Moonlight on the Millpond (23 page)

“Maddie,” Cathy gently knocked on her door and opened it a bit. The older woman peeked her head around and found a half-asleep niece on the side of the bed.

“Is something wrong?” Maddie slurred, thinking morning had come way too fast.

“I'm going to work in the store today,” Cathy informed her. “Go back to sleep.”

“You're going to the store?”

“Yes. You haven't had a day to sleep in since you arrived. Go back to bed.”

“What about Doyle's breakfast?”

“I took care of that. You can eat when you get down there. Go on now.”

“All right,” Maddie said, too weary to even remember a word of thanks. She climbed back under the quilt, not hearing Cathy's descent down the stairs.

“He looks mean,” Eden said of the rooster that eyed Jace in the barn.

“He's not a pet, that's for certain.”

“Have you been spurred?”

“Nearly. He doesn't trust me. He barely glances at Woody, but I haven't gained his trust.”

“How do you get the eggs?”

“I shoo him off and go in there. The hens don't mind. He's the problem.”

Eden lived in a city. She was not a farm woman and had no plans to be, but she had to admit that such a life fascinated her. She had not planned to shadow Jace to the barn, but he'd invited her out when he went to feed the livestock. She took her coffee with her, hoping it would wake her up, and trailed after him.

“Here come the chicks,” Jace said, and Eden smiled. Six chicks followed their mother from inside the hen enclosure, coming close to get the feed Jace was tossing their way.

“They're so small.” Eden voiced her pleasure and then remembered that these chickens would end up in the oven or a pot.

“What's the matter?” Jace asked as he happened to look up and see her face.

“Nothing.” Eden knew she could not admit her thoughts or Jace would tease her. But in her mind she had established two things: She could live here at the farm because it was tranquil and beautiful, but she could never be a farm woman. It wasn't the life for her.

Eden had not been happy to learn that Jace had plans for the evening that didn't involve her, but he felt no guilt. He had invited her on every task and talked to her all day. He knew he deserved a break that night, and he was going to take it. When he got to the store and saw that Cathy was in attendance, he was even happier that he'd walked away from his sister's frowning face.

“How was your day?” he asked Cathy, leaning on the counter, completely at home.

“It was busy this morning but quiet this afternoon. How about yourself?”

“Well, my sister's in town and we talked all day, so it went fast.”

“I didn't know she was coming.”

“She doesn't usually tell me. She just shows up.”

“You quarreled the last time she was here, didn't you?”

Jace nodded. “She can't get used to my having my own life. She didn't even want me to come to town tonight.”

“You could have brought her.”

Jace's look said otherwise.

“Well, Jace,” Cathy reasoned. “We want to meet her.”

“We'll be at services tomorrow.”

“Why don't you plan on dinner?”

“We will, thank you.”

“So now tell me,” Cathy said, leaning a little closer. “What were you trying to ask me last night?”

“If Maddie shares with you? Do you know how she feels about me?”

“Not specifically, but she said she was all wrong about you.”

Jace nodded, worrying his lower lip a bit.

“What's going on, Jace?”

“I want to give her something, but I don't know how she'll take it.”

“How do you want her to take it?”

“I want her to know she's not some passing fancy.”

“Can't you tell her that?”

Jace didn't answer. Maddie could be hard to talk to, at least for him. Jace didn't think he was good with words. In fact, it wasn't unusual for Maddie to be angry with him. In those situations he could usually talk her around, but he didn't know how to give her the bracelet and tell her how he felt.

“Were you here all day?” Jace suddenly asked.

“Yes, I thought Maddie needed a day at home.”

“How is Doyle doing?”

“Very well. He'd like to come back, but for the most part he's been patient.”

“Can I do anything to help you close up?”

“No.” She waved a hand at him. “Head over to the house. Maddie and Doyle will be glad to see you.”

Jace thanked her with a smile and went on his way.

Woody watched Eden for a full five minutes, but she never once looked his way. She was too busy knitting and watching the window and door. He wondered why keeping track of Jace was so important to her, but he doubted he would get a straight answer if he asked.

She was never idle. Indeed, the knitting needles in her hands flew through the wool. Woody thought she might be making a sock and then shook his head. A sock made with worry and anxiety— no pleasure in the task at all. He thought if she rocked that chair any harder, she might move across the room.

Eden chose that moment to glance his way and was visibly startled to find his eyes on her.

“I'm sorry, Uncle,” she said sincerely. “I thought you'd fallen asleep.”

“I think I did for a time. Tell me something, Eden. Why have you never married?”

Eden set her work down. “What made you think of that?”

“A number of things” was all Woody would say.

“I know what you're thinking.” Eden decided to be blunt, her voice and face showing all the control she felt. “If Eden had a family of her own, she'd let Jace go. But that's not true. I'll always worry about Jace. I always see him as someone who needs to be cared for.”

“Then you're headed for a life of misery, Eden, because he doesn't want or need that from you.”

“He's told you this?”

“He's told
you
this, Eden, and you don't want to hear it.”

Eden was forced to drop her eyes. She knew Woody was correct, but admitting it would take more than she could give.

“In the long run,” she said, picking up the wool again, confidence exuding from her, “he'll see that I'm only looking out for his best interests.”

Woody shook his head, but Eden didn't see him. In her mind the matter was closed, and she'd gone back to her knitting.

She was set in her ways, and Woody knew that no amount of talking from him was going to change that. He reached for the newspaper he had dropped and held it back to the light. If he'd been tired, he would have gone to bed, but the nap must have taken care of that. His lack of fatigue and a strange fascination to see how long Eden would sit there kept Woody in his seat in the parlor.

“Wait a minute.” Cathy caught Doyle's arm and tried to pull him back when he would have walked away.

“What's the matter?” he asked, turning to look at her in surprise.

“I think we should leave them alone,” Cathy whispered, stealing over to close the door between the kitchen and the parlor.

“What do you know?” Doyle asked, sounding like an excited kid.

“Jace talked to me at the store this evening. He wants to give something to Maddie.”

“What?”

“He didn't tell me that, but he did say that she was not a passing fancy.”

“Well, of course she's not.” Doyle frowned. “I've known that all along.”

“Yes, but has he known it?”

“Of course he has. He's not like those other men.”

Cathy smiled at him.

“Do you think he's asking her to marry him?” Doyle suddenly asked.

“No, I don't think it's to that point yet, but it has to be close.”

A huge sigh lifted Doyle's chest. Nothing could make him happier than for Maddie to fall in love with Jace Randall. If such a thing happened, he knew she'd be well taken care of and living in town to boot.

Doyle was so pleased he thought he could shout. Instead, he grabbed Cathy and kissed her until they were both breathless.