A Bride for Tom Page 3

  “I understand what you’re saying. You just want to be sure that if your pa needs help, you’re there to assist.”

  “Right.” Yes, that definitely sounded better. Thank goodness she came up with the right words. “Three days from today is good. Nothing’s going to happen that’ll be an emergency.”

  “Then I’ll have lunch ready at noon, and you can stay and dance afterward.”

  He nodded, struggling to remain seated so he wouldn’t jump up for joy. He managed a slight grin, hoping it looked like the kind of grin that someone would give when mildly interested in something.

  Her mother came out and announced that lunch was ready.

  He was relieved. He really couldn’t think of what else to say, and he figured leaving the conversation with Jessica on such a high note was perfect. Nothing could top this. Nope. He was on top of the world.

  ***

  “She’s what?” Tom repeated dumbly as Joel broke out into a fit of laughter.

  “Engaged,” Jenny repeated that evening as they checked on the animals in the barn.

  “But she can’t be engaged. She invited me to go to her house to dance.”

  Jenny shrugged and put the pail of milk next to the cow she’d been milking. “I don’t know why she asked you over there. I just stated a fact. She’s engaged. Peter James is marrying her in December.”

  Turning to Dave who chucked feed into the horses’ troughs, he asked, “Did you know Jessica Reynolds was engaged?”

  Dave shook his head. “No. But I don’t keep track of the local gossip.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes. “It’s not gossip when someone’s engaged. It’s a fact.”

  “I don’t care who’s marrying who.”

  “Sounds just like a man.”

  “Look, I have better things to do than worry about which girl is with which boy.”

  “Well, when your time comes to find a wife, you’ll care.”

  Joel stood up from the floor that he’d been rolling around—and laughing—on. He dusted the hay off of his pants. “Hopefully, you’ll do a better job of paying attention than Tom.”

  “I didn’t see her with any men,” Tom snapped. “And contrary to what everyone thinks, I work hard. I don’t get much time to find out what is going on in town. Besides, why would she dance with me if she was engaged?”

  “Now that is a very good question,” Joel agreed. “In fact, I often wonder why any woman would dance with you at all.”

  Jenny groaned and looked at Joel. “Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning out the stalls?”

  “I’m done,” Joel stated, puffing out his chest with pride. “I did it all myself too. I believe Tom was supposed to help. In fact, I know it. And if he hadn’t been gone all day doing who knows what with Miss Reynolds, then I’d been done sooner.”

  Dave lowered his rake and glanced their way. “Well, what did she say when you apologized?”

  “Nothing!” Tom replied, realizing he sounded harsher than he needed to. After all, Dave wasn’t the one who gave him as much grief as Joel did. Still, what did Dave care? “I thought you were too busy to concern yourself with gossip.”

  “I take that to mean it didn’t turn out good.” Then Dave set the rake down and picked up the feed for the chickens before he left.

  “I don’t know,” Joel slowly said. “You had a goofy smile on your face when you first got here. Something interesting happened.”

  Tom frowned. “You needn’t concern yourself with my affairs.”

  Jenny sighed and picked up the milk pail. “Just so you know, Pa wants you to check the loose latch on the cattle fence before you go in for supper.”

  He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’ll do it.”

  “Come on, Joel,” she told their younger brother.

  “I’m coming,” he called after her as she left the building. Turning to Tom, he asked, “Will you tell me how to handle women?”

  “Why?” Tom asked.

  He smirked. “Because I need to know what women don’t like, and you’re a wealth of information on what men should never do.”

  Tom’s face grew red. He ran after his brother, ready to chuck him right into the stall, but Joel was too quick for him. Tom glowered at his siblings before he grabbed the tools he needed to fix the fence. His good news wasn’t such great news anymore. Now he felt like a fool. Here he thought that Jessica wanted to see him again.

  But if she was engaged, then why did she even ask him to come back? Why did she care if he could dance well or not? Maybe it was a joke. Maybe she, her fiancé and friends were laughing at him right now. He grumbled as he stormed out of the barn, ignoring the way Joel whispered something to Jenny and laughed before he darted into the house.

  How Tom hated living at home! That’s it. I’m getting my own place before the year is up!

  Chapter Five

  “You did what?” Margaret asked, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.

  Jessica sighed and pulled the needle through the cloth she held. “I think you heard me the first time.”

  Margaret stood up from her chair and paced in Jessica’s parlor. “No, I couldn’t have because after he ruined your hair, there’s no reason you would need to voluntarily see him again.”

  “I never said I wasn’t going to see him again.”

  She stopped at the window and rolled her eyes. “What do you want him to do next? Burn your dress?”

  Jessica laughed. “Don’t be silly. He’s not that clumsy.” Then she recalled the vase. If her mother hadn’t caught it, then it would have shattered all over the floor. Not that it was his fault, but who could tell if he’d trip on something else? Well, that was simple enough. “I’ll remove all the breakable items from this room and since it’ll be day, there won’t be any candles or kerosene lamps burning.” She smiled, proud of her ingenuity. “That solves that problem. Nothing will break or catch on fire.”

