Always and Forever

by Wendy Lindstrom

  “Nancy, if you can wait a day or two I’ll give you a hand with the garden.”

  She stopped and looked at him as if he was being ridiculous. “I’ll not have you out here weeding and tilling soil at midnight, Hal. Because that’s the only time you could possibly do it. I may not be as strong or adept as you, but I’m quite capable of tending our garden.”

  Without another word, she walked to the house, leaving Hal watching in surprise and admiration. His wife was becoming adept at many things, mainly at stopping his nonsense. For a petite gal, she possessed backbone and grit, and that was as attractive to Hal as her shapely backside and the sway of her skirt.

  It took a full minute for him to realize she had talked him into keeping a stray cat he didn’t want and eating a lunch he didn’t have time for. The woman turned him around and distracted him to no end. She poked her way into his thoughts at every turn. Even when he needed to keep his mind on the work at hand, thoughts of her flitted through his mind and a longing for more whispered in his ear.

  Hal returned home that evening later than normal, delayed by the repairs to the mill and the extra time he’d taken to eat lunch at home. He just wanted to relax for a few moments and then spend a few solid hours in the woodshop.

  As with most days since Nancy had come into his life, he was greeted by a clean house and the smell of supper on the stove. Nancy had been adding little touches here and there and he found himself wanting to linger more and more each evening, both to enjoy his comfortable home and the pleasant company of his wife.

  But when Hal stepped inside, he was immediately greeted by a cat that had clearly made himself at home. Captain lay on the old worn bench in the foyer licking his paw.

  “What’s this?” he asked, daring to scratch the cat behind the ears.

  Captain stopped mid-lick, his eyes on Hal as if trying to determine if Hal would threaten his new comfortable perch.

  “Don’t worry, Captain, looks like you’re here to stay, you little rascal.” Hal left the cat to his bathing and crossed the parlor, heading to the kitchen at the back of the house. “I see that Captain has supplanted me as master of the house,” he said to Nancy as he entered the kitchen.

  Nancy smiled, her eyes lit with affection for the cat. “Seems he’s claimed the bench in the foyer for his bed.”

  “Well, he’ll have to share it with me when I come and go. I can’t put my boots on while standing.”

  “I’m sure he’ll give you the bench when needed,” she said with a laugh. “Dinner is ready. You can wash up and then we’ll eat.”

  They had a pleasant meal together, talking about the plants in the garden and how the vegetables were growing. After they were done eating, Hal retired to the parlor to rest for a few moments before heading out to the barn.

  When Nancy finished the dishes, she walked into the parlor, her hands clasped behind her back and a little smile playing about her mouth. “I have something for you.”

  Surprised but also suspicious at the same time, he asked, “What is it?”

  She brought her hands from behind her, presenting him with the most brightly colored and possibly the ugliest knit slippers he’d ever seen. He literally had no words.

  “They’re slippers,” she said.

  “I see that.” Hal bit his lower lip to keep from laughing out loud at the mishmash of red, green, and beige yarn haphazardly knit together.

  “I found some scraps of yarn in the attic and I thought I’d try my hand at knitting. They’re not pretty, but they should keep your feet warm.”

  Hal was struggling to restrain himself, not wanting to insult his wife. But attempting to find the most complimentary response to her well-intended gift was no easy task. “Well, I, ah, they look right cozy. Thank you, Nancy.”

  The corner of Nancy’s mouth turned up into a smirk and suddenly she burst into laughter. “They’re hideous!”

  Hal joined her laughter when he realized that she shared his opinion of her gift.

  “I couldn’t resist testing your reaction,” Nancy said. “I’m still learning how to knit. I knew how to stitch before I came here but I didn’t know how to knit more than basic stitches. I wanted to make you slippers for purely selfish reasons.”

  “And what were these purely selfish reasons, if I might ask?” Hal inquired. He was intrigued with Nancy’s laughter and her playful jesting.

