Adam's Bride (2 page)

Lidia jerked her head up at Adam’s question. His hair was as black as coal, and his eyes, while dark, had glints of gold in their depths. She’d never been as scared as she had the few moments before he’d arrived. While the rabid dog chased her across the frozen terrain, she’d been quite certain her short life was over. If it hadn’t been for a small flock of birds that distracted the aggressive beast, she wouldn’t have had the time to make it up the tree.

Then he’d come along.

“You want to take me somewhere?” Lidia glanced at the motionless form of the dog and tried to clear her head. “No. I’m fine, really, and I doubt I’ll run into a rabid animal twice in one day. Besides, I’m not going far.”

“If you’re sure …”

She nodded and despite the frigid wind, she felt a warm blush creep up her cheeks. There was something about him that made her want to stop and take a second look. But he must think her to be the most unconventional lady, or perhaps not a lady at all, for hoisting herself up in a tree—no matter what the circumstances.

Quickly saying good-bye, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her threadbare coat and hurried down the icy lane toward the mill, determined to forget this Adam Johnson. She still had a full day’s work ahead of her, and there was certainly no time in her life to fantasize about handsome heroes and their legendary conquests. Not when she had a brother to take care of. No. Thankfully, she’d more than likely never see her gallant rescuer again.

Adam reached down to pick up the gun he’d propped against the side of the tree and tried to shake the strange feeling that had swept over him when he’d looked at Lidia. Of course, he was imagining things. Just because it had been months since he’d seen anyone quite as lovely as her was no reason to let his mind wander. Teasing from his older sister, Rebecca, didn’t help, either. She might have run off to Boston and snagged herself a husband, but that didn’t mean Adam was looking to settle down.

A flash of color in the snow caught his eyes. He bent for a closer look. After sweeping away a layer of powdery snow, he picked up a small Bible with gold lettering on the cover. He opened it to the front page and felt his heart plummet. He hadn’t noticed her accent, but the name was evidence enough. Inside the front cover in neat script, was the name Lidia Kowalski. The truth struck him like a second bullet to his brother’s heart. The beautiful girl he’d just rescued was Polish.

two

“You never told me what Lidia’s like.”

Adam leaned back in one of the hotel dining room chairs and frowned at Rebecca’s pointed statement. “I didn’t tell you, because I don’t know. I only spoke to her briefly, then offered to take her home. When she refused, I left. That was all.”

He pulled off his thick wool gloves then laid them beside his hat on the restaurant table. Normally it was Sarah, his younger sister, who was full of nosy questions, but lately Rebecca had become just as probing. He hadn’t planned for anyone to discover that he’d rescued the young woman. If it hadn’t been for Rebecca noticing the small, gold-lettered Bible in his coat pocket after church on Sunday, no one would have ever found out. That was when all his troubles began.

Instead of forgetting the incident as he’d wanted, he’d suddenly become some heroic champion ripped straight from the pages of one of those dime novels Rebecca read when she thought no one was looking. And Sarah also found it terribly romantic because he’d “rescued a beautiful maiden in distress,” as she’d exclaimed more than once during the past week.

The waitress brought their hot drinks, giving him a reprieve from answering more of Rebecca’s questions. He busied himself with adding three teaspoons of sugar to the steaming coffee, then settled back in the wooden chair to take a sip. With the bright yellow and orange flames crackling in the large stone fireplace beside them, it was easy to forget how quickly the temperature was dropping outside. If the cold spell lasted another week or two with its hard freezes at night and temperatures warming up during the days, the conditions for harvesting the sap from his maple trees would be perfect.

“You’re telling me that you didn’t notice anything about her?” his sister persisted.

Adam groaned inwardly. He hadn’t planned to stay in town long today, but Rebecca had convinced him to join her for a cup of coffee at the hotel. While he normally enjoyed spending time with her, he wasn’t so sure it had been a good idea with her mind obviously on matchmaking.

Trying to stifle a sneeze, he frowned. “I thought you promised not to bring up a subject even remotely related to matchmaking again.”

He took another sip of his coffee and watched his sister out of the corner of his eye. Rebecca’s marriage to Luke Hutton last fall had reaffirmed her belief in true love and made her a staunch believer in the institution of marriage. Her efforts to find the same marital bliss for her brother were … well … in a word, annoying. And it wasn’t the first time one of the female members of his family had taken it upon themselves to set him up with someone.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t love his family, or that he was in any way opposed to the idea of marriage, but at the present he viewed the issue as personal. When it was God’s timing to marry he had no doubts that he’d know it and act upon it. So far, he hadn’t found the person he intended to spend the rest of his life with. And until then, he was content to wait.

“It was just an innocent question.” Rebecca tasted her drink, then added another dash of milk. “You are considered one of the most eligible bachelors in town by most of the single women, and you saved someone’s life, so … I’m interested.”

Adam knew his sister well enough to know that her questions ran far deeper than simple curiosity. He was quite certain that if he’d rescued his neighbor’s plump and prim daughter, who was well past the age of marrying, the subject would not have been worthy of resurrecting again.

He strummed his fingers against the table. “She’s beautiful—is that what you want me to say?”

“That’s a good start.” Rebecca leaned forward, a calculated smile on her lips. “What else?”

He squirmed under her scrutiny. How could he admit that he’d dreamed about Lidia every night for the past week? That he’d seen her face every time he closed his eyes. Those soft brown eyes framed with long lashes … creamy white skin … captivating smile …

Then he would remember she was Polish, and his foolish daydreams would vanish. That was something he could never forget. It was why he intended to forget her.

