Bluebonnet Bride

  Hannah wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?”

  “A sweet bread I know you’ll like. And tomorrow I’m going to show you how to make a custard pancake with jelly. It’s called pannakakkua. You’ll be a little Finnish girl before you know it.” It was one of the few things she knew how to cook. Her gaze locked with Nathan’s, and the smile in his eyes made her swallow hard.

  She rose and took Hannah by the hand. “Let’s go home.”

  He followed her to the buggy. “I will drop you two home, then go back to work. I’ve been gone all morning, and it’s not a good way to begin my employment. I need to earn the respect of the men.”

  She accepted his assistance into the buggy. “I’m sorry my problem dragged you away.”

  “It’s not your problem, it’s our problem. It’s no worry, Elli. Really.”

  Her name on his lips sounded sweet. She wished they could take a drive along the river and smell the flowers blooming on the hillsides. Forget all about the attack last night and the way they were still finding their way with their relationship. Maybe tonight after dinner they could go for a walk.

  There was going to be time for all of that. She was being too impatient, too eager to get past the awkwardness she still felt between them.

  Still smiling, Elli unlocked the door and pushed it open. The first thing that struck her was the faint scent of something smoky and sweet. Tobacco. But Nathan didn’t smoke, and he hadn’t been in the house anyway.

  When Hannah started to dart inside, she grabbed the child’s shoulder and pulled her back. “Would you feed the kitty for me, honey? His food is in the garden shed.”

  Hannah brightened and dashed around the side of the house with her blue shirt flying behind her. Ellie stepped into the entry and looked around. It appeared as though everything they owned was on the floor. Piles of clothing lay strewn in heaps in the doorway to the bedroom. Shoes and boots were upended as though someone had shaken them out. In a daze, she walked toward the kitchen. It was the same situation in that room. Pie plates and iron skillets lay on the floor, and every dish towel had been pulled from the drawer. The pie-safe doors hung open, and the shelves were emptied of their contents. Piles of sugar and flour lay in white drifts like snow.

  She stood with her mouth gaping until she realized whoever had done this could still be inside. Her breath came hard in her chest as she bolted for the front door. She had to stop Hannah from coming in here. The destruction would frighten the child even if the intruder was long gone.

  Was that a creak from the bedroom? Her mouth went dry, but she reached the front of the house and rushed out onto the porch as Hannah came skipping up the walk.

  The little girl stopped when she saw Elli’s face. Her gaze darted past Elli. “I want Uncle Nathan.”

  Though the little girl weighed forty pounds, Elli scooped her up and ran for the Becker house. Hannah didn’t struggle but wrapped skinny arms around Elli’s neck and clung tightly as if she understood the urgency. They practically crushed Hannah’s wooden doll between them. She reached Abby’s porch and rushed to the door where she rang the doorbell. Through the window she caught a brief glimpse of a male form inside heading to the back of the house.

  Abby, her brown hair hanging onto her shoulders, appeared moments later with a smile that quickly faded after one glance at Elli. “Whatever is the matter?” She opened the screen door wide. “Come in. You look as though you are about to faint.”

  Elli did feel a little light-headed. She set Hannah down and hurried inside with a final fearful glance back at her house. The aroma of freshly baked bread hung in the air. “Someone was in our house. I need to call Nathan. And the police. Is your father here?”

  “No, my brother was, but he just left.” Abby clucked her tongue, then shut the door and locked it. “Again? What is going on in this neighborhood?” She seized Elli’s arm and guided her into the parlor.

  Lace doilies covered the arms of the red sofa and tan chairs, and Abby’s crocheting lay on the middle sofa. The room felt homey and lived in. Lace curtains filtered the sunshine through the windows but revealed the outlines of Elli’s house next door.

  Elli sank into the welcoming arms of the chair before her legs gave out. She pulled Hannah onto her lap. “Someone ransacked our house. Everything is on the floor, everything!” She told Abby what she’d seen.

