The Widower's Wife

by Prudence, Bice

  “These pies look wonderful, Jillian!” Aunt Betty said with genuine enthusiasm. “That peach raspberry you sent over the other night was heavenly. I may have indeed met my match—in the kitchen anyway,” she teased.

  “You’re too kind to me, Aunt Betty,” Jillian replied, “It’s taken me a little time to get used to baking in an unfamiliar oven, but I think I’ve finally mastered it.”

  “Well, no one can argue that by the looks of these.” She gave Jillian an encouraging smile. “Are you ready to enter the hen house over there?” She nodded toward the crowd of women.

  “I suppose I might as well get it over with,” Jillian replied. They made their way over to the tables with their hands full. Before they reached the group, however, Aunt Betty leaned over to Jillian.

  “Watch out,” she whispered. “Here comes Mavis Bingham. She’s a nosy gossip. You have to watch what you say around her.” She quickly stopped her explanation as Mavis stopped in front of them.

  “Well, hello, Betty. It’s so good to see you! I missed you and Ned at church last Sunday.

  “Yes, well, Ned was worried he had a cold comin’ on and we thought it best to stay home. It didn’t turn out to be much to worry over, thank goodness.” Betty took a step to the side to go around her to the tables, but Mavis ever so slightly maneuvered her body to block her way, compelling Betty to pause again. Mavis then turned her attention to Jillian.

  “And who might this be, Betty? Could this be Dalton’s new wife, come all the way over from Massachusetts?” She conducted a thorough examination of Jillian, with a slightly pinched look on her face. “She is a pretty little thing, I suppose.” Jillian couldn’t believe the woman was talking about her as if she wasn’t standing right in front of her. “You know, my Sarah cried for two weeks when she found out Dalton up and got married. Had her heart set on being his new bride herself.” She finally turned from Jillian back to Aunt Betty. “Well, to each his own, I must say.” Jillian risked a quick look at Aunt Betty, who looked as if she was about to explode. Jillian was also trying very hard to bite her tongue as Mavis went on.

  “Was kind of a funny thing though, him pining for his dead wife one day and then showin’ up with a new one the next.” Jillian was worried about Aunt Betty now. She had turned a new shade of red, but all of a sudden, she seemed to gain total control over her emotions. By the time she answered Mavis, Jillian would have thought they were having an everyday friendly conversation.

  “Well, Mavis, you know Dalton, always wantin’ the best of everything. Suppose that’s why he chose my Laurellyn in the first place, and I suppose that’s why he’s chosen Jillian here now. You just can’t blame a man if his search had to reach all the way to the East Coast to find him the best this time.” She then turned to Jillian with a triumphant smile on her face. “Come on, Jillian, we’d best be gettin’ these pies you made to the table before the judgin’ begins. One of these scrumptious things is sure take the blue ribbon this year!”

  They both walked around a dumbfounded Mavis Bingham to the tables and set the pies down. Aunt Betty took Jillian’s arm in hers and said, “We best hurry back to the wagon to get the others things you brought.” She nodded quickly toward Mrs. Bingham. “She won’t bother us again today.” She smiled mischievously. “Mavis has won the first prize for the past four years with her apple-cinnamon pie, but I’ve given her a bit to chew on.” They both laughed together, and Jillian said another prayer of thanks for Aunt Betty.

  By the time everyone arrived and it was time to eat lunch, the tables groaned with the weight of all the delicious food. Everyone filled their plates and sat on blankets down by the water’s edge to eat.

  Later, full from their ample meal, folks visited and relaxed while the children played in the water. Dalton had taken off his boots, rolled up his pant legs, and was playing with Jenny and Lisa. Brenn lay napping on the blanket next to Jillian. Aunt Betty and Uncle Ned were resting beside her as well.

  The lake was beautiful with the sun reflecting off of it. There was a small island out in the middle. All afternoon, Jillian watched as boatloads of adults and children rowed back and forth from one shore to the other. The island must be a lovely place.

