A Bride for Tom (11 page)

Before anyone could reply, Dave started
loading the supplies to take into the newly built barn on the
property.

Joel glanced at Tom and their father.
“Between us, I don’t know how any woman’s going to handle being
married to Dave. He’s so boring.”

“No kidding,” Tom agreed before he gathered
his things to put away for the night.

Chapter
Fifteen

Jessica put a bow in her hair and inspected
her reflection. Tom may not come over but then again, he might. He
told her he’d be busy working on their home. Their home. She loved
the sound of that. Alright. So in fairness, he hadn’t used the word
“their”, but it was implied. After all, he had planted apple trees
for her. It was just a matter of time before she used those apples
for baking.

Her mother happened to pass by her bedroom as
Jessica checked the butterfly cameo Jenny had made for her. She
glanced up at her mother and smiled. “Isn’t this a pretty cameo?
Jenny does have a talent for this kind of thing.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t mention Tom.”

“Why would I? He didn’t make it.”

“Maybe not, but ever since he started
courting you, you’ve been talking nonstop about him,” she said with
a trace of humor in her voice.

“I’m not that bad.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Oh no?”

She grinned. “No. I talk about Margaret. She
and I worked on that ad. She’s posting for a husband, you
know.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Well, that proves it. I can talk about
things other than Tom.”

“Except when you discuss Margaret looking for
a husband, you usually finish the conversation by asking if there
might be a double wedding. You seem to think you can get married
before planting season begins since your plan is for Margaret’s man
to arrive around that time.”

She sighed. “What is wrong with marrying
before Tom plants?”

“It seems to me that last time we had this
conversation you mentioned marrying in June.”

“If I do that, I can’t wear the dress I
already made. It has long and thick sleeves.”

“Roll them up.”

“So you’re saying I no longer have to wait
until September?” she asked, excited.

Her mother’s eyes grew wide as she gave a
sharp intake of breath. “You’ll be the death of me yet,” she
muttered as she hurried off down the hallway.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Jessica called
out.

The woman grumbled but didn’t stop.

Smiling, Jessica picked up her brush. She
hoped Tom would show up tonight. It was hard to be away from him.
This feeling of missing a man as much as she missed Tom was new to
her. Not once did she ever have the intense longing for Peter that
she had for Tom. Honestly, it was the most wonderful feeling in the
whole world.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts
of a lovely spring wedding. Oh good! Tom did make it after all! She
quickly placed her brush down and pinched her cheeks. She inspected
her reflection and grinned. Perfect.

She rushed out of her room, nearly knocking
her mother over as the older woman left the parlor. “Sorry, Ma,”
she quickly called out then opened the door. To her surprise, Tom
wasn’t on the porch. It was Peter. She blinked several times before
she finally asked, “Peter, what are you doing here?” Of all the
people who could be knocking on her front door, he was the last one
she expected.

He took off his hat. “May I come in?”

She wanted to say no and shut the door, but
that would be terribly rude. Reluctant, she nodded and moved aside
so he could come into the entryway.

Her mother walked toward them, looking as
uncertain as Jessica felt. “Good evening, Peter,” she greeted,
offering a polite smile. “Would you like something to eat or
drink?”

“No thank you, ma’am.” He turned to Jessica.
“Can I talk to you in the parlor?”

Jessica glanced at her mother who gave a
slight shrug. Though her pulse picked up with nervous dread,
Jessica said, “Of course.”

As he stepped into the parlor, her mother
told her, “I’ll leave you two alone. If you need me, just
holler.”

Jessica wanted to protest and insist she stay
with her, but this was for her to deal with. Taking a deep breath,
Jessica gathered her courage and followed him into the room. She
sat in a chair and folded her hands in her lap. “What do you wish
to discuss?”

He sat in the other chair and fiddled with
the hat in his hands. “My mother is distraught.”

After a few seconds, his meaning sunk in.
“Your mother sent you here?”

“No. Not exactly.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

He cleared his throat and shifted in his
seat. “It wasn’t that bad with me, was it?”

“What?”

“I thought it might be good if we decided to
marry after all.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Good for
who?”

“Everyone.”

