The Widower's Wife (22 page)

“I’ve already been asked that question once today by Bethany. Did the two of you put your heads together on the train and decide what the best method of interrogating me would be?” Jillian gave him her most intimidating scowl. Marcus just laughed.

“Surely you don’t think me that devious, do you?” Jillian raised her eyebrows at him doubtfully. He laughed again, louder this time, before becoming serious once more. “It was a simple question. Do you love him?”

Jillian sighed. They’d always been so close, always been in each other’s confidence. She couldn’t shut him out now, so she told him what she had just told Beth. She loved her husband but wasn’t sure if he loved her in return.

“Are you so sure, Little Sis?” Marcus asked her intently.

Jillian looked away as she contemplated her brother’s question. She noticed a white picket fence just up ahead and instantly she knew where they were. For a moment she froze. Marcus stopped walking beside her and looked at her with concern.

Taking a deep breath, she began walking again and stopped at the edge of the fence. She put her hand on the gate, but made no gesture to go inside. She felt Marcus walk up and stop beside her.

“I know he loved this woman,” Jillian said quietly, her tears threatening to escape. Marcus put his arm around her. They stood in silence for a little while before he said anything.

“He told me about her,” Marcus said. Jillian looked up at him abruptly. “When we were working together this morning.” He looked sad. It wasn’t often Jillian saw her brother look this way. “You’re right,” he added. “He did love her.” They both stood in silence another moment.

“I think I would have loved her too,” Jillian whispered.

Marcus’s demeanor changed then. He placed his hands on both of Jillian’s shoulders and turned her to face him. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not in love with you now.” He looked her directly in the eyes as he said it. She thought of how much he looked like their father at that moment. Marcus released her shoulders and gathered her into his arms. She felt the tears break through, and she cried. She shed tears for Laurellyn and for Dalton and all he had endured. She cried for the children, especially Jenny and the pain she had suffered, cried for herself and for what Nathan had done to her, and for the uncertainty of her relationship with her new husband. Although she had already spent countless tears, somehow this was different. It felt cleansing. It was as though she was finally being freed from all the pain and anguish these things had caused her. Her heart began to feel lighter. Marcus said nothing. He simply held her patiently until eventually her tears were gone. With a long sigh, she lifted her head to look up at him. He smiled down at her.

“I think you’ve sufficiently watered the flowers around us,” he teased. Chuckling, she pulled away from his arms.

“I suppose we ought to head back. The children might be giving Bethany a hard time by now,” she said, smiling at the thought. “Either that, or Lisa has talked her ears off.” They both laughed.

“She is a little talker!” Marcus admitted. “She can hold her own even with me.”

“You haven’t heard the half of it, dear brother. Since you arrived, she hardly talks at all. You’ve cast some sort of spell over her that has stunned her into near silence.” They both laughed again.

“That reminds me. I wanted to compliment you on your cooking. I hadn’t realized you were so domesticated.” He patted his stomach. “Lunch was delicious—especially those biscuits.”

“Oh, did you think so?” Jillian smiled to herself. “I’m afraid I can’t take the credit for those. Bethany made them.” She watched as he looked shocked momentarily and then grinned widely.

“Hmm, I seem to learn more about Miss Bethany Johansen every moment I spend with her.” He quickened his pace. “We had better hurry back, Little Sis, so I can see what else I might find out about that lovely lady.” Jillian tugged on his arm to slow him down.

“I don’t think you have to worry about her going anywhere.” Marcus smiled and Jillian laughed heartily.

As they neared the house, Jillian could hear some commotion. She tugged on Marcus’s arm to hurry him along. When they turned the corner and the barnyard came into view, Jillian’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her laugh.

The chickens had escaped their pen and were running all over the yard while Bethany, Jenny, Lisa, and even little Brenn chased after them. Brenn must have finally managed to get the latch on the door open—something he’d been threatening to do since Jillian arrived. She had counted herself lucky that so far, he hadn’t accomplished it.

Just then, as Bethany was inches away from catching a hen, it flew up and startled her, knocking her down on her backside and sending her dress flying up over her head. Jillian’s mouth dropped open, and Marcus burst out laughing beside her. Bethany abruptly pulled her dress back down, looked over at them staring at her, and, with an indignant look, quickly righted herself.

