Hope by Barbara Goss (best novels for beginners .txt) 📕

was because he’d never get over his love for Nancy. When they were on the trail, he would often tell her stories of how he and Nancy had met, and things they did together. She could tell he missed her terribly. Then there was that horrible night he'd put his arm around her and moaned Nancy's name.

She never missed Callum at all, but she had missed George something fierce.

Hope picked up her basket of vegetables and walked to the house. She held up her hand and winced. Dirty fingernails. She’d have to take a brush to them before supper. Hope opened the back door and set her basket on the counter. This was the time of day when everyone was usually clamoring around the kitchen, preparing the next meal, but it was empty.

She went to the dining room where she met Anna.

“Hope, you have a guest. I’ve put him in the sitting room. I’ll bring a tea tray.”

“Who is it? It’s not Calvin, is it?”

“No. You’ll have to see for yourself.”

Hope hid her hands behind her back but when she walked into the sitting room, her hands flew to her mouth. She remembered her dirty fingernails and put her hands quickly behind her. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Daniel!”

He’d been looking out the window. He turned and walked toward her. “Hello, Hope. You look well.”

“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” She pointed to the settee. “Have a seat. Anna’s bringing tea.”

Daniel took a seat at one end of the settee and she on the other side.

Hope remembered his mission. “Your father—is he…?”

“Alive? Yes. I got there in time, thanks to you.”

“Will he live?”

“No, I’m afraid the lung disease is incurable.”

She studied him. He looked like he’d gained weight. He also looked much as he had the first time she saw him—at the end of the journey, they'd both looked rather haggard.

“I find it hard to believe you’ve left him and returned here.”

Daniel started to speak, but he stopped when Anna came into the room with a tea tray. “Now, I’m going to set this down, and I’ll be in the dining room, reading a book. If you need me, just call.”

Hope and Daniel nodded.

Daniel said, “My father sent me here. I told him about us and he wants you to come to our house to live while your cottage is being built.”

His words puzzled Hope. “Why?”

“He’s dying, and one of his last wishes is to see my wife before he dies.  I wonder if you’d agree to come home with me. It would make my father’s last days more enjoyable, and it would give you a nice home to live in while waiting for your cabin.”

“I’m sorry about your father, but what about the annulment?”

“We agreed to wait until my father passed.”

Hope picked at the pocket on her apron and gasped when she realized her dirty fingernails were showing. She looked up and realized Daniel had seen them.

“I was… um… working in the garden this morning.”

“You won’t have to do any work at my place. I just need you to meet my father and make his last days happy.”

“I won’t lie to him… if I agree to go with you.”

“No, you won’t have to. Avoiding isn’t the same as lying.”

“I suppose.”

“What do you say, Hope? Will you come home with me?”

She wanted to. It was so good to see Daniel again. She wasn’t happy living with Mary and Arnold Bradshaw, although she’d miss Anna and Walter. The attic room was drafty, and the house was small and crowded. She and Daniel were friends… so why not? Hope could help him out, and she could supervise the building of her home in the place where she’d spend the rest of her life.

“On one condition,” she said. “That you start the annulment proceedings when—I mean, after—your father passes.”

Daniel raised his right hand. “I promise.”

Daniel couldn’t believe how well Hope looked in comparison with her appearance when he’d left her for Portland. Now, her hair had its shine again, and she had color. His heart had moved slightly in his chest when she’d first walked into the room.

“How soon can you leave?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I realize the urgency of your getting home quickly. I can leave tomorrow.”

Daniel smiled and clapped his hands together. “Thank you! Yes, I want to spend as much time with my father as I can.”

It felt good to be back on the trail with Hope at his side. Hope and Anna cried when they’d said goodbye that morning, but Daniel promised them that the ride to and from Portland wasn’t like crossing the country.

Mary had packed them a basket of food and about half way to Portland, Daniel pulled over and parked the wagon on the side of the well-traveled trail. The two of them sharing a meal on the road felt like old times.

When they arrived at the Townsends' farm, Daniel introduced Hope to Esther, who showed her to a room while Daniel readied his father for her visit.

“Father, I’ve brought Hope to see you.”

“Good. Can you prop me up?”

Daniel put two pillows behind his father's back, noticing how thin his father had become. He remembered how, back in Kansas, his father had been a strong, robust man. Now, he looked like a skeleton.

“And give me a dose of the medicine so I don’t cough too much. I want to make a good impression.”

Daniel gave him a spoonful of the medicine. He’d just screwed the top on the bottle when he heard a soft knock on the door. He opened it and welcomed Hope.

“Here she is, Father. Hope Townsend, meet Joseph Townsend.”

Joseph held out his boney hand, and Daniel