A Bride for Noah (38 page)

“Ah.” His lips twisted. “So I've been pegged as Evangeline's jilted fiancé.”

Jilted? A hopeful flutter arose in her heart. Rain ran down his face, and she realized she had his jacket around her shoulders.

“Here.”

She lifted it to form a cover for them both, and nearly lost the ability to breathe when he moved close to hover beneath it.

“Since I saw you at the restaurant, I assume you're working with Evangeline. Did you travel with her from Chattanooga then?”

“That's right. Along with Ethel and my sister and Mr. Coffinger.”

He turned his head to look at her, which in the close quarters put his face only a few inches from hers. “You do look familiar, now that you mention it. Have we met?”

“I don't think so.” She was absolutely positive, though she had seen him at least a dozen times back home. The first time when
she and Sarah were coming home from the dry goods store and passed the river dock. The men at work there had been laughing together, and how could she not notice the most handsome one? After that, she made a point of walking that way whenever a riverboat was in port. But she didn't need to admit that. Not yet. “I am Lucy Burrows.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Burrows. My name is James Garvey, recently of Chattanooga. Currently”—he gave a rueful shrug—“without permanent residence.”

“Oh?” The hope in her breast rose a little higher. “Does that mean you won't be returning to Tennessee?”

“There's nothing for me there.”

“I hear there are opportunities in panning for gold in California. A number of the lumberjacks recently decided to try their luck there.”

“That's what it is too. Luck.” With a scowl, he shook his head. “I don't put much stock in luck. I prefer to rely on determination and plain old hard work.”

“If that's the case, then you've come to the right place. I've never met a more determined bunch of people than the Dennys and the men who work with them. And there's certainly enough hard work to go around.”

“You know, I've been thinking the same thing since I arrived.”

He smiled down at her, and Lucy had to force herself to breathe past a wave of giddiness that threatened her composure. To think that the man she secretly dreamed of in Tennessee would end up here, in Seattle, huddled beneath the same jacket with her! It was divine providence, that's what it was. And especially since the poor man's heart had been broken. Why, he needed something to work for. A goal. And maybe someone to help him accomplish it.

“Is the rain letting up any?” He extended his head to peer around the corner of the jacket toward the sky.

“No, I don't think so.” Lucy smiled and settled herself a little closer to him. “I think this one might take a long time to blow over.”

Noah had not taken five steps away from the glade when the rain started. He barely noticed even when it pounded on his head and turned the ground beneath his boots to mush. She loved him? He didn't believe it. Back in Tennessee she thought she loved James, and what did she do to him? Deserted him. Ran off without a backward glance.

I don't know that. She said she broke their engagement before she left. That eliminated any obligation she had to tell him she was leaving.

At least, that's what she said happened. But how could he believe her?

Though the storm raged around him, Noah plunged through the forest, splashing through rivulets and puddles that formed on the ground. A tightness formed in his chest, whether from exertion or from some other cause, he dared not consider. Instead he pushed onward until he was running almost blindly up the ever-sloping terrain, breath ragged in his chest.

Somewhere along the way he realized where he was going, and he almost stopped then. Why return to his valley? There was nothing for him there. Not now.

When he topped the final ridge he halted, panting, heart thudding so hard he felt it even in the soles of his feet. Rain fell from the dark sky, swelling the stream until it overflowed its banks and lay below him like a bloated gray snake. He backed up against a tree and slid down the trunk, heedless of the wet ground. He was already so wet it didn't matter anyway.

Was he the worst judge of women who ever walked the earth? He must be, else why did he keep having his heart ripped open and
handed back to him? Or maybe he just kept falling for the same type.

No. Evie was nothing like Sallie. No way could he have misjudged her so thoroughly, especially not when he'd been on guard against her from the beginning.

The thought struck him with force, and he sat back against the tree. He
had
been suspicious of her from the moment they first met in the San Francisco greengrocer store. Not because he detected any dishonesty on her part, but because his heart was still wounded from Sallie's harsh treatment. In fact, he treated her coldly and kept her at arm's length for weeks. She had not been deterred in the slightest, but only become more determined to accomplish her goals. Not at his expense, but in spite of his suspicions and refusal to help. In a man, that determination would have earned his respect.

Was it possible that he was mistrustful of Evie now not because of her behavior, but because Sallie's lies still hurt so deeply?

He rubbed at his face, wiping away water as he tried to clear his thoughts. Evie didn't exactly lie to him, not in so many words. But she had certainly withheld the truth. Wasn't that the same thing?

The downpour slowed, and within a few minutes the rain dwindled to a light drizzle. A break in the clouds directly overhead held promise that the worst of the storm was over. But the storm inside Noah raged on.

