by Annie Boone
It hurt her brain too much to think about it, so she shrugged and accepted the snack as he led her back towards the kitchen. “This is good,” Susannah beamed, offering him a piece that he refused. “You put cinnamon in it, a smart touch. Perhaps I’ll take over watching the town and you’ll tend to the baking, would you like that?”
Lucas laughed and rubbed her shoulder. “I’m certain that would be quite the experience, darling. But let’s consider that tomorrow, shall we? Today, we have busier things to attend to. Like the—”
“The laundry!” She gasped, stopping so quickly that he nearly bumped into her. Both hands fell onto her shoulders as they looked out the window. Her eyes widened, seeing the strong wind nearly pull the linens off the line. “Oh dear. Oh no. Oh, I—”
“Have a wedding to focus on,” Lucas steered her away in the other direction. “I’ll take them off the line, and we’ll take care of it tomorrow. Now, don’t you think you should see if Miss Foster is ready yet? You’ve left her alone for nearly an hour and that’s quite unlike you. She may be worried you’re ill again.”
She shook her head, clearing her mind. “That’s right! Olivia. What was I thinking? Today of all days, why would I be so distracted?”
Muttering to herself, she waved Lucas off and hurried towards the young woman’s room. She had meant to leave only to put away the linens and find some extra lace. But then she’d noticed another room that needed fresh linens for the next two girls that were headed here from the east, so she’d taken them with her. But after pocketing the lace, Susannah had wondered about their envelopes and began sorting through them to find eligible bachelors around town, so she’d disappeared behind her desk where she’d lost herself in the papers until Lucas caught her.
It was a whirlwind of a day, and it had hardly begun. “I’m sorry,” Susannah smiled sheepishly as she returned to the bedroom. “I should have come right back, but my mind has gone everywhere and I don’t know what I was thinking, and can’t believe I left you alone. How are you faring?”
Olivia beamed at her. “I’m doing quite well, thank you.” She picked up her bouquet and it was all wrapped in a lovely yellow ribbon. “What do you think?”
“Beautiful! Almost as beautiful as you are,” Susannah chuckled. “Now come here and let me do your hair. Take a seat here, yes. Why, I can’t believe it’s today. It felt like yesterday when you first arrived. Now I know it’s been a few months but the time has flown. Oh, I’m so happy for you and Simon. He is just going to think you’re an angel at the church today.”
The young woman blushed, glancing down at her dress. It was late summer, so her skirts were thin and light and the dress had short sleeves. It was a pale green, one to match her eyes. It was new and so lovely that she was hesitant to even touch it. Susannah watched her thoughtfully as she braided the bride’s hair, twisting it above the nape of her neck. Olivia was quieter than usual, and that was saying something.
“Is everything all right?” Susannah whispered, and touched her shoulder lightly. Holding the brush still in her other hand, she watched the woman’s face show the merest glance of concern and dropped her gaze to the floor.
A good minute passed before anything was said. The girl’s gaze was indiscernible then, and Susannah forced herself to be patient as she returned to tying up lovely hair. “Everything is perfect,” Olivia whispered finally, and met her gaze with a smile. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Susannah beamed. “It truly is. Now, how does this feel?” She pinned the hair down and stepped back. Clasping her hands together, she tucked them under her chin and considered the young girl. Certainly she hadn’t been as pretty as Olivia now on her own wedding day. It had been a quiet affair with just the pastor and Lucas’s two deputies at the time as witnesses.
Then, she hadn’t even walked down the aisle. On their way to the church, they had plucked a few flowers from the roadside, and Susannah recalled him putting one in her hair and she had smiled at him. The matter had been accomplished in only twenty minutes, and then they’d eaten at the little restaurant in town before going to her new home.
“It looks like you’ve had a lot of practice,” Olivia murmured as she gently touched her hair. “You’ve been helping a lot of people, haven’t you?”
Waving a hand behind her, Susannah shrugged. “Just a few. Now, it’s time we were going. Where’s your bag? Here it is, good, and you have your flowers.” Mumbling to herself, she collected everything that she needed. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”
“I’ll meet you out there,” Olivia offered.
Hurrying out, Susannah carried the young woman’s bag and started to the kitchen. They still needed to take a few things over for the reception afterwards, and she didn’t want to be missing anything. Did they have enough glasses? She wasn’t certain. Carrying the bag around, Susannah went and checked everything again.
A box was missing. It was carrying the lemonade, the three glasses she had borrowed for the occasion. But where had they gone now? Tutting, she started looking around the kitchen in case she had mistakenly placed them anywhere else.
“Susie, darling?”
“Lucas!” She jumped and looked at him holding onto the bundle of cloths in his arms. For a moment she had no idea what he was doing until she recalled the laundry flapping in the wind. Sighing, she nodded. “Oh good. I forgot about that. All right. Have you seen the lemonade? I can’t find it.”
The man rolled his eyes, putting the laundry down and picking up a box. “It’s already in the wagon. Along with all the flowers. Lemondrop is ready to go, and he’s just waiting on us. Come along now.” He led the way out to the wagon where the rest of their items were already gathered. Susannah sighed in relief.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated, and found Olivia following behind them. Susannah smiled at them sheepishly. “There’s just so much going on. With the girls on their way here, and I met yesterday with another gentleman. With the wedding, then the laundry, my goodness.”
