“No, Spooner, she is still on an extended trip with her husband and new baby.” Mama answered.
“Sarah?” The call from Reed’s mother caused Papa to turn and leave Ann on the first step of the carriage.
Ann hopped to the ground before releasing her Papa’s hand.
Mama extended both hands to take Mrs. Archer’s offer of the same. “How are ye holding up, Margaret?”
Mrs. Archer grabbed her mother in a fierce hug. “I’m so glad ye came.”
“I will always come, Margaret. Ye have only to ask.”
Mrs. Archer released her Mama to smile a greeting at the rest of the party. “Merry Christmas Eve! Welcome to Archer Hall.”
Still in the house, a few steps behind his mother, Ann saw him. He stepped out of the shadows as their gazes met. It shouldn’t be possible, but the man had grown. He was taller than when she’d last seen him. Shoulders broader. His smile, which she’d once thought arrogant, bloomed with a warmth she hadn’t seen since he’d come to carve with her grandpa. Her heart trilled like a leaf in a stiff breeze.
“Miss Wright.” He offered a formal bow.
“Mr. Archer.” She slowly bent a curtsy.
He turned to extend his hand to Papa. “Sir, welcome.”
They made their way inside. Ruby met her in the hall.
“Mattie will be here by supper.” Ruby said as she hooked her arm around Ann’s.
So she would have all she needed. And gauging by the look of Reed Archer, she would need all her resources. Her heart fluttered again at the mere thought of the man. That did not bode well for her resolve. “When did he get home?”
“Not two hours before ye came,” Ruby confided in a low whisper.
Ann would ignore him. It shouldn’t be that hard. He’d ignored her for most of the last few years he’d been home. After all, they had nothing in common. She dreaded the disappointment her parents would feel, but there was no help for it. She’d made up her mind. “Would ye show me to—”
“The barn?” Ruby giggled.
Ann’s cheeks warmed; she took a breath to strengthen her resolve. “Yes. I am working on a gift, and I should like to have it finished before New Year’s Day.”
Still hooked arm in arm, Ruby led Ann to a small storeroom just inside the barn. Ann took a seat on a plank and pulled back the cover of her basket. A half-carved doll body lay on top of an outfit she’d painstakingly sewn together in the evenings of the last two weeks. The hard part was over, now she just needed to craft the limbs and finally the head. Joy bubbled. This was her favorite part. The part over which she promised herself she could linger as she did the hated sewing required to clothe her dolls.
“What are ye making this time?” Ruby leaned against the arch of the doorway.
“It’s a doll for my mother in the likeness of my sister.”
Ruby lit up. “What a wonderful idea.”
“I thought she’d like it especially after Olivia removes to her new home.”
“How do ye come up with such wonderful ideas? I haven’t a creative bone in my body.”
Ann blushed and cast her gaze downward at the praise. She never knew what to say to such comments. Her ability came to her as easily as sleeping at night. “Everyone has gifts. I think yers must be hospitality. I’ve never felt unwelcome in yer company. I am quite sure I am never as welcoming when visitors come to the Wold.”
Ruby laughed. “I love people.”
“It shows.”
“Well, I guess ye don’t need me standing here staring at ye while ye work.”
Ann sent her a grin.
“I’ll call ye for supper.”
“Thanks, Ruby.”
Ann stored the basket next to her on the plank. The thin block would soon be a leg and foot. She took her Grandfather’s knife from the leather sheath she’d made. She could almost feel the warmth of Grandpa’s hand in the smooth, old wooden handle.
She sent a thin curl down the pine block. Peace replaced the agitation she’d felt since setting out this morning for Archer Hall. Soon the block was rounded and ready for ankle shaping.
A whip snapped through the air.
Angry voices followed.
Still carrying her knife, she slipped around the barn door to see Reed Archer with a whip in hand. On the ground before him a man groveled.
“Stay still!”
The whip sliced through the air.
The man rolled to miss it.
Rage rolled off Reed in waves that recoiled in her stomach.
