A Place Called Home (20 page)

Christine strolled around the backyard, noticing that the remnants of Sue's vegetable garden looked lonely and cold. Lonely and cold—the way Christine had begun to think of Spooner. The thought of leaving Baxter made her want to cry. “Not Baxter,” Christine told herself, “but the people.” How could she leave these people? The thought hurt. But if she were honest, it would be easier to go than stay and see Luke and Caroline get married. Christine was shocked at the anguish it caused her to think of this prospect.

“You've done it now, Christine Bennett.” Christine's voice broke quietly through the cold air to her ears alone. “You've fallen in love with a man who is interested in another woman. You're going to be hurt and it's no one's fault but your own.”

Wanting nothing more than to sit down, feel sorry for herself, and have a good cry, Christine knew she had to get her mind off Luke and Caroline.

Grandma Em had once said that God is bigger than any hurt we might have. Christine prayed as she went around the house to play with the kids, “Please, Lord, be bigger than this hurt that threatens to overwhelm me. Help me to trust You for my future and accept Your will for my life.”

Luke stood on the platform until the train was completely out of sight. The sound no longer echoed in his ears, and the vibration beneath his feet was now still.

The send-off had been easier than he had hoped. Caroline had been reserved but not sullen. Frank had praised him for his stables and the fine work he and Silas did. He had promised to try and get up next spring if the Mrs. could come.

Luke knew he had some things to get done at the ranch, but if he hurried to the post office he would be able to squeeze in a trip to see his grandmother, not once admitting, even to himself, who he really hoped to meet.

His horse tied out front, Luke opened the door for a woman carrying a box so big it nearly obscured her. A muffled thank you came from somewhere beneath the box as the woman moved out the door and a few steps past. Luke suddenly realized who it was.

Large hands on Christine's shoulders brought her to a surprised halt. Before she could turn, those same hands reached around and lifted her box up and over the top of her head.

Even as Christine turned, some sense told her it was going to be Luke.

“Good morning, Christine.”

“Good morning,” Christine answered and reached for her box. Luke let it go.

“How are you today?” Luke again took the box from her grasp.

“I'm fine. What brings you to town?” The box was once more in Christine's hold.

“I was seeing the Chamberses off.” The way he had casually stated seeing his girlfriend off, as if he didn't care, made Christine angry, and when Luke reached to take the box again she stated firmly, “I can carry it myself. It's not heavy.” Had Luke known her better, he would have realized that her temper was coming to the fore. She had realized he had been flirting with her at the table yesterday, only to go in and sit cozily with Caroline on the couch. That night in bed Christine had made a decision to stay away from Luke Cameron as much as possible until it was time for her to go home. Now, running into him the next morning was almost more than she could take.

Luke, thinking to keep things light, said exactly the wrong thing. “I don't know about where you come from, but around here a gentleman helps a lady with her packages.”

Christine, believing he was playing false with Caroline in the pretense of being a gentleman, let her temper boil over. “I do not need
you
, of all people, to remind me of the social amenities, Mr. Cameron,” Christine gritted out icily between clenched teeth.

Luke was stunned. What in the world had he done to anger her?

Christine, taking advantage of his silence, said, “Good day, Mr. Cameron,” and turned on her heel.

Christine seethed all the way home. Her long stride eating up the blocks, she walked and saw nothing. People waved at her but she missed them. The box grew heavy but she gave it little notice. “What nerve!” she fumed. “Put his girl on the train one minute and forget she exists the next. What a flirt!”

Christine stomped up the porch steps. Letting the box slide down until it landed at her feet, she reached for the handle, but the door opened before her hand could make contact.

To her utter surprise, Luke reached out and took her box under one arm. With his free hand he pulled her inside.

The door shut firmly and he spoke. “I will know, Christine, before I leave here, why you are angry.”

The two faced each other in Grandma Em's parlor. Christine's surprise at seeing him did not diminish her anger. Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Did you have a nice visit with Caroline, Luke? It must have been hard to put her on the train and say goodbye. I imagine you'll miss her very much.” Christine's eyes spoke her disappointment and hurt.

Luke finally understood. Her anger was a cover for the hurt she felt.

“Christine, there is no commitment between Caroline and me.”

Christine looked confused before she asked, “Does Caroline know that?” thinking back to the adoration she saw in her eyes.

“She didn't when she first arrived, but she does now.”

Christine couldn't look at Luke. How many times was she going to make a fool of herself in front of this man? Her eyes took in the carpet with great interest as she spoke. “I'm sorry I was angry at you. I have a nasty temper.”

“You have a temper? I didn't know that!” There it was again. That supremely innocent voice and expression that told Christine he was having one on her. To her amazement, she didn't blush.

“I really am sorry,” she repeated, now able to look him in the eyes.

He was sensitive to her serious tone. “I'm sorry too, Christine. There was no way you could have known there is
nothing between Caroline and me.” Or that my interest is right here in this room, he added silently to himself.

