Coley is getting a new one later today.”
“Oh, that explains it.” I grinned. “I lose track of the
time back here.”
“I find it a peaceful place too. Whenever something
is troubling me, I like to come back here and take inventory
of the supplies.”
“Mrs. Coley? Are you here?”
I grimaced. I recognized Mrs. Carson"s shrill voice.
Mrs. Coley chuckled. “You won"t believe this. I don"t
know what happened but she"s actual y quite pleasant now.
I"l be right back.” She left to take care of her customer.
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She was right. I didn"t believe it. It was hard to
imagine that someone whose favorite past-time was
gossiping could be pleasant. I kept my thoughts to myself
and returned to work. I finished the bookkeeping and turned
to the inventory list. Good. She hadn"t fil ed it out yet. I
picked up the paper and began scanning the items on the
shelves.
Mrs. Coley returned. “Mr. Randolph fell on some ice
and broke his hip, and Mr. Grant"s assistant isn"t back from
a home visit yet. Would you mind taking care of the
mercantile so that I can help the doctor?”
“I would be happy to help.” I followed her to the front
of the store.
“I shouldn"t be gone for longer than thirty minutes.
Thank you, Ann.”
I was familiar with what she did to help her
customers since I observed her many times in the past. I
stood at the counter for five minutes, waiting for someone to
enter the store but no one did. I walked to the window and
peered at the people who strolled by. I tapped my fingers
on the table holding jars of candy. I grinned. Children
naturally gravitated to this area of the store.
I looked up as a man with white hair pulled a wagon
to the front of the store and stopped it. I went back to the
cash register and waited for him to enter. To my surprise,
he brought in a basket of eggs.
“I don"t recognize you,” he said.
“I"m Mrs. Brothers. I"m fil ing in for Mrs. Coley while
she"s helping the doctor.”
“Oh yes. She mentioned you. Mighty proud of the
work you do. You save her hours of work.”
I blushed, pleased by his comment. “She has been
gracious to me.”
“Tell her that Mr. Whitman stopped by with the eggs.
She can pay me next week.”
“Yes, sir.”
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“Good day.”
I nodded as he left. I took the basket to the
backroom. I thought it was very kind of Mrs. Coley to say
positive things about me to other people. I smiled, grateful
she worked here. Who knew if anyone else would have
offered me free food for helping in this store? I went to the
shelf where Mrs. Coley usually put her eggs.
“My goodness, Ann. You"re just as beautiful as I
remember.”
I paused. I recognized that voice. My hands
trembled as I finished putting the basket down before I
turned to him. Why now? Why here?
Kent"s smile widened. He was dressed in his best
suit. He looked as handsome and charming as I
remembered. But he wasn"t Todd. And in that instant, I
knew that I really did love Todd more than I had ever loved
Kent.
“I believe I caught you by surprise,” he smoothly
stated. “I admit we parted under dire circumstances. I
made an error in judgment. I am no longer engaged to
Rebecca. She was a mistake. I came to apologize and ask
if I can court you again.”
“I"m married.” I glanced around the room. He was
standing in the doorway. An uneasy feeling crept up my
spine.
“I know why you married Todd Brothers. You were
distressed over my brief encounter with Rebecca. It is
understandable that you ran to the first person who offered
you comfort. This is my fault.”
“But that doesn"t change the fact that I am married. I
belong to someone else now.”
He laughed. “I"m sure we can find a way to get you
„unmarried". Real y, we can work through it.”
I couldn"t believe my ears. “I vowed to be with him
for the rest of our lives.”
“Vows are made to be broken.”
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“I"m not leaving him.”
“Hmm... I suppose you"re expecting then?”
I was shaken by the fact he would ask such a
personal question. I shook my head. What was I doing?
What time was it? Would Todd come by earlier than
expected?
“Then there"s nothing to fear. This marriage can
easily be dissolved.”
“No.”
It struck me as odd that I would say that so clearly
when my hands shook. There was something in his eyes
and in the way he stood that I didn"t like. Why hadn"t I
noticed it before?
He sighed, as if with deep regret. “I hurt you more
than I realized. I promise that I will never hurt you again.
There is no other love in my life. You will always be the
one.”
He took a step toward me. His movements and
words flowed so smoothly together. He was very charming
and confident. He was nothing like Todd. No wonder I
didn"t notice Todd in Virginia. Todd was quiet and
sometimes clumsy. But he was sincere. He would lay down
his life for me. He would even give me up if it meant I could
be happy.
“I love Todd,” I final y said.
Kent laughed. “That"s sweet. Todd is a good boy.
I"m sure he"s treated you very well out here, in the middle of
nowhere. But a lady such as yourself deserves better in this
life. You were meant for comfort and riches. Look at your
clothes, your hair, your hands! You don"t even own a single
piece of jewelry. You may love Todd but he has you living
like a beggar. You were born for beautiful gowns, servants
to wait on you, for your every desire to be fulfil ed.” He
stepped closer to me. “Things I can give you.”
I had to get out of here! I felt like I was going to
suffocate.
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“Enough of playing wife,” he continued as he walked
closer to me. “Come with me. I can give you things that he
can"t.”
