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  Jonah took her hand and curled her fingertips into his. “You didn’t hear me. I’m not leaving the Land… not now or ever. You matter more to me than anything and I’m not going to risk your life. Changing my career plans will not kill me, but losing you would.” His words poured out with palpable desperation. “I’ve sat in that chair all night watching you sleep, praying you would awaken. I told God that if He gave you back to me, I would drop to my knees and beg you to marry me.” When her eyes began to close against her will, he lowered his chin. “And you are about to fall asleep or I would do it now.”

  “We can stay here? In the Land?”

  “Yes.”

  “Together?”

  “Yes.” He pushed the hair away from her face. “Sleep now. Just promise me you will awaken again.”

  “I will.” She fought the exhaustion and tried to keep her eyes open. As they closed she focused on the feeling of his hand holding hers. His skin was warm and his palm wide and comforting—the hand of a healer.

  She imagined being married to him and hoped after they had spent a lifetime raising children and caring for patients and making discoveries they would die at the same time, lying in bed, holding hands. But first, they had a settlement to help build. “I know you’ve already devised a plan.”

  “A plan for what?”

  Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she surrendered to the fatigue, but she could tell by his voice he was grinning. She grinned too. “For our lives. Tell me about it. I want to hear your voice.”

  “Let’s wait and make our plans together.”

  “All right. Tell me what you’ve come up with so far.”

  Jonah cleared his throat and spoke in a near whisper. “First, I’m going to help the men finish building each family a house and then I will build one for you and me. When it’s ready, Reverend Colburn can officiate our wedding. It’ll be the first wedding in the settlement of Good Springs. Then I’ll take you to our new home. We can plant Captain Frakes’ blueberry plants in the shade of our house and study the gray leaf tree and the coffee bush you found and whatever else interests you. And I’ll help my father with his medical practice and learn from him and teach medicine to the next generation.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The kitchen table vibrated beneath Jonah’s forearms as Doctor Ashton gave it a gentle shake, checking the legs. Jonah removed his arms from the table and Sarah took his empty soup bowl away. He thanked his little sister then raised an eyebrow at his father.

  Doctor Ashton shrugged. “I thought the table seemed to wobble as we ate.”

  Anna trailed her hand across Doctor Ashton’s back as she passed behind his chair. “It’s been so long since we’ve sat around a table as a family for a meal that you’ve forgotten how much movement five hungry youngsters create. Did you enjoy the bisque, dear?”

  “Very much, thank you.” Doctor Ashton leaned back as Anna wiped the table with a dishrag. His gaze followed her as she walked away, but their flirtation did not bother Jonah. He had grown fond of his parents’ affection for one another and hoped he and Marian would enjoy the same years after they were married.

  When his three brothers stepped out the open front door into the noonday light, Jonah glanced at Mr. Weathermon, who was sleeping on the patient cot in the corner. He leaned toward his father. “Do you think he will fully recover?”

  Doctor Ashton nodded. “He walked to the forest path and back this morning. It exhausted him, but he has a will as strong as iron. He’s been asking about trying a drink of the gray leaf tea.”

  “We don’t know for certain if that’s what healed Marian.”

  “She believes it did.”

  “We must do more research before we give it to anyone else.”

  “I agree,” Doctor Ashton said as he drew his napkin from his lap. “I’ve seen Charles through many of these episodes. They’re usually brought on by exhaustion. He just needs rest.”

  Jonah felt responsible for Mr. Weathermon’s condition. “Two weeks of hiking was too much for him. I shouldn’t have asked him to go with me.”

  “He went willingly and says he thoroughly enjoyed the exploration. He was quite impressed with the vastness of the Land.”

  His father’s words eased his guilt, but Jonah still felt responsible for Mr. Weathermon’s condition. No one who knew about Jonah’s original intentions to leave the land had mentioned it, but he wanted his father’s assurance that the ordeal was behind them. “Father, there’s something I need to discuss with you before we go.”

  Doctor Ashton glanced across the room to where Anna and little Sarah were washing dishes. “Can it wait until after the dedication ceremony?”

  Jonah wanted to begin his new life in the Land with the settlers’ ceremony and didn’t want to take any of the problems from his past into his future. He shook his head. “I’d rather not wait.”

  His father pushed back from the table and looked at Anna. “Jonah and I will wait outside for you.”

  Anna glanced between the men as they stood from the table. “We won’t be long,” she said as she drew a dish from the water and handed it to Sarah to dry.

  Jonah gave Sarah a wink then followed his father out of the house and past his three younger brothers. The boys were play wrestling in the yard, inadvertently kicking up dust. Doctor Ashton fanned the dust away from his face and stopped near the path that led to the seashore. He turned to Jonah. “Is this about Marian?”

  “No.”

  “Did you check on her this morning?”

  “Yes, she has fully recovered. No trace of symptoms for two days now.”

  “Are you going to propose to her today?”

  “After the ceremony, but first, I have to ask you something.”

  Doctor Ashton tilted his head and Jonah suddenly felt childish. But he wasn’t a child and his error hadn’t been one of simple wrongdoing but of withholding the truth. He had his father’s forgiveness, but his adulthood seemed deferred until he had his blessing. He glanced behind him to make sure no one else was close enough to hear, and then he faced his father. “About my efforts to leave…”

  “Son, I told you I forgive you.”

