Second-Chance Bride (Dakota Brides Book 3)(16)

Over the following days, they slipped into a routine. She came in the morning. He and the boys walked her home toward dark. He worked the field. She looked after the boys and made the meals. Life couldn’t have been simpler.

Or so one would think.

But she wanted to know how to handle the horses and he had agreed to teach her, so every day she came out and watched him put the animals into harness until, after three days, she said, “Will you let me try?”

He handed her the reins and stood at her elbow as she prepared for the horses to back up to the seeder. She knew their names—Tiny and Buster—and called them.

The horses backed up. She pulled one rein too much and Tiny backed up more. She squealed. “What did I do wrong?”

The boys observed from nearby.

He stood behind Freyda, reaching around to guide her hands. For a moment, he couldn’t remember what he meant to do. Which rein to pull. How to correct the horses. All he could think was how she fit perfectly into his arms, as if they had been made for each other. His heart hammered against his ribs until he feared she would notice.

He somehow managed to get the horses straight then stepped away and hurried to hook up the seeder.

“I will learn,” she said. “Come on, boys. We have work to do.” The three of them marched away.

“You did good,” he called after her.

She lifted a hand in acknowledgment without turning to him.

He ground his teeth hard. Either she’d been aware of his reaction to holding her, or taken offense at him touching her like that.

The morning slipped by far too quickly as he tried to think how he could undo the damage he’d done. Should he mention it and apologize? Or pretend nothing had happened?

By noon, when she waved at him from the house to come for dinner, he hadn’t decided and took his time taking care of the horses.

Freyda waited at the stove when he finally went to the house. Milo and Kit sat at the table.

“Sorry I took so long,” he murmured as he took his place.

“I knew you had to tend to the horses.” She put the food on the table and sat down to his left where she’d sat every day for the past week. A week. That made this Saturday. He asked the blessing and passed the food around, helping fill Kit’s plate.

Dorothy wanted to go town every Saturday even when he was far too busy to stop work.

“I just realized what day it is. Do you want to go to town? If so, I can look after the boys.”

She stopped eating and looked at him, puzzlement in her face. “Is it a special day?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“Yes, I know. There’s a Saturday in every week.”

He answer surprised him and he chuckled. “Seems to me there’s a Sunday and Monday too.”

“So is this a special Saturday?”

“No, but I wondered if you wanted to go to town?”

She still looked puzzled. “Is it something I’m expected to do? If so, I need to know why.”

“Most women like to go to town to shop and socialize.” He waited to see if she would understand his meaning.

She looked about the room. “You appear to have enough supplies to last another week or more. My own pantry is full and will feed the four of us for as long as it takes to put in my crop. I know no one in Grassy Plains, though perhaps my brother Anker and his wife, Lena, might have cause to go to town. As to socializing, I have lots of company right here in this house.” She smiled at Milo and Kit and they glowed with pleasure.

She turned to Ward. “So if you don’t mind, I’ll stay here.”

Mind? He certainly didn’t, but it was his turn to be puzzled. Freyda did not fit into any of the slots he had for how women acted. Was it because she was Norwegian? Or because she was different?



Freyda took the boys outside after the dinner dishes were done. She left a stew simmering on the back of the stove. Her gaze went to where Ward worked. His field looked to be about half done. That meant one more week at his place and then they would go to hers.

She watched him, glad of a chance to do so unobserved. Had he wanted her to leave for the afternoon? Perhaps he grew weary of her constant presence, even following him to the field. She’d tried to back the horses up this morning and had done it wrong, forcing him to reach around and guide her hands. It had been an awkward moment though she had to admit she liked the feel of his arms around her.

He looked toward the house and she jerked her attention to the boys. It was a hot day and she hadn’t forgotten her promise to let them play in the creek. She helped them get ready, then they walked to the creek, carrying towels for them to dry on and a blanket for her to sit on. Today was too nice to spoil with regrets and worries.

The boys shed their clothes down to the pants she had found for them. They were cotton and worn out. She had ripped off the legs. They waded into the water, squealing it was cold. But they were soon wet from head to toe and splashing about with abandon.

They dug in the bed of the creek, looking for more treasure.

She sat back on the blanket, reveling in the warm sun, and watched the boys play. Over the past few days she noticed less and less of the dark anger in Milo’s eyes and had the pleasure of hearing him laugh more often. She had grown to love the two of them. At least they lived close enough she could see them often even after she and Ward were finished with this agreement.