Moonlight on the Millpond (16 page)

“I hope you didn't delay your questions on account of me. I would have waited.”

“No, I didn't have questions this morning.”

Jace wondered if it was going to be this strained the whole time. He knew he ducked out on her answer last night when she said yes even though he could tell she was doubting.

His eyes shifted every now and then to look at her, but she kept her eyes straight ahead, and there was no eye contact.

Jace had driven the team past the mill and the farm to a nice grassy area of unknown ownership. Woody was friendly with all his neighbors, so Jace felt confident that he was welcome. When he finally stopped the team, he helped Maddie down from the seat. Clara had set out a quilt, and Jace grabbed that along with the basket.

The field was open and huge. The grass wasn't overly long, and Jace took them only a little ways into the field before he set up. Maddie sat on the blanket as soon as it was spread out and let Jace do the rest. He began to unload food, and it seemed to her that there was no end.

Maddie was impressed with the picnic—she couldn't help but be. Clara had made fried chicken, honey rolls, and cheese biscuits. She had cut up small pieces of salted pork and mixed them with apples and raisins. There were cookies, tarts, and a small jug of tea.

“Thank you,” Maddie said when Jace loaded a plate and handed it to her. “It all looks very good.”

“I think Clara outdid herself,” Jace commented, starting on his own plate.

And with that, conversation nearly died. Maddie would only glance in Jace's direction, and she initiated no conversation at all. He hated it when women threw themselves at him, but it would have helped if Maddie had at least spoken to him.

Jace knew it was his own fault. He could tell that she didn't want to go the night before and was probably with him now only to please her aunt and uncle.

“Is your food all right?” Jace finally tried.

“Yes, thank you.”

These stilted words were no more uttered than Jace watched her fold her arms and shiver a little.

“Are you cold?” Jace asked, noticing the way she huddled into herself a bit.

“A little,” Maddie admitted.

“My jacket is in the wagon. I'll get it for you.”

Maddie watched him leave, not sure how she felt about all of this. She reached for a bit of pork on her plate and proceeded to swallow it wrong. Working to dislodge the bit of meat, she reached for the small brown flask that Jace had put next to the tea and took a sip. It didn't help clear the pork away, but she felt almost instantly warmer. Coughing a little, she took another sip, enjoying how swiftly the coolness of the day melted away.

The third time she tipped the flask, she took a healthy swig, feeling heat course through her even as she found it a little hard on the throat. She was coughing when Jace returned.

“Swallow wrong?” he asked, setting the coat on her shoulders.

Maddie replied in a hoarse voice as Jace went back to his plate. He'd only taken a few bites when he looked to find Maddie smiling at him. Jace smiled in return.

“Warmer?” he asked.

“Much,” Maddie answered, her smile softening.

Jace's heart did a flip in his chest. Had he known the jacket would do that for her, he'd have given it to her when they started out.

“Would you like more food?” Jace offered, gaining another smile for his efforts.

“I like your hair,” Maddie said, and Jace reached in time to keep her plate from sliding off her lap.

Maddie never even noticed. She was still smiling at Jace, whose heart had begun to freeze inside of him. His mind raced with several questions. Could he have been that wrong? Could she have fooled everyone? Was the sweet, shy Maddie Shephard not as shy as she pretended to be? Jace put both plates aside, suddenly not hungry at all. As he did this, he noticed Maddie reaching for the flask.

“Maddie.” His voice stopped her. “Have you been drinking that?”

“I think it's strong tea,” she told him. “It makes my insides all warm.” This said, Maddie smiled at him and asked, “Is your hair soft?”

“Oh, no,” Jace whispered, not having to question any longer. He took the flask from Maddie's grasp and held her hands with his own.

“Listen to me, Maddie,” Jace commanded. “Do you feel all right?”

“I like you, Jace,” she said in return. “You're so sweet and handsome.”

If it hadn't been so scary, Jace might have laughed.

“Do you know what we need to do?” Jace asked, coming to his feet. “We need to take a little walk. Can you get up, Maddie? Come on. Get to your feet.”

Maddie did as he asked, but she didn't feel very steady. She fell against Jace once she was on her feet, hands going to his chest as she looked up into his eyes. Maddie smiled and reached up to brush her fingers through the hair that always hung on his brow.

“Oh, mercy,” Jace muttered. “Come on, Maddie. Let's walk a bit. Can you do that?”

It was slow going, but Jace managed to keep her on her feet. He thought he'd give much for a pot of coffee right now, but the best he could do was to keep her active in order to drive back into town. If she was grinning and falling all over him when they returned to the house, her reputation would be shot.

“Look at the trees, Maddie,” Jace said to her, trying to distract the way she wanted to smile at him. “Why don't we go over to that small group of trees and look at the leaves.”

Maddie only giggled and tried to keep step with him. Jace managed to get her to the trees and had her lean against one. He took a step back, making sure she was steady, and then moved away.

