The Christmas Bargain (14 page)

“Practice? Luke, you’re teasing me again, aren’t you?” Filly asked, a smile brightening her face.

“I’m not teasing in the least. I’m quite serious about this,” Luke said, tightening his arms around her and bending his head so their lips were only a whisper apart. “In fact, I believe we should start your first lesson right now.”

Luke touched her lips softly, gently, for the briefest moment. Filly thought a butterfly landing on her skin couldn’t have felt any more light or pleasant.

Pulling back, Luke looked into her eyes, his own a hot blue flame. “There are many types of kisses, so we’ll start with the basics first. That is a kiss you might give a very good friend, someone you are quite pleased to know. A kiss that says ‘Hello, I like you.’”

“I see,” Filly said, relishing the time being spent in the circle of Luke’s arms. Inhaling his spicy scent, she felt warm and languid.

“You try it now,” Luke urged.

Filly stood on tiptoe and returned the quick, light kiss to Luke’s lips.

“Very good,” he said. “I knew you were a quick learner. Let’s try another kiss. This one says ‘I am more than a little fond of you.’”

Luke dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers again. This time, his lips were firm and controlled, like he was holding something back. As his lips moved on hers, Filly felt herself melting into him. His arms crushed her to his chest and when his kiss began to deepen, Luke suddenly pulled back and let out a ragged breath.

Filly didn’t know what to think. Couldn’t think. Her senses were in a jumble and all she wanted was for Luke to continue the lesson.

Convinced there was no wisdom in returning his kiss, Filly ignored the facts and pulled Luke’s head down toward hers, repeating the experience.

When she heard him groan and felt his arms sliding down her back, she ended the kiss and took a step back.

“I am more than a little fond of you, too,” she said, leaving a dazed Luke in the hall watching her while she walked into the kitchen.

Luke stood grinning like a fool, trying to regain his composure. Kissing lessons had to be the best, yet most torturous idea he had ever come up with.

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Filly was removing the last of four loaves of light, golden bread from the oven the next morning when she heard tapping on the kitchen door. Setting down the last bread pan, she wiped her hands on her apron and opened the door to find Percy Bruner from the mercantile standing on the porch step.

“Come on in, Percy,” she said to the young boy, inviting him into the warmth of the kitchen. “What can I do for you today?”

“Morning, Mrs. Granger,” he politely replied. His bright red hair stuck out every which direction around his cap and his grin looked a bit off with his front tooth missing. The knees of his britches were already dusty, like he’d been crawling around somewhere he probably should not have been. He was an active boy, of that there was no doubt. “Mr. Granger stopped by the store early and asked me to deliver this to you.”

Percy held out a tiny package with a sealed envelope. Filly took it from him and smiled. She realized she should probably tip him but had not a clue if Luke kept any money in the house.

“Percy, I’m terribly sorry. I don’t have any change this morning, but would a few cookies do?” Filly scooped up three big sugar cookies, still warm from the oven, and handed them to the boy.

“These will do just fine, ma’am. Thank you,” he said, a big smile lighting his freckled face.

“Thank you for bringing this over, Percy, and please tell your mother I said hello,” Filly said, distracted by Luke sending her something.

Percy hurried out the door with a backward wave. “I will,” he called and ran down the sidewalk back into town.

Opening the package, Filly found a tiny foil-wrapped item with a label that read lip balm. Curious, she opened the envelope. In Luke’s bold writing, it simply said:

To keep your lips ready for  your upcoming lessons… Luke

At first Filly couldn’t figure out what Luke was referencing. Remembering their lessons from the previous evening, his implication struck with sudden clarity and she blushed a fiery shade of red.

“Oh, that man,” she said, not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed. She couldn’t get the kisses they shared out of her mind. Each time her thoughts traveled to the experience, she felt flushed and weak-kneed. Since Luke hadn’t said any more about the lessons at breakfast, she wondered if he had perhaps forgotten.

Apparently not.

Humming to herself, Filly cleaned the kitchen, removed her apron and put on her outerwear.

Wrapping one of the loaves of bread in a snowy white towel and placing it in a basket, she let herself out of the house and started toward the parsonage. Arriving there, she knocked but received no answer. Trying to decide if she should check the church, she heard someone call for her to come in.

“Hello,” she said, stepping into the front entry and taking off her outerwear. “Abby?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” Abby called, sounding tired.

Walking into the kitchen, Filly found Abby sitting at the table with her feet up on a chair. The breakfast dishes still sat around her and dirty pans grew crusty on the stove.

“Pardon my mess,” Abby said, reaching out a hand to her friend. “I don’t seem to have any energy today. I thought I’d sit down and rest a minute after breakfast and fell asleep right here in the chair.”

Squeezing Abby’s hand, Filly slipped on an apron, made her a cup of tea, and started cleaning the kitchen.

“Filly, I’d rather sit and visit than have you cleaning up my messes. You don’t need to do that,” Abby said, her voice betraying her exhaustion. “Chauncy will take care of it for me later.”

“I know he would, but I might as well do it now. It will just take a minute and we can visit while I work,” Filly said over her shoulder as she scrubbed the dishes.

