And now she’d shown him—as she always did—that she wanted an answer, and he’d not said a word. She didn’t think she could lose him this swiftly but suddenly feared that very thing.
“Clara?” Woody called as he stomped his way through the front door. “We’ve a guest.”
Eden’s heart calmed a little when an older woman—probably older than Woody and definitely the house help—came down the stairs.
Eden had written to Jace to ask about how they ate and who prepared the meals, but he’d not answered. Well, that was why she was here: to get answers. She was also certain Jace had a girl somewhere in town. And she intended to find all about that as well.
Woody performed the introductions between the women, and completely comfortable with her place at the farm, Clara offered to show Eden to her room. Eden, although very congenial, waited only until she and Clara were alone upstairs to make herself at home.
“I’m going to be here for a few days, and I’d be happy to cook and look after the house for you.”
“If that’s what Woody wants,” Clara said easily.
“I don’t think he’ll mind.”
“Well, he’ll be the first to tell you if he does.”
Clara led the way back downstairs and to the kitchen. Eden would have liked to freshen up, but she didn’t trust Clara to present her suggestion properly, so she came directly behind as the older woman returned to the main level.
“Miss Randall wants to cook for you for a few days, Woody,” Clara said, checking a pot on the stove and then turning back to him.
Woody’s head came up from the paper he was writing on. Jace also looked up to see his sister near the door, waiting for an answer. Woody looked to Eden for a moment and then to Clara.
“You want a few days off, Clara?”
“Not particularly.”
Woody’s gaze transferred to his niece. “Thanks for the offer, Eden, but Clara knows the way I like things done.”
Both Clara and Woody went back to what they were doing, but Jace had eyes only for his sister. Eden looked to find him smiling hugely at her. She couldn’t help but smile back at him, shaking her head a little.
“I’ll be upstairs if you need me,” Eden announced, not sounding the least put out.
Jace waited just a moment before following her. Once the kitchen was quiet, Woody spoke to Clara again.
“Everything all right, Clara?”
“Everything’s fine. You all right?”
“Um hm.”
Clara heard the satisfied tone in her employer’s reply, and although she didn’t comment, she was pleased as well.
“How are things at Randall Boardinghouse?” Jace asked, not knocking as he entered her room.
“Things are fine. May took over for me.”
“I figured as much. Did you rent my room?”
“Yes, but it took a while. So what’s her name?” Eden dropped all attempts at subtlety and asked outright.
“You don’t waste any time do you?”
“No. Are you going to tell me?”
“Believe it or not, Eden, I do not have a string of women in Tucker Mills.”
“Not even one?”
“No,” Jace answered truthfully.
Eden didn’t believe him, but Jace didn’t try to persuade her. Even if she stuck around for a good long time, Maddie Shephard was not returning his looks. If Jace kept his eyes to himself, Eden would never be the wiser concerning his feelings.
Almost as soon as he had this thought, Jace felt guilty. Maddie was not some passing fancy. He genuinely cared for this woman and was impressed enough to pursue her. She was the very type of woman he wanted Eden to know about, but he knew she would never believe him to be serious.
“I’ll find out,” Eden suddenly said, causing Jace to wonder what his face had been doing.
“You do that,” Jace said, sounding almost bored and causing Eden to doubt but also to hear herself.
“The house is nice, Jace—the whole farm is,” Eden said kindly, not wanting there to be anything between them. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, Eden. Can you stay a while?”
“A train goes back Monday morning. I was going to stay until then.”
“Good. You’ll be here through Sunday then; it’s the only day things slow down.”
Eden nodded, her heart aching with love for this brother who had left the nest. She knew she could be difficult and overbearing, but she believed with all her heart that it was in his best interest.
Clara called them to dinner just a short time later, but in the few minutes they had together, Eden and Jace went back to old times. They were comfortable with each other, occasionally disagreeing but genuinely fond of one another, and until Eden grew bossy, they enjoyed each other’s company.
Five
“Any regrets?” Cathy asked of Maddie after David Scales exited the store.
“No, I’m happy for him.”
Cathy smiled into Maddie’s eyes when she saw how true it was.
David Scales had once cared for Maddie, but that had been after her disappointment, and Maddie had not let any man get close since that time. Kind and charming as David was, Maddie had not wanted his attention. Eventually Cathy’s broken arm had healed, and Maddie had returned to Boston. David had met someone new and married. As far as Cathy knew, this was the first contact they’d had in several years.
“You have something on your mind,” Maddie commented.
“What makes you say that?”
“I can see it in your eyes.”
Cathy smiled a little, her eyes narrowing as she teased her niece.
“I’ll have to work around here with my eyes closed from now on.”
“Why? What is it you’re thinking that you don’t want me to know?”
“I just want you to have someone, Maddie. I want you to be loved and cherished.”
Maddie was speechless. Her aunt and uncle had never even alluded to wanting such a thing for her, and now to hear Cathy state it plainly was something of a shock.
