Page 59 of Mail-Order Bride Runaway
A sense of peace and acceptance such as she hadn’t known since her father’s passing accompanied Della back to Andy’s house. Mrs. Bennet and Alfred were there, the latter peeling potatoes and the former stirring a pudding on the stove.
Seeing carrots waiting to be peeled, Della pulled up a chair beside Alfred and set to work.
Mrs. Bennet looked ready to protest then shrugged and turned back to her task.
When Andy returned, Della had taken over the kitchen, leaving Mrs. Bennet and Alfred to enjoy a cup of tea. The meal was ready, and the table was set. Della had enjoyed the work. The kitchen was far roomier and better equipped than the one she and Ma dealt with back home. It was as modern as any she’d worked in for the richer ladies in town who could afford to pay for her help.
As she sat around the table with the others, she looked at the meal she’d had a part in preparing and allowed herself a glow of satisfaction. So nice to work under these circumstances even if it was only temporary.
She sprang to her feet as soon as the meal ended. “I’ll do the dishes.”
“’Tis my job,” Mrs. Bennet protested.
Della gathered up the plates. “I’m used to work. You relax and enjoy having someone to help.”
Mrs. Bennet nodded at Della and gave Andy a look that might have been meant to suggest he should keep Della around.
Or it could simply be imagination on Della’s part.
Andy rose, brought a stack of dishes to the wash basin and grabbed a towel. A smile curved Della’s mouth to have him beside her, drying dishes as she washed.
She was putting the last plate back in the cupboard when Riley burst through the door.
“We’re going to watch the sunset. Join us.” He was gone as suddenly as he had come.
Andy turned to Della, his eyebrows raised in question. “Shall we?”
“I’d love to.”
Mrs. Bennet and Alfred had already stepped from the house.
“It’s a family tradition,” Andy explained as they followed the older couple. “Ma loved the sunsets. She sometimes went down the valley to watch them or sat on the rim.”
“What a lovely tradition.” She imagined his mother gathering her boys and her husband around her, united in heart and hand, smiles of love and contentment on each face as they observed the sun dipping behind the mountains.
They joined the others beyond Luke’s house and sat next to Riley and Olivia. He had his arm around his wife. Beside him, Luke held Honor close while Kit squeezed in at their feet. Matt and Gwen had an arm around each other, holding Lindy on their knees. Beyond Matt, Mrs. Bennet and Alfred sat side by side, not an inch between them.
Della’s heart swelled with an almost forgotten, almost nameless emotion. This gathering reminded her of time spent with both her parents and walks along the river. Many times, they too, had stopped to watch the sun kiss the day good night. She sniffed back tears.
Andy nudged her. “Are you all right?” His words were low, meant for her ears only.
She nodded and leaned close to tell him of her memory.
The pressure of his shoulder against hers increased. The gesture was as comforting as a hug.
The angle of the sun almost blinded her. Then a silver-rimmed cloud covered it. As the sun lowered, the tops of the mountains were outlined in gold and then an explosion of color filled the sky. The dance of pink, plum, and orange lasted a satisfying length of time before the sky turned deep violet and then steely gray.
Della felt a peace so profound it wiped everything else from her mind.
The low conversation covered a number of topics from ‘Wouldn’t Ma have enjoyed this?’ to ‘We need to start bringing the cows down.’
Slowly, quietly, the others slipped away until only Della and Andy remained. Was he as reluctant to end the evening as she? Or was he waiting for her to make the first move? Something she couldn’t bring herself to do.
In the distance, a coyote howled.
Andy answered with his own howl.
Della laughed softly. “That sounds like the wild side of you.”
