“But by your own admission, you don’t know what the future holds. Your father may desire to take Sally, and your own ambitions may take you from here. I just can’t do this. Don’t ask me to . . . care for you.”

She had nearly said the word love. She would have begged him not to let her fall in love with him, but she knew it was too late for that. She was already in love with Lucas Carson, and nothing would change that.

As her mother used to say to Papa, “My heart is destined for you, and nothing will ever change that.” Now Gloriana knew exactly what that meant.

“I’m sorry, Gloriana. I shouldn’t have done that.” Luke stepped back with a worried look on his face. “Please forgive me. I took what was not mine to take.”

She wasn’t at all sorry for the kiss, nor for his compassion, but the pain building inside of her was almost too much to bear. “Don’t apologize.” She shook her head. “Please don’t apologize.”

She heard Sally’s whimpered cry and hurried from the room. The thought of Luke being sorry for having kissed her only made matters worse.

Chapter 16

By Monday they had a foot of snow, and it made moving around town quite perilous. Still, Luke had work that required his attention, and he couldn’t forsake it merely because of snow. He trudged up the hill to his office, hardly seeing anyone on the streets. Folks had apparently found ways to do what was needed without having to come outside. They were a smart bunch up here. Gloriana had told him that everyone worked hard all year to ensure survival. Thankfully, wood was plentiful, so keeping warm was no problem. The churches were mindful of the widows and poorer families who had no one to keep on top of their needs. Just last week, the pastor had asked for a team of men to take firewood to a woman with five small children. Her husband was one of the men who had died with Gloriana’s father and Luke’s brother.

Thinking of Gloriana only brought back memories of their kiss. Luke had kissed other young ladies, but never had it affected him like this kiss. He found himself thinking about Gloriana constantly—about how well they fit together—about how right that kiss had felt. But maybe most startling of all, Luke never wanted to kiss anyone else. The thought of it had no appeal. He was in love with Gloriana and intended to make that kiss the first of many.

She had pushed him away, however. That was something he couldn’t ignore. But her feelings for him were clear. She cared for him—the kiss wasn’t abhorrent to her, just frightening. It was only fear that caused her to walk away. She was terrified of the future.