Brides of Ohio Read online

  She knelt down beside him, her simple work dress billowing out around her, and grasped his hand to take another look at it. “This will need tending to,” she said. Her gentle voice didn’t hold even a hint of reproach. “We should cover it up in the meantime. Where’s your handkerchief? Mine’s too small.”

  Daniel pulled it from his back pocket and looked away. He felt her gentle hands wrap up his wound and felt even more like a heel. “Thank you,” he murmured when she was done. She released his hand, but he grasped her fingers and squeezed them. “I’m sorry you saw that,” he said, finally daring to look at her.

  Her face was soft, and an understanding smile graced her face. “It’s all right.”

  He released her hand and looked at the makeshift bandage on his own. “Professor Harris was going to offer me a position as a professor at Ohio Wesleyan.”

  “I gathered as much.”

  “You’re wondering why I don’t just sell out and accept it, aren’t you?”

  “Mary told me your father was bound and determined you become a farmer. She thinks since your brothers are gone you’re keeping the land out of respect for him.”

  “I would sell this farm in a heartbeat to Carr or anyone else who would give me a fair price for it, but …”

  “The Lord is telling you otherwise,” she finished.

  Daniel stared at her, and she blushed and looked out toward the creek.

  “You’re such a godly man, I can only imagine the reason you’re doing this is because God is guiding you.”

  Daniel laughed hollowly. “If I’m such a godly man, why was I about to ride over to Elijah Carr’s and accept his offer?”

  “You wouldn’t have.”

  He threw a pebble into the creek. “You’re right.” They sat there for a moment or two watching the creek swirl by.

  “If your pa wanted you to be a farmer, then how did you come to be at Ohio Wesleyan?” Katherine asked tentatively.

  “Pa died of a heart attack when I was fourteen. After he died, Ma insisted I sell my share of the farm to Jonah and go. She was the one who understood me. Only Jonah wouldn’t take it.”

  “Why?”

  “He felt Ma and I were betraying Pa.”

  Daniel remembered how angry his brother had been. When his first term at Ohio Wesleyan was over, he’d stayed in Delaware with Uncle John and Aunt Mary instead of going home. They had owned and run a mercantile there before his uncle inherited the plantation.

  “He forgave Ma eventually, but he and I never really reconciled.”

  He looked over at Katherine to see her beautiful eyes large with sympathy. He found their speckled depths comforting, and he allowed himself to become lost in them for a minute or two. They reminded him of the way the trees looked along the creek in the early fall.

  Chapter 10

  Katherine blushed and looked down at her lap, wondering why he would pay so close attention to her bizarre eyes. She had always thought of them as her worst feature. Her father had always called them “perpetually confused” since they weren’t really one color or another.

  She could feel Daniel’s gaze still on her, and a warm feeling grew in her chest. Why did he give her so much of his attention anyway? He couldn’t possibly think her that interesting. Could he? She had to admit she enjoyed their evening conversations. They reminded her of the letters she and Thomas had exchanged while she was away at school.

  Thomas. She would always miss him, always care for him. But what she had felt for Mary’s son was nothing compared to what she was now beginning to feel for her nephew. How could she help it? He was kind, a very godly man … and far too handsome for a drab little nothing like me. He can’t possibly think of me as anything more than a friend.

  Glancing up, she saw he was now looking out across the creek. She felt her breath catch as she took in his handsome features.

  Closing her eyes, she bit her lip. Oh Father, please take these feelings from me. I know I once dreamed of loving and being loved, but it was never anything more than a dream.

  “Are you all right?”

  Katherine started and looked at Daniel. The look of worry in his green eyes caused her heart to pound so hard she was afraid he’d hear it. “I–I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

  He reached over and pulled her hand away from her jaw. She hadn’t even realized it had strayed there. “Because you only do that when something is bothering you,” he said, his fingers curling around hers.

