“What are you up to now, Anna Jenkins?”
Anna turned toward the street. Nick stood with a wide-legged stance, hands on his hips, the peak of his cap shadowing his eyes.
“You sound like John Wayne.” She curtsied. “Well sir, I was being a farmer. Could you help a lady in distress?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
“I hate to tell you, city lady, but most of us who cultivate the land take rocks away. We don’t bring them home.”
“There are piles everywhere and they look so lonesome, sir.” She pretended to pick up a long skirt and wave it back and forth. “You wouldn’t happen to have a block and tackle to come to the aid of a city woman, would you?”
“I’m on my way up to have lunch with Margaret and Herman. I’ll come by your side of the hedge and take that to where you want it if you like.”
Her heart flipped and a slow smile followed on her lips. “The way the sun is against your back right now, you look like a hero out of my childhood memories. Bring on your powers.”
He stuck his thumbs in his belt loops and swaggered toward her. “So where exactly would you like me to put it, little lady?”
She nudged the treasure with her toe. “Follow me.” The rustle of new leaves against her legs sounded like the swish of many skirts of the prairie women of the past.
“Can you hold onto it a minute longer?” The request brought Nick out of his trance. Holy smokes, the woman had legs that went on forever in her blue jeans.
He’d seen women dancing and walking around with T-shirts that left a gap of skin until their low-rise jeans started. They had nothing on the mystery of an old sweatshirt sliding from one hip to the other. When she looked over her shoulder to see if he was following, the thought he’d follow her anywhere was just . . . there. Peeking out from under everything; giving him a glimpse of what he wanted to be—a husband, a father, a grandfather.
Nick held on to the rock for a minute longer until he got himself under control. One leg or two, he was whole. “I’ve learned patience.”
“I’m just not sure where it should be. I want to see what I saw in the rock when it was nestled in the bush. It needs the right light.”
He dampened down a grin. “They won’t grow or change, no matter how much sun and water they have.”
“But they can change. I’ve seen it. Everything changes.” Her eyes did a slow, deliberate blink as if they were shutting themselves against unpleasant memories.
He understood that movement.
“Are you two going to stand there all day? Soup’s getting cold, Nick,” Herman called across the hedge.
“Here—yes, here. That’s where it’s supposed to be.” She looked from the patch of ground to the rock cradled in Nick’s arms. “Here.” She marked a line in the ground.
He squatted and dropped the rock.
“Careful,” she said.
“Anna, it’s a rock.”
She tipped her head and smiled. “Sometimes it’s a rock and sometimes it’s a cat.” She knelt beside him and pointed with her fingertip to an indentation that did look like an eye.
If he squinted he could almost see whiskers. “At least you’ll never have to change a litter box with this one,” he chuckled, and stood, dusting his knees.
She looked up at him with a sparkle usually seen in a child’s eyes. Placing her hand on the spot that curved like the back of a cat, she shook hair away from her neck. “Thank you. I would have given up if you hadn’t come along.”
“You’re welcome.” Leaning closer, he kissed her quick and light on her surprised lips and then cupped her chin in his palm as his thumb traced over her supple mouth.
Anna gazed up at him squinting against the sun, a slow smile forming before she nipped at his thumb. “Meow.”
Nick dropped his hand and stood. “Don’t let Molly know you have a cat in your yard, she’ll encourage it to leave.” He made himself turn and crossed over to the Lambs’ yard. The aroma of chicken noodle soup and fresh baked rolls almost explained the sense of magical anticipation he held.
Even after Herman slapped him on the back. “Come on in, son. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. I worked up an appetite just thinking about landscaping.”
Anna smoothed the dirt around the rock with one hand and shielded her eyes from the sun with the other as she watched him leave. She licked her lips and tasted salt. What had compelled Nick to kiss her? Regardless of the reason, she was glad he did. She swallowed a lump of disappointment knowing she couldn’t go to Nick’s to pick the rocks in his field. She’d continue choosing and collecting stones from other locations for her garden frame. On her walks around the lake shore, she’d spotted many. The rock next to her cat she found at the Point where it had been pushed up on to the shore after spring breakup.
She rubbed the small of her back. It was time to work on a miniature house design. The only muscle she’d strain would be her wrist.
After gulping down a glass of ice water, she sat at her desk. The sound of an engine and the crunch of gravel drew her attention away from her drawings and toward the road just in time to see Nick’s truck drive away.
A beep indicating she had an email summoned her away from her sketches. Her mother had messaged, asking if she was ready for a visit. Anna sat back and wondered about it. Was she ready for the past to merge into her present?
Her fingers hovered above the letters, then typed, ‘Not yet.’ She didn’t have to deny them a visit but she could set it in the future. That way, she’d have something to look forward to as she readied herself emotionally. She pressed her hand to her stomach. It didn’t quiver as it had over the past year, when she cried for a future she’d never have.
“Hey, Margi!” Nick called to the postmistress.
