If the Prospect Pleases Read online

  “What is it, Lucas?” she whispered when she reached his side.

  “If I ever set eyes on that no-account brother of mine again, I’ll—”

  At the flatness of his tone, Annora laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and sank down next to him. Please, don’t let it be bad, her heart pleaded. Not that.

  All the breath seemed to leave the farmer’s lungs as he stood to his feet and brushed off his pant legs. “He’s hurt. It’s his front leg.”

  Deep despair settled over Annora as she rose and moved to one side so that Lucas could accompany his beautiful bay the rest of the remaining distance to the stall. The sight of the horse’s ungainly limp brought tears to her eyes, and she swallowed back a sob. “What can I do to help?” she asked around the tightness in her throat.

  “An old blanket. Some cold water,” Lucas replied over his shoulder. “I doubt there’s any ice left in the root cellar.”

  “W–will he. . .be all right?”

  Lucas did not answer.

  sixteen

  As lantern light revealed Chesapeake’s condition, Lucas groaned internally. Along with the swollen and bruised foreleg, numerous scrapes and scratches marred the horse’s right side. The sorrel must have taken a spill. Well, he thought with a rueful grimace, it’s probably too much to hope that Ches rolled over my stupid brother when he fell. Decidedly lacking in charity at the moment, Lucas could not overlook Noah’s irresponsibility—which to him seemed the mark of the kid’s whole worthless existence. “Galloping out of here in the dark on a horse that’s already tired,” he grated under his breath, then expelled a lungful of air in disgust.

  At the approach of Annora’s soft footsteps, he glanced up.

  “How’s he look?” she asked shyly, holding out a basin of water to him, along with the pathetic remnant of ice she’d uncovered in the root cellar.

  Accepting them gratefully, Lucas gave her a thankful nod and set the containers on the ground. “Bad enough to make me want to spit nails. . .but at least he won’t need to be put down. No way I could stomach that.” He wet a rag and wrung it out, then began gently dabbing at the misshapen injury.

  With a small relieved sigh, Annora slid the worn blanket from her shoulders. “Shall I tear some strips?”

  He nodded. “Thanks. No reason for you to lose sleep over this, though. You might as well go get some shut-eye.”

  Annora regarded him with a steady gaze. “I’d just as soon stay, if you don’t mind. I was worried about Ches, too.”

  The comment came as no surprise. Annora’s actions since she’d come west more than demonstrated her sincere care for the people she knew. . .and the knowledge made Lucas feel privileged. And very aware of her presence. He swallowed.

  “What will you do for his leg?” she asked.

  “Rub liniment on it, apply cold compresses, keep it wrapped, keep him quiet till the swelling goes down. I just hope and pray he didn’t pull a ligament.” The mention of prayer had come of its own accord, and as Lucas flicked a glance at Annora, he caught her smile.

  “I’ll pray, too. Would you like some coffee?”

  “Sounds great. It’s likely I’ll be at this for some time.” And I’d just as soon not be alone, he nearly added as she went back to the house. But with all the conflicting feelings assaulting his insides right now, he was real glad he’d been smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

  Chesapeake was safe at home now, where Lucas could look after him. And Annora, too, was safe. Noah had not done her any serious harm. This time. Reminding himself to relax his jaw, Lucas went back to his task. There would be no next time.

  ❧

  Once the coffee was ready, Annora set the pot on a tray, added two mugs and a pitcher of cream, and returned to the barn. She wondered where Noah was, but she knew better than to bring up that sore subject. For now it was enough that the horse had come back. She’d noticed an easing of Lucas’s agitation right away. True, he had a long night ahead, but his steely determination and love for the spirited animal would get him through.

  Reaching the stall, she set down the tray, filled the mugs, and added cream. She handed one to her employer before sitting down on the straw nearby to sip her own while she tore up the old blanket.

  He nodded gratefully, drained the rich coffee in a few successive gulps, then took up swabbing the horse’s numerous scratches with clean water and antiseptic.

