by Naomi Musch
Marilla shouted. "Keep going, Theo! Faster!" A couple to their left dropped back leaving Marilla and Theo holding the lead. The crowd roared with cheers. Her parents' faces flashed by at their right. She could hear Delia's clear laughter behind them.
When they crossed the finish line they nearly fell, but Theo steadied her. He let go and lifted his arms. "We won!"
They turned together as one as the second place couple came across and then third. Finally, Lang and Delia came along, second to last. His shirt clung with sweat, and his wave of dark hair fell over his forehead. Delia giggled as they tumbled over the line and into a heap on the ground. She didn't seem to care about her dress now.
Marilla tried not to stare. Why couldn't it have been her?
She tugged on Theo's sleeve and dropped to the ground pulling him down next to her. With nimble fingers, she hurried to free them from the rope.
"And the winners!" The announcer stood over them and handed them coupons for free ice cream.
"You keep mine," Marilla murmured. "Go treat Delia. She deserves it after such a run."
"Are you sure?"
Marilla nodded. She stood and brushed the grass from her skirt.
Delia and Langdon were still tangled. He leaned across Delia, tucking her legs under his arm as he worked on the knot binding them but not with much urgency. Marilla's throat pinched tight. "However did you talk her into racing?"
"I pointed out it was high time Theo discovered who he was up against."
"Meaning?"
"Me, silly," said Delia. "We've been together a long time, and it's high time he remembered I can keep up with him." She winked at Theo as her foot came free, and Theo reached for her hand.
"You sure did." Theo pulled her close. "Come on. Rilla says I should treat you to ice cream."
"That's nice. Thank you, Rilla."
Marilla gave a nod and glanced toward Lang, her feelings still wounded. He still sat on the ground but stretched out his arm. "Give me a hand?"
She gripped his hand, pulled him to his feet, and for just a second, felt a balm.
He jerked his chin at her. "How about you? You were the winner. Can I buy you an ice cream cone?"
She took a breath. Perhaps she hadn't lost her opportunity. "I suppose I can let you do that, seeing as how I beat you." She allowed a smile to grow. At least he was with her now.
They walked to the ice cream parlor, and she stood next to him while he ordered her cone. Her frustration ebbed away along with all the adrenaline of the race. "Are you excited to play ball?"
He shrugged and took the two cones they'd ordered, handing one to her. They turned away from the line and started across town toward the ballpark, walking a good thirty paces behind Theo and Delia. Marilla wanted to put her arm through his the way Delia was strolling with Theo, but she kept it tucked at her side, her cone in the other hand, just in case.
"Nah. It'll be fun, but I'm not much of a ball player. Theo's good at that, if I recall from last year."
"He hit three home runs."
"Yeah, I guess he did."
She tilted her head and watched her sister and Theo. "Look at them up there. Aren't they sweet?"
He glanced at her and raised a brow. "When did you get to be such a romantic?"
Her neck grew warm. It might be the sun, but it felt like it was coming from someplace deeper. "I always have been. Didn't you know?" Maybe she would turn the tables. "What about you, Langdon? Haven't you ever felt romantic toward someone?"
He laughed outright. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I'll take that as a yes." She bit into her cone to cool her thoughts, but her gaze strayed to him again. He watched the couple ahead too. "I don't expect you to tell me who it was…or is." His glance flitted her way again, but he gave no sign.
The ball field lay just ahead. Stands had been put up for the spectators. Others spread blankets on the ground, some even laying out a second picnic. Marilla spotted her parents with their friends and Theo's parents. Mother looked up, and Marilla waved. Mother waved back.
"Are you sitting with them?" Lang asked.
"No, I'm going to sit with Delia and her friend Judy."
"Enjoy the game. Don't forget to cheer for my team."
"I guess I can do that." She hoped he appreciated the playfulness in her tone.
"Thanks." He gave her a light chuck on chin and then turned and trotted off, popping the rest of his cone into his mouth.