“How’s your dad?” She asked the same question everyone asked. He should be thankful they forgot to ask him how he was. His limp had improved so they assumed he was better. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. He preferred people would not notice his prosthetic foot. That was his goal.
“His last email was vague. He seems to be doing a lot of dancing.” Nick chuckled.
“Are you coming to the community dance tonight?”
“Guess I have to. I promised Jesse Zimmer I’d waltz with her tonight.”
Margi straightened her Canada Post blouse. “I wouldn’t mind if you added me to your list, too.”
“And get my butt kicked by Jim? I don’t think so.”
Margi smiled. “Come on, you have six inches on him. You could outrun him if you had to.”
“Now that would be a sight the town wouldn’t forget in a long time.” He rolled the flyers around a letter with the Canadian Armed Forces return address. “See you later. I’ll stick to my usual women and you stick with your man, Margi.”
Outside the post office, Nick’s fingers trembled when he slid the blade of his penknife under the flap. The date for his physical endurance assessment was in two weeks. Dancing with Jesse would be good practice for keeping his toes out of harm’s way.
Anna patted the warm cat rock curled in the corner of her garden, then walked to the hardware/lumber store.
She met George, the lumber manager, who confirmed he was capable of building assessments and construction.
“I’m not in the market for major renovations,” Anna cautioned, wanting to be honest about her need for a four-season home. “If I know exactly what I have, then I can make informed decisions.”
“Oh. You want to see if you can live here before you spend a lot of money. Don’t blame you.”
“I like to be certain I have the money to spend.” She pointed to the slingshot hanging out of his back pocket. “What’s that for?”
“I have to keep the crows out of the tall trees. The ladies at the Wrinkle Ranch complain the b
irds wake them up too early.” He scratched his head. “Let me look at my calendar. I could come over tomorrow some time.”
“Morning or afternoon?”
“Can’t say.”
“Then I’ll hang around my house tomorrow.” He could take a few lessons from Jan, she thought. Still, when he was the only game in town he must be busy. She lent him an excuse. “I will need other building supplies too.”
“What’re you building?”
“A miniature house.”
“Like a playhouse?”
“No, similar to a dollhouse.” There. She’d told a stranger.
“Little big to be playing with dolls, aren’t you?” He smirked. Well, follow me.” He gestured. “I’ve got a piece of wood I’ve been saving for just the right customer and I think you’re it.”
George meandered across Center Street as if all vehicles should give him the right of way. Anna stopped and looked both ways before she crossed to catch up with him. He pulled a large door open and walked down the center aisle. Reaching into a compartment, he eased out a piece of beautiful plywood and caressed it. “This what you’re looking for?”
She ran her hand along the smooth, straight surface. “Perfect.”
“I’ll bring it along tomorrow.” He gave the wood a final little pat.
Anna made another professional contact. He hadn’t laughed when she announced her tentative entrepreneurial idea for someone else to hear. On her way home, she found a hopscotch game etched in the gravel on the side of the road, and didn’t resist hopping through the squares on one foot, then two, then back to one. When she reached the half moon end, she turned around and repeated her steps.
Her dinner dishes were washed and stacked in her cupboard. Her floors continued to shine. She needed milk for her coffee in the morning, and the evening stretched ahead of her. She gave her head a quick shake and ran her fingers along her scalp. Her curls were looser. Anna flicked the hangers holding her scant wardrobe. It had to be jeans and a T-shirt again. She’d add a blazer for warmth.
After she picked up the milk and had a polite conversation with the clerk, she cruised up and down the streets of Regina Beach. On Sixteenth Street she turned south and drove up the hill that led out of the valley and back to the highway instead of back to town. She continued on the back road and one turn led to another.
One side of the highway was a lovely pile of rocks, and the other was the Donnelly B&B. If she was going to hang around her house all day tomorrow and perhaps begin her house repairs and start her project, she wouldn’t have as much time to search for individual rocks. She should ask Nick if she could go through his forgotten pile.
Should she offer to purchase the rocks? Should she just ask permission to take some and promise not to ruin the field? She parked her car in the driveway. As her hand pulled on the driver door handle, Nick’s large black beast barked and pawed at her door. Her old neurosis froze her in position.
It seemed like hours before the B&B front door opened. Nick stood on the veranda waiting for her. She couldn’t open the door while that animal was ready to pounce and ravage her with its sharp, gleaming teeth and open jaw.
She screamed when the driver’s door opened. Her eyes filled with tears as Nick’s raised brows and startled eyes came into focus.
“What’s wrong?”
Anna focused on slowing her breathing. She held her palm up, requesting a moment.
“Come into the house,” he urged.
“No, I can’t. I didn’t think . . .” She pushed back her hair with a hand that trembled.
Nick closed the car door carefully while she laid her forehead on the steering wheel. She’d give herself a minute and then drive home and never return. She could hardly breathe and the dog was on the other side of a steel car door.
