Ashley Merrick - India: Bride of Indiana (American Mail-Order Bride 19) (4 page)

O
ver the next few days
, India was surprised by how busy she kept herself. She did a little bit more shopping in town, stocking up on supplies that they were low on. She had spotted some dried cranberries when she was in the mercantile one day and after checking with Richard, she decided to make a cranberry nut bread as well as a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Both were traditional desserts in New England and although Richard was familiar with pumpkin pie, he’d never heard of cranberry nut bread, which was a sweet, quick bread that India had grown up eating. Her mother had made it often, especially around the holidays. She made an extra loaf for them to keep, and served them all buttered, toasted slices of it for breakfast Thanksgiving morning.

“What do you think?” India asked nervously as everyone around the table was completely silent.

“Can I have another slice?” Sammy finally asked.

“This is like having cake for breakfast,” Julia said. “It’s really good.”

“I think everyone will love it,” Richard agreed.

India relaxed a little and hoped that the rest of his family felt the same. She wanted to make a good impression and was a bit nervous about seeing his mother again given what Richard had told her. After they finished eating and India cleaned up and they all got ready to go, she thought about how the past few days had gone. Richard had thawed out a little bit and wasn’t as distant as he had been on the train. They had fallen into the habit of sitting in the den together at night, after the children had gone to bed. They both either read, or sometimes Richard jotted down ideas that he had for the business. It was a cozy room with the fire going and India found herself looking forward to this time of day.

When they arrived at his parents’ house, there was already a large crowd gathered. His brothers and sister were all here with their spouses and children. Julia and Sammy immediately ran off to play with their cousins Billy and David, who were about the same age as them and were Richard’s older brother Jim’s children. Richard introduced her to Jim and his wife Mary, Mark and his wife, Debbie and his two younger brothers, Ed and Mark. Laura walked over immediately to say hello and introduced her husband, Jason.

Richard’s father came over as soon as he saw them and gave everyone warm welcoming hugs, including India. His mother followed closely behind, but her welcome wasn’t as warm. Instead of a hug, India received a tight smile.

“You’re looking well, India.” She glanced at the loaf pan that India was holding. “What is that?”

“Cranberry nut bread. I hope that you’ll like it.”

His mother’s expression indicated that wasn’t likely. “Cranberry nut bread? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“My mother used to always make it. It’s a traditional New England bread around the holidays.”

“I’ll put it with the others.”

India handed her the pan with the bread, and then Kay walked off towards the kitchen. Laura was by her side then, and took her arm and led her into the kitchen as well, where all the women were gathered. All the work was done, and the turkey was resting. His mother had announced when they arrived that they would be eating in about thirty minutes. In the meantime, the men were all talking in the living room, while the women sipped tea and chatted in the kitchen. There were bowls of nuts and platters of cheese and bread for snacking . Kay was talking with Debbie and Mary about an upcoming meeting of the South Bend women’s group. Laura explained what the group was.

“It’s a social and charity group. Local women meet every other Wednesday afternoon at Brannigan’s restaurant for a late lunch. They support various causes, such as when the library was looking to expand. They organized a fundraiser with the goal to buy books for a new room.”

“How wonderful,” India said.

Laura chuckled. “They do good things. But it’s a social club more than anything else. A chance for women to get together, and talk about everything that’s going on in their lives. You should come. Our next meeting is next Wednesday.”

“Oh, that’s very nice of you. But I don’t know. I have to watch Sammy.”

“You can bring him. Several of the women in the group have children, and the restaurant puts us in their function room downstairs so that children can play in a corner while the ladies talk . Say you’ll come?”

“I’d be happy to.” India was grateful for the invitation, although she did notice out of the corner of her eye that Kay had apparently overheard them and was scowling. She would just do her best to avoid Richard’s mother, and that way she couldn’t irritate her too much.

Kay called Jim into the kitchen to slice the turkey and instructed everyone else to find his seat at the table. Laura insisted that India sit next to her and chatted nonstop through the meal. India enjoyed listening to her and her quiet commentary of all the people around the table. She learned that Mary, Jim’s wife, was expecting their third child in a few months, that Mark and Debbie have been married twice as long and didn’t have any children yet, and apparently that was a sensitive subject. Ed was quite popular with the ladies and didn’t seem to have any intention of settling down anytime soon, much to his mother’s regret. Mark was the exact opposite. He was very quiet and was a workaholic, obsessed with the business. He didn’t seem to have any interest in women at all. Laura filled her in on everyone except herself, so out of curiosity, India couldn’t help asking, “Tell me about Jason. How did the two of you meet?”

Laura’s eyes twinkled as she spoke about her husband. It was clear that she was very fond of him.

