Page 16 of A Forgotten Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #5)

W ith the sun beginning to cast dawn’s pinkish light on the eastern horizon, Elsie realized she should have never let the McGraw men convince her to return to their family homestead.

After the dustup in the marshal’s office, Ed had been the most calm and rational. It’d been his plan to lie low for a while, then sneak over to the livery and rent a sleigh.

Elsie had felt the bile of uncertainty as she and Rebekah had bundled into the sleigh in the dark of night. It had taken a low argument between the brothers and Nick’s approach for her to realize he meant to ride in the sleigh with them.

Humiliation had poured over her like thick molasses when Nick had insisted Rebekah move so he wouldn’t be next to Elsie.

Nick hadn’t said a word to her since the marshal’s office—had only driven the horses through hours of snowy terrain.

Ed was riding Surrey, Nick’s horse, scouting ahead for danger. Rebekah had stopped speaking after several awkward attempts to begin a conversation. Elsie was left to stew in her thoughts.

Nick hated her. She’d known it was bound to happen. She’d hoped to be away from him when his memories returned. Nothing had prepared her for the hollowness inside.

Before the snowstorm, she’d been fine. Content at least. Those hours spent with the tender Nick had reignited the feelings she’d had for him years ago. It had been hard enough to move on from him the first time. How was she going to do so again?

The sleigh topped a hill, and a homestead came into view. Elsie took it all in as Ed circled his horse behind the sleigh.

The home was nestled into a snowy valley with a barn on the other side of an expansive yard. The original lodge had been built with logs, while the newer addition and upstairs were plank.

A glow emanated from the windows, inviting and warm.

Pesky tears sprang to Elsie’s eyes. That invitation surely wasn’t for her.

Nick drove the sleigh close to the house and stopped. He moved to help the women out of the sleigh. Ed’s horse blew.

Now the sun was coming up, and Elsie couldn’t seem to stop shivering after hours in the sleigh.

The door was flung open, and a man with Nick’s tall stature stepped out. The confused dip of his brow reminded Elsie of Papa Bear, ready to scold.

Thinking back to when Nick had talked about his brothers, she guessed this must be Drew.

Drew’s eyes swept over Nick as he gingerly got out of the sleigh. His frown deepened. “What happened?”

Ed was pulling packages from the sleigh. “We’ve got a problem in town.”

A tall, lanky kid with dark hair stepped out. He turned back inside and yelled, “Uncle Nick and Uncle Ed are back.”

Rebekah brushed past him with a hello.

An adolescent girl burst outside followed by a younger girl, hair in braids, neither wearing a coat. The little one ran straight for Nick and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Nick winced and embraced the child with stiff movements. He probably ached everywhere. “Hello, munchkin. Don’t get your socks all wet.”

Drew and the teen boy moved to help unload the sleigh, talking with Ed in low voices.

A smaller woman with blonde hair peeked out the door. She had a shawl wrapped around her. Even so, Elsie could see she was in the family way. “Welcome home. You’re just in time for breakfast.”

“Who’re you?” the littlest girl demanded of Elsie.

Every eye turned toward her. She felt like a new student joining the class for the first time at midterm.

“That’s Elsie,” Ed said when Elsie hesitated a moment too long.

There was a flurry of introductions made. Elsie was aware of the raised eyebrows from Drew and Kaitlyn. Even more aware that Nick didn’t look at her once.

Ed faced Drew. “We really need to talk.”

Inside, everyone bustled around, all in sync, everyone with a job.

Once the littlest girl had taken Elsie’s coat, Elsie stood out of the way, near the staircase. She spent the moments using the little memory trick she’d learned during her first weeks as a brand-new teacher, committing everyone’s name to memory.

An exclamation from Drew, where he conversed in a tight circle with Ed and Nick, drew her attention.

Nick was staring at her, eyes lit with banked anger and something else she couldn’t identify.

She tipped her chin up, holding his stare. She’d explained her side of things, why she’d helped him in the clinic. What more did he want from her?

Tillie ran up to her, breaking into the moment. “Are you going to be my new aunt?”

Elsie’s mouth opened, but all that came out was a squeak. She cleared her throat, then tried again. “No.”

Tillie’s brow scrunched. “But I thought Uncle Nick was getting himself a wife.”

The reminder was enough to steal the breath from Elsie’s chest, but Jo, the eleven-year-old, called from the dining table, “That ain’t your business, nosy-body. Come set the table!”

Tillie went to join her sister but sent a confused look over her shoulder. “She looks like a wife.”

