Naomi's Choice by Claire Sanders

Author:Claire Sanders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: western historical romance, christmas romance, cowboy romance, christmas cowboy romance, historical cowboy romance, holiday historical romance, historical christmas romance
Publisher: Prism Book Group

CHAPTER FIVE

Naomi examined her face in the small mirror above her washstand. Two weeks had passed since the Harvest Dance. Although the bruise had faded, she cringed at the possibility of someone asking how she’d been hurt.

Her grandmother tapped lightly on Naomi’s open door. “Coming to church this morning?”

“Not today. Next Sunday for sure.”

Ruth pulled on her gloves. “I may be late coming home today. Margaret O’Brien invited me to join her for Sunday dinner.”

“That sounds nice.”

Hope sparkled in her grandmother’s eyes. “Sure you don’t want to join us?”

Naomi hated to disappoint her. “Not this time, but I’ll go to the Ladies’ Circle meeting on Wednesday.”

Ruth patted Naomi’s back. “That’s good. We can’t let our past troubles cloud our future.”

It was time to move forward. Naomi’s inner wounds had healed and, although her foolishness still rankled, she’d learned how wrong she’d been to value good looks and courtly manners over real virtues.

“There are two pies in the kitchen,” her grandmother continued. “One for us and one for Ethan. I’ll take it to his place later today. Think you’d like to go with me?”

Ethan Garrett. The man who’d rescued her and the only other person who knew about the consequences of her poor judgment. She had to face him someday. She owed him her thanks, if nothing else. “Would you object if I took it to him by myself? I need to thank him.”

“I think that’s a fine idea. But you’ll have to walk. I’ll have the horse and buggy with me.”

“I don’t mind the walk.”

“Then that settles it.” Her grandmother embraced her. “I’m proud of you, Naomi.”

Forgiveness. Grace. Love. Her grandmother had erased all of Naomi’s shame by refusing to condemn her. “Oh, Grandmother…I behaved so foolishly.”

Ruth stepped back and looked into her eyes. “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s what you do afterwards that makes a woman of substance. Thanking Ethan is a good step in that direction.”

* * *

Naomi pulled back the ruffled white curtain to check the weather. Another sunny day. Although they paid for it in the summer, one of the advantages of living in central Texas was mild December days. Was she dressed appropriately for calling on a man?

She laughed softly at the absurdity of the situation. A single woman never called on a single man, yet here she was, about to do so with her grandmother’s blessing. Of course, it was Ethan Garrett, a man whose honor and trustworthiness were beyond reproach.

There was no need to don one of her nicer dresses. At the Wednesday meetings of the Ladies’ Circle, all the women wore simple house dresses. Ethan probably wouldn’t notice one type of dress from another. But didn’t her everyday dress and her everyday bonnet convey the message that she considered him to be nothing special?

That was far from being true. Not only had she been blinded by Bret Anderson’s charm, she’d also failed to recognize Ethan Garrett’s true value. She’d dismissed him as just another cowboy. But Ethan wasn’t an itinerant ranch hand, he was a true gentleman.

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