Gingham Bride by Jillian Hart

into their circle of friendship.
    “Fiona?” Earlee touched her sleeve again. “That man there, the one with the black horse and the sleigh, I think he is looking at you.”
    A man? What man? Panic skittered through her. She swirled toward the road, her mind turning. Ian had gone on the noon train—then again, maybe he hadn’t. She had thought of him when she’d heard the train’s departing whistle. Had he stayed? Gladness swept through her, as cheery as a Christmas candle. She longed to see his grin and the spark of his poetic blue eyes, but the figure in brown leather standing beside a fancy red sleigh was not Ian.
    He hadn’t come for her. Logically, at the back of her mind, she knew there was no reason for him to have. But her hopes cracked like a heart broken. Foolish, really, to care so much about someone long gone. It was her decision not to care for any man so much. So it had to be the relentless snow making her eyes tear and not emotions. She was quite in control of her feelings. Really.
    “Do you know him?” Lila stepped close, as if to protect her from the stranger’s assessing stare.
    “He’s tipping his hat.” Scarlet dropped her schoolbooks. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at you. Does he know your father?”
    “I don’t think so.” She blinked, trying to bring the man into focus. He was rather short and lean, his features hidden beneath the brim of a black hat. Her da’s words replayed in her mind. If McPherson won’t take her, there’s others who will.
    No, he wouldn’t have found someone so soon. Her bones turned to water. She shook so hard, her lunch pail rattled. No, she reasoned. Certainly not so fast, or someone older than her father. Silver locks peeked out from beneath the man’s hat as he tipped it one last time, grinned not entirely nicely at the group of them and climbed back into his sleigh. See how he was leaving? He wasn’t approaching her, so she was safe.
    Then why was she trembling? Her lunch pail continued to rattle. They all watched the man drive away. Although he never looked back, she couldn’t get rid of the strange feeling taking her over, as if her blood had turned to ice.
    “Fiona, are you all right?” Lila wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
    “You’ve gone completely white.” Earlee did the same.
    “He’s turned the corner. He’s gone.” Scarlet tromped back through the hip-high drifts. Only then did Fiona realize her friend had taken off toward the stranger, probably to confront him. That was Scarlet, ever fearless. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”
    “How did you know he was looking at just me?” Her words came out scratchy, like she had a sore throat.
    “It was pretty clear.” Scarlet was flushed, as if she was ready for a fight. “It was scary.”
    “Maybe he thought she was someone he knew?” Earlee wondered.
    “Maybe.” Lila didn’t look convinced. “Should we all walk Fiona home?”
    “No.” She spoke loud enough to drown out their resounding yeses. She had a suspicion she knew what the man had been doing. Her lunch pail was still squeaking and rattling as she knelt to pick up Scarlet’s books. “You can’t miss singing practice. What about Lorenzo? This might be your big chance to get close to him.”
    “There will be other chances,” Lila answered, stubbornly loyal.
    “He’s not likely to even notice me,” Scarlet confessed.
    This was why her throat stayed raw. Her friends were the best part of her life. She looked from Lila and her chin set with determination, to Scarlet dusting snow off her schoolbooks with more ferocity than necessary, to Earlee standing protectively at her side. Surely, this was not the last time she would see them.
    “You can’t risk it.” She shook her head, and snow rained down off her hood. “This might be the turning point. The critical moment when Lorenzo notices one of you and falls deeply in love. So you have to go sing.”
    “But what about you?” Lila