Marilla sighed. Maybe there was hope for the day yet.
~~~~~
Lang didn't do half bad in the ball game, but he would have to show up Theo on the dance floor tonight if he wanted to capture Delia's attention. Today during the three-legged race when he had purposely tripped at the finish line and caught her in his arms, it was all he could do to make himself turn her loose. He had waited months to hold her, well beyond any reasonable man's duration. If it weren't for Theodore Strom, she would have been in his arms a long time ago. Whatever did she see in the man? Sure, he was nice and fun-loving too. Lang supposed Theo wasn't half bad looking, with his green eyes, wide smile, and lank blond hair. He was smart. Lang had to give him that. He had talked to Theo a time or two about his plans for the future, and it sounded like Theo was no spendthrift. He had been saving for his future.
It worried Lang, the future Theo talked about. Certainly, it included Delia. Taken as a whole, Theo wasn't as muscular or as experienced as Lang. Lang had it over on Theo in strength and worldly experience. Didn't women like that kind of thing? Maybe they did, and maybe...maybe they didn't. Maybe Lang had understood them wrong. Or maybe he had understood girls like Delia wrong. Country girls, wholesome girls like she, maybe they didn't care about those things at all. It wasn't fair. Delia met Theo when she was just a kid. His family lived on another farm not far down the road past her father's. The couple had grown up together, and it seemed like everyone expected them to grow old together as well. That wouldn't happen if Lang could help it. He had never expected to find a woman worth the cost of marrying and settling down. He had never met anyone who could turn his head far enough in that direction before.
Until he met Delia.
She had turned his head and put it in a cuckold without even trying. He had to have her. He just had to. He wished he'd started pressing a suit sooner.
Lang had thought long and hard about how today might play out. It was almost all he thought about for the past weeks. He would have asked to court her ages ago if he had dared, but he believed in proving himself to her father first. Three years had been long enough. Maybe too long. Today was it. The Independence festivities were made for romance. Funny how Rilla had asked him if he'd ever felt romantic toward someone. If she only knew. Well, she would know soon enough, and so would the whole Eckert family and even Theodore Strom. Sometime tonight, during the dance perhaps, or maybe if he could get her alone in the moonlight, Lang would pour out his heart and tell her how he felt. He'd take her in his arms and show her, if he dared.
The softball game ended, and he traveled home with Delia's parents for the evening milking. There was nothing he could do about that. The girls and Theo were eating at a diner in town. He promised he would come back, making sure he looked at Delia when he said it.
The sun was already setting when he returned alone in the Eckerts' smaller buggy two hours later. Parking a quarter mile from the town square, he approached to see lanterns hung on the corner posts around the makeshift dance floor and from the rafters of the bandstand. The band was warming up. Lang wiped a hand over his mouth and combed his hair. At least he’d been able to wash up and changed into a clean shirt back at the farm.
Some kids were running around on the dance floor. Lang stood off to the side and searched the area for Delia, wishing he had a smoke, but Delia had convinced him to give it up. He had let her.
The band announcer called for everyone to kick up their heels and have fun. Of course, there would be limits to the kicking. Some of the popular dances were forbidden,
and young people who broke the rules would get kicked right on out. Would it be so bad to be kicked out with Delia? Ha! She would never break the rules anyway.
He spotted the store clerk, Jacob Hessman, coaxing Rilla to join him on the dance floor. Well now. Lang grinned. He would tease her about that later. Jacob had always seemed a pleasant man, his German heritage not withstanding in these politically heated times.
Finally he spotted Delia. Of course she was with Theo. They made their way among the dancers. Now Lang really wanted that cigarette. Night fell. Half an hour into it, the crowd of dancers had grown.
