“I took care of that. You can eat when you get down there. Go on now.”
“All right,” Maddie said, too weary to even remember a word of thanks. She climbed back under the quilt, not hearing Cathy’s descent down the stairs.
“He looks mean,” Eden said of the rooster that eyed Jace in the barn.
“He’s not a pet, that’s for certain.”
“Have you been spurred?”
“Nearly. He doesn’t trust me. He barely glances at Woody, but I haven’t gained his trust.”
“How do you get the eggs?”
“I shoo him off and go in there. The hens don’t mind. He’s the problem.”
Eden lived in a city. She was not a farm woman and had no plans to be, but she had to admit that such a life fascinated her. She had not planned to shadow Jace to the barn, but he’d invited her out when he went to feed the livestock. She took her coffee with her, hoping it would wake her up, and trailed after him.
“Here come the chicks,” Jace said, and Eden smiled. Six chicks followed their mother from inside the hen enclosure, coming close to get the feed Jace was tossing their way.
“They’re so small.” Eden voiced her pleasure and then remembered that these chickens would end up in the oven or a pot.
“What’s the matter?” Jace asked as he happened to look up and see her face.
“Nothing.” Eden knew she could not admit her thoughts or Jace would tease her. But in her mind she had established two things: She could live here at the farm because it was tranquil and beautiful, but she could never be a farm woman. It wasn’t the life for her.
Eden had not been happy to learn that Jace had plans for the evening that didn’t involve her, but he felt no guilt. He had invited her on every task and talked to her all day. He knew he deserved a break that night, and he was going to take it. When he got to the store and saw that Cathy was in attendance, he was even happier that he’d walked away from his sister’s frowning face.
“How was your day?” he asked Cathy, leaning on the counter, completely at home.
“It was busy this morning but quiet this afternoon. How about yourself?”
“Well, my sister’s in town and we talked all day, so it went fast.”
“I didn’t know she was coming.”
“She doesn’t usually tell me. She just shows up.”
“You quarreled the last time she was here, didn’t you?”
Jace nodded. “She can’t get used to my having my own life. She didn’t even want me to come to town tonight.”
“You could have brought her.”
Jace’s look said otherwise.
“Well, Jace,” Cathy reasoned. “We want to meet her.”
“We’ll be at services tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you plan on dinner?”
“We will, thank you.”
“So now tell me,” Cathy said, leaning a little closer. “What were you trying to ask me last night?”
“If Maddie shares with you? Do you know how she feels about me?”
“Not specifically, but she said she was all wrong about you.”
Jace nodded, worrying his lower lip a bit.
“What’s going on, Jace?”
“I want to give her something, but I don’t know how she’ll take it.”
“How do you want her to take it?”
“I want her to know she’s not some passing fancy.”
“Can’t you tell her that?”
Jace didn’t answer. Maddie could be hard to talk to, at least for him. Jace didn’t think he was good with words. In fact, it wasn’t unusual for Maddie to be angry with him. In those situations he could usually talk her around, but he didn’t know how to give her the bracelet and tell her how he felt.
“Were you here all day?” Jace suddenly asked.
“Yes, I thought Maddie needed a day at home.”
“How is Doyle doing?”
“Very well. He’d like to come back, but for the most part he’s been patient.”
“Can I do anything to help you close up?”
“No.” She waved a hand at him. “Head over to the house. Maddie and Doyle will be glad to see you.”
Jace thanked her with a smile and went on his way.
Woody watched Eden for a full five minutes, but she never once looked his way. She was too busy knitting and watching the window and door. He wondered why keeping track of Jace was so important to her, but he doubted he would get a straight answer if he asked.
She was never idle. Indeed, the knitting needles in her hands flew through the wool. Woody thought she might be making a sock and then shook his head. A sock made with worry and anxiety— no pleasure in the task at all. He thought if she rocked that chair any harder, she might move across the room.
Eden chose that moment to glance his way and was visibly startled to find his eyes on her.
“I’m sorry, Uncle,” she said sincerely. “I thought you’d fallen asleep.”
“I think I did for a time. Tell me something, Eden. Why have you never married?”
Eden set her work down. “What made you think of that?”
“A number of things” was all Woody would say.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Eden decided to be blunt, her voice and face showing all the control she felt. “If Eden had a family of her own, she’d let Jace go. But that’s not true. I’ll always worry about Jace. I always see him as someone who needs to be cared for.”
“Then you’re headed for a life of misery, Eden, because he doesn’t want or need that from you.”
“He’s told you this?”
“He’s told you this, Eden, and you don’t want to hear it.”
Eden was forced to drop her eyes. She knew Woody was correct, but admitting it would take more than she could give.
“In the long run,” she said, picking up the wool again, confidence exuding from her, “he’ll see that I’m only looking out for his best interests.”
Woody shook his head, but Eden didn’t see him. In her mind the matter was closed, and she’d gone back to her knitting.
