“None of them. It’s contagious. I’ve grown quite mad, living with you.”
“Then you ought to be relieved that I’ll be moving out once I marry Mercy.”
“You’re counting chickens.”
“I’m a vet. We’re experts at these things. I just saw one in the kitchen, as a matter of fact.”
“It would be better if you were an expert at hiring a housekeeper so we’d have one here to fry that chicken. I’m already trying to get the men in town to think of me as a physician, and they’re seeing me doing laundry and other domestic chores. In their eyes, it undermines my professional credibility. I’m going to nag you unmercifully.”
“Nothing you do can take Mercy away from me.”
Taylor gave him a jaded look. “It’s impossible to steal what never belonged to you. Don’t get me wrong—I like Mercy. Someday she’ll make a wonderful sister-in-law—but I’m talking about two seasons or two years from now. Not two weeks!”
Enoch planted his feet and crossed his arms. “I’m resolved.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m fetching her in fifteen minutes. I said we’d pick up Heidi from school and take a stroll. It’s astonishing how much I can learn about Mercy from her.”
“You’re using a daughter to spy on her mother?!”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“It’s conniving and invasive, and it takes advantage of a little girl.”
Jaw tight, Enoch stared at his sister. On one hand, he ought to be pleased she felt protective of Mercy and Heidi; on the other, her low opinion of him felled Enoch. The only way she’s going to understand is to see us together.
So fifteen minutes later he returned with them, and Heidi skipped into the house ahead of them. Mercy gave him an apologetic smile. “She’s curious.”
“She’s also charming, like her mother.” He motioned her in. And at that moment, Heidi let out a shriek.
Fourteen
Enoch and Mercy raced inside. The second he saw his sister hastening to Heidi, he held Mercy back.
“I see you’ve found my skeleton. I named him Wilhelm. I’m Dr. Bestman. You must be Heidi.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is he dead?”
“A long time ago. Probably . . .”
“Twelve years?”
Laughter tinted his sister’s voice. “Maybe even twenty or thirty. But I use him to help me explain to people when they get hurt how I can fix them up. You see, the Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
“Mr. Wilhelm is fearful made, all right! He made me scared.”
“You may hold my hand if you’d like. He’s nothing but a pile of bones my brother and I wired together.”
“Really? Like ‘Dem Bones’?” Heidi launched into a creative rendition of the song.
“That girl’s going to give us a run for our money.” He looked down and watched as comprehension widened Mercy’s eyes.
“Hello, Mercy.” Taylor smiled at them. “Why don’t we have Heidi keep me company while you go for a stroll? I could use some help.”
Thanks, Sis.
A stroll along Gooding’s boardwalk would invite folks to stop and chat, but Enoch wanted time alone with Mercy. Going to the wooded area across from the train station would only set tongues afire. So instead, he tucked her hand in the bend of his elbow and led her through the kitchen, toward the back door.
Her steps stuttering, Mercy made sounds of awe as they went past the worktable. Spread out with scientific precision, as if it were being dissected, lay a plump fryer. The legs, thighs, and wings had already been cut off, then placed back close together as if to approximate the bird waiting for a frying pan. “How did she carve it up like that? So perfectly?”
“Probably used a scalpel.” He smiled at her amazement. Mercy then remained utterly silent the whole time he walked her out to the barn.
The weak evening sun slanted in on them, capturing her and illuminating the golden strands in her light brown hair. Enoch stopped and held both of her hands. “Mercy Orion, it’s been two weeks since we met, but in my heart I feel like it’s been a homecoming.”
“What a lovely thing to say.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be lovely. It was supposed to be loving.” Her breath hitched and color suffused her cheeks. “If I could get away with it, I’d wed you today.”
She pulled her hands away. “I find I’ve lied to you.” Uncertainty flickered in her deep brown eyes.
The meals at her place . . . the late night coffee and desserts . . . I couldn’t have misread all of that. “In what way?”
She bit her lip and seemed to search for words. “I said I didn’t think men would appreciate being compared, so I wouldn’t do so.”
