Clara looked up.
"Nothing."
Hester raised an eyebrow.
"Clara Bennett."
Clara laughed nervously.
"Caleb asked to speak with me tomorrow."
Hester's expression changed.
"Oh."
Clara blushed.
"Don't."
The older woman smiled slowly.
"He's finally found his courage."
Clara stared.
"What do you mean, finally?"
Hester laughed.
"Dear girl, that man has been looking at you like you're the first warm fire after a blizzard since last autumn."
Clara's cheeks burned.
"He has not."
Hester gave her a look.
"Clara."
For a moment, both women stared.
Then Clara began laughing.
Hester joined her.
The sound filled the kitchen.
And for the first time, Clara felt comfortable discussing romance with a woman who had once mocked her body and vegetables.
The winter had changed more than the roads.
The following afternoon, Caleb arrived wearing his cleanest shirt.
He had combed his long hair.
Trimmed his beard.
And polished his boots.
Clara opened the door and stared.
He looked almost embarrassed.
"Afternoon."
She smiled.
"Afternoon."
He held a small bundle of wildflowers.
The earliest ones he could find along a sheltered south-facing slope.
Clara looked at them.
"Those are beautiful."
He handed them over.
"Thought you might like them."
She smiled.
"I do."
He looked toward her dress.
She wore a fresh pale-blue gown, similar to the one she had worn through the hard winter, but carefully mended and clean.
Her thick dark hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders.
She had tied a narrow cream ribbon near one temple.
Caleb stared for a moment.
Clara blushed.
"What?"
He smiled.
"You look lovely."
She looked down.
Then, remembering the lesson of the sled ride, raised her eyes again.
"Thank you."
He offered his arm.
"Shall we?"
She took it.
They walked toward the meadow overlooking the valley.
The mountains still wore snow.
But green patches were appearing near the creek.
Water moved beneath the ice.
Birds called from the pines.
The air smelled of wet earth and the first promise of spring.
They stopped beneath a tall fir tree.
From there, they could see the Bennett homestead, the creek, and the distant roofs of Pine Hollow.
Caleb looked toward the valley.
Then toward Clara.
For several seconds, he seemed unable to speak.
She smiled nervously.
"Caleb."
He looked down.
"Yes?"
"You're frightening me a little."
His expression changed immediately.