The look she gave him then, as she smiled up at him, uprooted his insides and swirled them around. It took all in his power not to take her into his arms and kiss her. But that was not their agreement. So instead, they turned and continued their journey, with Mary riding astride Samson.
“I will try.”
“Good.” He nodded. Perhaps it would be good to give Mary a better example of not being suspicious of people’s words and actions. She did not deserve to live her entire life jaded by her stepparents’ actions.
As they crossed over the rise, the town stretched out before them. Silence fell over their small group as they closed the gap.
Just before they reached the first buildings, a grizzled old man in a crumpled hat and a threadbare waistcoat came walking down the path, leading a donkey behind him. He stopped and removed the hat, which had certainly seen better days, and wiped an arm across his brow before offering them a friendly smile. “Welcome. Have you traveled far?”
“Originally, yes, from North Carolina. But today, we only journeyed from Big Hill. ’Twas quite a simple journey. Is there a place we could lay down our heads for the night?”
“Ah, yes. Yes. Just down that way and around the corner.” He pointed in the direction he spoke of.
Jacob nodded and turned to Dawn. “See,” he whispered.
She dipped her chin and offered him a small smile, before broadening it for the man with the donkey.
Richmond was as large as the city from whence they originally hailed in North Carolina. It was strange to see such a sprawling settlement in the middle of the wilderness. But here it was. Was that what his own family would help establish one day? Or would they each live quietly, unified with the land? The thought struck from nowhere, and he dashed it from his mind.
Dawn and Mary were his only concerns for now. He would find them a warm meal and a nice place to rest for tonight. Perhaps even a place with a bed. Then he would lead them on to Bryan’s Station. Only a couple more days before their journey would be complete.
Jacob nearly stopped in his tracks. Bryan’s Station had always been the end goal, but now that it loomed ahead, he was not ready for the journey to end. Not if it meant an annulment. He was not ready for Dawn and Mary to depart from his life.
At once, they found the inn. It was barely more than a home, the small wooden sign beside the door the only feature designating it otherwise. Jacob knocked. The door opened to reveal a plump woman with dark hair and a broad smile on her face. “Welcome. Are you needing a place to stay for the night?” She dried her hands on her apron as she spoke.
“Yes. I was hoping you would have a room for us. This is my wife, Dawn, and our daughter, Mary.” He stepped aside and motioned to both of them.
When the woman’s gaze landed on the stump at the end of Dawn’s arm, her brows raised and her smile vanished. “I apologize. We are all full for the night.” She barely had the words out of her mouth before she had shut the door in his face.
Jacob stopped with his own mouth ajar as he stared at the wood boards a few inches from his nose.
When he turned, it was impossible to miss Dawn’s deep frown and knitted brow. “All is well. We will find somewhere else.” Normally, he might think that a lie, but the town seemed plenty large enough to contain another inn or, at the least, a benevolent stranger. He moved on down the path, toward what seemed to be a town square where several people had carts set up in front of shops. Surely, someone there would have information that would be of assistance.
Jacob approached the first vendor, but when the man spied Dawn, he ducked back behind his cart as though he were searching for some lost item. The next several people they passed seemed quite preoccupied with various tasks of their own. That was, until they reached a stunning flower cart, filled with colorful blooms.
“Good afternoon! Oh, and what do we have here?” The vendor, a woman with a kerchief tied around her hair, grinned down at Mary. “You are such a sweet one. A rose is exactly what you need.” She pulled a red rose from her cart and trimmed it down to barely more than two inches of stem, then tucked it behind Mary’s ear. “Oh, it suits you perfectly.”
The woman was quite different from the other vendors, different from most women Jacob had ever encountered. Her red curly hair was loose and wild, with only the blue kerchief tying it back from her face. Her clothes were a hodgepodge of various bright colors, her blouse a burnt orange, and her petticoat held alternating layers of deep purple and bright magenta.
She turned to Dawn next. “And one for her mother.” She tucked a lovely purple flower behind Dawn’s ear that matched the purple ribbon in her straw hat and complemented the flush in her cheeks.
“Oh, I am not…” Dawn began before stopping herself with a glance at him. She had nearly given up their ruse by accident.
Jacob wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “She is her stepdaughter,” he proffered instead.
The woman’s smile had not faded through the entire exchange and did not now either. “You care for her, tending to her every need, do you not? And love her as if she were the fruit of your own womb?”
Dawn nodded.
“Then she is your daughter,” she reassured Dawn before she glanced between her and Jacob. “Now, I believe you have a need outside of a couple flowers?”
Jacob blinked, his mind taking a moment to catch up with the shift in conversation. She must have heard them inquiring about lodging. “Well, yes. We were trying to find somewhere we could stay the night. We have been traveling and are well equipped to camp outside the bounds of the town if need be, but I had hoped to find a better place for these two to lay their heads tonight.”
“Oh, that shan’t be a problem. Come with me.” At that, she turned and wheeled her cart down the road. They followed her to a nice little cabin on the edge of town with a shed built onto the left side for firewood. She pushed the cart into the open area beside the wood before issuing further instruction. “There is a small corral in the back where your horse can stay as long as he does not mind the company of my goats.”
Jacob chuckled. “I am sure he will not mind.” He turned to Dawn. “You will be fine while I tend to Samson?”
Dawn nodded up at him. Jacob resisted the urge to lean in and kiss her, but took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her smile was a sweet reward for the simple gesture. Perhaps there was time yet to win her heart.
