Jillian Hart – Snowflake Bride (страница 8)

“No, honey, there isn’t a job. Roop lost his. The mill closed down. It’s gone out of business. He’s coming home without his last two paychecks. The company promised but in the end couldn’t pay him.” Pa looked far too old for his years as he squared his shoulders, fighting to find enough internal strength to keep going. “It’s a blow, but I don’t want you worrying, Ruby. You must stay in school.”

“I won’t do it.” She brushed a kiss on her father’s stubbled cheek. “You know me. When I set my mind to something, nothing but God can stop me.”

“And even He would give pause before trying,” Pa quipped, the love in his eyes unmistakable. “We have to trust Him to see us through this. He’s watching over us.”

“I know, Pa.” She whirled away to light a candle or two, thankful for the bountiful summer garden she’d been able to grow. Selling extra vegetables to the stores in town had given her enough pocket money to make plenty of candles and soap to see them through the winter. It was a small thing to have contributed, but she’d been proud to do it. The warmth of her friends’ laughter lingered in the home, making it less bleak as she struck a match.

Encouraged, she watched the wick flare, and the light chased back the shadows. She shook out the match, shivering as the wind blew cold through the walls. Faith was like a candle dispelling the darkness, and she lit another, determined to believe they could make their upcoming mortgage payment, that they would not be homeless by Christmas.

Chapter Four

The snow whirled on a bitter night’s wind as Lorenzo guided his horse and sleigh down the drift-covered driveway. Lanterns mounted on the dashboard of the sleigh cast just enough light to see the dark yard and front step of the shanty. Poncho drew to a stop before the doorway. Ruby’s doorway.

Her adorable presence stayed with him like a melody, and a smile stretched the corners of his mouth as he climbed from beneath the robes. His boots crunched in the snow, icy flakes stung his face, but he kept going, untouched, seeing Ruby through a crack between the curtains.

She sat in a wooden chair, holding a crochet needle and thread up to a single candle’s light to make a slow, careful stitch. Her platinum hair gleamed golden-silver. Her heart-shaped face, flushed from the heat of the fire and caressed by the candlelight could have belonged to a princess in a fairy tale. Wholesome and good, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Captivated, he knocked snow off his hat as it continued to fall.

The muffled tap of footsteps tore his attention away from Ruby. Jon Ballard ambled into sight inside the house, reminding Lorenzo of his mission. He had a message for Ruby, one that would make her life easier. He took the few snowy steps to the front door and knocked. His pulse rattled against his rib cage. He was suddenly nervous, anxious with the anticipation of seeing her again.

The door swung open, and her father stood inside the threshold, surprise marking his lined face, proof of how hard the last few months had been for the family. “Young Mr. Davis, is that you again? What are you doing out on these roads this time of evening?”

“I’m on another errand. My father wanted to send one of the hired men, but I volunteered.” His gaze arrowed straight to her. Her crochet work had fallen to her lap. She stared at him with worry crinkling her forehead. Worry. He hated it. He squared his shoulders, glad he could fix that. He pulled the folded parchment from his pocket. “I have a letter for Ruby. From my mother.”

“For me?” She set aside her needle and thread, rose to her feet, and every movement she made was endearing—the pad of her stockinged feet on the floor, the rustle of her skirt, the twist of her bottom lip as she swept closer. The place she had opened within him opened more, widening his heart.

Vaguely, he was aware of Jon stepping back, disappearing from sight. Ruby remained at the center of his senses. Ruby, wringing her slender hands. Ruby, in a very old, calico work dress, the color faded from so many washings. The careful patches sewed with tiny, even stitches were too numerous to count. As she stepped into the puddle of nearby candlelight, her beauty and goodness outshone everything.

“It was nice of you to come so far in this cold.” Shy, she lowered her gaze from his. “Just to tell me I didn’t get the job.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because the interview was a disaster. The missing button, my wet shoes, I dripped all over the floor, I was completely wrong for the position.” Pink flushed her cheeks and her nose, making her twice as sweet. “I’m sorry you had to drive so far in this weather. Your mother could have posted the letter.”

