Page 59 of A Secret Heart
The kids. He’d lost track of them.
Rebekah stepped away, smoothing out her skirt. What he’d give to pull her back to him…
“David put a May beetle and a frog on Tillie’s head.”
“Jo slugged me.” David approached them in the dark, rubbing his forearm.
“Because of what you did to Tillie.”
“Where is Tillie?” Rebekah put a hand on Jo’s shoulder, moving away from Ed as she did. But he caught the warm glance she aimed his way.
“Here.” A whimpering Tillie stepped out from somewhere behind Jo. She beelined for Ed, arms outstretched.
Tillie was almost too big to be carried anymore, but he reached out anyway. With her head on his shoulder, legs wrapped around him, Ed placed one hand around Tillie’s waist to secure her. With the other, he rubbed David’s head.
The moment with Rebekah was broken, the children serious. The jar of lightning bugs was nowhere in sight.
“Next time, stop after the bug.”
David shrugged and grinned, reminding Ed of a much younger Drew. Rebekah shot Ed a bit of a glare over David’s head for encouraging him, but her eyes sparkled. Ed reached out to tug a strand that had fallen loose from her bun, just like in school, earning him a wide-eyed look of stern reproach that only made him grin.
“Let’s get you all to the house.”
This time, there was no holding Rebekah’s arm. Jo walked between them, complaining about her brother. Rebekah led the weary troop to the porch, then opened the door so that a rectangle of light fell on them.
Inside, she stopped to give Kaitlyn an explanation of the children’s argument before turning back to Ed.
“How about a cup of coffee? Rebekah?” His hands went clammy as everyone gave him a questioning look. “We could…visit…a bit more.”
In the lamplight, the shadows beneath her eyes showed her weariness, even as she settled a soft smile on him. She’d told him she hadn’t slept.
The children made a ruckus behind them as Kaitlyn shooed them upstairs to get ready for bed.
“Time for me to head to the bunkhouse.” Nick rose to grab his hat.
“It is late.” Kaitlyn’s gaze wandered between Ed and Rebekah.
“Never mind,” he said quietly. “We can talk tomorrow.”
“Talk?” Nick teased in passing.
“Goodnight, all.” Ed bade Kaitlyn and Drew goodnight, still standing close to Rebekah. He never took his eyes off her. “See you in the morning.”
“In the morning.” She dipped her head, a shy smile beaming right at him.
Ed made his way to the door, casting a final glance over his shoulder. Rebekah looked back over at him as she followed Kaitlyn upstairs. His heart filled to bursting, but as he tromped outside, the jarring feeling returned—the very one he’d felt when he’d seen Rebekah and Isaac talking after supper.
She’d kissed him. But he still had to tell her the truth. He’d written those letters. What would she do then?
Chapter16
“Now that you’ve talked to Drew about your carpentry, will you get to the bakery as soon as I’m settled with Mr. Sullivan at the newspaper office?” Rebekah paused by the boardwalk as Ed helped Tillie and Jo from the back of the wagon.
His hand rested on Tillie’s shoulder protectively. He lifted his gaze to Rebekah. “Will you be all right for a bit on your own?”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine once I’m inside the newspaper office. You will take the estimate by, won’t you?”
She wanted nothing more than to see him succeed in this and had told him as much on the ride to town. If she only had the courage to tell him to go on without seeing her into the newspaper office, but the more she worked to still her hands from trembling, the more her knees shook. It’d all started the moment they’d driven past the edge of town where they’d walked off the boardwalk that day.
