Page 215 of Conveniently Wed
“There is a hotel in town, though it wouldn’t be ideal. She won’t be able to climb the stairs.”
“I couldn’t afford to pay for six weeks there.”
“Stella,” the preacher said. “What about your place? Couldn’t they stay there?”
Stella—Mrs. Norwood—stared at the preacher. She opened her mouth as if to speak then closed it without uttering a word. She sucked in air. “I’m hoping to return home soon.”
“Surely there is room for all of you.”
Bruce couldn’t believe the preacher seemed to think this was the solution to his need. An unmarried man and an unmarried woman living in the same home was most certainly not a good idea. Even with his aunt living there as well.
“Ma.” Young Donny leaned forward in his chair, eagerness in his expression. “If Mr. Reynolds was there, you’d have help. We could all go home. Please, Ma. Say yes. Pleeeeease.”
Donny’s mother studied her son, her smiling daughter, Mrs. Kinsley’s nodding approval, then lastly brought her gaze to Bruce. But before she could say anything, he pushed his empty plate away. “Thank you for the meal. I won’t be staying at a widow’s farm.” Not that she’d offered, but he didn’t intend togive her the chance. “I’ll wait out at my wagon.” He crossed the floor in long strides and went out the front door. He climbed to the wagon seat and sat there. He couldn’t leave without Aunt Mary. From where he sat, he watched the busy comings and goings of the small town. A block away, several wagons, riders on horseback, and more than a few people on foot, going about their everyday business.
That’s all he wanted. To get about his business.
Still trying to decide what direction he should go, he heard the sound of the nearby door opening. Mrs. Norwood. She spoke to her children, who followed her then closed the door, shutting them in. She carried a dish with a generous portion of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee.
“I thought you’d like dessert.”
He jumped to the ground and took the offered items. “Thank you.” After several swallows of coffee, he decided to address the tension crackling in the air between them. “I’m sorry the preacher put you on the spot like that. It never crossed my mind to ask to stay at your place. I don’t even know where your place is.”
“It’s a homestead less than half an hour from town. No one has been living there for several months.”
“Since your husband died?” He understood her reluctance to be on a farm by herself with two children.
“No. I managed pretty well at first, but this spring the children and I got sick. I was so weak I couldn’t tend the animals, get to town for supplies, or even take care of us.”
He watched lines fan out from her mouth as she pressed her lips together. He knew she’d had a rough experience.
She continued. “If the preacher’s daughter, Flora, and her husband, Kade, hadn’t found us when they did, we would have surely died.” The final words were gravelly.
He wished he could say something to comfort her, but words failed him. “Life can be tough. Even unfair.” The words were barely a whisper. He’d been talking to himself as much as to her.
She shifted to look him in the eye. “Sometimes we manufacture our own difficulties.”
“Or others manufacture them for us.”
Their gazes went on and on, full of both caution and interest, at least on his part. He wondered what her specifics were.
She sucked in air. “The thing is, I need to get back to my place. If I don’t…” She lifted her hands. “Well, I could lose it, and I don’t intend to. I have promised myself that I will provide my children with a home where they can put down roots clear to bedrock.” Her voice rang with conviction.
For some reason, Bruce thought she meant the words as a warning to him. But there was no way the ugly gossip had reached this Montana town.
She continued. “I’m anxious to get back, but I realize I might need temporary help. I don’t want to overdo it and end up sick again. Nor can I leave the children unattended while I do farm work.”
“Why not get a hired man?” He’d finished the delicious cake and rich-tasting coffee and set the dishes aside.
Slowly, she brought her gaze to him, and he stepped back before the force of it.
“You need a place for your aunt to rest before you continue your journey. I would be willing to give you accommodation and care for your aunt in exchange for your help.”
He gulped. “Are you suggesting I live with you?”
Fire blazed in her cheeks. “Not in that sense. I have enough room that you would have your own quarters. I can promise you things would be circumspect.”
On a small farm, away from town. But not away from speculation and judgement.
