Ever in My Heart by Susan May Warren

Author:Susan May Warren [Warren, Susan May]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: inspirational romance
Publisher: SDG Publishing
Published: 2015-07-29T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

With his rucksack slung over his shoulder and lugging Oksana’s suitcases behind him, Anton followed his bride down the train’s steps and onto the station’s open-air platform. The rural outpost smelled of coal dust and manure, but after nearly two full days in the confines of a stuffy berth, he found pleasure in even the earthy fragrances of home. He dropped his hold on the bags and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Seeing no one from his family, he watched Oksana out of the corner of his eye.

She fidgeted with her fur hat, tugged at her wig, and cinched her coat tighter around her waist. Her breath appeared in cloudbursts against the morning chill. She cast a glance and a wan smile his way.

He gave her elbow a gentle, protective squeeze.

She looked ready to bolt and hop the next northbound train back to familiar territory. With her lashes fluttering over those wide-with-fright blue eyes, Oksana reminded him of a helpless moth caught in a spider’s web.

Anton bore the blame for her fear. He hated to guess what manner of cretins she expected to greet her when he first introduced her to his family—thanks to the earful he’d given her. Probably he should have been more…discreet.

But he found Oksana easy to confide in, told her things about his upbringing that he’d thought he’d never reveal. Like how, when he was twelve, his father had brought a new wife and three brothers into their house. And how Johann Klassen took those brothers, his stepsons, hunting, fishing, and even on a trip to Kiev, leaving Anton at home. How he had never felt as if his father had forgiven him for living. How he had tried to be the son Johann wanted, embracing the family business, setting up a successful distribution in Petrograd, and even toeing the Mennonite edict for nonenlistment when all his chums from the School of Commerce he had attended in Gross Tokmak were abroad, fighting for Russia.

He even told her his dreams about someday bringing honor to the Klassen name. And she had listened, that beautiful mouth tweaked in a gentle smile, those eyes upon him trusting him, drinking in his words. Everything a man could want in a wife.

Well, everything he could hope for, at least. Because he was ever aware of their boundaries, especially last night as he’d stepped out into the hall to allow her to dress for bed. He had returned, Oksana already wrapped in her bedclothes, and for a moment watched her sleep—although he felt certain she hadn’t been sleeping. She had pulled up her covers over her head, hiding her baldness, and he ached for her and her wounds.

She deserved a man who would love her. Cherish her.

And as he stood above her, he wondered if it could not be him.

He had gone to bed not daring to pray that thought, that minuscule dream inside his chest. But all the same, the thought of Oksana in his arms made him smile.

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