  Coherent thought refused to form in her mind, and she closed her eyes. “I …”

  Suddenly harsh shouts came from the direction of the farm, and Katherine and Daniel immediately jumped up and raced toward the house. As they approached, Katherine could hardly believe the scene being played out on the Kirbys’ front porch.

  Elijah Carr stood towering over Mary, a switch in his hand. She was glaring at the man with young Jacob Stephens standing just behind her.

  Katherine gasped as Daniel forced his way between his aunt and Carr, anger hardening his face. “What’s going on here?” His voice was surprisingly calm.

  “Nothing that concerns you, Kirby,” Carr growled. “If you and Mary just step aside, I’ll deal with this vandal here myself.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” the young boy cried out. “I just wanted to see my home again. Those windows were broken when I got there.”

  “It ain’t your home. That’s my legal property.”

  “No, it’s not. You stole it from me and my ma after the Rebs killed Pa.”

  “You just shut your mouth before I tan your hide.”

  “Enough!” Daniel hadn’t shouted, but his voice was so rough with anger Katherine jumped. With one swift movement, he grabbed the switch out of Carr’s hands. Snapping it in half, he tossed it away. “As long as Jacob is on my property, you won’t lay a hand on him.”

  “He was trespassin’ and broke out the windows of that house his pa built,” Carr said. “I—”

  “Whatever he’s done, send me the bill and I’ll pay for it.” Daniel glanced back at the boy. “He can pay back what he owes working for me.”

  “Tore up a couple rows of corn going after him.”

  Daniel glared at him for a second before going out back to the shed. He returned with a small cloth bag of seed corn, which he all but threw at Carr. “I’m sure that will cover your loss. Now get off my property.”

  Carr walked away from the porch and down the drive, glaring at Katherine as he went.

  She ignored him and rushed over to Mary. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m just fine,” Mary said calmly. “But I’m afraid Jacob got a taste of that switch.”

  Katherine looked down to see an ugly red welt on the young boy’s hand. “Oh, you poor thing!” As Mary stepped aside, Katherine knelt down and gently lifted Jacob’s hand to look at it. “Please let me tend to this for you.”

  The boy looked at her in wonder. “Are you really a Johnny Reb?”

  “No,” Daniel said sternly. “She’s the kind young woman who’s going to bandage up your hand just as soon as you apologize to her and tell me what happened.”

  Shamefaced, the young boy looked at Katherine. “Sorry, ma’am.” He turned to Daniel defensively. “I just wanted to see our old house. Mr. Carr found me there and chased me because he thought I was throwing rocks at the windows. But I didn’t do anything. I just wanted to look. The windows were busted when I got there.”

  “Why were you trespassing on Mr. Carr’s land?”

  Jacob shuffled his feet, his brown eyes cast downward. “Sometimes I forget what Pa looked like. When I go back to our old house, I remember.”

  Katherine rose and bit her lip, trying not to choke on the sudden onset of tears and guilt. Her hand itched to touch her scar, but she clasped them together tightly against her waist. Boys from South Carolina made this child fatherless. Then another stinging thought crossed her mind. What if it had been someone under her father’s command? Or Charles’s?

  Daniel reach
ed over and rested his hand on the top of the boy’s dark mop of hair. “It’s all right, Jake. I understand. I know your ma well enough to know she wouldn’t raise you to do a thing like that.” His voice had lost its stern tone, and he looked at Katherine. “I’ll go on with the garden while you fix him up. Send him on out when you’re done.”

  Jacob looked up hopefully. “You mean it? I’m going to be working here?”

  Daniel raised his eyebrows. “You do understand this isn’t going to be easy or fun?”

  “I know, Mr. Kirby.” Jacob looked at him as seriously as an eight-year-old could look. “There’s no school since everybody’s planting, and I’m tired of wandering around town. I want to be a farmer like my pa.”

  Katherine watched a wave of guilt pass over Daniel’s face. “You can work here so long as it’s all right with your ma.”

  A huge smile lit up the youngster’s face, and he looked at Katherine and Mary.

  Katherine mustered up a smile. “I believe there might be some peppermint candy somewhere about the house. Isn’t that so, Mary?”

