Page 9 of Nightingale

“Everything all right?” he whispered.

“Yes.” She stared at her plate and sighed. “No. I feel odd being here.”

“There’s no reason to. No one here is going to treat you any differently than they do me. Well, I doubt you’ll have to muck stalls but you know what I mean.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Nate’s question earned him a shushing from his mother and the boy looked at her incredulously. “It was just a question.”

“A rude one. Now mind your own business. If they’re whispering then it wasn’t meant for you to hear.”

Nate blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. Aaron grinned and gave his foot a light kick under the table. “Still nosey as the day is long.”

“Well, nobody tells me anything. How am I supposed to learn what’s going on if I don’t ask.”

Sophie shook her head, her blonde curls dancing across her shoulders. “If no one tells you, then like ma said, it’s none of your business.”

No one said anything else until all their plates were full, his ma had said grace, and they’d started eating. His ma broke the silence by saying, “I cleaned out Nate’s room for you, Aaron. The bed is small so you’ll just have to make due. Hope you don’t mind, Morning Dove.”

He choked. It took three tries to swallow the food in his mouth, thanks to the pat on the back from Noah before he had enough air in his lungs to breathe. He looked at his ma and shook his head. “We don’t … uh, Morning Dove and I aren’t …”

“She don’t let you sleep in her bed?”

“Nate!” Everyone shouted the word at once, the kid’s face and ears turning a blistering red.

Aaron cleared his throat. “Morning Dove and I are just friends. We’re not—“

“Oh!” His mother’s face turned as red as Nate’s had. “I thought you two were together.”

“No. Not like that, anyway.”

“I am so sorry.” His mother laid her hand on Morning Dove’s arm. “Forgive me. I just assumed … well, you know what I assumed.”

“It is fine.” Morning Dove gave his mother a tiny smile. It wasenough to erase the tight lines around his mother’s eyes. “All I require is a blanket and a small space by the fire.”

His mother looked positively horrified at the thought. He hadn’t seen that look on her face in years. “The floor?” She made a small tisking sound with her tongue and shook her head. “Absolutely not. You can have Nate’s room. Nate can sleep in the sitting room.” Morning Dove opened her mouth to refuse, or so he assumed, but his mother was having none of it. Morning Dove would sleep in Nate’s room and that was that.

Looked as if he would be bunking in the barn.

Light from an oillamp glowed pale yellow and orange through the window panes. Ben was sitting in that old rickety rocker by the fire, the creak and groan of the floorboard telling her as much.

The house was a bit warm when she stepped inside, soft flickering light from the fire dancing across the walls. Ben looked over his shoulder at her as she removed her shawl and hung it on the peg by the door.

“You’re home late.”

“I know. There was a fight and Vern wanted me to stay and try to calm them a bit.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes. Once I started singing the maiden bathing song they quieted down.”

Ben scowled. “I told you to stop singing that song.”

Betsey chuckled. “It’s just a song, Ben.”

“About a naked woman being dragged from the river and—”

He blushed. As dim as the light was, Betsey saw his cheeks turn a blistering red. She snorted a laugh. “I know what sex is, Ben. I don’t know why you still act like I’m a blushing virgin.” She crossed the room to where he sat and held her arms out for thebundle he was holding. “This little guy is proof I’m not,” she said, tucking Samuel against her chest. He started rooting for her breast the moment she did. She turned her back to her brother and unbuttoned her dress, pulling the material back so he could nurse. She smiled at him as he latched on, his big blue eyes staring up at her as if she were the only thing in his world. But as much as she loved him, seeing him caused the same old pain to clench at her heart. More so after today. “You’ll never believe who I saw this afternoon.” The words came out so soft, she wasn’t sure he heard her. “He rode into town—“

“—I saw him.” Something in Ben’s tone made her look over her shoulder. He stood, the scowl on his face evident even in the low light. “And I greeted him with my fist.”

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