Moonlight on the Millpond

  Jace took in the blonde curls that escaped the coils of hair at the back of her head and the sparkling blue eyes amid a lovely complexion and almost shook his head. A moment later he spotted Cathy in the rear of the store and went that way.

  “You didn’t tell me she was pretty.”

  Cathy heard Jace’s voice even though she hadn’t seen him come in. In the back room, looking on a low shelf for a certain size clay jug, she turned with a smile.

  “She’s not pretty,” Cathy countered, “she’s beautiful.”

  Jace smiled, unable to argue with her.

  “Did you meet her?” Cathy asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “Well, let me find the jug I’m looking for, and I’ll come out and do the honors.”

  Jace was only too happy to meet this young woman, so he waited while Cathy searched. Having poked her head under the back-room counter, she asked why he was in.

  “I just need a bit of wire. We won’t repair things at the mill until the planting is done, but I’ve got to jury-rig that crank.”

  “Here it is!” Cathy exclaimed, making a mental note to add that size to the order list. “Come on, Jace—come and meet Maddie—and then I’ll get that wire.”

  The two walked back out front, only to find that the woman at the counter was now debating among four fabrics. Maddie had moved off to help someone else and was just finishing with that man when her aunt caught her eye.

  “Maddie,” Cathy said, wasting no time, “meet Jace Randall.”

  “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Randall. My aunt has written about you numerous times.”

  “Please call me Jace,” that man said, thinking she was really quite beautiful.

  “I’ve decided, Maddie,” the woman suddenly called.

  Maddie smiled her goodbye at the two and went toward the customer. She measured and cut the fabric that was chosen and folded it for the woman to place in her basket. By that time Cathy was finding the wire and other customers had arrived. Maddie greeted the three young ladies who had entered and asked if she could help.

  “We’re just looking right now,” she was told, and so she went about her business. It took Maddie several minutes to notice what kind of browsing they were doing. All their looking seemed to be directed at Jace Randall.

  While she was still watching, Jace caught their attention, nodded briefly in their direction, and then glanced at Maddie. Maddie couldn’t stop the way her eyes lit with laughter. Wanting to laugh as well, Jace only shook his head in Maddie’s direction and turned back to Cathy.

  And with no warning, the store grew busier. Two more customers arrived, and Maddie was very occupied. Cathy was run off her feet as well, and when things calmed nearly 30 minutes later, Maddie found herself outside, having just helped a woman load a box of supplies into her wagon. On her way back inside, she found Jace just emerging.

  “Did you get everything you needed, Mr. Randall?”

  “Yes, and it’s Jace.”

  Maddie nodded, smiled, and suddenly teased, “Did you realize when you came into town that you would also be part of the merchandise?”

  Jace only laughed as two young men came out the door behind him. They were doing some looking of their own, only it wasn’t at him.

  “I see you’re also mistaken for dry goods,” Jace returned when the men had moved on.

  “Only on occasion,” Maddie said dismissively, and Jace knew that it was probably more along the lines of daily.

  “I’d better get back inside.” Maddie was the one to break away.

  “Have a good day, Miss Shephard,” Jace said with a respectful bow of the head.

  Thinking he was as kind as her aunt’s letters had indicated, Maddie thanked him and slipped back into the store.

  Neither one realized their entire conversation had been observed. Doyle Shephard, sitting by a window in the parlor and working to stay rested and calm, found his pulse quickening. Why had it never occurred to him how perfectly suited Maddie and Jace were? He didn’t have an immediate answer, but the question occupied his mind for the remainder of the day.

  “You’re wondering about the cost of boards, Mr. Muldoon?” Woody clarified.

  “That’s right. We might be entering into a building project in the foreseeable future, and I was just trying to get an idea. Do you have any prices for us?”

  Woody had never talked to this man. When he went to services, it was to the Center Meetinghouse. When he went. However, he patiently explained the cost of cut boards versus the cost of the customer providing his own logs to be cut. If the prices were a surprise, the pastor gave no indication.

  Douglas Muldoon listened intently, thanked the sawyer for his time and information, and went back to town. He had brought the small wagon he owned and now drove his horse back in the direction of home.

  Douglas reminded himself that he could not worry about this. God had provided the money for their needs, and He would certainly reveal the details in the appropriate time.

  Jace fed the livestock early Sunday morning, not paying attention to what he was doing, just going through the motions, his mind far away. Not until the rooster tried to spur him did he realize he’d better attend.

  “You could end up in a stew pot,” he mumbled to the large, colorful rooster, who clearly knew he was the king of the farmyard.

  Jace was eyed disdainfully for his comment and then completely ignored. He finished the chores without consequence and then went inside for breakfast. He took extra time in cleaning up, and when he arrived in the kitchen, he was dressed to go out.

  “You going courtin’?” Woody teased.

  “No,” Jace said quietly but firmly, working to convince himself as well as his uncle. “I’m going to services this morning.”

  Woody stared at him and then asked, “At the meetinghouse?”

  This stopped the butter knife in Jace’s hand. He set it and the muffin down and stared at his uncle.

  “Yes. Where else would I go?”

