Chapter Eighteen
Albright Ranch
One Week Later
As it turned out, Poppy hadn’t broken her ankle, fortunately.
According to the doctor, she had sprained it, which meant she still had to stay in bed and rest. Neil had managed to keep her there for a full seven days, but today was Sunday, and Poppy had pestered him the entire week to take her to church.
Even though he had promised to take her, he almost regretted it.
Not because he didn’t want to take her, but because he didn’t want to go.
The notion of going to church made him feel all too uncomfortable.
It had been too many years since he had last visited, and he didn’t want to face the whole town and their inevitable barrage of questions about where he had been and why he hadn’t gone anymore.
Standing in the front room looking out of the large window onto the long road leading away from the ranch, he sighed.
It was early in the morning, and it looked windy.
The sky looked gray with fast-moving clouds racing from east to west, but the sunshine started to burn them off, and increasingly more bright rays peeked through.
Maybe it would turn out to be a nice day.
Neil glanced at the clock on the mantel.
If he were lucky, they’d be too late to leave for service.
He was itching to go out to the barn and do an honest day’s work rather than go into town.
He hadn’t even bothered putting on his best clothes because he didn’t plan on actually attending church.
Instead, he had decided to just wait outside until they were done.
It bugged him that he’d be wasting all those precious hours doing nothing.
But he had promised Poppy to take her, so now he had to fulfill his promise, and no nagging in his head would prevent that. He lifted the cup of coffee and drank a hearty sip from it. Secretly, he wished it was something stronger to take the edge off.
He heard a door creaking, then Sophie’s giggle echoed through the long hallway. He could hear the rustling of fabric and the clacking of shoes stepping closer to where he stood. Another glance at the clock proved it—they were early.
Putting down his cup on a nearby table, Neil turned away from the window to meet Poppy and Sophie, who came running into the room first. She wore a pretty pink dress with lots of frills and bows on it and a matching bonnet, which promptly flew off her head because it hadn’t been tied around her chin yet.
She stopped in her tracks and made a surprised noise. Neil was faster when they both went to grab the bonnet. He shook it out and put it back on top of her head.
“All right, young lady. It’s windy out there,” he told her, “so you need to make sure it stays put. Let me help you.”
She beamed at him as he tied a bow underneath her chin, tickling it with his fingers. She giggled loudly, which made him chuckle.
“There,” he said. “You look so pretty in that dress. Is it new?” Sophie’s eyes sparkled when he mentioned it, and she vigorously nodded her head and twirled in front of him.
Her cackling laugh and her excitement were contagious, so he took her hand and twirled her a little more.
Then her gaze landed on something behind him, and he turned around.
His breath caught in his throat, and for a moment, he forgot everything he had thought about earlier.
Poppy looked breathtakingly beautiful in the new pink dress she had made, and Neil had to blink twice to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
Her glossy dark hair was tied in a bun at her nape, and she had covered it with a fashionable hat that was covered in silky pink roses.
Neil was not very well-informed when it came to fashion, but this looked very fashionable indeed.
It was made of the same fabric as Sophie’s, but the style was much more mature.
It outlined her figure perfectly, with the tiny waist and the slightly narrower skirt with the little train at the back.
The fabric was embroidered with pink-on-pink roses everywhere, which gave it a very high-end look—and a whole new meaning to “Sunday best”.
Neil felt completely underdressed, but it was too late to change.
He suddenly noticed that he was staring at her with an open mouth, so he snapped it shut. A noticeable blush creeped into her cheeks, which made her look even lovelier. Neil had to force himself to look away.
“So!” he exclaimed then. “Are we ready to go?”
Sophie bounced and ran straight to the door. Neil stepped closer to his wife and gallantly held out his arm for her. She put her dainty hand into the crook of his elbow and smiled at him.
“You look stunning,” he whispered to her, making her blush yet again. He forced himself to breathe. His heart was racing so fast in his chest he feared it may explode.
