Free Beside Two Rivers by RITA GERLACH

he found her. It is not good for a man to be alone, especially when he is old.”
    She stared at the empty house. If her mother had not died, life would have been different. Walking on, she spied the cabin. An image sprang to her mind of a girl with red hair standing on the porch, holding a babe in her arms.
    “We had a servant who lived there.” She pointed in the direction of the abandoned walls that had once been Sarah’s cabin. “She had a child and was kind to me. There was a housekeeper also. She was like a doting grandmother.” She smiled. “Those are happy memories. I have wondered what happened to those people.”
    “I wish I could tell you.” Ethan looked from her eyes to the cabin. Darcy caught a strange glimmer in his stare, as if he knew something. But how could he?
    She proceeded across a field of knee-deep grass. The hem of her dress caught the thorns of a wild rose bush. “Oh, I’ve ruined my hem for good now.”
    Ethan reached over to help and yanked her dress free. “It is not torn.”
    A coy look spread over Darcy’s face. “I am sure Miss Roth would never risk her expensive gowns in a place like this. She must be wondering where you have gone.”
    “Am I intruding upon you?” Ethan asked.
    “No. But why you bother with me, when Miss Roth is at Twin Oaks, I do not understand. I’m still trying to figure you out. That’s all.”
    “I would not try.”
    “Are you saying I am wasting my time, sir?”
    “Not at all. Only let me be a mystery a little longer, Darcy.”
    She paused, gazing at him. “I doubt I could know everything about you in a matter of days, Mr. Brennan. So trust me when I say your secrets are safe from me. ”
    He made a short bow. “I would trust you with them—when the time was right.”
    Walking away, Darcy plucked a red clover and held it to her nose. Eyes closed, she drew in the subtle scent. They’d been gone a long while, and as ever, her aunt would begin to worry once she discovered her gone. Dread rippled through her—her guardians would disapprove if they knew she was alone with a man. What was she thinking? She should have told her uncle and gotten his consent before they left. But then, they might feel better knowing he was the man who had brought her home through a rainstorm. They had nothing to worry about with Ethan at her side.
    “Speaking of time. Do you not find it intriguing that you were on this side of the river at the precise time I needed help?” Darcy said.
    “Yes,” Ethan replied. “Call it God’s leading that I happened to go out riding when you happened to go wading.”
    She gave him a sad smile. “I am sorry you put yourself in danger because of me. I feel awful about it.”
    “That is absurd. What would you have had me do? Let you struggle back on your own and risk drowning?”
    Under the quivering sunlight, they strolled at a more sedate pace. Ethan stopped her and touched her hand. “Don’t you see I would swim a hundred leagues for you?”
    “You would rescue any woman caught in a dangerous situation. There. I have worked out one thing about you.”
    He smiled. “Which is?”
    “That you are brave and not at all afraid of getting wet.”
    Ethan laughed and shook his head. A lock of his hair fell over his forehead. Darcy reached up and moved it back. Emotion flooded his eyes when she touched him. He leaned down, drew her close, and kissed her. His kiss was the first she had ever known, and she felt herself drifting through the most beautiful sensation. It poured through every inch of her, this feeling of being in love, being captured and rescued all at the same time.
    When he drew away, he ran his hand down the curve of her face and pressed his forehead against hers. “I have been wanting to do that for a long time.”
    “Oh,” she breathed. Then, enthralled by the moment, she slid her arms around his neck and touched her lips to his. She dropped her arms and stood back, breathless. Heat rose in her face, and she felt the