “Have you truly ever watched a baby by yourself?”

Julianne pulled her shoulders back and held her head high. “As a matter of fact, I have. I have five cousins, and two of those are twins. The twins were newborns when I started taking care of them.”

Caleb draped his right arm around Maggie's shoulder and gave her a little hug. “We'll do fine, Maggie. Can we borrow the supply wagon?”

Her wrinkled face melted into smiles of pleasure. “Yeah, take the wagon.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, Maggie. I'll take good care of it.”

She playfully slapped him away. “Stop that, you're almost a married man.”

Julianne watched the exchange with an odd twinge of envy.

Caleb handed her the baby. “I'm going to hook up the wagon. I'll be right back for you and the little
one.”

His gaze searched her face. She wasn't sure what he looked for or what he saw. Was he seeking reassurance that they were doing the right thing? Did he care about what she might feel? Was he worried she would be a bad wife? Were the same warning voices whispering in his head?

He nodded, as if coming to a decision then strode away. “He's a good man, Julianne. You'll see.” Maggie touched the baby's head one last time then returned to the cookshack.

Julianne prayed Maggie was right.