  Abby put her hand to her mouth. “I’ll ring the police. They can call Nathan home.” She stepped to the phone on the wall in the hallway and picked up the earpiece. She jiggled the handle and spoke to the operator. “Please ring the police for me, Mildred. There’s been a break-in next door. Yes, again. I’ll tell you about it at church.”

  What did it all mean? Why would anyone come in and search all their belongings? Could they be looking for something of value? She and Nathan were far from wealthy so it made no sense. She certainly had brought nothing of value from Finland. Her fingers crept to the locket around her neck. Only the necklace her father had given her on her last birthday.

  Abby returned, her hazel eyes shadowed with worry. “The police will be right here. You did the right thing to come for help.”

  Now that the fear was leaving her, Elli wanted to march back across the lawn and see what the thief had taken. She wanted to clean up the debris. But not without Nathan. “Abby, did you see anything? Anything at all?”

  Abby sat on the sofa and smoothed her gray skirt. “I’m afraid not. I spent most of the morning baking bread. The kitchen window looks out onto the backyard, so I saw nothing.”

  “And you’ve seen nothing since you returned to the front of the house? No strangers walking on the sidewalk?”

  Abby hesitated. “Well, there was a man walking his dog. I think he might be new to the community because I didn’t recognize him.”

  “What did he look like?”

  Abby gave a helpless shrug. “I didn’t look that closely. I’m sure he was exactly what he seemed.”

  Hannah nestled against her. “I’m hungry, Elli.”

  “Of course you are.” She looked at Abby. “I’m so sorry to bother you, but she hasn’t had lunch. Might she have a bite to eat?”

  “Of course. How about honey on fresh bread, honey?” Abby rose and held out her hand to Hannah who slid off Elli’s lap and reached up to take it.

  Hannah stopped and looked back at Elli. Her face began to pucker. “I forgot my teddy. He’ll be lonely without me.” Tears filled her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks.

  Elli bit her lip and glanced through the window at the house. The intruder was long gone, and it would only take a few moments to run inside and grab the teddy bear. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you watch her a few minutes?”

  “Of course, but what are you going to do?”

  Elli gestured toward the door. “I’m going to run in and grab Hannah’s teddy bear. I won’t be long.”

  “Wait for Nathan and the police. They’ll be here soon.”

  Hannah’s sobs grew louder, and Elli sighed. “She’s too upset. I’ll be right back.”

  Abby reached toward her. “It’s a very poor idea. I’ll watch out for you from the window.”

  “I’ll be careful. I’ll use the back door.” Elli rose and headed for the door.

  SIX

  The house appeared fine when Nathan approached with Officer Turley in the lead. The closed door presented a neat and tidy appearance. He bounded the steps on Turley’s heels and took out his key, but it was already unlocked.

  Turley twisted the doorknob. “Stay here.” He entered the home.

  “I’m going around back,” Nathan called after him.

  He glanced next door as he walked around the side of the house. No sign of his family, and he wanted to see them. Once he was sure there was no intruder inside, he could go get them. Elli had already been through so much since she arrived. He’d promised to protect her, and it chafed at him that he didn’t seem able to keep her safe. He’d barely gotten back to work when he received the summons fr
om the police.

  His feet sank into the carpet of grass in the backyard. He hadn’t even been back here to look around. There was a gardener’s shed at the back of the property as well as the sauna he’d had built for her. The yard ended with a fence separating it from a farmer’s field. He spun back toward the house at a sound. Movement came from the shadows on the other side of the house, and he started toward the figure. Then he saw Elli.

  Her expression of concentration eased when she noticed his approach. “I believe the intruder is gone.”

  “What are you doing out here alone? Where’s Hannah?”

  Her small hand gestured toward the neighbor’s. “She’s with Abby.” Her chin, pointed most adorably, came up. “Hannah was crying for her teddy bear. I was just going to grab it and hurry out.”

