Especially not his own daughter.
CHAPTER 9
The next day, Naomi's middle tightened as she allowed one more glance out the window. The lone figure she'd been waiting for finally appeared through the glass.
Eric rode his gelding to the hitching post at the barn, slipped down, and led the horse inside.
She turned to the room's occupants and forced a smile through her nerves. "He's here. Lillian, we'd best wear coats. I think the wind is cold today."
Lillian nodded, her own smile a touch apprehensive. "Come, Mary Ellen. I'll help you put your coat on."
Naomi moved to the crate she'd packed with food and a blanket. Eric had wanted to take Mary Ellen out of the cabin today, to picnic in a grassy field. She had hesitated to let them go alone. He didn't know the area, so he wouldn't know how to find the clearings where the grass grew abundantly. When she'd asked to go, he agreed amiably. She'd quickly dragged Lillian into the scheme, for the last thing she needed was to be alone with Eric, and little Mary Ellen wouldn’t serve as a very good chaperone.
Poor Sean hadn't been cleared by Dr. Dinah to leave thecabin except to visit the privy. He sat now at the table, his leg propped on a chair, with Angela across from him and the chess board between them. Sean had been the reigning champion of chess for months now, but it appeared he'd finally found his match in Angela.
Naomi riffled through the contents of the crate. Was she missing anything? She had serviettes to wipe their hands on, a knife to cut the cheese, spoons to scoop the pickled beets. A flask of warm chocolate—a special treat they rarely indulged in—along with cups for each of them. She’d even packed a dried apple pie she'd made the night before. Of course she'd baked more for the family. These Coulters could put away dried apple pie like they inhaled it.
A knock sounded on the door, and Dinah stepped from her bed chamber, striding toward the front. "I'll get it."
Naomi turned to watch as Dinah lifted the latch and opened the door wide. "Come in." She motioned for Eric to enter. "I think the girls are ready."
Naomi should be doing something other than standing there when Eric entered, but she couldn't make herself move. Why did the thought of a picnic with Eric have her so addled?
He stepped in, then shifted so Dinah could close the door. His gaze found Naomi first, catching her staring at him. She tried for a smile. "I think we're ready."
He nodded. Had she said the same thing as Dinah? She had. Why was she being so ninny-headed?
Thankfully, Eric shifted his focus away from her, giving her space to think clearly again. Mostly. Good thing Jonah wasn’t here to witness her daftness.
As he greeted Mary Ellen and Lillian, then moved to the table to speak with Sean and Angela, she grabbed her coat from the hook in her room and worked the buttons. She should carry the food crate so Eric didn’t hurt his ribs.
She scooped it up and scanned the room. "We're ready."
"I'll carry that." Eric moved toward her, his hands outstretched.
She shook her head and strode to the door. "You're supposed to rest your ribs. Dinah, we'll be in that clearing on the way to the north pasture if you need us."
Dinah's voice followed her from behind. "Have fun and be careful."
She shifted the crate to one hip to open the door, then stepped out into the crisp breeze. She paused a moment to breathe in, letting the pure, bracing air fill her lungs. Many of the colorful leaves had fallen, leaving only a few brown ones amidst the evergreens.
Down at the corral, the new mare paced. She wanted freedom so desperately, but Jericho was worried about a leg injury that hadn't fully healed. Could the wound heal while the animal paced so much? Maybe the horse would settle if she were turned out in the herd.
But she also might squabble with the others, which could cause more damage. At least, that was Jericho's concern. He wanted to give the mare the best chance possible.
And truly...wouldn't it be wonderful if they all had someone like Jericho as an ally? Someone who had both the power to place them where they needed to be and also the care to ensure they were given every advantage to succeed?
Her chest tightened as the parallel to God came clear. Yet why did it feel like His path for her always had to be painful? She'd experienced enough of that already. Maybe what she'd done with Eric had been her own wayward step. But Harvey... She'd never invited his attention. She'd tried to stop him.
Her heart plunged into that racing pulse that always came when she thought of Eric's cousin. She inhaled a deep breath to pull herself out of that dark place. She stared up into the sky, a wide clear blue today, not a cloud in sight.
Eric, Lillian, and Mary Ellen had gatheredbehind her, and she summoned a smile as she turned to face them. "Are we ready?"
Mary Ellen toddled forward, but Eric had a tight grip on her hand so she couldn't run down the hill. Naomi started toward the side of the cabin, aiming at the trees beyond. Better get her daughter moving so she could use that energy as long as she could manage.
The clearing wasn't far, a mere ten-minute walk from the cabin, but with Mary Ellen's small, eager steps, it took them nearly double that time. Naomi felt each second, measured in her daughter's delighted discoveries of every pebble and pinecone along the way. The tension inside her eased a little with Mary Ellen's babbling sounds.
Eric and Lillian walked on either side of her, exclaiming over each of her delighted discoveries.