Today on the trail, Evie said she planned to tell him about her fiancé—
former
fiancé—but the arrival of the ship prevented her. When she said that, he didn't believe her. The timing was too convenient.

What if Evie had only been waiting for the right time?

He raked a hand through his rain-soaked hair, scrubbing at his scalp as if by doing so he could clear his thoughts. A ray of sunshine warmed his face, and he looked up to see the clouds beginning to recede, pushed by a breeze that stirred the treetops. As he watched, shadows covering the land below him gave way to light. He lost
track of time, watching sunlight chase gloom from his valley until finally the sky showed almost as much blue as white.

The mountain, which had been hidden from view, appeared. Dense vapor still clung to the sides, wrapping the ascent in a blanket of fluffy white, but the snow-capped peak reached triumphantly above the clouds. Sunlight glittered on the distant snow like icy fire.

As his eyes feasted on the brilliance of that dazzling pinnacle, a fog lifted from Noah's thoughts.

Evie rose early in the morning after a second night spent wrestling with her thoughts and wetting her pillow with tears. She'd finally reached a decision, though she had agonized over it. After the sun rose, she would go down to the dock and arrange for return passage to San Francisco on the
Commodore
. Then she would go to Arthur Denny and ask to borrow enough money to see her safely home. She would beg if she must, and of course the attorney's letter was proof that she would soon have the means to repay him in full.

Lucy was an unmoving lump beneath the covers on the cot beside her, and Ethel's soft snore from the direction of the other gave evidence that she still slept soundly. A not-so-soft snore from the bedroom told her Mrs. Coffinger too slept on. Moving quietly, Evie donned her dress and climbed down the ladder to the restaurant below.

The room was warm from the still-burning fire in the big iron stove. Too warm, in fact. When she stoked the coals and the breakfast customers crowded in, the heat would become stifling. She crossed to the front window and pulled aside the heavy curtains to let some of the cool early morning air inside.

The sight that greeted her froze her hand in place. Not again. Three long poles leaned against the side of the restaurant, their tops propped against the frame of the window. Hadn't Chief Seattle
instructed his people not to court the settler women? Or had he lifted his prohibition after yesterday, when he saw that Noah was no longer interested in her? Her heart twisted, but she ignored the pain and opened the door. If she saw any Duwamish braves hovering around, waiting to see which pole she chose, she would tell them in no uncertain terms that their romantic attentions were not welcome.

When she exited, she came to a halt and her jaw dropped. Resting against the side of her restaurant were not three poles, but at least a dozen. No, more like two dozen. The entire front of the building, end to end, was covered with poles.

At a noise from the forest, she whirled. Her head went light when she saw Noah striding across the glade toward her. A desperate hope rose in her heart when she caught sight of his tender smile. She covered her mouth with both hands, not trusting herself to speak without sobbing.

He came right up to her and stood close, looking down at her with unreadable eyes that held the darkness of the predawn sky. “I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

“You've been waiting for me?” The words came out muffled behind her palms.

“For a long time.” He reached up and gently took her hands in both of his. “I'm sorry, Evie. I behaved badly.”

Tears stung her eyes and she shook her head violently. “No, I'm sorry. I should have…”

He stopped her with a finger against her lips. “Not now. We have a lot to discuss, but we have time.” He lowered his finger and moved closer, so close his breath warmed her cheek. “A lifetime, I hope.”

Emotion clogged Evie's throat. She couldn't speak. A lifetime with Noah? That was the desire of her heart.

His eyes held hers in an unbreakable gaze. “But first, you have a choice. Which pole will you choose?”

She found her voice enough to whisper, “Which one is yours?”

“They're all mine.” His lips hovered over hers, and she felt his
words more than heard them. “I'm not taking any chances with the woman I love.”

With an overflowing heart, Evie threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a dizzying kiss. Just before his mouth closed over hers she whispered, “I'm claiming every single one of those poles. I'm not taking any chances with you, Noah Hughes.”

Epilogue

January 23, 1853

Seattle, Oregon Territory

T
he afternoon of Seattle's first wedding was as bright and fine a day as anyone could have hoped. Evie hurried inside the Denny cabin, her arms full of evergreen boughs, and dumped them on the table.

“That's the last of them,” she announced. “I think it will be enough, don't you?”

Standing on a chair, Louisa stooped to pick one up and secure it over the window. “I'm sure it will.” She settled a bow in the deep green needles and then leaned back to survey her work. “What do you think?”

“I think we would have had a lot more room in the restaurant.”

Louisa made a face. “We don't need more room. We don't want the whole town in attendance, just our closest friends.” She looked around the cabin. “But it is beautiful, isn't it?”