The band played There's a Long, Long Trail and Jacob was taking his second dance with Rilla. More importantly, Theo hadn't given Delia a rest so Langdon could take an opportunity to dance with her. He had waited through four dances for them to leave the floor. The band began its own rendition of Home Sweet Home, and the couple was uninclined to part. Lang would have to take matters into hand. He passed Rilla coming off the dance floor. She paused as he strode by and looked his way, but he kept moving. As the dancers embraced the movements of the slow song, Lang tapped Theo on the shoulder. "May I?"
Theo stepped back with a small frown, but quickly he smiled. "Sure. I suppose. If it's okay with Delia. Honey?"
Delia paused, her glance going around them, and gave a short nod. Lang held out his arms, and she stepped into them. With her parents having gone home for the rest of the night, entrusting the girls to mind themselves and the gentlemen to watch over their safety, Lang allowed himself freedom to enjoy Delia's closeness. He rested his fingers on her waist, and all his thoughts centered there in the feel of her beneath them. Her light cotton dress was smooth and seamless beneath his touch, and her scent, soft and feminine, filled all the passages to his brain.
Delia.
She tilted her face to look up at him so the golden coils of her hair rested on her shoulder. "I didn't think you danced. You didn't dance last year."
He said her name in the whisper he longed to. "Delia, I could dance with you all night."
She laughed. Not what he had expected. She leaned close to his shoulder. "Well, I don't think it's possible I could dance all night, but it is nice to see you enjoying yourself. You work hard enough."
He brushed her hair with his cheek as he turned her on the floor, but she gently drew away. Still, she smiled. "You haven't been drinking, have you?"
"Not a drop." He held her gaze. "Delia, tell me again, what is it about Theo anyway?"
Her gray blue eyes startled. "What do you mean?"
"Why him?"
"I love him."
"Why?"
"Because he's...well, because he's him. He's my Theo. He and I are like—“
"Star crossed?"
She chuckled. "Yes, you could say that." She sighed. "We were born for each other."
They swayed to the rhythm. "Are people born for each other who just so happen to live and grow up down the road from one another? Doesn't that seem too coincidental? Maybe you're only used to each other. Maybe you're missing out on falling in love with the one you were born for."
"Such as..."
He looked at her and held her closer as he turned her. "Me, for instance."
She giggled. "You? Really? That's funny. Besides, you've said yourself you don't know what your future holds. I've heard you say it. You've talked about the boats, and—"
"And farming. I'm going to own my own farm eventually."
"So is Theo."
His eyes settled into hers again, but she turned her face from his, finishing the discussion. That was okay. She thought he was just teasing, but eventually she'd think about what he said, and maybe later on tonight...
The song ended, and the band switched to a new tune, something livelier. Without the vocals, it was hard to be sure, but it sounded a lot like On the 5:10. Theo was back on the floor and claiming his girl before Lang could do anything to stop him. He wandered off the platform, his gaze still on Delia as he left.
"Well." Rilla's voice turned him. "Are you tired already, or do you have another dance in you?" Her eyes were bright, and a flush lay on her skin.
"You finished with Jacob already? He looked like he was having fun."
She shrugged. "I might be, and I might not. What about it? Want to swing me around the floor?"
"I don't dance with kids."
Her face fell, and her arms stiffened at her sides. "I'm almost eighteen."
He caught his breath at her pained expression. He'd hurt her, and truthfully, he'd forgotten she was almost of age. She still seemed like his little sister. "All right. Don't pout about it. I'm not that old either."
Her brow lifted. "Are you sure?"
"Come on."
The dance kept them moving, and he didn't have to worry about touching her waist or smelling her hair. His mind was still on Delia who, during the switch, had disappeared with Theo. He raised his voice to be heard above the band. "Where did they go?"
"Who?"
"Theo and your sister."
"Oh...I don't know." Rilla was breathless. He twirled her. "There. Over there." She pointed at a shadow in the distance, two people outlined as one in the light of a bonfire. "Must have decided to take a walk and cool down."
The dance lasted longer than he liked, but finally it ended. Langdon guided her off the floor. "I could use a cool down myself. Should I get you some lemonade?"