  Watching him work, Annora was fascinated by his hands. Strong, square, callused, they nevertheless possessed a softness, a gentleness Lucas brought forth whenever needed. She had experienced some of that herself, when he had carried her inside. He’d been every bit as considerate of her as he’d have been of his own daughters. Of course, realizing that another father was about the last thing she wanted right now, she quickly steered her wayward thoughts to another subject. The horse.

  Annora saw that the sorrel’s huge velvet eyes had lost the confused, frightened glaze she had glimpsed awhile ago. Now in the presence of his master, submitting to those kind ministrations, a quiet acceptance—an infinite trust—seemed to shine in its place. Lucas Brent, Annora conceded, was a man worthy of that depth of trust.

  Of their own volition, her eyes sought the farmer again, and she noted that the care lines that earlier had creased his forehead had vanished. His mouth had lost its rigidity, too, giving a softer quality to his lips. She wondered how they would feel if—You goose! she railed inwardly. You’ve no call to be entertaining such wanton thoughts about Lucas Brent! In an effort to gather her emotions, she quickly rolled the remaining strips and stacked them in a neat bundle.

  She could not help but think back on the events of the evening—the absolute hopelessness and fear that had torn at her when Noah had made his unwelcome advances. If Lucas had not come back when he had, heaven only knows what might have happened. The mere memory made her insides quake.

  And yet, she felt nothing but safe around Lucas. He displayed only the utmost courtesy and respect toward her, and despite the difference in their ages, he spoke to her as an equal. Quite a contrast, those two men.

  Even as she measured the one against the other, though, she could not escape the knowledge that they were, in fact, brothers. And she had come between them. Painfully so. With her trial period winding down to its final days, she resolved not to do anything to prolong her stay. Sad as she would be to part with Melinda and Amy, who had become incredibly dear to her from the first. . .it would be sadder still never to see Lucas again. But family relationships were important, and she needed to give this one room and time to mend.

  With that conviction taking firm root in her heart, she let out a shallow breath and leaned to refill both their cups.

  Time went by quietly. No words passed between them, yet she didn’t sense he wished her to go, so she stayed. After about an hour, she watched Lucas unroll the bandage wrapping Chesapeake’s foreleg and assess it critically. “How’s it doing?”

  He cocked his head back and forth in thought. “About as well as could be expected, considering.” Then he reapplied liniment and a fresh strip of chilled blanket. “Think that’s about all we can do tonight,” he finally admitted as he finished up. “We’ll have a hard enough time functioning tomorrow if we don’t catch a few winks.” Exiting the stall with the lantern in one hand, he secured the door, then offered his free hand to Annora.

  “Thank the Lord he’s going to be all right,” she breathed, placing her fingers in Lucas’s strong grasp and allowing him to assist her up. She was sure it was her imagination that he held on slightly longer than necessary. And she ignored a flurry of heartbeats as they left the barn side by side in that same pleasant, companionable silence.

  “Thanks for keeping me company,” Lucas said when they reached the door of the lean-to. “Don’t mind admitting that would have been a lonely job, if. . .” His words trailed off, and he brushed the backs of his fingertips over her cheek, a weary smile curving his lips.

  “I’m. . .just glad Ches will soon be
his old self,” she managed. She wanted to say more, wanted to respond to that tender gesture. . .but she knew that if she did, it would only make her last days here harder than ever. “Good night, Lucas.”

  “ ’Night, yourself. You’re safe now, you know.”

  “Yes. I know.” With a small smile, she took the lantern he held out to her and went inside, her pulse pounding so hard she wondered if he could hear it, too. Without courage enough to meet his gaze, she softly closed the door, then sagged against it as she listened to him striding away.

  She was going to need a lot of prayer to bolster her decision to leave this place willingly. . .especially without even a hint of an alternate plan. Where could she go? What would she do? The first thing she would do, she decided as she undid the buttons on her shirtwaist, was pour her heart out to her Heavenly Father and seek the wisdom He promised to those who asked.