“We grew up together. I’ve known Jason as long as I can remember. I didn’t like him very much when I was seven, though. I used to wear my hair in a braid and Jason sat behind me. He used to undo my braid or pull my hair, and it made me furious. I didn’t understand then, of course, why he was doing it.”

India chuckled, thinking about Julia and her tormentor, Tommy.

“He told me years later when he proposed that he fell in love with me then, when I was seven. It took me a little longer to come around. He’s a wonderful man, though, and I’m crazy about him.”

“You’re very lucky,” India said quietly.

Laura looked at her thoughtfully, and then said, “You could have that someday, too. My brother is a special man. A good man. But he’s been in a lot of pain. You’ll have to be patient with him.”

India nodded. “Thank you. But I don’t think either one of us has any such expectations.”

Laura seemed somewhat surprised. “No, of course not. These things take time.” She spread a little butter on a slice of the cranberry nut bread and then took a bite.

“Oh, this is really good.” She sounded so surprised that India laughed.

Everyone raved about the cranberry bread, even—reluctantly—Richard’s mother.

“This is surprisingly good,” India overheard her say softly to Mary. She said nothing to India, though, which really wasn’t a surprise.

An hour so after they finished eating, the desserts were put out and everyone, full or not, had a slice of something. There was apple pie, pumpkin pie, and a rich chocolate pudding. Kay made coffee and tea for those who wanted it, and finally, just before five, everyone began to leave. As Richard drove, India felt thankful for all that she had received. It had been a lovely day, and except for Richard’s mother, everyone couldn’t have been nicer.

By the time they reached the house, Sammy was fast asleep and Julia was rubbing her eyes. Richard carried Sammy inside and tucked him into bed and India helped Julia get to that as well . Once they were both settled, India and Richard went downstairs and as had quickly become their habit, they went into the den to sit by the fire and read for bit . India stared into the flames, ignoring the book in her lap and thinking instead about how lucky she felt. She thought about her friends and hoped that they were on their way to new and better lives as well.

R
ichard sat
in his soft leather chair and stared into the fire as well. It had been a long day—a long week, actually—and his life had changed dramatically in such a short time. He glanced over at India and saw that she was lost in her thoughts as well. He thought again how beautiful she was as her dark hair fell past her shoulders and the fire threw dancing shadows across her face. She looked up then, caught him glancing her way and smiled, and her whole face lit up. It took his breath away. And it made him feel sad at the same time.

She was a lovely girl, kind and smart as well as attractive. She shouldn’t be stuck with him. He frowned thinking about it. She could never be attracted to him. He doubted that anyone could. And he didn’t think that he deserved to love again, not after failing to save his own love. He’d almost died trying, though. The smoke had knocked him to his knees and he’d almost passed out when one of his brothers saw his leg and pulled him to safety. It had been too late to save Amy.

“It was a lovely day, don’t you think? Your family was very welcoming. I appreciated that,” India said.

Everyone except his mother, that was. Richard loved his mother dearly, but sometimes she frustrated him. Hopefully in time, she would give up this obsession with Olivia. Olivia would have driven him crazy if he’d married her. She was one of those non-stop talkers, who knew everyone in town and everything about them and enjoyed discussing it at length. She was also too showy for his liking, making it known that she associated with important people and was always dressed impeccably. Overdressed, in his opinion. Richard liked a simpler life and valued peace and quiet—something he would have had to give up if he’d married Olivia.

“Laura invited me to go with her to a women’s group that meeting next Wednesday,” India said.

“Oh, that will be fun for you. A nice way for you to meet some of the other women in town.” And then he remembered that Olivia as part of that group, possibly even an officer of it. He hoped that she wouldn’t make trouble for India. Another thing that he didn’t care for about Olivia was that she had a bit of a mean streak and was very competitive. Olivia didn’t like to lose. “Stick with Laura. She’ll introduce you to all of her friends. Be careful, too. Some of those women can be gossipy.”

“Good to know. I am looking forward to seeing Laura again. We had a nice chat at dinner.”

Richard glanced at Laura, noticing—not for the first tim—how big her dark eyes were, and how lush her lips seemed to be. He looked away quickly, mad at himself for even thinking this way.

Guilt washed over him as he thought about Amy. He didn’t deserve to have such thoughts, especially for someone who could never possibly think of him in the same way. Richard ran a finger along the side of his jaw. He lightly traced along the bumpy, tight skin that went all the way up to his eye.

So it wasn’t as bad as it once was. The redness was gone, and the swelling had long since subsided. But he knew that his face was still very much disfigured. People still look at him with wondering, curious, and sometimes pitying eyes. Not as much as they used to, though. Now, everyone in town pretty much knew who he was and what had happened to him.

