now.” She winced at her tone. A man like Rick, attuned to people’s nuances, would realize she disliked mentioning him.
“I see.” Rick grinned at Noah. “Don’t worry, Noah. I don’t yell in church. I mostly just talk. You’re welcome to come anytime.” He checked his watch then rose. “Will you excuse me? I’ve got some reading to do before we arrive.”
Noah’s blue eyes sparkled. “I c-can hardly w-wait to see Aunt L-Laurel.”
“I didn’t realize you were related.” Rick’s curious gaze turned on Cassie.
“Laurel and I met years ago in Toronto when I worked in pediatrics,” Cassie explained. “She brought in clients from time to time and we became friends. Noah was very young then. He sort of adopted her. We’ve kept in touch over the years. I guess that’s why she thought of me when she needed help with Lives.”
“I’m sure you’ll be a great asset, Cassie. We can use all the help we can get to reach Laurel’s boys.”
Cassie searched Rick’s face. We. That meant they’d be working together. Would he judge her, too, when he found out about Eric? As she stood, she looked around at the Christmas decorations still hanging in the dining car. “It seems funny that there are only three days till New Year’s Eve.”
“Churchill’s New Year’s Eve is fantastic,” Rick said.
“Wh-why?” Noah demanded.
“You’ll have to go to find out. But I will tell you this—it’s a town-wide party with amazing fireworks.”
Rick gestured for them to precede him out of the dining car. Cassie felt stares as they walked toward their seats. She automatically smoothed a hand over her hip, then stopped herself. Her jeans were years out of date and her leather boots had seen far better days, but why should she care what Rick or anyone else thought about her?
She took a look around and saw that most of her fellow passengers, including Rick, looked as though they chose function over fashion.
They’re not judging you, Cassie.
As she and Noah reached their seats, she glanced back and saw Rick joking with a woman nearby as he pulled a duffel bag from the overhead rack. He hadn’t said anything about a wife or kids and he didn’t wear a ring, but Cassie felt certain that a man with Rick’s looks wasn’t single unless he wanted it that way. He was too charming for it to be otherwise.
And nice, her brain prodded. Rick was definitely nice.
Cassie took a seat and closed her eyes. Pastor Rick Salinger was a mystery all right, but not one Cassie was going to explore. After the mess Eric had left her in and the condemnation of her church family, she just wanted to keep things as simple as possible. She would do her job and build a new life at Lives Under Construction. If she failed to get Noah straightened out here—well, she couldn’t fail, that was all. Churchill was her last resort.
An ache tore through Cassie as she studied Noah. Since Eric’s death Noah had been acting out. He’d been disciplined at school for his bad behavior and she’d tried to discipline him at home. Neither had worked. He’d progressively become more of an opponent than the son she adored.
She had to get him to change the path he was on, to let go of the brooding anger inside before he did something she couldn’t fix.
Her gaze roamed the train until it rested on Rick. Rick said he helped the boys at Lives. Maybe he could—she didn’t dare let herself think it.
Cassie Crockett had learned the hard way that you couldn’t trust anyone.
It was a lesson she’d never forget.
Chapter Two
The weight of Cassie’s decision hit when she opened her eyes an hour later and got her first view of Churchill.
She was alone, a single mom with a troubled kid to support in a cold, barren land where she had just one friend, Laurel. Had moving here been the right decision?
The train jerked. They were slowing down.
It didn’t matter now if the decision was right or wrong. It had been made.
“We’re here, M-Mom,” Noah said. For the first time in many months a hint of excitement colored his voice.
The tired old train ground to a stop with much squeaking of brakes. Noah jumped to his feet. Cassie reached up to heft her overnight case from the storage compartment above. A hand slid over hers where it grasped the suitcase handle.
“Yes, Noah. I’m hurrying—”
The words died away when she turned and stared into Rick’s dark green gaze.
“Let me help you with this.”
Odd how his quiet offer made her feel as if she wasn’t quite so alone.
Cassie nodded, swallowing when his warm fingers eased the handle from her hands, lifted the bag free and shifted it so it would roll forward. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His low response, for her ears alone, made her feel cared for. She liked that.
You have no business liking anything about Rick, she scolded herself.
But the scolding didn’t seem to stop her from appreciating the tall, lean man. A slanted smile played on his too-handsome face, warming her like a ray of sunshine. His easy manner made her drop her guard, feel comfortable. The pull of attraction toward him was like nothing she’d known before. She searched his eyes, trying to understand the connection she felt, ignoring the flutter in her stomach when he met her gaze.
“I appreciate your entertaining Noah during the ride,” she said as they waited to disembark.
“He’s a great kid.” The pastor took her arm to help her as they stepped outside, grinning at Noah’s astonished reaction to mountainous snowdrifts that dazzled in the brilliant morning sun. “Welcome to Churchill.”
As they moved away from the crowd and down the platform, Rick stayed by her side, matching his strides to her shorter ones, rolling her case along as if it were a feather. He had the long, lean grace of a distance runner. Though Cassie noticed the many admiring stares he received, Rick didn’t seem to. He smiled and greeted people, totally at ease.
By contrast, Noah stood aloof, surveying the area with a wariness Cassie wished she could help him shed. But how? Noah argued with her constantly over the least little thing. Nothing Cassie had tried seemed to help reduce the stutter that had appeared several months earlier. Not even prayer.
“Noah could go inside to stay warm,” Rick told her. “But it’s better if you wait here for the opening of the container car to ensure all your stuff has arrived. If it doesn’t, you have to make a claim right away. You do have more than this?” he asked, indicating her suitcase.
“Oh, yes.” Cassie nodded. “We have more.”
Laurel had explained to Cassie that she should bring as much as she could and take advantage of the railway’s free transportation of patrons’ goods because shipping in everyday things
