A Headstrong Woman(41)
“I’ll finish; you go on,” she shooed him out the door. A few moments later Alexandria went to her room and dressed in a fresh shirt before stepping into the hallway.
Anna was waiting.
“Just what do you think you’re doing with a man in the house and you not even properly dressed?” Anna demanded.
Alexandria could feel her cheeks heat with both anger and embarrassment. “Just what do you think you saw, Anna? Do you really think I decided to start a sordid affair with my foreman at the kitchen table?” Alexandria watched her sister color before continuing.
“If you think I derived any pleasure from that humiliating experience you’re wrong. I’m not after your stupid crush!” she bit out.
“You think this is another of my crushes?” Anna’s voice was shrill.
“What would you call it?” Alexandria’s voice rose. “You know nothing, NOTHING about him!”
“I know plenty about him, I know he has two brothers, a sister, I know…”
“Details! Those are details, Anna. What do you really know? What makes him tick, what touches him, how does he think? Find those things out. Do you have any idea what it is like to love a man, to be married to him, and be all but invisible to him because he’s in love with a dead woman?”
“I’m not you, Lexie! I have no intention of marrying a man who doesn’t love me.”
“I didn’t either, Anna,” there were tears streaming down her face.
Anna sighed. Her sister was her best friend but lately they had been fighting like enemies. She didn’t like it. “I’m sorry, Lexie, I know Elijah hurt you, but I want to get to know Jonathon and seeing you half-dressed and smiling…”
“I was yanked off Spirit by a cow and dragged across the rocky ground, it shredded my shoulder, or felt as if it did, and Jonathon finally made me realize that it couldn’t wait. Had I known that you and Millie would be home when you were, I would have waited.”
“I’m sorry, Lexie.”
“Me too, Anna, don’t worry; I have no intentions of remarrying.”
“Why not?” Anna asked with a frown.
“Anna, I’m not the type…”
“Nonsense! You’re a wonderful mother and…”
“Anna, look at me, I’m not the type men go for. They like women short and…and… more…something that I’m not.”
“Lexie, that didn’t even begin to make sense” Anna laughed.
Alexandria laughed and shook her head, “It didn’t, did it?”
“No. Now go on, I’ll try and be more reasonable in the future.”
“Thanks, Anna, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Alexandria hugged her sister. She emerged from the house and onto the porch to find Jonathon waiting. She hoped that he hadn’t overheard her conversation with her sister, though with the door open to catch the first warm hint of spring breezes and the proximity of their argument to the back staircase, how he could have missed it she didn’t know.
“I’m glad to know you don’t start affairs at your kitchen table,” Jonathon goaded her as soon as she stepped outside.
Catching him off guard, Alexandria spun and hit him on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.”
“Ow!” Jonathon grabbed his shoulder. “Like I had to,” he quipped.
“You really are a rogue,” she accused as she grabbed Spirit’s reigns.
“Your sister’s right, that didn’t make sense, nor is it true,” Jonathon turned serious on her.
Alexandria stopped short and turned to him; she was not sure what to say to that.
“I really wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, Alexandria, but I couldn’t help overhearing. Don’t let Elijah’s issues turn you against marriage. Having been blessed with a wonderful marriage I can tell you it is a gift when it’s right.”
“Thank you for your concern, Jonathon, but it’s my decision to make and right now I just don’t believe I’ll ever wish to remarry,” she offered with a shrug. She knew marriage could be wonderful; she had only to look at her parents to know that; it didn’t guarantee she was meant for a happy ending.
“Just, don’t be closed off to the possibility.”
“I’ll think on it,” she placated.