“Don’t just stand there laughing at me! Stop it this instant! Get over here, and help us.” Marcus didn’t stop laughing, but he did help. Jillian did too, and before long, they had all but one chicken back in the coop.

“Hello, Pa,” Jenny called, and Jillian turned to see Dalton standing directly behind her. She didn’t know how long he’d been standing there watching, but by the look on his face, he was quite amused. Just then Marcus hollered, still chasing the last chicken.

“Jillian, it’s headed your way!” Just as she turned, the chicken took flight, heading directly toward her face. Startled, she backed up quickly, lost her balance, and fell back into Dalton, sending them both backwards into the nearby water trough.

Immediately, Marcus and Bethany both doubled over with uncontrollable laughter. Jenny and Lisa fell down in a fit of giggles. Before long little Brenn, who didn’t like to be left out, started laughing as well. Only two members of the group weren’t laughing, and then much to Jillian’s chagrin, only one of them wasn’t.

Jillian struggled and finally managed to get herself off of Dalton and out of the trough. He made no immediate move to get up. He just kept laughing right along with the rest of them. As she stood there dripping, Jillian looked over at her brother and felt her temper rising.

“Marcus Grey, you did that on purpose!” Marcus’s expression instantly became one of innocence, but he wasn’t fooling her.

“Come now, Little Sis, how could I have done that on purpose?” He grinned mischievously. “I don’t . . . speak . . . chicken.” Everyone started laughing again, which only caused her frustration and embarrassment to increase.

“Oh, you make me so angry sometimes, you scoundrel!” She stomped her foot. “Why you are still such a boy, I will never know!” She ran dripping wet into the house and to her room, where she could still hear the sounds of laughter coming from the yard below.

Marcus walked over and held his hand out to Dalton. He took it and Marcus pulled him out of the trough. Still laughing, Dalton asked, “Did I just see her stomp her foot? I seem to remember her doing that once before.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Dalton, our girl has a bit of a temper. She can be a real spitfire, if you really manage to get her goat,” answered Marcus.

“I trust that you know what you’re talking about.” Dalton slapped Marcus on the back. “Well, I guess I best be getting out of these wet clothes. Do you suppose you could round up that last renegade chicken?

“I’m sure I can manage it.” Marcus headed in the direction of the barn where the lone chicken was idly plucking at something on the ground.

“Thanks for completing my day with a good laugh,” Dalton called over to him. “It’s been much too long,” he added with conviction as he walked into the house to change.

Marcus put the last hen away and looked over at Bethany. She had just finished brushing the dirt off the children and was trying to brush the dirt off the backside of her dress. He walked over to her.

“Do you need me to help you with that?” Her head snapped up and she blushed with embarrassment.

“Honestly, Marcus, Jillian’s right. I think you are still just a boy sometimes!” A mischievous look crossed his face again, and Bethany, knowing what Marcus was capable of, looked suddenly worried.

“If I were still just a boy, Bethany Johansen,” he growled with a smirk on his handsome face as he walked closer to her, unknowingly causing her heart to race, “I wouldn’t be strong enough to do this.” Swiftly, he reached down, scooped her up into his arms, walked quickly to the water trough, and dropped her in. A look of complete shock registered on her face as she was suddenly engulfed in the cold water. “There now,” he said with finality, “you and my sister always did like to do everything together.” With that, Marcus turned and walked toward the house, picking Brenn up on his way, and motioned to the two astonished little girls to follow him inside.

Jillian rolled over in bed and stretched. Mornings always came too soon on a farm. She realized she’d slept a little late, so she got up and dressed quickly.

A week had already passed, which meant she only had three more days with Marcus and Bethany. She and Bethany had given the men the silent treatment for a day after the water trough incident. Then Jillian had realized she was wasting precious time with her brother. Though he had apologized on numerous occasions, she still wasn’t certain he felt remorseful enough, but she finally forgave him anyway. She had forgiven Dalton for laughing as well. Bethany followed suit and was soon back to swooning over Marcus. Jillian walked into the kitchen, which almost smelled of fried eggs. Dalton and Marcus were both dressed and talking at the table.

“Good morning,” she said, smiling. She looked over at Marcus. “You’re up early.”

“Dalton and I are going out to do a bit of riding around this morning,” Marcus explained.

“Oh?” she said with a questioning look. “Anything interesting out there I should know about?”

