A Bride for Tom (9 page)

Connie gasped and motioned for Peter to catch
her before she fell back.

He dutifully did as prompted and looked at
Jessica. “I don’t understand. We are a good match.”

“No, not really.” She glanced at the way he
helped his mother sit down and fanned her. She bit back the urge to
insist he was already married to his mother and said, “I fancy Tom
Larson.”

“Tom Larson?” he repeated, dumbfounded.

“The farmer’s son?” Connie asked.

“Yes. Tom Larson.” She fingered her shawl,
wondering if this was a good time to make her exit. She certainly
wasn’t going to be popular with these two anymore. “I thank you
both for your kindness and hope you well in life.”

As she made her way out of the kitchen,
Connie called out, “Peter, stop her!”

Jessica rolled her eyes as he obeyed. Getting
out of this trap of a marriage to Peter James was the best thing
she ever did for herself. Tom might be clumsy, but at least he
could think for himself!

Peter caught up to her as she reached the
front door. “I’m sure we can work things out. Maybe we could meet
tomorrow and further discuss this.”

“No, Peter, there’s nothing to discuss.”

“But Mother worked so hard on putting this
wedding together. You will disappoint her.”

Her face flushed in anger. “Your mother is
exactly why this will never work. You don’t love me, nor do I love
you. You need to find a woman you want instead of letting your
mother pick her for you. Now, please, let me go home.”

He looked as if he were going to protest but
nodded. “Very well.” He opened the door just in time for Connie to
run out of the kitchen.

Connie grabbed Jessica’s arm and, with big
tears forming in her eyes, said, “Surely, you want a life better
than what a farmer can give you. Peter’s going places. He’s already
gotten a fine promotion at work.”

“Mother—” Peter began.

“You can’t do this to us, Jessica.” The woman
choked on a sob and brought a handkerchief to her mouth. “However
will I find another daughter-in-law who my friends will approve
of?”

Jessica rolled her eyes, though the woman was
too busy sobbing to notice. “Ma wants me home.” Then she quickly
slipped out the door before Connie could grab her again.

***

Tom whistled all the way home. Jessica was
going to actually let him court her! She even kissed him. Did life
get any better than this?

As soon as he got home, he figured he should
talk to his father. If he was going to be taking a bride, he needed
a home to bring her to. There was no way he was going to stick
around this place. Not with his irritating little brothers hovering
around to cause trouble or embarrass him.

Once he unsaddled the horse and put him in
the stall for the night, he ran into the kitchen where his mother
and sister were washing dishes.

“You’re late,” his mother said. “I got a
plate of leftovers on the table if you’re still hungry.”

“Oh well, I ate at Jessica’s,” he
replied.

Jenny stopped drying a plate. “So the evening
went well then?”

“It sure did. I’m courting her now!” His
chest puffed up with pride. Imagine...someone like him courting
someone like Jessica.

“Good,” Jenny said. “I think she’d be a fun
sister-in-law.”

Their mother groaned. “No one is married yet.
Don’t go jumping the gun.”

“Who’s jumping the gun? If she agreed to let
him court her, then it’s a done deal.”

“Jenny.”

Noting the warning tone in their mother’s
voice, Tom asked, “Where’s Pa? I want to talk to him about getting
my own house.”

“He’s in the parlor playing cards with your
brothers.”

“Great!” He hurried down the hall and stopped
as soon as he reached the threshold of the entertainment room where
his pa, Dave, and Joel studied their cards in silence. “Pa, can I
talk to you?”

Joel looked up from his hand. “How rude, Tom.
You can see we’re in the middle of a game.”

“But this is important. Pa?”

Their father glanced up and nodded. “Alright.
Come on in and pull up a seat. We got room for one more.”

Joel grumbled under his breath but moved to
make room for his brother at the round card table.

Tom shook his head. “I’d rather talk to you
alone.”

That statement got both Dave and Joel to turn
from their cards in interest.

“Pa?” Tom asked.

His father nodded and threw his cards down.
“The pot is all yours,” he told Dave and Joel.

“Yipee,” Joel muttered to Dave. “Whatever
will we do with unlimited peanuts?”

