“Good morning,” Caroline and her mother replied in unison.
Eula beamed and patted Caroline’s arm. “I’m so glad you accepted my invitation. That’s what’s best, you know,” she said, tilting her head and leaning in. “After one gets thrown, one must get right back up on the horse.”
Her mother cast a sympathetic glance in her direction and addressed her friend. “I heard you’re planning to serve your famous apple pie. Is that true?”
“It is. And I must scold my cook for publicizing the menu,” she added with a laugh.
Caroline held back a smile. The cook had likely leaked the menu at Mrs. Abernathy’s request.
The general store's bell chimed behind them, and a smile burst across Eula’s face. She waddled past them, motioning for them to follow.
Caroline turned to see a tall thin man with mousy brown hair and spectacles, who appeared to be well into his twenties. His clothes were neat and tidy, but his features were so unremarkable she wouldn’t have noticed him, had no one drawn attention.
Eula looped a hand through the man’s elbow and patted his arm. “This is my nephew, Mr. Walsh Duffy. Walsh, I’d like to introduce Mrs. Vernetta Bennet and her daughter, Miss Caroline Bennet.”
Vernetta smiled. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Duffy.”
He tipped his hat politely, the movement of his head causing sunlight to glint off his glasses. “Mrs. Bennet... Miss Bennet, a pleasure.”
“Likewise, Mr. Duffy,” Caroline said softly.
“How long are you visiting your aunt?” her mother asked.
“He isn’t visiting,” Eula cut in. “Walsh took a job as a bookkeeper at the steel mill. He’s staying with me until he can find a place of his own.”
“How nice. Perhaps we’ll see you at the luncheon on Tuesday”
“I’m afraid not,” Walsh replied. “I begin my new position on Monday. But,” he added with a boyish half-grin, “I’m sure Aunt Eula would banish me from the event, regardless.”
“Oh, bosh,” Eula said with a playful swat to his sleeve.
“My daughter and I must be on our way, but before we go, let me welcome you to Greenvale, Mr. Duffy. I hope you like it here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bennet,” he replied, looking from her to Caroline, his gaze lingering on the latter. “I already do.”
The first hint of a fall breeze cooled Jackson’s sweat-soaked shirt as he stood, surveying the nascent hay field. His muscles still ached from the labor of plowing the soil and sowing seeds, butthe sight of healthy green shoots emerging from the earth made it all worthwhile.
He and Amanda had accomplished much in a mere few weeks. The house was in good repair, the hay was sown and sprouted, and the cellar was half-full of preserved fruits, meats and vegetables. Still, he couldn't shake the nagging worry that it might not be enough. The hay would barely be tall enough to cut before the first killing frost.
He headed up the path to the well pump for a drink of water. “Looks like we might have a decent crop,” he called out to Amanda, who was hanging laundry nearby.
She turned, her belly forming a tiny mound beneath her apron as the breeze blew against it. “Thank goodness. I was beginning to worry we'd be feeding the horses wishes come winter.”
Jackson chuckled. Amanda didn’t comprehend how precarious their situation was, as her sister would’ve, but her youthful grasp of life caused her to frame it with humor, which he sorely needed at times. “Speaking of winter, I need to head into town. I used all the nails, and we're running low on some of our pantry goods.”
Amanda’s eyes lost their twinkle. “It’s almost midday. Will you have to stay the night?”
“No. What we need can be carried by horse.”
Her look of relief was unmistakable. “Be careful on the road. And don't let Mr. Callahan talk you into buying any of those ridiculous patent medicines again.”
“Hey now, that tonic worked wonders for my backache,” Jackson protested, half in jest.
“Sure, it did. I'm certain it hadnothingto do with me rubbing your back every night for a week.”
Before he could take a step in the direction of the paddock, she gasped and clutched her abdomen.
Jackson sprinted across the yard. “What’s wrong?”