He shoved his hands into his coat pocket, only to be reminded of her Bible that he’d been carrying with him all week. “Her last name is Kowalski.”

“I know. I saw it on the Bible.”

“She’s Polish.” He hated the way his clipped words sounded, but that didn’t take away the truth—Samuel had been killed by a Pole. Rebecca hadn’t seen the vacant look in their brother’s eyes as Adam had held him, his chest covered with blood—

“Adam?”

“I know what you’re thinking.” His stomach clenched at the memories. “Why can’t I get over Samuel’s death? Why can’t I forgive those involved? You weren’t there, Rebecca. You didn’t watch him take his last breath.”

His sister’s eyes reflected his own pain. “We all miss Samuel, but Lidia’s not responsible for his death. She wasn’t the one who took his life. If he’d been named Rudolpho or Tazio would you hate all Italians?”

The muscles in his jaw tensed. “That’s not fair. It’s not that simple—”

“Sure it is.” The intensity in her voice increased. “You’ve let your hatred for one man spread to an entire nationality.”

He shook his head and let his hands coil into tight fists as a searing rage rippled through him. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

“I want to understand. We all do.”

Why was it that when this vein of conversation erupted he always ended up being the bad guy?

Adam worked to relax his muscles but found it impossible. “You don’t know how many times I’ve begged God to take away this anger that burns inside me, but I’ll never forget what happened.”

And that I never stopped it
.

The thought was sobering. None of them had this mountain of guilt to carry the rest of their lives. He closed his eyes, trying to erase the scene he knew would be forever imprinted on his mind. It had all happened so fast that he hadn’t even seen it coming. He hadn’t seen the gun until it was too late and Samuel lay dying in a pool of his own blood.

Adam wrapped his fingers around the smooth cover of the Bible and drew it out of his pocket. “I’m not sure what to do with this.”

“Don’t you plan to return it?”

“I don’t know where she lives.” He had a dozen excuses ready to throw at her. He had too much work to do at the farm, and the weather was getting worse. …

“It can’t be too complicated to find her, Adam. After all, Cranton isn’t Boston.” Rebecca’s eyes lit up, and he could see an idea formulating in his sister’s mind. “She was walking from town which means she can’t live very far away. Maybe she lives on one of the nearby farms.”

Rebecca sounded like a detective out to solve a mystery. She had definitely been reading too many of those dime novels. Life was different. It didn’t always have a simple storyline that neatly wrapped up at the end of the book. Look at Samuel. Sometimes things went wrong in real life that would never turn into a happy ending.

Clearing his throat, Adam glanced at his pocket watch. He needed to get back to his farm before dark. “Can I take you home?”

“Thanks, but I’ll wait here for Luke.” Her brow puckered when he changed the subject, but thankfully she seemed ready to leave it alone. “He’s planning to meet me here in about twenty minutes.” She leaned across the table and took his hand. “I’m glad I ran into you. With you not living at home anymore, I don’t see you nearly enough when I’m back for a visit.”

“You’re the one who moved to Boston.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thankfully, Luke’s willing to bring me home once or twice a year.”

“That’s not enough.” Despite her constant prying, he still missed her when she was gone. He laid a few coins on the table to cover the drinks, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

“I’ll see you Friday night?”

It had become tradition for the family to get together on Friday nights. And the family was growing. His father had married Michaela, Rebecca married Luke, and before long, no doubt, there would be other spouses and grandchildren.

Adam picked his hat and gloves up off the table. “Promise not to bring up the subject of Lidia or any other female you think might make the perfect match for me?”

“We just want you to be happy, Adam.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her insistence. It felt good to be cared about. “I’ll see you Friday night.”

Adam said good-bye then stepped out into the cold wind, thankful for the warmth of his coat and heavy gloves. Snow began to fall, the thick flakes covering the icy ground with a white blanket. His sister was right about letting go, and he knew it. But knowing what was right and actually doing it were simply not the same thing.

Sneezing twice, he tried to ignore the growing ache that was beginning to spread across his body. He didn’t have time to be sick. Tapping his sugar maples was going to take every ounce of energy he had. He could ask for help from his father and his younger brother Mark, but this was something he wanted to do on his own. To prove to himself that he was capable of running this farm.

The silhouette of a familiar figure yanked him out of his thoughts. He stopped abruptly in front of the sheriff’s office and stared at the young woman leaving the mercantile. The hem of her dark blue dress fluttered in the wind beneath her threadbare coat as she hugged a thick package to her chest. Even before she turned, he knew for certain it was Lidia. He wasn’t sure how, but he’d memorized every detail of her face after their one brief encounter. The slight lilt in each step and the way her smile lit up her face. He’d seen her over and over in his dreams at night, but today he was awake and this was real.

Her gaze met his, and she narrowed the distance between them until she was standing in front of him. “Mr. Johnson, how good it is to see you again.”

“Please, you can … you can call me Adam.” He didn’t get tongue-tied in front of women. It had to be all the nonsense of Rebecca’s matchmaking attempts. Lidia didn’t affect him that way. She couldn’t. She was Polish.

“I was hoping to run into you again.” Holding the package with one hand, Lidia pushed back a long strand of dark hair the crisp wind had blown into her eyes. “I wanted to thank you again for coming to my rescue.”

“It was nothing, really.” He kept his sentences brief, determined not to notice her wide brown eyes or the sweet curve of her smile. “Nothing any decent person wouldn’t have done for someone else.”

She frowned, and he wondered what he’d said to take away the sparkle in her eyes. Just because he was attempting to keep his distance from her didn’t mean he had wanted to be rude. Besides the fact that they were strangers, what he’d said was true. Any decent man, or woman for that matter, would have done exactly the same.