  “Jillian.” Aunt Betty broke through her revelry. “Why don’t you take a walk around and enjoy the lake? It is a beautiful sight this time of year. I’ll keep an eye on Brenn.” Jillian didn’t notice her turn and wink at Uncle Ned.

  “That would be wonderful. Thank you, Aunt Betty. I won’t be gone long.” She stood up, brushed the grass from her dress, and started off.

  “Take your time, dear,” Aunt Betty called after her. “Uncle Ned and I will enjoy having the children to ourselves for a while.” Jillian smiled to herself. She did love them—they were such good people. As she walked off, she turned to wave good-bye.

  Dalton noticed when Jillian stood up and walked away. He’d managed to keep a safe distance away from her all day. He had dreamed of her last night.

  In his dream, Jillian was running in a meadow with her hair down in all its glory, and she was calling out to him to follow her. He couldn’t decide what to do and had reached into his pocket to grasp Laurellyn’s cameo, but it wasn’t there. He desperately felt around for it, only to realize there was a gaping a hole in the bottom of his pocket. Quickly, he looked about him on the ground to see if he could find it, but it was nowhere in sight. As he turned to head back to continue looking, he heard Jillian call his name again. When he looked over to see where she was, Jenny, Lisa, and Brenn were running with her.

  “Come on, Pa,” Jenny called, “come with us.” Frantically, he tried to decide what to do.

  “Wait for me, I’ll be back in a minute,” he called out to them. “I’ve lost something and I need to find it.” Just then he heard Lisa call out to him.

  “No, Pa, you’ll miss it. Come see.” He looked around behind him once again, but when he turned back to his family, they were gone. He woke up with a start, and his heart was beating furiously.

  He’d glanced over at the table where Laurellyn’s cameo lay undisturbed, just where he had left it the night before. Tears had begun to spill down his cheek as he got out of bed and knelt down to pray, the cameo in his hand. He was suddenly frightened he would lose his family if he couldn’t find a way to release his hold on the past. He needed to make some decisions, and there was only one power he knew of that wouldn’t lead him astray.

  After praying awhile, he’d gotten up, walked to his bureau, and removed a small box. Lifting the lid, he’d placed the cameo inside. He brushed his fingers across it one last time before replacing the lid. Reverently, he put the box back in his drawer and pushed it closed. He would save it for Jenny and give it to her one day when she was older. He had received his answer.

  Now, as he saw Jillian walking away along the lakeshore, he felt momentarily panicked as he remembered the dream. He was still confused about how exactly he was to go about remedying their situation. There were so many things to consider. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wanted to be a part of his children’s future, and he wanted that future to include Jillian . . . completely.

  After awhile, he saw Aunt Betty wave him over. While keeping a watchful eye on Jenny and Lisa, he walked the few yards over to the blanket. Aunt Betty smiled up at him endearingly.

  Eleven

  Jillian climbed up on a rock perched at the edge of the lake and sat down. She supposed she was on the opposite side of the lake from where the picnic was going on, but gratefully, the island in the center blocked her view. She didn’t want to see anyone, or have anyone see her.

  The tears burned hot and new as Jillian thought again of how humiliated she had felt. She could never understand how one person could be so cruel to another. That was something she could never tolerate, even in her elevated station back home. She prided herself on always treating others kindly and with compassion.

  She had removed her shoes and stockings earlier, so she let her feet dip down into the coo
l, refreshing water. Strands of her disobedient hair had come loose when she had taken off in a run as soon as she was past the view of anyone at the picnic. She reached up and pulled the rest of the pins out, letting her unruly hair fall, unhindered, and tucked the hairpins into her dress pocket. Her anger made her feel rebellious, and letting her hair hang freely about her felt like an act of rebellion. She ran her fingers through to free it of some of the tangles, and then stopped to wipe the hot tears away from her face once again.

  Jillian chastised herself for caring what anyone else thought of her. Only the opinions of those she loved and those who loved her should really matter. Who did that Sarah Bingham think she was, anyway? What she said was surely out of jealousy and spite, but still, it hurt her pride to hear them laugh at her the way they had.

