RNWMP: Bride for Theodore (Mail Order Mounties)(21)
As she walked she thought about going home. Would she move back in with her parents? Or would she and Miss Hazel set out to travel the world again? If Theodore didn’t want her to stay, she would be free to do as she pleased.
She promised herself she’d bring it up to Miss Hazel as soon as she returned to the cabin—but when she arrived, Miss Hazel was nowhere to be found. There was no telling what the older woman had gotten up to, so she washed the berries and made sure all the stems were removed.
Then she made a simple lunch of leftover stew from the night before. She marveled that there was anything left after Nolan had eaten his share, but she’d deliberately made twice as much as she thought the group would eat. Enough for lunch today had been her plan.
She made some biscuits to go with the stew and promised herself she’d make more bread that afternoon. The Mounties all liked to have fresh bread every evening with their supper, and if she could do something so simple that would bring them such pleasure, why wouldn’t she? They were serving their country after all, their lives on the line on a regular basis. Of course she’d make their lives better during her short time there.
When Theodore came in for lunch, she was just setting food on the table. “Do you know where your mother is?” she asked. “I haven’t seen her since breakfast.”
He shook his head, eyeing the berries she’d picked. “Is all that for jam, or am I getting more muffins?”
Jess laughed. “You’ll get muffins and jam. I found a big patch of berries, so I’m going to go and pick a bunch more. I’m surprised no one else is picking them.”
“Where’s the patch?”
“On the other side of the lake.”
“Yeah, the men aren’t likely to wander over that way to pick them. Feel free to pick as many as you’d like. It’s public land there. I’d hurry though, or the birds might beat you to them.” He sat down at the table, reaching for a biscuit and buttering it. “Besides, I’ll take all the muffins and jam you want to make for me.”
Jess sat down with him, her hand going to his for their prayer. “I’ll do my very best to get as much stored up for you as I can before I go. I’m going to wander over to the mercantile later to get some canning supplies.”
“Now don’t go spending all your time shopping and picking berries,” he said with a grin. “We need to eat tonight, too!”
“I have never seen men eat as much as the five of you do. I don’t know how you all stay so slim!”
“We work hard, and we only eat like this when there’s good food to eat. Well, except Nolan. I swear I saw him eat a bug once. That man is never full.”
“I’ll make a few meals on Wednesday that you can all heat up over the next few nights and put them into the icebox. I want you to have meals for as long as I can provide them.” She looked down at her stew. If he wanted her to stay, surely he’d say something now. Please, please, please say something now, Teddy. I need you to ask me to stay.
“We’d all really appreciate that, Jessica. Having you here has been like a dream. A dream I never want to wake up from. You’ve brought joy to all of us, not only with your cooking, but with your ready smile and your sharp tongue. I don’t know why you have a sharp tongue, but you sure do!” Theodore wished she’d tell him she could stay. He couldn’t ask her to live a life without female companionship, but he wanted her there, at his side, for the rest of his life.
“I’ve enjoyed being here. I’ve felt really needed. It’s hard to feel needed when all you do is count out money for bank customers.” She finished her stew and put her bowl into the basin.
Theodore watched her, wondering just how lonely he was going to feel after she was gone. For days, she’d filled his every waking thought, and the very idea of her leaving physically hurt. Staying with Joel for another month was preferable to letting her get on that train on Thursday. He had to think of some way to get her to stay—even if it meant getting his mother to feign an illness. He needed more time with her than a week’s visit afforded him.
After Theodore was gone, she hurried back to the berry patch. Jess figured she could make three more trips there before she needed to start supper. If she could figure out where Miss Hazel went, she was sure she would help her, but she was missing for whatever reason.
When she returned to the house, Miss Hazel was at the table, reading again. “Where’d you go?”
Miss Hazel shrugged. “I needed to walk and think about what happens next.”
“I was wondering that myself. I guess I’m going back to my parents’ house. I wonder if I can get my job at the bank back.”
“You can’t work at that old bank again. You hated it there!” Miss Hazel shook her head adamantly.
Jess nodded, carefully picking the stems and leaves out of the buckets of berries. “I did, but I need to be doing something. There aren’t a lot of jobs for ladies.”
“No there aren’t, but I don’t want you going back to that awful bank. Maybe you could live with me. As my companion.”
“You don’t need someone living with you, Miss Hazel,” Jess said. “You are perfectly capable of living on your own.”
“I know I am, but I get lonely. I get stir-crazy. And then I come up with ridiculous ideas that involve marrying my son off to someone he hasn’t agreed to marry, and I make a mess of things. We should have just kept traveling. Would you like to finish our trip around the world?”