A Moment in Time by Tracie Peterson Read Free Book Online Page B

are for me. I might only be eighteen, but I can see that the man adores you.”
    Marty laughed. “You’re being silly, Alice. He’s just grateful for the help. I gave money and time to his cause. That’s what he loves.”
    Alice took hold of Marty’s arm but then just as quickly let go. “I suppose I could be wrong, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He doesn’t look at anyone else that way. I think he’s fallen in love with you.”
    “He’s knows full well I’m a married woman. Goodness, he made these arrangements with Jake. Mr. Brentwood is an honorable man—a godly man. He wouldn’t dream of defiling me that way.”
    Alice shrugged. “I don’t think he has defiling in mind, but I do think he has deep feelings for you.”
    Marty turned away and placed the bowl on the counter. Alice was young and impressionable. No doubt her girlish ideals saw romance at every turn. Opening the flour bin, Marty retrieved a large sifter full of flour. She hoped that Alice would put the silly notions from her mind and realize that Mr. Brentwood held nothing more than respect for her.

    Alice decided to leave well enough alone. She had planted thoughts in Marty’s mind, and now she would pray that Marty would understand the truth before it was too late. Alice had no doubt that Mr. Brentwood was relying on Marty to ease the pain of having lost his wife not so very long ago. Perhaps he wasn’t even conscious of what he was doing.
    Supper passed by easily with the weary children almost happy to head for bed when the hour finally came. Mr. Brentwood gathered everyone together for prayer, and afterward Alice and Marty got the children tucked in for the night. With their work done, the women settled down before the fireplace in their room and breathed a collective sigh.
    Marty quickly picked up a shirt to mend, while Alice took up her crocheting. Outside, the wind had picked up and chilled the drafty room. Alice paused in her work to add another log to the fire. She thought of Christmases when she was little. She’d been happy then with both mother and father to offer love and care.
    I miss them both—so much. Walking to the window, Alice pulled back the curtain and looked out into the night. There was a slight glow coming from the windows of the house next door. It offered enough light to reveal it was snowing again.
    “The first Christmas I can remember was right after my father went away,” Marty said, as if Alice had asked a question. “We didn’t yet know that he was dead. I was five years old and my sister Hannah—she was much older than I—she raised me after my mother died. . . .” Marty paused.
    Alice returned to her chair by the fire. “Yes, I remember. I’ve always thought that a tremendous blessing.”
    “It was.” Marty smiled. “That year she made clothes for my doll, and one of the dresses was an exact match for a dress she made for me. I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. That is, until I saw my brother’s present.” She shook her head. “Andy got a horse and saddle. I was so jealous. Especially when he commented that he was a real rancher now. I declared to everyone that I was a real rancher, too. I told them I had a horse and could rope. I was always given to lies and exaggerations.”
    “What did your sister do?”
    “She reminded me that I was being untruthful. I remember telling her that I had spied a horse in the pen that I liked a lot and decided that one was mine. She told me that the horses belonged to Will, and I couldn’t just go picking one out and deciding it was mine.” She smiled, remembering.“That Christmas was very special, in spite of Pa’s absence. I felt safe and happy. Maybe Pa’s being gone was part of the reason. He wasn’t a very happy man. Hannah told me that after Mama died he changed completely.”
    “My father changed after my mother went away, too,” Alice remembered. “He had always been a very strong man—focused on his work and