Courting Will (Escape To The West Book 8) Read online

  ~ ~ ~

  Following breakfast with Daisy and Nicky, Will headed back to the market to check on Dan and Sara.

  Sara was seated on the chair they’d brought, talking to Jo Parsons while Daniel served the customers.

  Seeing Jo gave Will an idea.

  “Good morning, Will,” she said as he walked up to them. “I hear you and Daisy are finally courting.”

  “We’re not courting.” He said it more from habit than anything else, since he wasn’t at all certain of that anymore.

  “Told you,” Sara said.

  The two of them giggled. It seemed he’d been the subject of conversation.

  “Is Zach home?” he asked Jo.

  She nodded. “I left him trying to teach Emily to say ‘pa’. I told him four months is too young for her to be talking, but he’s determined it’ll be her first word.”

  That didn’t surprise Will. Despite the fact that Zach wasn’t Emily’s natural father, he’d been married to Jo for six months by the time she was born and no father could have adored his daughter more.

  “Can you manage here?” Will asked Dan.

  Dan gave him a pointed look. “I do every week.”

  Will clapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit.”

  “I’ll be out for the next hour or so,” Jo said as he went to leave, “so that should give you plenty of time to talk to Zach about courting Daisy.”

  There were times when Jo’s ability to tell what people were thinking could be highly disconcerting.

  “I’m just going for a friendly visit,” Will said. “Not for any specific purpose.”

  “Of course you are.”

  Heaving a deep sigh, he turned and walked away. He could hear Jo and Sara’s laughter for a good thirty feet.

  He was scanning the stalls as he passed, taking note of anything he might want to buy when he returned, when he came to an abrupt halt.

  He looked around, searching for whatever he’d glimpsed from the corner of his eye, unsure even what it was. A person? An object? Something had grabbed his subconscious and brought him to a halt, although he had no idea what.

  And then a bowler hat caught his eye. The man wearing it was some way along the road and as Will watched, he disappeared around a corner. Will didn’t recognize the man, and yet there was something familiar about the hat.

  Shrugging, he resumed his walk to Zach’s house. Maybe it would come to him later.

  “Come in,” Zach called from inside when Will knocked at the door.

  He entered to see his friend sitting on the settee in the living room, one hand supporting his daughter’s back as she sat on his lap, facing him.

  Zach touched his chest. “Pa.” Then he touched Emily’s. “Emily.”

  Emily’s eyes followed the movement of his hand as he repeated the lesson.

  Will closed the door and she twisted round to look at him. He waved to her, smiling. “I’m no expert on babies, but even I know she’s not old enough to understand that.”

  “Not yet,” Zach said, “but she will be. And she’s smart.”

  “Takes after her mother then.”

  “Ahahaha.” Zach gently touched his daughter to get her attention and then pointed at himself again. “Pa.”

  Will sat beside him. When Emily looked at him, he made a face and exclaimed in a squeaky voice, “Will!”

  Emily giggled.

  “Give her to me,” he said. “I’ll have her saying her first word in no time.”

  “Oh, yes, having her first word be Will will really confuse things.” Zach moved her to Will’s lap. “You know people who already suspect I’m not her natural father can’t work out how she got my hair. Make her first word your name and Mrs. Vernon will need smelling salts.”

  Will chuckled, stroking a finger over Emily’s flaming red hair. She leaned to one side to see his hand and he grabbed her before she toppled off his lap. Oblivious, she wrapped her tiny fingers around his.

  “You want some coffee?” Zach asked, pushing to his feet.

  “Oh yes, please. I haven’t had any today.”

  “Ah, the joys of being childless and not needing copious amounts of coffee to keep you awake.” Zach plodded into the kitchen, yawning as he went.

  Losing interest in Will’s hand, Emily reached for the knitted bear lying on the settee beside him. He picked it up and handed it to her.

