Part 25 (2/2)
”Maybe I can contribute?” she suggested timidly, accustomed to any mention of performing tasks being sternly ruled out by her mother.
”How?” he asked without hesitation.
His interest startled her. Now she had to think the idea over. The freedom to actually think about it without fear of censure was exhilarating. Annie straightened in her chair. ”The girls and their mothers were largely impressed by my sewing skills. Lizzy's mother said I have a real sense for style and fabrics. I promised to make Charmaine's wedding dress...perhaps I could find ladies to sew for.”
He didn't say anything, so she hurried to make the idea as plausible as she could. ”You'll be gone every day at the livery, and I doubt that the house will take that much time to keep clean. Not that it's too small, I didn't mean that, I only meant that with just the two of us...”
Luke tapped the pencil against his cup. ”Could you do that here? Or would you need a place to work?”
Annie's jaw dropped. The suggestion hadn't disturbed him in the least! She started to get excited about the idea. ”I could do it here. There's plenty of light and I could use the kitchen table for cutting!”
”What would you need?” he asked, the pencil once again hovering over the paper.
”I have scissors and thimbles and just about everything I can think of.”
”A comfortable chair,” he said. ”You'd need a nice place to sit.”
Tears smarted behind her eyes. She scooted from her chair and wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing his ear and his brow. ”Oh, Luke! You are the most incredible man!”
He dropped his writing tools and slid his chair back so he could pull her onto his lap.
She framed his face and kissed him. ”Thank you, Luke.”
”For what?”
”You truly don't know, do you?”
”No.”
”For letting me be a real person,” she said, her voice hoa.r.s.e with emotion. ”For loving me.”
”It's an easy thing loving you.” His hands moved up her sides to the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”You don't have anything on under here, do you?”
”Uh-a nightgown.”
He made a face. ”One of those flannel contraptions that b.u.t.tons up to your throat?”
”Not exactly.”
He parted her wrapper at the neck. ”What, then?”
She flattened her palm over her chest to hold the robe shut. ”Something Charmaine and Lizzy gave me. It was the first thing I found when I opened my trunk this morning.”
”Well, let's see.”
He'd already seen her in the bright light of day and her abnormality hadn't put a damper on his ardor or his desire for her. Feeling scandalous, but also eager to see his reaction, she got to her feet and slowly, watching his face the whole time, opened her wrapper.
His gaze touched every curve of her body through the sheer fabric and he swallowed. ”Oh, my.”
The list didn't get finished until after lunch.
”Did he like the nightgown?” Lizzy asked in a hushed voice as they washed the few dishes they'd used to eat the ca.s.serole and pie she'd brought.
Drying a plate, Annie felt herself blush. ”Well, actually, he didn't get to see it until this morning.”
”And?”
”And I thought he was going to melt on that chair.”
They shared a laugh.
”I told you he'd like it,” Lizzy said.
Later, after Guy and Lizzy had gone home, as Annie put away blankets and covered the bed with a brightly colored star quilt, she ruminated over the changes that had evolved in her life over the past months. Besides the miracle of Luke, the newly formed friends.h.i.+ps and the acceptance she felt among the townspeople were like a dream come true. Her stifling existence had turned into the full life of a normal woman.
The sadness that her parents couldn't enjoy her newfound abilities and confidence was the only dim spot in a bright future. She could only hope and pray that her mother would come around. Her father had seemed more willing to accept the changes and share in her happiness, but he wouldn't be free to show his approval while his wife still bore such hostility.
The day pa.s.sed too soon, and the night even more quickly.
On Monday Luke took her to town to order a chair, and while they were there, she posted notices on the walls at the telegraph office and mercantile. That first week she had orders for three dresses.
The work came as a blessing, filling her hands and her mind during the long hours that Luke spent at the livery.
Sunday arrived as a brisk morning with the scent of wood smoke in the air. Since Luke had early-morning work getting rigs ready for the churchgoers, he escorted her to the Renlows' on his way into town.
Aunt Vera hugged her and served a cup of tea and a b.u.t.tery cinnamon roll. Squealing when she saw Annie in their kitchen, Charmaine pulled a chair beside her to share her latest news about school and the other girls.
”I was beginning to feel as though I'd lost my best friend,” she told Annie with a pout.
”She's a bride, Charmaine,” her mother scolded. ”Newlyweds spend time getting to know each other.”
”What more is there to know? Luke's perfect. Right?”
Annie nodded with a grin. That he was. ”He said for me to ride along with you and he'll find me in church.”
Later, during the hymns, he found her standing beside the Renlows and placed his hand at the small of her back. Annie smiled up, pleased as always to see him, smugly possessive and proud.
This was family-dinner Sunday, and Charmaine had told her that the Renlows would be joining the gathering. Annie hadn't spoken to her parents since the wedding, and the prospect of their unpredictable welcome troubled her.
Her father greeted them after church, but her mother marched toward the Renlows' buggy as though she hadn't seen Annie.
”You're coming for dinner,” her father stated.
”We'll be there as soon as I have the livery under control,” Luke said with a nod. ”After church a few rigs are returned and more are rented.”
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