Second-Chance Bride (Dakota Brides Book 3)(30)

Ward touched her hand. “I think that was part of the reason you wanted to leave.”

“It was. I didn’t want to be taken care of like they meant.”

He wondered if she wanted to be taken care of in a different way, but he wouldn’t ask.

“When I was seventeen Jens Solberg started to court me. At first, he seemed to understand my need for—” She wagged her hands. “I’m not even sure what to call it—independence, freedom—I just don’t know.”

“Maybe you just wanted to be seen as a person worthy of recognition.”

She nodded. “That’s right. Anyway, when I told Jens of my dream to go to America he couldn’t understand. He put it down to a childish wish that I needed to outgrow.”

“What happened to Jens?” He wanted to know if the young man had broken her heart.

“I told him I wasn’t giving up my dream. He said he wasn’t leaving Norway, so I would have to choose between him or America. The choice was easy.”

“And then you met Baruk?”

“Yes, he was cousin to a girl I knew well. He came to visit his aunt and uncle and help on their farm as his uncle had been injured felling a tree. I was very guarded around him. Then I heard of his plans to go to America. I knew then he was a man I could care about.”

Ward wondered if the attraction between them was over the dream of America.

“We made plans to leave shortly after we married.” She squeezed her hands between her knees and lowered her voice. “That’s when he informed me I couldn’t go with him. Not until the house was built.” She stared into the distance. “When he died everyone assumed I would give up on America. Instead, here I am.” The look she gave him blared with determination.

He nodded. “Here you are. You’ve achieved your dream, but without your husband.” He waited, wondering if she would give an indication of what she was feeling.

“I spent more time without Baruk after I met him than with him. I know it sounds disloyal, but I hardly remember him.” Her gaze sought his. He couldn’t say if she hoped for understanding or expected otherwise. But he had to be honest.

“We are in similar positions.” Hope filled her eyes at his words. He continued, slowly, hoping she wouldn’t misunderstand him. “Seems we married wanting one thing and getting another.”

“I don’t even know if I loved him,” she whispered. “Admitting that makes me feel so awful. I suppose it’s part of the reason I must fulfill our dream. To make our marriage have some value.” She looked at him, her eyes dark with pain.

His heart stalled at the agony of her confession. Without giving himself time to consider his actions, he wrapped his arms about her and pulled her to his chest. “Maybe it’s time you stopped trying to prove something to everyone else and decide what it is you want.”

She sniffled. “I thought I knew, but now I’m not certain.”

Had knowing him and the boys had anything to do with her uncertainty? Was she seeing that being alone and independent was not as satisfying as she hoped it to be?

She shuddered back a sob.

He rubbed her back, much as he did with Kit when the boy was upset. “I have no doubt you will figure it out.”

“I’m glad you have so much confidence in me.”

He grinned at the doubt in her voice. He leaned back, caught her chin with his finger, turned her face toward him and smiled down at her. “Freyda Haevre, I have no doubt that you can and will do whatever you set your mind to.”

“Are you calling me stubborn?” Her voice contained a hint of teasing and a whole lot of longing.

“You are strong and capable.”

Her eyes held his, seeking more of what he offered. There seemed only one way to convince her she was a strong woman. His gaze went to her mouth, lingered there a moment. He sought her eyes. She tipped her head toward him. He needed no more invitation and lowered his head to capture her lips. A jolt of surprise, pleasure, and awareness raced through him.

Freyda’s arms crept around his waist and she leaned into the kiss.

Ward was at a loss to know what was happening. This kiss was like nothing he’d ever experienced before despite having had a wife. The kiss filled his heart with yearning and a sweet knowledge that he could find the answer to his longings with this woman.

Bells rang in the distance. Warning of danger. It took him a moment to realize the bells came from his head. Reluctantly, slowly, his lips lingering on hers, he eased back, removed his arms from around her.

Freyda sat up and edged away. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. It won’t happen again.”

“No, it was my fault. And you’re right. It won’t happen again.”

She turned to him. Her blue eyes were sheened with tears. “I want. I don’t want.” She shrugged.

Despite his previous words he could not leave her in such misery and he leaned close, planting a kiss on her trembling lips.

He withdrew before she could respond. “A kiss is just a kiss. Sometimes it offers nothing more than comfort.” If only he could believe it.

“Nice to know,” she said, with a touch of sass.

He chuckled, but decided it wisest to hold his tongue or he’d be kissing her again to prove his point.



Freyda rubbed her lips together and tried to think. Ward had kissed her. Or had she kissed him? And then he’d said it was only to comfort her. To her, it had felt like much more than that. She knew it couldn’t be, but at the moment she imagined them having more than a work agreement.