Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) (6 page)

“Well, I guess you won’t be going
to preschool today Nicky,” Mariah told him when he walked slowly from his
bedroom. He rubbed his eyes.

“How come?”

“Take a look out the window,
sweetie.”

He went over to the curtain and
pushed them aside, just enough to peek outdoors.

“Oh boy! Can we go out and make a
snowman? Please?”

“Not today, but maybe tomorrow.
The temperature is very cold, and the wind might blow you away. You certainly
wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”

“No, I might get lost again. And
I’d be colder than when I got lost before.” He shook his head back and forth
with a look of worry.

“We’ll stay in the house and have
some oatmeal and hot chocolate. How does that sound?”

“Okay, and watch Sesame Street
too?”

“Yes you may, and later if you
want to help, we can bake Christmas cookies together.”

“Yes!” He climbed onto the
kitchen chair and waited patiently for his breakfast.

Suddenly, the door whipped open,
bringing with it a gust of wind and snow. Mariah rushed over and frantically
tried to push it closed. The bottom was coated with ice, and impossible to
shut. Nicky jumped from his chair to help.

“No honey. Go sit on the couch
where it’s warm. You don’t want to catch a cold.”

“Okay,” he muttered. “I just
wanted to help you.”

“I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. If
you got sick you wouldn’t be able to go outside and build a snowman tomorrow.”

She grabbed a hammer from the
pantry and tapped the ice that mounted along the bottom edge. She loosened it
enough to latch the door into place and glanced over at Nicky, while she mopped
the wet floor.

“I’ll have your breakfast ready
in a few of minutes.” She straightened up and blew a wisp of hair away from her
face. She held her lower back for a moment and then carried the mop into the
laundry room. She really wished that Bess had made it out here, but she called
to tell her that her car wouldn’t start. She’d been lucky to make it home from
the cities before the storm arrived.

While she was heating a pot of
soup for the men, she turned her head toward the window to see what the noise
was outdoors. One of the workers started plowing the driveway from the deck to
the barn.

Nick was walking briskly toward
the house. His boots tread heavily through the deep snow. Mariah could see his
face, red from the cold. She put the soup on low and hurried to the laundry
room. When he opened the door and stepped inside, she was waiting with a warm
towel that she removed from the dryer. He pulled off his parka, placed it
against his cheeks, and sat down in a chair by the door to remove his heavy
boots.

“Were you able to make a pot of
soup for the guys?” Nick asked.

Although she saw that he looked
tired, his voice was crisp and clear. “It’s all ready. Would you like to have
yours while you warm up? You look as though you could use a break.”

“Yes, I’ll have a bowl now. The
temperature is pleasant in the barn, so that’s a plus. It’s been a busy
morning, and a couple of the men weren’t able to make it in. The only ones who
arrived were those who live close by.”

“Here you go.” She slid a large
bowl of homemade vegetable soup across the table along with a plate of
crackers. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I’ve had more than enough of
that today. A glass of milk would be good though. Thanks honey.”

She sat with him while he ate.
“Have you heard from Jake?”

“As a matter of fact, he called
at eleven o’clock. He and his new wife arrived yesterday. He said he’d be back
to work on Monday. I told him about Art, and that we really need him right
away. He’ll come in tomorrow when the streets are plowed.”

“That’s great. Why don’t you let
him know that we’ll have them over sometime soon? I’m sure he’d like to
introduce her to us."

“He wanted to bring her with him.
I explained to him that we found out we’re expecting twins, and you haven’t
been feeling well.”

“Why did you tell him that? I
feel fine most of the time, just tired.”

“She has an eight-year-old son
with her. They don’t speak English and need a translator with them. I let him
know it would be too much for you right now. He mentioned they’d stop by over
the weekend.”

She was disappointed for a
moment, and then placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’ll all work out, Nick.
Don’t worry about it. We really don’t know her until we meet, and we do need to
give her a chance. Maybe I’d be able to help her learn our language. Did Jake
mention her name?”

His expression stilled and grew
serious. “You’re going to have to be very careful, Mariah. It’ll take quite a
while for her to prove that she’s trustworthy.”

He put his warm outdoor clothing
back on, and he grabbed the box that contained food for the ranch hands.

“He told me her name is Anya
Ivanova,” he said over his shoulder, then closed the door behind him.

Chapter
Ten

“Okay Art, you’re all settled in.
I’m glad Lillie can stay with you. Lillie, if you have to leave here just let
me know, and I’ll bring Art over to our house. I’m sure there will be times
you’ll need to get away from this old coot once in a while,” Nick said with a
grin. “If he gives you a hard time, give me a call. I’ll come right over and
straighten him out.”

“You watch your mouth, Son. I
still know how to wash it out with soap.”

“Oh go on, you never did that to
me. Now treat Lillie with love and respect if you want her to take care of
you.” He looked over his shoulder and winked at Lillie.

Art found a good woman ten years
ago, and Nick often wondered why they never got hitched. Whenever Nick asked
him, his answer was always the same:
We love each other, and we know we’re
staying together because we want to, not because we have to.

“You make sure you call my cell
phone if you need help with anything,” Nick said, then picked up his jacket and
walked to the door.

He moved his eyes about the
living room. It was a decent home with two bedrooms, two baths, a living room
and a kitchen, just the right size for Art. His hand on the doorknob, he turned
around and looked at the couple. Lillie stood next to Art while he sat in his
recliner. He could see by the look on each of their faces that they really were
still very much in love.

