Lady Sundown (#1 of the Danner Quartet) by Bush Nancy

Author:Bush, Nancy [Bush, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: romance, historical romance
Publisher: Nancy Bush
Published: 2011-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Eliza stood slim and straight, a lone figure on the widow’s walk, her cloak whipping around her in the December wind. She waved and Lexie felt a lump grow in her throat. She’d thought Christmas would never come. As Pa pulled the buggy to a stop beneath the portico, her gaze swept the frost-crusted fields, the whitewashed house, the stables, the barn.

“I’ve missed it all,” she said achingly.

“We’ve missed you, too, Lexie,” Pa answered, helping her down. “Sugartail’s about to foal. Doc Meechum’s already had a look at her,” he muttered, almost apologetically. “He assures me that everything’s fine with her, but after the last one, I’m not so sure.”

Lexie banked down her automatic antagonism at the mention of Meechum. “Sugartail’s dropped lots of healthy foals. One stillborn shouldn’t make a difference.”

“Why don’t you have a look at her?” Pa suggested, his lips fighting a smile.

Lexie’s heart warmed. “I might at that.” She pushed open the front door, then stood dazzled in the entryway. The sconces had been lit even though it was still afternoon, albeit a gloomy one, and garlands of cedar were wrapped around the stairway banister. The house smelled of cedar and cinnamon and in the parlor, at the edge of Lexie’s vision, rose a twenty-foot Christmas tree.

It was Jesse who greeted her first, and she surprised a flash of amazement on his darkly handsome countenance. “Lexie?” he asked as he came into the foyer.

Mischief entered her sparkling eyes as she moved forward in a rustle of midnight blue sateen. “Good afternoon, Jesse,” she murmured formally, extending both hands.

His deep blue eyes narrowed. “By gum, girl,” he drawled, in a perfect imitation of Cook. “Ya up and done it, din’t ya?”

They convulsed in fits of laughter and Samuel, who’d come to stand behind his brother, said in pretended shock, “Why, she even looks like a lady!”

“Very funny,” Lexie said affectionately, dropping all her good intentions and hugging them each in turn. To hell with being a lady if it meant she couldn’t express her feelings.

In the midst of this reunion Lexie saw her mother begin to descend the stairs. There was an unsteady smile on Eliza’s lips, and Lexie well understood her mother’s worry at seeing what changes had been wrought.

Lexie walked to the bottom of the stairs, smiling. Eliza’s gaze was admiring. “You look so beautiful,” she said. “I hope you’re not totally miserable.”

“Not totally,” Lexie allowed. “After all, I only have six months left.”

Eliza’s gaze anxiously searched her daughter’s face. Seeing the lurking humor in the corners of Lexie’s eyes, her own mouth twitched just a little. “The Lord does grant us His blessings,” she murmured sardonically, and everyone, including Eliza, laughed.

Lexie had to hide her homesickness behind a pair of over-bright eyes, rather than make a complete fool out of herself. Miss Everly’s School for Young Ladies wasn’t nearly as awful as the wrench of being away from home. But there were only a few months left. She would survive.

“Where’s Harrison?” she asked.

“He

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