Read Online Robin Lee Hatcher by Promised to Me - Free Book Online Page B

she repay her passage to America, or did she accept the fairness of the situation? He couldn’t be sure. It seemed to him there’d been a time he’d known exactly what Karola thought because they’d been of one mind. Or maybe he’d imagined that. It was all such a long time ago.
    He slapped the reins against the broad backsides of the horses. “I’ll take you up to the cabin first so we can unload your things. Then we’ll go back to the house.”
    From the corner of his eye, he saw Karola nod.
    “I hope you’re not expecting much. About the cabin, I mean. It isn’t big, but it’s solid. I cleaned it as good as I could yesterday and brought up a better mattress and an old chest of drawers that used to belong to Mrs. Lewis, the lady who owned the place before us. I expect you’ll do all your eating with the family, so I didn’t worry about things like dishes and pans and such.”
    Karola nodded again.
    “I figure you’ll mostly just be sleeping there. ’Course, if there’s anything you need—”
    “I am sure it will be fine, Jakob. Please, do not worry about me.” She sounded stoic, resigned.
    For some reason, that galled him. She’s right. I’ve got nothing to apologize for. She won’t be doing without.
    Jakob pressed his lips together and didn’t speak again for the remainder of the way.
    The wagon followed a narrow track of road that passed to the south of the main farmhouse before winding up the slope of the mountain. It wasn’t long before the cabin—Karola’s new home—came into view. Square and squat, the log structure sat in the center of a small clearing surrounded by tall but scraggly pines.
    For a moment, Karola recalled the place she and Jakob used to go, deep in the forest beyond their tiny village. She remembered the dim light that had filtered through the thick tree branches. She could still smell the damp air, and see the greenness of everything around them.
    And then, unexpectedly, she remembered something else.
    Jakob and Karola sat on a large boulder, surrounded by the dense forest and a denser silence. This was their secret place. Since they were children, they’d come here on Sunday afternoons, sharing their hopes and their dreams.
    “I could go with you, Jakob,” Karola said softly, a catch in her voice. “We could marry first, and I could go with you to America.”
    “Your father would never agree. You know that. You’re too young, and I have nothing to give you yet.”
    “But it is not fair that I should have to remain here, just because I am a girl! I could work, too, Jakob. I am strong, and I am a skilled baker like my father.”
    “Karola.” Jakob took her face between his hands, then leaned forward and silenced her with a sweet kiss. When their lips parted, he whispered, “It won’t be so long before I send for you. I’ll work hard and I’ll buy my own land, and then you’ll join me and we’ll grow rich and fat together.”
    She felt as if she might die from the pain of his going. What would she do without Jakob? He had been her best friend long before she had fallen in love with him. Jakob understood the things her seventeen-year-old heart longed for. He understood her dreams because they were so much like his own.
    “Do not cry, mein Liebling.” Jakob kissed her lips again, then brushed the tears from her cheeks with tender fingertips. “Do not cry.”
    Karola did her best to obey. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached into the pocket of her skirt and withdrew a small, round photograph of herself. Until this morning, it had been part of a larger family photograph, sitting on a shelf in her father’s office at the back of the bakery. Karola had cut out her likeness to give to Jakob.
    “It is for your watch.” She sniffed. “So you will not forget me.”
    Rather than take the photograph, he cupped her face with his hands. “I could never forget you, Karola.” His voice was deep, his devotion clear. “And you must remember that you are