Courting Miss Hattie (39 page)

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I
t was nearly midmorning when Reed stopped the buggy in front of the parsonage. After setting the brake, he turned and gave Hattie an encouraging smile before jumping down and reaching a hand up to her.

Dressed in his suit, with two buttons hastily
resewn
on his shirt and the previous night's wrinkles carefully pressed out, Reed looked especially handsome to Hattie. She was wearing a prim shirtwaist and a short summer jacket, and felt distinctly plain in her wedding garb.

"Are you all right, Hattie?" he asked as he took her arm. "You look a bit nervous."

She blushed. "Well, shouldn't I
be?" she asked. "Having to face the preacher first thing in the morning?"

Reed's smile faded slightly. "Do you have regrets?"

Hearing the concern in
his voice, Hattie smiled wryly. "Like most sinners, I regret the doing much less than the atoning."

Reed gently placed his fingers beneath her chin and raised her face to his. "I'll try to make it a sweet atonement," he said,
and dropped a playful peck on the end of her nose.

They had not quite made it to the front door when Preacher Able strode around the house, a bent
disk blade in his hand.
"Reed! Miss Hattie! What a surprise," he said, reaching out to
clasp hands. "I'm glad you're
here, Reed. I've
been putting off fixing this disk since the harrowing, and I decided that today is the day."

"I think you'll have to put it off again," Reed said lightly.
"I'm hardly dressed for blacksmith duties."

The preacher, prodded to attention, perused the couple,
then
raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You two are
looking mighty
slicked-up this morning."

Reed gave Hattie a quick glance and saw that she was pale, her smile too frozen to be natural. "Miss Hattie and I are here to be married."

Preacher
Able's
mouth dropped open, and he stared at the
two as if they had suddenly sprouted antlers.
Regathering
his composure, he leaned the disk against the edge of the house and wiped his hands on his handkerchief. "Well, this is certainly a surprise," he said at last. "When did you decide this?"

"Last night," Reed answered calmly. "I asked Miss Hattie,
and she accepted."

Nodding, Preacher Able glanced back and forth at the two of them. "Marriage is a very serious decision," he said solemnly. "It isn't the kind of thing folks do on the spur of the moment."

Having anticipated resistance, Reed showed neither concern
nor annoyance at the preacher's words. "Miss Hattie and I have known each other for more than fifteen years. I think we're both aware of what we're getting into."

Folding his arms across his chest, Preacher Able wasn't so easily convinced. "Seems to me, Reed, it was only a few weeks ago that you were betrothed to Bessie Jane Turpin. And you, Miss Hattie—didn't I hear at the July Fourth picnic that you were marrying
Ancil
Drayton?"

Flushing
with embarrassment, Hattie attempted to stammer an explanation, but the preacher cut her off. "Now, I know you two have had your problems. Reed, you're probably still feeling
a bit of a sting over your broken engagement, and Miss Hattie,
Ancil
has spoken with me about the misunderstanding you've had. Let me warn the both of you, when your feelings are all stirred up like this, it's no time to be making rash decisions."

"It's not a rash decision," Reed said emphatically, and turned to Hattie. "Why don't you see if you can find Millie? We'll want her for a witness, and I'm sure you'll want to see to your hair or something."

Accepting her dismissal gratefully, Hattie headed for the door.

"She's probably back in the kitchen, Miss Hattie," Preacher
Able called after her. "You just go on
in and make yourself at
home."

The two men watched her go, and when she was out of earshot, the preacher spoke. "What is this foolishness about, Reed Tyler?"

"It's not foolishness, Preacher. Miss Hattie and I want to get married. We know each other, care for each other, and we want to run the farm together."

"That farm!" the preacher exclaimed in exasperation. "I almost wish Old Man Colfax had left her penniless. You fellows all scrambling for that piece of ground."

"Well, he didn't," Reed answered practically. "It's Hattie's farm, and she can do with it what she will. And what she's decided to do with it is share it with me."

Preacher Able pressed his lips together in disapproval. "There is a heap more to being a husband than just sharing the
farmwork
."

"I know that, Preacher. I admire Miss Hattie, and I truly care for her. That's a good deal more than Drayton could say."

The older man frowned. "Drayton made some mistakes, but he's older and more mature than you. I still suspect he'll make Miss Hattie a good husband."

"And you think I won't?" Annoyance tinged Reed's voice. "You didn't have any objections to my marriage to Bessie Jane."

"Your engagement to Bessie Jane was based on entirely different reasons. Two attractive young people
…
well, it's expected
that they'll want to marry. But a lusty young man tying himself to an old maid who's more than a little long in the tooth…"
Preacher Able shook his head. "It just
don't
sit well with me."

Reed stared at him for several moments, regaining his patience before he spoke. "Preacher Able, I've always had the greatest respect for you. But if you think I'd have been happier with Bessie Jane than I will be with Hattie, I tell you, you're about as smart as mud."

The preacher stared at him, dumbfounded at Reed's discourtesy.

"Miss Hattie is a fine, gentle, lovely woman," Reed contin
ued. "She is the kind of woman any man would be proud to have by his side in sickness or in health. Preacher, I consider myself blessed and honored that she is willing to marry up with me. As for your ill-mannered reference to her age—" Reed frowned, "correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't twenty-nine the same age as your wife? Are you getting ready to put
her
out to pasture?"

