His Frontier Christmas Family by Regina Scott

Author:Regina Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Callie met Beth on the path up the hill as she was returning with Mica from Nora’s. Beth’s lavender skirts whipped about her legs and lightning flashed from her dark blue eyes.

“My brother is the most stubborn, annoying fellow,” she declared as they drew close. “I begin to believe you could do better.” She stomped past before Callie could disagree with her.

“What did you say to Beth?” she asked as soon as she entered the parsonage. Levi was sitting at the table, Bible open, paper in front of him and pen in hand. He frowned as he looked up.

“What did she say to you?”

“Only that you were stubborn and annoying,” Callie supplied, going to set Mica in her chair. The baby waved at Levi, and his frown eased.

“I’d think you’d agree,” he said, rocking the pen in his fingers.

“Stubborn, certainly,” Callie said, shucking off her coat. “Annoying, occasionally. But kind and helpful and forgiving, too.”

“Those who had been forgiven much should be the first to forgive,” he murmured, gaze returning to the Bible, and she thought he was repeating something he’d read.

She hung her coat on a peg beside the door, brought Mica a wooden spoon, then came to slide in beside him on the bench. She could pick out most of the words on the page, but a few escaped her. He seemed to be reading about a son who had left home. She looked to what he’d written on his paper. “What’s a prodigal?”

He pulled the paper a little closer as if to keep her from seeing what else he’d written. “Someone who turns his back on everything he knows and goes away, then regrets it later and comes home.”

“Must be hard,” Callie said, gaze returning to the Bible. “You’re used to a certain way of life, but you think there’s something better over the next hill. Sooner or later you have to learn the truth and come home.”

He was staring at her. “That’s it exactly. How did you know?”

Callie shrugged. “It’s the way Pa and Adam behaved. It’s the story of most every prospector I’ve ever known. Only some of them never come home.”

She had been thinking of her family, but his shoulders slumped as if he felt her pain. “No, some never do,” he murmured, smoothing the thin pages of the Bible.

“At least Adam tried to shake off the gold fever,” Callie told him. “He’d claim he wanted to settle down to farm, make a good effort. But sooner or later he’d meet another prospector or hear about a strike. Then he’d fill his pack, promising to be back. Only this last time, he didn’t keep that promise, either.”

Mica brought her spoon down on the table with a mighty whack as if just as frustrated by the pattern.

He set aside the pen and pressed his hand over Callie’s on the table. “I’m sorry, Callie. Sorry that he disappointed you. Sorry that he left you. All I can promise is that I’m not going anywhere.

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