Chapter One
CREST STONE, COLORADO- December 1877
The snow swirled gracefully over the street below. Rebecca O’Neal rested her forehead against the pane of glass, wishing yet again for the right answer to come to her.
“Emmy! Don’t touch that. Put it down!” Roger’s irritated voice broke through Rebecca’s thoughts.
With a sigh, she turned away from the boarding house window to face three of her five children. Seven-year-old Roger was glaring at his little sister, while five-year-old Johnnie reached for the little toy horse Emmy had grabbed.
“Emmy, give your brothers back their horse and come sit with me,” Rebecca said.
“Story?” The little girl looked up at her mother with a cherubic face.
Rebecca smiled. “I’ll tell you a story. But only if you leave your brothers alone.”
Emmy grinned and let Johnnie have the horse before toddling toward her mother. As Rebecca picked up her youngest, she felt yet another pang of sadness. Roger and Johnnie had each other as playmates, and her two oldest daughters were close in age and spent hours together. But poor little Emmy was alone.
She wrapped her arms around the little girl, settling her on her lap and turning back toward the window. If Rebecca had herway, Emmy would have had a little sibling to befriend. Instead, Emmy and her siblings had lost their father, and Rebecca had lost part of her very soul.
Emmy leaned her head back against Rebecca’s chest as she listened to her favorite story—one about a rabbit and a mouse who were the best of friends. Rebecca had made it up months ago, and Emmy could never get enough of hearing it again and again. It was a nice distraction from Rebecca’s own grief—and now it provided a way to soothe her nerves as she waited for Levi Whiteside to arrive at the boarding house.
She didn’t need to wait much longer. Just as she finished Emmy’s story, Rebecca spotted him crossing the road below. Her heart immediately began to thump faster, and for the thousandth time since she’d made up her mind about Mr. Whiteside’s question, she wondered if she was making the right decision.
“Come along downstairs,” she said as she let Emmy slide from her lap.
“Will Miss Darby give us a cookie?” Roger asked, jumping up.
Rebecca bit back a smile. All of the children loved Miss Darby, who ran the boarding house with her brother, and she doted on them in return. “Perhaps. You may ask her nicely.”
Casting a quick glance at herself in the mirrored glass on the washstand, Rebecca smoothed back her hair and told herself not to look so terrified. It was only marriage, after all, and she’d been married before.
To a man I’d known and loved for years, the voice in the back of her head reminded her as she ushered the children out the door. Rebecca bit her lip, forcing the thought from her head before she could begin to dwell on all that she’d lost.
It did no good to wish herself back to the past when her present situation required all of her attention.
Downstairs, Rebecca found her two oldest, Gwynnie and Sarah, elbow deep in flour in the kitchen. The boarding house’s cook had taken a shine to the girls and had invited them to bake with her. Rebecca hated to interrupt them while they were enjoying themselves, but she could hardly have the little ones underfoot during the conversation she was about to have with Mr. Whiteside. Particularly when the gentleman looked like a frightened rabbit each time Emmy stared up at him or Johnnie asked him if he liked to catch bugs.
“Is he here?” Gwynnie asked before Rebecca had even said a word. She was already dusting off her hands. She had just turned eleven, and Rebecca marveled over how much more grown up she’d become since leaving Kentucky. “I’ll take them outside. Sarah can stay here.”
Rebecca’s heart swelled in gratitude for her daughter. “Thank you. It shouldn’t be too long, and then you can get back to your dough.”
Gwynnie gave her a nervous smile as she took Emmy’s hand. “Good luck, Mama.”
“Be sure you tell himyes,” nine-year-old Sarah added from her station in front of a mixing bowl.
Rebecca swallowed a nervous laugh as she exited the kitchen. In the hallway, she paused to compose herself. Mr. Whiteside had to be waiting in the boarding house’s parlor by now.
She forced herself to slow her breathing as she smoothed down her skirts. Her sister Eleanor had taken care of her for months, ever since they’d lost their husbands in a mining accident. Rebecca had fallen apart, and Eleanor had taken charge. They’d lost their homes and all the stability they used to have. But Eleanor had pushed through it all with courage she found somewhere deep inside, even finding them husbands all the way out here in Colorado.
Rebecca pressed her shoulders back and prayed for even half the courage that Eleanor possessed. Eleanor was happily married, and now it was time for Rebecca to set aside her grief and take care of herself and her family.
She took the few steps down the hallway to the parlor. Mr. Whiteside stood the moment he saw her, whipping his hat from his head.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. O’Neal,” he said, his usually formal voice edged in nervousness.
Something about knowing that he was just as anxious as she was set Rebecca at ease.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Whiteside. Please, sit.” She gave him a smile and gestured at the armchair.
