Free Robin Lee Hatcher by Promised to Me

promised to me.”
    “I will remember. I promise, Jakob. I will always be yours.”
    The memory of that day and of those whispered promises was not a welcome one. How awful that her mind would betray her in such a way! It would be better to forget all that had passed between them so long ago. That had been another time, another country—even another Jakob and Karola.
    As Jakob drew the team to a halt, the door of the cabin opened, and Jakob’s two older children spilled through the doorway, followed a moment later by little Aislinn, who was gripping the index finger of a tall young man, bent low to accommodate her as she toddled forward.
    “Da!” Maeve rushed toward the wagon.
    “Da!” Bernard echoed, hard on his sister’s heels.
    Jakob jumped down from his seat.
    “Mr. Lance showed us the cabin,” Maeve said. “It doesn’t look like it did before.”
    “It had better not.” Jakob gave his daughter an affectionate pat on the shoulder before turning toward Karola. “Let’s give you the grand tour.”
    Karola stood, and Jakob stretched out a hand to help her down. The memory of that same hand cupping her face with such tenderness made her reluctant to accept his offer, but she had little choice. To refuse might give too much meaning to her private thoughts.
    Neither seemed inclined to hold hands longer than necessary.
    They separated as soon as her feet touched the ground.
    “Karola, this is Lance Bishop. He works for me a few days a week.”
    “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” Lance bent the brim of his hat.
    “ Danke, Mr. Bishop.”
    The young man chuckled. “Mr. Bishop’s my father, ma’am. I’d just as soon you called me Lance, if you don’t mind.” His grin was lopsided and infectious.
    She smiled in return.
    Jakob grunted. “Help me get this trunk inside, will you, Lance?”
    “Sure thing.”
    “Maeve, take your sister’s hand,” Jakob instructed, and the girl obeyed.
    While the two men stepped to the back of the wagon, Karola moved toward the cabin. At the doorway she paused and peeked inside.
    The main room had a stone fireplace, large enough for cooking, with what appeared to be an oven built into one side. A box in the nearby corner was stacked high with wood, and the scent of pine filled the room. A small table and two chairs were positioned beneath one of the two narrow, curtainless windows, set high in the walls—one facing north, one facing west. The only other furniture was a wooden rocking chair with an oval-shaped table beside it.
    Hearing sounds behind her, Karola entered the cabin and walked across to the bedroom. She stepped through the doorway, then off to one side so she would be out of the way as the men carried in her trunk and set it on the floor at the foot of the bed.
    The bedroom was as sparsely furnished as the main room. Here there was the brass-framed bed covered in a yellow-and-white quilt, a large chest of drawers, and a long, narrow table set against one wall, a pitcher and basin in its center. The bedroom had one window; it, too, was curtainless.
    Jakob cleared his throat, drawing Karola’s attention. “Lance is bringing in the rest of your luggage. We’ll leave you to settle in. When you’re ready, walk on down to the house.” He gestured, as if she could see outside. “You can’t get lost. Just follow the path down the hillside. It’s no more than half a mile or so. We’ll have our lunch when you get there, if that’s all right with you.”
    She nodded.
    He looked as if he might say something more, but instead, he turned on his heel and strode out of the house.
    Karola stayed where she was until Lance appeared with her bags. He set them next to the trunk, then bent his hat brim to her a second time, saying, “Ma’am,” before departing. Finally, alone in the cabin, Karola stepped to the bed, sank onto the edge of the mattress, and listened as the silence closed in around her.
    Alone …
    Rejected …
    Unwanted …
    Just as she’d been in