Lillian Clark slipped a clothes pin from her apron pocket and fastened a bib on the clothesline. A secret smile tipped her lips as she thought of the newest edition to their family. Of all her siblings, baby Dara was the sweetest of them all. She stared off unseeingly across the valley, a wistfulness filling her heart. How she longed to have a husband and children of her own! A sigh slipped from her as she returned to hanging the family laundry. At twenty years of age, she realized the improbability of her ever marrying. She touched her forehead, her hand gliding gently down her temple and her cheek to the tip of her earlobe. Regardless of how many times her mama and papa told her she was beautiful, her heart grieved over the knowledge that no man would ever look past the red marks on her face to see the heart inside her longing to love and be loved.
The sound of hooves drew her attention to the horizon. Sean McMillan. Their nearest neighbor and the only man who ever set her heart to beating faster. Of course, he did not know that. Even her mother did not know. It was a secret she kept hidden in her heart. Sean rode across the valley, his broad shoulders and arms of brawn shouting his masculinity across the airwaves. Her cheeks pinked at the turn of her thoughts. She dropped her gaze and took a deep breath, steadying her nerves at his approach.
He slowed his horse to a trot and dismounted in a fluid motion before stepping toward her. “Good morning, Lass. ‘Tis a beautiful day, is it not?”
“Good morning, Mr. McMillan. ‘Tis a beautiful day, indeed.” Odd that he stopped to talk to her. He normally went straight to the barn or the front porch in search of her papa.
He cleared he throat. “You are reminding me that I need to do me own bit o’ laundry. Today would be the perfect day for it, aye. Unfortunately, I have more pressing matters.”
“I believe Mama’s offer to bring your laundry here still stands.” She tipped her lips in a tentative smile even as her cheeks warmed.
His face relaxed into a gentle smile and he nodded. “I appreciate that Miss Lillian. We both know who does the family laundry and I believe you already have your hands full of it.”
Her cheeks warmed a little more as she averted his gaze. Usually quiet around her, this conversation continued to fill her with curiosity. A man such as Sean McMillan could never be interested in her, but she could not convince the butterflies in her stomach of that fact.
“The offer stands, regardless.” Her voice was just above a whisper, low enough that he took a step forward and bent his head a bit just to hear her.
“I thank ye, Lass. Ye have a kind heart.” His voice was low and a bit gravelly as he spoke. He cleared his throat and took a step back. “Is yer Da’ around?”
How she loved the touch of Irish in his speaking. She drew in a breath to regain her equilibrium before she looked up at him. She searched his gaze. For what, she was not sure. She tipped her head toward the barn and said, “Last I knew, he was mucking the stalls.”
“Thank ye, Lass. I’ll be off to see him, then. Enjoy the lovely day.” He smiled as his gaze swept her face. He did not seem repulsed by the red splotches on her face like most men. She knew, however, that he was simply a kind man and would never want to make her feel uncomfortable. She had seen him come to the defense of a young boy with a crooked leg once. He seemed to have a soft place in his heart for those who were not quite accepted by the community at large.
Lillian sighed as she watched him mount his horse and ride to the barn. Why had he stopped to chat? It was wholly unlike him. Confused, she watched him dismount, tie his horse to the rail and enter the barn. She shook her head. He was simply being kind. She took another deep breath to calm her runaway heart and focus on the task at hand. She would enjoy the lovely day as he had wished, even while her heart yearned for a life she knew would never be hers.
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