The simple meal of stew and biscuits was heavenly as it soaked through Opal to warm her core. Tori plied them with questions about their journey and the happenings at Mountain Bluff, but at least she didn’t ask Matthias any pointed questions to embarrass her. At least, nothing as overt as inquiring about the man’s intentions toward her. But the way Tori kept giving her raised eyebrow glances made it clear she’d have to face the inquisition later.
“So, will you be staying as long as Opal does, Matthias?” Ezra cradled his mug in both hands as he leaned back in his chair at the end of the meal. “We have a decent bunkhouse with beds and a cook stove. You’re welcome to it as long as you’d like. Occasionally a stage passenger stays there, but we don’t often have any who stay overnight.” His gaze found his wife as the corners of his mouth tweaked.
Was he remembering when she and Tori had arrived on the stage and disembarked to stay for good? He’d had to scramble to find decent accommodations for them at his sister’s ranch, but he’d never made them sleep in the bunkhouse.
Matthias leaned back in his chair, mirroring Ezra’s at the other end of the table. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve business south of here. I’ll be heading out in the morning.” He looked to Opal. “I’ll be back when you’re ready to return to Mountain Bluff. Just tell me when you think that will be.” His voice softened as he spoke to her, and her traitorous heart did a flip.
She met his gaze, and her chest tightened at the concern shimmering there. If she let herself, it would be too easy to fall into this man’s protection. His strength and care.
But she couldn’t let herself. It would be foolish to rely on a man. Foolish to let her heart engage in their friendship. He was Mr. and Mrs. Shumeister’s friend. She had to keep that distance.
She raised her chin a notch. “I don’t know how long I’ll stay, but I can return to the Shumeisters on my own when I’m ready. You needn’t worry about accompanying me back.”
To his credit, he didn’t flinch or acknowledge the rebuff she’d just given him. Maybe ’twas only a set-back in her own mind. All the better. She didn’t want to hurt him, only protect herself from getting too close.
“Are you happy, Opal?”
They’d barely settled after dinner, the men out feeding the stock for the night. Opal kept her focus on the babe snuggled in her arms as she relaxed into the steady rhythm of the rocking chair. Tori’s question hung in the air, though. And she knew better to think Tori meant here and now, holding this sweet infant. Her cousin had always been a mother hen, despite the fact she was a few months younger.
At last, she looked up and smiled. “I am. The Shumeisters are good people, and I like my place there. They really need me.” And how wonderful to be needed.
Tori studied her for another long moment, then she smiled. “I’m glad.”
Little Ruby yawned, her mouth opening in a perfect O. Opal couldn’t help but stroke her cheek. So soft.
She glanced up at Tori. “I don’t have to ask if you’re happy. I only need to see the way your face glows.”
Tori’s contented smile was almost too hard to look at, so Opal focused her attention on the cherubic face in her arms. “And what of you, sweet one? Are you happy?”
Ruby worked her mouth and made a soft mewling sound. Always pleasant, this child. Opal raised her brows at Tori. “Does she ever cry?”
Tori returned the look, but then a yawn engulfed her. “Especially at night when we should all be sleeping.”
They slipped into easy silence as Opal studied the precious new life God had brought into their family. ’Twas easy to believe and praise a God who created such innocence.
“And what of your mountain man. Is he part of your happiness?”
She wanted to scowl at Tori, but even in the dim light of the fire beside them, the blush heating her cheeks probably showed. So she kept her head bent to watch the babe. “He’s not my mountain man. And besides, I would think you’d warn me away from men instead of pushing me toward him.” This time she did summon a glare for her cousin.
Tori’s smile dimmed. “Part of me wants to protect you from him. Yet, I want you to have the same joy I’ve found with Ezra. It’s not just any man who could bring you that joy, though. He must be the right one. A man who seeks to honor God by honoring you. Something inside makes me think Mr. Björk is that kind of man.” She leaned forward in her chair. “What do you think, Opal? I’ve only just met him, so what does your heart tell you?”
Her heart? She was afraid to ask it. Instead, she shook her head. “My heart says nothing at all. It says I’m happy at the Shumeisters and all is well.” She glanced up at Tori with a smile. “My heart says I’ve never been so content as I am right now, holding my little niece.”
Tori leaned back in her chair with a sigh. The kind that said she’d let the subject drop. For now.
Matthias stared down into Opal’s clear blue gaze. It would be so easy to be captured in their trance. Which meant ’twas time for him to leave.
“You said you have business south of here?” She swayed as she held the tiny bundle of baby up to her shoulder. Motherhood fit so perfectly on her. She should find a husband and raise a passel of babies. But that husband shouldn’t be him. He’d be no good for her.