  “Well, if I wasn’t always having to clean the floors from all the wood chips and mud you track in, I’d have more time for other projects. Now that you have these slippers, there will be no more boots in the house, Mr. Grayson.”

  Hal grinned, impressed with his wife’s ability to lead him directly where she wanted him to go without him realizing until it was too late. He pulled off his boots and slipped the knit slippers onto his feet, lifting them proudly onto the parlor table so he and Nancy could admire her work.

  “I appreciate the slippers, Nancy. And I’m sorry I haven’t been more aware of my messy habits. I’ll correct that one immediately. And I will wear the slippers proudly.”

  “That would please me immensely,” she said, her voice soft, her smile warm.

  Hal looked upon his wife with growing fondness, and to his surprise he was able to look at his new slippers with the same affection. Nancy had made them for him and they had shared a good laugh over the them.

  Knowing he needed to get started in the woodshop, but wanting to spend a few more moments with his wife, he said, “Would you play the piano for me? I’ve really enjoyed listening to you play, despite the fact the piano is sorely out of tune.”

  “If it pleases you. Would you care to join me?”

  “I don’t play.”

  “I can teach you.”

  “I wouldn’t subject you to the torture of listening to me attempting to peck out notes.”

  “At least sit with me while I play,” Nancy said, her persuasive smile both too playful and beautiful to resist.

  “That I can do.” Hal took his place beside her on the bench. His thigh brushed against hers and the jolt of attraction was not only becoming familiar but welcome. He hadn’t asked for this marriage, but he was coming to find that he was enjoying getting to know his wife.

  Hal listened as Nancy played a flowing hymn, her clear, beautiful voice filling the parlor. Before long, he found himself humming along with the notes, feeling connected to her through the music she was playing. When she reached the chorus, he sang along with her.

  As soon as Nancy finished the song, she turned a brilliant smile on him. “You have a wonderful singing voice, Hal! You’ve been keeping secrets.”

  He winked and placed a finger over her soft lips. “Shhhh... I don’t want word to spread for fear our good minister will have me leading hymns each Sunday.”

  Nancy arched a shapely brow. “And would that be so bad?”

  He reared back in mock horror. “Why, yes! I’d have to attend service every Sunday in that case!”

  Nancy laughed. “You’ll attend every Sunday anyhow.”

  He grinned, enjoying their spontaneous and surprising play acting. “Of course I will, but I’d prefer to sit in a pew with you rather than in the choir.” He stood and gave her a playful bow. “Thank you for that beautiful song, Nancy. Your talent humbles me.”

  Color rose on her cheeks. “I... well, thank you. You quite surprised me this evening as well.”

  “Well... I should hate to be too predictable.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I need to head out to the woodshop now. Goodnight, Nancy, and thank you for the um... colorful slippers and the beautiful music.”

  With that, he turned on his heel, grabbed his boots and headed to the foyer to pull them on. Heaving a great sigh of annoyance, Captain gave up a sliver of the bench to Hal. But Hal didn’t care because he just wanted to pull on his boots and get out of the house before he did something stupid like kiss Nancy’s beautiful mouth.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nancy sat on the piano bench utterly flummox
ed by her husband’s spontaneous play. She’d seen glimpses of Hal’s sense of humor and that he could turn on the charm when he desired, but she had no idea he could sing or that he could be so romantic. Had he been playing at romance, too? Or had that warm look in his eyes been real?

  The thought encouraged her. Perhaps she was truly making headway with her husband. Perhaps those ridiculous slippers she’d knit for him had set the mood for their joking and playing. He’d certainly received them in the spirit in which she’d given them, as a playful attempt to try her hand at knitting and to encourage him to stop soiling her floors. She’d only hoped they would result in fewer days of mopping the hardwood floors of the parlor and kitchen. She couldn’t have anticipated the affect they would have on her husband.