She heard the click of the passenger door opening, felt the breeze flow through the car, which cooled her skin. The car shifted, and when she turned, she found Nick seated calmly, waiting for her to gain control.
“I usually don’t have this effect on a female when I open my front door.”
She offered him a tentative smile. “It wasn’t you. It was your dog.” She pointed at the nose pressed up against the passenger window.
“Why don’t you turn around and drive into town? I was going anyway. You can drop me off at the community hall.”
“Okay.” She geared into reverse. While her turn signal flickered, her heart seemed to pick up the beat.
“Want to tell me why you came to my door?” he asked.
“Rocks.”
“Rocks?”
“Garden.” Her hands were steadier on the wheel.
“Let’s start again.”
“Really, Nick. It’s all right.”
“Oh, I get it. You want to have some of the rocks from the field.”
“Yes.” She turned to him after she pulled into the first open spot on Center Street. Before an apology could skirt across her lips, she looked around and noticed the street and parking lot were full of vehicles. “What’s happening?” She forced a smile.
“Why don’t you come in and see?”
“I don’t think I should.”
“I promise no barking beasts, at least not with four legs.” She saw his brown eyes sparkle. The furrows on his face were soft and inviting. Instantly Anna felt if she could place her palms on each side of his face and trace his lips with her fingers, everything would be all right in her world. But of course she wouldn’t trespass into his space.
“Anna, let’s get a move on. Time’s a-wasting.”
She blew out a breath. “I’m not sure.”
He hopped out and hurried around to her door; opened it, grasped her hand, and pulled her to her feet. He gently pushed against the small of her spine, propelling her forward. She welcomed the heat radiating from his touch. It seemed like such a very long time since someone cared to push her toward life. His breath fanned the back of her neck. The steel double doors opened and country music filled the air.
Nick pulled her onto the dance floor and into a fast waltz. Her feet followed his measured steps. He felt the tension ease out of her body as she looked around. She even leaned her head back in response to a spin, exposing a wonderful, slender white neck. He quelled an urge to lean forward and kiss the column down to her seductively exposed collarbones. He felt himself react, again. Maybe he was the beast she spoke of.
Keeping track of his left lower limb became a non-issue while he focused on another part of his anatomy to avoid embarrassing himself in front of his neighbors.
The music ended. He kept his hand firmly around her waist as he guided her to the makeshift bar. “Beer?”
“Yes.” She hesitated as if searching for a word. “Draft?”
He handed her the dew-covered glass which she brought to her lips. He clung to his bottle and tipped it evenly, watching her through half-closed eyes. She was an enigma. Her face had shown shadows of solemnity as well as a joy of life.
He wanted to know her, but at the same time, not know her. Her pain both called to and repelled him. He didn’t want to complicate his life. Everything was fine the way it was. Besides, maybe he would be leaving soon, which wouldn’t be fair, or maybe he’d be the pegged-leg yokel staying in this town.
When he looked around, he saw his neighbors. Laurie had a bandana around her bald head. Hank’s right leg created a ridge in the dance dust on the floor. With a gulp, he reminded himself a dance did not mean a lifetime commitment. He led her to the community table of singles. Ruth Anne was crooking her finger at him and smiling broadly.
“Anna, we have a job to do,” he said.
She looked at him as if he had two heads.
“All the single, unattached residents have to dance with the other singles so everyone has a good time,�
� he whispered in her ear. Then he gestured toward the table. “Everyone, meet Anna. Anna, everyone.”
Men and women nodded, lifted hands in acknowledgement. “Hi, Anna.”
“Hello, everyone.” She waved.
Before she could put her glass on the table, a round, short man reached her side, squeezed her hand, and led her through the polka.
Out of the blur of fast-stepping tunes, Nick held on to a smiling, blue-haired woman and watched Anna dance.
After everyone at the table had a spin with either him or Anna, Nick held his hand out to her and led her back to the dance floor. The line was forming as the music began. They positioned themselves behind others and he methodically showed Anna the sequence of steps. He sensed when her body and the music blended together in movement.
Anna was no stranger to music; she seemed to like moving to the beat, but the dance steps were probably new to her. He’d bet with each repetition, the stomps, kicks and grapevines became less complicated. He noticed she watched the red boots and skirt of the woman in front of her. Anna mimicked the swing of the woman’s hips and suggestive shimmy of her shoulder.
He grinned when she glanced at him. She smiled back, keeping up with the line.
During the next set, they held on to each other and swung in unison. Sometimes her eyes sparkled with excitement, other times she bit her lip in concentration. She fit comfortably into him. Her hair shimmered like an aura around her head. Her body seemed to be bathed in a floral scent. Nick thought of nameless dreams, reluctant to see the magic end.
When they stopped at the bar this time, they each had a glass of ice-cold water. She brushed the back of her sleeve across her mouth. He wished he could trace the vagrant drops with his thumb again. But if he did that here this evening, by morning everyone would know he felt more than neighborly.
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