  ❧

  Bone weary, Lucas could barely keep his eyes open long enough to strip off his outer clothes and hit the sack. He hadn’t formulated an actual prayer of thanks when he’d heard Chesapeake’s return, but a steady stream of wordless praise had more than expressed his deepest feelings, and he didn’t feel he could improve on that. The animal could have fared far worse. Noah, however, he would deal with later.

  His mind went over the evening’s events beginning with Rosemary’s arrival, and he smiled. Melinda and Amy hadn’t been the only ones who’d been surprised by the golden-haired milliner’s unexpected visit. She had been a staunch friend to him since Francie’s passing. Never pushy or intrusive but always available in the background whenever he needed to talk or have some sewing done. And she had a pleasant nature. For someone who had hinted strongly that she wasn’t ready to tackle child-rearing, she sure had gone to considerable trouble making those new dresses for Melinda and Amy. The girls had been thrilled.

  Too bad Amy had to have that accident. A woman accustomed to being around youngsters wouldn’t have been put off in the least by a little spilled milk. But obviously to someone like Rosemary, it was a catastrophe. Probably in time she would get over the tendency to think that way.

  Would she welcome the chance? Lucas wondered. Was this the reason she’d come all the way out here today—just to let me know she’s open to the suggestion?

  He’d never been really sure that Rosemary liked his daughters. She did try to converse with them—tried real hard—but somehow it didn’t come off natural-like.

  With Annora, things were different. From the first day she set foot on the farm, she took the girls right into her heart. . . and the reverse was equally true. Annora just fit in. Fit in fine.

  Recollecting her genuine concern for Chesapeake, her willingness to help in whatever way she could, Lucas realized how he was coming to depend on her. The two of them hadn’t started out on the right foot, exactly, and Lucas had to admit he had taken advantage of her in the beginning—mostly in the hope of driving her away. But now, she was such a part of the place he could barely picture the farm without her there.

  In fact, Lucas wasn’t sure he wanted to. With an involuntary yawn, he turned over.

  ❧

  Lucas was in the middle of his chores the next morning when he sensed someone’s presence in the barn. He turned.

  “Leave it to old Ches to get home all right,” Noah said nonchalantly, sauntering toward the end stall, his hands in his pockets.

  The sight of that cocky smirk sent a surge of white heat through Lucas, exploding the rage inside him. “Yep,” he replied offhandedly, as if they were discussing the weather. “Thanks to you, he limped back a few hours later!” The handle of the rake banged to the floor as Lucas lunged at his brother, slamming him against the boards of the next stall.

  Noah landed on the floor. Winded, surprised, he lumbered to his feet.

  The second he was upright, Lucas lit into him again. “This is for Ches,” he said with a hard punch to the gut, “and this is for Annora.” His knuckles connected with Noah’s jaw, knocking him to the dirt. Hard. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The sight of it gave Lucas a perverse sort of satisfaction. He’d wanted to catch the kid off his guard, make him feel some of the shock Annora had experienced. For some reason that was very important.

  Noah’s own anger came to the fore. He scrambled up, fists raised in front of him. “You always were an overbearing lout,” he hissed, “thinkin’ you’re better ’n everybody else.” He jabbed at Lucas.

  The blow caught Lucas in the eye. Stumbling backward a step, he regained his balance. “Better that than a good-for-nothing, lazy—” His words were cut off when Noah threw himself at him. They crashed to the ground again in a flurry of punches and grunts, rolling over and over in the dust.

  The patter of small feet sounded above the melee. “Pa! Uncle Noah!”

  Lucas jerked up his head and caught Melinda and Amy gawking in horrified shock. Then the two of them burst into tears.

  ❧

  Annora was busy getting breakfast when she heard a commotion from the barn. Glancing in that direction, she saw Amy coming at a dead run, screaming. She dropped what she was doing and flew to the door, her arms outstretched to the little girl. “What is it?”

