Strong and Stubborn by Kelly Eileen Hake Page B

it!
    â€œThis is a mighty big basin and could use more filling.” Mr. Strode kept hold of the now-empty buckets. “I’ll be right back.” With that, he left the three of them to finish setting up dinner.
    And, apparently, to gossip. The minute he passed through the trees on the edge of the field, Cora and Evie began interrogating.
    â€œDid he follow you to the stream?” True to form, Evie sounded like a concerned mother hen looking after a wayward chick.
    â€œNo, I stumbled into him while he was filling canteens.”
    â€œStill,”—Cora managed to look both solemn and pleased at once—“it seems the new arrival has taken special notice of you, Naomi.”
    She huffed away the idea at once, seeing where her friends were heading. “The poor man’s been thrown alongside me since the moment he stepped off the train. He’s done more for Lacey than anyone else, but no one would speculate he’s taken some sort of interest in her.”
    â€œThat’s ridiculous. He hasn’t even
seen
Lacey,” Evie countered.
    â€œBut if he had even glimpsed her, we’d all be thinking he was working so hard because he’s sweet on Lacey.” The truth of that statement tasted sour to Naomi, but she knew better than anyone how a young girl could turn a man’s head—especially a beauty like Lacey.
    â€œShe does have a way of catching attention,” Cora agreed.
    Even when she’s not present
. Naomi smiled at the realization. Her younger cousin’s zeal for life transformed those around her, and Naomi knew God had made the exile to Lyman Place her saving grace. Newly grieving her father, a younger Lacey needed love, guidance, and stability just as much as Naomi needed a reason to rejoin the world. They found it in each other, and neither one would have changed it.
    Though, if possible, I would’ve changed a lot of things since
.
    Naomi shook the maudlin thoughts away. Regrets didn’t change the past—but they had a sneaky way of staining the future if they weren’t caught and corralled early on. The trick was to focus on what was possible today and how today could make tomorrow better.
    So she put all her energy into making supper run smoothly, knowing that well-fed men could break down the wall more quickly to get Lacey back. Besides, work helped her keep her mind from worrying. It distracted her from the way the shadows stretched on the ground as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains.
    Indeed, the light had grown thin and pale by the time Mr. Lawson came running through the trees, arms flailing like a rag doll’s. “We broke through!” He gasped for air. “They’re saved!”
    Time itself seemed to speed up at his words—Naomi certainly did. She hiked up her skirts and raced across the clearing, through the trees, and up the mountain path almost before she blinked.
    Panting, she skidded to a halt just in time to see Lacey wriggling through an opening in the stone wall, her hands clasped in Granger’s as he steadied her progress. No one made a sound, afraid to distract them. Maybe afraid that one of the now precariously stacked stones might shift if they dared breathe too heavily. Then Lacey was out of the mine, and Naomi was running once more.

    As soon as the lady—for the life of him, Mike couldn’t remember her identity beyond the fact she was Naomi’s cousin—emerged from the mines, pandemonium broke loose all around her. If he was honest, Mike would ascribe some of the chaos to the woman’s garb.
    On the one hand, a man could admire her practicality in wearing britches. On the other hand, a man couldn’t help but admire the fine figure she presented in those same britches. From the furious whispers flying around, the workmen focused on the latter.
    Mike stepped back, farther away from the hub of activity, trying to give everyone as much space as possible. Even so, he caught