CHAPTER 49 — THE DEED

The wind played with her skirt, tossing it back and forth against her legs as she maintained her position on the front porch.

The sound of hammer contacting nail somewhere in the background seemed irrelevant next to the pounding of her heart in her chest as her eyes remained trained on the road leading to the farm.

She knew she needed to sit down, if only to rest her aching muscles. However, she had been telling herself that for nearly an hour and could not heed to her own advice. She was too anxious to sit still for a second.

It was a few more minutes of standing, before the distinct sound of approaching horses reached her.

Straightening, she stretched her neck, cupped her hands over her brows and stood on tiptoes. There, in the distance, making its way to the newly fixed gates of the farm, was the wagon.

Releasing a breath, she didn’t realize she had been holding, she waited until the wagon neared the building, before hurriedly making her way down the stairs.

“How did it go?” Raymond brought the wagon to a halt and jumped down the side. “What happened?” She scanned his weary face, fear settling in her heart. She hoped for the best, yet knew from his features that she would get bad news soon.

Raymond opened his mouth to speak, but immediately shut it once more, the sound of someone calling for his attention in the distance, gaining both their attention.

Lily tore her eyes off of Raymond, a frown settling on her face as she caught sight of the young woman that was practically running toward them, her long, brown locks flying behind her. Her hand clung to the hem of her brown skirt, as if worried she might trip on it considering the speed at which she was racing to them.

A little distance behind her was Raymond’s farmhand, Joshua, doing very little to keep up with her speed.

“Papa?!” She gasped, bumping into Raymond, her hands wrapping around his neck. “Oh, please tell me it went well!” She released him, stepping back as Josh came to a halt beside her.

Lily eyed Josh suspiciously, before turning back to Raymond. “Well?” She raised a brow, remarkably tired from having to wait so long for an answer. She had practically spent the entire day waiting.

Raymond’s eyes moved back and forth between Lily and Scarlet, her heart pounding louder in her ears each time his eyes came to rest on her. When he finally shook his head, she stepped back, a loud sob escaping her lips as she clasped her hands over her mouth.

“I did,” he announced, grinning as he swept her shocked form into his arms. “I got the farm!”

Lily stood frozen for several seconds, hardly believing his words. Only a second ago, he had admitted to not getting it by the shake of his head. Had he only been teasing her? Surely, he had! She could hardly stand moving, leaving behind a farm she was fully comfortable in. Not only had the farm been her home for nearly five years, it was just starting to do well. They had a steady supply of crops to sell, Raymond was looking into dairy farming and they had built a new cabin for Scarlet, Josie, Lexie and Millie.

With Scarlet being sixteen, Josie being thirteen, Lexie being eleven and Millie, eight, it was quite glaring that they direly needed their privacy.

Even as she thought of the cabin, she thought of Josh and his new fondness for Scarlet. It was for the purpose of building the cabin that Raymond had hired help. The last thing Lily had been expecting was to find Scarlet’s attention drifting to a young man they hardly knew.

Not that Josh wasn’t handsome, for he was. With curly red locks, blue eyes, and a freckled face, he was quite the catch in a town that lacked good-looking men. He was also young—perhaps twenty-three years—and he seemed smitten with Scarlet.

His presence on the farm made Lily worry that Scarlet might have very little use of her new cabin. She might get married, run off with the handsome red head and begin the journey of bearing children at the tender age of sixteen.

Briefly, Lily’s eyes shifted to the cabin that was completed but for the absence of windows and doors, and a frown immediately settled on her face; the cabin suddenly seemed useless.

“I’m sorry, love, I was only playing with you.” Raymond’s voice pulled her back to the present, her eyes shifting back to his smiling face. “Here,” he buried his hand in his back pocket and pulled out a white sheet of paper, “the deed!” His announcement caused joy to flood her entire body. To think, even after Fiona had done everything to take their farm and to ruin their marriage, they had saved them both.

With Scarlet’s new love interest forgotten, she threw herself into his arms and kissed his cheek.

“Oh, thank God!” She laughed, tightening her hold around his neck. Her eyes glimpsed Scarlet and Josh’s hands locking, and the frown returned.

Pulling away, she turned to Scarlet, who immediately released the farmhand’s hand, a bright red color spreading across her face as she bowed her head and clasped her hands before her.

“Perhaps we must get started on dinner,” Lily announced, and something flickered in Scarlet’s eyes as she raised her head to up. Her mouth felt open, as if in protest, but soon fell close again.

Nodding, she stepped forward. “Congratulations, Papa.” Scarlet, who was now an inch taller than Lily, placed a kiss on Raymond’s cheek, before turning to make her way to the building without a sideways glance at Lily.

