In Love's Territory

  ~ ~ ~

  She would have recognized Edward’s father even if she had never been introduced to him. It was immediately obvious who Edward got his height, his hair and his eyes from; his father was simply an older version, somewhat softened by age.

  There was something else to him as well, some lightness of spirit that hadn’t passed on to his more serious son, but which Kate found endearing. Edward’s father and her own had hit it off immediately, and her conversation with Mrs. Thompson was frequently interrupted by bursts of laughter from the men.

  It was good to see her father like this. He had always been fond of a good laugh, but ever since her mother had passed on, it had become rarer and rarer to see him really enjoying himself. Kate had nearly forgotten that anybody else was joining them when she heard the sound of footsteps outside on the porch, followed by a rap on the glass of the front door.

  “That’ll be Sam,” Kate said as she stood and headed for the hall, with Becky trailing behind. When she pulled the door open, her jaw nearly dropped to her chest. Good Lord, he’s like a new man, she thought as she looked him up and down. The boy from the farm was gone; standing in front of her was Sam as she had never seen him. He was clean shaven and his thick black hair had been pulled back, giving him the sleek look of a hawk. He was wearing a black coat with a crisp white shirt and his habitually dusty boots had been replaced with leather shoes shined to a gloss. He would have fit in at any of our dinner parties back in Boston. As he smiled at her, Kate felt a quiver in her tummy.

  “Sam, you look wonderful,” Kate said. “I didn’t even know you had such nice clothes,” she blurted out. Her cheeks immediately turned beet-red as she realized how that must have sounded, but Sam let it go by without taking offense.

  “Of course I do,” he said. “There just isn’t much call to dress up on the farm.” In his hand was an explosively colorful bouquet of wildflowers that had been tied with string, which he held out for Kate.

  “These are for you. Just a little something to brighten the room.”

  Kate raised the flowers to her face and breathed deeply. The delicate sweet scents of the flowers—marigolds, black-eyed Susans, cornflowers and several kinds she didn’t recognize—blended together in a delightful perfume. “They’re lovely,” she said. “Thank you, Sam. Becky, put these in a vase and bring them to the dining room, will you?” she said, handing her the flowers.

  Kate turned back to Sam. “Shall we go in? Everybody else is already here.”

  “After you.”

  They stopped in the parlor only long enough for Sam to greet everybody before taking their seats in the dining room. As the staff served dinner—roast chicken with herbed potatoes and corn bread—Kate’s eye was drawn to the vase of wildflowers that Becky had placed upon the sideboard. She smiled a bit at the thought of Sam traipsing around the property picking flowers; it really didn’t seem like the sort of thing she could have expected from him. But then again, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’d been wrong about him. She glanced across the table to Sam and found him staring right at her, returning her smile, and she couldn’t help but let a broad grin form as she looked away.

  The dinner passed, like all good things, too quickly. Edward’s father turned out to be a talented storyteller and regaled the group with his personal history of Mineral Point as he had built up the mining business over the years. He also served as a new audience for Kate’s father, who never liked to pass up an opportunity to tell his own stories. The two made for an entertaining evening and Kate was exhausted from laughing by the time the last plates were cleared away.

  “I have to say, Mary sure can cook,” Mr. Thompson said, laying a hand on his belly. “That was simply delicious.”

  “Well, I hope you saved room for dessert,” Kate said. “Mary made her rhubarb pie this afternoon.”

  Thompson’s eyes grew as wide as a child’s on Christmas morning. “I do believe I have room for that,” he said, grinning as Mary entered, bearing the pie on a platter. Thompson was like a cat watching a mouse as it crossed the room.

  Mary first served Edward’s father, Kate and Mrs. Thompson, all of whom waited for the others to get theirs. Mr. Thompson did not.

  “Mary, you should really enter this pie in the fair,” he said, his voice thickened by the mouthful of pie he was still chewing.

  “What fair?” Mary asked as she placed slices in front of Mark and Jake.