  “Yes.” Her friend smiled. “Why don’t we go take a look?”

  As she went to follow Mary and the excited young boy went into the house, Daniel grasped Katherine’s hand. “I almost forgot about my hand,” he explained and then flashed an impish grin. “I like peppermint, too.”

  “Well, I suppose. As long as you behave.” Katherine found herself unable to resist playing along, but she quickly reminded herself friendship was all there could ever be between them. Handsome men like Daniel Kirby don’t fall for women as plain as me.

  Daniel was hitching the team up the next morning as he waited for Jacob to arrive. He hoped Adele would let the boy work in spite of Katherine’s presence. And his. After all, he had failed to protect the life of her husband, and now he was asking her to trust him with Jacob on a daily basis. Farming wasn’t the same as going off to war, but it certainly had its own share of dangers.

  Sweat was already beginning to form on his brow. It was going to get warm today. He looked up at the sky in frustration. He was well behind where he should have been at this point in the season.

  He shook his head. Jonah wouldn’t have gotten behind, even without help. His older brother had been a gifted farmer. He could make every bit of sunlight count for something.

  His hand ached as he pulled on a strap, quickly reminding him of Professor Harris’s visit. A prayer rose in his mind, but he bit it back. What’s the use?

  Katherine came out of the house just then and walked out to the poultry yard on the other side of the garden. Daniel watched as she stepped into the chicken coop to collect eggs. She’d seemed reserved yesterday evening in the parlor. Even Mary had commented on how quiet she’d been. She’d given the excuse she was tired and left for her room earlier than usual, before they’d had a chance to talk.

  He heaved a long sigh. It was going to be a long day today with or without help. He hoped she wouldn’t be too tired to talk tonight. Their conversations in the evening were a lifeline, a connection to something now lost to him. At least He hasn’t taken that away, he thought. At least not yet.

  He was just about to take the horses out to the fields when Jacob arrived. And he wasn’t alone. The boy was walking up the drive alongside a wagon carrying three freemen, one of whom Daniel instantly recognized.

  “Simon Peter!” he exclaimed as he strode over to them.

  The wagon springs creaked with relief as the man climbed down. He was a sturdy, muscular man, a head or two taller than Daniel.

  Unperturbed by the man’s height, Daniel looked up at the man with a grin. “Are you still the tallest man in the county?”

  “Sure as you’re the second tallest,” the man joked back and slapped Daniel on the back. “You remember my boys, Aaron and Michael?”

  “I sure do,” Daniel replied as the two young men climbed out of the wagon to stand next to their pa. Daniel greeted them and glanced in the back of the wagon. A plow, harrow, and other farm equipment lay in the bed. “What’s all this?”

  “Well, my youngest, Jeremiah, he’s been working with them colts of Professor Harris’s, training them and all, and he comes home yesterday and tells me the professor says you’re trying to work all this land by yourself.” The man’s normally good-humored face frowned at Daniel. “Now why didn’t you come and see me if you were having trouble?”

  “Simon, you have your own fields to get done.”

  “Now, Daniel Aaron Kirby,” Simon Peter’s firm voice interrupted him. “I done know ya since you was younger than this one here.” Simon Peter pointed at Jacob, who was staring up at him with saucerlike eyes. “We got a good start on our planting, and Joe and Jeremiah say they can make do. Aaron, Michael, and I are set on helpin’ ya plant your crops.”

  His sons smiled and nodded in agreement.

  “And he’d be a fool to refuse your help,” Mary said as she shuffled up to them. “Simon Peter, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” She was lost for a moment as she and Simon embraced. “How’s Celia?”

  “Miss Mary, it’s right good to see you, too. Celia’s just fine. Her sister came up a few months back, and she’s staying with us.” He looked past both of them and smiled and nodded. “Hello there, ma’am.”