  Watching her play, he remembered Dan’s comment earlier that morning about Daisy having his child. What would it be like to have a baby? There were times when he was convinced he could barely look after himself. The idea of being responsible for a tiny, helpless human terrified him. He wasn’t reliable. He never had been.

  But part of him, the part that loved hearing Emily’s newly acquired giggle or reading Nicky bedtime stories while he sat on his lap, couldn’t help wondering if he would be missing out if he never had a child of his own.

  Zach walked back into the room with two steaming cups. “So, about you and Daisy.”

  Will turned Emily around so she could sit back against his chest while she played with her bear. “That didn’t take long.”

  Zach handed him one of the cups and sat beside him. “What were you expecting? And Jo will want me to get all the details. You know I love you like a brother, but I live with her. So I’ll need to know everything. Start with how it went last night.”

  “It was fine.”

  Zach narrowed his eyes. “You kissed her.”

  Will stared at him in disbelief. “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Well, you just confirmed it, for a start. But it was the way you said ‘it was fine’, with absolutely no emotion whatsoever. You were trying too hard to not give anything away, meaning you had something to give away. And what would that something be other than you kissed her?” Zach grinned.

  Will took a tentative sip of his coffee, leaning to the side so if he accidentally spilled the hot liquid, it wouldn’t be on Emily. “You’re too clever for your own good.” He was silent for half a minute as they drank, gathering his thoughts. “Do you ever regret marrying Jo?”

  Zach regarded him thoughtfully. “So that’s what this visit is about. And I thought you were here for my company.”

  “This isn’t about you.”

  Zach smiled. “No, I haven’t ever regretted marrying Jo, not once. Not even when we argue or Em is screaming her head off or when I’m so tired I can barely stay upright.” He touched Emily’s cheek fondly and she glanced at him before returning her attention to testing Will’s sleeve for edibility. “None of it compares to the feeling of being in love, and having Jo love me back. Or of being a father. I’m blessed, and I thank God every day for it.”

  Will watched his friend’s face, the deep, perfect happiness in his eyes as he gazed at his daughter. It was the same expression Daniel got when he looked at Sara.

  Perhaps Will wanted that too, with Daisy.

  Zach moved his eyes from Emily. “Have you asked God about it?”

  Will didn’t know anyone else who talked to God as much as Zach did. “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “I think He told me to stop being a fool.”

  Zach barked a laugh. “Sounds like good advice to me. So does that mean you’re going to let go of your guilt and let Daisy court you?”

  It sounded so easy when he said it. If only it felt as easy to do. “I don’t know.”

  “Or maybe you do know, but your own ideas about how you can’t ever be forgiven for what you’ve done, or don’t deserve to be happy, or can’t be trusted, are making you doubt what God is telling you.”

  “Well, aren’t you all wise today?”

  “The Bible says God gives wisdom to all who ask for it. I ask every day. That’s why I’m so clever.”

  “Hmm,” Will said flatly. He was quiet for a few moments. “I’m afraid I’ll let her and Nicky down somehow.”

  “Then you’re an idiot, because you won’t.”

  “How can you know that?”


  “Because I know you, and even at your worst times, when you were in that saloon every night drinking yourself into oblivion, you were always back on the farm in the morning. And you always kept your promises. You never let anyone down.”

  “What about the night the barn burned down?”

  “There was no way you could have known that would happen. Listen to your clever friend here and stop blaming yourself for it.” When Will didn’t answer, Zach said, “I thought you didn’t want to marry Daisy anyway. Sounds like you’ve had a change of heart.”

  He shrugged. “You know I’ve always liked her.” He paused. “And it was a really good kiss.”

  Zach chuckled. “Do yourself a favor and just let it happen. God will take care of the rest. You won’t regret it, I promise you.”

  Will moved his eyes back to Emily. “Remember how we used to think adults were stupid for settling down and having families rather than just having fun, like we were?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened to us?”

  “We became adults.” Zach gazed at Emily. “Turns out it’s not as bad as I’d anticipated.”

