LITMIR.BIZ

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Hannah and me since then.”

      “Let’s go have a look at your house,” Daniel suggested.

      Virgil Taggart nodded. “I can’t wait to come back here.”

      Daniel dropped two keys into his hand. “It’s yours and God’s.”

      The parsonage had a front porch and a yard large enough for a garden. Daniel settled his hat back on his head. “There are three bedrooms, a kitchen and small dining room. The workers are finishing up the plaster and paint this week. They’re digging a root cellar. You’ll share a well with the church. For now we’ve planned for your meals at the hotel, but I hope to hire a cook and housekeeper for you.”

      “I’m a simple man, Mr. Gardner. Hannah and I have been on our own for some time. Once she’s married I can look after myself.”

      “You can, but your time is better spent looking after the people,” Will said.

      “You should be able to move in at the end of the week,” Daniel explained. “Monday at the latest.”

      “That will be fine. The boardinghouse is perfectly comfortable until then.”

      They parted in front of the parsonage, and Daniel headed up Eden Street toward Aunt Mae’s. Removing his hat, he held it against the front of his coat. He took a deep breath and rang the bell. Pippa answered the door.

      “Mr. Gardner! It’s so nice to see you.” She wore another fancy dress, this one in green with puffy sleeves at the shoulders. Beads at her throat and dangling earrings glistened in the sunlight that filtered through the window on the landing above. “Aunt Mae is making a pot of tea. Would you like to join us?”

      “Thank you, but I’ve come to see Mrs. Swann.”

      “Oh, of course. She’s upstairs. I’ll run up and get her for you.”

      A few minutes later, Pippa descended the stairs. “She’ll be right down.”

      He waited impatiently, pacing the foyer. Each time he came up to the framed mirror, he looked at his intense reflection and reminded himself to relax his features and smile. It wouldn’t do to scare the poor woman away.

      A stair squeaked. “Daniel.”

      He glanced toward the landing. The light caressed her hair through the panes of glass and turned it to spun sunshine. She wore a white dress with sprigs of tiny blue flowers and light blue trim. Ivory lace stood up around her throat. Blue fabric buttons on the jacket matched another row of buttons on a flounce that covered the hoop skirt. She reminded him of a fresh floral breeze on a spring day.

      “This is a nice surprise,” she said with a soft smile. “I thought you’d be busy working.”

      “There’s something I want to show you.”

      “Oh. Well, all right.”

      “We won’t be long. You won’t need anything. Are you up for a short walk?”

      “Yes, of course. That sounds nice. How far?” She came down the rest of the steps and he held open the front door for her.

      “Only a block to the east.”

      “I’m intrigued.”

      Leah was delighted to see her friend. He offered his arm and she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. Daniel looked dashing in his gray jacket and black tie. His polished black boots sounded on the boardwalk that ran in front of the businesses on Eden Street, around the corner and down two steps. The side street had only a dirt path for walking, and she was thankful it wasn’t muddy.

      Across the street was a saddle shop. A minute later, the sound of a hammer ringing drew her attention. A square building was under construction on the street behind the boardinghouse.

      “That will be the schoolhouse soon,” Daniel told her.

      They reached the corner of the block, and across the street from them on the opposite corner sat a large gray three-story house, trimmed in white, with arches above the windows, two chimneys and trees no taller than the first floor planted at intervals in the yard. “What a beautiful home.”

      “It’s Second Empire architecture,” he said. “And the porch is colonial, but together it has a Victorian look without being frilly, don’t you think?”

      She nodded. “I guess so. I don’t know much about architecture.”

      “I saw this style used in Boston, so I studied it. The style evolved from seventeenth-century Renaissance buildings. The house has eleven rooms.”

      He led her across the street and toward the house.

      “Do you know the people who live here?” she asked.

      His gaze moved from the house to her face. “I live here.”

      “It’s your house?” She stared up at the stories above as they approached.

      He used a key in the lock and opened the front door. “Please come in.”

      Leah stepped into the enormous foyer and studied the ceiling with plaster-designed leaves and scrolls, and a sparkling chandelier. Their heels echoed on the shiny wood floor. Only one small table and an umbrella stand occupied the space. He led her through a wide doorway into a parlor with crown molding, wood embellishments, built-in window seats and a beautiful blue-and-white-tiled fireplace. Curtains had been hung at the windows, but the room was bare of furniture.

      He showed her each room, pointing out special features. She sensed his assessing gaze on her several times, but when she looked up at him, he went on with the tour. Only one room was completely furnished, but he showed her his bedroom from the doorway.

      “And that’s it,” he said.

      “It’s lovely,” she told him honestly. “It’s even nicer than any of our homes back in Pennsylvania. You paid attention to every detail.” And it was his attention to detail that revealed his intent. She pictured him returning from war, joining Will to create a town, and taking on this project that held so much hope and meaning. He’d chosen everything so carefully and overseen the construction. He intended to share this home with a wife. Raise a family here. Perhaps he had his eye on one of the brides with whom she’d traveled. It was entirely possible his intended wife would arrive on the next bride train.

      “I did,” he agreed in the deep, smooth voice she remembered well. “I wanted to get it just right.”

      She opened the front door and walked to the end of the porch. “There’s plenty of room for gardens. And the trees will shade the porch. You’ve planned everything.”

      “Almost everything.”

      She looked up at him.

      “Leah.”

      Their gazes remained locked.

      “Let’s sit on the steps for a few minutes.” He took one hand while she used her other to smooth her skirt under herself and sit. “I’m sure you recognize that I built this house for a family.”

      She nodded. “I can see that.”

      “Nothing is as it used to be. The war changed this country. It changed its people. There is opportunity for so much here in the North. Industry is flourishing because of that wretched war. A lot of people are getting wealthy. The railroad changed this land, too. And the cattle are making Cowboy Creek rich.”

      He raised his chin a notch. “Riches sure aren’t everything, and we all know that. But they’re a way to be comfortable now, to make a good life. We can have good lives here.”

      “New lives,” she said. “That’s why I came. I need a new start. There’s something I need to tell you, Daniel.”

      “Before you say anything, Leah, I’d like to speak. I have been thinking a lot about the future.”

      “All right.” She already knew, of course,

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