Frozen Fancy by Tabetha Waite & Charming Tales

Author:Tabetha Waite & Charming Tales [Waite, Tabetha & Tales, Charming]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

***

Elise hummed to herself as she stirred the vegetable stew in the pot hanging over the fireplace that night. She imagined she would never lay eyes on Mr. Chauncey Cade again, and yet, he sat in her favorite chair and continued to work on the mending she’d set aside earlier. She’d watched him for a time, when she was pretending to read, fascinated by the way his large hands, rough from labor, had so gently pulled the needle through the cotton fabric.

A man who could fix a door so it was more efficient than it had been before, to one who could sew as well as any lady was surely like no other. She’d long discovered that Mr. Cade was a true gentleman, even though his past was littered with fragments of misdeeds. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness, and she intended to show him the same courtesy. And to be honest, she couldn’t very well blame him for disposing of the men who had murdered his family. “An eye for an eye,” her father would have said.

Lost in her daydreams, Elise stirred a bit too vigorously and some of the boiling broth splashed onto her hand. “Ouch!” She instantly dropped the wooden spoon.

Mr. Cade was by her side in an instant. He took her hand in his and inspected the damage. It was red, but it hadn’t yet blistered. “We need to put this in some cold water to reduce the swelling.”

Elise nodded, as if her mother hadn’t instructed her how to survive on her own in the wilderness. She’d cut down trees and split wood, repaired shingles on the roof, but now she let Mr. Cade lead her over to the kitchen where he poured a bit of cold water into a bowl. “It will sting, but you have to immerse your hand completely.”

She did it without hesitation. It was only when she glanced at him again that she seen the rather sheepish expression on his face. “What is it?”

“No doubt you think I’m rather highhanded for treating you as though you’re some helpless female.” His mouth twisted and he shook his head. “Martha used to accuse me of the same thing. Even though she was a Métis like I was, she’d been raised in a tribe and knew more herbal remedies and cures than I did, and yet I always imagined that she needed my interference. It seems I can’t stop myself from doing the same now.” He held up his hands and started to back away. “I apologize if I offended you.”

Elise reached out and grasped his wrist before he could retreat too far. “I appreciate that you care, Mr. Cade. It’s true that my mother and father taught me how to do whatever is necessary to live off the land, but it’s been two years since anyone cared about what happened to me. I’m not offended in the slightest. In truth, I’m rather…grateful.”

His dark eyes assessed her, and then he moved forward. He grasped her chin in his fingertips and lifted her head.

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