A Daughter's Quest (13 page)

While he rode Blackie to the livery stable on the other side of town, Hans prayed for the doctor to know how to help Constance.

Charlie stood in the open doorway of the stable with his thumbs tucked under his suspenders and watched Hans ride toward him. “What happened to Blaze, and where is Miss Miller?”

By the time Hans had dismounted, Charlie was examining the horse’s front leg.

“Blaze stepped into a rut while going pretty fast. When he went down, Constance was thrown to the ground. I wasn’t too far back down the road, so I helped them. I left her at Doc’s.”

Charlie nodded. “Good…good. I’ve got some liniment that should help this soreness. It shouldn’t take too long for Blaze to be completely restored.”

“If it’s all right with you, I’ll keep Blackie a while longer.”

“Yup. Go right ahead.” Charlie led Blaze into the stable.

With determination, Hans turned the horse around and rode away.

When the doctor finished with Constance, he asked his wife to stay with her. He didn’t want Constance to go to sleep for a while since she hit her head when she fell.

Mrs. Harding sat beside the bed. A knitting basket rested on the floor beside her chair, and a mountain of something filled her lap. Her clicking needles punctuated the conversation.

Constance liked the woman. Her tender, helpful heart shone through everything she did.

“How long have you been in Browning City, Constance?” Mrs. Harding switched directions on the blanket or whatever it was going to be.

“More than a month.” Constance wished she wasn’t lying so flat. She would rather face the doctor’s wife more comfortably. “Several weeks. I would have to count up to be sure.” She looked all around the room, trying to see if there were any more pillows anywhere.

The knitting landed on the basket and spilled onto the floor. “Do you need something, dear?” Mrs. Harding leaned forward, and her kind eyes studied Constance’s face.

“I just thought if I had more pillows, I would be more comfortable.”

The other woman bustled back to the chest beside the door and pulled three puffy pillows from its depths. After placing them behind Constance’s back, she sat down and picked up her work.

“Now, where were we?” The rhythm of stitches continued as if there hadn’t been an interruption. “Where did you live before you came here?”

Constance knew the woman was trying to keep her occupied, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell her every detail of her life. “I’ve always lived in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.”

Before another question was forthcoming, thankfully, a knock sounded on the front door of the house.

“I’ll be right back. Just don’t go to sleep while I’m gone.”

In her mind, Constance followed Mrs. Harding’s footsteps up the hallway. She heard the front door unlatch and muffled voices carry on a conversation. The other woman’s voice sounded vaguely familiar, but because the two women spoke so softly, she wasn’t sure who exactly. Soon, two sets of footsteps came back down the hallway.

“Constance, look who came to check on you.” Mrs. Harding preceded the visitor through the doorway.

“Mary.” Constance was glad to see her friend. “How did you know I was here?”

The pastor’s wife smiled at her. “Hans came to tell me. We agreed that you shouldn’t go back to your room at the boardinghouse. I’m going to take you to the parsonage to recover. He should be here soon with a buggy.” She turned toward the doctor’s wife. “That is, if it’s all right with you.”

“I’ve enjoyed having her, but I do believe it would be better if she were with good friends.” She picked up her knitting and moved it away from the chair. “Why don’t you sit down and visit with Constance? I’ll go get you some coffee.”

Mary sank into the chair but put a restraining hand on Mrs. Harding’s arm. “I don’t need any coffee. Hans should be here soon.”

Almost before Constance realized what was happening, she rested once again in the strong arms of the man who rescued her. Hans carried her out to the waiting carriage and placed her in the cushioned rear seat. Then he lifted Mary up to sit beside her.

He drove slowly toward the parsonage, probably to keep from jarring Constance too much. The man’s thoughtfulness touched a place in her heart. No one had ever taken such good care of her. She was usually the one seeing to other people’s needs.

Mary kept up a running commentary all during the ride. At the house, Hans lifted Mary down, and she proceeded up the walk to open the door.

When he lifted Constance from the vehicle, she started to tell him that she could walk. He didn’t give her a chance, because he swept up the walk and into the house very quickly. Instead of taking her into a bedroom, he set her down in an overstuffed chair in the parlor.

“Thank you, Hans.” Mary hovered near. “Why don’t you come back and share supper with us? I’m sure Jackson will want to hear all about your exciting day.”

Hans tipped his cap. “I’d be obliged.” He turned to Constance. “I’ll go tell Mrs. Barker what happened so she won’t expect you back for a few days.”

After he left, Constance exclaimed, “A few days? I should be okay by tomorrow.”

Mary sat on the end of the sofa nearest her. “We don’t want to rush it. It will be my pleasure to have you here.”

“But you’re going to have a baby. You shouldn’t have to take care of me.”