He had loved once. He and Amy had been childhood sweethearts and best friends. There was no way you could ever find that again, certainly not with India. She was too good for him, and he didn’t deserve her. He was so lost in these dark thoughts that he didn’t at first hear India when she asked him a question.

“Richard?” India tried to get his attention.

“What? I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

India chuckled. “I was just saying that Sammy reminded me so much of you earlier today. As of the two of you side-by-side, I noticed that he shares your walk, as well as your coloring. The resemblance is so strong.”

“Not that strong. He’s a handsome boy, not like his father. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go to bed. I’m suddenly very tired.”

He stood and felt a moment’s pang of guilt when he saw the stricken look on India’s face. He knew that she was regretting having said anything about Sammy looking like him. But Richard really was too tired to care. It was easier to just feel sorry for himself and to go to bed.

I
ndia sat bewildered
as Richard left the room to go to bed. She had known that he was sensitive about the scarring but she hadn’t realized how sensitive. He clearly thought that he was completely unattractive, which fascinated her a bit, because it wasn’t true at all. Yes, when she first met him she did notice the scarring and the droop of his eye, but it wasn’t as extreme as he imagined it to be. She actually thought that the slight droop to his eye gave it a sleepy look that wasn’t unattractive at all. In fact, the more time she spent with him, the less she noticed scars at all and the more attractive he seemed to her.

She realized that she found herself anticipating his arrival at the end of the day and she enjoyed surprising him with something new and delicious for dinner. She was having fun trying out different recipes and he was easy to please. So far, he claimed to like everything that she had made. So why was he acting so strangely tonight?

India thought about it a bit and wondered if it was true what people said about the holidays. That the first year that you lost someone you loved, it was always worse around the holidays. She wondered if maybe that was what was going on with Richard. It had only been a little over six months since he’d lost his wife and from all accounts it been a happy marriage. She couldn’t even imagine how awful that must’ve been. And of course, being with his family around the Thanksgiving table must have brought up lots of old memories. She worried that Christmas might be just as difficult for him. And she vowed that she would do everything she could to try and ease his pain and to create new, happy memories.

I
ndia wasn’t
sure what kind of mood Richard would be in the next morning, but he was cheerful and smiling when he came downstairs to breakfast the next day.

“Are you working today?” India wasn’t sure if he was going into the office or not.

“No. We decided to give everyone the day off today. The office is closed.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and accepted a slice of toast that India handed to him.

He sat down at the kitchen table, where Julia and Sammy were just about done eating breakfast and asked, “Who wants to help me pick out a Christmas tree today?”

“I do! I do!” they both said at once.

Richard glanced up in India. “And what about you? Would you like to help?”

“Pick out a Christmas tree? Of course!”

After everyone was done eating, they put their coats on and followed Richard outside. He led them to an upper field where there was a row of seven- to eight-foot trees, any of which would make a lovely Christmas tree.

“Pick out the best one, and then we will bring it in.”

Once Julia and Sammy agreed on which tree was best, Richard cut it down and they brought it inside. He set it in the corner of the living room and then went into a back room to get the Christmas decorations. They spent the next few hours decorating the tree, hanging ornaments and stringing garlands of beads around the branches. There were also small candleholders that India fastened very carefully on the tree so that they would be able to light them without catching the tree on fire. There was also a bag of slim candles and India placed one into each candleholder. They all stepped back to admire their work.

“It’s beautiful,” India breathed.

“We need to hang our stockings, too!” Julia pulled three stockings out of the bag. They were all red with white trim and the names Julia, Sammy, and Richard were embroidered across the top. India noticed that there was one more stocking left in the bag, and guessed that it had been Amy’s.

“We have to get a stocking for India,” Julia said.

Richard smiled. “We will. I will get one for her this week.”

They hung the stockings on cast metal stocking holders that Richard set on the mantel above the fireplace.

“Look! It’s snowing!” Sammy ran to the window and pressed his face against the glass, staring outside at the falling snow. India watched the snow fall and felt that it added the perfect touch to what was feeling like a magical day. She’d always love the holidays though growing up. The Christmas season was a special time, the time of happiness and hope. And baking.

“Who wants to make sugar cookies this afternoon? I found some cookie-cutters the other day and thought it might be fun to make some different-shaped cookies and dust them with sugar.”

“I want to make cookies,” Julia said.

“Can I help? I can sprinkle sugar on them and eat them and let you know if they taste all right.”

India chuckled. “Yes, that is a very important job. We need to make sure they taste just right.”

They had a fun afternoon making cookies. Later on after dinner and the children had gone to bed, India and Richard settled into the den and Richard put a log on the fire. India worried that she might see a repeat of his dark mood from the night before, but instead it was as if that had never happened. Richard was his usual quiet self, and they chatted a bit and read for several hours before heading upstairs to bed.