A Portrait of Dawn by Samantha St. Claire

Author:Samantha St. Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samantha St. Claire
Published: 2020-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

Dissonant Harmonies

“We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.” John Muir

July 1, 1890

On the return trip to the ranch, Nate walked his horse beside the wagon, while Luke rode out ahead. Dawn kept her attention on the man and horse until they shrank into the distant horizon. She thought of Mr. James’s book and another passage that seemed well applied to him. To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text. Luke’s sudden departure from the bookshop puzzled not only Mrs. Reynolds but Dawn, as well. What was the truest text for this mercurial artist?

Maddie, the well-meaning woman, was left with the impression that she’d made some offense by suggesting Luke consider another avenue for his talents. That might have been the interpretation of the text for Luke Brennan, but Dawn suspected the answer lay deeper, somewhere between the lines. The man saw mountains everywhere, obstacles too steep to overcome.

He was a paradox with clear blue eyes. As an artist, Luke ably refracted the colors of his world, bending pigments to his will, segregating rainbows. He’d developed his vision to a level well beyond the average man or woman. But in his perspective regarding his own potential, his point of view was tragically flawed. He needed to borrow the vision of another. That would require him to trust the observer. What wound from his past kept him from such trust?

“Ely, you look like the cat who swallowed the rat!” Lena said with a light musical laugh.

Ely Beckert asked, “You mean mouse, ja? The cat who swallowed the mouse.”

“No, I mean rat, Ely. That smile you’re wearing is far too wide for a mouse. What are you not saying?”

Just above his whiskered jaw, Dawn detected the rise of color to the older man’s cheeks. He set his violin case on Lena’s hall table and gave the woman a distinctly Cheshire-like smile.

“Ely? Are you going to make me guess?”

“I will tell you later, dear lady, later.” He snapped open the case and pulled out a polished violin. “You have guests.” His gaze drifted from Lena to Dawn.

Dawn quickly explained her reason for standing there eavesdropping on their conversation. “Jessie asked me to bring out these currant tarts, but I wasn’t sure where you’d like me to put them.”

Lena passed Ely a meaningful look before taking the tray from Dawn’s hands. “Thank you. I’ll take them to the porch. Why don’t we see what ventures the gentlemen are stirring with their talk of hunting?”

Looking back over her shoulder, Dawn saw Ely with the violin tucked under his chin, tuning the strings. He looked up, caught her eye, and grinned. After only just meeting him, she already liked the man.

When Dawn joined the guests on the wide porch, she found the conversation had turned to the subject of the Hartmann’s business venture. She stepped behind her father’s chair to listen as Evan explained.

“I’ll be leading some hunting trips for our guests, but under one stipulation.

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