Once in a Blue Moon (31 page)

Melissa could see hope
and trust in Hannah’s eyes, and knew she’d won; knew she’d do
whatever it took to live up to that trust...whatever it took.

A moment of self-doubt
crept in. Melissa was the biggest gossip and back stabber around,
and knew it. Back home, Hannah would have been a prime target with
her lack of confidence and frumpy appearance and Melissa felt
sudden shame engulf her. She shook it off. That was then and this
was a different story. A feeling of protectiveness washed over her
and she reached for Hannah’s work-roughened hand.

“Hannah, I’m your
friend now.” She squeezed her fingers. “And if anyone so much as
looks at you cross-eyed at the dance, or anywhere else, well, I’ll
freak out and pop a cap in his butt.”

Hannah stared at her.
“What?”

“I’ll scream and shoot
‘em in the behind with a bullet.”

Hannah’s mouth fell
open and she quickly held her hand to her mouth, but couldn’t stop
the giggles from emerging.

Melissa smiled. Maybe
she was getting pretty good at this friendship stuff, after
all.

* * *

Melissa waited until
Sarah, Amanda, and Emma deposited their potluck contributions on
the table. She knew each was hoping to win the pie-baking contest,
but secretly, Melissa believed she stood a good chance of capturing
the blue ribbon.

When it was her turn,
Melissa stepped up to the table, unwrapped the towel from around a
peach pie and held it out to the reverend’s wife. “Where would you
like me to set this?”

Mrs. Wright studied the
pie. “Oh. Oh, my dear. Are you entering the contest?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Just set it right
here, why don’t you?” Mrs. Wright indicated an empty position next
to the other pies, then glanced away, obviously uncomfortable.

Melissa quickly saw the
reason. The pie had looked much better on the kitchen table. Now it
appeared over-brown and coarse compared to the golden, prettily
decorated crusts on the other pastries. Embarrassingly coarse.

Melissa considered
sneaking her name off the bottom of the pie tin where she’d pasted
her signature with flour and water, but it was her only pie dish
and she might not get it back.

She set the pan down
with a mental shrug. Nothing she could do about it now. Besides,
not all was lost. She’d made some other food as well, so didn’t
need to feel totally humiliated. “Jessica, hand me that plate, will
you?”

Jessica held out the
platter of fried chicken.

Melissa took the dish
of cold meat, untied the ends of the cloth and presented it to Mrs.
Wright.

Mrs. Wright smiled
brightly. “Set it there?” She indicated a place down the table with
platters of chicken.

Again, the other food
looked much better by comparison. Her offering looked tough, and
perhaps the tiniest bit burnt around the edges.

Feeling a little
deflated, she set the chicken down and wondered if the light was
poor in the cabin. She’d been under the delusion she was a good
cook, but her offerings looked unappetizing next to the rest of the
food.

She lifted her chin. So
what? It was still edible, which was more than she could have
claimed a month-and-a-half ago. Anyway, she still had one more item
to offer, and she certainly hadn’t overcooked it. “Jeremy, hand me
that tray, will you?”

Jeremy passed the
tray.

Melissa glanced quickly
up and down the food-filled tables, unwrapped the large plate
holding nicely arranged, assorted, chopped vegetables, and
presented it to Mrs. Wright. “It looks like I’m the only one who
brought a vegetable tray.”

The reverend’s wife
took the dish, her mouth opening and shutting a couple of times
before she finally commented, “Raw vegetables? Why yes, I do
believe you’re right. This is the only one.” She smiled widely.

Melissa wasn’t fooled.
Mrs. Wright was less than thrilled with the produce, but Melissa
still felt good about the offering. Considering the amount of fried
foods and desserts weighing down the tables, it really was amazing
the people here weren’t dropping like flies from heart disease.
Perhaps her contribution would be a good influence. It might even
save a life. She looked at the blue ribbons on the edge of the
table. She really did deserve a prize.

After recovering the
food, she moved out of the way so Hannah could set a pie down, but
Melissa deliberately didn’t look at Hannah’s creation. She didn’t
want to look at the food anymore. Baking contests were stupid.