  “Miss Annora!” the child cried, flinging her arms about Annora’s waist. “They’re fightin’! Pa and Uncle Noah. And Sissy’s cryin’. I’m afraid!”

  “Oh, dear!” Annora hugged her tight.

  “They. . .they’re hittin’! Punchin’!” the child sobbed. “Like they don’t ev–even l–love each other anymore.”

  Knowing how upsetting the small scuffle she’d witnessed outside the lean-to had seemed, Annora could think only of Melinda—and of sparing her from further distress or possibly even hurt. Taking Amy’s hand, she drew her to the sofa. “You sit here, sweetheart. I’ll go get Sissy. Everything will be all right.” But inside her heart, she had more than a few doubts.

  On winged feet, she ran to the barn, where she found the men still at it, arms and legs flailing amid thuds and grunts. Moving immediately to Melinda, who cowered in a corner with her hands covering her face, Annora swept the child up into her arms. The thought that two grown men would carry on with apparently no concern for how their conduct might affect innocent children made Annora furious.

  “Would you look at yourselves!” she hollered. “Carrying on like common ruffians—and in front of babies, yet! It’s the most disgraceful, despicable thing I have ever seen in my life!” Branding the pair with every ounce of scorn she possessed, she stomped toward the exit but turned around in the doorway. “And don’t you dare come to my table with blood and dirt all over you. Either of you!” And with that, she flounced away.

  By the time she reached the house, she cringed, remembering the remarks she had so rashly blurted out in the barn. But the fact was, her only concern had been six-year-old Melinda.

  Once in the sanctity of the home, both girls began to calm down.

  “Why did our Pa fight with Uncle Noah?” Amy asked.

  Wrapping an arm around each of them, Annora formulated her reply. “I suppose even grown-ups get mad sometimes, when things hurt them very badly inside. But when it’s all over, they kind of forget about what bothered them, and then things go back the way they were before.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise. Now, let’s wash those tears away. There are two men who are sure to be pretty hungry by the time breakfast is ready.” But the truth was, her own confident words rang hollow as she sliced off more bacon and broke some extra eggs into the bowl.

  Sure enough, though, when Annora clanged the metal triangle a short while later to signal breakfast, she saw Lucas trudging toward the house. Not too many yards behind him, Noah followed. A short stop at the barrel to scrub up and comb their hair, and they tramped into the kitchen.

  Melinda and Amy, their eyes huge as saucers, snuggled a trifle closer to each other in mute silence as their subdued father and equally collected uncle pulled out a couple of chairs.


  Annora, trying to act as if it were the most natural thing in the world to show up for breakfast bruised, with black eyes and bloodied noses, quickly bowed her head. “Dear Father, we thank You for this new day and for Your goodness to us. Please bless this food to our bodies and us to Your service. Amen.”

  The heavy silence that followed only magnified every crunch of crisp bacon and every swallow. Feeling more than ever responsible for the great chasm that had torn the two brothers apart, the tension underscored Annora’s conviction that, regardless of Lucas’s decision, she would not stay on at the Brent farm.

  She would pack her things today. And at the first possible opportunity, she would ask Lucas to drive her to town.

  seventeen

  After cleaning up the breakfast clutter, Annora made certain the girls were occupied before going in search of Lucas. She found him alone in the barn, kneeling as he undid the wrap on Chesapeake’s injury.

  “How’s the leg doing this morning?” she asked, squelching a wince at the sight of her employer’s shiner and swollen knuckles. Not a word had been said regarding the confrontation between him and Noah, and she was not about to pry into the matter, even though she suspected it had partly concerned her.

  “Quite an improvement over last night,” he said evenly, but he did not meet her gaze as he applied a fresh dressing and bound it with a clean bandage.

  Now that she was here, Annora was at a loss about how to approach the subject uppermost in her mind. She pretended intense engrossment in observing Lucas at work until he picked up on her silence.

  “Was there something you wanted?” he finally asked.

  “Yes, actually.” She nibbled the inside corner of her lip momentarily, then pressed on. “My trial month is about up.”