  “The county fair, of course,” Thompson replied. “It’s in two weeks. You know, they always do a bunch of tasting competitions, like for bread, cheese, preserves, things like that. The pie contest is one of the most competitive, but I think you stand a good shot.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Mary said.

  “Seriously, you should consider it,” he said. “I’m actually going to be a judge. I can’t promise you anything, of course, but you could win a prize and everybody in the county would hear about your baking.”

  “How would she enter?” Sam asked.

  “Couldn’t be simpler,” he said. “John Gray has a registration book. She just puts her name in the book, shows up at the fair with her pie, and they’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Very interesting,” Sam said quietly. “Yeah, Mary, you should think about that.”

  “It could be tough competition, though,” Thompson said. “Last year, Linda Bixby won with her cherry pie, and I hear she’s planning to enter it again this time around.”

  “You gotta be kidding,” Mary said. “That woman couldn’t bake a decent pie if her life depended on it. I had some of her cherry pie last summer, and I still ain’t right.”

  “Well, it won her five dollars last year.”

  “Five dollars?” Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to consider things. “Oh, all right. You talked me into it. I’ll do it.”

  “Well, now that that’s decided, perhaps we could enjoy some brandy with dessert,” Carter said, rising from his seat and going to the sideboard. “You wouldn’t mind, would you, Tom?”

  “Absolutely not. Aids the digestion.”

  “Now I should point out that this is a particularly fine liquor. Normally, one should enjoy this all by itself, but with Mary’s pie alongside, I think it’ll be in good company,” Carter said. He peeled the lead foil away and drew out the cork with a flourish. “This bottle came all the way from France. I brought it for Mr. Taylor this evening,” he added. He poured several glasses of brandy, distributing them to the men before recorking the bottle and placing it next to the vase.

  “The flowers are beautiful, by the way,” Carter said.

  “Thanks,” Sam said. “I brought them for Miss Taylor this evening.” He smiled slightly and held his gaze as Carter glared at him.

  Thomas raised the brandy snifter to his face and inhaled deeply before letting out a sigh of pleasure. “That’s superb,” he said. “I’d say a new drink calls for a new toast.”

  “Tom, if you wouldn’t mind, I actually have something I’d like to say,” Carter said. He returned to Kate’s side and raised his glass. “It’s wonderful to be with you all tonight. It’s so nice to be surrounded by friends and family when I have an important announcement to make,” he said. “I mean when we have an announcement to make,” he added, gesturing towards Kate.

  What is he doing? Kate felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

  “Ever since I arrived here in Wisconsin I’ve been consumed with work. Running a successful business can be a demanding task—some of you surely know what I’m talking about—and I had begun to think that I’d never have the chance to marry and have a family. I sometimes don’t know how you did it, Dad.” He paused and looked at Kate, a lopsided grin on his face. “But then I met Katherine Taylor. You know that we’ve been seeing each other for some time now, and you know what a wonderful girl she is. She would make any man the happiest man on earth.” He paused to look around the table, drinking in the attention. “So as the happiest man on earth, I would like to announce that I a
sked Kate for her hand in marriage, and she said yes. Isn’t that right, my dear?”

  It felt like she had been thrust onto a stage without a script, and as all the guests turned their attention to her, Kate could feel herself turning a fine shade of tomato. “Yes, of course that’s right,” she murmured, and the room erupted in cheers. Kate’s father stood and was at her side in a flash, pulling her close in a wordless hug before then embracing Edward; her brothers crowded around her and also each gave her a hug.

  “Kate, I’m so proud of you,” Jake said, a glint in his eye. “I never thought you’d talk somebody into marrying you,” he teased before she slapped his arm.

  Even Becky quickly approached her for a hug, her face split into a huge grin. “Miss Taylor, I’m so happy for you!” she said. She leaned close to whisper. “I’ve been hoping this would happen ever since I first laid eyes on Mr. Carter. You two make such a wonderful couple.”

  “Thank you, Becky,” Kate said, forcing a smile onto her face as she turned to the elder Mr. Carter.

