Chapter Sixteen
It had been a week since Maura had stood in the field talking with Aidan over fruit jars of water. She missed him. She realized that part of his standoffish behavior was due to sheer exhaustion. A rancher-farmer worked when the season required it and rested when it didn’t. She understood all of that. But something was off with Aidan. She just wished she knew if it was her that he was avoiding.
The Herb Ladies as they now called themselves headed into New Dawn Springs to barter or sell whatever they could.
She and Nola rode in the back of the pickup truck. Her momma and Rachel rode in the cab with Levi, one of the newest hired ranch hands. The harvested bunches of fresh herbs smelled delicious, and she hoped they could make a little money. It would make her momma feel like she was important. Something Papa never did for Momma.
Aidan said he asked his dad about the possibility of an herb business. His dad was interested, but he said it would have to prove itself before he or Harvey would agree to divert precious resources to it.
Cash was a scarce commodity these days, so most things were bought and sold by the barter system with things people raised themselves.
Levi honked the pickup’s horn. A herd of sheep crossed the road in front of them. The shepherd waved and whistled to his border collies to hurry the herd across the road.
"Is everything alright with you and Aidan? You seem a little quiet today. Has something happened?" Nola asked when the truck moved forward again.
Maura wasn't certain how to start this conversation. She cast a side glance through the pickup back window toward her momma and Rachel.
"I honestly don't know what’s going on with him, Nola. But I can tell you nothing is going on with us. Nothing at all." Maura tried to keep the whine out of her voice, but frustration fought to keep it in.
"Ah, so Aidan isn't as attentive as you would like him to be."
"He was very attentive the night of our honeymoon. He was—" Maura stopped short, realizing what she was saying to a friend of Aidan’s family.
"I understand. Are you saying he hasn't touched you since your wedding night?" Nola's statement of the situation was quite embarrassing.
Maura blushed. "That's about the size of it. He looks at me like a man looks at a woman when he wants her, but then he doesn't do anything about it. He makes some excuse and leaves." Tears stung her lids. "I must be doing something wrong."
"Maura, dear. I've known Aidan since he was in grade school when I first came to live with Aunt Nessa. He's a vocal young man, not much for mincing words, so if you think there's something wrong, ask him.
“Most men can't put pen to paper and list the things that bother them. They just grunt and stomp around until whatever it is gets worse and forces an outburst at the most inappropriate moment, or whatever is bothering them settles itself, and they return to the amiable men they are. Aidan is no different."
"I suppose that's true enough. My papa will slam doors and curse under his breath until Momma sets him down and makes him tell her what bee has flown up his beehive."
Nola laughed. "You should have seen Sully and Rachel go at it. Sully is a strong-minded man, but he met his match when he married Rachel. Those two can bring the house down when they don't see eye to eye, but, in the end, they always turn out the lights at night lying next to each other. You and Aidan need to find some common ground and work from there. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was a marriage. At least, not a good one."
Maura rode the rest of the way into town deep in thought. Nola knew Aidan much better than she did. She would heed her advice, and tonight, when he came in from the fields, she would ask him if he found being married to her distasteful.
The truck pulled into the dry, hard-packed streets of New Dawn Springs. Trucks and cars rolled in and out of town. Sidewalks bustled with people. It was a beehive of activity.
Maura heard Rachel give Levi directions. "Levi, pull the truck over by the grocery store at the end of the street. I'll go in and see if I can make a deal with Mr. Whittaker for everything we have. If not, we'll set up a table right here on the street and see where it takes us."
Levi steered the pickup to the side of the road. Rachel and her momma got out and went inside. Levi helped her and Nola out of the bed of the truck. All three of them stood beside the truck and waited. Soon, the two older women returned.
"Mr. Whittaker was very apologetic, but he doesn't have the cash to buy the herbs outright. He said he would take them in trade if there was anything we needed. I assured him there was plenty we could use.
