by Lilah Rivers
“And what was all of that nonsense about a new prospect?” Clementine asked, almost under her breath. She was shaking her head, annoyed that the Reverend would try to flaunt something like that in front of Hank.
David looked at her with some deeper meaning than she realized.
“He meant me,” David sighed.
Hank’s eyes darted to David almost as quickly as her own bulged from her head.
“Obviously I told him that I am not interested, and that I meant no offense by it,” David said, to Clementine’s inexplicable relief.
What right would she have to be jealous even if he did like Chelsea? Of course it wouldn’t have been fair to Hank, but she could hardly blame David if he was interested anyway.
“The Reverend seemed to think that I would be a good match for her, but I told him that I am not looking to court his daughter. Don’t worry, Hank, I wouldn’t do that to you. Even if things were different and I was interested—which I’m not, by the way—I would never do that,” David said.
Again, his eyes found Clementine’s, and there passed from him some sort of unspoken promise.
Her heart was warmed. Although she was relieved to know that he didn’t care for Chelsea, Clementine still did not wish to get her hopes too high. David had only just been blindsided by the woman that he had loved.
It would be too soon to hope that his heart could heal. Or that it had even managed to get past the affections that it had held onto for her. In truth, Clementine wished that she could be a little bit stronger and hope a little bit less.
“Now, David, would you mind helping me out in here?” Aunt Roberta called.
He got up and once and went to the kitchen.
It should have been Clementine who went to help and she felt bad about not being the one to make the coffee in the first place. But for a peaceful moment, she sat there with Hank, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I have to live without Chelsea,” Hank confessed into the void.
Clementine looked up and acknowledged his worry.
“Do you really believe that it’s never going to come together? That the two of you are never going to have the peace and the love that you want?” she asked.
“How can it? Her father will never allow it,” Hank replied.
“But what if his allowances are not something that you have to be restricted by?” Clementine asked.
“What do you mean? How can we be anything but restricted by them? It’s not as if we are going to ignore the rules that he has set in place. I wouldn’t want to marry a woman who disrespects her father like that,” Hank said.
“And that is a very good thing for you to say and feel. But her father is being a fool,” Clementine said, aware that it was not the sort of thing she ought to say about a man of Scripture.
“He’s not, though. That’s just the thing. The Reverend is being wise. He is caring for his daughter. The only reason he objects to me so much is the belief that I will fail to provide for her. I can’t argue with that,” Hank said.
“Do you really believe that you can’t provide for her?” Clementine asked.
“Of course I don’t. I’m confident that I can. But it’s not fair to try and force him to believe that when he has no reason to do so,” Hank said.
“Prove him wrong, Hank,” Clementine said. “It won’t be hard for you to prove him wrong. You’re a good man; he just needs to see it.”
David and Aunt Roberta came back into the room with the coffee in their hands.
“Here we go, piping hot coffee, thick as tar,” Aunt Roberta announced.
The four mugs smelled delicious in that bitter caramel way that coffee always did. Clementine suddenly felt her mouth watering.
“All right, now,” Aunt Roberta said. “I don’t want to hear anything more about this for the rest of the day. We are all just going to forget about this nonsense as I can bet the Reverend hopes we will. Don’t you worry, Hank. Eventually, he’s going to see his error.”
Hank gave a sad smile, unconvinced. But David put a hand on his shoulder in comfort and it was enough to move Clementine all over again.
He really was something else. She had never seen a man like that back in the city, and she imagined the country was just as short of men so special.
But Clementine steadied herself. She had been through enough change lately, and so had he. Never had there been a more important time to exercise patience.
Even if it felt like the most difficult task in all the world.
Chapter 12
David gave the rope a final tug and Hank nodded in approval.
“Yep, that’s it. You’ve got it,” Hank said.
They tied the rope around a stump and David looked at his handiwork. He had been dealing with that broken fence all morning. This would hold things together temporarily until they could get some wood properly cut.
“It looks all right?” David asked.
“You got it. I think Mrs. Roberta is going to be mighty pleased,” Hank said.
“Glad to hear it. Now, what’s next?” David asked.