“I suppose.” This was why he’d come so far in frigid temperatures. So he could see the happiness chase away the worry from her big, beautiful eyes. “Ma wants you to start working for her first thing Monday morning. Will that be a problem?”

“What?” Her jaw dropped. Disbelief pinched adorably across her sweetheart face. “I couldn’t have gotten the job. I have no experience.”

“My mother liked you, so she’s hired you.” He held out the envelope. “Here are the specifics.”

“Really? Oh, Pa, did you hear?” She took the parchment. Delight chased away the worry lines, put blue sparkles into her irises and drew a beautiful smile. “I got the job. I got it.”

“I’m mighty proud of you, Ruby-bug.” Jon Ballard’s love shone in his voice, love for his precious daughter.

Lorenzo thought she was precious, too.

“Oh, thank your mother for me. I mean, I will thank her on Monday, too, when I see her. But, oh, just thank you.” She clutched the letter tight until it crinkled.

“I will tell her. Your interview went better than you thought.”

“But how? It’s a complete and total mystery.”

“No mystery.” His reassurance held notes of humor and kindness. “You deserve this, Ruby. My mother wants you to start at six o’clock sharp.”

“I’ll be there early, just like I promised.” This was too good to be true. She’d been so sure she had failed, that it was impossible, and yet here she was, an employee. She had her first job, she would be earning a wage. A real wage. Joy bubbled through her, impossible to contain. She had a job! “I hope I don’t break anything. Or spill something. I don’t know anything about serving.”

Good going, Ruby. Point out to your employer’s son exactly how much of a mistake his mother had made. She laughed. “I’m so happy and anxious and everything.”

“I understand.” The deep shine of his dark blue gaze met hers, sincere and powerful enough to knock the beat out of her heart. Her happiness dimmed, her soul stilled as he tipped his hat, and she could not look away. She could see the shadow of day’s growth on his strong, square jaw. His masculine strength shrank the shanty and made every bit of air vanish. No man on earth could be as amazing as Lorenzo

Candlelight flickered over him, caressing the powerful angles of his face and gleaming darkly on the thick, dark fall of his hair. She lost the ability to breathe as he took a step backward into the darkness. Snow sifted over him like spun sugar.

Don’t start wishing, Ruby.

“I shouldn’t leave my horse standing in this cold. Good night, Ruby. I will see you on Monday.”

“On Monday.” The words stuttered over her tongue, her legs went weak, and she grasped the door frame before she tumbled face-first onto the snowy step. Monday. A different kind of panic clutched her, cinching tight around her middle.

She would see Lorenzo every day. She would be in his house, be in proximity with his family and washing his dishes. The warm place in her heart remembered his touch, his gallantry, his kindness. It made a girl want to dream.

Focus, Ruby. She no longer had time for schoolgirl wishes. Pa’s tired gait drummed on the floorboards behind her, coming closer. In the dying storm, Lorenzo was a shadow, then a hint of a shadow and finally nothing more. The beat of Poncho’s hooves faded until there was only the whispering hush of falling snow and the winter’s cold.

She closed the door firmly against the darkness. Discarded wishes followed her like snowflakes in the air as she headed toward the stove to make a cup of tea for her father. She had the chance to make a real difference for her family. Monday was what she ought to think about. Monday, when she started her new job.

In the predawn light, Ruby slid off of Solomon in the shelter of the Davis’s barn. Breathing in the scents of hay and warm horse, she glanced around. Stalls were filled with animals eating out of their troughs. What did she do with Solomon? Where did she take him?

Something tugged at her hat, knocking it askew on her head. Dear old Solomon’s whiskery lips nibbled the brim and the side of her face in comfortable adoration. They had been friends for a long time. She patted his neck and leaned against him, her sweet boy. “I’m sure I’m supposed to put you somewhere, but I didn’t think to ask when Lorenzo delivered the letter.”

Solomon’s nicker rumbled low in his throat, a comforting answer of sorts. Fortunately, she did not have to wonder for long as footsteps tapped her way, echoing in the dark aisle. She couldn’t see his face, but she would know those mile-wide shoulders anywhere.