  “There is a Center Meetinghouse right on the green, but then there’s a group that meets at the Muldoons’, the yellow house in town.”

  Working to be as nonchalant as he could manage, Jace went back to buttering one of the muffins Clara had left for them. He tried to wait a while, but his mind was too anxious.

  “Where do Shephards attend?”

  Woody took a sip of his coffee and grinned.

  “I wondered what took so long in town yesterday. You met Maddie, didn’t you?”

  “I might have,” Jace hedged, smiling but not willing to be caught outright.

  Woody wanted to tease him and draw him along, but he didn’t have the heart.

  “They attend on the green.”

  Jace nodded.

  “I think I’ll go with you,” Woody announced, stopping Jace’s breakfast again.

  “Can I trust you should we happen upon Miss Shephard?”

  “Trust me how?” Woody said with a satisfied smile.

  “To keep quiet.”

  Woody only grinned at him, and Jace shook his head, wishing he’d lied to his uncle about where he was headed.

  Well now, Doyle thought to himself, noticing that Woody and Jace had slipped into the rear of the meetinghouse. He’d not shared his thoughts with anyone, but he had wondered all day— and some in the night—if Jace had taken any notice of his girl. He hadn’t seen Jace in the meetinghouse since he moved there, and he’d not seen Woody since long before his health began to decline. Assuming Jace was there for only one reason, Doyle found himself as satisfied as if he’d managed the whole business himself.

  “Join us for dinner,” Doyle said hospitably to Woody and Jace once the service ended. “We have plenty.”

  “Thank you,” Woody accepted, amazed at himself. He tended to be a loner and couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten in someone else’s home. He glanced at Jace to see what he thought of the idea, but Jace was looking in Maddie’s direction, telling Woody he’d done the right thing.
br />   Maddie was not looking their way. She appeared to be making an exit from two young men who were trying to speak to her. There was a smile on her face, but she kept backing away from them. They didn’t get the message, however, and kept moving with her. Finally, Doyle spotted them and went to the rescue. In the midst of all of this, Woody also took in the fact that when the young ladies passed by Jace, they did so slowly, hoping to catch his eye. Woody could actually find it in his heart to pity them, but he wasn’t at all sad that Jace’s gaze went in Maddie’s direction.

  “I’m sorry if I kept you,” Maddie said as she joined the group. “They had questions about Boston.”

  Maddie said this with such sincerity that for a moment Jace’s and Woody’s brows both rose. Did she really think they were mostly interested in Boston?

  “Woody and Jace are joining us for dinner,” Cathy said, telling her it didn’t matter.

  The Shephards began to walk down the green toward their home, but Woody and Jace retrieved their wagon from the meetinghouse stables and moved it to sit behind the store. They stabled their horse with Doyle’s livestock before going to the front door to join the family.

  In a very short time the women had made the table comfortable for five, food laid out in plentiful amounts but without the bother of cooking. Cathy always made plenty on Saturday so Sunday could be a true day of rest. She wasn’t overly religious herself, but she knew she couldn’t get through the week without that day off.

  The five were seated a short time later, and cheese, slices of pork, bread, apples, corn cakes, and honey were passed in liberal amounts. Cathy put coffee on to boil. She would also serve the blueberry cobbler she’d made last evening.

  “You almost done at the mill, Woody?” Doyle asked.

  “It’s wrapping up fast, this week I expect. It’s time to get into the fields.”

  “Nickleby started his planting. I think we’ll have more frost, but he’s sure not.”

  “What did he put down in his south field?” Woody asked.

  Sitting quietly and taking all this in, Jace thought he could almost thank his sister. Having her challenge him about his involvement with females had forced him to monitor the way he responded to them. So many days he found women wandering past the mill, women who were a little easier to ignore because of how forward he found them.

  But now he realized he could easily fall into the same category. He wanted to speak with Maddie, hear her voice, and have her eyes meet his, but he did nothing to accomplish this. He sat quietly and ate, speaking only when he was spoken to and not letting his eyes rest on Maddie for more than a moment at a time.

  And he was certain this was wise because she didn’t seem to notice him at all. He knew that some of his interest was over this very fact. The one who didn’t want you was the one you wanted. But Jace knew it was more than that. Had this woman wandered by the sawmill to catch his eye, he would have let it be caught, not worrying in the least if Eden could claim the victory.

  “How much field planting have you done, Jace?”

  “A little,” he answered, coming back swiftly. “I used to help on a farm, but that was years past.”

  “He’ll catch on.” Woody spoke with confidence, and Jace had all he could do not to look at Maddie.

  Had he but known it, he could have looked at Maddie. She was smiling in his direction over the compliment, and his looking wouldn’t have made a bit of difference to her. She was not interested in getting married, and no amount of male attention was going to sway her feelings.

  “Let me slice that for you, Doyle,” Maddie offered, taking the apple from her uncle’s hand and using her knife.

  “Are the little children in Boston missing you, Maddie?” Woody wished to know.

  “Everyone is quite grown up these days,” she explained. “I’m really more of a companion to the missus, and I think the family is getting ready to travel, so the timing was very fine.”

