This Homeward Journey by Misty M. Beller

Author:Misty M. Beller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian historical romance, Christian historical fiction, Christian Western, christian novel, pioneer and frontier, western and frontier, rocky mountain story, rocky mountains western and frontier, montana, Montana mountain ranch
Publisher: Misty M. Beller Books, Inc.
Published: 2018-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

’Tis more than I deserve. And may well be my undoing.

~ Seth

Darkness settled as they finished the meal, both the cooking and the eating. Seth hated that he was forced to stay seated by the fire instead of helping the others. Rachel’s story had his mind churning, and he’d do better if he could get away for a walk to gather his wayward thoughts.

But time away couldn’t be had, so he forced himself to focus on the others. The four of them sat around the fire, empty plates still showing remnants of beans and bear meat—the best beans and meat he could ever remember. With Rachel on one side of him, Samuel on the other, and Andy just across the flame, eyes bright as he told of the deer he and Samuel saw when they watered the horses, a feeling settled in Seth’s chest he couldn’t remember experiencing in years. If he had to name it, he’d call this...contentment.

As the lad’s tale came to a close, Rachel reached for his plate. “As soon as I wash these, I’ll cut your hair. It’s in dire need of a trim.”

Seth ran his gaze over the boy’s head. A little shaggy, perhaps, with some loose curls drooping over his ears, but nothing compared to his own mop of straight brown hair.

His fingers reached for the strands at his neck, testing the length. Just over his collar. Certainly not the longest he’d ever kept it. He’d had a cut and a shave when they left California, and hadn’t worried about it since then. Maybe when they reached Simeon’s place in the Canadian territories, their sister-in-law would have the tools necessary for another cut.

Andy didn’t grumble when his mother sat him down with his back to the fire so she could see. She unwrapped a pair of scissors from their protective cloth and set to work. On a journey that required they bring only the most needed supplies, he found it interesting that she’d considered scissors necessary.

Her adept fingers wove in and out of the boy’s hair, which was a darker brown than her light honey tint. Andy must have inherited his hair color from his father, although he certainly had his mother’s intriguing green eyes.

She seemed absorbed by her work but must have felt his gaze on her, for she turned to send raised brows his way. “How’s the swelling?”

A smile tugged his mouth as she returned her focus to the boy’s hair and snipped another piece. Always the practical one. He’d come to realize busyness was one of the tactics she used to guard herself from getting too close.

Now that he understood it, and now that she was allowing him glimpses into her past, her attempts to keep him at a distance only made him smile.

And love her all the more.

Maybe this wasn’t full-fledged love yet, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be letting this woman go once they reached her brother.

Seth raised his trouser leg. “The swelling looks better than it did when we made camp.

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