AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Zane
PS: Sam has adopted a stray kitten “for mice in the pantry,” which I don’t believe for one minute.
Chapter Seven
A snowy November passed slowly, with nothing for Winifred to do but practice for her next concert and teach. She thought she would go mad cooped up inside until the trip to Rochester with Millicent. But the week away from her duties passed quickly, and now nothing could assuage her restlessness.
Her piano students performed flawlessly at the winter recital the conservatory held each year, and in mid-December the term ended. As soon as she could escape the endless faculty meetings to plan for next term, she purchased her train ticket and wired Zane.
Just think! Rosemarie might be crawling by now. She shopped for a frilly dress for her and tiny soft slippers to match, then on impulse bought a handsome quilted comforter for Sam and his new bride and had it shipped via Wells Fargo. It should arrive before she did. And, she hoped, before Sam’s new bride from China made her appearance.
The night before the train departed for the West she found she couldn’t sleep. Rosemarie would be almost five months old by now. She missed the baby’s grip on her forefinger. She missed holding her in her arms and singing nonsense songs to her. Missed seeing her grow and change. She even missed Zane.
He wrote that he swam in the river right up until the first frost. It was a wonder he didn’t catch influenza. Or perhaps he had, and that was why there had been no answer to her telegram.
At four in the morning she could lie still no longer. She climbed out of her narrow bed and began to pack her valise.
* * *
The train from the East was late, held up in Colorado by an avalanche across the tracks, Charlie, the stationmaster, explained. Zane hoped Winifred had a warm winter coat and gloves or a muff to protect her hands. He paced back and forth on the platform, then went inside for hot coffee and the latest news, then began pacing again.
He guessed he was nervous. He hadn’t been this nervous when Winifred had first arrived in Smoke River last August, but he hadn’t known her then. He shouldn’t be nervous now, but there it was; his heartbeat wouldn’t calm down and his palms were damp.
When at last the arriving locomotive sounded a warning whistle, Zane stepped forward. The train chuffed to a stop amid a cloud of white steam and sat huffing on the track while the passengers debarked. He held his breath until he saw her, swathed in a long black coat and wearing a black fur hat. She looked so beautiful his chest ached.
“Winifred!”
She spotted him and waved one hand. They fought their way toward each other through a throng of people, and by the time they were within shouting distance both spoke at once. Steam puffed out of their mouths.
He stopped a scant foot in front of her and started to laugh. “We look like smoke-eaters,” he said.
“Or polar bears. Oh, Zane, I’m so glad to see you!”
He said nothing, just stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She spoke, but her voice was muffled against his overcoat. Then she raised her face and smiled at him.
“I am dizzy with the altitude again. But this time my corset is not so tight because I do hate your smelling salts!”
“Good,” was all he could say.
She rubbed her gloved hands together. “Out here in the West you have weather that is too hot and weather that is too cold. Is there nothing in between?”
“Yes, we have fall. But you went away before that. And spring is nice. Just right for swimming.”
She laughed. “You mean you don’t swim now, in the ice and snow?”
“Only if I’ve had too much hard cider.” In one hand he hoisted her valise—larger this time—and grasped her elbow with the other, steering her toward the waiting buggy.
When they arrived at the house Zane walked her to the front door, then drove the buggy around back to the barn. Sam met her with Rosemarie in his arms.
“Welcome back, missy.” He held the baby out to her.
Her heart stuttered as she gathered her niece in her arms.
“Oh, you’ve grown so big! And teeth! Let me look—why, you have three, no, four front teeth.”
“Another come soon,” Sam announced with a dimpled grin. “Much smart baby. Chew on toes.”
Winifred buried her nose in the child’s soft neck and breathed in the sweet scent of her skin. “Now that I am here, little one, you can chew on my fingers. Would you like that, my darling girl? Would you?”