“I’m doing fine,” Maddie felt she should tell her. “Truly I am.” Maddie stared at the older woman for a moment. “You don’t worry about it, do you, Cathy?”
“Not very often, but at times.”
Maddie reached to give her a hug, hearing the door in the process and knowing they were about to be interrupted. “Thank you,” she said quietly, releasing her aunt in order to go back to work.
Cathy wasn’t sure what had just occurred, but she was glad that Maddie had not been upset by her words. Doyle would ask her if she’d seen or heard anything—he did every night—and usually she had nothing to report. Tonight would be different.
“It’s not too far from the farm, is it?” Eden asked as the wagon neared the sawmill.
“No,” Jace agreed. “An easy walk if you need to.”
Parking the wagon outside, Jace gave his sister a hand and took her inside. He explained the workings of the mill in detail and showed her where logs and boards were stored.
“It’s larger than I imagined,” Eden said, her head tipped back as she took in the rafters inside the mill. “And when do you run the mill?”
“The bulk of work is late winter into early spring.”
Eden was impressed. Tending toward the cynical side, she wasn’t impressed by much, but this was excellent. She knew the farm work gave a man plenty to do, but there were some months when a farmer wasn’t that busy. Having a sawmill on the side was ideal.
“Well, that’s about all I have to show you,” Jace said. It was late on her second day, and she’d been all over the farm the day before. “We usually go to services at the Center Meetinghouse on Sunday morning. They start at 10:00.”
When Eden nodded, Jace felt himself relax. She hadn’t pressed him to take her into town. They would be in town tomorrow, but all the businesses would be closed. Even if Shephards invited them to dinner, Jace thought that would be easier than trying to stand in the store and not
look in Maddie’s direction.
“How often do you get into town?”
“Probably once every week or two on business, but most weeks I go to the tavern at least once.”
“So you really don’t have a girl, do you, Jace?”
She had tried to feel him out for two days but gotten nothing. She knew it was time to ask again.
“No, Eden, I don’t.” Jace’s voice was patient. “I would like to get to know someone, but all of this is very hard work, and there hasn’t been a lot of time.”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he replied, opting for honesty, “but I’m not discussing it.”
There was no missing the hurt she felt over this statement, but Jace hardened his heart. He hadn’t even told the girl how he felt, which meant he certainly wasn’t going to speak to his sister about it!
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because right now it’s no one’s business but my own. If something ever comes of it, then I’ll tell you.”
Eden knew no end of frustration. She had begun to believe she could go home in peace, thinking he’d been working so hard that he’d not found anyone interesting at all. But obviously he wasn’t blind, and Eden didn’t know why she’d expected him to be.
“So she doesn’t know how you feel?”
Jace turned and walked away, something he’d never done to his sister before. Eden stared after him, her mouth open a little, before following.
Jace stood by the wagon, ready to help her back into the seat. This was all done in complete silence until Jace pointed out another of Woody’s property lines to his sister.
So that’s the end of it, Eden thought. The matter is closed, and I get no say. He’s found someone, but I’m not to be privy to his thoughts.
“Did you see it?” Jace asked for the second time.
“Did I see what?”
“I was just showing you where that far field borders.”
“I don’t think I did.”
Jace pulled the wagon to a halt. They were about halfway back to the farm.
“Are you going to be angry at me about this? Are you going to leave angry?”
“I just don’t understand,” Eden began, but Jace cut her off.
“You don’t have to understand. You just have to accept my decision on this.”
Eden could only stare at him. “How could you have changed so much in six months?”
“I don’t know, but did you really think after the things you said to me that I would share anything with you?”
Eden looked completely lost. “What did I say?”
“That I’d have a wife and half a dozen kids before I knew what hit me.”
Eden looked away. She was in the habit of making pronouncements, but she’d never imagined he’d take this one so much to heart.
“Well, it hasn’t happened,” Jace said. “You never admit that you’re wrong, but I don’t have a wife, not even close.” Jace slapped the reins and sent the team into motion.
“I might have exaggerated the facts, but I was right,” Eden felt a need to tell him. “You are interested in someone, and it’s been only six months.”
“Eden, I’m a 24-year-old man. What do you expect of me?”
“I don’t expect anything, but just so you know, I was right.”
“If that makes you feel better, Eden, you go right ahead and believe that.”
They arrived at the farmhouse, and Eden could not have been angrier. She allowed Jace to help her down, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she turned to him in rage.
“And is this what else you’ve learned here, to disrespect your sister?”
“Is it disrespectful to say what I’ve been wanting to say for years?”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Well, you need to,” Jace said bluntly. “In the past I’ve just shut my mouth and let you think you’re right, but this time I’m telling you different.”
The two glared at each other for a time. When Jace could see she was not going to relent, he turned to take the team inside and settle them for the night. He’d not had them out long, but the other stock had to be fed as well.
