Cora's Deception (9781476398280) (12 page)

Cora laughed as she scrambled from the sled.
“That was wonderful. I wish there were twice as many sleds so we
wouldn’t have to take turns.”

“Yeah, me too.” Aaron set Nicholas on the
sled for the return trip. He picked up the rope and Cora fell into
step beside him as another sled stopped a few feet from them. Ben
helped Ivy from the sled.

Cora looked around in confusion. Where was
Esther? A third sled holding Margaret, Rebekah, Lenny, and Gilbert,
all packed on tight, threw snow as they pulled to a stop. They fell
over as one into the snow laughing.

“Don’t you just love sled riding, Cora?” Ivy
called out.

Cora swung toward the friendly voice.
“I—yes, I do.”

Ivy had parted her long, straight, dark hair
on one side and let it hang free. Now the full side hung alluringly
near her right eye as she gazed up at Ben, her head cocked to the
best advantage. She was really quite beautiful. “Your wonderful
brother offered to give me a ride since I’ve never been on a sled
before.”

“How nice of him.” Never been on a sled
before? Hadn’t someone said she’d ridden Aaron’s on their way over
this morning? Ben seemed to ignore them while he turned the sled
around for the long climb back to the top.

“I couldn’t never have guided it down this
long hill without Ben’s help.” Ivy flashed a smile toward Ben.
“Your brother is awfully strong and such a gentleman.”

Ben smiled at Ivy. “Ready to head back?”

He looked pleased with her praise. How could
he fall for such a low trick? How could he be disloyal to Esther?
Her heart must be broken.

Cora fell into step with Aaron. Their feet
crunched in the snow, filling the companionable silence between
them until he leaned close. “Don’t mind Ivy. She really don’t mean
no harm.”

“But there’s something special between Ben
and Esther. I saw it the first day they met. Why can’t Ivy?”

“Wouldn’t matter if’n she did. She’d still
go after your brother.” Aaron looked at his sister, his eyes
intense with feeling. “Sometimes that empty ache deep down inside a
body’s just gotta be filled. Don’t matter much to Ivy who gets
shoved aside while she’s doin’ it.”

His dark look frightened Cora. “I don’t
understand.”

“No, I don’t reckon so.”

They reached the halfway point when Aaron
spoke again. “How about me givin’ you and Nicholas another
ride?”

Cora’s heart picked up a beat. Aaron’s grin
said his dark mood had lifted. “Yes, we’d like that, wouldn’t we,
Nicholas?” Nicholas clapped his hands and nodded. She could’ve
skipped.

“Wanna ride fast, Nick?” Aaron grinned at
the little boy on the sled behind them.

Nicholas didn’t hesitate. “Yeah!”

“Hang on tight then.” Aaron grabbed Cora’s
hand. “Come on, let’s run to the top.”

Cora’s breath came in puffs by the time they
reached the others. Vickie took Nicholas from the sled. “Looks like
you’re having fun.”

Aaron stood to the side talking with John.
Cora turned back to Vickie. “I am. I didn’t realize sledding could
be so much fun.”

“Are you sure it’s just the sledding?”
Vickie’s little smile said she knew something more.

Only there was no more. Cora shook her head
at her sister’s teasing. “What else could it be? You know George
and I plan to marry.”

“I know.” Vickie’s smile disappeared.
“Mother doesn’t want John and me to move even a few miles away.
Just think what she’ll do when you announce you’re moving back to
St. Louis.”

Cora sighed. That was why she hadn’t said
anything to mother about George’s plans.

Vickie nodded toward Aaron. “You’d better
find someone right here unless you think you can talk George into
settling down in this wilderness. Mother will throw a fit if you
even hint at leaving.”

A sick churning gripped Cora’s stomach. She
hadn’t told Mother and Father about this, but why should they
object? Mother always said the Merrills were good, respectable
people. She’d been happy enough to welcome John into their family.
Why wouldn’t John’s younger brother be just as welcome?

Vickie laughed. “Don’t look so scared, Cora.
It isn’t as if you’re planning to get married next week. Give her
time. Maybe by the time you and George marry, Mother will have
changed. If anything will change her, this place should do it.”

Vickie walked away with Nicholas to join
John at the sled, leaving Cora in turmoil. She did plan to marry
George right away. Christmas wasn’t that far off.

“Cora?” Aaron’s voice penetrated her
whirling mind.