“There’s a hole in the roof of the barn that needs patching. It’s small enough, but we can’t risk it still being there when the rain comes,” Hank said.
“Then I’m your man, let’s get it done,” David replied.
As he and Hank were making their way back towards the barn, trying to ignore the fact that it was a bit early for his stomach to be growling, he saw a sight that made him twist in discomfort.
“Uh…Hank,” he said.
There she was, coming towards them. Tabitha Statham.
“Don’t you worry. She’s probably just going to try and flirt with you a little bit and then she’ll be on her way,” Hank said, under his breath.
“Hey there,” she called, waving while still far enough away to make it awkward.
“Hey there, Tabitha,” David greeted.
Hank simply ignored her and it annoyed David that he would do that. After all, couldn’t he get a bit of help in dealing with this young lady?
“I just wanted to stop by for a visit. I made you this,” she said, holding out what appeared to be some sort of fruit cake.
“Oh, wow. Thank you,” David said.
He really loved fruit cake, but it was strange that she had brought this for him. He couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable by the familiarity that Tabitha was showing or the fact that she appeared to think that it was completely acceptable to be so forward with a man as this.
“Now, just what do you want, Tabitha?” Hank asked her, flat out.
This was, perhaps, more of what David was hoping for from his friend. A bit of directness that might bring some answers from Tabitha regarding her behavior.
She shot a pointed look at Hank and turned it into a glare.
“Well, not that it’s any of your business, but I had hoped that I might get a moment alone with David here,” she said, in that chummy, familiar way that he was growing less and less accustomed to by the moment.
“Um, I’m not entirely sure what you mean by that, Miss Tabitha,” David said in as polite a way as he was able.
“Oh, it’s nothing strange,” she laughed, in what he imagined she thought to be a charming way. “I only wanted to see if we might have a moment to speak. Just out of the way, here.”
It couldn’t do too much harm, just talking to her for a moment. David hoped, at least, that it might give him an opportunity to let Miss Tabitha know that he was rather uncomfortable with her manner.
“I suppose we can chat for just a moment, out here in the middle of things,” he said, giving a glance to Hank that he would appreciate if his friend remained nearby.
Hank nodded to him, a silent understanding that Tabitha was not to be messed with.
David and Tabitha walked a short distance and he leaned against a fencepost, where it was still sturdy and firm.
“Now, what’s all this about? What can I help you with?�
� he asked.
“Well, David, I thought you might like fruit cake, that’s why I’ve brought it for you,” she said.
“I see that and I’m mighty thankful. I do like it and I’m sure it will be just grand,” he told her, appreciatively.
“Well, beyond the fact that we both like it, I think we have plenty else in common as well,” Tabitha said, trying to smooth some of the hairs that appeared to always stick straight out from her head.
“Such as?” David asked.
“Well, I’m a girl who loves the country and it would seem that you’re a man who loves the same. And we both have similar qualities. Kind, poised…attractive,” she said.
David didn’t know that he had any of those qualities, but he especially hadn’t seen them coming from Tabitha who had been rude and harsh with nearly everyone she met.
And while he didn’t like to be the sort of man who would think down on someone’s looks, he didn’t consider her particularly beautiful either.
“Uh, well, I thank you for saying that, Miss Tabitha, but I don’t know that I fit into that list so well,” he chuckled, rubbing his neck and looking over to Hank for mercy.
“Oh, but you do! And that’s why I wanted to let you know that I am available to court,” she said.
David’s eyes bulged and he was struck dumb at her forward comment.
Available to court? Had he asked? Had he offered? Why was she thinking it was anywhere near appropriate to go telling him something like this? What would make Miss Tabitha believe that he had any notion to court her?
“Well, if I hear of any men who are looking to court a lady, I’ll be sure to let them know,” he said, thinking it was the safest response.
But Tabitha was not so easily appeased in her brash manner. She knew what she wanted, or so David thought it appeared. And for the life of him, he agonized at the fact that it appeared Tabitha wanted none other than him.