“Why are you over there?” Maddie asked.

“It's better this way,” Jace said, but she only pushed away from the tree and tried to come toward him. Her feet tangled, and she nearly fell before Jace caught her. Again, her head tipped back and she smiled at him. Feeling her body against him, Jace looked down into her beautiful face and gave up. He lowered his head and kissed her the way he'd wanted to do for weeks.

Maddie was completely relaxed in his arms. Her own arms came up to encircle his neck, and she fell completely against him. Jace's senses swam until he remembered she was not herself. He tried to break the kiss, but Maddie was holding on tight. He eventually had to remove her arms and put her away from him.

She was still smiling when he tried to march her back out to the field, wondering what he had hoped to accomplish by heading into the privacy of the trees. For the next hour they walked around the field until Jace could see that she was standing well on her own. He eventually led her back to the blanket and talked her into having some more food.

“I'm tired,” Maddie said at one point. “I probably haven't been very good company today.”

Nothing could be further from the truth
, Jace could have said, but he kept silent and gave her some tea to drink.

When Maddie began to yawn, Jace knew he needed to get her back. She was still wearing his coat, which he took back, and the coolness returning seemed to wake her up a little more.

“I think we'll head back now, Maddie,” Jace said, not sure if he was disappointed about the afternoon. To his surprise Maddie seemed to smile at him with complete lucidity.

“Thank you for the picnic, Jace. I enjoyed it.”

The trip back was not as silent as the trip out, but Jace wished he knew whether this was the real Maddie or not. Had she finally relaxed with him, or was there still enough alcohol in her system to impair judgment?

Jace honestly couldn't tell. He returned her to the house, walked her up the front path, and even spoke to Cathy and Doyle for a few minutes. Maddie wore a faint smile all the way home. Jace wanted to be excited by the smile, but something held him back. He left Shephards before deciding if he should tell Cathy and Doyle about the incident.

“Drunk?” Woody asked for the third time. “She was drunk?”

“Yes, you heard me right. I couldn't believe it.”

“And what kind of drunk was she?”

“The smiling kind.”

“Amorous,” Woody interpreted correctly.

“Don't get any ideas.”

“So you didn't take advantage at all?”

“I did a little.”

“And you feel guilty.”

“Completely.”

If Woody had wondered if Jace's feelings were real, he wondered no more. A man felt no guilt when he was able to kiss or hold a woman he didn't care about. Jace looked miserable.

“You'll have to go this week and see her. See how she is and how she responds to you.”

Jace nodded, trying to think it through, and then something struck him.

“How do you know so much about women when you haven't been married?”

“They're not that hard to figure out.”

Jace's mouth swung open. “You must be the only man in creation to feel that way.”

Woody only laughed, completely sure of himself. Jace shook his head, wondering yet again how he got into these conversations with his uncle. Woody was always completely forthright with his questions, which tended to disarm Jace and gain honest answers. If Jace was candid, however, he always felt better for having spoken of it. As to whether or not he agreed with Woody's opinion, that was another matter entirely.

“I haven't seen you out and about, Doyle,” Douglas explained when both Doyle and Cathy made him welcome. “I wondered how you were doing.”

“I'm taking it slow these days,” Doyle was able to say, still surprised at himself that he wasn't more frustrated with the fact. “Old Doc MacKay says it's my heart, and taking it easy might do the trick.”

“Have you been in quite a bit of pain?”

“Off and on.”

Douglas nodded. “Alison tells me she's seen your niece in the store.”

“Maddie is the only reason he's able to stay so calm,” Cathy put in.

Douglas smiled, but he was thinking how hard it must be to be cooped up all day.

“Are you getting more reading done?” Douglas asked.

“No.” Even Doyle seemed surprised by his own answer. “I spend much of my time by the parlor window.” He grinned a little. “I can tell you that Turtle Bates comes past here every day about 10:00, even on days he doesn't need to shop. And the Canton boys come by closer to noon. They never look angelic enough for my taste, but I never witness the things I hear about.”

Douglas laughed.

“How have you been, Mr. Muldoon?” Cathy asked.

“I'm doing well. I've been thinking about you folks a lot. Is there anything you'd like for me to pray about?”

Without missing a beat, Doyle said, “And I think Alice Houston and that Bluel fellow are sweet on each other.”

Douglas nodded and smiled in his direction, knowing he had his answer. There was no hunger in Doyle Shephard for the spiritual things Douglas would love to introduce to him. Douglas didn't rush away, and although Doyle had no requests, Douglas still prayed.

Cathy didn't try to ask any more questions of him, and Douglas listened for an hour as Doyle shared, but by the time the pastor took his leave, he sensed that God had answered his prayer. He had asked God to put hunger in Doyle's life and Cathy's too. And now he asked God to help him keep the friendship alive.