They sat in silence for a while as they finished eating, then Colten looked toward the horizon. “There is probably another couple of good hours. I’ll stay here and keep working on this. Michael had to spend the day at his smithy, and I don’t want to lose momentum. I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Are we still going fishing tomorrow?”
“If you’d like to. We’ll see if we can catch something for dinner tomorrow.”
“Sounds wonderful. But will your mother teach me to cook the fish?”
“If she doesn’t, I will.”
“You cook?” Annabelle asked.
“Some things. Not much though. Hopefully you know how so when we’re on our own, we’ll be able to eat.”
“I think we’ll get by, but I will be watching for as many tips from your mother as I can. In New York, I lived at a place that fed us. I only had to help in the kitchen sometimes, but I did learn to cook when I was younger.”
***
Annabelle packed up the dinner remains and waved goodbye to Colten as he walked into the boarding house. She wished they could have stayed in the shade of the tree just a little longer, but knew things had to move forward. Life wasn’t all about kissing and dreaming of the future. But the future with Colten seemed like a wonderful place to be.
She felt like her eyes had a mind of their own because she kept finding herself looking back to the boarding house, hoping to catch a glimpse of Colten. But he was probably much better at staying focused. The next time her eyes got the urge to wander, she purposely forced herself to look to the right instead of the left.
She slowed down her pace as she caught sight of someone in the distance watching her. The tree where she and Colten had been eating now shaded a man that made her stomach tighten. Lester was watching her.
He was too far away to be any threat, but just the sight of him still made her uncomfortable. She picked up her pace again, and looked around the area, happy to see people along the side of the road. Some of them heading home for their own business while others were calling out for their children to return home after playing with friends.
When Annabelle reached the store’s steps, she turned and looked back to where Lester had been standing. He was no longer there, and his disappearance helped ease her worries. He lived in the town, so of course she’d seen him on occasion. She was probably being too dramatic. All he’d done was look at her. There was no crime against that.
Annabelle walked into the store. “Hello, Mrs. Howard.”
“Annabelle, I do hope you’ll consider calling me Mother. Or even Elizabeth if you’d rather.” Mrs. Howard smiled at her and reached for the basket.
“Thank you, Mother,” Annabelle said. “I can take this in and clean it up. And you can go have your dinner if you’d like. I don’t mind keeping an eye on things here in the store.”
“I was only waiting for you to return. We’ll close it up and call Douglas to come have supper.” Mrs. Howard moved around the counter and walked to the front door. She locked it with a key from her pocket and made sure everything was secure and closed up before heading to the part of the store that led to the house. “I’ll just go tell Douglas that we’re heading in. Did you eat with Colten? Did he say how soon he’d be returning?”
“We ate together, yes. And he wanted to keep working until it was too dark to do any more.”
“That boy does get rather focused on things. I’ll bet Michael sure appreciates all the hard work.”
“It looks good,” Annabelle said. “I believe he told me it would be soon when Michael and Susan could move their things over and set up there.”
“That will be nice for Susan,” Mrs. Howard said. “I think she’ll also prefer to not walk so far every day.”
Annabelle nodded. If she said anything more, Mrs. Howard would probably keep talking, so she walked through the storage room and into the house while her mother-in-law went to find her father-in-law to bring him to dinner.
Annabelle pulled out some of the fabric from the basket and set herself down at the table to work on laying out more patterns. It would take a bit of thought to get the right design but the more she played with the different colors, the more she thought of something that might be just perfect.
By the time she’d cut out the pieces and placed them in the order she would need to make things go smoothly tomorrow for her sewing, the clock on the mantle struck nine. Colten had still not returned.
She got up and moved toward the window. The moonlight helped her see only a short distance, but she thought she saw someone standing in the middle of the road. She peered a little closer, concerned it was Lester, but then the person moved and she could see another man. From the size difference in the two, Annabelle figured it was Colten and Michael having a conversation.
She watched for a few more minutes, then feeling like it wasn’t her business, she decided to head up to Colten’s room. Her room now too, in order to get herself ready for bed. She’d not worked nearly as long and as hard as Colten had, but she was tired and ready for sleep.
She thought it probably best if she was already in bed and out of his way when he arrived. That way they could follow their rule of no kissing in his room. Though after all those sweet and tender kisses earlier today, she didn’t think she would mind so much here.
Annabelle prepared for bed, washing her face and neck and slipping out of her regular dress. She folded it up and placed it on the trunk that had been delivered to her from Susan’s. She had found a place to hang up the dress she’d made for her wedding and was glad it could be kept nice and out of the way until she needed it for something nice.
Annabelle turned down the covers, realizing Colten was not going to arrive any time soon, so she climbed into the bed and thought happy thoughts of fishing with Colten tomorrow. And she wouldn’t mind in the slightest if there were lots of kisses there too.
