A Wedding for Julia Read Free

the changing of the weather reminded him he wasn’t getting any younger. Who was?
    He scrubbed a hand over his jaw—clean shaven. Ya . There was the rub. There were things he regretted, and never marrying was at the top of the list. It had started bothering him more since he turned forty last month, but regrets were like the water running beside him, running down Pebble Creek.
    He couldn’t catch them. He couldn’t do anything about them.
    It was best to let them go.
    Fall in Wisconsin was a thing of beauty. There was a light breeze and the temperature was a pleasant seventy—he’d seen the readout on the bank building as he drove out of town. Afternoon light bounced off the water playing over the rocks in the creek. He might finish up his run for the general store early and put in an hour or two of fishing. Soon enough hunting season would start. Perhaps he’d talk Aaron into a hunting stand a time or two, depending on Lydia’s condition. She was pregnant with their first child, and it was due before the end of hunting season. He smiled at the thought of his friend and his young family. Aaron was happier here in Wisconsin than he’d ever been back home. Caleb didn’t mind admitting to himself that Aaron had found something he hadn’t.
    And there was the problem that was scratching at his happiness this fine autumn day. Without fail, winter would follow fall, and winters in Wisconsin were long. One wretched cold night followed another, and the solitude was somewhat depressing.
    Caleb hunched over the reins and pretended his horse needed directing. If he were honest with himself, he’d admit that hunting was losing its appeal, as was fishing. Maybe he was sick. Or perhaps he was lonely.
    Could be. Whenever he went back home to Indiana, he was surrounded by family, and he thought about staying. His life was here, though. He’d come because Aaron’s letters had described a life that held so much promise. And Wisconsin had been all that he’d described and more. It had been all Caleb had imagined and hoped.
    Hadn’t it?
    What kind of life did he have, spending every night alone?
    Gotte, what I need is a friend . The words popped in his mind. He almost laughed out loud. He had many friends in Pebble Creek, people he could call if he needed a hand. Making the turn toward the Beechy house, he realized his heart was right, though. He needed a close friend, someone who was as alone as he was. Someone he could have long talks with. Someone who didn’t have to hurry off because of their own family, their own obligations.
    Gotte, I need a friend . The words echoed in his heart, and they felt true. His mamm used to say that prayer eased the heart by lifting burdens up and into their proper place. He wasn’t one for fancy praying, but maybe that didn’t matter so much. Maybe it was the asking that counted.
    He found himself whistling as he turned again—this time down the lane that led to the Beechys. He slowed his gelding in front of the two-story house and studied the large square structure.
    “That would be a fine house if someone took care of it,” he said to Red, his sorrel. His father had named Red last year when he came to help Caleb settle. Jebediah had never been accused of having an imagination. He’d gone with Caleb to pick out the horse, who had a reddish tint to his coat. The name naturally followed.
    Jebediah had no imagination, but Caleb did.
    He looked at the house in front of him, and he saw how it must have looked years ago, before the elder Mr. Beechy had become ill. Before the burden of the place had fallen on the shoulders of Julia.
    “Shame,” he muttered.
    Red didn’t seem to have an opinion. He tossed his head and began pulling at the grass in front of him.
    “Don’t eat a bare patch,” Caleb cautioned. “I only have the one box. I’ll be back in two minutes.”
    He knew talking to the horse was ridiculous, but Tuesdays and Thursdays were delivery days. The other three days he worked