“Oh, don’t play coy with me,” she said, swatting his arm in a flirtatious way. “You know exactly what I am suggesting. Do you really think I would come all the way here, give you a cake that I baked myself, and tell you that I am available to court if I wanted any man other than you?”
David remained speechless. He still could hardly believe that a woman would be so transparent about her desires. He had never seen anyone behave this way before.
“I can’t pretend that I understand why you are coming and telling me these things. Have I given you reason to believe that I am seeking to court you?” he asked, thoroughly worried that he had made a mistake somewhere along the way.
“I know that you’re a gentleman,” she said. “And gentlemen often can’t express what they want for fear of being considered too free with their behavior.”
David thought that was a strange notion since he had only seen that sort of thing believed about women. Women who were doing the very same thing that Tabitha was doing just now.
“I can confidently say that no one has ever accused me of the sort,” he told her.
“Well, that’s great and all, but you shouldn’t believe that you can’t enjoy life or begin to court someone that you really wish to. I think we would be an ideal match. Maybe you’ll need a bit of convincing, but I trust that I can prove it to you,” she reiterated.
David paused and considered his words as carefully as he was able to.
“Now, Miss Tabitha, I think we really have had some sort of misunderstanding,” he began.
Her smile faltered for a moment, but she tried to pick her cheer right back up and David watched it with something akin to horror.
“And what sort of misunderstanding might that be?” she asked.
“I think you are under the impression that I have feelings for you, feelings that I have not shared aloud. But I am afraid I have to tell you—with no offense intended—that I consider you to be a very nice young woman, but not one that I am considering at the moment for courtship,” he said.
It was as simple and easy a way he could think of to let her down, but it remained a terrible challenge for him to say something that was so heartbreaking for anyone to hear. Nobody liked to be rejected.
“Wha-what do you mean by that?” she asked.
David really hadn’t thought that he would need to explain anything further. He was surprised that she apparently didn’t think he had been clear enough.
“I mean that I am not intending to court you. I thank you for bringing this to my attention, but I don’t see us as being the ideal match that you think we are,” he said.
Tabitha looked at him with blank eyes, as if all the emotion had been stripped away.
David really didn’t know what to do or say next, but Tabitha simply turned from him and began, slowly, to walk away.
As if she was waiting for him to change his mind and call after her, she continued at that pace for a very long time. It was sad, but that’s how it had to be. He was not going to lie or be guilt ridden into a courtship that he was not interested in. Even if it did mean breaking Tabitha’s heart.
David walked back over to Hank and shook his head, rubbing at his neck again.
“What was that all about?” Hank asked.
David let out a quick exhale, one that conveyed the stress it had been to have that conversation.
Hank began to chuckle as if that was all the explanation that he needed.
“I take it Tabitha wanted to let you know she was available?” Hank asked, looking at the cake and then back to David’s shocked expression.
“And I take it I’m not the first man she has tried that with?” he asked.
“Not in the least. But I don’t think she will ever change much. Poor girl just wants a husband and no one in town has ever shown any interest. I’m sure that one day she will find the right man for her, but until then, the rest of us have to stay clear away as best we can,” Hank said.
“It is sad. I wish I hadn’t just broken her poor heart. But I’ve never known a woman to act that way,” David confessed.
“Neither has anyone else. That’s why she hasn’t found herself a man yet,” Hank said.
David nodded and followed Hank as they made their way to the barn. He climbed up a ladder and began doing the work needed to patch the small hole in the roof.
While he was up there, he couldn’t help but think long and hard about what it meant to really court a woman. He had never courted anybody except for Georgia and with how things had ended there, he wasn’t sure he would ever want to go through that experience again.
But when he thought about Miss Clementine, her beautiful face and that hair and the sweet way that she smiled? Suddenly, all of his doubts and worries seemed to fade. Suddenly, he wondered how soon he could jump back into sharing his feelings.
It was too soon, he knew that. He had only just had his heart broken and here he was in a brand new place. So was Clementine. Maybe it would be too soon for her to have a life change as well.
But when the time felt right, David was quite sure that he would take the opportunity and begin to court her. If she would have him, he would be more than happy to tell her exactly how it was that he felt and how much he was beginning to care for her.