Leave a Candle Burning (43 page)

“I’m not sure that’s what I meant.”

“You could be the one to bring it up,” Dannan suggested, and Scottie eyed him. He was having too much fun with this, and she didn’t know what to do with that.

“I’ve got work to do.”

Dannan smiled and lightheartedly warned her, “As do I, Mrs. Peterson, but mark my words, this topic will come up again.”

Their eyes held for a moment, and then Dannan turned for the door. Once there, he paused and looked back at her. Scottie was still watching him, but Dannan made himself exit.

Once outside and the door shut behind him, Dannan stood and took a deep breath. He hadn’t seen this coming. He never dreamed she’d actually mention the conversation from the day before. Dannan had thought about it plenty but not given Scottie enough credit.

Dannan didn’t know what this courtship was going to look like in the days to come, but it certainly felt as though it was going to be fun.

It never occurred to Scottie that her conversation might have been overheard. She went to the kitchen, determined to work and not think about Dannan or kissing, but the looks Iris and Finn were sending her way were all too clear.

“Did you hear my conversation with the doctor?” she asked, keeping her voice low, mindful of Corina’s ears.

“What conversation?” Finn tried, but Scottie saw through it.

She looked back and forth between the pair of them and saw that they were much too pleased with themselves.

“I was going to work in here today, but now I’m not. I’ll be cleaning upstairs.”

Finn and Iris did not say a word, not to Scottie or to each other. But as soon as the young widow left the room, their eyes met and they shared a long, satisfied smile.

“What’s that?” Old Mrs. Brasic frowned at the bottle in Dannan’s hand, her look telling of her suspicion.

“It’s the same mixture of herbs that’s helped your toothache in the past. My uncle left notes for me about your needs and said this was the best treatment.”

“He had no business going off like that,” she sulked, tugging her robe about her, clearly taking Doc MacKay’s departure very personally.

“He misses Tucker Mills,” Dannan told her honestly and waited for the old woman to make the final decision.

“Can’t you just leave the bottle with me?” She scowled at him.

“This is my only one, and I might need it. If you’ll get some strips of cloth, I’ll soak some for you. You can apply them as needed.”

Mrs. Brasic was clearly not happy with this answer but still went for the cloths. Her front teeth were healthy, but her back ones gave her regular trouble.

“There you go, Mrs. Brasic,” Dannan said when the cloths were ready. “Do you want me to apply one for you?”

“No,” she told him shortly, heading to the door to open it.

Dannan didn’t need it spelled out. He exited, not expecting a word of thanks and not getting one. On the way to his buggy, he passed Mr. Brasic, whose mood matched that of his wife’s. Dannan prayed for both of them as he headed back toward the village green.

“Here, Corina,” Scottie said, handing her a small feather duster. “You can dust that bookshelf right there by the door.”

“I duss,” Corina said.

“I’m sure you do. Do you help Dannan at home?”

Corina’s little head bobbed in affirmation, and Scottie was suddenly struck with a thought: She could be Corina’s mother in the foreseeable future. She had dreamt during her nap about Dannan asking her to marry him only to mother his child, and she had even wondered if Dannan might be looking only for a marriage of convenience, but actually becoming Corina’s mother had slipped past her mind until just this moment.

That morning she had verbally sparred with Dannan over kissing. She knew he was not a man to play with a woman’s heart. His talk about kissing had been playful, but in truth, they were contemplating something very serious.

“Sottie,” Corina spoke, and Scottie realized she’d called her name a few times already.

“Yes, Corina?”

“I’n done.”

“Thank you, Corina. I think you did a fine job.”

Scottie hadn’t even looked at the shelf before she said this because it didn’t matter. At the moment all that mattered was this little girl’s heart and the way she had so effectively walked into Scottie’s.

“The food was all wonderful,” Alison told Scottie; both women were in the Peterson parlor. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. Were you able to enjoy any of it?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Marty had the worst of it, but Josh and I pulled through pretty fast.”

“Did anyone else get ill?”

“No, I’m thankful to say. Hillary stepped in and took care of us. It wouldn’t have been very fun for her if anyone else had come down.”

“Corina was sick last week. Dannan kept her home as much as he could.”

Alison suddenly smiled. “Have I ever told you that Hillary is something of a matchmaker?”

“No!” Scottie said, having to laugh.

“She is. She was sure that Reese should have married Conner long before Reese even thought of it.”

Scottie laughed again. “That’s marvelous. Is she getting ready to find a match for herself?”

“No, but you’re in her sites right now.”

Scottie’s mouth opened.

“I know it’s soon, Scottie, and she’s not being insensitive to your loss, but she wants Dannan to notice you.”

Scottie only stared at her pastor’s wife, unable to believe she’d just said that. Alison looked right back until she understood what Scottie was not saying.

“Scottie, has he said something?”

“Yes.”

“And how do you feel?”

“My feelings are very confused right now.”

“May I tell Hillary? She’s very discreet.”

Scottie shrugged. “I don’t mind, but that doesn’t mean anything will come of it.”

Alison reached over and put her hand on Scottie’s arm.

“He’s a wonderful man, Scottie. Douglas is so impressed with his heart.”

“It means a lot to hear that. I’ve talked to Reese, and she and Conner feel the same way. From what I know of him, he’s very special.”

Alison suddenly shook her head and observed, “This has been quite a time for you, hasn’t it?”

“It’s so true, Alison. If someone had told me six months ago that Eli would suddenly die, and Dannan and I would start to talk about a relationship, I would never have believed them, but here I am in the midst of it.”

“Since Dannan brings Corina here each day, do the two of you usually talk?”

“Not every day, but it does give us more opportunities than just meeting on Sundays.”

“Oh, Scottie, I don’t know if God has this for the two of you or not, but please know that I’ll be praying.”

Scottie hugged her friend.

“Thank you, Alison. Please pray that I’ll talk to Dannan about things that need to be shared and that I won’t be anxious.”

“I will pray, Scottie, and if you have time, I’ll start right now.”

It was not an offer that Scottie would refuse. Alison did not linger long in prayer when she was done, but when she left, Scottie knew that this wiser older woman would be remembering her.

“Have you noticed the change in Scottie toward Corina?” Iris asked of Finn at the end of the workday on Thursday. The widow and the little girl had just left for a walk.

“I don’t think I have.”

“When I went to visit Mercy and her new baby on Monday, they stayed here together. All week Scottie has invited Corina to do everything with her.”

“Has she not done that all along?”

“No.” Iris frowned at him, wondering how some men could be so obtuse.

Finn missed her frustration with the male population as well. He pushed to his feet and reached for the basket on the table.

“I’m for home. Thanks for the cookies.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Finn was barely out the door when Iris heard the first drops of rain. Her first thought was of Finn, wondering if he was going to make it home in time. Her next thoughts were of Scottie and Corina, and she puzzled where those two might have gone.