RNWMP: Bride for Theodore (Mail Order Mounties)(10)
Miss Hazel’s eyes danced mischievously. “Only three. The men sure seemed to like your pancakes. You didn’t think to save me any, did you?”
Jess shook her head at the older woman’s deviousness. “On the work table, next to the stove. Would you mind washing your own dishes? I want to give this cabin a good spring cleaning before we go.”
“I don’t mind a bit. I don’t believe I’ll help with the spring cleaning though. I think Theodore will be more impressed when he realizes you did it all yourself.”
“Theodore doesn’t want to keep me, Miss Hazel. He’s made that very clear.”
“Maybe he has, but I heard him ask you to go with him on a walk today. And you’re making a picnic. He was quite clear that he didn’t want me to go!”
Jess frowned. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“Of course I was! I also could see on his face that he really wanted to kiss you. Why, I think if I hadn’t been in just the next room, and you hadn’t had your hands soaking in soapy water, he’d have swept you into his arms and kissed you right there and then!”
“He would not have! We’re not courting. He’s just showing me around town.” The blush on Jess’s face belied her words. She’d felt something between them as well, and it hadn’t felt one-sided as it usually did.
“Oh, pshaw! What are you wearing for the picnic? You have that beautiful white day dress with the blue ribbon running along the bodice and the hem. That would be perfect, don’t you think?”
“Oh, but I wanted to wear that when I—” Jess stopped talked, turning her back to the older woman as she fussed with using the dust cloth in her hand to chase away a couple of cobwebs.
“When you married my Teddy? But I thought the wedding was off? Why have a pretty dress if you’re not going to wear it?”
Jess was glad she couldn’t see Miss Hazel’s face, because she could hear the self-satisfaction in her voice. “I think I’ll wear my mint green day dress. It’s brand new, and it seems just the thing to wear for a picnic. And I have a bonnet to match. I’m going to wash all the bedding later, so I’ll have to hunt for a clean quilt for us to sit on.” She walked to the door, still keeping her back to the older woman and shook out her cloth. “Would you like me to fix your lunch as well?”
“I would adore that. In fact, I think I’m going to let you do the cleaning and cooking by yourself. I want to know what’s going to happen to that wicked Mr. Darcy!” Miss Hazel had a huge grin on her face as she tucked into her breakfast. Whether or not Jess knew it, she was about to be her daughter-in-law. Nothing would make her happier. Except maybe grandbabies, and they’d only be a matter of time. Who didn’t want grandbabies, after all?
4
Jess cooked up a big ham, and she used that for ham sandwiches for the picnic. There was enough left that she could make some lovely omelets for breakfast for all the men the next morning. She left a sandwich with some of her potato salad in the middle of the table as she packed up a basket with lunch. It was obviously a basket used for marketing, but she knew it would work for a picnic just as well.
She called out as she left, “Your lunch is on the table, Miss Hazel! I put a pile of mending out for you as well.”
“That’s fine, dear! We’ll do the mending together.”
Jess shook her head. As much as she loved Miss Hazel and knew the older woman loved to take care of her boy, she was shouldering all the work. Jess liked to work, so it didn’t bother her, but it did surprise her that Miss Hazel was shirking.
She walked toward the Mountie office and enjoyed the quiet of the street. There were few people out and about. It was a quiet little town, and just the opposite of what she was used to in Ottawa, but it was a welcome change.
Jess stood for a moment outside the door to the office, wondering if she should just walk in, but she decided it was a place of business. A knock would be conspicuous and out of place. She opened the door to find Theodore leaning over his work, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He needed a haircut.
She cleared her throat. “Constable Hughes?” She felt like she was being too formal when she referred to him that way, but he hadn’t yet asked her to call him Theodore…or Teddy. She always thought of him as Theodore, but Miss Hazel insisted upon calling him Teddy. She couldn’t help but wonder which he would prefer from a woman he had almost kissed at a dish basin.
Theodore looked up, his green eyes flashing. “Jessica. Thank you for coming to rescue me from my paperwork!”
“I’m happy to do it!” She watched as he took his hat off the wall and plopped it atop his head.
“Let’s go for a quick tour of town, and then we’ll have a picnic in the meadow behind the mercantile.”
“I’d like nothing more,” she said softly. Her voice sounded breathless to her, and she bit her lip. She couldn’t sound that way to him. It might make him realize just how much she cared, and of all things in the world she wanted, that was at the very bottom of the list—unless he told her he cared, and then she could blurt the words right out!
Theodore offered his arm, something he’d rarely done with a lady. Back in Ottawa he’d had a young lady he squired around for a while, but she was easily forgotten when he’d decided to be a Mountie. He was excited to show Jess the small town he’d grown to love. “No one is quite sure how Squirrel Ridge Junction got its name, but you must admit, it is unusual.”