Hope's Heart

Chapter Eight

A/N: Hi, guys! Sorry I was away for a long time, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! The reads, reviews, votes, and follows of my story have all been really encouraging! 

Dedicated to Klara88--your reviews always make me smile! Enjoy!

~

Chapter Eight

It was finally dark and quiet in the boarding house. A penny moon shone through Hope's window, casting its light over her bed. Sighing in frustration, the young woman shifted for what seemed like the millionth time that night. It had been a busy day at the shop and she was bone tired, but sleep was slow in coming.

Muttering under her breath, Hope finally gave up on sleep and sat up. Pulling on her wrap, she left the room quietly, careful not to wake Maggie or any of the other boarders.

The kitchen was dark, but warm, thanks to the fire that was burning low in the grate. Hope sat down at the table, running her fingers through her dark hair. Not for the first time, thoughts of Miss Landry and Calvin invaded her mind and she bit her lip hard.

Her husband had hardly been dead a year. Hope remembered seeing Adam's coffin lowered into the ground while listening to her mother-in-law sob next to her. Hope's own eyes had been dry, unable to feel anything but bone-numbing shock. It had been almost a week until she was able to get up, look after the farm, and tend to Maggie, and even then, the sickening feeling that she was to blame for Adam's death hadn't left her.

Which was why falling for someone like Calvin was completely and totally irrational, not to mention disrespectful. She hardly knew anything about him, other than what she'd picked up talking to Nellie. 

"Couldn't sleep?" The voice made her jump.

Nellie stood silhouetted in the doorway, the nightgown she wore practically drowning her spare frame. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle ya."

Hope smiled. "That's alright. I was just going to go back to bed anyway."

"Want a glass of milk?" Nellie moved towards the cupboard. "There's still some left over from breakfast."

"That would be lovely; thank you."

After two cups of milk had been poured, the two women sat at the table, sipping their drinks in silence, until Nellie spoke. "So, you gonna tell me what's keepin' you awake, or shall I guess?"

Hope stared at the table. "It's...nothing."

Nellie raised her eyebrows. "Only two things I know keep a woman awake at night: her children, or a man."

Hope managed a smile. "I wish it were Maggie. Then I'd know what to do. But it's not."

Nellie watched her quietly, waiting.

"Do you know how my husband died, Miss Nellie?" Hope asked. "He fell....from a horse, and hit his head off the corral fence. He died instantly." She laughed waveringly. "Afterwards, I was sure I'd never feel anything for another man again. But I do, and it's just so..." Her voice trailed off.

"Calvin McKay?"

Hope's head turned. "How do you know?"

The older woman's eyes twinkled. "Well, I ain't seen you lookin' at any of the other men in town, so I reckon it must be him."

Hope flushed. "I met Miss Landry today. She seemed very...interested in Calvin."

Nellie smiled. "Olivia Landry has been after Calvin since the day he arrived in Sweetwater. He's never looked in her direction, though, and for a woman like her...rejection's a pretty hard thing to take when every other man in town is fallin' all over you."