Noah Read Free

doorway, he swung, but the culprit ducked before the large
spade tool found its mark.
    Clang!
    The metal blade glanced off of the iron strips
that secured the door. Before he could recover, the man had grabbed a hold of
the handle and pulled hard, throwing an unrelenting Noah in a circle, sending
him spinning through the mud as he stumbled, refusing to release his grip on
the spade.
    Once he’d regained his footing, Noah wrapped
both hands around the wooden stick and yanked back on the tool. He hadn’t expected
it to be relinquished so easily and the overabundant force of his pull caused
it to slip from his grasp and land near the base of the porch steps.
    “Blast it all!” he cursed the sliver now
embedded in his palm. He shook off the momentary discomfort, his eyes affixed
on his opponent.
    The intruder had fallen onto one knee, likely thrown
off balance by Noah’s unexpected pull. Growling, Noah tackled him from behind,
slamming him face down into the mud, sending his hat flying.
    “Noah!” the man yelled, lifting his head, his voice
familiar. “It’s me.”
    The hat that had been stripped off the man’s
head caught Noah’s attention as it dangled from the tip of one of Emma’s new
spruce saplings. He recognized the big, black Stetson immediately. In the next
moment, Noah found himself lying on his back, staring up at an unexpected face.
    “Levi? What in tarnation are you doing lurking
about in the stable? Come to think of it, what are you doing in Oregon?”
    Grunting, his cousin pushed away from him, got
to his feet, and offered his hand. Noah reached up to take it, struggling to stand
upright. Halfway up, his foot slipped out from beneath him, knocking into
Levi’s legs, and while they both scrambled to catch their footholds, they ended
up falling backward into the mud.
    After a brief moment, Levi guffawed loudly and
Noah couldn’t help but join in the laughter. A light appeared at the top of the
porch steps and Jonah stepped out onto the veranda with little Auggie in tow.
    “Noah? Is that you?”
    “Yes,” he called, nearly choking on his
water-drenched amusement. He sputtered at the wet clumps of mud that had
splashed around his mouth.
    “And me,” Levi said with a breathy chuckle as
he sat up.
    “Who’s ‘Me?’” Jonah asked.
    “Me, Levi.”
    One look at his cousin, mud splattered all over
his face and his clothes doused in thick layers of the grimy earth, and Noah
starting laughing again. He crawled up onto his knees, then climbed to his feet,
then extended his hand to Levi, who chuckled, gladly accepting the help.
    Jonah shook his head and turned back into the
house.
    The soaked and muddy men both glanced at each
other and laughed even harder.
    “Come on,” Noah said as he slung his arm over
Levi’s shoulders. His cousin mimicked the action, so their arms were woven
behind their heads.
    “Oh, wait.” Levi leaned down, slipping their
knot as he reached down to retrieve his hat from the branch of the little tree,
then tightened up again.
    Together, they stomped up the stairs only to be
greeted by Emma, whose arms were folded across her chest, one eyebrow
raised—though it was easy to see her struggle to maintain her stern expression or
allow the smile that threatened to break through.
    The two men dropped their arms to their sides
and Noah quickly wiped the grin from his face, opened his eyes wide, and
grimaced along with his apology for the filthy state of their clothes. One
glance at Levi and he saw that his cousin had done the same.
    After a few moments, the smile won and she
stepped sideways with a sweep of her hand.
    “Levi, did you get your horse all taken care
of?” she asked kindly.
    He nodded.
    “You can barely call that thing a horse. I’m
surprised you made it this far with that mule.” Jonah laughed.
    “Never mind him, Levi. I’ve put your things in
the bedroom behind the kitchen.”
    “Thank you, Emma.”
    “Wait,” Noah stopped at the threshold, “you
knew he