She was set in her ways, and Woody knew that no amount of talking from him was going to change that. He reached for the newspaper he had dropped and held it back to the light. If he’d been tired, he would have gone to bed, but the nap must have taken care of that. His lack of fatigue and a strange fascination to see how long Eden would sit there kept Woody in his seat in the parlor.
“Wait a minute.” Cathy caught Doyle’s arm and tried to pull him back when he would have walked away.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, turning to look at her in surprise.
“I think we should leave them alone,” Cathy whispered, stealing over to close the door between the kitchen and the parlor.
“What do you know?” Doyle asked, sounding like an excited kid.
“Jace talked to me at the store this evening. He wants to give something to Maddie.”
“What?”
“He didn’t tell me that, but he did say that she was not a passing fancy.”
“Well, of course she’s not.” Doyle frowned. “I’ve known that all along.”
“Yes, but has he known it?”
“Of course he has. He’s not like those other men.”
Cathy smiled at him.
“Do you think he’s asking her to marry him?” Doyle suddenly asked.
“No, I don’t think it’s to that point yet, but it has to be close.”
A huge sigh lifted Doyle’s chest. Nothing could make him happier than for Maddie to fall in love with Jace Randall. If such a thing happened, he knew she’d be well taken care of and living in town to boot.
Doyle was so pleased he thought he could shout. Instead, he grabbed Cathy and kissed her until they were both breathless.
Eleven
Jace did not let Maddie out of his arms for a long time. He saw the closed door as private enough and wasted no time in kissing her.
“Well, now,” Maddie sa
id, a bit breathless when contact was broken. “What was that about?”
“I just missed you,” Jace said.
Maddie laughed. “You’ve been here all evening.”
“But I didn’t get to do that.”
Maddie smiled at him, and Jace kissed her again.
“I like you, Jace Randall,” she told him. “You’re easy to have around.”
“I rather like you too,” Jace said, seeing the opportunity opening up to him. “In fact, I even thought about telling you that in a different way tonight.”
Maddie’s brows rose. “A surprise?”
Jace reached into his pocket and pulled out the small chain.
“Will you wear my mother’s bracelet?”
“Oh, Jace,” Maddie breathed, reaching for the delicate gold links. “It’s so pretty.”
“Well, then the two of you will get along just fine.”
Maddie looked up at him. “I don’t know what to say. What if I lose it or break it?”
“Just as long as you don’t do that to my heart.”
Maddie’s eyes closed and she whispered, “We’re both so afraid, aren’t we?”
“At times, yes. I think you’re headed back to Boston with little or no notice, and you think I’m going to lie to you.”
Maddie looked up at him, truly believing for the first time that he would never lie to her. Wordlessly she handed him the bracelet and held out her wrist.
Jace found his hands suddenly shaking, but he still managed to secure the chain around her wrist, taking a moment to study it before looking into her eyes.
“I feel as though it’s on loan,” Maddie admitted, “because it was your mother’s.”
“I want you to enjoy it.”
“And not take it off?” she teased him a little.
Jace felt his heart thunder but knew the words had to be said.
“You can take this off when I no longer love you.”
Maddie put her arms around him and held on tight.
“I love you too,” she murmured close to his ear, and found herself crushed in his embrace.
In the kitchen, Doyle listened at the door but found only silence. When Cathy came from the buttery and found him lurking by the closed door, she shooed him away. What he didn’t see was the way she took his place once he’d gone upstairs.
Things fell so swiftly into place for Eden that she barely managed to keep her calm composure. The Shephards welcomed Jace like a member of the family, and there was no missing the eye contact between Jace and Maddie. And that was all before spotting her mother’s bracelet on Maddie’s wrist.
Eden had all she could do to smile kindly and speak without gritting her teeth. And her anger was not confined to Jace. Conversation told her that Woody and Jace joined the Shephards often, and yet Woody had behaved as though he didn’t know where Jace was or what he was doing.
Feeling that she’d been conspired against, Eden was quiet during dinner, although her face gave nothing away. The only person she didn’t fool was Jace. He knew she was angry, but he hadn’t known how else to go about it. He could have told Eden about Maddie and the Shephards, but that wouldn’t have done them justice.
Seeing that she was barely holding her rage, Jace inwardly sighed. He should have known that no woman or her family would have been good enough for Eden. He should have known she was too desperate to be right; there would be no pleasing her.
What he didn’t see was Eden’s desire to be around Maddie. When she offered to help Maddie with the dishes, Jace let his guard down. Not for a long time would he see that he’d missed a tactical move on Eden’s part.
“So tell me, Maddie,” Eden began, her voice as sweet as she could manage. “Have you always lived in Tucker Mills?”
“No, I’ve spent the last nine years in Boston.”
“Doing what?”
“I’ve been with a family, first as a nanny and then a companion.”
“You must miss it.”
“The family, yes.”
“No young men?”
