The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection: Nine Historical Romances Celebrate Marrying for All the Right Reasons (44 page)

He braced his hands on the armrests of his chair, ready to defend his decision if he needed to.

Finally Mrs. Greenfield asked, “Is she the one you’ve chosen?”

“Yes.”

“Does she want to be your bride?” asked Mr. Greenfield.

Did she? His throat became dry at the thought that she might not. “I haven’t asked her.”

Mrs. Greenfield picked up the letter. “Her father is on his way here—could come at any moment. If he arrives, only to discover his daughter has married without his consent, he will be very angry indeed.”

“I think it would be wise to wait until Miss Ellis has her father’s blessing to marry you,” said Mr. Greenfield.

Luke didn’t have time to wait. “I must leave within two days,” he said. “And it could be a year or more before I’m able to come back. I need to have a wife when I return to Red Lake.”

Mr. Greenfield shook his head. “I’m afraid I cannot perform a wedding ceremony without Mr. Ellis’s blessing. If he doesn’t arrive by the time you must leave, you will need to choose a different bride.”

How could he choose a different bride, when he wanted Sarah?

But then he thought of all he’d invested in the Red Lake Mission. If he waited for Mr. Ellis’s blessing and it didn’t come in time, he would be throwing away two years of his life—and he’d surely disappoint his father all over again.

What did he want more? Sarah—or his mission work?

Chapter 15

T
he next morning, Sarah opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. The morning star shone bright in the eastern sky, beckoning her to commune with the Lord. She hated to break the Greenfields’ rule, but she hated even more to miss this special time alone—today more than ever.

She had barely slept the night before. Father would soon arrive, and with him, the death of her dream. If he was willing to come thirteen hundred miles to take her home, there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

The morning felt cool and completely unsullied. The prairie grass stood tall and unmoving against the backdrop of the predawn hour, and the trees along the riverbank rose up like sentinels.

Sarah hugged her brown shawl tightly about her shoulders while she followed the narrow path to the river.

“I hoped you would come.” Luke’s voice broke the stillness of the morning. He sat in her usual spot but rose when she drew near.

“I didn’t know if you’d want to see me again,” she said quietly.

He regarded her with such tenderness, she felt warmth flow through her.

“You are the only person I want to see, Sarah.”

Her name sounded sweet on his lips.

“I’ve been waiting here for a long time to talk to you,” he said. “I have something I’d like to ask you.”

Sarah’s knees began to tremble, but she couldn’t say a thing.

“I’ve prayed and thought a great deal about my time here at Belle Prairie, and I’ve come to a conclusion.”

She tried so very hard to smile, but even as he said the words, she felt the impossibility of the situation.

“I’ve grown to care for you very much, Sarah. The more time I spend with you, the more I want to be with you.” He reached out a tentative hand and touched the curls next to her cheek. “If you leave, I know I will spend the rest of my days mourning my loss.”

His touch felt like the first rays of sunshine after a dark and stormy night.

“There was only one thing that kept me awake last night,” he said, searching her eyes. “I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way about me.”

She reached up and laid her hand over his, loving the feel of his skin upon hers. His hand felt strong and sure beneath her fingertips. “I do.”

Luke’s apprehension dissipated, and a smile lit his handsome face. He removed his hand from her cheek but held on to her hand. “So, you’ll marry me?”

She nodded, feeling tears of happiness gather. She could stay on the mission field—but more than that, she would share her life with this amazing man. It seemed almost too good to be true. Her heart beat a song of thanksgiving.

Luke’s smile turned to a grin as he took her other hand in his. “Mr. Greenfield wants us to wait for your father’s blessing—and I agree.”

Her father’s blessing? “But what if Father doesn’t arrive before you need to go back? You can’t wait here for him. You and Mr. Beaumont are expected at Red Lake by the first of September—and you need a wife before then. My father might not get here until after the first—or even later. We have no way of knowing.”

Luke swallowed. “I’m willing to wait, Sarah.”

“I can’t let you.” She shook her head, desperation in her words. “You’d risk your entire ministry.” And he’d risk disappointing his father. She looked at their hands, unable to meet his eyes when she said what needed to be said. “If Father doesn’t return in time, you’ll have to choose one of the others.”

“No—”

“It’s the only way the board will let you stay at Red Lake. You need to have a wife.”

He pulled her closer. “I need to have you.”

She shook her head again. “You’ve known me for less than a week, but being a missionary has been your life’s calling.” She stood so close, she could smell his spicy cologne, muddling her thoughts. “If my father doesn’t arrive by tomorrow—” It took all her courage to speak the next words. “Then I want you to wed Mary—”

“I can’t—”

“You can—and you must. You need a wife, and she would make a good one. I love Mary like a sister. You would grow to love her like I do.”

His eyes revealed a longing that took her by surprise and made her stomach feel strange and wonderful things. “But I don’t want to love my wife like a sister.” He pulled her a little closer, bringing her face near his. “I want to love her like a man loves his wife… like I’m beginning to love you.”

He bent his head, and she knew he would kiss her. More than anything, she wanted to feel his lips on hers, but she pulled back and removed herself from his grasp. “Please, let’s not have any regrets. A week ago you didn’t know me—and a week from now, you might be married to another woman.”

He reached for her. “I won’t be married to anyone but you.”

She took another step back. “It would be silly for you to throw away your life’s work for me, Luke. I can’t let you do it—I won’t let you do it.”

A sliver of sunlight peeked over the horizon, sending a splash of color across the dark landscape.

He took a step toward her, but she moved away. “I care for you too much to let you make a foolish decision. Please, if my father doesn’t arrive by tomorrow, propose to Mary.”

