by Annie Boone
At least she wouldn’t be riding, Susannah pointed out to herself. Swallowing, she rubbed her hands together and headed out of the room. With her shoulders back, she made her way into the sitting room where Delilah was crocheting. It was a pair of socks though Susannah wondered if they were a size too small for the girl.
She offered a bright smile. “Hello, Delilah.” The girl turned and nodded before turning back to her socks. “I was thinking of going to town to visit the veterinarian. Lemondrop hasn’t been seen by one for a while, and she is having trouble chewing. Would you care to come with me? We can always stop at the mercantile afterwards or... or something like that? I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it a good trip.”
The young woman didn’t need to be asked twice. Though she attempted to remain calm, Susannah watched her immediately put her things down. Hands tightly pressed together, Delilah carefully nodded. “I think that could be nice,” she offered. “Would you like any assistance hitching Lemondrop to the wagon?”
It shouldn’t have surprised her, since Susannah had noticed that Delilah was always offering to tend to the animals for her morning chores. In fact, she often woke up early in order to be the one to milk Bell. Nodding, Susannah gestured towards the door. “Of course. I should tidy up the kitchen before we go, anyway. I’ll meet you out in the yard in a few minutes, yes?”
Once it was agreed, Susannah went and busied herself for a few minutes in the kitchen. It wasn’t as if there was much to be done, but it would grant Delilah the time she needed to rope in the horse. After she put on her boots and gathered their bonnets, she went outside and found Delilah hitching the horse to the wagon. They worked together before boarding up for the ride into town.
The women were quiet on the drive, lost in their own thoughts. Susannah could hardly wait to see how she interacted with Mr. Townsend and tried to decide what was going to happen. As they drew closer, it was difficult for her to hide her hopeful smile and she had to look down and away. Her heart beat loudly as she prayed to the Lord that this was the right thing to do. Everything had worked out well with the women she had helped so far, and so she hoped that Delilah and Ethan would find true love and lasting peace together.
Since the veterinarian interacted with folks all around the area, the office was set just outside the main streets of town. Susannah waved to several familiar faces and glanced at the sheriff’s office but didn’t see her husband nearby. After two more corners, they finally reached the office. It was a small one with a large barn behind it.
“Here we are,” she announced, hopping down from the wagon. She smiled innocently to Delilah as they unhitched Lemondrop and led her around the building. That is, Susannah led the way as the younger woman followed leading the horse behind her. Lemondrop would follow the blonde-haired woman wherever she needed to, as Lucas had taught the animal, but that had always made Susannah anxious to have the horse trailing behind her. It was better to just pretend the horse wasn’t there.
“Hello?” Susannah called out as she reached the large barn. The doors were open, but it was difficult to tell if anyone was in the big building or not.
Almost immediately a young gentleman stepped out from the shadows. He had a soft grin as he fixed his rolled-up sleeves. His pants were covered in hay and there was something splattered on his shoulder but she didn’t want to think about what that might be. But no matter how quickly he had grown up, Susannah would know Judge Townsend’s son anywhere. “Good afternoon,” he offered politely. “How might we be of service?”
She beamed at his manners. “You might not remember me. I’m Mrs. Jessup, the sheriff’s wife. Why, I haven’t seen you in years, young man. I could hardly believe it when the pastor told me you had returned home already. It looks as though you’re finished with school.”
“Yes,” he nodded. “Indeed, I’m finished,” his eyes already beginning to wander. But not far, she noticed. Lemondrop was breathing on her back which meant Delilah had to be close by. Ethan’s eyes drifted from hers to her left shoulder, where Delilah must be standing. Or hiding, as she tended to do when she was feeling shy. “And I think I remember you. But…”
Lemondrop snorted and Susannah jumped, her stomach tightening. She laughed it off immediately and moved out of the way, further from Lemondrop and to allow Ethan to see who Delilah was. The lovely young woman clung to Lemondrop’s bridle tightly with both hands with a lowered gaze. Though she was getting better at being less shy, Susannah hoped she was just doing this because Ethan was so handsome.