When Elsie glanced at Nick again, he was staring at the floor, a muscle in his cheek jumping.

This wouldn’t do. Elsie was nothing to Nick, and they both knew it.

She was stuck here for the foreseeable future. There had to be a way to make the best of it.

She had moved past the dining table and peeked into the kitchen when the front door burst open again and another part of the family came inside, brushing new snow from their coats.

More introductions were made. Inscrutable Isaac. A U.S. marshal, she remembered.

Captivating Clare. His wife. Eli and Ben, two boys who flung themselves at David, spoke rapid-fire.

By the time Elsie had taken in the newcomers, the table had been loaded with food.

Elsie felt as useless as a knickknack in the corner. An echo of that old feeling of being in the way, from when she’d lived with the Granbys, swept over her.

It didn’t take long for the family to find their places around the table, although Elsie hesitated behind an empty chair. Was she taking someone else’s seat?

The other side of the table had one long bench instead of chairs. The three boys had taken one end and were tussling in a way that reminded Elsie of a pair of brothers in her classroom.

Jo came to the end of the bench, where only a few inches of space remained. “This is my seat,” she muttered as she plopped down. The boys kept shoving, and Elsie watched as Jo was knocked off the end of the bench, falling on her rump.

The boys cackled and laughed.

Jo’s face was flushed with hurt as she scrambled to her feet.

Elsie’s chest clenched as the girl fled. How many times had the Granby boys picked on her like that? But Drew caught Jo as she moved to pass him, put his arm around her shoulders, leaned in to say something in her ear.

Jo brightened, and watching the poignant moment between father and daughter made Elsie ache so badly she had to look away.

Unfortunately, her gaze immediately clashed with Nick’s. He knew that the tender moment between father and daughter had affected her. She could see it in his eyes.

And when he quickly looked away, a second wave of emptiness hit Elsie.

She hadn’t had a father to encourage her, protect her. And she didn’t have Nick.

She felt like she was fumbling through the motions as dapper David encouraged her to sit.

Nick sat kitty-corner from her across the table. She wouldn’t look at him again. It hurt too much.

She bowed her head for the blessing, accepted the food passed her way.

Until David handed her another bowl. “This is Momma’s special recipe. She makes the best baked beans in the county.” He leaned over and whispered, “She puts bacon in them.”

Elsie only hesitated a moment before she accepted the bowl.

She hated beans. Ever since the Granbys. Even now, she imagined their gritty texture stuck in the back of her throat.

But the McGraws had been kind enough to take her in. It would be rude—Elsie lifted a spoonful from the bowl, aiming for her plate.

“Elsie doesn’t like beans,” Nick snapped from across the table.

Drew raised one eyebrow from where he sat next to Nick. But David shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, so she passed the beans on.

No one else paid any attention, but Elsie caught the way Nick was grinding his teeth. Was he mad at her? Because she’d been going to eat those beans rather than cause a stir?

“He’s desperate.” Isaac’s intense statement to Drew distracted her. “If he’s personally pulling the trigger and not hiding behind a hired gun, he’s too far gone to be reasoned with.”

Rebekah set down her water glass with a clunk. “After that debacle with the Barlow Gang, he’s lost the respect of all the townspeople.”

“He’s been frequenting the saloon,” Ed said.

“It’s still our word against his,” Drew said. He’d barely touched his food. “No one saw him shoot during that blizzard. And we’re the only ones who know that was him on the balcony yesterday.”

Isaac pierced Elsie with glittering green eyes. “Seems like you’ve got one more eyewitness. Schoolmarm, well-liked and respected. No one’s gonna doubt?—”

“No.” The cold word from Nick brought silence to the entire table. He stared at his plate, a stubborn set to his jaw. “This is our fight.”

“He knows she saw his face,” Ed argued quietly. Even the kids had gone quiet, and Elsie saw their wide eyes in her peripheral vision.

“Isaac’s right,” Drew said in a convincing tone. “Elsie’s testimony would only add to ours?—”

“I said no,” Nick snapped. His face was flushed, his eyes sparking as he looked from brother to brother. “She doesn’t owe us anything.”

She didn’t. There was no way to make things right after what’d happened between them years ago.

But Nick had put his own life in danger protecting her.

And testifying was the right thing to do.

His protectiveness stirred her belly. Almost like he still cared.

Would things have been different if she’d been brave enough to stand up for him in teaching school?

Her choice back then had changed everything for him.

“I’ll do it,” she said before she could change her mind.