The preacher had the good grace to flush, but he wasn't going to be won over that easily. "You've made your point, Reed," he admitted. "Perhaps you and Miss Hattie could make a good life together. But I still see no reason to go off half-cocked. Why don't you start courting her? Spend some
evenings
together, get to know each other. That way, you can truly make sure you're evenly matched and suited for each other. 'Marry in haste,' they say, 'repent at leisure.'"

Reed gnawed on the inside of his cheek as he considered his next words. "We can't wait around, Preacher. Miss Hattie and I need to get married today."

"What on earth for? A few months won't make any difference. If you're both really of sound mind and believe you can make a future together, there's no reason why you can't begin it later rather than sooner. If, after the harvest is in, you still want to marry, I'll be happy to perform the ceremony. I know that the church people will want to throw you a big shindig. Why, even Miss Hattie would probably want a big fancy wedding with all the trimmings." Preacher Able was smiling broadly
now,
assured of the quality of his advice. "After harvest is always a better time for weddings, anyway."

Reed sighed with exasperation, shifting from one foot to the other. There were some things a gentleman just didn't reveal, but telling the preacher wasn't quite like spilling the story at the billiard parlor. Looking the older man squarely in the eye, Reed spoke with quiet sincerity. "Preacher Able, I spent the whole of last night at Miss Hattie's farm. Her reputation will be in shreds if anyone hears of this."

Momentarily knocked off guard by the statement, Preacher Able was silent for an instant before he waved away the statement as ridiculous. "I don't think you need to worry about any untoward gossip, Reed. Nobody in this community would ever believe that Miss Hattie could do something wicked or improper with a man."

Raising an eyebrow, Reed allowed himself the slightest hint
of a smile. "Then I'd say this community is a bunch of damned fools."

* * *

The first afternoon of Hattie Tyler's married life was a busy one. They visited Reed's parents, then arrived home rather late to do the chores. Hattie gamely threw herself into the work, but her thoughts continued to flit through the jumble of events that had irrevocably changed her life in the past twenty-four hours.

After she'd accepted the battered blossom and his proposal of marriage, she had lain comfortably in Reed's arms, kissing, cuddling, and waiting for dawn.

"We can go in the house," she'd told him. "It's foolish to sleep out here on the porch when there is a comfortable bed inside."

He scooted down a little and rested his head comfortably against her breast. "Aren't you the same woman who said just a couple of hours ago that inviting me into your house would be unquestionably improper?"

She ran her hand adoringly across his cheek and pressed him lightly against her. "I suspect it's a bit late to be thinking of the proprieties."

Reed continued to anyway. "The night I sleep in your bed will be the night I'm your husband. My mama would be scandalized to think I had compromised you."

Hattie sighed pleasantly. "I should be scandalized myself. I just never imagined being compromised would feel so wonderful."

He laughed at that, and then kissed her playfully in appreciation. They vacillated between sparking and sleeping until dawn crept over the horizon.

"I'm starving," Reed said as the gray light illuminated their nakedness and they searched the porch for discarded clothing.

"Me too," she said. "What do you want for breakfast? Sausage? Biscuits?"

Watching her as she carefully rearranged her chemise to cover her newly revealed charms, Reed had other ideas. "How about peaches?" he answered. "This morning I have a powerful craving for peaches." He pulled her into his arms, kissing and caressing her until she nearly forgot what she was about.

"None of that, now, Reed Tyler," she said firmly. "There is work to be done this morning, and we can't just be lying around all day."

"It could be fun," he said, tempting her.

She shook her head with determination. "
Myrene's
going to be up here bawling to be milked any minute. And there are chickens to feed and hogs to slop. We've got a lot of work to be done if we're going to be married this morning."

Reed raised an eyebrow. "You want to be married this morning?"

Hattie blushed at her own presumption. "Well
…
yes. I mean…
I thought…
"

"You're right, Hattie," he said, gently brushing a lock of hair from her face. "The sooner we're wed, the better."

They sat looking at each other, both trying to grasp the rapid change of events. Hattie reflected lovingly on his tenderness and blushed at her own behavior. But how could any woman maintain decorum when kissed like that?

Realizing what she could serve for breakfast, she actually giggled. "I have the perfect breakfast for us," she said, then jumped up like a young girl and ran into the house. Moments later, she returned with a cobbler tin and two spoons. Setting the pastry between them, she handed Reed a spoon, and he eagerly dug into the pie.

Holding a spoonful up for inspection, he smiled wickedly. "Peaches?"

* * *

Rushing through the last of his chores, Reed was happily aware of the spring in his step and the cheery tune whistling through his lips. He was married! And
to
Hattie Colfax. Managing that in one day of courting was a good deal more than he'd hoped for, and he was certain the rest of the world had expected it even less.

After the hasty ceremony in the church, they'd headed
to
his parents' house to give them the news. He'd left Hattie with his mother and made his way out to the field where his father and brothers were working.

His father had seen him coming and walked out to meet him, purposefully choosing to confront his son alone. "When a man goes off courting and doesn't return until the next day, he causes a whole lot of speculation," Clive said before any word of greeting or welcome.

Reed stood face-to-face with his father, respectful but unwilling to be cowed. "Miss Hattie and I were married this morning," he said.

Clive studied his son for a few moments,
then
gave the barest of nods. He opened his mouth to speak but thought better.

"What?" Reed asked.

"I was going to ask if she was all right, to ask if you'd hurt her. But I think I know you better than that."

"You're right. You know me better than that."

The elder
Tyler
held out his hand. "You've got a fine woman, Reed. Congratulations."