He reached out and touched my cheek. Startled, I
shrieked. His hesitation gave me the strength to move. I
bolted for the doorway. His reflexes were quick, for he
grabbed my arm.
“You can"t be serious,” he hissed. “You would give
up what we had for Todd?”
“Yes. Let me go!”
“Perhaps I need to show you what you"re missing.”
He put his free hand behind my neck and brought my mouth
to his.
“What is going on here?”
Kent released me and I nearly fell to the floor.
Looking up, I saw Todd, staring at us.
“Todd!” I ran to him but he backed away.
Todd shook his head, looking bewildered. “I can"t
believe this. I mean, it was a possibility but...”
“No. No! It"s not what it looks like,” I insisted.
“Don"t lie to him, Ann,” Kent softly stated. “It wil do
you no good to deny it.”
Todd didn"t say anything. He simply turned and left
the room.
“Todd!” I screamed and ran after him.
As I passed the doorway, my eyes fell on Mrs.
Carson who had her hand to her cheek, as if she couldn"t
believe her good fortune in overhearing a juicy piece of
gossip.
I stopped when I saw her.
I’m doomed. Once she
blabs the whole thing to the town, everyone wil believe I’m
ready to leave Todd for Kent.
Todd was out the door before I looked away from
her.
“I"l come back for you. I"m sure you"l come to your
senses in time,” Kent said as he left the mercantile.
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I broke into tears. Obviously, Todd hadn"t heard the
whole conversation. He just walked in on us when Kent
kissed me.
“I heard everything,” Mrs. Carson said.
I groaned. Her version would be sordid. Some
people still believed Todd stole money at the bank.
Mrs. Coley opened the front door and walked in.
She gasped. “Ann, what"s wrong?”
Relieved that she was back, I grabbed my coat. I
raced out of the mercantile. But Todd was long gone.
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Ann’s Point of View
The walk to Barbara"s mother"s house seemed to
take forever and I didn"t notice the chil in the air this time. I
was anxious to find Todd and explain everything to him, but
would he even believe me? I knocked on the door.
Calvin opened it.
“Is your mother here?” I asked.
“Sure she is, Mrs. Brothers. Come in and I"l get
her.”
He ran off before I had time to enter the house. I
softly shut the door behind me. Now that I was here, I
began to relax. Barbara would know what to do. At least,
she should have some idea of how I could make the
situation better.
Barbara walked into the room, a dish towel in her
hands. She was wiping some dough off of her fingers.
“What is it?”
“Kent came to the store and he wanted me to go with
him but I kept telling him I was married but he wouldn"t listen
to me no matter how many times I told him and then I tried
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to leave the backroom but he wouldn"t let me and he kissed
me and Todd saw us and thought I wanted to kiss Kent but I
didn"t and I tried to explain it to Todd but he wouldn"t listen
and Mrs. Carson said she heard the whole thing but we all
know how she interprets the truth and now she"l blab it all
over town and everyone, including Todd, will believe I
wanted to kiss Kent and Todd went home without me and
I"m sure it"s all over and I"l have to go back to Virginia now
and I don"t even want to be with Kent and...” I started crying.
“It"s all a mess and I don"t know what to do.”
“Calm down. You"re speaking too fast. Come, sit
down.”
I sobbed into my handkerchief as I obeyed her.
“I need to finish making a loaf of bread,” she said.
“Can you wait for ten minutes?”
I nodded. “Yes, I can wait.”
“Good. Now try to breathe. You can explain
everything to me on the way home.”
I sat in the chair and tried to slow my thoughts so
they weren"t all jumbled together. I suddenly realized I was
exhausted. I hadn"t slept the night before. I put my head in
my hands and focused on slowing my breathing. The action
was calming. I must have fallen asleep because the next
thing I knew, Barbara was tapping me on the shoulder,
asking me if I was awake. I stood up.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
“Yes. Calvin will be staying with my mother to help
her around the house. Bruce and Molly, come along.”
I helped her take the blankets and tuck the kids in
the carryall so they would be warm during the trip home.
Molly was so tired she fell asleep. Bruce was content to
play with a toy train his grandmother had given him. That
left plenty of time for me to explain my morning in the store
to Barbara. Snow was already beginning to fall and by the
time we got halfway home, it was apparent that we were
going to have a storm.
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When she stopped in front of my house, I heard
Todd chopping wood in the barn. I sighed. He was angry.
“I saved some food for you,” she said.
We got out of the carryall and she helped me bring
some jars and boxes into the kitchen.
“I"l leave you now,” she whispered. She put her
hand on my shoulder. “I"l pray for you and Todd.”
“Thank you,” I quietly replied.
Once she left, I put the food away. I could still hear
Todd chopping wood. He"d stay out there all day if I let him.
What should I say? I didn"t think he"d accept anything I told
him. I contemplated going up to my bedroom instead of
seeing him, but I wanted to resolve the matter. If that was
even possible...
I took a moment to pray before I headed outside.
The snow was falling heavily now. I couldn"t even see
Todd"s footprints in the snow. I pulled the hood of the coat