“How is your ankle?” he asked to change the subject. She smiled at him appreciatively.
“Better. Not great yet, but I’ll manage,” she explained as she slowly followed his lead, still limping.
“Maybe you should stay in bed and not put any more strain on it,” Neil suggested out of concern for her injury. Poppy shook her head.
“Oh, I’ll be fine. I need to go to church,” she said firmly. “I need to. My soul needs it.” Looking into her dark eyes, Neil finally fully understood how important this was to her and that this wasn’t just a fluke or some stubborn idea she tried to push.
“And you promised,” she added with a grin. He nodded with a soft smile.
“That I did,” he said as he helped her to carefully walk out of the house toward the steps of the porch.
Not wanting her to reinjure herself, he gently lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the buggy waiting in front.
Sophie had already climbed up and waited patiently with her little hands folded in her lap, but when she saw Poppy, she scooted over to the side to make more space.
Neil made sure her dress was inside the buggy, and everybody was seated securely before he climbed in himself, took the reins, and flicked them gently to get the gelding moving.
Just as he had hoped, the sun finally won the battle against the clouds, and suddenly the sky opened up, letting the warming rays fall through. It was still slightly windy but not as much, and the day promised to be gorgeous indeed.
The drive into town turned out to be a lot more fun than Neil had anticipated.
Poppy and Sophie were in such high spirits Poppy began singing for her. Neil was surprised when he heard his wife’s melodic voice and how beautiful she sang. He even recognized a couple of songs he remembered from church, which made him feel nostalgic.
Despite the premise, Neil had to admit that he very much enjoyed this little outing with both of them, and he loved to listen to Poppy sing.
He even encouraged it several times. He had never enjoyed the company of another person that much, yet here he was, relishing every minute of his very own personal concert.
Neil kept stealing glances at her, and he could sense Poppy’s excitement growing the closer they got to town. When they finally saw the steeple of the church, his wife exclaimed a joyous cheer.
“We’re here!” she said to Sophie, who excitedly clapped her hands. Poppy looked directly at Neil, and the way her eyes sparkled so full of excitement when she looked up at the building almost made him jealous. Shouldn’t his wife’s eyes sparkle like that when she looked at him?
Then came the crowd. Neil braced himself.
Most of the town came to church on Sundays, and Neil knew almost all of them since Riverton was small and he had grown up here. For Poppy, however, this was all brand new, and her excitement was palpable.
As they rolled up in their buggy, many heads turned toward them. Neil tried to ignore it, while Poppy and Sophie waved at them with beaming smiles, which immediately garnered a lot of attention. It was everything Neil wanted to avoid, but he had no other choice.
He stopped the buggy right outside the front doors of the church. Jumping out from his side, he rushed around to where she was and lifted her out of the buggy. He carried her all the way up the stairs, where most people gathered before service, and gently put her down.
“Please wait here,” he said to her. “I’ll get Sophie.”
Then he rushed back to the buggy to get the little girl, lifting her onto his arm and carrying her up just like Poppy, before he put her down next to her sister. Poppy beamed at him, and her face was glowing.
“Will you be okay for a moment?” he asked then.
“I need to park the buggy.” Poppy nodded at him with a bright smile as she took Sophie’s hand, keeping her close.
Several women gathered near her, and all of them looked eager to talk to his wife.
Neil spun around and raced down the steps back to his buggy.
He parked it in the farthest back corner, even though he knew he would have to walk all the way back to the building to get Poppy and Sophie. He jumped out and tied the horse loosely enough so the gelding could graze the fresh greens growing at the edges. Then he jogged back toward the entrance.
In the midst of a sea of people, he heard hearty laughter and excited chitchat, and on his way up the steps, Neil could pick out Poppy’s voice in the crowd. She sounded happy, almost giddy.
“Oh, there he is!” she said with bright eyes when he appeared next to her. “This is my husband, Neil Albright.” Did she sound proud?
