A Bride for Tom(26)
“You ever wonder why Ma and Pa never had any children after you were born? It’s because they didn’t want to make another mistake.”
Joel gasped. “Ma! Tom’s being mean again!”
“What? You can give out the insults but you can’t take it?”
“I can handle them just fine. I don’t want you to run out of ideas, that’s all.”
He rolled his eyes. “You got anything to add, Dave?”
Dave glanced up from his cards and smiled. “Gin.” He set the cards down and grabbed the peanuts from the center of the table. “I’m going to my room to read.”
“You’re no fun, Dave,” Joel replied.
“Really,” Tom agreed. “You’re much too serious.”
Dave shrugged and left the parlor.
Joel’s eyebrow rose. “Think you can beat me at Gin?”
Tom snorted. “Of course, I can.”
“Fine. Prove it.” He picked up the cards so he could shuffle them.
Tom sat in the seat Dave had been in and got ready for the next hand.
Chapter Thirteen
A week later when Tom arrived at her house, Jessica asked him if he wanted to take a quick stroll through the park before supper. “The air isn’t too chilly yet, and I do love the smell of the fall weather, don’t you?”
He stood in front of her door and furrowed his eyebrows. “You notice the way things smell?”
She adjusted her shawl before she stepped out of the house. “Well sure. Don’t you?”
“No. Not really.” He rubbed the back of his neck and lowered his head.
She thought he took a moment to sniff himself. “Um...Tom, are you alright?”
“What?” His head snapped back up and he straightened. “Oh, yes. I’m fine. It’s just something Joel said. Anyway, let’s go for a walk.”
She chuckled as she shut the door and joined him down the porch steps. He was so odd in some ways, and yet, she couldn’t help but enjoy that about him. He didn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t. He was simple and easy to please. After dealing with Peter and his mother, she learned that simple and easy to please were ideal traits.
They turned down the sidewalk that led to the park, and she said, “I’m glad you could get the afternoon to come see me.”
“It’ll be easier to come to town during the winter.” He paused. “Unless it snows a lot. I hope it doesn’t snow a lot.”
“I hope it doesn’t either.”
As they reached the park, he glanced her way. “Next month, my family’s going to help me build a house. You saw one like it. Remember Neil’s place?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be like that.”
She grinned. “You already said that.”
“Oh, did I?” His cheeks grew red.
“But I don’t mind. I like hearing about—” She stopped herself before she said our home. Her mother was right. She had no business rushing things or assuming he’d propose. Still, she thought it was pretty much a done deal, and it was just a matter of time before they exchanged vows. Ideally, the vows would be exchanged in a small gathering of people with nothing more than a potluck supper afterwards. After Connie James, she had no desire for anything elaborate ever again. Clearing her throat, she said, “I like hearing about your home.”
“It’ll be close to water, and there will be lots of land all around. Well, you know what it was like out there.”
“Yes.” She scanned the colorful leaves on the trees and thought of having an apple tree. She’d always wanted an apple tree where she could pick fresh apples in her own yard. “Do you have any apple trees out there?”
“I don’t know. There are a couple of trees in the section of land I’m going to buy.”
“Oh. When I was a little girl, I hoped to make fresh apple pie for my husband.”
“Pie? Well, if there aren’t any apple trees out there, I’ll make sure to plant some,” he quickly said.
She hid her grin. So she was right. The formality of a proposal would come soon enough. And now she had to learn to make pie as well as her mother did.
“Jenny’s anxious to see you,” he stated. “I should take you back out there once the activity dies down.”
“I like Jenny. It’d be nice to see her again. Will you tell her I said hi?”
He nodded.
Jessica glanced away from Tom and halted her steps.
Pausing, he turned back and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She winced. It was just her luck. In all the time Peter was courting her, she never once ran into his mother in the park, and now that the engagement was over, her first trip out here would lead her to Connie James. And Connie was with Maureen. Looking at a confused Tom, she said, “Maybe we should go back. I think that supper might be ready sooner than I thought.”