A Daughter's Quest Read Online Free

sweat to his brow. After placing the finished item on his worktable, he wiped his forearms and face with a towel and rolled down his sleeves. He pulled the doors closed and hurried up the street to follow the woman. Today, he intended to talk to her. Enough of this cat-and-mouse game they had been playing.
    He almost caught up with her when she stopped to look at something in a store window. She turned and started back toward him, so Hans leaned against the front of the café in the next block. He heard a commotion in the alley that separated the two buildings and stuck his head around the corner of the building just as two boys started running toward the street. They weren’t looking where they were going, and they should reach the end of the boardwalk about the time the woman would step down from it. If they collided with her, they would knock her into the dirt.
    “Now where do you scallywags think you’re going?” He grabbed each boy by the collar.
    They turned angry eyes toward him.
    “What are you doing, Mister?” The tallest boy sounded belligerent.
    Hans looked up in time to see the woman smile at the three of them. “I’m just trying to keep you from running into this lady.”
    The boys stopped resisting and glanced up at her. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison.
    She turned her smile on them. “It’s all right. You didn’t see me coming, did you?”
    They shook their heads and thanked her before moving more sedately down the street, at least for a little ways.
    “Thank you for saving me again.” Her rich melodious words stretched between them, making an indefinable connection.
    Hans felt tongue-tied, something he had never before experienced. He nodded.
    She held out her hand. “My name is Constance Miller.”
    He looked at it a moment before engulfing it in his. “And I’m Hans Van de Kieft. I’m…”
    “The blacksmith.” She finished his sentence when he faltered. “I saw you working in your shop earlier.” She looked down at their still-joined hands and gently extracted hers. “I’m glad to finally know your name.”
    While Hans watched Constance walk away, his heart thundered in his chest, and his stomach tied in knots again. He needed to talk to someone, so he started toward the parsonage. Hopefully, Jackson was home and had time to visit.
    The pastor opened the door after the first knock. “Hans, come in. Mary has gone to the store or I would offer you something to eat.”
    Hans shook his head. “I’m not hungry.” He was afraid that if he tried to eat, he wouldn’t be able to swallow a bite. Of course, the sensation in his midsection wasn’t exactly unpleasant.
    “Well, that’s a first, isn’t it?” His best friend led the way into the parlor. “Is this just a social call in the middle of a workday, or did you come for a specific reason?”
    Hans dropped into his favorite chair and leaned his forearms against his thighs, letting his hands dangle between his knees. “I kind of wanted to talk to you.”
    Jackson sat down and leaned back in his chair, resting one ankle on the other knee. “As a pastor or as a friend?”
    “Both, I think.”
    “This sounds intriguing.” Jackson’s eyebrows rose in question. “How can I help you?”
    It took a moment for Hans to verbalize his feelings. “Did you hear about me keeping that lady from falling from the stagecoach?” After his friend nodded, he continued, “Odd things have been happening to me since then. I’m not sleeping well, and when I do, I have strange dreams.” He wasn’t sure he had expressed himself in a way that could be understood.
    Jackson didn’t comment, just waited for him to continue.
    “Actually, I just met her again, and when she shook hands with me, I had the same reactions I had when I caught her.” He looked up hopefully, then back down at the floor.
    “What kind of reactions?”
    “I don’t know. She’s on my mind a lot, and I feel unsettled.”
    Jackson gave a soft snort, so Hans looked at