“You mean, it’d be good for her. Then she
could have her special day.” Stumping her foot on the floor, she
glared at him. “This is why it didn’t work, Peter. It was always
about her. She put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“No. She doesn’t know I’m here.”

She couldn’t decide if that was true or not.
He’d say just about anything for his mother’s sake. “You don’t need
to appease her. What you need is a backbone. Who cares what she
thinks? If she wants a special day, let her get married.”

“Have a heart. She’s going through a rough
time, and-”

“Have a heart? Have a heart! I didn’t
exchange vows with you yet. I had every right to back out of the
engagement. Frankly, you need to be a man and find the woman you
want to marry instead of letting your mother make that decision for
you.”

“Jessica-”

“I’m not done.” She stood up and paced back
and forth. “It’s obvious we don’t belong together. Thankfully, we
figured it out before we said, ‘I do’. You agree with me on this.
And yet, you are going to let your mother’s sour mood compel you to
make the worst decision of your life. I don’t understand you,
Peter.”

Looking bewildered, he moved his lips but no
sound came out.

She stopped and pointed to the door. “Maybe
the next woman you find won’t mind playing second fiddle to your
mother, but there’s no way I’m going to take that role. I’m going
to marry Tom.” She waited for him to say something, but he seemed
as if he couldn’t think of anything. Deciding this indicated they
were done, she stomped to the front door. “I’ve had enough of this
nonsense. You need to either find a woman who’ll do whatever your
mother wants or grow a backbone and determine your own fate.” She
threw the door open and someone fell to the floor. She gasped.
“Mrs. James?”

Connie quickly got to her feet and placed her
hat back on her head.

“What are you doing here?” Jessica
demanded.

“You’re making a huge mistake,” the woman
said. “Peter is a fine young man. He has a good job, a good home,
and a caring heart. You can’t do any better than him.”

Jessica turned her face to the kitchen. Now
it was time to call in for reinforcements. “Ma!”

Her mother ran out of the kitchen and jerked
when she saw Connie.

“Talk sense into her,” Jessica pleaded. “She
won’t leave me alone. She even sent Peter over here to convince me
to marry him.”

“Mrs. James,” her mother began as she
approached the other woman, “perhaps we should sit down and discuss
this.”

“Discuss what?” Connie asked. “That your
daughter is throwing her life away? She could have my son. She
doesn’t need to settle for the likes of Tom Larson.”

“I believe that is her decision.”

“But you’re her mother. It’s your job to
prevent her from making ghastly mistakes.”

“What is a grassy mistake?” someone
asked.

The three women turned their attention to
Joel who sauntered into the house.

“I said ‘ghastly mistake’,” Connie said,
cringing as he bent down to pick off a piece of clumped dirt from
his boot and flung it out onto the porch. “It means a horrible
mistake.”

“Hey, what do you know? Learn something new
every day.” Wiping his hand on his pants, he glanced around the
hallway and parlor. “Don’t you all sit when you visit?”

They stood in silence for a good moment
before Jessica decided to answer. “Well, we aren’t visiting. Not
really.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged.
“Alright. You townsfolk are strange if this is how you meet up. But
I’m here to see Tom. Pa needs his horse so I came to switch ‘em out
for shoeing.”

“Switch what out for what?” Connie asked.

“Tom already has the horse with the new
horseshoes on. So I got to switch.” He peered around Jessica’s
shoulder and into the parlor. “Isn’t he here yet? He bolted out to
town as soon as he washed up.”

Jessica’s heart leapt. That meant Tom did
plan to see her tonight!

“Is Tom allowed to be here?” Joel asked.

“Of course, he is,” Jessica said at the same
moment that Connie said, “No.”

Joel blinked in surprise.

Jessica glared at Connie. “I’m not marrying
Peter.”

“So it’s true?” Joel asked. He shifted from
one foot to another, and another clump of dried mud fell off his
boot. Snatching it up, he threw it outside. “Tom wasn’t just making
up tall tales?”

Connie shot Joel a scolding look. “Tom is
going to ruin Jessica’s life. If her mother would be sensible, the
poor thing wouldn’t suffer with your kind.”