“Nola, you take this basket and go inside and exchange it for some coffee, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pepper. That’ll do for this trip. Then, we’ll set up shop on the street and see if we can sell or barter the rest."
"Do you want me to start unloading the crates, Mrs. Langley?" Levi asked.
"Not yet. I want to make certain City Hall has no problem with us selling on the street. Wait here, and I'll be back in ten minutes. Fifteen tops. Then we will know which way Mary Jo’s herb business is going to go."
Maura was surprised at Rachel's comment. So, Aidan had talked to his father and his mother about her idea. And from all appearances, his mother agreed it was a good idea too, or she wouldn’t be spending time trying to make it work.
Levi waved at someone across the street. "Ladies, would you excuse me a moment? There's someone I'd like to say hello to." He tipped his hat to them and trotted across the street, dodging vehicles and people. Maura and her momma watched Levi stop and talk with an attractive young lady.
Maura spoke up. "Looks like Levi has a lady friend."
Maura's momma grinned like a silly schoolgirl, watching Levi and his lady friend talk on the street.
Nola returned and set the basket full of grocery items into the bed of the pickup truck. "Mary Jo, I have an errand to run. Would you like to go to the fabric store with me? I need some thread to finish those rag quilts to donate to the church for the homeless families living down by the train tracks."
"Of course. I could use some thread myself. I'm making a baby quilt for—when the need arises." Her momma and Nola both turned and grinned at her.
It was so embarrassing.
Maura's face heated. "Momma."
"We're leaving." Her momma kissed her on her cheek, and Maura watched the two ladies walk across the street toward Levi. They stopped and spoke with him and his friend, then they walked down the street to the fabric store laughing like two little girls making fun of their big brother's romance.
Maura shook her head and grinned at the schoolgirl antics of two middle-aged women.
"Well, hello there, Mrs. Langley." It took Maura a minute to figure out someone was talking to her and not Rachel. She turned and came face-to-face with Tommy Hillman.
"Tommy, I saw you in the field last week. I had hoped you would stop and say hello."
"Yeah, well, I was in a rush that morning. Next time perhaps." Maura had the impression something was bothering Tommy, but there was no one thing she could put her finger on.
"Of course. Next time." Maura didn't know Tommy well enough to strike up a conversation. Talking about the weather seemed a bit mundane so she remained quiet and waited for him to say something. Finally, he did.
"How long do you think it will be before you and Aidan call it quits? You know about Beth Chaplin, don’t you?”
“Beth Chaplin?” Maura repeated the person’s name, but she had no idea who Tommy was talking about.
“Yeah, Aidan is still in love with Beth Chaplin, didn’t you know that? Come on, you’re a smart girl, Maura. Everyone around these parts knows Aidan’s heart will always belong to Beth."
Maura was speechless.
Aidan’s friend pushed. "And even if Beth never comes back to New Dawn Springs for Aidan, which she will, mind you, but if she doesn’t, he’s never gonna trust you enough to have a baby with you. And you know why don’t you?” Tommy forced his words on her whether she wanted to h
ear them or not. “Because you are a Jackson and everyone around here knows you can’t trust a Jackson. Plain and simple.”
“What’s going on here?” Maura was so stunned by Tommy’s words, she didn’t hear Rachel return to the truck.
Tommy tipped his hand to Aidan’s mom and left leaving Maura in stunned silence.
“Maura, are you okay? You look ill.” Rachel’s concern for her was touching. It was too bad her son didn’t share her sentiments. She had known from the beginning Aidan didn’t want to be married to her. Now she knew the reasons why.
“I’m fine, Rachel. I’m just fine.”
***
Tommy dialed the number and waited for an answer.
"Abe Neddleman here."
"Mr. Neddleman? Tommy Hillman."
"I hope you have good news for me, Mr. Hillman. My investors are getting impatient. I'm sure you can understand, with so many opportunities to make money, they aren't going to be happy to miss a viable opportunity while waiting on this one."
