A Home in Drayton Valley Read Online Free Page B

who’d spent his day laboring.
    She planted a kiss on his temple, inhaling his unique aroma of sweat, sea, and musky skin as she placed the plate in front of him. He picked up the fork, but then sat with it in his fist, staring at the beans.
    â€œAren’t you hungry?” She ran her fingers through his thick hair. She’d always loved Joss’s hair—thick and dark and ladenwith natural waves that rolled away from his forehead like the ocean rolled toward shore. But also soft. Surprisingly so, considering how gruff he could be. But she understood his crustiness was a mask—a barrier he used to protect himself. Although at times she longed for tenderness, she loved him anyway, because she knew he loved her the best way he knew how. What would he do when she was gone? Her fingers coiled around the silken strands and clung.
    He dropped the fork and reached up to grasp one of her exploring hands. With a tug, he drew her onto the bench beside him. “Mary, tell me . . . about Kansas.” He slapped the little book onto the table.
    Although his tone sounded more weary than eager, her heart leaped with hope. She sought the section Tarsie had pointed out about Drayton Valley and read slowly, emphasizing the points she thought Joss would find the most interesting. While she read, she couldn’t help imagining her children running along a grassy riverbank or ambling toward a little schoolhouse, slates tucked in the bends of their arms. She pictured Joss coming home at the end of the day, tired but smiling, satisfied with the toil of his hands, his eyes clear and his face tanned from the sun. But she didn’t put herself in the fanciful imaginings.
    She finished reading every detail, then told Joss about the man at the railroad who could help them purchase tickets. Placing her hand over his, she sighed. “Doesn’t it sound like a fine place, Joss? A place for a family to prosper.” Slipping her eyes closed, she allowed one more picture to form in her mind—of Joss leading the children up the steps of a clapboard chapel. Tears stung behind her closed lids. It could happen, Lord, couldn’t it?
    â€œIt’s far away from here, this Kansas?” Joss’s low, serious tone drew Mary’s focus.
    â€œYes, Joss. Far away.”
    His jaw jutted. “This, then, is what you want?”
    Mary held her breath, afraid she might still be caught in her wistful dreaming. Her vocal cords seemed tangled in knots, unable to deliver words, so she gave a nod.
    Joss’s head sagged. “But money for tickets . . . I don’t have it.”
    As much as Mary wished she could refuse Tarsie’s offer to give over her saved earnings, she wouldn’t be taking it for herself. This was for her children. For Joss. For a better, richer, more joyful life. She could swallow her pride for the sake of her loved ones. She only prayed Joss’s pride, which was much larger than hers, could be overcome.
    In a mere whisper, she said, “I do.”
    His head shot up, one wavy strand of dark hair flopping across his forehead. “You have money?”
    The glimmer in his eyes frightened her. Desperation tinged with fury. But she couldn’t retreat now. “Y-yes.”
    â€œHow much?”
    Tarsie hadn’t mentioned an amount, but she had indicated she’d spoken to the railroad man and knew her funds were adequate for the journey. Mary chose a simple reply. “Enough.”
    â€œFetch it for me.”
    â€œI . . . can’t. It isn’t here.”
    â€œWhere is it?”
    Mary swallowed. “Tarsie has it.” Should she tell him it was Tarsie’s money, not hers? But Tarsie was willing to give it to her, which made it hers, didn’t it? Her pain-muddled brain tried to reason, but rational thought wouldn’t form.
    Joss chewed his lower lip, his gaze aimed somewhere behind Mary’s shoulder. She’d learned over their