A Husband for Margaret(10)
Glancing at Doug and Bob, he said, “You remember what I told you about being on your best behavior when Miss Williams is here?”
Doug nodded. “Course we will, Pa. We want a ma.”
“Good. That means there’s no fighting, and you have to help keep Charles and Ben out of trouble.”
“We can do that.”
“We want a ma so she can make pie!” Bob said.
“Your new ma isn’t only there to make you pies,” Joseph replied.
“Oh, we know that.” A sad look crossed Doug’s face. “We remember our real ma. Will Miss Williams be like her?”
“Not exactly like her,” Joseph told him. “Some things will be the same. Others will be different. No two people are alike.”
“But she does make pie, right?” Bob asked.
“Yes, she does.”
Doug’s mood brightened. “Can she make cookies?”
“Well, yes, she did mention making those too,” Joseph said.
“And I bet she won’t burn ‘em like Pa does,” Bob told Doug.
“That wasn’t my fault,” Joseph inserted. “If I hadn’t been changing a diaper and trying to break up you two fighting, those cookies would’ve been just fine. Now sit down and get ready to eat.”
They obeyed him.
“We’ll be real good, Pa,” Doug assured him. “Don’t you worry none.”
Joseph could only hope they would follow through on that promise. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Margaret off.
***
Margaret got out of Jessica’s buggy and scanned the Larson property. The men were hard at work in the fields with their horses and plows. She looked at her friend who set the brake. “Do you like being out on a farm?”
“It’s alright,” Jessica replied. “It’s more work than being in town was, but it’s good work. It certainly beats having to be with Peter and his dreadful mother.” She smiled and looked out in the distance. “I do enjoy being with Tom.”
She rolled her eyes but grinned. “I know. He’s all you talk about.”
“Oh, I talk about other things.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Didn’t I just mention working on a farm and Peter and his mother?”
“Because I asked a question.”
“Well, not everyone hides their enthusiasm as well as you do.”
Margaret waited for Jessica to get out of the buggy before she said, “I show my feelings.”
“Yes, but no one would know you’re excited about today.” Jessica nudged her in the side. “It’s alright for you to look excited.”
She shrugged.
“I hope you let Joseph know you enjoy being with him. Men need to know we like having them around.”
Margaret sighed. “I don’t know.”
Jessica gave her a good look. “You don’t know what? Are you having doubts about him?”
“No, it’s not that.” Unable to look her friend in the eye, she studied her fingernails. “He almost seems too good to be true, that’s all. I can’t help but feel that something bad is going to happen.”
“Well, there are four boys.”
“It’s not even that.” She took a deep breath and set her hands at her sides so she’d stop picking at her nails. She hated that nervous habit. “It’s just... It’s going too smoothly, don’t you think?”
“Seriously, Margaret.” Jessica chuckled. “You are the only person I know who can’t accept the fact that something good is happening to her. You need to lighten up. Not everything is gloom and doom. Why, you have me for a friend, and we’ve known each other since kindergarten.”
“Yes, but everything good happens to you. You’re like a good luck charm. You smile and the sun shines.”
Jessica laughed even harder.
Breaking into a sly smile, she pointed to the sky. “Oh look. That cloud is leaving. Jessica laughed, so it’s time to make more room for the sun.”
“So that’s why I’m your matron of honor at your wedding. You want to make sure it doesn’t rain.”
They paused while Joel approached them. “I came to take care of the horses,” he said.
“Thank you,” Jessica replied.
They watched in silence as he unhitched the steeds.
He glanced over at them with an uneasy expression on his face. “You weren’t talking about me, were you?”
Jessica blinked. “Of course not, Joel. We were just discussing some personal things.”
Still looking uncertain, he nodded and took the animals to the pasture.
Margaret raised an eyebrow. “You know he’s going to spend the rest of the day wondering if we were talking about him.”