  She placed her hand over her fluttering heart. Hearing Hal’s rich baritone filling the parlor as she played the melodic notes of one of her favorite hymns was a moment she’d never forget. She had barely heard him sing when they attended Sunday service. But when that warm, rich sound come from her handsome husband, it nearly made her swoon, especially when he gazed into her eyes and kissed her hand. Had she caught a glimpse of the man Hal Grayson was before hardship and grief had overtaken his life?

  If so, how could she get that man back?

  If not, then she was pleased to have given him a few moments respite from his burdens. The poor man was running himself ragged, attempting to do the work of three men. Yet he continued to insist that he tend to chores and projects she was plenty capable of completing herself.

  Hal was a decent hardworking man, but he was fooling himself if he thought he could continue at this pace for much longer. And so she was determined to find a way to help lighten his burden and prove herself in her home, in her marriage, and to create a rich life of community and friendship in Fredonia.

  She found her first opportunity to make new friends the next morning.

  “I’m delivering a small piece to Edwards furniture store this morning,” Hal told her over breakfast. “If you don’t mind a walk into town, I thought you might like to come along.”

  Nancy paused in the act of wiping her mouth, her eyes locking with his. Was he really asking her to spend time with him on a work day?

  He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t have to go along if you have other pressing chores.”

  She lowered her handkerchief that she’d been using as a napkin. “I’d love to go. I’ll just put these dishes in the sink first, if that’s all right?”

  “Of course. I have to get the item from the woodshop. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’ll go into town.”

  The prospect of walking to town with Hal, of spending time with him during a work day, felt as if they were sneaking away from their duties together without permission. And to get a small glimpse into what kept him in the barn night after night was just as intriguing and exciting.

  Nancy placed the dishes in a dishpan filled with water. She would wash them when she returned. Then she hurried to the foyer, tied on her bonnet, pulled on gloves, and stepped onto the stoop to await her husband.

  He appeared a moment later with a small wooden box tucked beneath his arm. Upon closer inspection, Nancy could see that it was a recipe box with a carved top. A trailing vine and tiny rosettes created a circle around the initials DE. The box had been stained coffee brown and varnished to a rich luster that fairly glowed in the morning sun.

  Nancy glanced up at her husband in amazement. “I’m impressed beyond words, Hal.” She gestured to the box. “This is absolutely beautiful.”

  He turned and offered his free arm to her, putting himself between her and the box as if uncomfortable with her praise. “Thank you.”

  She linked arms with him. “Truly, Hal, it’s simply gorgeous and the work is exquisite. I didn’t know you possessed such talent.”

  “I appreciate your praise, Nancy, but it’s a simple recipe box with a design that I could have carved during my first year of learning the craft,” he said, escorting her down the drive.

  “Then I cannot even imagine what some of your finest pieces look like.”

  “At the moment, my finest resembles a pile of doors and drawers that need sanding and staining.” He smiled down at her as they headed up Liberty Street toward the village. “I’m building a baker’s cabinet.”

  “How did you come to work for Mr. Edwards?” Nancy asked, wanting to learn more about her husband. Talking with him about something he loved seemed a good place to start.

  But he seemed to hesitate as if he didn’t want to talk about it, which she found curious.

  “Am I being intrusive?”

  “Not at all. It’s just... well, I preferred making furniture over sawing timber, much to my father’s dismay, so I sent a sample of my work to Addison Edwards about a year ago. A friend of my father’s had recently traveled through Fredonia and heard that Edwards was looking for an apprentice at the time.”

  “I suspect your father wasn’t pleased with his friend, or with you?”

  Hal shrugged. “He was disappointed that I didn’t want to stay in the family mill business. He fears I’ll starve trying to make a living from building furniture.”

  “If sawmilling is all he has done, it’s probably difficult for him to believe a vocation as a furniture builder is viable,” she said, shifting her gaze between his thoughtful face and the leafy maple trees lining the road. The sky overhead was a cloudless blue filled with sunshine that warmed her shoulders and chased off the chill of the morning. What a fine day for a stroll with her husband, and she decided she enjoyed this side of marriage very much.