  He took her arm and led her away from the shadows. “That was very foolhardy. You’re tiny, and any man could easily overpower you. You should have waited for me.”

  She opened her hand to reveal a small knife. “It may not look very big, but I know how to use it.” Her blue eyes flashed, and her lips flattened with an expression of fierce determination.

  He bit his lip to keep from laughing. Something opened and expanded in his chest. He liked her. It wasn’t just her beauty but her spirit. The more he got to know her, the more he liked her.

  They reached the back door, and he stopped. “What did you see when you were inside?”

  “Everything was on the floor. He’d even dumped flour and sugar everywhere.”

  He listened to her account of the noises she’d heard and the way she bolted for the door to intercept Hannah. “So he might have been in one of the bedrooms.”

  “I think perhaps that is so.”

  She was close enough for him to smell the flowery scent that clung to her. He hadn’t had much time for women. He’d gotten his first job when he was ten. It had taken most of his waking hours to help support his sister. When Hannah came along, the pressure to earn enough money had increased. A few women had flirted with him in the bar where he’d worked part-time, but he hadn’t given them any serious thought. Not with his sister and Hannah depending on him.

  He stepped closer and took her arm. “Let’s see what Turley has found.” Matching her shorter stride, he guided Elli around the end of the house to the porch. The front door still hung open. They mounted the steps, and he thrust his head inside. “Officer Turley?”

  He sniffed. Was that tobacco?

  Turley came from his bedroom. “No one here.”

  “It smells like someone was smoking in here.”

  “You don’t smoke a pipe, Mr. White?”

  Nathan shook his head. He and Elli stepped into the entry. The devastation made him gasp. “I don’t think he left anything in the drawers.”

  “The back bedroom is the worst. Even the mattress is ripped open.”

  Elli’s fingers tightened on his arm. Nathan rubbed his forehead. “That’s my wife’s room.”

  “Just your wife’s?”

  He nodded and decided not to say anything more. It wasn’t the officer’s business to know about their personal relationship. “That might be a coincidence.”

  “I doubt it. First she’s attacked in her bedroom, and then her room is searched. He appears to be looking for something of value.”

  “What if it is something left by the previous tenant?” Nathan tried to think what that might be, but any foreman who lived here wouldn’t have been wealthy. Who had lived here before him? He planned to ask around and see.

  The officer went toward the door. “I’ll leave you to your cleanup. The place appears safe, but I’d stay close to the missus tonight just in case.” He tipped his hat and stepped out onto the porch.

  Elli stooped to pick up a jacket in the corner. “It’s difficult to know where to start. It will take the rest of the day to put this to rights. You can go back to work. We’ll be fine. Perhaps Abby wouldn’t mind caring for Hannah while I clean up the mess. I’d rather she didn’t see this in case it upsets her.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone. The intruder broke in during broad daylight. He has no fear of being caught, which makes him all the more dangerous.”

  She grasped his forearm. “But your job!”

  “The senator said I could take some time off if I need it.” Her upturned face was only inches away. All he had to do was lean down and brush his lips across hers. He hadn’t kissed a girl since he was a boy, back in the days when his biggest worry was whether he’d pass his math test. His pulse ratcheted up a notch as he contemplated such a daring action. She was his wife, after all. He had a perfect right to kiss her.

  But that wasn’t their agreement. She was here to care for Hannah. He didn’t have the right to ask more of her.

  He moved so her hand dropped away. “I’ll get Hannah.” He’d married a woman with an amazing amount of grit.

  The next week passed without incident, though Elli slept little as she listened for an intruder. Turley stopped by to inform them he had questioned and released Thatcher. The man claimed to know nothing about the attack.

  Saturday morning she entered the kitchen to find Nathan packing a picnic basket. “Are you taking Hannah out?”

  His green eyes were full of merriment. “Yes. And you too.”

  “Going where?” The thought of a day spent with her new little family made her grin.