  Daniel turned to see a hesitant Katherine slowly approaching. She was clutching the egg basket so tightly, he could see the whiteness of her knuckles. He quickly realized how intimidating Simon Peter must seem to someone so small and walked over to her. “It’s all right,” he said quietly. “This is Simon Peter Johnson. Ma and Pa hid him when Jonah was a baby. He lives just outside of Delaware with his wife, Celia.”

  “Will I bother him?” she asked tentatively.

  Daniel smiled at her tenderhearted nature and shook his head. “Simon Peter has been a freeman for years now, Katherine. I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you. He’s a large man but a gentle one.” He coaxed her closer.

  Mary grabbed her arm and pulled her over to stand in front of Simon Peter. “Simon, this is a dear friend of the family,” Mary said, “Miss Katherine Wallace. Katherine was my neighbor down in South Carolina.”

  “Oh yes. The professor said you had someone staying with you.” He bent down and took her tiny hand in his huge one.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr. Johnson,” Katherine said softly. Daniel took note of her attempt to blunt her accent.

  “Ma’am, folk just call me Simon Peter,” he said. “I reckon I won’t answer ta nothin’ else.”

  “I do hope I won’t make you … uncomfortable.”

  A bright white smile spread across the man’s face. “Oh no, ma’am, not a bit. Celia’s from down there in the Carolinas. You sound a mite like her.” He looked over at Daniel. “We’re ready to start when you are.”

  Daniel looked at the men and, regretting his earlier attitude, silently thanked God for sending him help just when he really needed it. “Aunt Mary’s right. I’d be a fool to refuse help now. But I intend to pay you and your sons what’s fair.”

  Simon Peter gave him a hesitant look. “You sure?”

  “I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “Well, all right.” They smiled and shook hands.

  “Wow!”

  Katherine jumped at the awestruck voice at her elbow. She looked down to see Jacob still standing next to her. His eyes were glued to Simon Peter, who was striding out toward the fields with his sons and Daniel. Katherine couldn’t help but giggle. “I know. He’s right large, isn’t he?”

  “He’s a giant,” the boy squeaked.

  “Well, he’s a gentle giant,” Mary declared, patting Jacob on the back. “What did your ma say about working here?”

  “Ma said it was fine for me to work here for as long as Mr. Kirby needed me.”

  Mary cocked an eyebrow at the young man. “Did she understand why?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The boy winced as he reached for his backside. “She understood all right.”

 
Katherine chuckled along with her friend, and her heart rose hopefully. She had worried the widow wouldn’t allow her son within ten feet of her. Perhaps her prayers were beginning to pay off. She smiled kindly at the boy. “You’d best be off with them, don’t you think?”

  “Oh yes, ma’am.” Jacob ran off and called out to Daniel.

  He turned toward the boy and, catching sight of Katherine, smiled.

  A sharp thrill rose in her chest and she smiled back.

  “Thank you for lifting such a great weight from his shoulders, Father,” Mary prayed aloud.

  “Amen,” Katherine finished softly, still smiling. Suddenly remembering herself, she shook her head. Katherine Wallace, if you keep up this foolishness, you’ll deserve every bit of what’s coming to you.

  She heard Mary chuckle and turned to look at her friend. “Jacob’s a funny little thing,” she said.

  “He is, but that’s not what amuses me,” the older woman replied as they walked in the house and headed toward the kitchen.

  Katherine set the basket of eggs down on the worktable. “What is it then?”

  “You and my nephew.”

  Katherine nearly dropped the eggs she and Mary were transferring from the basket to a large bowl. “What on earth do you mean?”

  “You’re a fool if you don’t see how he looks at you.”

  “I … haven’t noticed,” she replied evasively.

  “Well I have, and he has the same look on his face as Thomas did whenever he got a letter from you.”

  “Mary,” Katherine scolded, “he does nothing of the kind.” She continued to stack eggs in the bowl for another moment or two. “Even if he does, why would he?”

  She heard her friend give an exasperated sigh. “Father, forgive me, but I would have liked to tell your family a thing or two.”

  Katherine glanced up to see a pleading look in Mary’s eyes.