“It’s a beautiful day today. It would be good for you to get out of the house,” Luke said with a gentle tone of voice as he looked up to her with a warm glow in his eyes. This was the first time he had directly spoken to her since that evening two nights prior.
This was not what she wanted to hear. Not at all.
“Are you all right?” he asked then, when she didn’t react. He did so quietly, as if he wanted to ask only her. His hand brushed against hers, but Madelaine quickly pulled hers away. She didn’t know if this gesture had been intentional, or if it had been an accident—either way, it was unsettling.
She lowered her head in half a nod, while Evelyn clapped her hands excitedly.
“Yes! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it helped you remember things again?” She walked over to Madelaine and took her hand with both of hers, squeezing it gently.
“I don’t think we should burden the men with looking after the children,” Madelaine said evasively.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Luke said, reassuringly.
Caleb shrugged. “We’ll find something interesting to do.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” Madelaine tried again.
“We will both look after them. I think it’s time to teach this little man some manly work on the ranch,” said Luke, before he shoved a big spoonful of stew into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he chewed. “This is absolutely delicious, by the way.”
“Thank you! Madelaine added some herbs to the recipe, which made it more fragrant,” Evelyn explained
Luke nodded appreciatively. “Then maybe Madelaine should do the cooking from now on, since she’s better than you.” Madelaine’s eyes shot up once again, and as he held hergaze, she saw the corners of Luke’s mouth curl upwards ever so slightly. Was he actually smiling at her? What in the world was happening here?
“Well, I don’t mind either way,” Evelyn said. “But if we don’t go now, it will be too late. I want to be back before dark.
***
Not even half an hour later, the women were wrapped in heavy woolen coats, thick-knitted scarves, warm leather gloves, and boots. Evelyn held the reins, steering the trusty old draft horse, Jeremy, who was pulling the wagon.
Madelaine had been nervous the entire way, but when they reached the center of the town, her anxiety was through the roof. Evelyn probably thought that she was looking around so much to see what she would remember, but unbeknownst to her, Madelaine knew every nook and cranny of this little town, and she knew most of the faces, too. Thankfully, it wasn’t busy.
The first thing Madelaine noticed, when they entered the general store, were all the new Christmas decorations—most prominently, two tall wooden nutcracker soldiers, painted in vivid colors. There were boxes filled with shiny baubles and globes in gold and red. Fragrant gingerbread houses and gingerbread men were lined up, all decorated with colorful pieces of candy. There were tiny vials of perfumes and heavily decorated candles to mark each day of Advent. Large glass jars had been filled with pralines and various types of candy.
On the floor, heavy wooden boxes filled with straw were stacked with exquisite bottles of wine and other types of fancy liquors. Others were filled with curious toys for children, wooden animals, and fabric dolls.
The air was filled with various scents of cinnamon spice, fresh pine needles, and something exquisitely sweet, similar to honey and roses, which Madelaine did not recognize.
It was magical, and for a moment, Madelaine almost forgot about her worries.
Eventually, Evelyn managed to snatch an empty space at the counter, where she was able to place her order for supplies—sacks of flour, corn, and sugar, as well as rice. Madelaine turned her back to Evelyn and scanned the store, still trying to figure out what the enticing sweet smell was.
She didn’t notice him at first, but when she realized that a tall man with a black hat and long black coat hadn’t moved and kept staring at her, she felt an icy shower running down her spine. Spinning around to face Evelyn, she lifted her shawl up to cover her hair and tried to pay attention to the order, but she could still see the reflection of the man in the spaces between all the large bottles and jars in the mirror on the back of the shelf behind the counter.
He still hadn’t moved.
Who was he? Why was he staring at her?
When Evelyn took her sweet time taking out the silver coins to pay for the order, Madelaine began to get nervous. Something felt off.
“Please hurry up, Evy!” Trying to come up with an excuse as to why she needed to hurry, Madelaine lamely said, “It’s too hot in here. I can’t breathe.”
“Well, I need to make sure that I count the right amount. I don’t want to short Mr. Higgins. Give me just a second,” Evelyn said absentmindedly while counting little stacks of coins out on the counter.
“Please hurry up!” Madelaine whispered to her, not wanting to be too obvious. Was she overreacting?
Then Madelaine dared to look over her shoulder, she saw that the man stood nearer the center of the room, ominously looking at the liquor display, but still stealing glances at her.
Madelaine had never seen him before.