She focused on his face. His dark hair was a
wind-curled invitation to her fingers. The dimple in his chin drew
her attention, and an overwhelming desire to touch it shocked her.
She looked into his eyes.

“I made you something.” Aaron pulled from
his coat pocket a small white, cloth-wrapped package tied with a
red ribbon. “It ain’t much, but it’s almost Christmas, and I
reckoned this might be my only chance to see you afore then.
Anyhow, this is for you.”

Cora took it, her eyes again meeting his.
“Can I open it now?”

He nodded.

She untied the ribbon and stuck it in her
coat pocket. The cloth fell away, revealing a small cedar box with
leather hinges. The wood shone. She removed her gloves so she could
rub the smooth polished surface. An intricate design of carved
scrollwork with two doves facing each other in the middle decorated
the top. One held a small heart in his beak. She had never seen
anything so beautiful.”

“You made this?” How could that be?

He nodded again. “I cut it from some cedar
and carved it out. It’s nothin’ on-common.”

“Oh, but it is to me. I’ve never seen such
beautiful carving.” Cora opened the box, sanded smooth inside and
breathed in the wonderful scent of cedar wood. Two flat partitions
of cedar had been driven into carefully chiseled slots, dividing
the box into three small sections.

Cora closed the lid and ran her hand across
the carving, again marveling at the workmanship. Tears sprang to
her eyes. No one else had ever given her as valuable a gift or one
she would treasure as much.

“Oh, Aaron.” She whispered his name. “I love
it. I’ll keep it always. Thank you so much.”

Aaron’s wide grin and pleased expression
tugged at her heart. “I’m real proud you like it. I thought you
might have somethin’ special to keep in it.”

“Oh, I do. I have some necklaces that will
fit perfectly. I wish I had something to give you.”

“No need.”

But there was a need. She began thinking
about what she could make. One idea after another was discarded,
because she knew she could never match his gift. Why had Aaron gone
to so much trouble to make such a wonderful gift for her? George
wouldn’t let her keep it if he knew, so she’d never tell him where
her box came from. Whatever she made for Aaron would have to be
personal and made by her own hand. She could scarcely wait to
start.

Chapter 11

C
ora’s needle flew through the linen squares that would be
Aaron’s gift. She sat on her bed putting the finishing touches on
the third handkerchief when Eliza’s head appeared above the opening
to the loft.

“What are you doing?” Eliza climbed the rest
of the way up the ladder and crossed the room to sit beside her
sister.

Cora carefully folded the handkerchief into
fourths and placed it on top of the others. She pressed them down
with her hand. “I’m not doing anything now. I just finished a gift
for Aaron.”

“Why?” Eliza picked up the handkerchiefs to
rub her finger over the two light-blue initials. “I wish I could
embroider like this.”

“You probably could if you’d try.”

“I have tried.” Eliza sighed. “You know
needlework is difficult for me. Why did you make something for
Aaron?”

“Because he gave me something.”

Eliza’s eyes lit up. “He did?”

“Yes, he did.” Cora grabbed the
handkerchiefs from her younger sister. “Did you come up here for a
reason?”

“No, but I have one now. I want to see what
Aaron gave you.”

Cora flopped across the bed, reached into
the gap between mattress and wall, and pulled the small cedar box
out. Her voice softened. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Eliza opened the box and sniffed inside. “I
love the smell of cedar.”

Cora grabbed it from her. “At least your
nose works. Aaron did a wonderful job making this. Can’t you
appreciate the time he put into it?”

Eliza grinned. “I bet you appreciate that
heart in the bird’s mouth.”

Cora frowned. “What do you mean by
that?”

“The heart is Aaron’s, and he’s the bird
offering it to you.” Eliza rolled her eyes. “Anyone can see that
plain as day.”

Cora’s eyes widened, and her heart jumped.
She covered it with her hand. Could Eliza be right? Is that what he
meant? No, that couldn’t be. She wouldn’t believe it. “You’re as
dense as—well, I don’t know what as, but you’re wrong. Aaron
wouldn’t do such a thing. He doesn’t know me well enough. Besides,
I’m already spoken for.”

“Pshaw, George isn’t here and Aaron is, and
he doesn’t know you’re taken. Maybe we’ll marry brothers yet.” A
satisfied look settled on Eliza’s face.

