enough to help you. I haven’t been able to help anyone as a physician for a long time.”
A contraction about her chest pulled taut at the despair she glimpsed in his eyes. “You helped me.”
“Not enough.”
“I’m aware I could have died if it were not for you.”
His features firmed into an expression that hid the effects of her words.
She did not want to add to his hurt, but still, doubts nibbled at her. After her husband’s death at sea, she could recall feeling desolation at the unnecessary loss of a human being, but quickly she experienced a feeling of freedom when she realized she would not have to answer to him ever again. On the ship she had resolved never to let a man rule her destiny a second time. It would be hard, but she was determined to make it on her own and teach Faith how as well.
“I shall agree to this arrangement as long as you allow me to pay you with a percentage of the crop. I cannot allow you to work for free, especially if you neglect your own land.”
He backed away and made a low bow, sweeping his arm across his midsection. “We have a deal. One you will not regret.”
The smile that brightened his face sent a warning through her body. She was already regretting her agreement to hire him. She might be wary of men and not want to get involved, but she knew it would be nearly impossible to ignore Nathan for long. Somehow she would have to find the strength to do the impossible.
Seven
Through the tall trees, Rachel glimpsed her new home. Expanses of grayish-brown wood flecked with small patches of white greeted her. As Nathan drove the cart closer over the rough ground and through high grass, more details of the framed and clapboarded structure came into view. The front door lay a few feet away from the opening into the house. Two gaping holes where windows used to be completed the façade facing Rachel.
“It looks habitable,” Rachel said over the groans from Maddy. She glanced at her maid in the back. Maddy’s eyes were wide, her arms hugging her body. “We shall be fine here.” Rachel injected as much confidence as she could muster.
“Yes ma’am, but it looks so, well, wild.”
“That is because it is wild. When the hurricane hit in 1811, it changed the course of the river and much of the farmland became a swamp. The deed might say six hundred acres, but only two hundred at best are usable for planting.” Nathan brought the cart to a halt in front of the house and hopped to the ground then turned to help Rachel.
After she passed Faith to Maddy, he put his hands around Rachel’s waist and lifted her to stand in front of him. She peered at him to tell him thank you, but the words crammed her throat. The brush of his gaze over her features made her knees go weak. Quickly she stepped away, her back pressed up against the cart.
He reached over her shoulder to take Faith while Rachel remained frozen only inches from him. His nearness momentarily erased the picture of her new home from her mind to be replaced with one of Nathan. His broad chest covered in a white lawn shirt. His muscular arms that had so effortlessly assisted her from the cart, the stubble of his dark beard because he hadn’t shaven that morn, as was his practice, filled her vision. Until he presented her with Faith, cradled in his large hands.
A smile that twinkled in his eyes spread across his face. “At least she is not crying for food…yet.”
“Give her time. She will.” Rachel settled her baby against her then started for the house while Nathan helped Maddy down.
Rachel stepped up into her new home. Her breath quickened as she surveyed the area before her, the scent of dust and something rotten assailing her nostrils. Faith began to stir in her arms. She rocked her daughter while she paced farther into the large room with a fireplace at one end and two rooms at the other. One door was still hanging while the other was gone, nowhere to be seen. A crude staircase with missing steps led
A contraction about her chest pulled taut at the despair she glimpsed in his eyes. “You helped me.”
“Not enough.”
“I’m aware I could have died if it were not for you.”
His features firmed into an expression that hid the effects of her words.
She did not want to add to his hurt, but still, doubts nibbled at her. After her husband’s death at sea, she could recall feeling desolation at the unnecessary loss of a human being, but quickly she experienced a feeling of freedom when she realized she would not have to answer to him ever again. On the ship she had resolved never to let a man rule her destiny a second time. It would be hard, but she was determined to make it on her own and teach Faith how as well.
“I shall agree to this arrangement as long as you allow me to pay you with a percentage of the crop. I cannot allow you to work for free, especially if you neglect your own land.”
He backed away and made a low bow, sweeping his arm across his midsection. “We have a deal. One you will not regret.”
The smile that brightened his face sent a warning through her body. She was already regretting her agreement to hire him. She might be wary of men and not want to get involved, but she knew it would be nearly impossible to ignore Nathan for long. Somehow she would have to find the strength to do the impossible.
Seven
Through the tall trees, Rachel glimpsed her new home. Expanses of grayish-brown wood flecked with small patches of white greeted her. As Nathan drove the cart closer over the rough ground and through high grass, more details of the framed and clapboarded structure came into view. The front door lay a few feet away from the opening into the house. Two gaping holes where windows used to be completed the façade facing Rachel.
“It looks habitable,” Rachel said over the groans from Maddy. She glanced at her maid in the back. Maddy’s eyes were wide, her arms hugging her body. “We shall be fine here.” Rachel injected as much confidence as she could muster.
“Yes ma’am, but it looks so, well, wild.”
“That is because it is wild. When the hurricane hit in 1811, it changed the course of the river and much of the farmland became a swamp. The deed might say six hundred acres, but only two hundred at best are usable for planting.” Nathan brought the cart to a halt in front of the house and hopped to the ground then turned to help Rachel.
After she passed Faith to Maddy, he put his hands around Rachel’s waist and lifted her to stand in front of him. She peered at him to tell him thank you, but the words crammed her throat. The brush of his gaze over her features made her knees go weak. Quickly she stepped away, her back pressed up against the cart.
He reached over her shoulder to take Faith while Rachel remained frozen only inches from him. His nearness momentarily erased the picture of her new home from her mind to be replaced with one of Nathan. His broad chest covered in a white lawn shirt. His muscular arms that had so effortlessly assisted her from the cart, the stubble of his dark beard because he hadn’t shaven that morn, as was his practice, filled her vision. Until he presented her with Faith, cradled in his large hands.
A smile that twinkled in his eyes spread across his face. “At least she is not crying for food…yet.”
“Give her time. She will.” Rachel settled her baby against her then started for the house while Nathan helped Maddy down.
Rachel stepped up into her new home. Her breath quickened as she surveyed the area before her, the scent of dust and something rotten assailing her nostrils. Faith began to stir in her arms. She rocked her daughter while she paced farther into the large room with a fireplace at one end and two rooms at the other. One door was still hanging while the other was gone, nowhere to be seen. A crude staircase with missing steps led
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