“Thank you for explaining to me. Considering it's really none of my business, that was kind of you.”

“Aren't you a little curious about what's in the box?” Luke was ready to change the subject.

“Oh, it's a coat.” At Luke's questioning look, she explained, “Mrs. Hall, a friend of mine at home, wrote that she ordered it for me.”

“Aren't you going to at least look at it?” Luke asked, wondering, and then thinking better of it, if he should tell her he knew she was from Spooner and who Mrs. Hall was.

When the box gave her trouble, Luke slipped a small knife free from his front pocket and with a few cuts had the box open.

Christine's hands moved the wrapping aside until she spotted a bit of white. Without thinking, she pulled, and out came a lace-trimmed cotton camisole that she held at arm's length.

“I wonder if there's been a mistake.” Christine looked over at Luke, who was standing beside her. His eyes took a short glide over the very feminine garment before saying to Christine, “If that's the heaviest thing you're going to wear this winter, you're going to be cold.”

With a gasp Christine realized what she had been standing there holding for his inspection. Quickly she shoved it back into the box. She should have known Mrs. Hall would order more than just a coat, especially since it was such a big box.

Christine couldn't keep the stammer from her voice as she attempted to right the box to carry it upstairs. “It would really make a mess—I mean the box. I should open the rest later—well, that is, in my room.” When she realized how she sounded, she stopped and said, “I have to go now.” With that she grabbed the box and ran quickly up the stairs.

Grandma Em came in some minutes later to find Luke in the exact spot that Christine had left him, simply staring at the place where Christine had been standing.

“Luke, is everything all right?”

He turned absently to his grandmother. “Did you say something, Gram?”

“I said, is everything all right?”

A beaming smile broke across Luke's face. “Everything is just wonderful, Gram.” Grandma Em watched him walk to the door, whistling a little tune. He gave her a small wave before exiting.

Emily shook her head as she went to find Christine. “I wonder if there has ever been a case history of spring fever this close to November.”

November began much like October, but by halfway through the month the temperatures had dropped. Luke rose one morning to find that the fire had gone out in the kitchen stove. Blowing into his hands, Luke stomped around for warmth before attempting to light the fire.

When the fire was stoked and the coffee on, Silas came out, barefoot and shivering. He and Luke huddled near the stove, waiting for the coffee to become drinkable.

“Why don't you get married so we've got someone here to take care of us?”

To this long-standing joke between the brothers Luke answered as expected: “If I did get married, the first morning she got a look at that furry face of yours she'd go screaming from the house and we'd be alone again.”

Silas was a sight first thing in the morning. His dark, thick hair stuck out in all directions. His beard, usually brushed down in some semblance of order, was in riotous disarray. Luke said he looked like a grizzly bear.

Two cups of coffee later, both men were warmly dressed and headed for the stables. They worked together feeding the 26 horses.

“Gram and Christine will be coming out to the ranch Friday morning,” Silas commented offhandedly.

“They will?” Christine's name snared Luke's complete attention.

“They were supposed to come a few weeks ago, but with Elizabeth's birth and Emily staying with them, it just didn't work out. I'll be going to get them midmorning.”

“Don't you have a buyer coming Friday morning?”

“Yeah, but I'll have time.”

“I'll go for you.”

“It's cold, Luke—I couldn't ask you to do that,” Silas answered with his face averted, and it took Luke some minutes to realize he was being teased.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Not to anyone else. You forget I live with you.” The men finished up in silence and went to the house for breakfast. Silas was a great cook, but this morning Luke's attention was elsewhere.

He finally spoke. “Si, are you and Christine more than friends? I mean, are you interested in her?” Luke wasn't sure why he had asked, but the thought came to him in the stable and he couldn't quite shake it.

“If you're trying to ask me if I'm in love with Christine, the answer is no.” Silas leveled a look on his brother. “Are you in love with her?”

“I don't know. I'm attracted to her—I have to admit that. I was attracted to her before she got saved. I did a lot of praying in an effort to keep my feelings in obedience. I think it was almost a relief to have her be saved so I could relax when I was around her. Now being able to relax around her has just increased the attraction.”

“How do you think she feels about you?”

“I think she's scared to death of me. I was barely able to exchange two words with her Sunday.”

“Calvin told me she cried because you teased her.”

“She cried?” Luke's voice was alarmed.

“It was the Sunday we ate dinner at Mark and Sue's. Calvin said when she came out to play with them, her eyes were wet and that earlier you had teased her at the table.”

Luke was looking miserable. Were the tears because he had teased her or because she thought he was committed to Caroline?

“Luke, why don't you go see her this afternoon? Go and stay for supper. Tell her you're looking forward to her coming Friday. Next week is Thanksgiving. We'll all be together the entire day. If there's a strain between you two, you'll both be miserable. Go see her. Talk to her.”