"I understand, Mr. Neddleman. I’m calling to tell you, there is an unexpected complication, but I've got a plan to get everything back on track."
"Do I need to tell my investors to move on?" The man's gruff voice barked at him over the phone.
Tommy panicked. If he couldn't close this deal, everything would be lost. Everything. And all because his friend couldn't resist that woman. If Beth would only agree to come back to town, he could make all of this work like clockwork.
"No, sir. Like I said, I'm working on a plan to get this deal back on track. It won't take more than a couple of weeks, then I will deliver those two sections of land and the government contract to your investors."
A pause on the end of the line had him holding his breath. "I'll give you two weeks, Mr. Hillman, and that’s only because this is a very lucrative investment for my clients. But you hear me, and you hear me good. If you can't deliver this contract sign, sealed, and delivered to me in two weeks, I'm advising my investors to move on. And I assume you understand what that means for you? You get no finder’s fee, Mr. Hillman. Not one red cent."
Tommy felt sick to his stomach at the possibility this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was slipping through his fingers.
"Yes, sir. I know what it means. You'll have the deal in two weeks."
The man didn't bother with phone etiquette. He hung up in Tommy's ear. Tommy stared at the receiver, fear gripping his chest, squeezing it tight making it almost impossible to breath.
"Two weeks to split Aidan and Maura apart—or I'm a dead man."
Chapter Seventeen
Aidan was just finishing up the care for the plow horses a little before six when he saw Levi pull the farm truck into the driveway in front of the main house.
Levi waved and headed to the bunkhouse. Aidan watched his mom, Nola, Maura, and her mom climb out of the truck and begin to unload the pickup bed.
He was headed to greet them when he and his dad nearly collided outside the barn. They were both covered in the rich dark soil they had been plowing all day.
"Son, you and I could use a good scrub." His dad slapped him on the back and continued toward the ladies. Aidan matched him stride for stride.
"Ladies." His dad greeted the women and headed straight for his mom, kissing her soundly on the lips. “Hello, Sunshine.”
"Sully. Everyone's watching." His mother gave his dad a lighthearted slap on his arm.
"Nobody's gonna blame me for kissing my best girl. Where you ladies been all day?" Sully walked to the back of the truck and looked over the contents. Aidan followed his dad’s lead.
“What’s all this?” he asked in unison with his dad.
Aidan saw baskets full of all sorts of things—pine nuts, homemade soap, two bolts of material, several paper sacks full of rags, coffee, tea, sugar, flour, spices.
Nola spoke up first. "This is the first day of your mother-in-law's herb business.”
“Look at all of this stuff." Rachel beamed.
Aidan turned in surprise to Maura and her mother. "You took your momma’s herbs in to town, and you got all of this stuff in return?"
His mother answered his question. "You should have seen it, Sully. Aidan. Once I got permission from City Hall to set up a table in front of the grocery store, it was crazy. Mr. Whittaker said he couldn't buy the fresh herbs because he didn’t have the cash, but he had no problem with us setting up to sell them outside his grocery store. And, he traded a lot of grocery items to get the fresh greens into his store. He thought us being there might bring in more customers to his store.”
Maura’s momma picked up the story from there. “Yeah, when the people in town saw what we had, they flocked us like fall geese headed south. It was the darnedest thing I've ever seen. Why, most of these people act like they’ve never seen a coneflower."
Aidan grinned and turned to Maura, intending to congratulate her on her mom’s success. But when he turned to her, she wouldn't meet his eyes.
Nola took up the story where Maura’s momma left off. "We made four dollars and thirty-seven cents. People who didn't have money rushed home to find anything they could part with. Buttons. Ribbons. Scraps of rags. Pieces of wire. Anything to trade. Soon, the herbs were all gone, and we had a pickup full of this stuff.”
His dad looked over everything in wonder. "What are you going to do with all of this?"