Mary laughed. “Oh, Constance, not you, too. Jackson acts as if I’m made of blown glass. I’m perfectly healthy, and I will love having you here with me for a few days.”

When Hans returned for supper that evening, Constance still sat in the comfortable chair. He was glad to see that healthy color had returned to her face.

“Mary won’t let me lift a finger. I could get spoiled if this continues.” The twinkle in Constance’s eyes went straight to his heart.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” He pulled a straight chair near hers. “I hope I didn’t scare you when I rode toward you. Was that why you rode faster?”

Constance’s gaze dropped to her hands, which she twisted in her lap. “I probably owe you an apology. I should have listened to you about the dangers of riding alone. When I heard you coming, I was afraid you were a highwayman.”

She turned her eyes toward him, and her expression held true remorse. “We both made a mistake. Let’s just forgive each other.”

“Ja, forgiveness is a good thing.”

Supper with his three best friends loomed as a blessed promise.
Best friend? Is that all Constance is?
But she couldn’t be anything else until she opened up to him completely. He had prayed about her often, and he felt that God wanted them to be together, at least for now. Even though they had spent a lot of time together, she still held something back.

He wasn’t getting any younger, and he had asked God often enough to bring someone into his life for a lasting relationship, but there was no one else who interested him—not before Constance came to town, and especially not now.

After watching the happiness marriage brought to both

Jackson and Mary, Hans wanted the same thing for himself: A woman who would be the helpmeet Scripture speaks about. A woman to share the same dreams and goals. A woman to be the mother of his children and who really wanted those children. He didn’t even know if Constance liked being around young ones.

He turned his attention to the woman in question. “Do you have any brothers or sisters back home?”

Sadness fell like a veil over her face. “No. I’m an only child. If there had been anyone else, maybe Pa wouldn’t have sent me on this quest.”

Perhaps he had misjudged exactly why she was looking for Jim Mitchell. If she were going to marry the man, she wouldn’t have said that, would she?

“When you marry, are you looking forward to having children, Constance?”

She narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful faraway look before answering. “I hope God gives me lots of children. I didn’t like being an only child.” She turned a dazzling smile toward him. “Hans, why all the interest in my future?”

Since he couldn’t think of how to answer that, he was glad that Mary called them to supper.

Finally Constance was back at the boardinghouse. When she made her way to the kitchen that morning, Mrs. Barker expressed gratitude for having her back. While Constance worked, her thoughts returned to the last few days. She hadn’t planned on staying at the parsonage for more than a week, but until yesterday, each time she expressed a desire to go home, Mary had discouraged her.

Hans had spent a lot of time with her. She liked him, but when he was in the room with her, something inside her felt agitated…or more alive. She wasn’t sure which. She wondered if he didn’t have much work at the smithy. He was always underfoot. Probably since she had resumed her job, he would only come by at suppertime.

Constance felt as if she were in some kind of suspension, not able to make plans until she could fulfill her promise to her father. She even tried to talk to God about it, but He seemed so far away. Her questions about why He had taken her ma and pa hit the ceiling and bounced back. She had even asked Him to help her find Jim Mitchell, but that prayer also didn’t seem to reach heaven.

Maybe she should just continue with the search herself. The sooner, the better.

A few days later after she had made an extra supply of baked goods, she told Mrs. Barker that she wanted to take the next day off.

Early in the morning, she ate her breakfast, wrapped leftover biscuits and bacon in a rag, and set out for the livery stable. She knew Hans wouldn’t like her going off by herself, but she had to finish this before she could move on with her life. After all, the man wasn’t her keeper.

Hans enjoyed the freedom of being able to see Constance so often when she was at the parsonage. After she went back to work at the boardinghouse, he had to catch up with his work, but each evening at supper, he worked the conversation with Constance around to what she was going to do the next day. If she said she was going anywhere, he kept an eye out for her, trying not to let her know that he was watching her. Somehow, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. That woman needed a keeper…or protector, and he was just the man to do it, whether she agreed or not.

Last night, Constance had seemed evasive when they were talking. Something was up, and he figured it had to do with going back out to the Mitchell farm. He went to the livery early and rented Blackie for the day. By the time she came, rented Blaze, and started on the road toward the farm, he was already on the way. But he went across country, from one copse of trees to the next, never getting very far from the road.

Sure enough, Constance galloped down the road not long after he left town. He kept far enough away so she didn’t see him, but he was careful not to let her completely out of his sight. Soon she slowed to a comfortable pace. As he watched her, she seemed to be taking the time to enjoy the countryside, but she headed straight down the road toward the farm.

Hans would like to enjoy the surroundings, but he didn’t want to take the chance that she was really going somewhere else. He kept his attention on her.

Constance rode directly up to the house. She dismounted beside the front porch and tied Blaze’s reins to one of the supporting columns.