A Headstrong Woman(122)
“That doesn’t count, I had the right to then,” he informed her and admired her as she laughed; her cheeks were bright with color.
Anna was helping gather empty plates when Ted found her and asked to speak with her. She followed him; her heart was starting to pound as he led her to the schoolhouse steps a short distance away from the church. She waited while he brushed dirt off the top step for her. After she was seated, he sat down beside her.
“I talked to my brother, well after I yelled at him first. I kind of misunderstood what you meant, but it’s cleared up now,” his cheeks were rather red.
Anna’s eyes widened.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is: I think you’re being overly hard on yourself. So you kissed a guy and declared your undying love and were rebuked. I threw myself at a widow,” he admitted. “I’m not doing this right, I mean it doesn’t bother me,” he said impatiently. He waited for her reply.
Anna looked away from Ted and toward the remaining members of the wedding party who were cleaning up. “What are you saying, Ted? That you’d like to call on me?”
Ted smiled, “That sums it up.”
“Okay,” she agreed with a smile.
“I’ll be seeing you then,” he said as he stood and began backing away. He stumbled over a tree root, righted himself, and waved before turning and hurrying away.
Anna, surprised and delighted by the shyer and less sure side of Ted, smiled after him. Anna was still smiling as she stood and rejoined the group of working women.
***
Alexandria stood on the upstairs porch watching lightening dart around the peeks of the mountains in the distance. The sky was dark and the mountains had a sickly green glow about them. Things had been quiet around the ranch over the past couple of months, almost too quiet. She would like to think that the trouble was over but something deep inside her, a premonition of dread said it wasn’t over yet. She watched a streak of lightening fork out several directions, retreating and retracing its path several times before it died out; she shuddered as her hand came to her stomach. She had planned on going to the doctor today to find out if her suspicions were correct. A low ominous rumble of thunder swept down the mountain and raced toward her almost as if forewarning that winter followed the storm on the mountain. What would the winter hold?
“Enjoying the show?” Jonathon asked as he came to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Alexandria laid her arms over Jonathon’s and leaned back into him.
“Be careful,” she requested quietly.
“I will be; where did that come from, Alexandria?”
“I have a bad feeling,” she admitted.
“About what?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“Ted proposed to Anna.”
“He did?” Alexandria asked and glanced up at Jonathon.
“He did, he wants to marry her before winter sets in. He had put in an offer on a ranch with the money he’d set back but it fell through so I’m not sure what he’s planning now. He said something about going west.”
“What…he can’t, I mean Anna…”
“I know how you feel. Tell me, Alexandria, what would you think about taking on a partner around this place? It would be nice to be able to share some of the responsibilities.”
“And I suppose that you have a partner in mind,” she asked with a smile as she turned in his arms to face him.
“Yes, actually,” he smiled in return.
“I think it’s a great idea,” she told him before grimacing and placing a hand over her stomach.
“You okay?” Jonathon inquired.
“Yes, nothing major, in fact, something small…I think I don’t know for sure yet,” Alexandria smiled.
“Really?” Jonathon placed his hand over her stomach and smiled down at her.
“I’m late, I’ve never been late before and I have all the symptoms.”
“You need to be sure you get extra rest,” Jonathon admonished her.
“I’ll try but Millie announced she’s leaving.”
“Why?”
“Her sister’s sick and she’s the only family she has.”
“We’ll start looking for help, when is she leaving?”
“In a couple of weeks,” Alexandria shared.
“That’s not much time,” Jonathon commented. “I’ll go to town tomorrow.”