Rachel answered her husband with pride in her voice. “We are going to donate everything we can’t use to the church to help the poor. And the money we'll put it in the safe until we feel secure enough to start using the bank again."
The words were out of Aidan's mouth before he even knew they were coming. "Who's going to watch the money?"
"Aidan Langley!" Nola scolded him. "That seems a rather uncharitable statement, don't you think?"
"I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant who was going to keep track of how the money was spent, and who was going to make that decision?"
His mother rounded on him next. "Aidan Phineas Patrick Langley. Since when have you become so greedy?" His mother didn't bother with his answer. "The idea and the work and the product that earned the money belongs to Maura and her mother, so the way I see it, the money is theirs to do with as they see fit. However, Mary Jo has offered to place the money into our joint family venture. Everyone will decide how the money is spent. And I don't want to hear another word about it, do you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am." He looked around into the faces of the women he loved the most. What he saw was disappointment. To tell the truth, he was a little disappointed in himself. It was all that talk Tommy was whispering in his ear that made him suspicious of the Jacksons. They had kept every letter of that marriage contract.
"I'm sorry. I—here, let me help unload the truck."
Aidan and his dad unloaded the back of the truck while the ladies headed inside. He caught Maura before she disappeared inside.
"Maura, I'm sorry. I truly didn't mean anything about the money. It's yours and your momma’s to do with as you wish. I promise you, not one Langley will touch that money until you say so."
Hurt was evident on her face. He could see tears glistening in her eyes. What the hell had he said now that would upset his wife?
"Did I say something to upset you? I was trying to alleviate your fears that anyone would steal your money. It's yours."
He watched his wife's features change from hurt to disbelief to anger. His dad must have sensed an eruption coming. He excused himself right away and disappeared inside the house with the women folk. Coward.
Maura's chin lifted in determination. "How dare you assume to tell me what is mine? I'm not afraid of you, Aidan, and I'm not afraid of you taking what's mine. I'm not some stupid half-witted uneducated farm wench you can manipulate and cheat out of what belongs to her."
He leaned away from Maura's anger.
"Well, that's good. I guess. So, it seems we agree then." He tried to smooth over his misspoken words, but apparently, there was more.
"How dare you assume you have the authority to tell me what to do? Just because we are married doesn't mean you own me, Aidan."
He knew better than to make that assumption. He recognized Maura to be a woman of determination, just like his mom. He had learned a long time ago, by watching his dad try to control her, and he wasn't gonna make that same mistake.
"Maura, I would never assume—"
"And what hurts me the most, Aidan, is I’m the one who now lives in your world. I gave up my freedom to move to your home and to have your baby so both of our families can survive this blasted depression—to become one family. And you have the nerve, the audacity, to stand there and tell me I'm not a Langley."
"I didn’t say—"
"You can't have it both ways, Aidan. Either I'm a part of this family, or I'm not. And you need to decide soon whether you are in this marriage or out. Because if you aren't all in with both feet and no chance of backing out, then I see no point in continuing this arrangement one second more."
"Maura—"
Aidan watched his wife run toward their tiny cabin, leaving him standing in the yard, holding empty baskets and a whole lot of wounded pride.
"Son, I'd say you have some soul-searching to do." His dad spoke to him from the open screen door.
Aidan didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the retreating backside of his very angry wife. His dad stepped down off the front porch and placed his arm around Aidan's shoulders and squeezed. Aidan wasn't certain if it was a display of support or his dad was thinking about wringing his neck.
"It's not right to string that little girl along if you aren't committed to this marriage. I know you felt pressured into this arrangement at first, but your mom and I, we were hoping you and Maura could come together. Make a go of it. Develop genuine feelings for each other. If that's not gonna happen, son, it's best you say so now, before she gets hurt worse than she already is."
"What about the agreement with Maura's papa?"
Aidan's Arrangement: (The Langley Legacy Book 4) Page 9