My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley by Andrea Boeshaar

Author:Andrea Boeshaar [Boeshaar, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-68322-224-8
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

Lily heard Mr. Everett’s approaching carriage and glanced up from where she sat beneath the shade of the house. There was no other sound like it—fat, wooden wheels grinding slowly into the rock, sand, and dirt that made up the pike. No other families’ buggies or wagons made similar sounds, other than, perhaps, the horses’ hooves that pounded the earth and an occasional whinny.

Rising from the wooden bench, Lily hugged the bowl full of fresh peas she’d shelled and hurried into the kitchen. As she set her burden on the kitchen table, the smell of baking bread assailed her senses. Her stomach protested its emptiness. Since eating a substantial and leisurely breakfast this morning, they’d skipped lunch, making the promise of suppertime all the sweeter.

“I believe Mr. Everett is here,” Lily called to her aunt.

Aunt Hilda grunted, but didn’t look up from her work table where she prepared venison chops, courtesy of James Hawkins. He’d shot a buck and shared the meat with them. Soon a portion of the chops would be sizzling in an iron skillet over open flames.

Lily strode through the house and met Mr. Everett outside the front door.

“Good afternoon, my dear.” He sounded friendly enough, even after the incident four days ago. He’d stayed away all that time, leaving Lily to fret about what he might be up to next.

“I suppose you have come to evict us from our home.” She folded her arms.

Mr. Everett smiled. “Now, Lily. We had a bit of a tiff, but I rose above it.” He arched a brow and leaned toward her. “Certainly you have also.”

“That depends on what you’ve got in mind for my family and me.”

“Ah, then we must talk.” He handed his walking stick and top hat to her.

Lily almost accepted them when she glimpsed Mac standing at the edge of the orchard. He carried an axe on one broad shoulder, and he seemed rooted in place, watching them with a dark expression. His gauzy shirt was unbuttoned and fell open halfway down his chest, revealing a sheath of ebony hair that matched his thick beard. Lily smiled. He resembled a black bear. Here’s hoping a neighbor didn’t mistake him for one.

“Lily.”

The exasperation in Mr. Everett’s voice carried her back to the present. A good thing Mr. Everett’s back was to Mac. If he’d seen her response to her neighbor, he’d surely reprimand her for gawking, and another argument would ensue.

Why, oh why, did Mr. Everett press her on trivial matters? Hadn’t her family suffered enough this past year? Lily felt like she walked on thin ice and was about to break through and drown. She couldn’t manage any more than that which stood before her now.

“Mr. Everett”—Lily lifted her chin, hoping she appeared braver than she felt—“I am not your servant or the housekeeper. If you will recall, you dismissed Mrs. Cruthers this past spring and hired her at your inn.”

Mr. Everett expelled an impatient sigh. “I see you plan to be stubborn.”

“Not stubborn, sir. I’m merely behaving the way my father raised me.

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