He turned away from the sight they made—woman and child. “In Superior. I need to check on responses to some queries I made about Alanna. Should be back in about two weeks. Will that be long enough for you?”
That would give him sufficient time to get her back to Mountain Bluff and fit in another hunting trip before the start of Yule. Mutti and Vatti would be counting on him to return in time, but if Opal wanted to stay longer, maybe he could work out a different arrangement. Do his hunting before he returned for her, or some such.
“Two weeks should be fine.” Her voice was soft and drew his back to her. The tinge of sadness in her eyes stabbed like a knife in his chest.
“I can wait longer if you prefer.”
She shook her head. “I need to get back to help the Shumeisters.”
The sight of her there, looking so vulnerable, yet so determined… That was exactly why he needed to leave this place.
A bit of distance would help him remember why he was no good for her.
The sound of bells in the yard echoed through the stillness of the cabin as Opal kneaded bread dough later that afternoon. It seemed they had visitors, just when Tori and the baby finally collapsed into much-needed sleep. Ezra had gone to the barn to catch up on chores, so she’d taken the opportunity for some baking, which made it seem almost as if she’d never left Mountain Bluff.
After wiping her hands on a cloth, she turned toward the door. Ezra would greet their guests, but he might need help if it were another stage. The eastbound stage had already come that morning, but he said the westbound would come mid-afternoon if it didn’t meet with trouble.
She grabbed her coat from the hook and pulled open the door. A sleigh sat in the yard, and it took a moment for her to recognize the people milling around it.
“Miss Opal!”
Katie’s voice pulled her attention, honing her focus on the little bundled figure who was not nearly so little as she’d been only a few months ago. Had she grown a half foot in such short time?
Opal moved toward the group, and Katie met her midway with a fierce embrace. “My stars, how you’ve grown.” Those arms around her waist had never felt so good. Was there anything better than the love of a child? Although this girl was more young lady than child.
“Opal, you finally made it.” Mara reached them, a thick bundle of cloth in one arm, she pulled Opal into a hug with her other. “We were worried about you traveling in this weather. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Opal pressed her eyes shut to hold in the threatening tears. These people had become family in such a short time, taking in Tori and Opal like long-lost family. “I’ve missed you all.” The words were barely more than a strangled whisper, but ’twas hard enough to push them past the lump in her throat.
Mara seemed to understand, for she held the embrace tightly for another moment, then eased back. “Well, you’re home now, so we must celebrate.” Her eyes glimmered as she studied Opal’s face. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
Opal tried to offer a smile, but it felt a bit wobbly. She motioned toward the bundle. “Is this your little one? I’ll bet he’s grown so.”
Mara nodded, a joyous smile pulling at her rosy cheeks. “The wagon always rocks him to sleep.” She took Opal’s hand and turned them toward the house. “Let’s get out of this cold, and we’ll see if we can’t coax him awake.”
Inside. She planted her feet as awareness sank through her. “Tori and the baby just fell asleep. I hate to wake them.”
Mara nodded. “We’ll use our whispering voices then. Katie, run help Papa and Uncle Ezra remember how to use their special voices, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Katie hesitated as she glanced at Opal. “But don’t tell the interesting parts until I get there.”
They made their way inside, and Mara worked to unbundle herself and the babe as Opal headed toward the kitchen. After putting on a fresh pot of coffee to simmer, she reached for the remaining biscuits and the wedge of cheese from dinner the night before. “I have a pot of beans cooking, but this will hold us over until they’re ready.”
“You can’t have been here even a full day, Opal, and already you have this place in perfect order. I’m ever in awe of how you can be so competent without seeming to try.”
Opal ducked away from the compliment as she placed a stack of plates on the table, though her face surely showed her embarrassment. “I’m not competent, I assure you. No matter how hard I try.” She turned to Mara with a smile for the tousle-haired baby in her arms. “Now, let me see this young man. My, but he’s even more handsome than before.”
The next hours passed in pleasant succession as Mara and Katie peppered her with questions and she reveled in the baby exuberance of little Christopher. Josiah watched them all with an amused quirk to his mouth and the occasional lift of his brows. He was apparently used to being the quiet one in the group. From his chair near the fire, Ezra looked like he might be struggling to stay awake. Poor fellow. She should probably send him to nap with Tori.
It wasn’t long before Tori emerged from the bedroom holding little Ruby as Opal was sitting on the floor with Mara’s son. “Look. He’s sitting almost by himself.” She barely touched the tot at his lower back, more for balance than support.
“He’ll be walking by Epiphany.”
