Ezra piled the last log in his arms and stepped out of the lean-to attached to the side of Mara’s house. With evening nearing, the temperatures seemed to be plummeting. It’d been two days since they finished cleaning up business with the sheriff in South Pass City and finally made it home. The weather had been nice since then, but hopefully, they weren’t in for another snow.
Tori and Opal both seemed mostly recovered from the ordeal, although it still knotted his insides every time his gaze caught on the bruises marring the delicate skin at Tori’s neck. Even though she seemed like a weight had slipped from her shoulders, he still had a feeling the marks on her skin would heal long before the bruises on her heart.
But he planned to do everything he could to encourage the process.
“I’ll grab an armful, then that should be enough to see us through the night.”
Ezra turned to see his brother-in-law striding around the front corner of the house. He nodded at the man. “Dinner about ready in there?”
Josiah bobbed his chin. “Mara sent me to retrieve you.”
Ezra started toward the front of the cabin, but stalled when a noise sounded behind him. In the distance, from the woods behind the house. He turned back in time to see three riders emerge from the dim forest wall.
His muscles stiffened as he prepared to drop the wood and reach for the Colt tucked in his waistband. Visitors usually came in from the river at the front of the house, especially if they were traveling the Oregon trail.
But his gaze landed on the front rider, sitting atop a familiar bay. The hood of the man’s animal-skin coat was tucked around his face, but even so, it was impossible not to recognize those broad shoulders.
Ezra tossed his firewood to the ground and moved toward them, lengthening his stride to almost a run as his heart pounded in his chest. “Zeche.”
They met in the center of the clearing, and Zeche slid from his horse, his teeth flashing as a grin split his tanned face. Ezra clasped his brother in a two-armed hug, brief though it was, then stepped back to get a good look at him.
“You’re alive. I wasn’t quite sure you’d make it back.” Emotion clogged his throat, but he swallowed it down as he cataloged the changes in Zeche’s features. His sun-darkened skin hadn’t paled from the winter months. If anything, his cheeks held a ruddy burn, probably from the intensity of the sun shimmering off the snow.
Zeche gripped his shoulder. “You’re looking good, little brother. Being on your own must agree with you.”
Ezra met his gaze. “You have no idea.” Then he looked past his brother at the two riders still sitting atop their horses. A woman and a tall man, maybe old enough to be her father. “Who’re your friends?”
Zeche moved around his horse to the woman’s side and lifted her down with a hand on each side of her waist. There was something about the way he handled the little lady that seemed proprietary, or at least like he knew her awfully well. The older man also dismounted, but hung back beside his horse as he looked over at the woman.
So many questions swirled in Ezra’s mind, but he held his tongue as Josiah stepped up beside him.
Zeche moved forward, too, his arm wrapped around the woman’s back. “Fellows, I’d like you to meet Gretta Michelly and her father, Antonio Michelly.” He motioned toward the older man, who approached to join their little group. “We stopped in to see everyone, then we’re headed on to South Pass…” His gaze slid to meet the lady’s and they gave each other sappy smiles. “…where Gretta’s agreed to marry me.”
Ezra couldn’t bite back a chuckle, and he reached out to shake the woman’s hand, then that of her father. “I suppose I should say welcome to the family.”
When Josiah stepped in behind him to offer the same greeting, Ezra shifted to stand beside his brother, offering a punch to his arm. “You know Mara’s gonna have a hissy when she finds out you’ve asked the woman to marry you before she gave her approval.”
Zeche’s grin went sideways. “She’ll get over it.”
Josiah turned to them both. “Speaking of Mara, Zeche, you and the Michellys go on inside. We’ll take care of your mounts. If you keep Mara waiting, I’ll not hear the end of it.”
Tori leaned into the crook of Ezra’s arm as they all settled around the hearth fire later that night. The cabin’s main room was full with the family all together.
Family.
It was still hard to fathom the love and acceptance that came so easy with these people. But cradled here in Ezra’s protective arm, everything seemed so real. So wonderful.
“Did I tell you Tori’s learned how to operate the telegraph, too?” Mara announced to the group from her position on the floor by Josiah’s feet. Her daughter sat in front of her, picking at the rug while Mara braided the girl’s hair for the night. “She’s a natural, better than me already.”