  Will thought about the previous night’s kiss. “I think you may be right about that.”

  Chapter 10

  “May I have a cookie?”

  “You’ve already had a cookie.”

  “May I have another cookie?”

  “No, you can’t. You’ll be having supper at Aunt Edith’s house. She always has cake.” Daisy hoped today wouldn’t be an exception to that. She’d never hear the end of it if Nicky came home not having had cake.

  He picked at the edge of the kitchen table where he sat. “Why can’t I come with you?”

  “I told you, I’m going to see Aunt Sara. We’ll be talking. You know you get bored when grown-ups talk. You’ll have much more fun playing with Paul.”

  “But Will will be there too.”

  “Will won’t be able to play with you. He works hard during the day.” It wasn’t a lie, as such. He just wouldn’t be working while she was there.

  Nicky pointed accusingly at the basket she was filling with food. “You’re taking a picnic.”

  “I’m taking food for Sara. It’s difficult for a woman to cook when she’s coming near time for her baby to be born.” Also not entirely a lie. She had packed extra for Sara.

  Nicky was silent for almost thirty seconds, a near record for him. Then, “But can I have a cookie?”

  Daisy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, she finished tucking in the cloth over the food in the basket and walked behind his chair to wrap her arms around him.

  “No, you can’t have a cookie. But you can have a kiss.” Squeezing her son tight, she kissed his temple over and over until he giggled. “Come on. Let’s go get Indiana.”

  She fetched her horse from George’s livery, let Nicky help to saddle her, then Daisy walked Indiana to Edith’s house while he rode.

  “Thanks for looking after him,” she said to Edith at the door once Nicky had gone inside with Paul.

  “Anything I can do to help with the…” Edith lowered her voice to a whisper “… courting. And I’ll want to know everything when you come back.”

  “You’re so nosey. Oh, one more thing, I told Nicky he’d get cake with supper. Please don’t make my life miserable by not having any.”

  “You promise to tell me what happens with Will, I’ll promise cake.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Surprisingly, Daisy was a little nervous when she reached the Raine farm. She would have galloped Indiana there to calm her nerves, but she couldn’t do that while holding a basket full of food in front of her.

  This would be the first time since the kiss the previous night that she and Will had been properly alone together. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss all day. In all the time she’d known him, she never imagined how good a kisser he would be. She really wanted to do it again.

  Will was in the barn carrying bushels of straw up the ladder to the hayloft when Daisy rode into the back yard. He didn’t notice her at first, so she brought Indiana to a halt and took the opportunity to watch him through the open door.

  She remembered the first time she noticed him changing from the lanky, skinny boy of his early teenage years to the man he would become. He’d been seventeen, she’d just turned nineteen. Adam, her first love, had moved away half a year before and the ache in her heart was finally beginning to ease.

  One hot summer’s day, she and her friends had gone down to the creek to cool off in the water. The girls took their shoes and socks off and sat on a flat rock on the bank to dangle their bare feet into the water. In hindsight, it might have been considered improper, but they’d grown up together, Daisy, Will and Daniel, Jesse and Zach, Marco and Lorenzo, and a few others. Adam’s two older sisters, Joanne and Edith, were there too, although by this time they were both married. They were all like brothers and sisters to Daisy.

  The boys stripped off their shirts and jumped in the creek, showing off for the girls. The girls, for their part, giggled and whispered over Daniel and Jesse who, as the oldest in their group at twenty-one and twenty, had already developed the broad shoulders and muscular physiques of men. And then Will caught Daisy’s eye.

  He’d climbed from the water and was standing on a rock overhanging the creek, water dripping from his pants as he proclaimed his superiority over the elements and urged everyone to watch him dive in.

  Daisy elbowed Edith beside her. “When did that happen?”

  Edith glanced at her. “What?”

  She nodded at Will. He must have grown a foot over the previous year. Now he was growing outwards too, in all the right places.