Ignoring the sarcastic remark, his father
walked with Tom outside so they could have some privacy on the
porch.

Once they sat in their chairs, Tom spoke.
“You remember Jessica Reynolds, don’t you?”

“Yes. She was the only new person who’s been
out here.”

“Well, she and I are courting!”

“Sure,” Joel called out, obviously not
believing him.

Startled, Tom jumped out of his chair and saw
that the parlor window was open. Oh great! Just what he needed:
more teasing from his little brother. “Can’t we get rid of
him?”

“Dave, close the window,” their pa called
out.

Tom waited until Dave complied before he
turned back to his pa. Satisfied, he sat back down and continued,
“So, when can I get that house that you were talking about?”

“I suppose in a month once the harvest is
over.”

“And I can pay you back, a little at a
time?”

He nodded. “That’d be fine.”

Tom slapped his knee in excitement.
“Great!”

“Now, you just started courting the girl
when? Tonight?”

“Yep.”

“Well, I can tell you’re anxious to marry
her, but you can’t rush into this. Marriage is a lifetime
decision.”

“I know.” And Jessica was the right one. He
just knew it!

“And you’re not going to propose until next
summer at the soonest.”

He frowned. “That long?”

“That’s when planting will be done. Then you
can marry after the harvest.”

“But that’s too long.”

“You only say that because you’re young.”

“How old were you when you married Ma?”

He sighed and dug out his pipe. “That’s
beside the point.”

“If memory serves, you were eighteen.”

“People married earlier back then.” He lit
his pipe and started smoking.

“That’s not true. Some eighteen year olds
marry today.”

“But you’ve only known her for what? A
week?”

Shifting in his chair, he shrugged. “About
that. Maybe longer.”

“I grew up with your ma. We were friends
before we learned how to walk.” A smile crossed his face and he got
that nostalgic look in his eye that alerted Tom that he’d be in for
a good hour’s worth of memories if he didn’t bolt. “I still
remember when I first realized I loved her. We were twelve
and-”

“I think Ma’s calling for me.” Tom stood up
and straightened his vest. “Thanks for the talk, and I can’t wait
to get started on that house. Bye.” Then he entered the house
before his father could call him back out.

As he passed the parlor, Joel snickered
behind his cards.

He stopped. “I can’t wait until I’m out of
here.”

“Me neither,” Joel replied. “It’s hard living
with the way you smell, not to mention how loud you snore. Maybe
I’ll finally be able to get a good night’s sleep around here.”

“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 them?”

“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 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.

“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.”

She managed a slight turn before Connie
called out to her. “Jessica, dear? Is that you?”

Jessica rolled her eyes. The woman knew very
well it was her! Great. Now she was trapped. “Let’s get this over
with,” she whispered to Tom before she headed down the path to meet
up with Connie and Maureen.

“Who are they?” he asked as he picked up his
pace to keep up with her.

“The woman wearing the green dress is Peter’s
mother.”

He slowed. “His mother?”

The two women were quickly approaching, so
all she could do was offer an apologetic smile.

“Jessica,” Maureen began, “you look good this
afternoon.”

“Yes, you certainly do,” Connie added.

Taking a deep breath, Jessica forced her feet
to remain still. “Thank you. You two look good as well.” She knew
the introductions had to be made, so she motioned to Tom. “This is
Tom Larson. Tom, this is Connie James and her friend, Maureen
Brown.”

Maureen gave a curt nod. “How do you do?”

Tom shifted from one foot to the other. “Um,
I’m fine. I guess.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You guess you’re fine?
Don’t you know either way?”

“Well...” He cleared his throat. “I am. I’m
fine.”

Connie shot Maureen a look that Jessica knew
didn’t mean well for Tom. She cleared her throat then said, “Tom is
taking a break from harvesting. It’s a lot of work for farmers this
time of year.”

“Yes,” Maureen replied. “Farming is a
necessity those on the lower end must bear.”

“Peter got a job promotion, you know,” Connie
told Maureen.

She gasped in surprise. “Did he now?”

“Yes. He has his own office and
everything.”

“My, my, my. That boy is certainly going
places.”

“That he is.” Connie clasped her hands and
smiled. “He makes a mother proud.”