of love. Short of lying, however, she didn’t know what she could say. She meant her words of love. As crazy and untimely as it seemed, Daughtry knew they were truer than anything else she’d said to Nicholas.
As if reading her mind, Nicholas took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. “Just answer me this. Now that we’re not in the middle of a kiss, did you mean it?”
Daughtry knew exactly what he was asking of her. “I meant it,” she barely whispered. “I know it sounds impossible, but it’s true. I never would have married you otherwise.”
They walked back to the house in silence, but Daughtry felt the awkwardness between them. She knew Nicholas was taken aback by her statement, but she sensed that something more than just that was troubling him.
Without a word, they sat down at the table and stared at each other. When Nicholas finally did speak, Daughtry felt her heart skip a beat.
“Tell me about your family, Daughtry.”
The soft request shouldn’t have caused her such fear, but Daughtry felt confident that Nicholas would never allow her to stay if he knew the truth. And more than ever now, Daughtry didn’t want to lose her husband and new life. She didn’t want Nicholas to send her back home.
“I grew up on a ranch,” she said carefully. “I learned just about everything there is to know. I can ride, shoot, rope, brand, mend fence, whatever. I’ve nursed sick calves back to health, assisted with birthings, medicatings, and even helped to drive the herds to market. Ranching isn’t just something I learned,” she admitted. “It’s something that’s in my blood.”
“But that doesn’t answer my question. I want to know about your family. You said that you were alone, but there must have been someone with you at one time or another. What became of your father and mother? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“I had a sister,” Daughtry said, feeling it safe to speak of Julie. “She died several years ago when her horse slipped on an icy trail and went over the side of a ravine.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been terribly hard on your folks.”
“Yes, it was,” Daughtry admitted before realizing that Nicholas had led her where she didn’t want to go.
He was looking at her intensely now, expecting her to continue, but Daughtry knew she couldn’t. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she whispered and quickly left the room.
❧
Nicholas stared at her chair for several minutes. What was she hiding and why did she look so fearful whenever he mentioned her past? Frustration began to build into anger at her distrust, but then Nicholas caught himself and realized that he had no room to express such thoughts. He was just as guilty of hiding from the past as she. Maybe it was what had brought them together. Maybe it was what God expected them both to deal with.
Chapter 8
T he weeks that passed were the happiest Daughtry had ever known. She worked at Nicholas’s side, laughing, teasing, and falling into a comfortable routine of being Mrs. Dawson. At night, they snuggled down under handmade quilts to share each other’s warmth. Beneath the covers, they talked and dreamed about the future.
Daughtry loved it all. Not a single part of her new life caused her regret, except that she had to avoid her past. She started having nightmares about her father coming to tear her away from Nicholas’s strong arms, but she choked back her fears and refused to let them surface. She couldn’t risk losing all that had come to mean so much to her.
But, try as she might, Daughtry couldn’t forget her family, nor could she dispel the building anxieties that haunted her every waking moment. All she could do was pray and ask God to forgive her and guide her steps, convincing herself that nothing else needed to be done.
Sundays were always a joy to Daughtry. She prepared for church with great enthusiasm, though today the sniffles from a passing bout with a head cold caused her some
As if reading her mind, Nicholas took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently. “Just answer me this. Now that we’re not in the middle of a kiss, did you mean it?”
Daughtry knew exactly what he was asking of her. “I meant it,” she barely whispered. “I know it sounds impossible, but it’s true. I never would have married you otherwise.”
They walked back to the house in silence, but Daughtry felt the awkwardness between them. She knew Nicholas was taken aback by her statement, but she sensed that something more than just that was troubling him.
Without a word, they sat down at the table and stared at each other. When Nicholas finally did speak, Daughtry felt her heart skip a beat.
“Tell me about your family, Daughtry.”
The soft request shouldn’t have caused her such fear, but Daughtry felt confident that Nicholas would never allow her to stay if he knew the truth. And more than ever now, Daughtry didn’t want to lose her husband and new life. She didn’t want Nicholas to send her back home.
“I grew up on a ranch,” she said carefully. “I learned just about everything there is to know. I can ride, shoot, rope, brand, mend fence, whatever. I’ve nursed sick calves back to health, assisted with birthings, medicatings, and even helped to drive the herds to market. Ranching isn’t just something I learned,” she admitted. “It’s something that’s in my blood.”
“But that doesn’t answer my question. I want to know about your family. You said that you were alone, but there must have been someone with you at one time or another. What became of your father and mother? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“I had a sister,” Daughtry said, feeling it safe to speak of Julie. “She died several years ago when her horse slipped on an icy trail and went over the side of a ravine.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been terribly hard on your folks.”
“Yes, it was,” Daughtry admitted before realizing that Nicholas had led her where she didn’t want to go.
He was looking at her intensely now, expecting her to continue, but Daughtry knew she couldn’t. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” she whispered and quickly left the room.
❧
Nicholas stared at her chair for several minutes. What was she hiding and why did she look so fearful whenever he mentioned her past? Frustration began to build into anger at her distrust, but then Nicholas caught himself and realized that he had no room to express such thoughts. He was just as guilty of hiding from the past as she. Maybe it was what had brought them together. Maybe it was what God expected them both to deal with.
Chapter 8
T he weeks that passed were the happiest Daughtry had ever known. She worked at Nicholas’s side, laughing, teasing, and falling into a comfortable routine of being Mrs. Dawson. At night, they snuggled down under handmade quilts to share each other’s warmth. Beneath the covers, they talked and dreamed about the future.
Daughtry loved it all. Not a single part of her new life caused her regret, except that she had to avoid her past. She started having nightmares about her father coming to tear her away from Nicholas’s strong arms, but she choked back her fears and refused to let them surface. She couldn’t risk losing all that had come to mean so much to her.
But, try as she might, Daughtry couldn’t forget her family, nor could she dispel the building anxieties that haunted her every waking moment. All she could do was pray and ask God to forgive her and guide her steps, convincing herself that nothing else needed to be done.
Sundays were always a joy to Daughtry. She prepared for church with great enthusiasm, though today the sniffles from a passing bout with a head cold caused her some
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