  Edith laughed softly. “Finally noticing boys other than Adam, are you?”

  Daisy nudged her again, hoping she wasn’t blushing. “I’m just pointing out that Will is growing up, that’s all. In a perfectly innocent way. As a sisterly friend.”

  “Maybe the two of you will end up together.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes. “He’s too young for me. And besides, you’ve heard he’s going to the saloon now. I couldn’t marry a man who frequented the saloon and did more than just eat there, you know that.”

  “But as you get older, that two years isn’t going to matter. And the saloon is just a phase. You know what boys are like.”

  She shrugged and splashed her feet in the water. And tried to watch Will without anyone noticing.

  She smiled at the memory. At the time, she’d never have thought Edith would be right about her and Will. A lot had changed in seven years.

  She watched him bend to lift another heavy bushel, his shirt stretching over his broad shoulders and tightening around his flexing arms as he worked. Now Will was a man, and that two years meant nothing. Scarce as unattached women were in Green Hill Creek, if he hadn’t had the reputation he did, Daisy was sure one would have snatched him up by now. And if they knew him like she did, they’d certainly be vying for his affections.

  Having carried the last of the straw up to the loft, he climbed back down and stretched his arms above his head. Seeing her, he smiled, and her heart did the interesting little flutter it had taken to doing lately whenever he directed his smile at her.

  He left the barn and jogged across the yard, reaching up to take the basket when he got to her. “How long have you been here?”

  “Oh, I just arrived,” she lied. He didn’t know she’d been watching him. She may have been courting him, but there was no sense in making him conceited about it. “I can wait, if you’re busy. Is Sara inside?”

  “Last I knew. I’ll just go and wash up and I’ll be ready for our picnic. Do you want me to unsaddle Indy, or would you like to walk?”

  She dismounted and took the basket from him. “Let’s walk.”

  While Will removed Indiana’s saddle, Daisy went into the house. She found Sara in the kitchen, shelling peas at the table.

  Her potential future sister-in-law l
ooked up and smiled as Daisy walked in. Bess, lying at her feet, raised her head and wagged her tail. Daisy placed the basket onto the table and bent to ruffle her fur.

  “How’s everything going?” Daisy nodded at her stomach and then winced. “I’m sorry. I hated it when I was getting near my time and the first thing anyone ever said to me was about the baby. It made me feel like there was nothing else to me beyond my pregnancy.”

  “I’ll admit, I have noticed that. But I don’t mind when it’s you, seeing as we’re almost family.” Sara looked down at her stomach. “And the answer is everything’s going fine, but I do wish I could get closer to the table.”

  “I know that feeling.”

  Daisy didn’t add that Sara was even bigger than she’d been with Nicky. She didn’t want to make her feel any worse.

  She took two loaves of freshly-baked bread and a fruit cake from the basket. “I brought you these. When I was coming near to my time there were days when I just didn’t feel like baking. And, well, I’ve experienced Will and Daniel’s cooking.”

  “It’s a good thing they have so many other wonderful qualities,” Sara said, laughing. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you. And you have perfect timing. We’re almost out of bread.”

  Daisy carried the bread and cake into the pantry then took a seat at the table.

  “So you and Will are going to have a picnic?” Sara asked.

  Daisy scooped a few pods from the bowl and began work on removing the peas inside. “We are.”

  “He’s been looking forward to it. He didn’t say as much, but I can tell.”

  There was that heart fluttering again. “I have too.”

  They shelled for a while in comfortable silence before Daisy spoke again. “It’s been hard to tell how he feels since I started courting him. Sometimes he seems to not like it, but then others…” Her thoughts went to the kiss and she shrugged.

  “Oh, I think he likes it,” Sara said. “Even though he won’t admit to it, he likes it.”

  “He can be so stubborn.”

  Sara heaved a sigh. “The Raine men.”

  Daisy nodded. “Yup.”

  That said it all, really.