“It’s fine,” Olivia promised her. “I’m sure everything will come off without a hitch.”
Lucas laughed, helping the bride into the wagon. “Don’t worry, Miss Foster. This is just how she likes to live. It’s a terrible day when she doesn’t have her hands full.” Susannah started to pout but he gave her a wink and squeezed her hand so she couldn’t even pretend to be mad. Sighing dramatically, she rolled her eyes as he glanced at them. “Now, are we ready to go to church, ladies?”
The women cheered, and they started off.
Chapter Nineteen
It felt shorter than usual, the ride to the chapel. Clutching the folds of her dress, Olivia looked up and squinted at the sun. Warm and bright, comforting and soothing. Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and tried to relax. Her stomach was a bundle of nerves, filled with butterflies that wouldn’t settle down. She couldn’t get them out and didn’t know what to do about it.
Looking at the puffy clouds drifting above them, she tried to make shapes out of them to distract herself. But all of them kept looking like stars to her, and the stars reminded her of Simon.
The butterflies quieted, and she smiled. Closing her eyes, she thought back to three months ago, when there was still snow on the ground and when she hadn’t known where the next day would take her. Being in that little town had given her time to learn to be on her own, only for her to learn that it wasn’t what she wanted.
So when she found Simon there, or rather, he found her there, Olivia knew this was Jack’s way of letting her go. That this was the right thing to do. And that she really could be safe and happy again. After days of pondering and worrying about where to go and what to do, seeing Simon James had given her the answer.
That day, his soft gaze had melted through her chill and when he touched her hand, Olivia felt something new. After a week of torture by herself, something changed the moment Simon was there. She saw his face light up, and in that moment she was ready to go with him to the ends of the Earth.
“May I talk to you?” He’d asked once he found his voice again, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. “Please?”
Nodding, she pulled on her bonnet and joined him outside for a stroll. She had just been planning to go out for her supper but thoughts of food went away with him there. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the area and waited for him to speak.
But when he didn’t say anything, doubts began to tumble into her mind. Suddenly she wondered if she was imagining things, that his smile hadn’t been what she thought it was. What if she was wrong? Hesitantly she glanced at him and wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to start. How did he find her? She didn’t know the answer to that.
And why did he find her? Was he glad, like she thought he was, or was it something else? A sense of dread filled her. What if he knew about the arrest warrant? And even worse, if he was here to send her to Vermont? She sucked in a deep breath, trying not to jump to conclusions.
“Why did you come here?” The nerves got to her and she jumped in with the question, stopping in their walk to look at him. Trying to read his face, Olivia bit her lip and waited. Shifting her weight, she tried to pray that her doubts weren’t real.
He ruffled his hair and stopped, taking a big breath. He raised his eyes to meet hers and slowly pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It was the sketch of her, from the sheriff’s office. Swallowing hard, she watched as he uncurled the edges. He had ripped off the words, so it looked like it was just a picture, not something criminal.
“There’s so much I want to say,” he started reluctantly and sighed. Simon stepped back and tried to collect himself. “After we kissed, Olivia, I… I had a lot to think about. Before you, there was someone else. I was married once, if you remember. Before you.”
Inhaling, Olivia nodded slowly and looked at the picture in his hands. “Yes. I remember. We both were with someone else once. They were good people—”
“Who we lost.” Simon finished for her with a nod. He handed her the picture and took her other hand. “Jane had been with me for all of my life, since we were children. It was only natural that we married when we were older. She was everything to me. But two years ago, she died.
“It was laundry day, but a storm came. I was working with the corn, and never noticed the rising river. I kept meaning to teach her to swim but I thought there was time. It’d never flooded before and she liked the lightning, you know. Jane loved to watch storms.” He stopped, his eyes closing.
Her heart hammered in her chest as her own gaze dropped. She knew the pain he was feeling, the agony that felt like it was ripping out your heart and banging against your chest. It felt like everything was on fire and you couldn’t do anything about it. As though you were screaming into the abyss and were being torn into a million pieces. Shaking her head, she touched his cheek. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Simon’s eyes opened, wide as they stared back at her. “I always blamed myself,” he told her hoarsely. Then he shook his head and looked into her eyes with compassion. “What happened with your betrothed?”
“I lost my Jack,” she shrugged with a helpless smile. “And there wasn’t anything I could do about it. It was an accident. Sometimes we lose people. I know the pain, Simon. I know it all too well. And thank you for telling me this, but that doesn’t answer my question.”
Carefully folding the picture back up, Simon tucked it away and glanced at her. “Because telling you means that I’ve been able to open my heart again. To you, to love.” He took the hand that touched his face, and held it in both of his. “Olivia, I know we have this pain, but I’ve also learned that we can heal from it. And that we can be happy again. I’d like to do that with you, to build a new life and share love again. Would you… is that something you would—um, would you marry me?”