“I’ll give you a call this
afternoon to check on you. Now get lots of rest and let Lillie wait on you.”

Art nodded with a smile, and Nick
closed the door behind him.

* * *

It was five o’clock the following
morning when Nick was ready to head out to the stable. He shut the door tightly
and looked around the deck, to make sure everything remained in place now that
the winds had died down. He removed the outer door and made a mental note that
he’d need to replace it. When he turned and started down the steps, he looked
across the drive and noticed Jake’s truck parked near the barn.

He walked heavily through the
snow that once again was beginning to accumulate. He approached the barn door
and stepped inside. He heard someone talking, the voices coming from the
direction of his office.

He headed toward the doorway and
when he entered, he found Jake pouring freshly brewed coffee into two mugs,
which he must have brought from the break room. Jake turned to place a cup in
the hands of a petite and slender woman who was sitting behind Nick’s desk,
in
his chair
. He was thankful the drawers and file cabinets had locks on
them. 

A young boy sat ignorantly in the
corner of the room; he tipped the chair on its rear legs, rested his head
against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.

Jake looked up when Nick entered
his office. They exchanged a long hard expression, and then Nick smiled
smoothly, being relatively civil in spite of his anger.

Jake stepped behind the woman and
placed his hands on her shoulders. “Nick, I’d like you to meet Anya Ivanova.”

“How do you do,” he said, and
held out his hand to her with a smile. He could see that the wind had gently
fluffed her rich, glowing auburn hair. She had beautiful green eyes and fair
skin. Anya was an exquisite young woman, as most Russian women appear to be.
She looked up at Jake.

Apparently, she didn’t
understand, however she slightly nodded and smiled back at him.

Jake then moved over to where the
young boy sat. “And this is Anya’s son, Zakhar Akim Ivanova.” Zakhar held his
hand out for a shake and eagerly nodded his head several times.

“Jake, would you mind bringing
them into the break room to wait while we have a short discussion?” Nick asked.

“Sure,” he answered, and led them
down the hallway. He returned to the office and found Nick seated in his chair
and straightening up the mess. Pens, pencils and miscellaneous desktop items
were scattered across the surface.

“Have a seat.” Nick nodded at the
chair in front of his desk. He leaned back and frowned, his eyes level under
drawn brows. “So when is the wedding?”

“We’ve already been married. We
took care of it immediately when we arrived in the U.S. She said she wouldn’t
mind if we didn’t have a large ceremony. She was anxious to be my wife as soon
as possible.”

“Oh? And she didn’t take your
name?”

“No, she wanted to keep her own
so hers would be the same as her son’s. I’ll adopt him eventually and then
she’ll change their name to mine.

“What’s the problem?” Jake asked,
as a muscle quivered at his jaw.

“Jake, you know better than
that.”

“What? What are you talking
about?”

Nick clenched his mouth tighter.
He looked Jake directly in the eye and he said, “I enter my office to find a
stranger sitting behind my desk. No one is allowed in here without my presence.
Art and I are the only people to sit behind this desk. I thought you understood
that, Jake. You’ve found yourself a beautiful woman, but I don’t know her.
Hell, for that matter, neither do you.”

“So does this mean I’m fired?”
Jake asked. He looked at him uncertainly.

“Hell no! You’re one of my best
men out there. I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I repeat,
no
one
is to enter this office without my presence.

“Now, I assume you plan to head
back home after you’ve introduced them to your co-workers?”

“Well, I thought maybe they could
go in and visit with Mariah for a while. I didn’t want to leave them alone. Her
translator couldn’t make it in today, after this storm.”

Nick leaned back; with his arms
spread out on his desk, he fit his fingers together and shook his head. “I told
you to hold off until the weekend, Jake. First of all Mariah hasn’t been
feeling well. Then there’s Anya and her son and the fact that they don’t even
speak English. Neither Mariah nor Nicky would understand them. You need to hire
a tutor. If they want to live in America, they have to learn our language.”

“But she’s able to express
herself, Nick. She has a very special way about her that makes you able to
interpret what she’s saying.”

“That’s just it, Jake. She has to
learn how to understand
you
, not you having to learn to understand
her
.
I really need you here Jake, with Art out and all. Take them home, find someone
to be with them tomorrow and come back on your own. That would be best for
everyone. Maybe you’ll be able to find a tutor to stay with them, to coach them
throughout the day while you’re working.”

Nick rose from his chair and held
out his hand.

Jake straightened his shoulders
and stood to shake, then pushed his hands deep into his pockets and stared
blankly across the room. “I’ll see what I can do.”

 “Okay, now go and collect your
new family, take them back to their new place of residence. Enjoy the day, and
we’ll see you in the morning.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Jake stopped in the doorway and
turned around, “Yeah?”

“Welcome home.”

Chapter
Eleven

When they returned home, Jake
could see that Anya had a hard time understanding why she wasn’t able to meet
Mariah and stay for a visit while he went to work.

“Anya, Mariah is pregnant. Do you
understand me?” Jake made a rounded figure with his hands to show Anya what he
was trying to say.

“Pregnant?” she asked. “Like I?”
She pointed at Zak.

“Yes, Mariah is pregnant. Nick
told me she’s not feeling well right now. We will visit them over the weekend.”

“Nick not like us?”

“Oh yes, honey. He was just
worried about Mariah because they found that she’s carrying twins.” He held up
two fingers and pointed them at Anya’s stomach. Anya nodded, although Jake
didn’t think she actually understood anything he said.