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“My heart was so very ready to fall in love with him,” she confessed. “Now my head won’t allow it.”

“Perhaps your love story, should there prove to be one, won’t be an uneventful stroll through a flowery meadow. It doesn’t need to be. And you don’t need to know the ending now. You simply need to go make your beginning.”

Helene solidified her resolve. “It seems I have a bit of business in the barn.” She spoke as firmly as her uncertainty would allow.

“That’s my brave girl,” Mother whispered. “I’ll go sit with the children.”

They walked in opposite directions. Helene didn’t allow herself to look back, afraid her determination would fail her. She marched through the open door in the side of the barn.

Before her eyes had fully adjusted to the dimness inside, Gregory’s voice broke the silence.

“Hele— Miss Bowen. Is there a problem?”

He approached from a nearby stall, watching her with worry.

Even though they were quarreling, he was still concerned about her welfare. She truly wanted to believe that he was the good and honest man she’d thought he was.

“I’ve been thinking over our current situation,” she said.

He grew very still, watching her closely.

“I think we should start over again,” she continued. “We should make a new beginning, but an honest one.”

“I would like that very much,” he said. “Though I hardly deserve the second chance.”

“That is when a person needs it most.”

He nodded, eagerness mingling with hope in his expression.

Helene took a fortifying breath. “Good evening,” she said. “I’m Helene Bowen. I should warn you that I’m stubborn, sometimes to a fault. I’ve been accused more than once of being bossy. And I have a very difficult time trusting people, though I am willing to keep trying.”

He looked immediately relieved. Helene swore she could see a weight lifted from him. Her opinion mattered more to him than she would have guessed.

“I’m Gregory Reeves, and your brother was the best friend I’ve ever had. He read me your letters because I seldom received any, and in so doing, allowed me to be part of your family. I came here to fulfill a promise to him, but I also wanted to meet you. I’m not perfect—far from it, in fact—but I hope to prove myself trustworthy. And regardless of what you decide about me in the end, I promise to work hard, and I’ll stay as long as you wish me to.”

A smile began tugging at her lips. “I would very much like you to stay,” she admitted.

“Do you really mean it?”

“I really do.”

He slipped his fingers around hers and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “Thank you, Helene. A hundred times, thank you. You won’t regret this.”

“I don’t intend to.”

He kept hold of her hand. His expression was the one of a man who’d been granted a last-minute pardon.

She didn’t know how the future would play out, but in that moment, she could not doubt that he sincerely cared for her. If he were indifferent, her willingness to begin again wouldn’t matter to him at all. And knowing it mattered to him gave her hope.

Chapter Nine

“Bianca, you have to see what Gregory and I found!” Liam burst into the kitchen on that enthusiastic declaration, much to Helene’s amusement. The past weeks had lightened him. Gregory had lightened him. It was a miracle Helene was endlessly grateful for.

“May I?” Bianca looked over at Helene. “I haven’t finished sweeping.”

“My curiosity will not be satisfied until I see what it is our menfolk have discovered.” Helene smiled as she held her hand out to the dear girl. “Let’s go see what it is.”

They walked out of the house, hand in hand, following Liam. He moved so swiftly and with such enthusiasm that he had to repeatedly stop and give them a chance to catch up.