All Things Beautiful (Uncharted Beginnings Book 3) by Keely Brooke Keith

Author:Keely Brooke Keith [Keith, Keely Brooke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance, Women's Fiction, Victorian Era, 19th Century, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Love Possibility, Frontier-Pioneer Era, Cowboy & Western Romance, Hearts Desire, American West, Clean & Wholesome, Christian Stories, Faith Based, Inspirational Reads, Love Inspired, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Lifetime Love, Romantic Schemes, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Small Town & Rural Area, Beautiful & Feisty, Uncharted Beginnings Series, Alternate-History Romance, Hidden Society, Transcends Time & Place, Intriguing Twists & Turns, Dual Timeline Story, Time Travel Romance, Futuristic Twist
Publisher: Edenbrooke Press
Published: 2018-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Henry sat at the far end of the table in his family’s kitchen while his mother and Ellenore washed the dishes from Hazel’s birthday dinner. The air in the room was thick with merriment and the scent of roasted chicken. Matthew Roberts had spent the better part of the meal steering every conversation to the subject of holy matrimony, eyeing Hazel and her suitor, Arnold McIntosh, all the while. The three youngest children had gone into the parlor to play after dinner, but everyone else stayed in the kitchen, knowing what their father and Arnold had planned.

Rain pounded the windows as Matthew nudged Arnold. “Go on, boy. Haven’t you something to say to my daughter?”

Hazel blushed and glanced at Henry nervously. Henry nodded once to assure his sister the coming surprise from her suitor was a pleasant one.

Ellenore wiped her hands on a dishtowel and walked toward the table. Simon hovered behind Henry’s chair, picking his teeth. Outside, the driving rain pattered against the house, but inside the room fell silent, save for Arnold as he knelt before Hazel and professed his love.

Henry leaned forward. There was something satisfying about watching a young man fidget and sweat as he asked a woman to marry him. Arnold’s fearful expression relaxed as he spoke of his devotion to Hazel and his dreams for their future together. She tearfully accepted his proposal.

Joyous applause filled the cozy kitchen. The children ran in from the parlor, asking what was happening. A twinge of jealousy pinged inside Henry as the happy couple embraced. He was the eldest; he should have been the first to get married.

Henry left the table and paced to the window. Though still light outside, heavy rain obstructed the view to the road. A white line of melting hailstones lined the garden. Thunder rumbled all around.

Ellenore came beside him. “Hazel might be the first of us to the altar, but she isn’t the only one in love.”

Henry broke his gaze from the storm-tossed yard and lifted an eyebrow at his favorite sister. “Have you got a sweetheart now, Elle?”

Smiling, she popped him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. “Not me. You.”

Hannah wasn’t his sweetheart. Not yet. No matter how much he’d tried to resist pursuing her, when he saw her at church this morning, he couldn’t stay away. His heart was dragging him irrationally forward into a relationship he wasn’t capable of sustaining.

If the past was any indicator, he was in dangerous territory. He didn’t have to tell Ellenore. She’d witnessed every one of his failed relationships. First having to leave Lilly in Virginia, then his infatuation with Peggy Cotter, and more recently, his inability to please Cecelia Foster. With each attempt at love—and each failure—his heart sank deeper within him. He couldn’t describe what was happening now between him and Hannah, so he certainly wouldn’t talk about it. He lowered his chin and gave Ellenore a look to stop the conversation before it began.

Matthew raised his cup and clinked it with a salt spoon, commanding everyone’s attention.

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