Love's Rescue by Tammy Barley Page A

Jake urged. “You’re strong. You’ll get through this!”
    She shook her head stubbornly.
    Jake turned her and pulled her against him.
    Welcoming the embrace, Jess curled her hands around two fistfuls of sheepskin, pressing her head against the flannel where it parted. His chest was warm…and remarkably solid. His arms tightened around her. Jess felt as though he was taking her concerns into himself and leaving in their place his own quiet assurance. She breathed in his pleasant smell of horses and leather.
    All at once, he felt too close to her. Jess pushed mightily to get away. She jerked free, confused by her own actions. Jake didn’t object but thoughtfully pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Jess snatched it from him, muttered “thank you,” and swiped at her tears.
    At the far end of the road her house lights were still on, but the carriage had not been pulled around to the front. Mercifully, her parents were not yet ready to go. Jess dried the tears as they came, silently demanding they cease. They persisted. “I can’t stop crying,” she moaned.
    “I know,” Jake said.
    “But I have to! I can’t let my father and mother see me like this.”
    “You only have to hold it together until your folks leave.”
    “Jake, I have to ‘hold it together,’ as you put it, for the rest of the night.”
    He frowned. “You mean you’re still going out tonight?”
    “What did you think I would do? Claim to have a headache and hide in my room? I have to go. I have to continue on as though everything is normal until I can decide how I’m going to handle this.” She shook her head and winced with grief.
    “You’re not going to tell your parents?”
    “My mother’s been ill from worry, and her mind is fragile, at best. I can’t tell her. She wouldn’t survive. I’m sure of it. She wouldn’t want to, not even for the sake of my baby sister.”
    “And what about you?”
    “I’m strong, Jake. I’ll get through it,” Jess said, echoing his words with subtle humor. Gradually, she took control of her ragged breathing, and her eyes dried. Outwardly, she would be presentable; inwardly, however, she felt barren, as though she had no more vitality than someone in an old, faded painting, with nothing left to give, no substance behind her pleasant façade. And yet she had to. She’d promised Ambrose that she would hold their family together. It was a promise she would keep. Especially now. “Will you walk me back?”
    Jake nodded. “Of course, I’ll walk you.”
    She walked slowly, and Jake patiently matched his steps to hers. Jess thought back over the long months she’d waited for word from Ambrose—the letters she had written, the anxiety she had felt, everything she had gone through to find him. She smiled sadly, knowing that Ambrose would have done the same for her. He would have…
    “The boys and I will be heading home in the morning,” Jake softly reminded her, setting his hat on his head.
    “You’ve gotten all your supplies, then?”
    “Most of them. We have a few more things to pick up tonight, the rest at first light. The boys will meet up with me soon.”
    Jess was reluctant to see him go. She liked that when they talked, he listened to her—really listened, as if blocking out every other sight, sound, and thought so that he could absorb every word she spoke. Maybe he did.
    Jess lifted her face to let the wind cool her cheeks. A far-off, shadowy male figure was out walking along the road, hair tossing wildly about in the wind. He lifted a hand. Seeing him, Jake returned the wave. “Isaac won’t be back for a few minutes yet,” he observed.
    “Good.” She was regaining her composure. “I’ll have time to put myself back together.”
    The way Jake’s eyes touched on the black velvet hood and her face warmed her. “You do look beautiful, Jess,” he said, “in spite of your tears.”
    They shared a hint of a smile.
    All was calm for several paces. Suddenly, an