"Sure. I'll walk with you."
He didn't really want her to tag along, but what could he say to stop her? "Hey, how about we see if Delia and Theo want something?"
"All right, I guess."
He strode off, with Rilla trying to keep up, and headed toward the couple in the distance. If he meant to win her over, it wouldn't do for Delia to have these private moments alone with Theo so she'd forget the things Lang had whispered in her ear.
"Delia? Theo? You out there? You want to get some lemonade with us?"
Delia spun around, and Theo followed. "Rilla!" She rushed forward. "Lang. Marilla. You'll never guess!"
"What is it?" Rilla stepped toward her, but the excitement in Delia's voice washed dread over Lang. He knew what was coming before she even spilled her news.
"Theo asked me. He finally asked me. We're getting married!" Delia extended her hand and wiggled her fingers. There it was. A ruby engagement ring. A seal.
Theo smiled at Lang and Rilla. Rilla squealed. She fell into Delia's embrace, and the sisters began exclaiming over the ring and Theo's proposal and all matter of girlish gibberish that sounded like tin clanging on Lang's ears. All he heard over and over again was he had lost her. The girl he loved was marrying another. He had waited too long and lost his chance forever.
Unless... Unless he could think of some way to stop it.
Chapter Four
Life after a holiday was supposed to be filled with excitement and promise, like a fresh start, wasn't it? The holiday changed nothing for Marilla. A week passed, and Lang went back to his work on the farm as though she had never shared an ice cream cone or a dance with him. In fact, he seemed quieter and more distant than ever. His usual morning or evening banter in the barn during milking had declined.
For Delia, of course, dreams had come true. Everything she told Marilla she had ever wished for had happened in the glow of the moonlight and bonfires in Spooner. In fact, for Delia and Theo, the days following Independence Day had been marked with excitement and promise. They had not only announced their engagement, but also their plans to marry in only a month, even before Marilla's birthday at the end of August. Her father had gifted them with a few acres on the far end of their property nearest Theo's family farm, and Theo had begun construction on their house with the help of his four brothers. They had already dug the foundation and were laying stone he'd been piling for the past two years from their fields.
Someday when Marilla got married, Lord willing, her parents would give her husband a piece of property to build upon too, and she knew exactly the piece she hoped for.
It was just behind the pioneer cabin on a little rise to the south of the main farm. It overlooked the road in front, and a tiny creek cut through the corner in the back. An abundance of hardwoods covered the piece, but there was one good open spot big enough for a house and garden. She could picture herself in a house there with Langdon. Close enough to visit her sister or mother and help out on the farm, but private enough to be their own bit of heaven. Oh…what was the point in thinking about it anyway! She was no nearer capturing Lang's heart than when she was at fourteen.
She pushed herself from the bed. Today, mother would finish sewing Delia's wedding gown. Marilla would have a new dress too, but she was sewing it herself. Her stomach growled. Maybe there would be a roll or something she could eat on the way out to the barn. She looked out the window where the bare hint of dawn flushed the horizon. Her gaze fell down to the small, single room shed they'd turned into lodging for Lang. An oil lamp burned inside, casting light against shadows of movement. He must be dressing for chores. She'd probably not see him today except during milking and at breakfast and supper. He and her father would be haying. Maybe later she'd be called upon to help pitch hay on the wagon.
She rubbed sleep from her eyes as she made her way to the barn a few minutes later. "Wait for me," Delia called behind her.
"I didn't know if you were awake."
"Can you believe it? I think when Theo and I are married I might actually miss these morning milkings with you."
Marilla snorted. "And regret being able to lie abed in the morning?"
"That does sound wonderful, doesn't it? But I won't be let off so easily. Theo and I are going to have a cow or two of our own next year. Between the time he spends on the railroad and helping out on his father's farm, I'll be the one responsible for our own cows if I want to have some butter or cheese to sell."