Eden didn’t miss the change in Maddie’s eyes. They clouded for a moment.
“No,” the younger woman said quietly.
“How about here? Lots of young men have fallen for you, I expect.”
For some reason Maddie laughed a little. Eden’s words brought to mind David Scales and how smitten he’d been at one time, only later to fall very much in love and marry another woman. Maddie couldn’t have been happier for him.
“Tell me what made you laugh,” Eden invited, her voice like that of a fun-loving big sister.
“Oh, I was thinking of someone named David. He thought he was so in love with me.” Maddie stopped and shook her head.
“So Jace is just another conquest to you, isn’t he?”
Maddie’s hands stilled in the wash basin. She had heard it this time, the angry tone in Eden’s voice. She turned her head slowly to look at the other woman but found only kindness in her face. Nevertheless, Maddie wanted to get away from her.
“I think we’re all done here,” Maddie nervously observed, reaching for the towel.
“Good,” Eden said quietly, and again, Maddie felt she should read more into that word. “I’ll just go join my brother.”
“Okay,” Maddie agreed. “I’ll be out in a little bit.”
“Don’t hurry,” Eden said this time, not bothering to cover the hatred in her eyes.
Eden turned away, her message very clear. Maddie took a chair next to the kitchen table when Eden had gone back to the parlor and shut the door in her wake.
The hand Maddie put to her face was shaking. She didn’t understand what had just happened, but it frightened her. It scared her in a way she’d never experienced before.
She eventually did join the others in the parlor, but not until Cathy came looking for her.
“You’re certainly in a good mood,” Jace commented to his sister as soon as they arrived back at the house; Woody had already gone indoors.
“Am I?”
“Yes. After pouting through dinner all you’ve done is talk. What changed?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Jace’s eyes rolled in his head. “You’re obviously not going to tell me,” he said and moved off to settle the horses.
Eden didn’t follow. She was completely pleased over the way the afternoon had ended. Maddie Shephard appeared to be strained and upset. And it was only a matter of time before Eden would turn that to her advantage. She had to leave in the morning, but that was all right. It would give her more time to plan.
“You look tired,” Cathy said on Monday morning.
“I didn’t sleep that well.”
“Why is that?”
Maddie shrugged, not wanting to tell Cathy that she could still see Eden Randall’s eyes, eyes that continued to frighten Maddie.
“Everything all right with you and Jace?” Cathy asked.
“Yes, but I’m not sure his sister likes me.”
“That’s normal,” Cathy said, surprising Maddie into staring at her.
“What’s ‘normal’ exactly?”
“According to Jace, Eden all but raised him. She’s bound to be overly attached. He’s led me to believe that she’s never approved of anyone he liked.”
Maddie desperately wished Cathy had mentioned this at bedtime. She might have slept. If that’s all it was—nothing personal— then Maddie could relax. Jace loved her and she loved him. Eden could hate her all she wanted. She lived in Pine River, not Tucker Mills. And right now, Tucker Mills was where Maddie was planning to spend the rest of her life.
“What put your sister in such high spirits?” Woody asked of Jace when he arrived back from the train station. “She came home from Shephards in a good mood and just kept smiling. You two do a bunch of drinking?”
“No, nothing like that,” Jace said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure what she’s thinking.”
Woody shook his head. “I feel terrible saying it about my own niece
, but I don’t trust your sister.”
“She has a mind of her own. I’ll say that much for her.”
“Do you realize she’s glad she isn’t married so she can look after you? She told me you’ll always be someone she needs to worry about and look after.”
Jace stared at him. “She told you this?”
“Yep. I thought she would rock that chair right out the door when you went to town without her on Saturday night. We talked a little, and she feels she’s completely correct in her thinking.”
“That’s no surprise,” Jace said tiredly. “The word wrong is not in Eden’s vocabulary unless it’s directed at me.”
“What will you do?” Woody asked, thinking he’d take some type of action.
“I won’t do anything,” Jace informed him, “except be thankful she doesn’t live here.”
“For now,” Woody said, causing Jace’s eyes to widen. The older Randall’s head went back as he laughed and clapped Jace on the back.
“You’ll work it out,” he said confidently, and Jace knew it was his way of saying it was time to get back to work.
“Did you have a good visit with your sister?” Maddie asked when she saw Jace again. It was midweek, and Maddie was a little tired. She had just put the kitchen to rights and now sat in the other chair adjacent to the kitchen table.
“About like last time,” Jace said cryptically, more interested in Maddie than thinking about his sister.
“You’re going to think I’m silly, but I was worried that she didn’t like me.”
“She doesn’t like anyone,” Jace sighed with a comical look, making Maddie laugh.
“That’s what Cathy said, and not to worry about it.”
“That’s good advice.” Jace smiled at her. “You should be worried only about my opinion of you.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not sure I should say,” Jace teased her gently.
“But you want to,” Maddie coaxed, her fingers brushing softly along the back of his hand.