Turning to Delilah’s other side, away from the horse, the woman nudged her lightly. “My apologies,” she began graciously. “How rude of me for not introducing the two of you. Mr. Ethan Townsend, this is Miss Delilah Waterford. She is a guest at my home and has been for the last few months, having come all the way from Philadelphia. Delilah, this is Mr. Townsend. His father is the judge, so he works closely with my husband. I knew Ethan before he left for school in New Orleans. Now, it would appear, we have two veterinarians in Rocky Ridge.”
Her ward and the young man offered shy and brief greetings before Susannah turned the attention to the horse. Lemondrop was more than happy for the attention.
“So what’s the problem with your horse, Mrs. Jessup?” Ethan spoke to Susannah, but looked over at Delilah as he waited for her response.
“Well, she seems to have trouble chewing. I don’t see it all the time, but sometimes she seems to move her mouth funny. I know that sounds odd, but I just want to make sure this isn’t a warning of something bigger.” Susannah blinked quickly and took a deep breath hoping she’d be able to keep her ruse going long enough.
“Let me take a look.” Ethan leaned in and pulled back Lemondrop’s upper lip on one side and then the other. The horse snorted lightly at the intrusion, but she kept her feet still. “Hmm. I’d expect to see something wrong with her teeth or some sign of an injury, but there’s nothing there.”
Susannah smiled and nodded, expecting to hear this assessment. “Well, that’s good news, then. Do you think she’ll be fine, then?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s likely nothing since she doesn’t appear to be not eating.” Ethan looked at Susannah and then back at Delilah.
Realizing his interest was piqued by the girl, she did her best to bring Delilah into the conversation. “Delilah, here, is crazy about this horse. And of course, Lemondrop loves her, too. You’ve enjoyed learning to ride, haven’t you, Delilah?”
Poor thing, she was still so reserved and shy. While Delilah had made leaps and bounds in the way of being social, introductions to a new person always took a while to take root. Her cheeks stained bright pink, she nodded.
“It’s nice to know you enjoy riding, Miss Waterford.” Ethan smiled at Delilah, seeming happy to have an opportunity to speak to her. “Riding is one of my favorite pastimes. Especially with the mountains as a backdrop.”
“I imagine so. It is quite lovely here.” Delilah’s voice only trembled with her first few words. That was a small triumph.
Susannah watched the interaction thoughtfully, thinking these two just might fancy each other if they were to meet often enough. Ethan certainly seemed taken with her and that was half the battle. Realizing they needed to be on their way back home, she wrapped her shawl tighter as she turned to leave.
“Thank you for stopping in. I think your Lemondrop is just fine and she’s a lovely horse. And farewell, Miss Waterford!” He added just loud enough to be heard.
It made Susannah smile. She glanced over at Delilah surreptitiously and winked as the girl’s cheeks began to flush again. “He’s a good man,” she offered lightly, trying not to sound pushy or like there was already a plan in place to bring the two of them together. “He’s always been very kind, and I was told he was very smart. I’m good friends with his mother, after all.” It would only work, of course, if both parties were interested.
“Are you?” Delilah responded softly as though she was trying not to sound too interested.
But now what? She assisted the girl with hitching Lemondrop back to the wagon and they started back towards the main street in town. Susannah hummed as she thought about the next step, about pushing them together without either of them knowing they were being set up.
They had nearly passed the sheriff’s office when an idea came to her. “Ah!” She grabbed the reins from Delilah’s hands and pulled. Lemondrop whinnied in surprise with a shake of her head, but obeyed and stopped as quickly as she was able to without running the cart into her behind. With a sheepish grin, Susannah pointed out the building. “I just realized I need to talk to Lucas. Do you mind waiting for a moment?”
