Cora's Deception (9781476398280) (11 page)

He climbed the ladder to the loft while they
settled around the table. When he returned, he had a book in his
hand. “This is Swiss Family Robinson. Have you already read
it?”

When no one spoke right away, Ralph caught
Aaron’s eye and grinned. Aaron shook his head, but Ralph never did
listen. He just grinned some more and leaned back in his chair as
if he was getting comfortable. “Nope, Ben. Cain’t rightly say we
read that one. Why don’t you read it to us?”

Ben took a swallow of hot cocoa and set his
cup down. “Back home we used to have readings. You know, we’d each
take a turn reading a page or two from a book. Why don’t we do that
now? By the time we’ve made a round, we ought to be warm enough to
go outside.”

When no one objected, Ben opened the cover
and began. “ ‘For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times
had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene . . .’ ” He
read the first two pages, then handed the book to John.

Aaron kept his eyes on the book as it made
its way around the table. The story caught his attention until he
almost forgot what was coming. He shifted positions, wanting to run
out the door. He didn’t belong here. He shouldn’t have asked Cora
to ride his sled with him. She’d change her mind for sure in a few
minutes.

Ralph took the book next and passed it to
Esther. “Cain’t get blood from a turnip.”

Everyone stared at him, and he grinned.
Aaron slumped in his seat. Not Ralph. He sat tall. “Y’all gotta
excuse us Starks. We ain’t never had no book learnin’.”

Esther smiled at Ralph then turned her smile
to Ivy and Aaron. “I haven’t had much schooling, either. But if
you’ll put up with me, I’ll try to read a page.”

If Esther couldn’t read real good, Aaron
couldn’t tell it. Oh, she wasn’t as good as Ben or John, or even
Eliza, but what little stumbling she did didn’t bother him. How
could it when he couldn’t get past the first word?

Cora took the book next. Her gaze met
Aaron’s for just a second, but he couldn’t tell what she was
thinking. Probably the same thing he was—that he wasn’t good enough
to be sitting in her home. Then she started reading, and he’d never
heard anyone read so fast. At the end of one page, she stopped and
slammed the book shut against the table. “This is ridiculous. Can’t
we go outside now?”

Aaron felt as if Cora’s hand had landed as a
fist into the pit of his stomach instead of on an unfeeling book.
If he could slip away, he would. Then he wouldn’t have to face her
when she told him she wouldn’t ride with him after all. He’d make
it easy for her. He’d stay away from her in case she felt
obligated.

Chapter 10

T
he cold air refreshed Aaron’s flushed face. He flexed his
muscles as he helped Ben lift sleds from the Newkirk’s
sleigh.

“Who’s riding first?” Ben looked at
everyone, but his smile settled on Esther.

Esther’s full pink lips spread into a
becoming curve, while her blue eyes spoke of feelings for Ben.
“There’s room for three or four on each sled.”

“Yes.” Ben grinned. “But only if they’re
small children. When I get on a sled, there’ll be room for only one
more.”

Color filled Esther’s cheeks, and her gaze
fell beneath Ben’s scrutiny.

Aaron grinned. It didn’t take a city boy
with a passel of learnin’ to figure out what was going on between
those two. Esther was beautiful, and she was as nice as could be. A
cold, hard knot formed in Aaron’s chest as his gaze shifted to
Cora. It sure was funny how the heart had a mind of its own. He
didn’t much care to make acquaintance with Esther, but Cora . .
.

Cora’s laughter sounded like music as she
grabbed her little nephew’s hand. “Nicholas and I want to
ride.”

“Good.” Ben grinned at his sister. “You can
go on the second trip.”

Aaron leaned against the wagon bed, his arms
folded across his chest. He’d felt like a fool when he couldn’t
read Ben’s book. A dummy like him wouldn’t stand a chance with a
girl like Cora. He shouldn’t have asked her to ride with him.

“You can talk about it all day if you want.”
John grabbed the lead rope of one sled. “As your chaperone, I’d
better take the first ride. You know, to make sure it’s safe. We
wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt.”

Vickie playfully hit his arm. “Oh, sure. You
can’t wait to hop on one of those sleds.”

John’s eyes twinkled. “Please don’t
undermine my authority as the oldest child here.”

