The Dreams We Knew by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Author:Rachel Scott McDaniel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Published: 2025-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Delvina

1924

TRUE TO MY PROMISE, I hadn’t asked Kent anything else about his past that night … or the following two days. His confession had seemed to fatigue him. I didn’t want the extra stress affecting his recovery. So despite my curiosity, I’d kept quiet. But to know that he’d discovered that horrific truth behind his birth the very morning we’d eloped? Well, it explained his desperate need for family. It seemed we both hadn’t been thinking clearly that day.

Not only had I not learned anything more about my husband’s past beyond my one question, I also hadn’t made any progress with Adele Thayer’s case. Yesterday, when Kent had been resting, I’d gone to the library and browsed past newspapers, searching for articles about the Galleanists. But I didn’t get any significant names or leads tracing to Miss Thayer. It’d been a failed effort from the start, considering I hadn’t her true surname.

Despite things being slow with the case, I was pleased with how Kent’s leg was healing. I wasn’t certain which had been the biggest factor in his quick recovery—the properties in the honey, his resting, or maybe the cut not being as deep as I’d thought. Perhaps a combination of all three. The fear of infection was behind us. And while I didn’t want the man sprinting down city streets, I believed he could walk without alarm of reopening the wound.

I was also fairly certain Kent was grateful I no longer hovered over him like a mother hen. Though now my nerves were thin for an entirely different reason. It was Friday—the day Mother had set me up to attend a play with a complete stranger. I’d emphatically told her no, but I understood enough about Mother’s stubbornness to know she forged ahead with the arrangements nonetheless. I needed to speak with her.

I poked my dozing husband.

He stirred but kept his eyes closed.

I tapped him again, then opened the curtains. “Wake up, Kent.”

“Vinny.” He squinted, as if the gentle morning light gouged his vision, and draped his arm over his eyes. “You poked my shoulder. Twice.”

I smoothed a hand down my beige dress. I’d taken to rising before him so I could ready for the day in privacy. “You’ll live. You just survived a stabbing—I’m pretty sure you’ll make it through the puny press of my fingertip.”

“No, I’m thinking about our rule.” His voice was rusty with the residue of sleep. “Your right shoulder is all mine.”

“You’re ridiculous.” I turned so he wouldn’t see my smile. Since we’d agreed that he had allowance to the areas I touched him first, the only contact had been his leg while applying the honey salve.

“Just abiding by our terms, wife.” He adjusted against the pillows and lay there patiently as I inspected his wound, per our routine these past few days.

“Looks good.” I stood from my crouched position. “I believe it would be okay for you to … venture out.”

His brows jumped high on his forehead. “Really?”

It was no wonder I’d caught him off guard, considering all this week I’d demanded he remain in bed, still as possible.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.