  “Have you told anyone else?”

  “Of course not.”

  Jonah lowered his voice. “Can we keep these matters private? Or better yet, move past them altogether?”

  “You have my word.” Doctor Ashton put his hand on Jonah’s shoulder. The voices of his mother and siblings approached, and his father looked behind him. “I suppose this means it’s up to me to develop an examination.”

  “What sort of examination?”

  “The sort you must pass to earn your medical degree.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes, here.” Doctor Ashton motioned to the houses behind them. “We’re building a new society here, with new traditions. It’ll be up to us to determine our society’s medical training and titling. I’ve decided thorough testing after years of study will be sufficient, such as the physicians’ apprentices in times past. You’ve completed your education. All that is left is to pass my examination.”

  As Anna approached, Doctor Ashton took her hand and stepped away, leaving Jonah overwhelmed with gratitude for his father and his family and being there with them in their new land. Good Springs was beginning to feel like home.

  Jonah’s three brothers charged ahead on the path toward the shore. Sarah ran to follow them, giggling. Anna yelled some motherly caution as she walked between the gray leaf trees.

  Others came from behind Jonah and when he saw the Foster family, he stepped off the path and waited for Marian. Mr. Foster was explaining something to Benjamin and Catherine looked away from the baby in her arms long enough to smile at Jonah. After they passed, Jonah took Marian’s hand. Her fingers lacked their old constant tremble, and he was glad.

  The sun’s rays flickered between the entwined limbs of the gray leaf trees above. He laced his fingers with hers and they walked a pace behind the group towa
rd the seashore. As they moved out of the forest, the warmth of the full sun soaked through Jonah’s coat. He held Marian’s hand and led her to where the settlers were gathering in front of Reverend Colburn.

  The reverend propped his foot on a stone. Once all the people were gathered nearby, he pointed at a piece of level ground between the sandy shore and the forest’s edge. “Here in this place, we came ashore only a few weeks ago. We intended to settle an uninhabited land and form a new society, built on our values and the traditions we believe will foster peace. We did not intend to come to this particular land, nor does it seem we can even say precisely where this land is, but it is the land God has provided for us. We will not claim it as our own nor give ourselves credit for its discovery.

  “We will simply call this place the Land. We will care for the Land and build upon it as stewards knowing not how long we will be permitted to remain here. To show our solidarity in our desire to found a peaceful society, we will each take one of these stones and place it in a stack, fitting them together into a pillar of remembrance—a cairn for the generations to come, should the Lord will for our posterity to remain here.

  “First, I want the elder of each family to come and take one of the larger stones and place it as a foundation, representing each of the eight founding families. Then everyone else is to take one of the smaller stones and help build the pillar.”

  Reverend Colburn fit his stone into the foundation then stood to the side. Each elder walked to the pile, selected a stone, and set it in place, building the foundation. Afterward, the others stepped to the pile of smaller stones and did the same, one at a time.

  Jonah stayed beside Marian as they silently followed the line closer and closer to the stones. The sound of the ocean waves crashed behind them and the rocks clinked as the cairn grew before them.

  When Jonah and Marian reached the stones, he picked up one for each of them. He turned to her, holding a rock in each hand as if his open palms were the pans of Lady Justice’s scale.

  He held the stones out to her, letting her choose.

  She glanced at the stones and then up at him. As she took a stone she whispered, “Are you certain this is what you want?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you feel like you are home?”

  “I do.”

  “Then let’s build this together.”

  * * *

  Jonah arranged his medical books on a newly hung shelf in the corner of his and Marian’s one-room cabin. The air in the house was thick with the scent of the freshly hewn gray leaf lumber. The ever-present smell kept him grateful for both his new home and for the tree’s lifesaving properties.

  He stepped back to evaluate his handy work. The bookshelf was basic but sturdy, like most of what was being built in the Land. Meeting needs with nature’s bounty gave him an unexpected and robust sense of accomplishment. He was beginning to understand the satisfaction of a settler’s autonomous life.

  Springtime sunlight spilled in from the open doorway behind him. It drew his attention to one last book still on top of the Davenport desk. He lifted their copy of Balfour’s Class Book of Botany from the desk and flipped through it. Marian had pressed a wildflower or leaf between the pages at nearly every chapter. As he slipped the book between his medical volumes on their shelf, Marian stepped into the house, smiling.

  Jonah’s pulse quickened. Even after three weeks of marriage, the sight of his young wife backlit by the morning sun still amazed him. He hoped he would never get used to the feeling.

  She held up a freshly picked sprig of leaves. “The gray leaf tree’s spring growth is almost completely silver underneath.”

  “So I see.”

  “Do you think something in the aroma put out by the gray leaf tree has anything to do with the change in the atmosphere we felt as we neared the Land?”

  “That could be part of it, but what we felt and saw in the air was more than scent molecules. Add it to the list of things you’d like to research. But first,” Jonah motioned to their new bookshelf, eager to show off his craftsmanship, “what do you think of this?”