“Hannah Goodwin? Is
that you?” asked Mrs. Wright.

Melissa turned to see
Hannah nodding shyly.

Mrs. Wright gaped. “You
look wonderful! And your dress! It’s beautiful!”

Hannah blushed, and ran
one hand down the front of her skirt. “Thank you.”

Melissa chest expanded. Even with her less-than-fashionable
hat, Hannah
did
look stunning. The dress was a masterpiece, and her bun was
no longer scraped back, but loose and soft, with some height above
her forehead. Very attractive. She looked years younger.

And Amanda’s dress had
turned out nicely as well.

Melissa
really
deserved a ribbon.

“Is that everything?”
asked Sarah. “Then follow me, everyone.”

Their group, consisting
of ladies and children, moved away from the tables of food to wend
through the crowded park, only to stop in front of a display of
colorful jars filled with fruit and jam. There were ribbons off to
one side for after the judging--as if anyone cared--and more than a
few excited ladies checked out the competition.

Sarah entered the
contest with a jar of jam, Amanda and Emma with some fruit, and
they immediately set about discussing their chances of winning.

Totally
losing interest, Melissa
glanced away to take in her surroundings. More people resided in
the small town than she’d realized and all seemed determined to
have a good time. Laughter punctuated the air and a hokey-sounding
band played in the background.

Children jumped in
grain sacks across green grass while others cheered. Two men raced
canoes across the pond while young ladies watched from the shore,
and small children on hands and knees searched through sawdust for
prizes. Many people had spread blankets to claim a spot. Melissa
acknowledged that, hick as it was, she was excited.

Realizing her kids had
disappeared, she searched the crowd and finally spotted them
feeding ducks at the edge of the pond. They fit right in with the
other children, their clothing and hair exactly in style.

Melissa glanced down at
her borrowed dress and realized she fit in too. Amanda had loaned
her the pale pink dress, and Melissa had added a temporary ruffle
to the hem and cuffs for length. Melissa grinned. Perhaps loaned
was the wrong word. The ladies had practically forced her into it
when they’d realized she had nothing new for the picnic.

Melissa moved to get a
better view of the children, and Hannah, sticking like glue, bumped
into her from behind.

Melissa lifted a brow.
“Are you okay?”

Hannah glanced around,
obviously nervous and uncomfortable. “I wonder if Mrs. MacPherson
is here yet?”

Hannah was looking for
an escape route, but didn’t realize Melissa wouldn’t let her find
one. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon enough.”

Hannah ducked her
head.

Melissa linked arms
with her, not something she’d ever done with a woman before, but it
felt comfortable. “It’s okay. You look great, and we’re going to
have fun today.”

Hannah clung and didn’t
look convinced.

Finally finished with
their pathetic discussion about who might win what prize, Sarah,
Emma and Amanda joined them.

“Where are the men?”
Sarah searched the crowd.

Amanda spotted them,
waved, and led the way.

Their husbands had
found a shady spot at the edge of the crowd, and spread out four
patchwork quilts and set baskets on top.

Richard held out an arm
for Melissa and she slid into his embrace just in time for the
mayor to start his speech.

“Having fun?” asked
Richard.

Melissa shrugged. No
need to tell him she wouldn’t be winning a ribbon today.

The crowd calmed to
listen to the welcome. The mayor bragged forever about what a great
town it was, and finally introduced the picnic committee. The
announcement that fireworks and dancing would come later met with
applause. He concluded with the statement that it was time to eat
and that the contest winners would be announced afterward. The band
immediately started up a jaunty tune.

“Well,” said Melissa.
“Let’s not wander too far. I need to see if I won the pie baking
contest.”

Sudden silence engulfed
the group of ladies.

Glances were
exchanged.

Melissa sighed loudly, shook her head, and lifted her hands.
“I’m
kidding
!”

Amanda, grinning, put a
hand to her chest. “I told you to brush the top with egg whites and
check the color often.”

“I don’t want to hear
it. Who ever heard of smearing runny eggs on pie?” Melissa put a
hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “Next time I’m asking Hannah for
advice.”