All eyes jumped to him, and Neil immediately felt compelled to pull off his Stetson. Although he had seen some of their faces before, he didn’t really know any of the women staring back at him, so he just nodded. Some of them nodded back. Others did a little curtsy.
“I was just invited to have tea with them,” Poppy exclaimed happily.
Neil inhaled sharply but nodded again. She looked so happy.
He couldn’t bring himself to burst her bubble, even though he had no idea how that would work, because he had to get back to the ranch at some point.
He didn’t have the leisure to spend a whole day dillydallying around.
Finally, the other women filed into the church, leaving Poppy and Neil by the door.
Poppy smiled brightly at Neil. She probably expected him to just take her inside, too, but he had no intention of going in there.
Sophie took his hand, beaming up at him.
When she tried to pull him toward the doors, he cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” he said quietly. “I won’t be joining you. I’ll wait outside.”
Poppy and Sophie both looked devastated. Sophie pulled his hand again, but he shook his head at her.
“You promised,” Poppy said with a disappointed expression on her face. Her eyes were pleading him to reconsider.
“I promised to take you here. I never said I’d join you in there,” Neil corrected her, nodding toward the open doors, where people were still filing into the church.
Sophie made a grunting sound and stomped with her foot. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Neil.
“Are you angry because Neil won’t go inside?” Poppy asked, and Sophie nodded vehemently. She walked over to Neil’s side and took his hand. Sophie made such a sad face, as if she were about to cry. It broke Neil’s heart.
“You don’t want to go because he doesn’t want to go?” she asked, and Sophie nodded with an extra sad face.
Neil felt called out. He looked down at the little girl, and he couldn’t bear it. Sophie had been so excited to go.
“Neil Albright?” a familiar voice exclaimed behind him, and Neil immediately knew the man approaching them from inside the church. The pastor himself.
Neil winced and slowly turned around. Of all the people, he had been the last one Neil wanted to face. Heavy guilt bubbled up to the surface when he looked him straight in the eyes.
Pastor Nickelson’s light gray eyes were full of warmth, and his welcoming smile didn’t show the slightest signs of resentment toward him.
Of course not, Neil! What are you thinking? He’s God’s shepherd!
“What a blessing to see you here, son!” the pastor exclaimed in his familiar Norwegian accent as he pulled Neil into a tight embrace.
“How have you been? How is married life treating you?” He didn’t fully let go of Neil, instead holding him at arm’s length by his shoulders.
Neil nodded slowly, and his mouth pulled into a tight smile. Where would he even begin to explain?
“And who are these two lovely ladies?” Nickelson asked then, as he turned to Poppy and Sophie with the brightest smile.
Poppy bowed her head respectfully. His eyes widened.
“Mrs. Albright?” he asked. “I almost didn’t recognize you.
You look radiant.” Then his eyes dropped to little Sophie.
“And who is this precious little angel?” he asked as he crouched down to her eye level.
Sophie did a dainty little curtsy, which made the pastor chuckle.
She gifted him with the biggest smile as he looked her straight in the eyes.
“My name is Pastor Nickelson. What’s your name?” he asked her directly.
“Her name is Sophie,” Poppy said. “She’s my younger sister. She’s mute.”
The pastor nodded, still smiling at Sophie.
“But you can hear me okay,” he asked. Sophie nodded with big, bright eyes. “Well, I would very much like to invite you and your sister to come to my sermon today,” Nickelson said to Sophie. “Would you like that?” Sophie nodded again, smiling brightly at him.
Then she walked around his back to Neil, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the doors again. Neil swallowed hard.
The pastor straightened to his full height and smiled at him. Then he put his hand on Neil’s shoulder. His bright gray eyes seemed to mirror the blue sky from above, as if Neil were looking straight into heaven.
“Let it go, son,” the pastor said. “You’ve suffered long enough. Whatever it is that’s holding you back, God welcomes you with open arms. He’s been waiting for you.”