“And memories of Hamilton . . . ?”
She smiled. “You recall his name. Yes, well, Hamilton was a childhood friend. I knew him all my life. As you’ve pointed out, our acquaintance is quite recent.”
She paused, and Enoch felt the pounding of his heart accelerate.
“Yet in that time, though I cannot explain how, I’ve come to feel I know you every bit as well as I’d known him after we’d grown up together and begun to court. Due to my own grief, then out of concern for Heidi, I’ve not considered a future with a man. At the risk of sounding horribly cliché, this has all taken me by surprise.”
“Surely you sensed my interest.”
“Of course I did. I refer to the emotions that have taken root and the speed with which they’ve flourished.”
Her admission made him want to whoop with joy. Enoch fought the urge to grab her and give her a kiss. Instead, he took her right hand, lifted it, and looked over it. Their eyes met. Sparkling as hers were, he knew she’d not just mouthed words. They’d come directly from her heart. “Sweet pea, I’d be honored . . .” he said and then kissed the back of her hand, “if you’d be so kind—” he kissed it again—“as to allow me to pay you court.”
She made some response, but breathless and stammering, she made no sense whatsoever.
“Shall I take that as a yes?”
“Please!”
He again kissed the back of her hand, and as she lowered it, Enoch wouldn’t let go. “You may as well know something about me right away. About my family. Convention and propriety were constraints rarely observed anywhere at home except the front door and the dining table.”
“Since your sister is a physician, I gathered that your family is . . . avant-garde.”
“Was. It’s just the two of us now.” He stepped closer, leaving a scant two inches between them and lowered his voice. “But I’d like to change that. Soon.”
A soft little sigh was all the answer he got.
“If I were proper, I’d settle for those gentlemanly kisses from a second ago.” Slowly, he curled one hand around her nape. The slight pressure of her hand over his heart stopped him.
“You are a gentle man, Enoch Bestman. A strong and gentle man.”
He accepted her praise and continued to dip his head, intent on claiming that kiss.
But her hand exerted a little more pressure and her head turned ever so slightly away. “You’re honorable, too.”
“I’m impatient,” he half growled.
Nervous laughter twittered out of her. “So I noticed, but if this were Heidi and a young man she’d known only a short time . . .”
“I’d tear him limb from limb.” Still, he didn’t let go. Smiling, he whispered, “And afterward, I’d gather up our daughter just like this,” he cradled her to himself and swayed to and fro. “And I’d press a kiss here on her temple . . . and another one here on her cheek . . . and tell her . . .” He whispered something in Mercy’s ear.
“You wouldn’t! You couldn’t!”
Keeping her head cupped to his shoulder, Enoch calmly asserted, “I could and I would. It’s the easiest and most effective way to gain control over a bull.”
“But—”
“If that man didn’t want a ring though his nose
, he shouldn’t have acted like an animal in the first place.” He held her tight. “You’re going to make me be content with holding you, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you content?”
He waited a moment. “Yes. But I’d be delirious with a kiss.”
“Paul said he had learned whatsoever state he was in, therewith to be content.”
“Sweet pea, I only spoke half of the truth when I said Heidi was going to give us a run for our money. You’re going to be even more of a challenge. It’s going to take me a lifetime to figure you out.”
As tolerant as a saint, Tasha endured Heidi dressing her that evening in bonnets, bibs, and a cape. Finally, though, she started twitching her tail and getting an impatient tone to her meow. Enoch tapped Heidi on the shoulder. “That’s definitely a ‘Put me outside’ sound, because kitties can’t use chamber pots.”
Heidi giggled as she let out the cat, then left the kitchen with her mother to put on her nightgown.
Mr. Michaelson sat back and nursed a cup of coffee. He’d been boarding at the house the longest and seemed to have appointed himself as Mercy’s chaperon. “That cat doesn’t put up with any nonsense or fuss. Along comes Heidi, and Tasha purrs and lets that little girl do whatever her heart pleases.”
“I’m glad for Heidi.”