A choked gasp came from Mara, but Opal ignored it. Instead she shot Tori a sly glance. “The holiday is what, three weeks away? I think you’re right. He’ll be walking and eating Christmas goose.”
The days passed in a whirl of visiting and housekeeping and sweet baby snuggles, not to mention buckets of dirty nappies and more laundry than she’d thought possible. Thankfully, Ezra handled the twice-daily stages with little disruption to the family. She did her best to keep a steady supply of food for the weary travelers and found herself relying more and more on the endless stewpot Mrs. S. had taught her to keep simmering.
’Twas nearing the end of the fortnight—two weeks on the morrow, actually—which meant Matthias would return for her soon. Her treasured days with Tori and the family were almost at an end.
Yet the thought of his arrival didn’t have the sour taste she would have expected since it signaled the end of her time here. In fact, part of her craved it. Did she miss the Shumeisters so much? She prayed for them each morning as she read her daily Scripture, and the images her mind recalled of their dear faces always brought a smile. Surely, they wouldn’t deny her this time with her cousin and her new precious babe. And she didn’t feel guilty about being away.
She just…longed for something. And Matthias’s coming must be a placeholder, a direction for her longing to take hold.
But just now, as she stirred cornmeal batter for johnnycakes with little Ruby tucked in a sling around her neck, she could imagine herself being content to do this every day for the rest of her life. Mostly.
The crunch of boots in the snow sounded outside the door. Ezra must have returned from picking up fresh stage horses at Josiah and Mara’s ranch.
But then a knock sounded on the door, sending a tingle of dread to raise the fine hairs on her neck. Ezra wouldn’t knock. Tori was taking a much-needed nap in the bed chamber. Should she wake her?
Ezra said there wouldn’t be any more stages today, and besides, the stage drivers always called from the yard to make their presence known. As if the thundering hooves of the horses weren’t notice enough. The nearest neighbor—other than Josiah and Mara—was several hours away, and ’twas not likely someone would ride that distance to come calling in six inches of icy snow.
She crept toward the door, her eyes scanning the wall above the fireplace, then around the room. There. Above the door hung a rifle.
Reaching up to the tips of her toes, she gripped the cool wood and pushed up to remove it from the hooks. Would she even be able to shoot the thing? Tori had insisted they both learn before Opal moved to Mountain Bluff, and Ezra had spent several patient hours helping them practice. But that had been over a year ago.
No matter. Hopefully this visitor wouldn’t be a threat. Or if danger appeared on the doorstep, maybe one glimpse down the barrel of this gun would send the person skittering.
She wrapped a hand protectively around the sleeping baby, then inhaled a breath and made her voice sound as gruff as possible. “Who’s there?”
“Matthias Björk.”
The wave of relief that seeped through her nearly washed the strength out of her legs. She leaned the rifle against the wall, then gripped the door latch and pulled, leaning hard on it for support.
“Opal?” The familiar hood appeared first, then Matthias’s rugged face. Those green eyes. Across his jaw and cheeks, several days’ worth of golden scruff covered his tanned skin.
The sight of him did something strange in her chest, making her legs feel like they would melt any second. She moved her other hand to hold onto the door, too.
“What’s wrong?” He was there in an instant, gripping her elbow. His arm went around her back, supporting her.
A good question. Clenching her jaw, she straightened, the weight of the baby in the sling heavy at her neck. “I’m fine, just…” She stepped back, putting space between them. “I lost my balance, is all.”
He seemed to gather himself as well, but studied her. His gaze dropped to the bundle around her neck, and his expression softened. “The babe is well?”
Opal glanced down and slipped a hand under Ruby to support her. “Very well.” She hadn’t stirred once in the past half hour. “If we could only get her to sleep this heavily at night, her mother would be just as well.”
He leaned forward, and she pulled down the side of the sling so he could get a better look.
In just these last two weeks, Ruby had filled out so much. Her little cheeks were rounding nicely, and she still had those perfect lips.
“She trusts you.” Matthias was close enough that his breath brushed her face.
The feel of it stole her thoughts, and she inhaled quickly to make her mind work. “I think the way the sling rocks while I work puts her to sleep so soundly. And she likes to be bundled inside it.”
She had to force herself to think of what to do next. “You must be cold and hungry. I have stew ready, and coffee. Come and sit.”
His gaze drifted to meet hers, holding her there. She should fill a trencher for him, but the strength of his focus seemed to draw her. The lines around his eyes showed just how tired he was, yet his charisma hadn’t dwindled one bit.
For a moment, some insane part of her wanted to step into his arms. To feel the strength of him surrounding her. But that would more than shock him. He’d think she’d gone completely daft.
Yet the urge was strong enough she couldn’t quite trust herself to remain in control. So she turned away.