Shock was still evident Delilah’s face when she finally nodded. Swallowing, she gestured and stayed there, most likely gripping the reins tighter than ever. But Susannah patted her hand lightly and hopped down. Surprises were good for the girl, something she had decided quite some time ago. It was healthy. Her bonnet slipped off and she held onto it as she stepped into the room to see her husband.
He was there with Jeb and a gruff looking stranger. They were all standing about until she blinked and realizing most of them had blood somewhere on their body, and the stranger was being put into handcuffs. Her heart caught in her throat and she bit her tongue.
She could only stare until Jeb noticed her. The tall man muttered something, and grabbed the stranger before nudging Lucas. Her husband was glaring at the stranger with a dark look that she rarely saw, when he turned.
Immediately his stature changed. He straightened up and pushed his hair back from his face. With a deep breath, his countenance changed to a lighter one. As the other two men went to the next room with the cells, Lucas hurried over. “Susie darling? What are you doing here?”
But she heard the strain behind his voice and knew she had arrived at a bad time. Swallowing, Susannah glanced towards where the men had disappeared and then back at her husband. His hair was a mess, and there was a rip on his blue shirt near the pocket. This wasn’t counting the cut on his lip or what was clearly going to be a black eye.
This was the job, she reminded herself, and this was her husband. As she tried to find her voice, she put it off by pulling out her handkerchief and dabbing carefully at his face. Lucas winced and brought up his bloodied knuckles as he slipped it from her hands. “Thanks, dear. You know, you have quite impeccable timing,” he added lightly, doing his best to make a joke out of it.
Although she appreciated the sentiment, Susannah had a hard time enjoying the fact that she knew Lucas enjoyed the life. He had spent years as a Texas Ranger and he had told her about a few of the scuffles, and especially about the occasions he made extra money by wrestling. But every time she found him covered in blood, she worried about him.
Susannah cleared her throat. “Apparently,” she managed. With a shake of her head, she tried to focus on her husband. “I just wanted to talk to you about… um, that is, I was thinking that we should have… What on Earth happened?” She wasn’t going to ask, because the stories never made her happy. But usually her husband was safe within his own office and it made little sense to get beaten up within these walls.
He parted her wringing hands and pulled her close. It was a tight, firm hug, and it helped her to calm her beating heart as she breathed in and inhaled his familiar scent. As Lucas ran his fingers through her hair, she collected herself. It was easier to do in the safety of her own home, she recognized, handling his injured body. But when she was wholly unprepared to face that in his office, it had caught her off guard.
“Are you certain you’re all right?” she asked while still muffled against his ripped shirt.
She felt him kiss the top of her head. “Yes, darling. It was just an attempted jailbreak. He was quieter than we expected, but he apparently he hadn’t expected us to be paying attention, either. We’ll just keep the cuffs on him this time. You have absolutely nothing to worry about and I’ll be as right as rain by the time I come home.”
“Promise?” She demanded, pulling away.
He kissed her. “I promise. Now, what did you come here for? What can I do to help?”
With one last deep breath, Susannah grabbed his hand and inspected his knuckles. Lightly torn but only two of them had bled, which had smeared across the back of his hand to make it look worse than it really was. “I want to invite the Townsends over for supper. Their son has returned from school, and I think he’s a good match for Delilah. Would you mind talking to the judge?”
“Sure,” he agreed. “We have a meeting together soon. What day are you thinking of?”
“Day after tomorrow evening. And I thought I could stop by the store and see if Cade and Mary would join us, too.” Susannah smiled at her husband pushing the shock she’d had aside.
He raised his eyebrow. “With those rowdy children?”
She grinned impishly, the nerves completely faded away. No matter what, she knew she was safe with him. “Perhaps. How would you feel about that?”
Since there were no children in their home, they enjoyed being around children when they had the chance. Though they both still grieved a bit that they’d never be parents, Susannah and Lucas had learned to appreciate what they had more than ever before. She was a very lucky woman with many good friends, a wonderful home, and the perfect husband.