  “My dear, welcome to our family,” he said, taking her hand between both of his. “Edward couldn’t have found a more beautiful, intelligent girl. If I’d only known, I would have brought his mother along on this trip so she could meet you too.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she said. She could feel her cheeks getting warm. “I’m flattered. We’ll have plenty of time to meet later on, I’m sure.”

  Once the room had quieted a bit and everybody had returned to their seats to resume dinner, Kate rose and displayed the warmest smile she could for her guests. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment, my fiancé and I need to talk,” she said.

  There was another round of glasses raised to the new couple, and Kate led Edward out of the dining room, down the hall and out to the porch, closing the door securely.

  “My darling, I’m so happy,” Carter said.

  “I am furious with you!” Kate hissed, spinning to face him. “How could you do that to me?”

  Carter smiled, which only made Kate’s blood boil even hotter. “Sweetheart, like I told you before, I am not accustomed to waiting when I’ve made a decision. Now if you really didn’t want to get married, I’m sure that you would have said something about it just now,” he said. “But in fact you told everybody that you’d marry me, which must mean that you’re serious about it, right?”

  “Only because you put me on the spot like that,” Kate said. “What else was I going to say in front of a roomful of people?”

  “That’s really the only reason why? You’re saying that you don’t love me?”

  “Edward, I—”

  “You don’t love this man who is desperately, hopelessly lost over you?” As his eyes drilled into her, Kate couldn’t help but remember the way he had looked at her on an earlier night, right there on the same porch, not so long ago. That look had lit a flame within her which burned still, and as her eyes swept over Carter’s chiseled features, she felt her anger draining away.

  “Of course I love you,” she said, and this time his smile only warmed her gently. He moved to her and took her by the hands.

  “So let me ask you again, in a more private setting,” he said quietly. “And this time you have your chance to say no, though I hope you won’t. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, Edward,” she said. “I will.” She slapped him on the arm. “And if you’d just waited a bit more, maybe you would have gotten the same response without getting me so upset. It’s a big decision, after all, and one that shouldn’t be rushed into.”

  “Darling, sometimes decisions are too big to delay, on the other hand,” he said. “And as I’ve said, when I first met you, I knew how things were going to turn out.”

  “Oh, is that right?”

  “That’s the truth,” he said, and he leaned in for a kiss. The touch of his lips sent a thrill through her body and she stepped closer, wrapping herself in his arms.

  “I never expected to find a man like you in these parts,” she said. “When we first came out here I was afraid that I’d only find, you know, farmers.”

  “I thought the same thing,” he said. “That just goes to show you that you can never tell where you’ll find a treasure.”

  Kate raised her mouth to meet his again, but their lips had barely touched when the front door suddenly opened. They stepped apart quickly as Sam came out onto the porch, passed them on his way down the steps, and started up the hill to his cabin.

  “Sam, you’re not leaving, are you?” Kate said. “It’s so early.”

  “Afraid I’m not feeling well,” he called, without even looking back. “Thanks for having me.”

  As she watched him go, she stepped back to Carter’s side. He likes you, Becky had told her. Kate let her hand drop down to Edward’s; he squeezed it gently and turned to her.

  “We have a lot to do,” he said. “There are a lot of plans to be made.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Sam was almost racing up the hill, as if he couldn’t get away from the house fast enough.

  “There’s probably not enough time to plan a proper wedding before the weather turns.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. She watched as Sam reached his cabin and stepped inside without looking back.

  “Darling?”

  She turned and looked at Carter as if waking up, and realized that he had said something else she didn’t catch.

  “I asked you what you thought about a spring wedding.”

  “Oh, that would be lovely,” she said. “Of course, let’s have a spring wedding.”

  “You seem distracted,” Carter said. “Is everything all right?” He glanced up the hill to Sam’s cabin.

  “Everything’s fine,” she said. “Come on, let’s go back inside before they think we ran off to elope.”

  Carter kissed her again quickly. “Don’t give me any ideas,” he muttered, holding the door open for her.