The Fire in Ember - DiAnn Mills [25]
You’re bein’ foolish girl. Simon will find you … you know he will.
CHAPTER 11
Bert tore out the stitches for the fourth time on the small piece of flowered fabric Leah had given her to practice sewing. While Leah’s stitches looked perfect and evenly spaced on a narrow hem, Bert’s looked like her needle had followed a jagged cliff.
“I don’t think I’ll ever learn how to sew properly.”
“Yes, you will. Just like everything that’s important in life, difficult things take time, practice, and lots of patience.”
“I’m short on the last one.”
Leah laughed softly. “Oh, we all are.” She reached over and touched the ends of Bert’s hair. “This is growing fast. Before long, it will be trailing down your back.”
“Hasn’t been long since I was a little girl.”
“Did you want it shorter to make folks think you were a boy?”
The old familiar fear seized her. She remembered the last time Clint and Lester held her down and Simon chopped off her hair with his knife. “Sometimes.”
“You’re pale. Is there anything you want to tell me?”
The less any of them knew about her, the better. “No ma’am.”
“Why? I can tell you’re afraid. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us about yourself. John’s deputy work brings him in contact with important people, and the boys’ Uncle Parker in Denver knows a lot about law. He represents this area in the legislature and is highly respected.”
This family had its share of law abiding people. A terrifying thought. “I’m only here until my debt is paid.”
Leah stiffened. “That’s ridiculous.”
“What do you mean? Has John decided I’m not doing my share of work?”
“Not at all. When the boys are in school, John pays hired hands a dollar a day. My point is, he’s more generous to them.”
Bert had no problem with how he’d arranged for her to pay the money she owed. The deal was more than fair, considering he’d saved her from a hanging. “But I have a place to sleep and plenty of food to eat. Look at how I’ve already gained weight. The way I see the situation, all you have is my word that I didn’t steal Mr. Oberlander’s horse. I haven’t explained anything about me ‘cause I can’t.”
Leah’s brow narrowed.
“Don’t be upset with me, Miss Leah. Maybe someday.”
“I’ve heard you cry out in your dreams.”
Nightmares. “You shouldn’t pay them no mind.”
“Maybe if they only happened once.”
Bert drew in a deep breath. She could not talk about the nightmares. “I do have a problem I’d like to talk to you about.”
“And what’s that?”
“Evan.”
Leah nodded and blinked. “He does seem to be smitten.”
“John will be furious. I told him I’d stay away from his brothers and now this.”
“If John wants to blame anyone, it’s the ways of a man. And Evan is eighteen. I was married and a mother to John at his age.”
“What can I do?”
“Continue what you’ve been doing. I’ve never seen a single improper action from you. I’ll talk to John and tell him about your concern.”
Bert breathed a bit easier. Leah didn’t blame her, and John and his mama could work out the problem with Evan, who was more like a good and decent brother to her than anything else. If she allowed her heart to walk through a field of wildflowers, she’d admit John held a tender spot in her heart. Certainly something she had to keep hidden from everyone. The truth was no man would ever want her as his wife. Not with what she’d done, but with what Simon had done to her. Yet sometimes she fancied a real home with a man who loved her.
Bert smiled at Leah. If she could, she’d reveal the past. Was there anything she could tell? She moistened her lips. “My real name is Ember. Bert’s what I’ve been called.”
A soft sigh escaped Leah. “What a beautiful name. Oh, I’ll never call you Bert again.”
How dear you are to me, Leah. I’ll treasure you always. “No one’s ever called me by my given name except Gideon, and he told me my ma liked it very much.”
“I agree with your mother. Very pretty too. Who is Gideon?”
Surely one more small piece of her life would not hurt. “My oldest brother. He died some years back. Pneumonia.” Perhaps she was telling too much, but Gideon had