Jessica’s mother stiffened and straightened
her shirtwaist. “I allow her the freedom to make her own
decisions...and to be honest, I kind of like Tom.”

“Really?” Joel asked as if he couldn’t
believe it.

“But Peter better suits her,” Connie said,
ignoring Joel.

“That’s not for us to say,” Jessica’s mother
replied.

Jessica groaned. “Peter doesn’t want to marry
me either, Mrs. James.” She glanced at Peter—who remained sitting
in silence in the parlor. “Tell her!”

He paled and shook his head.

She nudged her mother. “You see what I
mean?”

Her mother nodded. “Mrs. James, no woman
wants to be married to her husband’s mother.”

Connie pressed a hand to her heart. “Peter,
they are being cruel to me!”

He obediently stood and went to her side.

Seriously, the man needed a good kick in the
behind, Jessica thought in disgust.

Jessica’s mother sighed but kindly said,
“Neither Peter nor Jessica were happy. This is better for
everyone.”

Connie grabbed the handkerchief Peter held
out to her and dabbed tears from her eyes. “I had my heart set on a
wedding. Maureen was impressed, and she’s hard to please, you know.
Now everything’s ruined, and I’m the laughing stock of the
town.”

“You’re not the laughing stock of the town,”
Jessica’s mother soothed.

“You don’t understand. I spent hours planning
out every little detail. All my work is gone, and there’s nothing I
can do to get it back.”

Joel threw back his head and laughed. “You’re
all a hoot. Who’d have thought Tom could cause so many
problems?”

Tom knocked on the open door and cautiously
peered into the entryway. “Is this a bad time?”

Joel waved him in. “Heck no. Things are just
getting good.”

“Watch your language, young man.” Connie
pressed her hands to her ears. “There are ladies present.”

Peter, looking uncomfortable, told his
mother, “Perhaps we should leave.”

“No!” She uncovered her ears and pointed to
Tom. “This is all your fault. If you’d just stayed out of town, I’d
still be having my wedding.”

“Would you listen to yourself?” Jessica’s
mother asked. “This is not your wedding. You’re not the bride.
You’re the groom’s mother.” She stopped and glanced around at those
watching her. “I mean, of course, that you were the groom’s mother.
Tom’s mother is the groom’s mother now. Uh... That is to say if
they get married. Not to say that anything is set yet.
So...well...you’re Peter’s mother, and Peter’s no longer getting
married, which makes this whole thing a useless debate anyway.” She
grunted and threw her hands up in the air. “Well, you know what I
mean.”

Jessica nodded. “Ma is right. Tom’s mother is
the groom’s mother now.”

“Jessica!” her mother warned.

She shrugged. “Just trying to clear up any
confusion.”

“No, you’re not. You’re trying to sneak your
wedding past me, and I won’t have it.”

“It’s as good as done,” Jessica insisted.

Joel cleared his throat. “You know that Tom
is right here, don’t you?”

They stopped and turned to Tom whose eyebrows
rose in interest. Jessica’s face grew warm. It probably wasn’t good
that she seemed so eager to marry him in front of everyone.

“I got a response!” someone yelled out.

Everyone’s attention turned to the door,
giving Jessica a much needed reprieve from her slip of the
tongue.

Margaret ran into the crowded entryway and
held up a letter. “I think this is the one!” She nearly bumped into
Joel. “Oh!” She quickly went over to Jessica and stared at her
audience. “What’s going on?”

“Never mind all that,” Jessica replied, eager
to switch topics. “What do you have there?” She pointed to the
letter in Margaret’s hand.

Margaret’s gaze lowered to the piece of
paper. “Someone answered my ad.”

“Already?”

“I know. I didn’t expect an answer this soon
either, but he sounds like a good one. Read it and tell me what you
think.”

Jessica took the letter.

Connie groaned. “We have more important
things to discuss right now.”

“No, we don’t,” Jessica said. “It’s
over.”

“What do you know? You’re still a child,”
Connie replied. “You don’t know what’s good for you. You’re
marrying Peter.”

“No, she’s not,” Tom said. He pushed through
the group and put his arm around Jessica’s shoulders. “She’s
marrying me.”