Michaelson looked him straight in the eye. The man behaved in an avuncular manner toward Mercy. Probably because of his advice or meddling, Orville Clark hadn’t been able to swindle Mercy, as he had most of the town’s other widows. “Mrs. Orion—” Michaelson cleared his throat—“she’s a lot like Tasha. Graceful and pretty as can be, but standoffish. Good woman’s gotta be that way.”
“Sadly enough, that’s true. A stupid man is after what gratifies himself; a godly man is after what pleases the Lord and gladdens his woman’s heart. With those priorities in order, other things fall in line just fine.”
Michaelson set down his mug. “Sure am glad we sent for a vet.”
“So am I!”
Heidi came skidding in. “Did you ’member the book?”
“I sure did. It’s the Bible storybook my sister and I shared when we were children.” They went to the parlor and Heidi snuggled beside him, looking at the book and sounding out some of the words. It wasn’t long before the story was over and she’d fallen fast asleep. He set aside the book and played with the tip of her braid.
Mercy touched his elbow. “I’ll take her upstairs, Enoch.”
“No, not yet.”
“Is she warm enough?”
I should have thought of that. “I’ll keep her warm.” Enoch lifted Heidi onto his lap and made sure her toes stayed beneath the hem of her heavy yellow-and-white-striped flannel nightgown. He wanted to cuddle her, enjoy carrying her upstairs with Mercy by his side, and tuck Heidi in together. He’d never put a child to bed. Concerned by his lack of essential fathering skills, he was determined to seize every opportunity to learn how to be the best daddy possible.
Mercy settled into the chair next to the sofa.
“Taylor was far happier playing with a microscope than a jump rope,” he told her. “What are Heidi’s favorite things to do?”
“Wiggle and make noise.” Mercy smiled. “Heidi’s always been lively.” She regaled him with a few cute stories, then rose. “She gets heavy. I’ll carry her upstairs.”
“No you won’t.” Skimming an arm behind Heidi’s knees and tightening the one about her ribs, he rose. Mercy lit a lamp and preceded him upstairs.
Grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, Heidi sleepily demanded, “Night-night kiss.”
He couldn’t answer her—at least not with words. Enoch drew her impossibly close and kissed her cheek. After slipping her onto the mattress, he stepped back and watched intently as Mercy whispered a prayer and kissed her, as well.
Enoch took Mercy by the hand, led her out of the chamber, and shut the door. “Did you see what happened tonight?”
“What?”
“She wanted me to tuck her in. Heidi wanted me to kiss her night-night. Me, Mercy.” He smacked himself on the chest.
“It was darling.”
“It was more than darling. She trusts me and accepts me. Until I met you, I scoffed at the notion of love at first sight. Even after recognizing I’d been wrong about that, I had to face three other hurdles. The first was whether it was God’s will for me—and He led me straight to the Song of Solomon. Next I needed to know if you could have feelings for me, and even then, Heidi’s acceptance was vital to family harmony.” He traced the curve of her cheek. “I love you, Mercy. With all my heart, I love you.”
Tears glossed her eyes and shaky fingers pressed against her lips.
I haven’t misread this. “Mercy, marry me. Be my wife, my lover, and the mother of a handful of children whom I’ll love as much as I do Heidi.”
“I . . . love you, too, Enoch. This is all so dizzying.”
He moved closer, trapping her against her wall and curling his hands about her slender waist. “Does this help?”
She shook her head. “Leaves me more breathless.”
“Hmm.” He dipped his head and kissed her. “All better now?”
She let out a small laugh. “Oh, Enoch, what am I going to do with you?”
“You’re going to accept my proposal.”
“Yes, I will marry you.”
“Excellent.” He started pulling her toward the stairs, then stopped. “Parson Bradle’s already gone to bed. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Fifteen
Mama got enraged last night,” Heidi blurted the moment Taylor opened the door to Edna Mae.
Taylor strove to keep from laughing as Edna Mae Cutter patted Heidi on the head. “You mean engaged, dearie.” She then barged past Taylor and threw her arms around Enoch. “You darling boy! It’s about time someone made that girl happy.”