Eden could not move for the shock she felt. Jace had always bowed to her wishes, never completely refusing her the way he did today. They’d had words certainly, but he’d eventually done as she instructed. She stood for a long time and felt the shock give way to anger, anger directed not at Jace, but at whoever this woman might be. Eden’s thoughts became unreasonable, but she wasn’t able to see this.
It’s this woman. She’s had some sort of changing, wicked influence on Jace. Eden’s breathing quickened as her high emotional state began to rage completely out of control. I might not know today, but someday I’ll know who she is. And when I meet her, she’ll be sorry she ever met Jace Randall.
The uneasy truce that had formed between Jace and his sister helped him keep his gaze wholly centered on the pastor Sunday morning. But even at that, Jace was able to observe Maddie as she headed directly to the front of the meetinghouse when the service was over to approach Mr. Sullins. He hoped that man would answer her questions about death and heaven.
His thoughts never far from the incident with his sister, he also found himself hoping it would be at least six more months before his sister came back to Tucker Mills.
“How do we know there is a heaven, Mr. Sullins?” was Maddie’s first question. “How do we know we don’t just lie in the ground?”
“Heaven is a mystery of God, but we can be reasonably certain it’s there,” Mr. Sullins explained.
“Why doesn’t God tell us for sure?”
“It’s not something we need to worry about. Don’t forget that He is a benevolent God who gave His Son to love us. You shouldn’t worry about heaven being there or not. You should not see God as waiting to pounce on imperfect people.
“Just do your best, Maddie. Do good, make a difference— like you’re doing coming to help your aunt and uncle—attend services regularly, and our respectable God will reward you with life in heaven.”
“But how can we know?”
“We’re as sure as we can be, Maddie,” Mr. Sullins responded, his voice sounding so firm that Maddie was afraid to ask anything else.
“Thank you, Mr. Sullins,” Maddie said, working to hide her disappointment.
Her effort at covering her discouragement must have worked because the pastor only smiled, patted her shoulder, and moved on his way. Maddie joined her aunt and uncle where they waited outside, pleased that they were alone. She wasn’t up to company today, not even Woody and Jace. She felt tired and disappointed, and all she wanted to do was rest.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet your sister, Jace,” Cathy said to him when he stopped by the store and explained that she’d been there.
“It’s probably for the best. She wasn’t in the finest mood on Sunday.”
“Not feeling well?”
“No, it’s not that. I don’t think she expected me to grow up, and when I did, she didn’t care for it.”
Cathy’s brows rose. They had allowed Maddie to leave home and go all the way to Boston at the age of 17 because she had a dream, so this was not something to which Cathy could relate.
“Did you quarrel?”
“Yes—about women.”
“What women?”
“Not women exactly, more like a woman—one woman. Eden was frustrated when I refused to tell her whom I would like to see more of.”
“Do I know this woman?” Cathy’s voice had dropped, her heart pounding.
For a moment Jace looked at her and then admitted, “Better than anyone else in town, I would say.”
Cathy began to smile but was given no time to speak. Maddie had come into the back room looking for something. Cathy told her where to find the item, and Jace followed her out front.
“Did I see you go up front on Sunday?” Jace had waited around and now asked when Maddie
had a moment.
“Yes, I did talk to Mr. Sullins.”
“And did it help?”
Maddie only shook her head, her eyes a little sad.
Jace wished he knew what to suggest, but if their pastor couldn’t help, who could? It occurred to him that maybe she should leave well enough alone. She wasn’t dying. She wouldn’t have to worry about heaven or the afterlife for a long time. He would have suggested this to her, but Cathy needed her just then.
Seeing that he wouldn’t have any more chance to speak with her or Cathy, he collected his things and went back to the farm. Not until he arrived did he remember that there was one more group in town, even if they didn’t have their own meetinghouse. Jace wondered if Maddie had checked with that pastor yet.
“I just realized I haven’t seen much of Doyle Shephard in the last few weeks,” Douglas mentioned to Alison one morning. “Is he all right?”
“I’m not sure. Doyle and Cathy’s niece is here from Boston to help out, so I think he must be taking things a little quieter.”
“He’s not dead, is he?”
“No, we would have heard.”
“I might stop around to see him. He’s been such a huge help in the past with so many supplies. Do you know if he can have visitors?”
“I don’t, but Cathy will tell you. I’m sure of that.”
Douglas went back to his breakfast, but his mind was elsewhere. His small church family didn’t even have a meetinghouse, and some folks in town thought them different. Most people didn’t stop to find out what he believed, but one day Doyle Shephard had asked a few questions. Douglas wasn’t sure whether he had answered to the man’s satisfaction or not. He’d told him that if there was ever another question, he should just come around and see him, but it had never happened.
The next chance Douglas had, he’d stop in and see Doyle. He looked forward to speaking with the older man not only because he genuinely cared for him but also to see if his hunger for God had increased since they’d last talked. Douglas prayed for the owner of the general store, asking God for that very thing.