Winds of Change by Leah Atwood

Author:Leah Atwood [Atwood, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falling Leaf Press
Published: 2015-05-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Do you think Ma will be surprised?” Patrick jerked his head backward, to the freight they carried in the wagon.

Sam guffawed. “Seeing as how I was surprised, I think Ma will be as well.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when The Ladies’ Auxiliary of Weatherton bought the Holden family a new stove.” Patrick gripped the reins before they slipped off his lap. “It’s amazing how much can change in such a short time.”

“It truly is. Our lives have changed completely since the summer.” Sam glanced at his watch. “I hope Maeve isn’t upset. She’ll have expected us an hour ago.”

“All will be forgiven when she sees what we’re bringing.”

“That’s right, we’ll get our little stove back. Maeve has missed cooking our meals in the cabin.” Sam’s mouth curled in a half smile.

“Something tells me you’ve missed her cooking among other things.” Patrick elbowed Sam’s ribs.

A long sigh came from Sam’s throat. “Evenings were a special time for just her and me. Don’t misunderstand me—I love our family, but this past week has seen a tad too much togetherness.”

“It’s not been so bad.”

“You just haven’t noticed because Ma won’t give you and Candace time alone anyway.” Crossing his arms, Sam also winked.

“Not for much longer.” The wagon hit a rut and Patrick bounced.

“January first still the day?”

“Yes.” Less than a month to go before he and Candace recited wedding vows for the second time, legally, for the first. “What better day to symbolize our new beginning?”

Sam placed the back of his hand against Patrick’s forehead. “Are you sick, brother?”

“No.” His eyebrows wrinkled with confusion. “Why?”

“Because you don’t sound like the brother I know.” Sam laughed.

Patrick rolled his eyes. “The brother you constantly complained about?”

“I’m just giving you a hard time.” Sam gave his shoulder a quick pat. “I like the new Patrick though and hope he decides to stick around.”

“He’s not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

A few seconds later, Patrick groaned. “I thought of something.”

Sam looked at him. “What?”

“Remember what a difficult time we had getting the stove out of your cabin?”

“Oh no,” Sam grumbled. “How are we going to get it back in?”

Rubbing his jaw, Patrick contemplated. Too bad Sam’s cabin didn’t have a nice double door for the entry like the new house did. “We’ll figure it out. It’s obviously gotten in once, and then out, so we can do it, but tell Maeve to remove all breakables in the path.”

“Glen told me the new stove was supposed to be here last week,” Sam said. “It’s a shame it didn’t come on that freight train. Ma could have moved in with it already there and saved us the trouble of double moving mine.”

“Be glad it made it at all, with the constant snowfall.” Speaking of, Patrick wiped a stray flurry from cheek. “Think it will be like this all winter?”

“I sure hope not.” Sam frowned. “We’ve already lost a few cattle and can’t afford to lose many more.”

“Tell me the truth. How bad is it?” Patrick didn’t mess with the books even in his newly participative state.

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