Page 108 of On the Mountain

Anna frowned, unable to understand why he would have done this. “It isn’t?”

He shook his head. “It has a new name. Mount Nicholson. In memory of your family.”

Chapter 23

Anna gasped and felt tears sting the back of her eyes. Her heart filled with the love she felt and automatically she moved as if to embrace him, then caught herself short. Wade did not enjoy signs of physical emotion. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he quietly said, watching her closely.

She had to bite down hard on her bottom lip in order to keep her emotions under control. “That’s the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me or my family.”

He made a pained expression, then turned to look back at the village. “It’s been long overdue.”

Turning to follow his gaze, she spotted a deer standing partially hidden behind a large oak tree. She had noticed the humans and was watching them closely, standing utterly still for several seconds before taking a few cautious steps.

“Look,” Wade whispered next to her, and Anna spotted what he had noticed. So small she had almost missed it in the tall bush, was a tiny fawn moving as if without a care in the world. It pranced happily with such trust behind its mother. An image of Nathan playing amongst the field of wildflowers entered Anna’s head. A shadow of sadness hovered momentarily over her heart. Then she pictured an image of her mother smiling at her warmly with a look of forgiveness, before turning and picking him up then disappearing into the woods. A feeling of peace touched her heart as she watched the mother and her fawn vanish into the forest as well. Life had defeated evil.

Anna smiled. “I’m ready to go back.”

He nodded and took her elbow in his hand and together they walked back to their horses and rode the long journey down to the ranch in silence. It was nearly the dinner hour when they returned, so Anna headed for the house to prepare supper. Wade headed for the bunkhouse to have some words with his ranch hands as he was expecting a delivery of heifers the following morning.

An hour later she heard Wade enter the house on account of Prescott’s voice. He was chatting happily in his usual manner. Naturally, Wade was a silent listener as the brothers made their way upstairs to change in proper attire for dinner. Anna had begun to make a practice of it as well since Wade had bought her the new dress. She had made the alterations and was quite pleased at how she looked in it. The first time Wade had seen her in it as well, she knew it also met with his approval.

When she heard them enter the dining room, she carried in their plates, but was surprised to find only Wade at the table. He looked up upon her arrival. “Prescott has decided to go into Lantern for dinner and won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Silently she was glad. She enjoyed when it was just her and Wade.

“I’ve asked him to

be considerate next time and give you proper notice before he plans on missing dinner.”

“That’s all right,” she said and placed Wade’s plate in front of him. “I can leave his portion as leftovers.”

They ate in silence, which Anna was beginning to notice was typical for them. Wade seemed to appreciate the quiet as opposed to the mundane chatter he was accustomed to with Prescott. After dinner, she made them coffee and they took it into the reading room. She hadn’t been practicing her reading and writing nearly as much as she should have over the past little while, but she had made some headway. Wade selected a book for her, and sitting next to him in the two large red chairs they began to read silently. Truthfully, Anna spent most of the time silently watching Wade. She had so few moments that she could simply sit and stare at him without being noticed.

Most nights, Wade would be the first to retire to bed, however that evening Anna noticed the hour ticking past his usual curfew. Admittedly, she felt herself yawning and couldn’t put sleep off any longer.

Slipping her feet over the edge of the chair she got up to stand. “I’m heading off to bed. Good-night.”

“Anna.” He stopped her and Anna looked down at him surprised. Slowly he got to his feet and went over to the desk against the large window. “I have something of yours.”

She frowned as he came toward her with a small box, and frowned even harder when she realized it was a jewelry box.

“I’ve been holding onto it since our wedding.” He held it out to her.

With unsteady hands, she took the box and removed the lid. Gasping, she looked down at the most exquisite piece of jewelry she had ever seen. It was a brooch shaped in a circle of diamonds with a row of them crossing through the middle. She immediately handed it back. “This isn’t mine.”

He covered her hands with his and pushed it toward her. “I bought it for you when I thought you were going to New Westminster with Kathleen.”

Confusion danced across her face. “Why?”

A startled expression crossed his face, obviously not expecting the question. “Well, because, I wanted you to have something to remember this place.”

“A diamond brooch?” It would have been the last thing she would have connected to the ranch.

He frowned. “It’s in the shape of a circle with what looks like an H in the middle. Like the Circle H brand.”

She looked closer than was able to see it. Smiling oddly, she nodded and said, “Thank you.”

---