Homespun Bride

she heard Thad’s familiar gait coming from the lean-to, she had only a moment to brace herself before the door opened. She wished that her senses did not focus on him even before he stepped into the room. She knew the brush of his movements, the rhythm of his breathing and the beat he took to pause before he spoke. Again, her spirit turned toward him and her traitorous heart followed.
    “Messages delivered,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I didn’t realize you taught so many students.”
    “It surprises even me.” She couldn’t say why she was almost smiling back. She shook her head, gathered up her common sense and blamed her reaction to Thad on the fact that she had yet to sleep after being up all night with Henrietta. “Thanks for delivering my messages.”
    “I didn’t mind, and I got to see more of the countryside.” There was a rustle, as if he were taking off his coat and then hanging it on the hooks by the door. “A lot has changed since I’ve been away.”
    “A lot has stayed the same, too.” She ran her fingerps along the edge of the worktable and followed it to the corner. “Would you like me to get you some coffee? I’d offer you tea, but Cook has commandeered all the kettles for my uncle’s medical needs.”
    “Is that what that awful smell is?” Thad’s wry humor made his baritone more intimate and cozy. “I thought a skunk somehow got loose in the house. I was just about to offer to go hunt it down for you.”
    “How gentlemanly of you, but as you can see, we won’t be needing your hunting services.” She felt her way along the upper shelf for a cup and found nothing with her fingertips. She went up on tiptoe to search some more. “Is that a yes to coffee? I just helped Cook wash and dry a dishpan of cups. They ought to be here.” His steps beat near, and she froze as he came close and then closer. Until she could smell the bite of winter wind and fresh snow on his clothes. Until she could remember what it had been like all the times he’d been this close to her.
    Memories stirred up like a kick of wind in dust, limiting her clarity, taking her back in time. How safe she’d felt when her hand was tucked snugly within his larger, work-roughened one. How full her heart and soul had been every time he said her name. How her love for him was as endless as a summer’s blue Montana sky.
    “Here’s one, pushed all the way to the back.” His voice rumbled like spring on a late-winter’s storm.
    Warmly, her heart responded against her will. She took an abrupt step away from him, putting a careful distance between them. Now, if only she could do the same with her feelings. Her throat was tight.
    “The rest of the cups are on the drain board, just so you know.”
    “Y-yes.” She knew that somewhere in the dust cloud of her mind, but all she could think of was how she wished more than ever that she could see. Just for one glorious moment, that was all, so she could look at the man who made her spirit stir.
    “Am I making you uncomfortable?” His question was blunt, but his words were kind.
    Her hands trembled as she turned to the stove. “It’s not easy having you so n-near.”
    “I understand. It’s a bad wound between us. It’s as simple as that. Nothing in the world is going to change that.”
    She nodded, unable to agree. Unable to disagree. “Believe me, the last thing I ever want to do—the last thing I would ever do is hurt you, Noelle. I’ll eat in the kitchen and keep my distance from you.”
    She had to fight to keep her feelings still. She had to fight not to let her own honesty show.
    There he went again, closing the distance between them, leaning near and then nearer as he took the coffeepot from the stove. Ironware clanged against the trivet and his muscled arm brushed against her shoulder. “I don’t want you to burn your pretty dress again.”
    She blushed. She couldn’t help it. Why did she feel so awkward about being near to him? “I don’t scorch my skirts every time. Just now and then.”
    “I imagine being near a stove is tricky for you.”
    “Yes, tricky.”
    “Is that your cup on the table? Then I’ll fill it, too.” He moved away, already speaking over the sound of coffee pouring. “I stopped home and packed my sadebags for another night’s stay.”
    “Not another night out in that cold barn.”
    “Only until Robert’s out of risk. I wouldn’t feel right about leaving you ladies here by yourselves tonight. If all goes