“Oh, Eliza.” Cora stretched back across the
bed to return her box. Her sister could get some of the oddest
ideas.

When she sat up, Eliza picked at her dress.
“I really like Ralph, Cora. I want him to like me, but I don’t
think he does.” She looked at the handkerchiefs again. “Maybe if I
could give him something like this, he’d like me better. But I
can’t sew like you can.”

The sadness in her sister’s eyes pulled at
Cora’s heart. She should tell her to do her own sewing, but she
couldn’t. “All right. What do you want me to do?”

“Just make the same thing except put R W S
in the corner.”

“What’s the W for?”

“Walter. He was named for his father.” Eliza
grinned. “You don’t know Aaron’s middle name, do you?”

“No, and I don’t care. How do you always
know everything, anyway?”

“It’s James. Aaron James Stark. He’ll be
twenty-two on April 28.” Eliza’s smug expression grated on Cora’s
nerves.

She jumped off the mattress, grabbing the
handkerchiefs. “I told you I don’t care. I’m going to go wrap
these. I think Mother saved the paper she had around her best
dishes.”

Eliza called after Cora as she started down
the ladder. “About Ralph, you don’t mind if I tell him I made his
handkerchiefs, do you?”

Cora stopped with her head above the upper
floor. “That would be a lie.”

Eliza shrugged. “Not if I hem them, and all
you do are the initials.”

“What do you mean ‘all’? That’s the hardest
part.” Cora shook her head. Eliza would take advantage of her if
she didn’t watch her. But what difference did it make? She loved to
sew and Eliza looked so sad. “Oh, all right. I’ll do it, and I
won’t tell your secret.”

“Thanks. You’re my best sister.” Eliza’s
smile chased the sadness away.

Cora worked until two days before Christmas
when all her gifts were finished. She woke in the wee hours of
Christmas Eve to a dark, quiet house and lay staring into the thick
blackness. Would George come today or tomorrow? Since her talk with
Vickie the day of the sledding party, she’d come to a decision. If
Mother wouldn’t let her leave with George, she and George could
elope. She’d already packed an empty flour sack with clothing and
special things she couldn’t bear to leave behind.

She turned to her side and felt in the space
between mattress and wall. Her fingers brushed Aaron’s cedar box.
She’d saved it until last before burying it in the sack. With the
box clutched in her hands, she rolled off the mattress and landed
on the cold wood floor. Under cover of the dark night, she felt her
way to the opposite corner where Father had driven pegs into the
wall for their clothing. There, hiding behind her best dress, hung
the flour sack. She slid her hand to the drawstring at the top and
stuffed her box inside then went back to bed.

“Cora, you’d better get up if you’re going
with Ben and me to deliver gifts.” Eliza’s voice pulled her from a
deep sleep.

“All right.” Cora moaned as she sat up and
rubbed the fuzziness from her eyes. She lowered her head against
her bent knees. “Leave me alone. I’ll get up.”

Eliza twirled away from the bed. “Fine. I’ll
see you downstairs, and you’d better hurry.”

How did she do it? Eliza went to sleep and
woke immediately. If only Cora could do the same. She fell back
against the pillow. Maybe she’d close her eyes just for a
moment.

Aaron. Her eyes flew open wide. Today she
would see where Aaron lived, and she’d give him the handkerchiefs.
Excitement grew inside as she threw the covers back and sat up.
Within ten minutes, she climbed down the ladder to the floor
below.

Ben stepped in from outside and closed the
door. “I’ve got the horse ready, and I’ll bet you haven’t even
eaten yet.”

“Do I have time?” Cora swung toward him. “If
not it’s all right.”

He laughed. “No, go ahead and grab
something. I don’t want to listen to your stomach growl.”

A few minutes later, Ben helped Cora and
Eliza mount Father’s large workhorse then hoisted up in front of
them. He spoke to the horse and began a slow plodding ride west to
the natural ford in the creek.

At Bill Reid’s homestead, a large cabin,
every bit as big as theirs, came into view. Why would a man alone
need such a large house out here on the prairie? His barn was even
bigger. With a large section in the center and a shed on either
side, it dominated the settlement.

Mr. Reid came from the barn as Ben stopped
near the house. He lifted his hand in a welcoming salute. “Hello,
there. I was just thinking how nice it would be to have company for
Christmas and here you are.” He set the bucket down near the back
door. “Come on in. I think there’s coffee left from breakfast.”