The others moved away laughing and joking
with each other. The rough wood of the wagon rubbed Aaron’s back
through his threadbare coat as he pushed away to follow. Life
wasn’t fair. The Newkirk’s had a wagon for good weather and a
sleigh for when it snowed, not to mention the two fine-looking
horses pulling it. Look at all the things the Jacksons owned. His
family had nothing but their cabin, a few hound dogs, a couple of
hogs to butcher, another getting ready to farrow, and one old
ox.

“Come on, Aaron.” Cora waited for him. His
heart thumped hard in reaction to her smile. “You can guide one of
those sleds, can’t you?”

He nodded. “Never tried before, but I reckon
so.”

“You mean you built that fine sled, but
didn’t ride on it?” She fell into step with him. Her nephew clung
to her hand.

“I only got it finished this morning. There
wasn’t no . . .” How would Cora say it? He couldn’t think with her
there so close beside him. “No time to try it out.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will ride beautifully. I
don’t know how you managed to make it so fast. You must be really
good with your hands.” Her smile lit a spark inside him. She was so
small, even wrapped in that heavy fur coat. He was big and awkward.
And dim-witted. He couldn’t think of anything to say.

Cora had no such problem. “Nicholas wants to
ride with me. I’m glad I’ll have you to help us. The first ride’s
already taken. Ben’s got Esther on one, John and Vickie on another,
and I think Eliza has Ralph talked into taking your sled. It’s the
one I want when we ride.” She stopped all at once and looked up at
him, her sky blue eyes searching his face. “You don’t mind, do you?
I mean about Nicholas.”

Mind? He was proud she wanted to ride with
him. Knowing his expression revealed every beat of his heart, but
unable to look away, he memorized each detail of her face. “No, I
don’t mind. I like the little feller.”

They stopped at the top of the hill to watch
the three couples take off. Ralph had Eliza with him. Too bad for
Eliza. Ralph wasn’t ready to be serious about any girl. Besides,
Ralph thought Eliza was a child.

The squeals and laughter coming from the
younger children as they played in the snow caught Aaron’s
attention. Rebekah called out to Cora, so he stepped aside. Ivy
stood alone with a sullen expression on her face. Aaron shook his
head at his sister’s attitude. She’d better be looking in greener
pastures than these. Ben wouldn’t give her the time of day
excepting he was a nice fellow. All Ben could see was Esther.

Aaron walked a few feet away, bent to scoop
a handful of snow, and patted it into a snowball. It packed real
good. Maybe the girls and little kids would like to build a
snowman. That’d keep them warmer than just standing around.

Aaron knelt, balanced on the heel of one
foot, and rolled his ball in the snow. “Nicholas, look at
this.”

The little boy turned, his eyes large and
dark in contrast to the whiteness of winter.

Aaron grinned at the child while observing
Cora’s reaction. A slow smile lifted the corners of Cora’s mouth.
“It’s going to be a snowman, Nicholas.” Her warm, blue eyes met
Aaron’s. “May we help?”

“Sure, can you catch?”

Before she answered, Aaron tossed the ball.
She reached for it and missed. Snow splattered against the front of
her coat. Aaron’s heart stopped until she looked up and laughed.
She grinned at Rebekah and Ivy who stood to the side watching. “Are
we going to let him get away with that?”

“Not on your life.” Rebekah knelt in the
snow and began forming snowballs as fast as she could. Ivy frowned
and turned away.

Rebekah’s sister, Margaret, ran over to
help. Her childish laughter rang in the cold air. “Come on, Cora.
We’ll get him good.”

Aaron’s gaze locked with Cora’s while an
obscure message flickered between them. Then Cora grinned and
turned toward the girls, scooping up a handful of snow. “All right,
Margaret. Let’s make lots of snowballs.”

“Hey, Nicholas. You ain’t gonna let those
girls whup me, are ya?” Aaron worked frantically, trying to match
the girls’ growing arsenal. “Us men gotta stay together.”

Nicholas ran to Aaron giggling. “Nickus
halp.” He squatted, grabbed a handful of snow, and flung it toward
the girls.”

Aaron laughed. “That’s the spirit.”

“How dare you turn my nephew against me!”
Cora grabbed a snowball in each hand. The first whizzed past
Aaron’s head, but the second grazed his shoulder. Rebekah and
Margaret followed her lead, and the fight began.

Lenny and Gilbert ran to join Aaron’s side.
They each grabbed a snowball from his small supply and threw it.
Gilbert’s snowball went over the girls’ heads. Rebekah scrambled to
retrieve it. Lenny’s volley fell short.