Tori dipped her gaze, not quite ready to have everyone staring at her. “Not at all.”
The tips of Ezra’s fingers stroked her upper arm in a way that sent goose flesh skittering along her skin. “She has talent for sure, and I’ll be happy for someone to share the job.”
She sent him a sideways glance, the warmth of his words soaking through her chest in a way that soothed all the raw places. That same warmth cloaked his gaze, pulling a smile from her, but she pulled her focus back down. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in his eyes when his whole family watched them.
Shyness wasn’t her usual mien, but it seemed she couldn’t quite find her equilibrium among these people. It mattered so much that they not think ill of her.
“Well…” Zeche pushed to his feet. “I’m going to head out and make sure the horses are settled.” He glanced down at his bride-to-be. “Would you like to see the barn, Gretta? Maybe we’ll get some ideas for what we want in the one we build.”
She sent him a sweet smile and took his hand as she rose.
“You’ll get some ideas, all right,” Josiah mumbled under his breath, but it was loud enough for the entire room to hear.
Tori didn’t miss the look Mara sent him over her shoulder.
He tapped her cheek with a wink. “Maybe we should go look at the barn, too.”
This time Mara reached back and elbowed his leg.
Ezra’s warm chuckle reverberated through his chest, filtering through Tori’s back where she rested against him. A longing so intense pulled at her. This was where she belonged. With this man. And if she had the chance to be part of his family, too, this truly would be the happiness he said God wanted for her.
I believe you now, God. It was so humbling to see the possibility of it, and the gratefulness pulsing through her chest might just overwhelm her.
“I’d better finish in the kitchen.” Opal rose quietly from her ladder-back chair and left the circle of light.
As much as she loved the feeling of sitting here tucked into Ezra’s side, something about Opal’s demeanor tugged at Tori. Her cousin was usually quiet, but now her tone seemed even more reticent than usual.
Tori gave Ezra an apologetic smile as she straightened. “I should go help her.”
He searched her gaze as he nodded. “Do you need another set of hands?”
It still amazed her how different he was than any man she’d ever known. Women’s work meant nothing to him.
She shook her head and squeezed his hand. “There’s not much to do.”
As she and Opal worked side by side at the sink, scrubbing the pots and rinsing them clean, there seemed to be a thickness in the air. Opal’s normal peace was missing. That was apparent from both the tense set of her shoulders and the pinch of her mouth. Was she upset now that Tori planned to marry Ezra? Opal had almost pushed her that direction before, and she seemed to like Ezra well enough, but maybe seeing her younger cousin with a beau was too much even for Opal.
The knot pulled tighter in Tori’s midsection. “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to guess?”
Opal glanced sideways at her, and Tori met her gaze, but the flickering light from the lantern kept Opal’s eyes shadowed. She looked back down to the pan she’d been scrubbing, and her hands resumed their work. “I’ve decided to take the job Ezra found for us in Mountain Bluff, with the Shumeisters.” Opal’s quiet tone was laced with enough resolve to make each word distinct, yet still, Tori must have heard her wrong.
“What are you talking about?” She gripped the edge of the counter. “We’re staying here now. At the Rocky Ridge.”
Opal looked up again, and this time Tori couldn’t miss the shimmer in her gaze. “You’re staying here, Tori. You have a wonderful man and a family who already love you. A home, everything you’ve always wanted. But I…I can’t help but feel like something is waiting for me in Mountain Bluff. I was excited about the possibility there. Maybe I can make a difference, you know? At least to the Shumeisters.”
Tori grabbed Opal’s wrist. “You are my family, Opal. You make a difference to me. To everyone you meet. I don’t think I could stand it if you left me.”
Opal twisted her arm so Tori’s hand slid into hers, and she squeezed it. “I’m not leaving you, dear. We’ll be just a couple days apart, and I’ll come see you every Christmas. But I think you’ll find you don’t need me as much as you think you do. After all, you’ll have a new husband and a new home to make your own. And you have the God you’ve been telling me about.”