Hannah blushed.

Sully and his friends
showed up and Sully tipped his hat, and made a silly half-bow.
“Ladies. You’re looking lovelier than ever this afternoon.”

Henry, copying Sully,
tipped his hat also. “Ladies.”

Oh brother, ladies’ men
they were not.

Jed, bear-like as ever,
but looking more cleaned up than usual ignored the others. “Mrs.
Kendal. It’s real good to see you.”

“Thank you.” Wanting to
distract him from his silly infatuation, she waved a hand in the
air. “You’ve met Hannah Goodwin, haven’t you? She works for Mrs.
MacPherson. Hannah, this is Jed Peterson.”

Jed whipped off his hat
to reveal slicked back hair. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Hannah, obviously
flustered, nodded and looked down. Melissa quickly looked from one
to the other.

Jed didn’t take his
gaze away from the top of Hannah’s head. He looked...awestruck.

Hannah, handing out
plates to the children, sneeked a peek at Jed.

Who was practically
drooling.

Jed was smitten with
Hannah?

Hannah intrigued with
Jed?

Melissa bit back a smile and tried not to stare at the
bashful couple. But really, it was hard not to feel proud. She
was
good
. One
hour after dragging Hannah out of the house, and the girl already
had a potential boyfriend. Of course, Jed wasn’t for Hannah. Too
uncouth. But she could practice on him; hone her social
skills.

Everyone stood, plates
were dug out of baskets and their group moved toward the food laden
tables.

Melissa walked beside
Richard, Hannah on her other side.

Jed quickly offered
Hannah his arm. “Ma’am?”

Hannah glanced at
Melissa, then to Jed.

Melissa wondered if she
should intervene. She didn’t want to scare Hannah off when she was
barely coming out of her shell. But really, Hannah didn’t look too
upset.

Hesitantly, Hannah
placed her hand on his forearm.

Jed smiled down at her
and they walked ahead.

Melissa exchanged a
smile with Richard.

“Hannah and Jed?
Interesting,” whispered Richard.

Keeping an eye on the
couple in front of them, Melissa shrugged. “I might not win the pie
contest, but it seems I’m not without my talents.”

“Matchmaking?”

Melissa shrugged. “You
never know.”

One thing was for sure.
She really did deserve a blue ribbon.

An hour later, most of
their group, well fed and exuberant, headed off in various
directions to mingle, dance, and play. Melissa sat on the quilt
beside Hannah, determined to make sure she was comfortable.

This friendship thing
was harder than she’d realized. She wasn’t cut out to chaperon. It
was embarrassing to listen to Jed’s drivel. But all in all, things
seemed to be going okay. At least Hannah appeared able to stomach
his odd brand of courtship.

Richard stood up. “I’m
going for pie--”

”Don’t you
dare
leave me,” Melissa whispered.

Richard grinned. “You
want anything?”

Melissa widened her
eyes, and motioned with her head, trying to convey her displeasure
at being left with the courting couple. Richard’s grin widened and
he raised both brows. “Apple? Peach?”

“Nothing for me,”
Melissa gave in to the inevitable. He was leaving her alone with
them. Her eyes narrowed. “But you’d better be getting a piece of my
pie.”

Richard eyes widened
innocently. “But honey, I always get to eat your cooking. I should
give someone else a chance to try it.”

“Come back without mine
and die. The crust is too brown. No one else will eat it, and I’ll
be humiliated if I have to take the whole thing home.”

Richard shook his head
and sighed loudly. “In that case, I guess it’s my duty.”

Melissa tried to hit him. “Make sure you
hurry
.”

Richard avoided her
fist, laughed, and left to get pie.

Melissa realized she
was smiling. She glanced at Jed and Hannah next to her on the
blanket, then quickly away, trying to ignore Jed’s feeble attempt
at conversation. Did he really think Hannah wanted to discuss the
proper way to dig a fence-post hole? But regardless, she had to
give him points for the passionate way he discussed the subject.
And strangely enough, Hannah did seem fascinated. Perhaps Jed knew
more about nineteenth century women than she gave him credit
for.