It wasn’t what she had expected, she thought, drawing herself back to the present. The wagon stopped and she found herself in front of the chapel. Heart beating, she followed the Jessup couple up through the front doors and found Simon James dressed in his best suit next to the pastor. Olivia’s heart pounded as he smiled when their gazes met.
He wasn’t Jack, Olivia knew. And he never would be. But that didn’t have to be a bad thing. She could feel the warmth burning within her heart, and once again received a confirmation that this was the right choice, that he was the right man that God wanted her to be with.
That day in that little town, she had told Simon James that yes, she would marry him. The answer had burned within her before he even proposed, knowing this was what the Lord had in store for her. After all their pain and suffering, they could find refuge in one another.
Inhaling deeply, she clutched her bouquet tightly as she bustled down the pews and made her way to the men. There was no procession, for she didn’t want one. She waved to the familiar faces of several folks from their church on her way down, hoping they weren’t too late. The Jessups followed closely after her, taking their place on the first set of benches. They were there to support and represent the family she’d lost. Across from them sat Simon’s family, his sister and brother-in-law with their two children.
She paused to wave at the little boy and girl, beaming as they pouted to be dressed in their Sunday best and not on a Sunday. In the last couple of months while she was engaged to Simon, she had met Lillian and often been to the family ranch. The children were energetic and sweet, eager for any sort of adventure. Already they’d made her promise to take them berry picking soon. Upon noticing her, the two straightened up in their seats and waved as she reached the stand.
Simon put out a hand for her, helping her up the two steps. She accepted his warm grip gladly, and found her heart beating a little faster when he didn’t let go. Together they stood before the pastor who was grinning at them, holding his Bible. Olivia took a deep breath, realizing she had never been able to go this far with Jack.
But Simon was there, and he was her today and her tomorrow. She squeezed his hand, shyly shooting him a glance as the pastor started talking. He was smiling, and for a moment their eyes met. All eyes were on them, she knew, and half the town was there. But they hardly mattered in a place like this, and especially not now. The only thing that mattered was her Simon.
Chapter Twenty
It was a good house, well-built of good strong lumber and big windows. There were flowers everywhere, and there was a fresh rhubarb pie somewhere nearby. Simon’s heart thumped as he reached the porch and found his pace speeding up. For a long time, he had dreaded the journey home from working with the trains, but now he was so distracted that he could hardly focus at work.
Biting his tongue, Simon quietly stepped through the front door, and set his toolbox down. Not wanting to startle her, he slipped off his shoes, pulled off his jacket, and rubbed his face hoping there wasn’t any oil on there. Softly he walked down the hall to the kitchen, where he could hear her humming.
“You’re my little star, yes you are. My little star in the sky. You’re my little star, and how I love to see you shine. Hmm hm hmmm...”
Just watching her there, it eased all the stress in his shoulders and back. He forgot about the blisters and the smell of iron and rust, seeing his Olivia singing as she sprinkled sugar on that delicious rhubarb pie. It was a lullaby, one her mother and her grandmother had sung to her as a child.
It was remarkable how he came to appreciate his wife more every day. After everything they’d been through, their relationship had only grown stronger. Once she returned to Rocky Ridge and to the Jessup place, Lucas had ensured through his own resources that the men trying to ruin her good name were dealt with by the law. The corrupt lawman and Uncle Theodore Henderson had been arrested and would deal with justice in the correct manner, leaving Olivia free and innocent as before.
After that, they had simply needed to wait for him to build their house. Trains usually worked well with fewer issues during the summer so he was needed less at the offices and on the tracks, thus allowing him more tim
e to build. Lucas, Frank, and Jeb were often right there with him, setting up the logs and sanding down the wood until the small house was completed.
He remembered their wedding day only three months before, how happy and shy they were with one another. Leading up to the wedding, he had worried constantly that he would end up comparing her constantly with Jane, but when he saw her in the church in that pretty green dress that made her eyes sparkle, he knew with a surety that it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. He would love Olivia for being Olivia.
Finally, Simon couldn’t just stand there any longer. “And how you shine, my little star, up so high.” And he reached her as she turned around in surprise. He saw her eyes widen before spilling her lips into a bright smile.
“Simon,” she stopped, but he had already wrapped his arms around her waist. “You surprised me. It’s like you’re starting to enjoy scaring me, is that what it is?” Chuckling, she let him twirl her around before licking her fingers with the sugar.
He kissed her cheek from behind, tasting the sweetness that she’d not yet cleaned off her face yet. She smiled, leaning back with a sigh. “I just like to watch you,” he replied finally. “Especially when you sing that. How was your day?”
She nodded, and gestured to the pie. “I didn’t find as many berries as I hoped, but it was enough. It’s late in the season, but I’m adamant that I’ll find a full bush just waiting to be plucked. I’m not crazy, am I?” She asked after a moment.
Stepping away, Simon handed her a cloth to wash her hands. “Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?”
Flushing, she shrugged. “I don’t know. I keep forgetting things. I made it halfway up the hill before realizing I didn’t even have my pail with me. And yesterday I never put on my shoes. Honestly, it’s not exactly what I was expecting,” Olivia explained. “But Susannah and Eleanor stopped by, and they said it was normal.”