Homespun Bride

I’ll have it done soon enough.”
    “Thank you, Sadie.” Noelle hesitated, drawn by the sounds of the ax. “Hasn’t Henrietta hired someone to take care of things yet?”
    “I believe she’s certain the mister will be fit as a fiddle in a few more days and can do it all himself.”
    Henrietta, bless her heart, was not thinking clearly. “Robert has several broken ribs and a broken calf bone. He’s not going to be able to clean the stable for some time to come.”
    “Between you and me, you’re right. I wonder what the missus is thinking. She refuses to hire anyone. I must tell you all about last night. I caught her and Thad in deep conversation.”
    Uh-oh. “That cannot be a good thing. She wasn’t trying to marry any of us off to him, was she?”
    Sadie chuckled. “I wouldn’t have been surprised, but she was offering Thad money for his work here, but he wouldn’t take a cent.” There was a clink of ironware and a rustle as Sadie moved closer. “He said he wasn’t the kind of man who stayed on to take advantage of a family in need.”
    That did not surprise her in the least. That was the man she used to know. “Did he say why?”
    “He said as much as he needed a wage, he wasn’t helping out for money.” There was a clatter and clink of ironware. “Considering the way Thad looks at you, I thought you ought to know.”
    Emotions swelled in her throat until she could scarcely speak. “How does he look at me?”
    “Like you are Sunday morning dawning, all bright and new. Well, now, I’ve got to get this up to the mister.” Sadie breezed on by and left the door swinging in her wake.
    The thud, thud, thud, clink seemed to echo in the stillness, and the emotions tangled in her throat hurt until her eyes teared. Why was he doing all this? And for no gain for himself? This was the Thad she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
    She forced her feet to carry her forward and down the cool hallway. The north wing felt especially cold this morning. She shivered, but it wasn’t the kind of cold a fire could warm. With every step she took, the sound of Thad’s ax faded into silence. She was thankful for that.
    Leave the past where it belongs, Noelle. She ran her finger along the hallway wall, counting the doorways so she could find her way. Silence seemed to close in around her, bringing with it all the sore, raw edges of the questions she was too afraid to ask. She could no longer deny the hard sheath of anger around her heart, like the tough outer shell of a seed. Anger at him for hurting her. Anger at him for breaking every belief she’d had in him. Anger now at the way he behaved like the man she’d once known him to be.
    Although the music room was cold with the chill of the morning, she went straight to her piano. Her fingers yearned for the comfort of the familiar keys. Her heart ached to let music move through her and push away all this bound-up confusion. She settled on the bench, uncovered the keys and let her fingers go.
    * * *
    She amazed him, all right. Thad halted outside the open doorway. That sweet complicated music drifted across the hall, the notes too tangled up for a cowboy like him to figure out, but it was nice. Noelle had always had a hundred pieces of music stored in her memory. At least her blindness did not keep her from playing.
    He had a perfect view of her at the piano, the morning sun haloing her like a dream. Lost in her music, she didn’t hear his approach. He watched her unguardedly, savoring the sight of her. Her hair was a sleek fall of gleaming cinnamon, held back with a ribbon tied at the crown of her head. The soft locks framed her heart-shaped face. She still had that goodness within her shining up and it was the most beautiful sight.
    The lilting sweetness of the music stopped in midnote. She lifted her gaze to meet his, as if she saw him clearly. “Thad?”
    “How did you know?”
    “The scent of hay and freshly split wood.”
    “That was mighty good piano playing. Don’t stop because I’m here.”
    Sunshine streamed through the long bank of windows, polishing her with a golden light. She was radiance and everything dear to him as she returned to her playing, caressing beauty from those mysterious white and black keys. He felt gruff and too big and too awkward for her and for this fancy room full of expenve things. Some things, it appeared, hadn’t changed a whit.
    Her music followed him across the room. Maybe it didn’t much matter how many