“Well, have it your way,” Abby said with a laugh, then changed the subject. “I hope you don’t mind if we call you Filly. It just seems to fit you better than Philamena.”

“I don’t mind at all. I rather like the idea of a new name to start off my new life.”

“And how is that new life going?” Abby asked, trying to hide her overwhelming interest in how her friends were doing in their new roles of husband and wife. From what she and Chauncy could see, they were already well on their way to falling in love. “Are you and Luke getting along fine?”

Filly knew she could trust Abby and told her about Luke’s kissing lessons and the gift of  lip balm that morning. Abby laughed so hard she was streaming tears down her cheeks.

“I’d say you are getting along better than fine,” Abby finally said when she could talk.

“Maybe,” Filly said with a huge smile lighting her face.

“No maybe about it, honey. Luke has gone soft for you,” Abby said with a knowing smile. “I never thought I’d see the day, but he couldn’t have picked a finer woman. I agree with Chauncy, God drew you two together for a reason.”

Filly didn’t say anything, hugging the words to her heart to take out and explore later.

“Abby, I’m dreadfully lacking in certain social graces. Maybe you wouldn’t mind teaching me and I could come help you here for an hour or two every day. Would you or Chauncy mind?”

“I think I’d be getting the better end of that deal, but I’d be happy to teach you what I know,” Abby said, wondering in what area Filly thought she was lacking. She had been a gracious and welcoming hostess to them at Thanksgiving dinner, everyone in town was talking about what a wonderful wife Luke had found, but obviously something was bothering her. “What kind of things would you like to learn.”

“For starters, if someone brings a delivery to the house, like Percy did this morning, should I tip them? If so, how much?” Filly asked as she took stock of Abby’s pantry and quickly put together a pot of turkey soup.

“It is a good idea to tip and the amount would really depend on who it is and what they are delivering. Like for Percy, a nickel would be fine, but if it was George bringing the delivery, I’d tip more. Did Luke not mention any of this to you?”

“No, and I didn’t know if he kept any money in the house or not,” Filly said, sweeping the floor. “Poor Percy had to accept cookies as his tip this morning.”

“I’m sure that troubled him greatly,” Abby said with a grin, knowing the boy’s love of sweets.

“Not that you’d notice,” Filly smiled, putting away the broom and sitting down next to her friend. “Do you want me to help you move into the front room?”

“No, I’m fine right here,” Abby said, trying to stretch in the chair. “I just woke up tired today. That doesn’t make sense, but then so much of expecting doesn’t make sense. You cry when you should laugh, laugh when you should cry and crave the most ridiculous things to eat. Just the other day, I wanted a pickle so badly I thought I’d die without one. I’ve already eaten all the ones I canned this summer and the Bruner’s were out. By the time Chauncy arrived home without pickles, I no longer wanted a pickle and was instead craving something sweet. Lucky for me, he picked up a few lemon drops while he was at the store.”

Filly laughed. Getting up, she stirred the soup, set the table for lunch, sliced the loaf of bread she brought, and made a fresh pot of coffee. Glancing at the clock, she knew she needed to get home and see to her own lunch preparations.

“I better get going, but if you need anything else today, have Chauncy come get me,” Filly said, surveying the kitchen to make sure everything was ready for lunch. “I’m happy to help all I can.”

“You’re a good friend, Filly, and I thank you for your care,” Abby said, trying to hoist herself from her chair, quickly giving up with an exaggerated sigh. “Now go home and take care of that husband of yours, insufferable man that he is.”

Filly laughed, gave Abby a hug around her shoulders, and showed herself out the door. Hurrying home, she rushed to get a hot lunch ready for Luke and just barely set the plates on the table when he came whistling in the kitchen door.

“Hello, wife,” Luke said, hanging his coat and hat by the door before washing at the sink. “I saw you walk by earlier and you didn’t even wave at me.” He attempted a pout which accented the dimple in his chin and made him look boyish and entirely too appealing.

“I’m sorry. I had my thoughts elsewhere,” Filly said as she dished his lunch and sliced bread. “I went to see Abby and she was having a rough morning, so I stayed longer than I planned.”

Luke looked at her in concern. “Is she okay? Is there anything we can do?”

“I think she’s fine, just tired. She didn’t have the energy to clean up after breakfast, so I did a few things and put some lunch together, that’s all,” Filly said, pouring Luke a cup of hot tea. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to check on her in the mornings. She promised to help me learn better social skills in exchange for my help around the house for an hour or so.”

Luke seated Filly at the table, then took his chair. After asking the blessing on the meal, he continued their conversation. “What social skills do you think you are lacking?”

“Well, for instance, I didn’t know if I should tip Percy this morning when he brought your delivery,” Filly said, blushing as she thought about the note and what it alluded to.

Luke grinned as he watched Filly’s cheeks turn pink. “So, you got the note and the package? Any thoughts on when you’d like to practice?”

“Yes, I received your package and note and no, I have not planned any practice sessions, you incorrigible man,” Filly said, sounding exasperated. “Could we please stick to the topic at hand?”