She couldn’t wait for the boarding house to be finished. That way her husband would be home more, and they would be able to work on a home of their own. Thoughts of having a family with him made her happier than she’d been in a long time. Maybe that terrified decision to come out here to marry a stranger was the best thing to ever happen to her.
***
Colten explained to Michael about the progress he’d made on the boarding house and double checked for anything particular he wanted help with in the morning.
“You have been such a great help,” Michael said. “I’m planning on coming in first thing to finish the walls in the other rooms on the ground floor. Since we finished the second story’s floor making the ceiling for the main level, it’ll just be little bits at a time.”
“How is Susan doing?” Colten asked.
“Said she’s feeling really tired. Has had a few pains, but they go away. I sure hope everything turns out all right.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s a strong woman.”
Michael nodded. “I should get home and check on her. Jessie has been a great help doing all the chores and running errands when she needs it. I’m getting more worried about leaving her home by herself. It’s nice that Bessy is close by. Susan could just walk over there to get help if I’m gone.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Colten said. “Will probably be at the boarding house before you. It’s easier to get more done in the cooler part of the day.”
“Agreed.” Michael took a few steps toward his place. “Have a good night.”
Colten turned around and looked at his parents’ house. As much as he wanted to go inside and see his wife, he knew it would be better to let her fall asleep before he entered the room. He considered for a moment about sleeping out in the storage room, but didn’t want his parents to ask any questions. It wouldn’t be fair to Annabelle to put her under scrutiny.
He walked around the back of the house to take his time checking things. He figured if his parents asked what he was doing, he could mention seeing a raccoon that was sniffing around. The pesky critters had s
tolen oats from the horses before.
After about thirty minutes, he knew it was time for him to head in. He walked as quietly up the staircase as he could and slipped into his room without making any sound.
He paused and listened and was relieved to hear the steady breathing from Annabelle letting him know she was asleep. He put on his long night shirt and climbed onto the bed, careful not to wake her and was pleased that the day’s hard work resulted in him falling asleep quickly without being distracted by her presence.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Annabelle rolled to her side as she felt movement and realized Colten was just leaving the bed to start the morning.
“Good morning, Annabelle,” he said when he noticed she was awake. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did, thank you. No nightmares this time.”
“That’s good news.” Colten dressed quickly as Annabelle looked up at the ceiling to give him some privacy. “I’ll be at the boarding house again. I’ll come home around lunch time and we can head back to the creek and go fishing. Then hopefully we’ll have fish for dinner tonight. Also, don’t let me forget to gather some more fallen trees for firewood.”
“That’s right.” Annabelle looked up at him as he moved toward the door. “I’ll try to remember.”
“See you soon,” Colten said as he disappeared out of the room.
Annabelle laid there for a moment longer as her confused emotions and feelings battled to decide which was strongest. Frustration won out and Annabelle huffed then threw the covers off herself and got dressed for the day. The sooner that boarding house was finished, the sooner they could move on with their lives.
She hurried about her morning, eating a quick breakfast that Elizabeth, or Mother had made. It was still difficult to decide which name to call her, but as Colten’s mother brought in some fresh biscuits to the table, Annabelle smiled up at the woman. She really did feel like family. “Thank you, Mother.”
“Of course, dear.”
“What can I help you with today?” Annabelle asked.
“The store won’t be a problem at all, so I won’t need you there most likely. If you’d like to stay in here working on your quilts, that would be fine.”
“How about lunch?” Annabelle asked. “Colten and I will go back to the creek again today. He’s going to show me how to fish, and we’ll also get the wood we forgot yesterday.”
Mrs. Howard explained the options of a mid-day meal and after a few quick instructions on how to do more biscuits, she was out the door and Annabelle was left to herself.
In the quiet of the room, she set herself to work on laying out the quilt and piecing the rest of the top together. That machine was a wonderful help and Annabelle decided that as soon as it was possible, she’d ask Colten to order her one. That would allow Susan to have her machine back and Annabelle would be happy to teach her more about how to use it.
As she worked, Annabelle allowed her mind to wander. It wouldn’t be long until she and Colten had moved out of this house, and she knew the small cabin they’d take over from Susan and Michael didn’t have as much room to work in. Maybe, before they worked on building their own brick home, Colten might be willing to build a small shop she could set up as a sewing parlor. If she had a room in the back where she could have her work space, and a place in the front where she could display her dresses and quilts like the kinds she’d seen on the streets in New York, she could just advertise her services by window displays.
Hopefully Colten would be agreeable with the idea of her wanting to work, and set up a shop. She knew his mother was an incredible business woman in connection with his father. Of course, a lot of it depended on if they had children or not. She hoped they would. But sewing and stitching and seamstress work would go well with mothering.
With a smile on her face, she allowed herself to daydream.