  Jillian had just waved good-bye to Aunt Betty and Uncle Ned and was walking away, close to the shoreline, when she saw a group of young women about her age sitting by a tree next to the water’s edge. She recognized Sarah Bingham because she had seen her sitting with her mother and father after lunch. Olivia Jenkins was sitting with them also. Jillian was sure that Sarah had seen her approaching, but she quickly turned back to her friends and then heard her address them in a voice a little louder than would be normal, sitting in such a group.

  “My mother told me that she answered his ad for a mail-order bride. Can you imagine being so desperate for a man that you’d have to answer the ad of someone you’d never met? That must mean no one she knew would have her!” Jillian froze when everyone in the group, except Olivia, burst out laughing. “Well, if you ask me,” she continued, “Dalton could have done a lot better for himself. He should have asked her to send a picture before he agreed to the marriage.” She then looked over at Jillian, feigning shock that she might have overhead their conversation. “Why, Mrs. McCullough,” Jillian’s only satisfaction was that it seemed painful for the spiteful woman to address her as such. “I didn’t see you standing there. Oh, I’m so sorry if I said anything . . . Oh, dear, but I had no idea . . . . Were you standing there this whole time?” Jillian took a deep breath, ignored their stares, and hurried past them. The last thing she heard was the group of girls burst out laughing again.

  Jillian’s feet were getting cold, so she took them out of the water. Realizing she ought to compose herself and get back to the picnic before anyone worried about her, she stood and took a step off the rock when her foot slipped, and she suddenly lost her balance. Before she could let out a scream, she heard a splash and felt herself caught by someone’s powerful arms. She looked up into Dalton’s handsome face. After the worried look left him, the corners of his mouth turned up into a grin.

  “Now, don’t you dare laugh at me, Dalton McCullough,” she scolded, causing a deep hearty laugh to erupt from him. She tried to wiggle free of his arms.

  “Now, hold on there, missy! You’ll make us both fall in the lake if you keep squirming around like that.” Easily lifting Jillian, he stepped out of the water and onto the shoreline.

  “Thank you. Now, put me down . . . please,” she insisted.

  “We’d better get you a little farther from the water first, just so you’re safe.” He laughed again and walked to a nearby tree. “There now,” he said as he lowered her legs, placing her bare feet on the soft grass. As he stood next to her, he asked, “Are you all right?” He still hadn’t removed his arm from around her. As she looked up into his face, he brushed the remains of a tear from her face with his free hand.

  “What brings you out this far anyway? Aunt Betty and Uncle Ned sent me out to find you. Just in time too.” He laughed lightly. “You might have had to return to the picnic looking like a drowned rat instead of an angel.”

  Jillian smiled. “Well, Aunt Betty suggested I take a walk and look around a bit. I guess I lost track of how far I’d gone.” She was trying really hard to slow her heartbeat and will away the goose bumps on her skin where he was holding her.

  “She told you to go for a walk, huh?” Looking as though he’d just figured something out, he leaned one hand against the tree above her head. “I think we have a couple of meddling old matchmakers watching our children back at the picnic.”

  “Matchmakers? What do you . . . ?” Suddenly, she understood too. “Why, those two . . . Would they really try and . . . Oh, I’m so sorry, Dalton.”

  Without warning, he leaned in close and brushed his lips next to her ear. “Are you really?” he whispered. Jillian’s ear began to tingle, and she felt her heart take flight. He had such an effect on her! She didn’t know how to answer him.

  “I . . . I . . . um,” was all she could get out. Dalton’s lips had moved to her neck, and the heat of his breath on her skin caused her to shiver. In a moment, his lips were at her ear again, and she felt excess moisture flood her mouth.

  “Well, we ought not disappoint them,” he whispered. Jillian’s body trembled with anticipation. His lips then found hers, and their warm caress was heaven. She felt her body melt into him, and in an instant his arms were around her. At first his kiss was soft, but slowly the passion began to increase. She was still leaning back against the tree, and as their kiss intensified, she was crushed even closer to him. She was having trouble catching her breath, but she was too overjoyed to be in his arms once again to care. She was his, her mind said over and over. She belonged to him. Her heart leapt at the thought. Finally, unable to breathe, she was compelled to put her hands on his shoulders and gently push him away. Immediately, he broke their kiss, and she took deep gulps of air back into her lungs.