Marcus answered quickly. “No, I just wanted to see a bit more of the land around here.”

“Well, I’ll make you some breakfast so that you can be on your way.” She turned and started gathering the things she needed for hotcakes.

“No need, Little Sis. Dalton here has already made me some breakfast.” Jillian raised her eyebrows again and looked over at Dalton.

“What? I can cook—a little anyway.” Dalton looked out the window. “I was on my own for a while.”

Jillian was instantly flustered. She hadn’t meant to upset him. She thought of her walk with Marcus on his second day here. She hadn’t missed the rather fresh looking flowers lying at Laurellyn’s headstone. They hadn’t been more than a week old. She wondered how often he still went there. Dalton stood up.

“Well, Marcus, we best be on our way.” He took his hat off the hook by the door and placed it on his head. Marcus stood up and did the same but then walked around the table and kissed Jillian on the cheek.

“We should be back by midday, Little Sis. Maybe you could convince Bethany to bake some more of those delicious biscuits. The more I eat, the more I think about putting a ring on that girl’s finger!” Jillian beamed and playfully swatted him on the behind with her wooden spoon as he walked away.

While Marcus waited outside, Dalton saddled his horse, a chore that took longer than usual because Dalton’s thoughts went to Jillian. He envied the relaxed and playful relationship she shared with her brother. He thoroughly liked Marcus and their friend Bethany. Their visit had been a welcome change, bringing fun and laughter to his home once again. He noticed how Jillian’s eyes always seemed alight with joy these days. He suspected it was because she felt loved and valued by her brother and her friend.

The thought caused guilt to well up inside him. She had treated him a lot better than he had been treating her. He wasn’t proud of the man he had been of late. He needed to do right by his wife. Slowly, he led his horse out of the barn toward Marcus, who had climbed up on his horse and was patiently waiting. When Marcus had asked him to go riding around to look at the available land in these parts, Dalton wondered what the man was thinking. This morning he intended to find out.

“Well, Marcus,” he said, as he swung his leg over the saddle, “are you ready to see some of the most beautiful land God ever created?”

Marcus grinned. “I’m counting on it!”

Jillian sat down at her vanity that evening. She was especially tired and looked forward to getting a good night’s sleep. The men had come home from their ride just before the noonday meal. After they had eaten, they headed out to the fields to work for a while. She was glad to see Dalton and Marcus getting along so well. Jillian was just taking her hair down when she heard a soft knock at her door.

“Come in!” she called. Dalton had ridden over to Uncle Ned and Aunt Betty’s home after dinner. He had a matter to discuss with Uncle Ned, and he hadn’t returned yet. Marcus had taken Bethany out for an evening stroll, but Jillian had heard Bethany come in a moment ago, and then she’d heard Marcus’s horse ride off, so that meant it was either Bethany or one of the children at the door.

“Jillian, am I disturbing you? Can we talk?” Bethany asked softly.

“Of course, Beth, come in.” Jillian finished letting her hair down and began brushing it.

Bethany floated into the room and dramatically fainted backward onto Jillian’s bed, bringing her hand to her forehead. Amused, Jillian turned in her chair and gave Bethany her full attention. Bethany sat up and smiled.

“He kissed me, Jilly. We were just standing there on the porch and all of a sudden, he took me in his arms and kissed me.” She lay back on the bed again, and then just as quickly sat back up. “Not just a little peck, either. I thought that I was going to faint dead away, right there.”

Jillian laughed as she got up from her chair, sat down on the bed next to her closest friend, and took her hands.

“Oh, Beth, I’m so happy for you!” She released her hands and gave her a quick hug. “I knew he would eventually get up the nerve, but it certainly took him long enough.” Jillian smiled genuinely at Bethany. “I have never wanted anyone but you for a sister.”

“Don’t be silly, Jilly. He only kissed me! He didn’t ask me to marry him.” Bethany stood up, walked over to Jillian’s vanity, and sat down. Jillian turned to face her.

“I know my brother, Beth. He never would have kissed you in such a way if he wasn’t thinking about marrying you.” Bethany squealed and ran back over to the bed to hug Jillian.

“Do you really think so?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes, silly. I know so,” Jillian answered. “Now you’d better go get some sleep so I can get mine. I get up a lot earlier than you, remember?” Bethany gave her friend another long hug and danced to the door. Before leaving, she turned back to Jillian.