***
Colten surveyed his work and felt a congratulatory slap on the back.
“You outdid yourself, Colten,” Michael said. “I thought I was working hard, but you’ve put me to shame.”
“I just want to make sure you and Susan can get here before the baby is born.”
“That’s mighty kind of you,” Michael said.
Colten knew Michael was well aware of his ulterior motives, but was kind enough to not mention them.
“I think I’ll bring Susan over today and give her a tour. She’ll be able to decide if it feels done enough to move over here. If she does, then you can help me move our things out.”
“Be happy to,” Colten said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go pick up Annabelle so we can try our hand at fishing.”
“And more kissing?” Michael suggested.
“Not one to say no to something like that,” Colten said with as much seriousness as he could muster. “But fishing is the main goal.”
Michael nodded and slapped his shoulder once more. “Thanks again. I’ll see you later today and let you know what Susan thinks. Good luck on the fish.”
Colten left the building before Michael could say anything else and walked briskly back to the store. After making sure the wagon was hitched and thanking his father for preparing it for him, Colten went to find his wife. He checked inside the store first, saw only his mother and a customer, then waved to her in passing as he went inside the house.
“Annabelle?” Colten called as he entered.
“In the parlor,” Annabelle answered. “Almost done with this piece. The basket is packed and on the kitchen table.”
Colten didn’t even glance at the basket as he worked his way to where his wife was. She was at the little bench and sewing table. Her foot moved back and forth in order to move the gears on the sewing machine and he watched in fascination as she finished the stitching on the cloth she held.
She pulled it away from the machine, snipped a piece of thread with some scissors and held it up to examine the back side while the front faced him.
“That looks nice,” Colten said. “How long did it take?”
“This is the second top I’ve put together. I got all the pieces in order yesterday, so it was just the stitching today.”
“You’ve done two?”
She nodded and pointed to a folded up section of quilt. “I now need to make sure the bottoms are the right size, and will have to piece some of them together. Then later on, your mother said we’ll take them to a quilting bee. This one will be for our bed, and that one will go to the boarding house for Susan.”
“You are talented,” Colten said, coming close enough to kiss her cheek. He didn’t dare trust himself to kiss her lips, not being in the house where his mother might come in when her customer left.
“Thank you, Colten,” Annabelle smiled brightly. “It feels good to work on things like this off my own ideas instead of just following the rules someone else established for their factory.”
“Now that I see this, I think that idea you had to sell some of your product will actually work. We could set it up in the store.”
“At first,” Annabelle said. “Though someday, I hoped to talk to you about a shop of my own.”
“You must think highly of my building skills.”
“From what I’ve seen at the boarding house, I believe you could build almost anything.”
“Someday,” Colten said. “Though I do hope you’ll let me build us a house first.”
Annabelle smiled widely. “I would like that.”
Colten kissed her once softly, then as she leaned into him, he pulled back. She immediately straightened as if ashamed, and he placed his hands on her waist.
“It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you,” Colten said. “I would gladly spend all afternoon kissing you. I just thought you might want some lunch, and to try your hand at fishing. Then we can maybe consider swimming a little?”
“I don’t know how to swim,” Annabelle said.
“Don’t let that worry you. I’d teach you. And the water isn’t all that deep. You could probably touch
the ground. It will just feel nice to cool off in the creek.”
“I don’t have any kind of swimming attire,” Annabelle said.
“We always just swam in our underclothing. Your shift and bloomers would be just fine.”
Annabelle’s eyes widened and he knew she was considering all the implications that came with his suggestion, and when she nodded in agreement, his heart soared. She felt comfortable enough with him to give it a try.
“Let’s grab our lunch and head out. The wagon is all ready. And this time, I’ve placed the axe right next to the fishing gear so I’ll remember to bring some wood home.”
***
Annabelle wasn’t sure whether to smile or bite her lip. Every moment with Colten was even better than the last. They’d found a good place to stop the wagon and they sat in the wagon bed, eating the lunch she’d packed. Colten then took the axe to a tree that had fallen and chopped it into manageable chunks that Annabelle could lift and put in the wagon bed. It would be split into smaller pieces back home, but for now, they gathered what they could from already dead trees.
“Nice work, Mrs. Howard,” Colten said giving her a wide grin.
“Same to you, Mr. Howard.” Annabelle brushed the remaining bits of dirt and bark off her dress.
“You ready to try your hand at fishing?”
“I suppose,” Annabelle said, looking at her husband and loving how excited he seemed to be teaching her something new.
Colten showed her how to bait a hook and how to dangle the line in the right spot in the creek.
He stood right behind her, holding her hand in his as she gripped the pole. “You should be able to tell the moment a fish takes the bait. You’ll feel a tug. As soon as that happens, you need to pull hard downstream. That will help set the hook and then you can reel him in.”
The Clerk's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 2) Page 8