  “Actually, Maddie, I was wondering who was peeling their apples for them,” teased Woody. Maddie laughed and continued her work.

  Jace watched her hands with the apple, finding himself wondering if her skin was soft. The store was rough work, but she’d only just arrived. Had the work in Boston already taken a toll, or would her hands have known an easier life in that place?

  “Coffee’s ready,” Cathy announced, rising to find mugs while Maddie went for the cobbler and the cream pitcher.

  As soon as Maddie stood, Jace relaxed a bit. She was gone from the room for a moment, leaving him free to look around as well as watch for her return, something he did with great pleasure, not missing a thing about the way she moved or looked. Her dress was a soft yellow, not a gingham like Cathy usually wore but a solid color with darker yellow, almost gold, fabric on the collar and cuffs.

  Not that he would be caught looking. He was careful to school his features before she had a chance to look his way, realizing that having to be on his toes might make for a long afternoon. It was worth it, however. Right now he couldn’t imagine a place he’d rather be.

  Maddie was also just where she wanted to be, having had few expectations on the day. All she was looking for was a day off from the store, and she was getting that. When she suddenly found herself alone in the parlor with Jace Randall, she thought little of it. Doyle had remembered something he wanted Woody to see in the store. Cathy had gone with them, Maddie was sure, to keep an eye on her husband’s activities. Maddie had slipped up to her room to get some handiwork, and when she emerged, Jace was in the parlor.

  “Oh, you’re still here, Mr. Randall. I thought you might have gone to the store.”

  “It’s Jace, and I wasn’t invited,” he said easily, trying not to be disappointed at her lack of interest.

  “Would you care for some more coffee?” Maddie answered, even though all she wanted to do was sit down and not think.

  “No, I’m fine. Can I get you some?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Maddie took a chair, and Jace sat as well. She set her knitting in her lap and looked across at her guest.

  “Don’t let me keep you from whatever you’re going to do,” Jace said as he stood. “I’ll just look at some of these books if that’s all right.”

  “Certainly.”

  Maddie bent her head over her sewing, seeing that her aunt’s letters had been correct: Jace Randall was a very kind man, and polite in the bargain. Giving him little attention, she grasped the needles and went to work.

  Jace did his level best to read the page from the book he’d selected from the oak shelf, but it wasn’t going well at all. While in her room, Maddie had slipped her apron off, unsettling her hair a bit. Her usual wound braids were slightly disheveled, and the little curls that had escaped around her neck were nothing short of distracting.

  His own hair was close to the same color, but he’d never thought of his as being attractive. Her hair was so lovely and glossy that he wanted to touch it.

  “What book did you choose?” Maddie asked.

  “The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.”

  “I’ve not read that.”

  “Nor I.”

  “I’m sure Doyle won’t mind if you take it.”

  “I might ask him.”

  “Is there time in your evenings for reading, or do you have equipment to mend?”

  “There is some repair work, but there’s time to read too.”

  Maddie nodded, her head dipping now and again to check her edges.

  “Do you read much?” Jace asked.

  “Not books, but I enjoy the newspaper.”

  “Boston must have offered plenty of those.”

  “Yes, daily.”

  “And what about Tucker Mills? Will our small newspaper be enough for you?”

  “I think so. I’m not used to the work in the store just yet, so right now I haven’t much energy left for reading at the end of the day.”

  “I take it this is a little different from your life in Boston?”
br />   Maddie smiled. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  Jace nodded, but he didn’t need any further explanation. Mr. Vargas from the glass factory had a wife and two daughters, and they would visit now and again. Their clothing spoke of style and wealth. Maddie Shephard’s clothing—especially the dress she’d chosen for today—looked the same way.

  “How long will you stay?” Jace asked before he thought that she might not think it his business.

  “As long as I’m needed.”

  Jace nodded, his heart torn. In no way did he want Doyle to be in ill health, but if he was back in the store, Maddie would leave. Jace didn’t let this fact panic him, but he did know one thing: No matter when she left Tucker Mills, she wouldn’t go without knowing how he felt.

  “You’ve been grinning since we arrived home,” Woody teased Jace much later that day.

  “Have I?”

  “Yes. Something tells me you won’t be hanging around on this farm most evenings.”

  “Well,” Jace replied logically, “if I’m going to marry the girl, I can’t sit out here all the time.”

  “Marry her, huh? That bad, is it?”

  “Not bad at all,” Jace said with a smile. “And I’ll do my best to see that you’re there for the wedding.”

  Woody’s head went back when he laughed, and Jace felt himself relax, realizing that his uncle’s approval on this subject meant quite a bit to him. Not until much later did he wonder what Eden would think, and then he told himself he didn’t care.

  On Monday morning, Alison Muldoon realized she needed lard. She added that to her list for Shephard Store and saw that the list was getting rather long. She was ready to leave Hillary at home with her brothers and do some shopping, but when Hillary asked to go, Alison took them all along.

  The store was quiet when they arrived, and because Alison knew Cathy, she went directly to her. Maddie was across the store, restocking bolts of cloth and cleaning the counter, fixing and straightening items from the morning business. She saw Alison come in, the boys behind her, and then she spotted Hillary.