  She gave the shelf a quick glance then looked at him. “It’s perfect… except…” She straightened the framed certificate that was hanging on the wall beside the shelf. “Now it’s perfect, Doctor.”

  As she turned and tossed the leaves on the table by his microscope, he caught her hips and kissed the back of her neck. The soft golden waves that had escaped her hairpins brushed his cheek. She stopped moving and he held her close. “Forget your research for a while, Mrs. Ashton.”

  Marian hummed a contented sigh. “We’re about to have company.”

  He inhaled her scent and tried again. “Close the door. Whoever is coming by can wait on the front steps.”

  “Jonah!” She giggled and pulled away, but only to turn and face him. “My mother is bringing the baby. When I saw her at the creek yesterday, she said Asher has something to show us, so I invited them to come over this morning. And I promised Sarah I’d take her exploring at the springs this afternoon.”

  He kissed her and lingered long enough to briefly forget what they were discussing. “Very well. I will wait.”

  Marian sat at the table in front of the microscope, plucked a piece of new growth from the gray leaf sprig, and opened her journal. As she flattened the leaf on the stage of the microscope, Jonah leaned his knuckles onto the table and glanced at the notes she had made in her journals. Her pretty script lacked flourishes, but it was pure art compared to his handwriting.

  As she peered through the eyepiece she asked, “Do you think someday our future children will take interest in my research?”

  “I hope so.” He also liked to hear her optimism when she spoke of their future. “Do you?”

  “I’m sure they will. The gray leaf is fascinating. As long as they respect its power, I will encourage them to experiment.” She moved away from the microscope and made a quick note. “Will you continue to study even though you’ve passed your father’s examination and the elders awarded you the title you wanted?”

  “Of course,” he answered as he leaned against the Davenport desk the settlers had salvaged from Captain Frakes’ cabin before the remains of Providence had drifted out to sea. “I wasn’t studying simply to pass an examination.”

  She gazed up at him and when she didn’t look away, he knew she wanted reassurance.

  He reached over and tucked a wave of her hair behind her ear. “I have everything I want, which is more than I deserve. I’m happy here in the Land with you.”

  Shadows fell across the table as Mr. and Mrs. Foster approached the open doorway.

  “Knock, knock,” Catherine sang out. She shifted the baby on her hip and approached the threshold.

  “Come in,” Jonah answered as he drew his watch from his pocket. He wiped its surface with the cuff of his sleeve and slid it back into his pocket without checking the hour.

  Marian rose from the table and opened her hands to take the seven-month-old baby. Little Asher squealed with delight as Marian kissed his cheeks. Catherine told her to put the baby on the rug and watch what he could do. The women marveled as he began to crawl across the floor.

  Mr. Foster took off his hat. He stayed in the doorway and shook Jonah’s hand. “You’ve made a nice place here.”

  “Thank you.” Jonah glanced around. “It’s beginning to feel like home.”

  “And you can build onto it over the years.”

  “I intend to build a treatment room for patients first. Gabriel is going to help me start on it after we build the chapel.”

  Mr. Foster nodded, but said no more. He stared down at his hat in his hands and picked invisible lint from its brim.

  Sensing Mr. Foster’s discomfort, Jonah motioned to the yard beyond the doorway. “Would you like to see where I’ve staked the perimeter for the addition? And I’d appreciate your opinion on where we should build a barn.”

  Mr. Foster nodded and stepped outside.

  As J
onah walked through the doorway, he glanced back into the house. Marian was sitting on the floor, encouraging the crawling baby. The hope of seeing her in the same position with their own child one day soon made Jonah pause at the threshold. He had done nothing to deserve her love and would devote his life to being a man worthy of her respect. She looked up and when she met his gaze, the rest of the world faded.

  He mouthed, “You’re beautiful.”

  She blushed slightly and he was satisfied. He watched her for a moment and was filled with peace, confident he was in the right place, with the right people, building the life he was meant to live.

  ###

  Continue reading to enjoy the first chapter of Above Rubies, Book 2 in the Uncharted Beginnings series…

  Chapter One of Above Rubies

  The settlement of Good Springs

  Autumn, 1863

  Chapter One

  Olivia Owens shook a patchwork quilt open with a snap, rustling a flurry of white skippers from their clover flower feasts. She knelt on the blanket’s soft center and spread its corners flat over the grass near the settlement’s new church building. Indigo embroidery spelled out the names of her parents and siblings on the quilt’s yellow trim. Often, she was able to read the cross-stitched letters, but not now. The letters spelled words and the words had meaning. She could stare as long as she liked when this happened, but words would not appear. The monster hid them from her, and she hid the monster from everyone else.

  An hourglass shaped shadow moved over Olivia’s picnic blanket. Peggy Cotter hovered regally above, wearing perfectly polished boots, crinoline puffed skirts, and honey-hued ringlets shaded by a matching parasol. She smiled at Olivia, and dimples pitted her porcelain cheeks. “You won’t believe what I just heard from Frances!”

  Olivia squinted from the sun glaring over Peggy’s parasol. “Do I want to?”

  “Gabriel McIntosh kissed Cecelia Foster.”