Homespun Bride

confront than all the ways he’d wronged her. A lump formed in her throat. Before she could search for something—anything—to say to break the silence between them, a flurry of steps rang in the stairwell. The girls’ voices rose in a clamor. The doctor had come down.
    “Guess you’d best get in there.” The hinges whispered and silenced.
    He had to be holding the door for her. She smoothed down her skirt, set her chin and salvaged what she could of her composure. She would not allow herself to imagine how tall and dark and handsome he looked and the way his steadfast kindness only made him more so.
    She breezed through the doorway without a word and did not look back.
    The doctor had left, saying he’d done all he could. It was up to Robert now, and up to God, whether he would awaken or if he would not. All anyone could do for him was to wait and to pray. Their reverend had come, and after supper and a sustaining prayer session, he left, too.
    The evening had ticked by and midnight was near. Noelle was still dressed—she’d changed into a garment that wasn’t scorched—and, alone in the parlor, she worried who would ride for the doctor if Robert needed him. Matilda did not know how to drive, the other girls were too young, and Sadie, the maid, was afraid of horses. With Cook gone home, that only left Henrietta, and heaven knew the woman was too distraught, and rightly so, to do anything.
    At loose ends, she settled into her chair by the hearth. The heat was fading and the fire was nearly silent. She tried to open her heart in prayer, but the words didn’t come. Only fear did.
    Life was a fragile gift, and all it took was one moment in time, one rattlesnake or one poor decision to buy a horse for it to change in a moment and forever. If only Robert had bought a saddle horse as tame as the little old mare he’d gotten Matilda.
    That brought her thoughts right around to Thad again. His words had been haunting her all evening long. I care more than you know, he’d said with a ring of honesty that confused her.
    “Noelle?” A familiar baritone rumbled low and quiet in the midnight stillness, and it was as if she’d dreamed him up. But it was his step coming her way and no dream, echoing in the room and not in her hopes.
    “Thad? What are you still doing here? I thought you went home.”
    “No, I thought I’d stay around and help out. Try to be useful.” There was a smile in his words, small, but sure, a warmth she could not deny still lingered somehow, impossibly, between them. “After Aiden fetched the doc and saw to my ma in town, he brought in the mare. I got her settled and then gave the stable a good cleaning. The animals are snug for the night. Thought I’d come in and bank the fires so the house will be safe for the night.”
    “You’ve been here the whole time?”
    “Yes. Sadie brought a dinner plate out to me while I was working. I’ll be staying the night in the stable.”
    “But it’s freezing outside.”
    “I’ve got my bedroll, thanks to my brother. I’ll be fine.”
    “You won’t be fine.” She couldn’t say why she was so upset over the image of him bedding down with the horses. “You should stay in the house.”
    “Nope, I don’t feel comfortable with that. I saddled the doc’s horse when he left. He said Robert murmured Henrietta’s name a few times, so that’s hopeful.”
    “Yes, but it’s a bad sign that he still hasn’t roused.” She thought of the other warnings the doctor had left them with. Robert’s condition remained a grave concern. “Henrietta is sitting at his bedside in case he—” Died. She couldn’t say the word.
    “That’s why I’m staying. If you need to send word to the doctor, I’ll be here to ride for him.”
    “Oh, Thad.” That was all she could get out, simply his name, when his thoughtfulness meant so much more. Why was she having a hard time telling him that much? She folded her hands tightly together, not moving from her chair. She listened to the fire crackle lazily in the hearth and tried to find safe words—ones that would not leave her vulnerable. “That’s a comfort knowing you’ll be here. That you’re here to help if he needs it.”
    “Good. I want to make your load lighter. If you’re gonna be up, I can feed the fire for you.”
    “No, I’m about ready to go upstairs. I was just catching my breath.” She didn’t mention she’d been trying not to think about all that could go wrong for this family she