  “My father knows a great deal about the vocation. He taught me everything I know about woodworking. He is a master craftsman himself, but rarely finds time for his craft due to his obligations at the mill.”

  “A situation not wholly unlike the one you find yourself in now, I presume?”

  “Indeed. And my father’s fear isn’t far from being realized, Nancy. As you’re well aware, we’re not in the best financial shape at the moment.”

  “We’re getting by, Hal. So finish your tale. You disappointed your father by coming here?” she asked as Liberty Street merged with Water Street and they were coming into the village.

  “That I did. After Addison Edwards saw the cigar box I carved, he was interested in bringing me on as his apprentice. The timing and the arrangements were amenable, so I relocated to Fredonia about six months ago. Before John moved to Fredonia, I lived alone in a small room above the furniture store working days in Addison’s woodshop. It was only recently that John and I purchased the house and mill and that I set up my woodshop in the barn. You pretty much know the rest. We worked around the clock and created a terrible mess in the house.”

  Nancy smiled at him, remembering quite clearly her shock when she’d seen the mess. The sudden realization of how far she’d come in creating a cozy home for them filled her with a sense of pride and contentment. She found herself walking just a little taller and with a bit more spring in her step.

  They traveled two blocks down Water Street in companionable silence, both of them seeming to enjoy the morning air and birdsong. They turned left onto Main Street in the village and headed to A.B. Edwards furniture store. It sat just past the watchmaker’s shop, the place where Mary had suggested Hal could purchase a wedding ring for Nancy. But Nancy had known Hal couldn’t afford a ring and so she’d quickly suggested using the ring her mother had given her. She’d convinced Hal that the ring, a family heirloom passed down from her grandmother to her mother and then to Nancy, would bring her great comfort on her wedding day. Although Hal had accepted her suggestion, and even seemed relieved to be spared the burden of an expense he couldn’t afford, he seemed grossly discomfited with the whole subject. So as they passed the watchmaker’s shop, Nancy refrained from peering in the window for fear Hal might think she desired something he couldn’t afford. She couldn’t bear the thought of making her husband feel even more uncomfortable with their curr
ent financial situation.

  As Hal opened the front door of the furniture store, the jangle of bells announced their arrival. He guided Nancy across the threshold in front of him. She was immediately assaulted with the deep, rich smell of fresh cut wood and the slightly pungent odor of oil. The shop was larger than it appeared from the outside and it was filled with all manner of wooden furniture and crafts, many of which were likely carved by the talented man at her side. Three large headboards, beautifully carved with spindles much like she imagined Hal sanding in his woodshop, were leaning up against the side wall. In the middle of the floor sat smaller pieces similar to the low parlor table she had in her own parlor. There were even stools, coat racks, and other items hanging from iron hooks in the ceiling. Every bit of open space was occupied with beautiful artistic woodwork. A beautiful rosewood chest of drawers sat in a corner and Nancy imagined how lovely it would look in her bedroom — in their bedroom. It would be a long time before Hal had the money or time to add such a piece to their home, but she firmly believed it possible someday.

  She smiled up at her husband. “I suspect many of these items were made by you?”

  He gave a nod, but rather than seeing pride in his eyes she saw deep appreciation for the work, for the craft, and for the money his skill earned them. “I’m afraid we can’t linger,” he said. “I need to meet with Addison now and I’d like to introduce you to his wife before I head back.” As he placed his hand on Nancy’s lower back, she felt a warm rush circle her waist.

  Nancy’s heartbeat stuttered and she felt a lightness in her belly, something she’d been experiencing since they first met and that was increasing in intensity by the day.

  As they approached the counter at the far side of the room, a woman about twenty years Nancy’s senior walked out from the back room, a pleased smile breaking across her face when her eyes lit on Hal.