  “I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit.”

  “Then don’t come over when he’s here.”

  She grunted and glanced out the window. “What are you going to tell Peter?”

  “I already told him when he stopped by last evening to give me the design he wants sewn onto my veil.” Jessica motioned to the fabric in her lap.

  Margaret shook her head and crossed her arms. “Why does he care what your veil looks like?”

  “He doesn’t but his mother does.”

  “Why? It’s not her wedding.”

  “Someone ought to tell her that.” Jessica inspected the white rose on the edge of the veil. “There. I think that will do. All done.”

  “You’re much too nice to people, Jessica.”

  “I don’t want to cause problems.”

  “People take advantage of you.”

  She stood up and collected her sewing kit.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes,” she snapped. She took a deep breath and faced her friend. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get short with you. Weddings are stressful.”

  “I wouldn’t know. First Monica. Then Wendy. And now you.”

  “Your time will come.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You already have your man.”

  “Is it really that bad?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t go to those barn dances because I like to dance or because I like to be around a lot of people.”

  Jessica grinned. “Maybe you should get a mail-order husband.”

  She gasped.

  “Well, why not? Men get mail-order brides all the time. Why not reverse it?”

  “Because there are men available in this town.”

  “Maybe they’re all the wrong ones.”

  “Nice try, Jessica, but it won’t work.”

  Jessica carried the sewing kit and veil and walked to her bedroom. “What won’t work?”

  Margaret followed her. “You’re trying to avoid the issue. What did Peter say when you told him you’re going to have Tom over for dancing lessons?” />
  She set the items on her dresser and frowned. “He laughed.”

  “And?”

  “And that’s it.” She picked up the hat Tom had given her and placed it on her head. “Isn’t this a lovely hat?”

  “Jessica.”

  She couldn’t ignore the warning in her friend’s voice. She groaned. “Fine. He laughed and said that Tom was a hopeless cause.”

  “So he doesn’t care that you’re with another man?”

  “It doesn’t seem that way, does it?” And that bothered Jessica, though she decided not to say it aloud. “His exact words were that I was wasting my time but he couldn’t blame me for wanting to rush in and try to help someone. He thinks it’s ‘adorable’.”

  Margaret followed her out of her room and down the hallway. “Hmm...”

  “Hmm what?”

  “I notice you’re not wearing the hat Peter gave you. You’re wearing Tom’s.”

  “I like Tom’s better. Peter got that horrible green color his mother likes. I swear, it’s like wearing vomit.”

  “It is atrocious.” Her eyes lit up and she stopped her at the front door. Leaning forward, she whispered, “Wear Peter’s hat when Tom is here and he’ll find a way to destroy it.”

  Despite herself, Jessica chuckled. “Oh Margaret, give Tom more credit than that. I think he’s just nervous.”

  “You’re probably right,” she relented. “I guess I shouldn’t be so critical of him.”

  “You shouldn’t. He’s actually a very sweet person.” She pushed the screen door open and walked down the porch steps.

  Her friend joined her and they strolled down the sidewalk. “Are you sure though? I mean, you are engaged.”

  “I’m not hiding anything. I’ve told Peter. My mother will be in the house when Tom comes over. I don’t see why everyone is concerned.”

  “Everyone but Peter?” she commented in a sympathetic tone.

  Jessica hated that Margaret could read her mind. “You can’t tell anyone else what I’m about to say.” Jessica paused and turned to her friend. “You promise?”

  If there was one thing Margaret was, it was loyal to her word, which was why Jessica even ventured to reveal what she’d been carefully concealing for the past month.

  “Of course, I promise.”

  Jessica nodded. “Sometimes I wonder if Peter’s marrying me because his mother approves of me.”

  “No. That can’t be right.”

  “Can’t it? You know how picky Connie James is. I think she has a tight leash on him.” Jessica stepped forward to resume their walk.

  “Well...” She walked forward. “I grant that they are close. But...” She winced. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, she and I get along wonderfully, but sometimes I wonder if she told him to propose to me.”

  “If that’s the case, then why did you say yes?”

  “I didn’t think it when he asked. It’s just something that’s been on my mind for awhile now.”

  “And does this whole thing with Tom make you wonder even more?”

  “Shouldn’t it bother Peter, even a little, that I’m with another man?”

  “Yes. It should.” She picked a leaf from a tree lining the road and asked, “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to teach Tom how to dance.”

  Chapter Six

  Tom stood in front of Jessica’s house and quickly ran through his plan. He wasn’t sure it was going to work, but he had to do something. He didn’t appreciate being made fun of. Well, if Jessica and her friend and fiancé thought he was a fool, he’d oblige them...for awhile.

  Taking a deep breath, he straightened his tie and knocked on the front door. It opened and for a moment, he lost heart. But only for a moment. It didn’t matter how pretty she was or that she wore one of the ribbons he had given her. The fact remained that she had brought him here for her amusement.

  Jessica smiled at him and waved him inside. “I’m glad you could make it. I think we’ll have a good time.”

