Chapter Twelve
Summer sat ramrod straightin the buggy as Adam took them to Poppy’s Meadow. The last two days had gone extraordinarily slow, and the closer the date of her wedding came, the more jittery she became. She hoped it was because she was anxious to be a bride... or maybe it was because she looked forward to getting Jesse out of her thoughts.
She hadn’t seen Jesse since she and Adam had been at his house. Just thinking about that moment made her spirits drop lower, and she silently cursed her thoughts for wandering where they didn’t belong. At least she knew Jesse had graciously backed down. He’d finally accepted that she would marry Adam. However, she could tell Jesse wasn’t happy about it.
“Summer,” Adam spoke, breaking the silence. “I noticed something the other day that made me curious.”
“What’s that?”
“Is Rosie engaged to Jesse?”
She opened her mouth to answer but hesitated. Jesse told her that he was going to end it with her sister, yet Rosie hadn’t said anything to Ma or Pa about the engagement being broken. “Uh, yes. As far as I know, she and Jesse are still engaged. Why do you ask?”
He shrugged one shoulder, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. “When we were at the Slade brother’s house, and I met Cal, I noticed that he looked at Rosie as if he had feelings for her.” He glanced briefly at Summer. “In fact, if I’m not mistaken, Rosie had the same dove-eyed expression when she looked at Cal.”
Summer snorted a laugh. “Cal and Rosie? Why that’s ridiculous.” Her mind came to a halt, and she recalled a few times Cal and Rosie were together. Cal had looked at Rosie with tenderness in his gaze, and he brushed his arm or fingers by her quite a few times while he was showing the family the cabin he built for Jesse and Rosie.
Realization made Summer catch her breath. Was Cal really in love with her sister? And was that the reason why Rosie wasn’t in love with Jesse any longer?
“What are you thinking?” Adam asked.
“I’m thinking that you might be correct.” Shaking her head, she laughed. “I don’t know why I haven’t seen it before, but Cal does have a special gleam in his eyes when he looks at Rosie.”
“Who knows.” Adam grinned. “Maybe we’ll be hearing wedding bells for those two instead.”
“As long as Rosie is happy, that’s all I care about.”
When Adam pulled into the meadow, he stopped the buggy and set the brake. “This looks like a wonderful place for a picnic.”
“Yes. This is one of my favorite spots in all of Aspen. See over there—” She pointed to a small stream. “When I was a child, I’d take off my shoes and stockings and go wading.” She pointed in the opposite direction. “And over there in that small group of trees is where I used to play hide-and-seek with my friends. I always won because I was a better tree climber.”
Adam laughed. “You sound like you had a fun childhood.”
“I did. Especially the times I spent with my pa in the livery. He taught me everything from shoeing a horse to repairing a wheel for the rigs.”
Adam jumped down from the buggy, then reached up and lifted Summer out. She didn’t know if it was because he wasn’t as muscular as Jesse, but Adam seemed to struggle with holding her, and she bumped against his body.
When he looked at her, his eyes sparkled. Now she knew he’d made their contact closer on purpose. She didn’t say anything, but when her feet touched the ground, she politely pushed away. Until Jesse was completely out of her mind, it was difficult to accept another man’s closeness.
“Do you want to grab the blanket?” she asked as she lifted out the picnic basket.
“Let me get the basket.” He took it from her. “You can take the blanket. It’s lighter.”
He remained quiet as he followed her to a spot just under a tree. She flipped out the blanket and covered the small spot of grass. Continuing to play the part of a gentleman, he helped her unpack the basket, but she noticed he bumped against her a little more than necessary. Of course, now that they had shared their first kiss, he probably thought that touching her in this manner was acceptable. She hoped she wouldn’t be fighting him before the end of the meal. But how could she explain to him that she just wasn’t ready?
She filled her plate with the cooked chicken and freshly baked rolls and cheese that Ma had prepared this morning. Summer even noticed her favorite pie was packed in the basket for dessert. Ma thought of everything.
