“Papa, look, baby chicks!”
Joshua followed his daughter’s wild pointing to a yard where speckled chickens and fuzzy yellow chicks pecked in the grass, while Ingrid smiled, too, oblivious to his inner struggle.
Her lovely face alight, her lips sweetly curved and rose pink, the breeze stirring tendrils of her hair beneath the frilled edges of her bonnet in so mesmerizing a fashion that once again he found himself gazing at her rather than watching the road.
She stared at him now, too, while Emily counted aloud the number of chicks, Joshua finally nodding at Ingrid. “Yes, come by the house for as long as you need to. I don’t want Davy getting behind on his lessons, either. I’m usually home in the afternoons to spend time with my children. We eat supper early and you’re welcome to join us.”
There, it was said, Joshua thought as a rosy blush touched Ingrid’s cheeks and she nodded, too.
Just the schoolteacher bringing lessons home to his son, nothing more, he reminded himself, though his breath seemed to still at her soft smile.
Deep down he knew he was treading on unsteady ground when it came to Ingrid Hagen, the walls he’d constructed around his heart fast crumbling.
* * *
“You look just like a family!” Kari whispered into Ingrid’s ear as waiters cleared away the last of the dessert plates, her slice of chocolate cake untouched. Ingrid gently shushed her sister, though she smiled at the thought, wondering if Joshua might have overheard what Kari had said.
He sat on her opposite side, Davy next to his father and Emily seated next to Davy, both children looking content and sleepy after polishing off a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and buttered green beans. Meanwhile Ingrid had found it difficult to eat much of anything, she’d felt so breathless from the moment she had walked into the Frederick Hotel with Joshua helping Davy along with his crutches, and her, holding Emily’s hand.
Theyhadfelt like a family, Ingrid couldn’t deny it, her heart full to overflowing with the possibilities of the future and thankfulness at the unexpected blessings of the day.
First, Kari pushing her toward Joshua in the churchyard and asking if Ingrid might ride along with him. She couldn’t believe her sister had done such a thing, but she was grateful nonetheless for the wonderful time she’d had accompanying Joshua and his children.
Even her fear when she’d heard that Davy remembered her waking him from his nightmare had been eased when Joshua gave no indication that he knew his son had revealed so much to her. His sincere thanks had warmed her, and she had decided not to ask anyone else about the tragedy that had befallen his wife but to wait for when the time was right to ask Joshua herself.
Something told her that time would come just from the way he’d looked at her today, Ingrid astonished that the man she’d thought so odious was so quickly capturing her heart. Kari had said she and Seth fell in love almost overnight. Was that what she glimpsed in Joshua’s eyes that matched the burgeoning feelings inside her? Might she be special to him after all?
Then her siblings and Caleb and Seth greeting her and Joshua and the children so warmly as well as Charles and Molly Davis, Ingrid looking around the table at faces long beloved and those of new friends and family members.
She glanced at Joshua to find him staring at her even now, something so arresting in his gaze, though she felt a restraint in him that she could not name. Perhaps she would have a chance to ask him about that as well once they had more time to spend together. She had made her request to visit Davy after school quite innocently, never imagining Joshua might be at home, too. His invitation to join them at supper had thrilled her, she couldn’t deny that, either.
“A brandy, gentlemen?” Caleb asked as he rose from the table situated near the entrance to the dining room, looking so distinguished in his dark three-piece suit. “Perhaps more tea for the ladies? Another piece of cake for Davy and Emily—what in blazes? Get down, everyone,get down!”
Ingrid gasped as Joshua swept her from her chair onto the floor and then grabbed for his children as a second bullet tore through the ceiling, plaster raining down upon them. Suddenly everyone was huddled beneath the table, Emily bursting into frightened tears.
“Hold onto them tight, Ingrid!”
She did as Joshua bade her, pulling Davy and Emily close to her as he lunged to his feet alongside Caleb while an enraged roar came from the foyer of the hotel.
“Logan, this time you’ve gone too far! Locking my brothers up for a fight they didn’t start? Get out here and face me or I’m coming in there after you!”
Chapter 6
Wide-eyed in horror, Ingrid watched as Seth and Andreas jumped to their feet as well, but Joshua gestured sharply for them not to follow him.
“Stay here and protect the women and children,” he ordered sternly, and then he said to Caleb, “Cover me.”
Ingrid gasped as Joshua and Caleb, with their guns drawn, moved swiftly to the arched entryway. They paused for only an instant, Joshua giving a signal, and then he bolted to the reception area opposite the dining room while Caleb fired several shots toward the foyer.
Ingrid heard the frightened cries of other hotel patrons when the man who’d yelled at Joshua fired back, one of the double doors at the hotel entrance slamming hard against the outer wall. Realizing their attacker must have retreated outside, she gathered Emily and Davy closer, both children holding tightly to her and trembling.
“It’s going to be all right,” she whispered, shaking from head to foot herself, Anita genuinely sobbing now, too.Would it be all right, though? Desperately Ingrid started to pray as Caleb disappeared around the corner after Joshua, both men she imagined taking cover closer to the hotel entrance.
“Hold your fire, Sutherland!” came Joshua’s shouted demand. “It’s not too late to surrender! Let’s talk before anyone gets hurt—”
“No talk, Logan! One of your deputies tried to stop me from coming into town and got a bullet to the head with witnesses aplenty. If I surrender I’ll be swinging at the end of a rope anyway, so come out here and face a dead man!”
“Oh, Joshua, no…” Ingrid pleaded while it seemed the whole world had stopped around her.