Stunned, Enoch tried to disentangle himself. “How did you know?”
“It’s not a wedding without music, you know. Well, Daisy Smith lives too far out of town for anyone to go get her, especially since you’re just having a small wedding at the parsonage, so when the parson went to get the county declaration forms for weddings, my husband suggested I play the piano. We’re so happy to help you celebrate the pinnacle of your lives!” She beamed.
“Oh! And don’t forget to invite Old Mrs. Whitsley,” Mrs. Cutter called out as she left. “It’s a tradition for her to ask a blessing over the bride since she’s Gooding’s eldest woman.”
“That’s a sweet tradition,” Taylor said. But a very small parsonage. Currently the guests included the Van der Vorts and the Clark family, since Heidi had asked if she could invite Fiona and Audrey, the Clarks’ adopted daughters. But unless we hang guests from coat pegs, we won’t be able to take even a couple more surprises.
“Yoo-hoo!” Hope Stauffer called as she came in through the Bestmans’ back door. “Lord have mercy! Is everything all right?”
Taylor smiled. “Enoch and Mercy are getting married today.”
“Ain’t that the most wonderfulest thing you heard in a long time? Phineas is a-workin’ on my sister-in-law, Annie. She’s still a-scairt. Her husband—he beat the stuffin’ outta her. Sins of that man still reach out of his grave and haunt the poor girl, but we’re doin’ our best to show her how good men can be tender and strong all at the same time. If’n all ya’ll don’t mind us a-comin’, we’d be honored; but if there ain’t room, could you mayhap squeeze in Annie and Phineas just so’s we can help Phineas make her catch the marryin’ fever?”
“Of course we’d love to have you all,” Enoch said. Once Hope left, Enoch mentioned he’d gone to the barn and invited Lloyd and Ozzie since they were employees. He shrugged. “Having Hope’s family won’t matter since we’ll need to move the wedding to the boardinghouse.”
Taylor gaped at him. “How can you be so blithe? Mercy is going to be in a dither. It’s her wedding day. She doesn’t have time to fix up the place or see to details. I can just imagi
ne what Mercy will say when she hears about this. Heidi’s words were prophetic. Her mother’s gotten enraged!”
He picked up an apple and started shining it on his sleeve. “Things’ll work out. Love always finds a way.”
“In this case, it won’t. You can’t see her before the wedding to talk to her about it.”
“You’ll do it for me, Sis. I know you will.”
Not bothering to hide the irritation she felt, Taylor snapped, “What makes you so certain?”
“It’s your job.”
“My job is to either certify you as insane or to beat sense into you. I’m not sure which would be the kinder thing to do for Mercy.”
“Go be my emissary. I trust you. You’re my best man.” He winked. “Your name recommends you, and the primary requirement is that the individual in question is to be the groom’s best friend. No one else will do.”
Her nose tingled and tears burned as she flung her arms around him. “I’m honored, and I love you. And yes, I’ll even go do your dirty work.”
He held her tight and kissed her cheek. “I love you, too. Thanks . . . for everything.” As they parted, he handed her the apple. “Give this to Mercy and tell her she’s the apple of my eye.”
“I’ll take it, but I’ll give her permission to pelt you with it if she’s so inclined.”
She turned to Heidi. “Come on, dear. Let’s go talk to your mama.”
Thirty minutes later, Taylor returned home. Shutting the door, she called out, “Enoch, the wedding’s been moved.”
He came out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee. “I told you Mercy would be okay with it.”
“Mercy can’t have it at her place.”
Coffee splashed in an arc as he swung the cup over to thump it onto the nearest surface. “It’s not getting moved to a different day!”
“No. Now settle down. It’s just that her boarders all invited themselves, and Clicky did, too. Then she asked me to be her maid of honor.”
“She can’t have you. You’re already my best man.”
“I told her that. So she decided on Sydney since Sydney was the one who pried her out of her black widow’s weeds and made her stop living in the past. But you need to go get her while I speak with the pastor. We’ll still get you married today.”
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