With a light chuckle to hide his hesitation, Lucas nodded. “I would like to see them all,” he commented. “And we do have a big enough house to give them room. I’ll ask the Judge when I see him this afternoon.”
She beamed. “Perfect! Thank you, dear.” And with one last kiss, she left the office.
Chapter Six
At first, the idea of a social gathering sounded nice from what Mrs. Jessup told her. But when Delilah realized that the gathering included four children, their parents, and another family, too, the news made her heart hammer right inside her chest. Her heartbeat was so loud she could hardly hear herself think.
“What?” she asked Susannah faintly, wondering if she had heard her correctly.
But Mrs. Jessup wasn’t daunted at Delilah’s tepid response. Flipping her hair back, she gestured to the laundry. “I’ll take care of this if you can take care of supper. I know preparing a meal for, say, about twelve people can be intimidating. But Delilah, you’ve been doing everything so well here and I know you enjoy preparing the meals. Think of this as another exciting challenge, if you will. You know how to run a household, so now it’s important to learn how to take care of our guests.”
Delilah couldn’t respond. She leaned forward in her seat and finally managed to nod.
“You can make whatever you desire, so long as the makings are already here at the house,” she winked. “Now I’ll be outside. If you need any help, you know just where to find me. And remember, I believe in you!”
Delilah sat back in her seat, no longer hungry for her morning porridge. Staring at it in disbelief, she tried to imagine a dozen people here in the house. Glancing around, she noticed there were ten chairs around the table. That was perfectly normal. But most of them were never used so they were much easier to forget about.
Trying not to frown, she took a deep breath. Drumming her fingers on the table, she tried to think through this methodically. It was like when her aunt first made her start preparing a few meals for her siblings, she told herself. And it wasn’t like her mother hadn’t attempted to teach her a few things before the fire. And she’d been cooking with Susannah since she’d arrived in Rocky Ridge. Delilah was more than prepared for something like this. All she needed now was the courage.
It was a test and she was
going to succeed. She just had to keep telling herself that. Taking a deep breath and then swallowing the last bite of her breakfast, she stood. I’m going to do this and do it well, she thought.
After the dishes from breakfast were washed and put away, she decided to work first by preparing two loaves of bread. Kneading the dough expertly, she promised herself that she’d do all she could to be at ease with the strangers coming for supper tonight. This would be a step toward her future. And the futures of her brother and sister.
The thought of her family made her feel suddenly lonely for them. Most days she did well, knowing that this was the best thing for them all. Some days were difficult since she had no assurance this would end happily, but it was her only option. She had to make it work.
As the dough rose, she investigated what meat was available, and settled on a cured ham. She would roast vegetables from their garden to go with it. They would all eat well that night! Susannah would be proud of her efforts and the result would be a joyful evening with friends. At least that’s what she was hoping for.
After a mid-day snack of bread and jam, Delilah took a basket to the hillside and filled it full of raspberries. They grew on the rise beside the road into the Jessup property. Her plan was to make a pie for dessert. Humming as she headed back to the house with a full basket of berries, she realized some of Susannah’s habits were rubbing off on her. She smiled hoping that she could soak in some of the woman’s confidence before too much longer. That would be a welcome addition.
“What have you got there, Delilah?” Susannah was in the kitchen folding some of the laundry when she returned.
Delilah smiled. “Raspberries. They’re just starting to come out on the hill, but I got enough to make a pie.” Her smile faded just a little. “I might need some help, though. I’ve never made a pie before.”
“Oh, you’ll catch on in no time. I’ll tell you what to do. And a raspberry pie sounds simply delightful.” Susannah picked up a stack of folded clothes and headed to the stairs. “I’ll be back soon. Wash and clean the berries while I’m putting this away and we’ll start when I get back.”