Free Ripples Along the Shore by Mona Hodgson Page B

in the washstand mirror, then splashed his whiskered face with cold water. It didn’t matter who it was that he’d turned down, he’d made the right decision. Although, he agreed with the mirror that he could’ve been more diplomatic in dashing her dreams.
    The sound of hooves and more braying jerked Garrett out of his daydreaming.
    The animals were real. And close by. Inside the granary!
    Garrett scrambled down the shallow steps, nearly toppling off of the last one.
    Rutherford stood near the door with a smug smile on his face. Three donkeys stood at the end of the lead ropes wrapped around his friend’s hand.
    Garrett blew out a long breath. He obviously hadn’t latched the door last night, leaving an invitation to a grain feast.
    Rutherford glanced up the staircase. “Who you talkin’ to up there?”
    “I was talking?”
    Rutherford nodded, wagging thick eyebrows.
    “What do you think you heard?”
    “Only that you’re smitten with Caroline Milburn.”
    He brushed his woolen sleeves out to full length. “I didn’t say that.”
    Rutherford shrugged. “Some things don’t need spelled out.”
    Garrett swatted the air. “You’re a newlywed, hearin’ romance everywhere you eavesdrop.”
    Rutherford’s laugh boomed.
    Whether he was attracted to Caroline or not, he couldn’t let the young woman risk her life. Surely, there was something else the widow could do. Something safer. More comfortable.
    Rutherford cleared his throat. “I’d ask you to help me take these well-fed jennies back to the barn, but”—he looked at Garrett’s bright red union suit—“there are ladies on the property.”
    Garrett looked at the open door, then darted up the steps. “See you at breakfast.”
    Tomorrow was quilting circle day on the farm, and he’d make it a point to be here. The perfect opportunity to make things right with Caroline. With another day for her to calm down, she’d surely be ready to listen to his explanation and have a better understanding of his position.

Twelve
    C aroline pulled a sedate brown hat from the wardrobe. She stood in front of the wavy mirror that hung above her dresser and placed the hat on her upswept hair. Mary sat on the bed watching her every move.
    “Why you go away to church?” Her niece’s stocking feet dangled just above the rough wood flooring.
    “Sometimes it’s good for me to get out.” Caroline pushed one of Aunt Inez’s pearl-tipped hatpins through her hair. She hadn’t been to the quilting circle the past two Thursdays. Since her run-in with Garrett Cowlishaw at the Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company meeting, she hadn’t been anywhere but to the grocery. Jewell conducted a Sunday service for the children in their home, but it wasn’t the same. Today Caroline needed more. She’d not attended a formal church service since leaving Philadelphia.
    Most of her friends here were members of German-speaking congregations, but Maren had invited her to visit the Presbyterian meetinghouse that she and Rutherford attended—the type of church Caroline had grown accustomed to in the East. Placing the last pin in her hat, she looked out the sunlit window. Her burdens seemed to lift with the promise of warm sunshine. A perfect day for a nice long walk. And an inspiring worship service.
    “You were out yesterday. Remember?” Mary slid off the bed. “You washed the windows.”
    Caroline giggled. “I did.” She lifted her Bible from the bedside table. “But I meant I need to be out among other people.”
    “Oh.” Freckles dotted Mary’s round cheeks. “Then you’ll come back?”
    “Yes.” Thanks to Garrett Cowlishaw’s sensibilities about single women on the trail, she may be here forever. Unless she found a man to marry.
    And what better place than in a church?
    Mary followed her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Caroline had invited Jewell to come along this morning and suggested it would be good for the children, but her sister preferred to stay home. No