The burn of emotion clogged Tori’s throat, creeping up to her eyes as she squeezed them shut and pulled Opal into a hug. “I’m not sure I can let you go.”
Opal stroked her back, rubbing gentle circles. “I’m not going far. But I think this is what I need to do.”
The next morning, Tori strolled along the riverbank in front of Mara’s home, soaking in the warmth of the late morning sun. She and Opal had stayed up several hours the night before talking through their plans—mostly Opal’s plans, really—and she was finally coming to grips with the idea.
A male voice called from across the river, and she spun at the familiar tenor. Her heart did a leap at the sight of man and horse splashing into the water, heading straight toward her.
“You finally came.” She stood at the very edge of the bank, ready to meet his horse as the gelding reached the river’s edge.
When they neared, Ezra gave her a cock-eyed grin. “Nice to see you, too.”
That smile did funny things to her insides, but she kept talking so maybe he wouldn’t see her blush. “I thought you might be here for breakfast.”
He reined his horse to a halt when they reached dry ground, then dismounted and stepped close to Tori, slipping his arm around her waist. “I wanted to, but the telegraph was busy this morning.”
His voice had slipped to a deeper vibrato, and his warm breath caressed her face. Almost intoxicating, being so close to this man.
She pressed her hand flat on his chest, fighting the urge to pull him closer, to tuck herself tightly against him, hiding inside his strength. Instead, she forced herself to give a teasing answer. “I suppose you should find a wife to help you with that.”
She hazarded a quick glance at his face, but one look at the intensity in his gaze stole her courage.
“I suppose I should.”
With her flat hand, she followed the line of the buttons parading down his shirt, then slipped sideways as her fingers found the beat of his heart. The pulse moved quicker than she’d expected.
“Tori.”
“Hmm?”
He was quiet, so she forced herself to meet his gaze again. This time, his eyes had lost some of their heat, revealing an earnestness that made the longing in her chest pull even tighter.
She held his gaze, lost in the care she saw there, the love.
“Tori, Zeche asked if we wanted to go with them to South Pass—to be wed at the same time.”
He paused, his gaze never wavering from hers. But the effect of his words set off a chain fire in her chest. Be married? Of course. But…weren’t Zeche and Gretta planning to leave in just a few days? Could she do that? Marry Ezra in a week or less?
She studied him, fighting the current of emotions swirling inside her. She loved this man so much. If he wanted the wedding to take place that soon, she could do it. For him. She wanted to do it, she would just need to accustom herself to the idea. And spend a great deal of prayer to settle the remnants of fear that still churned in the bottom of her stomach.
Inhaling a steadying breath, she raised her chin and smiled into his eyes. “That sounds good.”
He didn’t answer right away, just held her gaze.
Through her eyes, she did her best to show him the love that had grown so quickly in her heart, that now flourished in every part of her. Could he see how happy he made her?
He raised his hand to cup her cheek. “I’m not so sure.”
As the words reached her, their meaning settled over her almost like a slap. She blinked and pulled back. He didn’t want her now? Had he finally come to his senses? Maybe Zeche didn’t approve of her. But of course, he didn’t. If Ezra had told him anything about her past, he wouldn’t want his brother taking on a woman so stained.
But Ezra’s arm stayed tight around her, not letting her go. “That’s not what I mean, Tori. Nothing about my love for you has changed.” With his free hand, he stroked her arm, starting at her shoulder and moving all the way down to her fingertips until she could scarcely draw breath from the power of his touch. “I love you too much to rush this. I want you to be ready. I want all traces of fear to be gone.”
He pulled her closer, resting his forehead on hers. Their breaths mingled, forming a single cloud in the chilly air. “I’ll wait as long as I need to.” His lips were mere inches from hers, so close she already knew how his kiss would taste. “Besides, I think you need to be courted proper.” Those lips—the corners tipped in the hint of a grin. “Like this.”
That grin was the last thing she saw as her eyes sank shut and his mouth claimed hers. And with the sensation—the touch and taste of him—a sense of rightness settled over her stronger than anything she’d felt yet.
God had brought this man to her, a gift she’d never thought she was worthy of. Yet He’d proven His love, and continued to prove it with each wild beat of her heart.
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