Rebecca (Angel Creek Christmas Brides #15) - Lily Graison Page 0,15

she was a welcome sight. One look into her violet eyes and he found it hard to breathe.

The other things that were different from her letter were still puzzling. He’d thought about them as he laid down the night before and fell asleep wondering if he should question her about them. Fear she’d be so offended she’d leave held his tongue this morning, though. The small inconsistencies didn’t really matter. As long as she could teach Amanda how to become a proper young lady and help shoulder some of his daily burdens, then he could overlook the other stuff.

Willie was climbing down from the loft when he closed the livery stable door behind him to block out the frigid blast of cold air chasing him inside. It was still dark inside the barn, the sun not up high enough yet to shine into the chinks in the boards and light the interior.

He headed through the stable, looking into the stalls as he passed them, pausing every so often to speak a soft word to the horses Willie boarded for the residents in town.

“Morning, Caleb.”

“Morning,” he said without lifting his head. “Anything pressing on the agenda today?”

“Lester Edmonds came round late yesterday evening. He has a horse out at his place that needs some hoof work. He said he didn't think the animal could make it to town with the way it looked. Any objections to heading out and taking care of it for me? You’re a better farrier than I can even pretend to be.”

Caleb smiled at the compliment despite not knowing whether Willie truly meant it or if he was just trying to get out of heading across the prairie. Not that it mattered. A nice, uncomplicated day was just what he needed. “Yeah, I can head out after the sun’s up over the mountain.”

“Good. So, how’s the Misses this morning?”

Willie was sporting a wide grin when he looked over at him. “She’s fine, although she’s not the Misses yet.”

“When’s that gonna happen?”

“I’m not sure.” He grabbed the watering buckets and headed for the back door of the barn. “Our agreement was we’d wait until the new year to make sure it's what she wanted so…” He shrugged. “I haven’t given it much thought yet.”

“You going to send her packing?”

“No.”

“Think she’ll high-tail it out of here, then?”

I hope not. “It’s hard to say.”

Willie’s question stayed on his mind most of the day and turned his good mood sour. What if Diana did decide to leave? Amanda would be heartbroken. He would too, truth be told. As much as he’d been dreading her arrival, it would be a shame not to get to know more about her.

She has no reason to leave. Stop over-thinking things.

He pushed the thought away. He’d drive himself crazy if he didn’t stop thinking about it. It’s only the first day. It's too soon for her to decide anything right now, wasn’t it? He hoped so because Diana leaving was the last thing he wanted.

Chapter 5

Pack your bags and run. Fast. Leave before you get too used to a warm place to stay.

The words echoed through Rebecca’s head as she stared into the dark recess of the root cellar. Going down there would make her horrible day complete.

Exhaustion made her limbs shaky, and it was only early afternoon. Agatha had run her ragged showing her what chores she needed to do and between all the cleaning and helping the woman—who she now knew was completely crippled—do something as basic as relieve herself without soiling her clothing, running away was becoming more appealing by the minute. If it weren’t for the fact she’d have to steal money from Caleb to get away—assuming he had any—she’d seriously contemplate it, especially now that she had to venture into the cellar and grab things to start supper, a meal Agatha expected her to fix. The very thought of it made her want to leave.

She sucked in a deep breath and held the lamp high as she took the first step down. Those shivers racing up her spine caused goosebumps to prickle her flesh. The smell of damp earth filled her nose as she continued down and when her feet were on solid ground again, the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end.

She hated the dark. There was something about not being able to see what was waiting for you that terrified her, and even though the lamp lit most of the space, there were still dark