  He smiled back. I’m sure we will. He scanned the hallway and parlor. Very clever. It seemed as if they were alone for the moment. But they couldn’t be. That Margaret friend of hers and Peter had to be hovering nearby. The closet by the front door was open a crack. Maybe they were hiding in there? His gaze turned to the parlor. The couch was against the wall but not right up against it. Maybe they were behind it. He mentally calculated all the places they might possibly be.

  “My mother is upstairs, but she’ll be down in a few minutes,” Jessica explained as she entered the parlor. “I was thinking we’d do some dancing after lunch. Would you like to sit and talk for a bit?”

  Convenient that her mother should be out of hearing range. Obviously, her mother wouldn’t approve if she knew her daughter planned to make fun of him. Well, he supposed the girl had to cover all of her bases. He took another deep breath. If a show is what she and her friends wanted, then he’d give them all a good one.

  “I don’t mind learning how to dance a little bit before lunch,” he said. “It’d be good to warm up, don’t you think?” Then we can see how badly I can really dance.

  “Oh. I suppose you’re right.”

  He stepped into the parlor and glanced at the table by the chair. “Where’s the vase?” He took off his hat and placed it on the hat rack.

  “The what?” she asked, turning around to face him.

  “The vase. The one I almost broke last time I was here.” Might as well get this whole thing started by reminding them how obnoxious he could be when he was nervous.

  She looked startled. “Oh. That. Um...Well...”

  “Didn’t want me to almost break it again, huh?”

  Her face grew red, notifying him that he was right. “No.” She gave an awkward laugh. “My mother wanted to have it in her bedroom.”

  She was a horrible liar. But he’d let her believe that he didn’t pick up on that. Too bad for her he was better at lying. Deciding to play along, he said, “That’s actually a good thing. You know, that she took it out of here. I remember the time when I broke my mother’s entire china set. Boy, I never saw anyone scream like that. My family won’t let me near anything that can break.” He laughed. “You know what they do when I’m inside the house? They tie me to the chair so I can’t go anywhere.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “That’s terrible.”

  “No. Really, it’s not. I keep destroying things. I don’t know why. It’s like I attract trouble.” He spread his arms out and knocked the plant off the table, pretending it was an accident. “Oh no!” He quickly knelt down and purposely dug out some of the soil in the pot and rubbed it on his hands. Then he picked up the plant and set it back on the table. “There. All better.” He ran his hands through his hair.

  “Uh...Tom...”

  He ruffled his hair again before he wiped his hands on his pants. “What?”

  She looked as if she didn’t know what to say.

  “Are you ready to dance?”

  Her eyes drifted to his hands.

  He held them up and inspected them. “Oh. Of course. The dirt from the plant.” He pulled out the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped them clean. “Better? If you want, I could wash them. Though you might want to wash them for me. I can’t wash my hands at home ever since the rotting floor incident.”

  “The rotting floor incident?”

  He hid his amusement at the mixture of curiosity and horror on her face. “I had pumped the water into the sink, but the water didn’t stop coming out so the kitchen flooded.”

  “Surely, that’s not possible.”

  “I didn’t think so either until it happened. It’s amazing how fast water can cover the whole floor. It took my pa and brothers and me all of a half hour to stop it. Apparently, I yanked the handle too hard. I just don’t know my own strength sometimes. And that’s why they have to feed me too.”

  “But...But you ate fine here the other day.”

&n
bsp; “And that took a lot of self-control.” Inspired, he twitched his shoulders. “Sometimes I get the shakes.”

  She took a step back. “The...the shakes?”

  “Yep. Really bad at times too. One time I got them so bad I ended up throwing food all over the place—and don’t even get me started on what I did with the utensils.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t be serious. You’re pulling my leg.” Then she chuckled, but it sounded as if she was only half-sure of her analysis.

  He shrugged and let his hands slightly shake. “Alright.”

  Her laughter died completely.

  “So...What will we do for music?”

  She cleared her throat. “Oh. Yes. Dancing. Right.” She clapped her hands together and then motioned to the center of the room. “I thought I’d just hum a tune.”

  “That’s a strange way of doing things, but since there’s no one else around here...” He leaned forward so he could check behind the couch. Odd. No one was there. Looking back at her, he smiled. “Let’s get to it.”

  Then he barreled in her direction. He expected her to move out of his way when he purposely tumbled forward, but she didn’t so he had to roll to the side and ended up hitting his head on the side of the couch.

  “Are you alright?” she asked as she knelt next to him.

  He rubbed his temple which was sore. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Oh well. He might as well play along. “The shakes. I told you it comes and goes without warning.”

  She reached for his hand and helped him up. “I should get something for you to put on your head.”

  “Nah. This happens all the time. I’m just lucky it did no real damage like that time when I got hurt somewhere important.”

  “Where would that be?”

  He covered his face, as if ashamed, but what he really needed to do was focus so he wouldn’t laugh at her stunned expression. “I don’t wish to impose on the sensibilities of a lady.” When he settled down the urge to giggle, he held his hands out to her. “Are you ready to dance?”