Aaron held a quick confab with his
teammates.

When they broke from their huddle, Lenny set
to work making snowballs for the older boys to throw. Nicholas,
unhampered by restriction, continued his own form of snowball
fighting. Aaron chuckled at Nicholas’s vain attempts. He sure was a
cute little guy. He’d grab snow in his small mitten-covered hand
and before packing it, fling it in a spraying arch shorter than
Aaron’s arm.

Just then a blur of white sailed past
Aaron’s head. He didn’t bother to dodge. The way the girls threw,
they weren’t likely to hit anything smaller than a barn. He worked
fast, scooping, packing, and throwing in one smooth motion. He left
Lenny’s snowballs for Gilbert. His opponents had long since run out
of their supply, and they hadn’t figured out they could make them
as they threw them. He grinned as another landed in front of him.
He reached for it, and snow suddenly splattered on his forehead.
His face stung with a wet cold that dripped into his eyes so he
couldn’t see who had fired the wild shot that finally made
contact.

He cleared his eyes of snow to find all
three girls laughing hysterically. A grin touched his lips as he
saw Cora lift her hand to throw another frozen missile. He couldn’t
let her do that. He grabbed a handful of snow and knocked her
ammunition from her hand.

~*~

Cora’s eyes widened. That had to be a lucky
shot. No one could hit a moving target like that on purpose. She
zeroed in on Aaron’s smug grin. “You can’t do it again.”

“Try me.” He sounded so sure of himself. One
eyebrow lifted in an arrogant but appealing way.

“All right, I will.” She’d hit him this time
for sure. Cora formed another snowball and lifted it to throw at
him. The sting of his ball hit before hers left her hand. “Oh!
How’d you do that?”

“Like this.” Aaron proceeded to knock a
snowball from Rebekah’s hand.

“I give up. Let’s quit.” Cora held her arms
out in front of the other girls. “As far as I’m concerned, the boys
win. Next time, I’m on Aaron’s side.”

Cora brushed snow from her coat and hair.
She crossed the distance to Aaron just as the first sled riders
came trudging up the hill. “I didn’t know anyone could throw like
that.” She couldn’t keep the admiration from her voice.

He looked to one side, a pleased expression
covering his face. “Aw, that wasn’t nothin’ on-common. It takes
lots of practicin’, and I’ve had my share of that.”

He touched his forehead. “You ain’t so bad,
yourself.”

Cora smiled. “That was more accident than
skill.”

“So it was you that finally got me.”

Still smiling, Cora nodded then turned as
Ralph’s voice reached her.

“Now that’s what I’d call a hill. Sled works
fine too.” Ralph moved toward them with a wide grin. “Goin’ down
sure beats hoofin’ it back up through all this snow, though.” He
looked at Cora. “You ready to give ‘er a try?”

“Yes, Aaron promised to take Nicholas and
me. I’d better go get him.” Cora flashed a smile at Aaron before
turning away.

“I don’t think she likes me.” Ralph’s
lowered voice carried to Cora.

“Then leave her be.” Aaron didn’t speak
soft.

“Aw, I was jist bein’ friendly.”

Cora continued away from the brothers. She
didn’t dislike Ralph. How could anyone not like him? But as much as
she liked his fun-loving nature, she couldn’t imagine becoming
serious about a man who wanted to play all the time.

Vickie picked Nicholas up as Cora climbed on
the sled. She held him close, giving him a motherly kiss before
settling him on Cora’s lap. “Watch out for him and don’t let him
fall.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to
my favorite nephew.” Cora wrapped her arms around him, pulling him
close.

Nicholas laughed, his arms waving as he
strained forward against her hold. Aaron climbed on behind Cora,
spreading his legs on either side. He reached around her, taking
the rope handle in his hands.

Nicholas fell back against Cora. The
unexpected weight pushed her against Aaron. Her temple brushed his
jaw, and she jerked upright, her face flaming. “Nicholas, sit
still. You’ll push us off backward.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.” Aaron’s
deep voice vibrated near her ear.

Someone pushed them, and they were off. The
wind rushed past, lifting Cora’s hair and cooling her burning face.
Nicholas squealed in delight. Cora became lost in a dream world,
racing across the snow. She’d never felt safer than with Aaron’s
arms surrounding her. If only they could go on forever like this.
While the gentle sloping hill covered several hundred feet, the
ride ended far too soon.