  “To the lake. I’m taking fishing poles and food. We’ll spend the whole day. We all need a bit of fun.”

  “Yay!” Hannah danced around her uncle with the same abandon Elli would have done if she’d had the courage. “I’m going to get my fishing pole!” She dashed from the room back toward the bedroom she shared with Nathan.

  Nathan grinned at his niece, and Elli allowed her gaze to linger on his handsome form. She’d never seen that dimple in his cheek. He looked ten years younger in his chambray shirt and dungarees. His brown hair was a little mussed too, and she liked his carefree appearance.

  She looked down at her dress. “I’d better change into a better dress. I thought I would be baking bread today.”

  “Not today. And you look nice in that dress. The blue suits you.”

  Her cheeks warmed at the approval in his eyes. “Can I pack the food?”

  She moved to join him at the table. Their shoulders brushed, and her throat tightened at his nearness. They both reached for the loaf of bread, and their hands touched. Instead of pulling away, he closed his fingers over hers. The warm press of his fingers stilled her. She glanced up to find him staring at her with a hungry expression. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Was he beginning to see her as more than a nanny for Hannah?

  She swallowed. “I can make the sandwiches if you like.”

  “You’ll probably do a better job than I would.” He held her gaze, then picked up her hand and turned it over. “You have a blister on your finger.”

  “From snapping beans yesterday.”

  “You didn’t have to work so hard in Finland, did you?”

  She found it hard to think with his thumb moving back and forth across her palm. “I . . . I don’t mind. I like being useful. Sometimes in Finland, I wished to have a purpose, to do something that mattered. Hannah matters.” You matter, she wanted to say, but it would be much too forward when he’d made it clear he wanted her only as a mother for his niece.

  His hand reached out and cupped her cheek, and she breathed in the scent of the shaving soap he’d used. She couldn’t look away as he stared into her eyes. What was he thinking?

  His thumb tested the softness of her lower lip. “You’re very beautiful, Elli. I never expected . . .”

  “What?” she whispered.

  “I never expected to be so drawn to you. I like you. Somehow I thought it would be different to have a woman in the house. More like it was between Jane and me. Comrades, someone to talk to, but that’s all.” A frown crouched between his eyes, but he didn’t move his hand away. “What would you say if I
asked to court you properly?”

  Her breath hitched in her throat. “I would say it’s what I’ve been praying for.”

  A surprised smile lifted his lips. “May I kiss you, Elli?”

  She tipped her face up and stepped closer, slipping one hand onto his shirt. “I think I would like that.”

  His firm lips came down on hers, soft at first. Their breath mingled, and she inhaled the manly scent of him. She’d never been kissed before, and at the first touch of his mouth, her other hand went up around the back of his neck. The scrape of his cheek against her face was foreign yet somehow natural, as though they’d kissed a thousand times before. They fit together like a puzzle, her softness melting into his strength.

  Her eyes were still closed when he lifted his head. She didn’t move away but laid her head on his chest. The silence should have been uncomfortable, but the wild racing of his heart under her ear made her smile and want to kiss him again.

  His rough hand smoothed her hair. “I hope I wasn’t too rough. I’m not used to kissing women.”

  She lifted her head and angled a teasing smile his way. “You seem quite good at it.”

  His face reddened. “I don’t want you to think I took it lightly.”

  “I trust you, Nathan. I don’t say that easily. Trust has been hard for me lately. Those I thought I could trust and depend on have failed to stand by me when I needed them. But you’re a different sort of man. Even I can tell that.”

  The color on his face deepened. “You humble me, Elli. I’m just an ordinary man trying to do the best I can. I’m nothing special.”

  “Oh, but you are.” She ran her fingertips over his cheek. “It is only more appealing that you have no idea how special you are.”

  “Keep looking at me like that and I might have to kiss you again.” His voice was husky.

  Her pulse jumped and she smiled. “You mean like this?” She put as much invitation into her expression as she could, though she knew little about seduction and attraction.