Sarah turned, blindly moving toward the house. How had she fallen in love so quickly? More than anything, she wanted to run back to Luke’s arms, but if she did, it would cause him to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Chapter 16

S
arah couldn’t take her eyes off the horizon. The slightest movement or shifting shadow made her heart race up her throat. The day wore on as the sun inched across the endless blue sky. She glanced up from her work in the schoolhouse to see Luke go into the oat field to work with Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Beaumont. He looked toward the school and then off across the prairie, toward the road her father would arrive on.

Breakfast, lunch, and supper were torture for Sarah, while the other three ladies still vied for Luke’s attention. Hazel brought him an extra treat from the kitchen, Mary laughed and teased while she served, and Genevieve wore an exquisite gown that looked much too frivolous for the prairie.

Luke was courteous with each of them, but his eyes followed Sarah wherever she went, and she marveled that she had somehow captured his heart.

It made everything so much harder to bear.

That evening, while they cleaned up after supper, Mrs. Greenfield entered the kitchen. “I would like each of you to come to breakfast tomorrow in your best gown. In the morning, Mr. Longley will make his decision, and the wedding will follow soon after.”

Sarah looked around the room, but no one met her eye.

Hazel had baked a wedding cake that afternoon, while Mary had gone out to the prairie to collect hundreds of wildflowers to adorn the parlor for the ceremony, and Genevieve had supervised the movement of the furniture, so the mission workers and children could witness the wedding vows. During all the activity, Sarah had washed and pressed Luke’s Sunday clothing so it was ready for him to wear on his wedding day.

Everything was set.

And still, Father did not come.

As twilight descended on Belle Prairie, Sarah stood on the front porch, hugging her arms about her waist, looking toward the southwest, where the road led to Little Falls and beyond to St. Paul. Father would come on that road soon—but would it be soon enough?

It seemed impossible, yet Sarah prayed. What was impossible for man was possible for God.

The squeak of the front door met her ears, and Sarah turned to find Luke stepping over the threshold. “Mrs. Greenfield told me you cleaned and pressed my Sunday clothes.”

She turned back to the prairie. “For your wedding.”

“Thank you, Sarah.”

She closed her eyes, wishing he’d leave her alone. His presence was sweet torture.

“No sign of your father?”

Sarah shook her head, unable to answer with words.

“Maybe in the morning—”

“Have you decided which lady you’ll ask?”

“Sarah, I don’t want to ask any of them.”

“You have to know who you’ll choose.” She turned back to him, and he was close—much too close. She moved away, staying out of his reach. “I—I hope you sleep well. I’ll be at the wedding tomorrow to congratulate you.”

She entered the house and went straight to her bedroom, where she lay down to bed, but couldn’t sleep.

The next morning dawned brighter than the last. Sarah didn’t go out for her morning prayer time. She didn’t want to be alone with Luke again. If she were, she might let him kiss her—and she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

She’d rather not know what she was missing.

The other ladies soon woke up and they began to prepare for the wedding. Each lady kept to herself as she put on her Sunday best gown and did her hair at the single mirror. Sarah did the same, though she knew she would be a guest, and not the bride.

She put on her green cashmere gown, the one that brought out the color in her eyes, and styled her curls in little ringlets along her face. Tears threatened to spill if she let herself think of Luke marrying one of the others—so she didn’t think about it, and instead focused on what the Lord had planned for her when she returned to Connecticut. She would have her teaching, and she would enjoy seeing her old friends.

They descended the stairs together and went to the kitchen, where they put on their large aprons for their morning work. Though there was to be a wedding, they still needed to get breakfast on the table.

The mission had an air of festivity during breakfast, as the children had been told there was to be a wedding afterward. Luke entered the dining room with Mr. Beaumont at his side, and they took their seats near the head of the table.

Sarah couldn’t bring herself to look at Luke, so she kept her gaze lowered as she served the food.

She placed a platter of fried potatoes on the table in front of him, and she felt his hand graze her elbow. When she looked at him, he offered her a smile filled with longing. She hoped her eyes conveyed her desire for him to do the right thing.

Sarah left the dining room and stood at the worktable in the kitchen for a long time. She placed her hands on its surface for strength and lowered her head to pray.

All too soon, breakfast was over and Mrs. Greenfield entered the kitchen. “Please come to the parlor, ladies. Mr. Longley is waiting to talk with you. The children are doing their chores and will be in shortly for the ceremony.”

Sarah, Mary, Genevieve, and Hazel took off their aprons and touched up their hair. Sarah wished she didn’t need to go through all the motions. It would be better if she could stay away from the parlor until after the ceremony. She couldn’t bear to watch Luke marry someone else.

But she followed, knowing Mrs. Greenfield wanted her there.

Luke stood near the large window at the end of the parlor, Mr. Beaumont and Mr. Greenfield next to him. He wore the coat and trousers she had carefully cleaned, and he looked like a noble gentleman. She would have been proud to be his wife, and to carry his name.

“Thank you for coming, ladies,” Mr. Greenfield addressed them. “Mr. Longley has a word to say before he shares his decision.”

Sarah stood shoulder to shoulder with the other ladies. She didn’t want to look at him, but she couldn’t stop herself. This was the last time she could gaze upon him with longing, for within the hour, he would be a married man, and she mustn’t look at him the same way ever again.

He cleared his throat as he stepped away from Mr. Beaumont and Mr. Greenfield. “I want to thank you all for the inconvenience I put you through this week. I know it hasn’t been easy for anyone.” He looked at each lady, but his eyes lingered on Sarah. “It has been my pleasure to get to know each one of you. Any man would feel honored to be in my shoes.”