  “We should probably be getting back,” she said softly, not looking into his eyes. “They’re probably getting worried about us.” He released her, and, as she stepped away, he reached down, plucked a long blade of grass, leaned up against the tree, and began chewing the end of it.

  Jillian walked over to the bush where she had left her stockings and shoes. Embarrassed by her audience, since he hadn’t yet taken his eyes off her, she quickly put her stockings back on. She then found a rock to sit on while replacing her shoes. When she was finished, she retrieved the pins from her pocket and began to redo her hair.

  “You can leave it down if you’d like. I don’t mind.” Jillian looked up and saw Dalton grinning at her while still chewing on the blade of grass.

  “And what would people say, Dalton McCullough, if I came walking back with you, with my hair all undone?” She gave him a stern look.

  “Probably what they’re already saying . . . that I’m the luckiest man in all of the state of Wisconsin.” That caused her to blush, but then she remembered Sarah Bingham, and her mood once again became solemn.

  “No, I don’t think that’s what they’re saying at all.” She couldn’t keep the hurt look from returning to her face. He looked confused at her meaning. She ignored him, finished her hair, and stood, ready to go. He took her arm and they both started walking back together.

  Neither one said anything to each other as they walked, both lost in their own thoughts. As they turned the last bend in the shoreline, they began to hear the sounds of the picnic again. Dalton felt Jillian stiffen. He wondered again what had happened that had caused the evidence of tears he’d seen earlier. He looked up at that moment and caught sight of Miss Sarah Bingham. She was staring at them and looking none too pleased. She had made more than one play for Dalton in the last year, each of which he had emphatically turned down. It wouldn’t surprise him to find out that she had done or said something that had been the cause of Jillian’s tears.

  Dalton took his arm out of Jillian’s and put it around her waist, pulling her in close as they walked past. He leaned in intimately and whispered something into her ear. She laughed and he laughed with her. Abruptly, he stopped and turned her towards him. With a twinkle in his eye, he kissed her squarely on the lips, in front of everyone, ignoring the shocked look on her face. He smiled broadly, looked up, and waved at Miss Bingham like he had just noticed her standing there. Dalton put his arm around Jillia
n once again, and they headed back towards Uncle Ned, Aunt Betty, and the waiting children. When they got to their blanket, Aunt Betty was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Now, don’t you go looking so pleased with yourself, dear Auntie. We know what you’ve been up to today. You haven’t pulled anything over on us,” proclaimed Dalton. But she didn’t stop smiling. He knew she had seen the kiss he had just given Jillian.

  Jillian looked around. “Where did Uncle Ned go?”

  Aunt Betty’s smile faded. “Well, when Jenny saw Dalton kiss you, she ran off. Uncle Ned went after her.”

  Jillian’s heart sank. What damage had been done this time? She felt like she was finally just getting through to Jenny. She felt they were so close to finding a peaceful middle ground. Now all of that would be undone. Jillian was stirring things up instead of making them better. She couldn’t bear to see the young girl’s heart broken any more. There was only one way to get things back on track. She would have to avoid Dalton and squelch her growing feelings for him, for Jenny’s sake. She looked up at him desperately. Would that be possible? She could tell from the look on his face that he understood their dilemma as well as she did, without putting words to it.

  “It’s getting late. Maybe we should head home,” Jillian solemnly suggested. Lisa and Brenn looked tuckered out, and Jillian had surely had an emotional day herself.

  “But they haven’t announced the winner of the cooking contests yet.” Aunt Betty frowned. A sudden thought brightened her face once again. “I can’t wait to get a look at old Mavis Bingham’s face when they announce your peach raspberry pie as the first place winner. Somebody’s been needin’ to knock her off her pedestal for a long time.” She looked like a child waiting for a present. “Besides, Uncle Ned and I thought maybe we could take the children home with us tonight and you two youngsters could stay for the dance.”