Lily watched her retreating climb the front stairs and enter the building. She could tell, just by watching Scarlet half march to the building, that she was upset.

A deep frown settled on her face as she turned to the redhead. “And you will get back to work, will you not?” she snapped, impatient and unwilling to lose her daughter to a man—at least not now.

Josh bowed his head slightly, his fingers fiddling with the worn, brown hat in his hands.

Lily ran her eyes down the length of his dirty gray shirt, black pants and boots. She stared at him, realizing as she did that, he was nervous. His body seemed to tremble slightly as he stood with his head bowed before them.

“I—” he began, his fiddling hands trembling. “I’m especially happy to hear that, Mr. McAllister.”

“Thank you, Josh.”

Raising his head slowly, his blue eyes finally came to settle on them. “Would... Would it…”

Lily stepped back, anticipating and dreading his question all at once. Shaking her head, she said, “Get back to work!”

Turning to Raymond, she took his hand and led him inside, all the while, feeling the eyes of the lone red head on them, until she was slamming the door shut.

***

“What do you think?”

“Hm?” Lily rubbed her chin, her eyes fixed on the object before her.

She was distracted—she had been distracted for many days. Even as she stared at the object, he could tell she was barely even looking at it.

“It is wonderful, Ray, they’ll love it,” she said. Turning to him, she forced a smile to her lips. “Especially Scarlet, she’ll love it. Perhaps it will put a smile on her face.”

“Perhaps.” He touched her face. “Are you unwell?”

She shrugged. “Scarlet looks like her mother, Rachel.”

Raymond’s eyes darted to the painting briefly, before returning to Lily’s face. He understood then, as he stared into her weary blue eyes, that she was worried about Scarlet. She had seen, and him, that his farmhand had gained Scarlet’s attention. He had watched their relationship blossom and had even expected them to begin their courtship.

Lily didn’t seem pleased. She hadn’t spoken about it, but the day he had returned from town with the deed of the farm, she had practically dragged him into the building just as Josh had said something.

As he stared at her now, he thought he knew the reason for her strange behavior.

Pulling her against himself, his arms encircled her, and he kissed her head. “You know,” he whispered, leaning his cheek on her head, “he asked.”

She froze then, her body stiffening in his arms. She understood his announcement—Josh had asked for Raymond’s permission to court Scarlet—and he could tell the news displeased Lily.

“Why am I unhappy, Ray? If she leaves…”

“When—when she leaves. They will all leave, love, every one of them. It is not our job to stop that from happening, it is our job to make sure they leave with the right people. I have worked with Josh throughout spring and summer, and I can assure you he’s a good, young man. Although,” he chuckled, “It appears he’s afraid of you.”

“Oh?” She pulled away, a frown on her face as she folded her arms. “He should be.” She turned from him to stare at the painting of Rachel, the painting he had made specifically for Scarlet.

He thought she deserved it, to not only have the memory of her mother, but to have a lasting picture of her.

“What was your response?”

“I told him I’d have to ask you first.” He took a hold of her shoulders and gently turned her to him. She had worked to stop Josh’s attempt to ask their permission to court Scarlet. The young man had asked Raymond behind Lily’s back, and he knew the news didn’t please her. Yet, he didn’t want to decide without her.

“I…” She breathed softly, closing her eyes for a few seconds. “I can tell she wants to enter a courtship with him. I mean, she wouldn’t even look at me lately.” Her eyes snapped open. “I’ll think about it,” she sighed, “I’ll think about it, but for now, I think it is time to show the children their cabin.”

“Hm.” He smiled, touching her face and thinking of how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to be married to her. She wasn’t the flawless blonde who had answered his ad—her skin wasn’t flawless and her hands weren’t delicate. Her eyes weren’t innocent and presumably simple. Her hair wasn’t pulled to a fancy hairdo.

She was instead imperfect, skin nearly as tan as his, hands bearing cuts, blisters, nails jagged, hair falling to a scattered mass around her shoulders, eyes bright and filled with wisdom and experience, and clothes simple and fitted to her small frame. She was the mother of seven perfect children who adored her.

Most of all, she was his wife, he thought, a smile spreading across his face. She was his perfection. Worlds apart from the flawless woman, yet he was dangerously attracted to her, and he loved her. His heart ached for her and his desires were only for her.

Leaning down, he captured her lips and kissed her with every feeling of love that existed in his heart. She cupped his face and returned his kiss.

 “Perhaps the children can wait a while longer.” She grinned, reaching for his button. “Just a little longer.”