Chapter 17
LAUREN
Summer passes quickly, but we try to make it more than just work.
We plan lots of trips to the pond, a place that comes to represent passion and long talks.
True to his word, once a month Grant takes me to town, treating me to breakfast and sometimes dinner at the inn.
We also shop and talk about the tasks for the coming winter.
But there are days like today when he acts strange. I have come to recognize his moods and I know he’s hiding something from me. I simply can’t figure out what.
In the last two weeks, he’s told me twice he was working in the mine, only to come home covered in sawdust. When I asked, he said he was cutting support beams for the mine but that doesn’t usually involve taking Star and Bolt with him.
He said he had loaned them to a neighbor.
That wouldn’t be so odd, but if he’s here every day, how did he talk to a neighbor?
I know my mind is just taunting me, but I’m terrified that things between us may not be as good as I believe them to be. It’s not like he’s treating me any differently and if anything, he seems more attentive, if that’s even possible. But there’s an underlying current of something else.
Reaching down for the laundry basket, I laugh when I find Blue sitting on the wet shirts. “What are you doing, silly? You better not poop on those because I just washed them.”
Gathering him up, he clucks pitifully before rubbing his face against my arm. Setting him back down, Lucy waddles up and I swear they’re having an entire conversation. I manage to get two shirts hung on the line before he’s back in the basket. “Blue … ughh.”
Because I’m paying attention to him, when I turn back around, I scream when I find a huge man walking toward me.
I grab the only thing nearby, a shovel — but before I can react, Blue and Lucy are between the stranger and me.
Blue’s wings stretch out as he stomps aggressively.
The stranger backs away, holding his hands up.
“Sorry, Miss, I thought you heard me coming up the road. Can you call off your attack chickens?”
“Depends … what do you want? Who are you?” The entire time I’m talking to him, I could kick myself for not bringing the rifle out with me.
“My name is Reginald Tomas Kerns but my friends call me Reggie. I’m looking for my cousin, Grant Hayes. I was told in town that he lived out this way. Please put that down. I will not harm you, I give you my word.”
He is as big as Grant for sure, but his coloring is entirely different. Long blond hair, a beard, and bright blue eyes stare back at me as he rolls his hat in his hands.
“May I ask who you are?”
“Lauren Hayes. You said that you’re Reggie?”
“Yes, been writing Grant back and forth these last few months and decided to come out and met the woman who finally landed my cousin.”
When he takes a step closer, Blue attacks his boots until he steps back.
“I will say, ma’am, I have never seen a chicken so loyal.”
“Grant says he’s confused, but I love him because of his differences. Grant is at the mine today. Did he know you were coming?”
“No, I decided on a whim to catch the next train headed out, packed Bells and me up and headed this way. I will say you guys have quite a spread here. The entire area is beautiful.”
Blue must have decided he’s not much of a threat because he comes back and plops his butt back in the basket while Lucy pecks around the yard.
“If you point me toward the mine, I’ll ride on that way.”
“You don’t need your horse so if you want to take her and tie her up at the barn, that will be fine. You’re welcome to use the feed and water in the barrels. The mine is over that knoll, just a small distance away. There are always extra lanterns at the entrance.”
“Thank you, I will take care of Bell real quick, then head that way. I apologize once again for startling you.”
“I think I’ve gotten too used to it just being Grant and me out here. I’m sure he will scold me later for not being better prepared or paying closer attention. He has often spoken fondly of you. He will be pleased to see you, as am I.”
He puts his hat back on, tipping it before walking back to his horse. Still cautious, I leave the basket and Blue and head back in, locking the back screen door. I know it won’t stop him if he wants in, but it might slow him down if he’s not who he says he is.
Building the fire up in the stove, I put the bread that has been rising all morning in the oven before sitting down to peel the potatoes, adding extra, as I’m sure he probably eats as much as Grant if he stays for dinner.
For a minute, my mind remembers how large he is. If all the men in Grant’s family are this large, I can’t imagine the size of the babies. It’s not long before I hear voices and I get up, peeking out the door, only to see Grant and his cousin laughing as they get closer.
Opening the back door, I step out just as Grant sees Blue sitting in the basket. “Blue, if you shit on my shirt, I swear I will quit getting chickens from the market for dinner, and we will serve you up instead.”
Blue just squawks at him and I can’t help but laugh.
“Lauren, love, come here and let me introduce you to Reggie.”
“Cousin, we already met and that chicken of hers was ready to peck my eyes out.”
“He sure is a conversation piece. Are you staying for a while?”
“I planned on a couple of weeks at least.”
“Good, that will give us some time to talk over some things. Will you stay for dinner?”
“Would love to, if it’s not too big a burden, but we’d better ask the boss.” He nods his head at me.
“You are welcome to stay.”
Grant holds out his hand for me and I walk over, tucking myself against his huge frame, feeling extremely small between these two. “Heavens, are all the men in your family this large?”
They look at each other before answering at the same time … “Yes!”
“Was Eliza affected as well?”
“No, she was taller than you, but still just a tiny thing.”
“Hmmm, I seem to learn something new every day. Well, I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about and I have supper to fix. I’ll yell when it’s ready, but Grant, you might want to bring a crate into the house so that we can all eat at the table.”
He pulls me close, kissing me deeply before patting me on the bottom as I’m walking away, and I hear his cousin laugh. “Never thought I would see the day a female brought Grant Hayes to his knees, but Cuz, I do believe you are caught, hook, line, and sinker!”
“Proud to be caught, don’t knock it until you try it.”
His statement makes me smile, and I don’t hear the rest of their conversation as they walk off toward the barn. Dinner turns into a lively affair as they tell stories about each other. I laughed so much this evening that my sides hurt. As darkness draws near, Reggie gets up.
“Thank you for dinner, Lauren. That was the best meal I have had in weeks, but I need to head back. Until I learn this area a little better, I would prefer not to be out at night.”
“Thank you, and you are welcome at our table anytime.”
When Grant comes back in from seeing him off, he’s all smiles.
“Did you know he was coming?”
“No, but when I didn’t get a letter last week, I had the notion that he might.
I am excited that he’s here, and the fact that he is not in a hurry to head right back is good news as well.
Tomorrow I am going to meet him in town with the solicitor over my affairs in Boston.
I will probably be gone most of the day. ”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
For a second, he looks panicked, then his features calm.
“I thought you were going to can the rest of the tomatoes tomorrow?”
“They can wait a day if you need me.”
“No, just going to be a boring meeting about old contracts and things that need to be sold.”
“In that case, can you grab an extra case of jars on your way back?”
“Absolutely.”
The relief on his face is almost instant. Trying not to read more into it than usual, I clean up the dishes while Grant sees to the animals. When he comes back in, he has my basket in his hand, the shirt Blue was sitting on missing.
“I hung up the shirt with all the others. If you don’t mind, I’m going to turn in early this evening. I am tuckered out and I need to leave early in the morning.”
“Go on, I have some sewing I need to do before I turn in.”
I can tell he’s distracted because he just kisses my forehead and turns for our bedroom, completely lost in his thoughts.
The next few weeks seem to be the same. Grant is constantly leaving for town or meeting a random neighbor I’ve never heard of.
On random days, he comes home covered in sawdust, or too clean to have been working in the mine.
The entire time, I tell myself it’s nothing, that men don’t always tell their wives what’s going on in their day.
I just thought we were more to each other than that.
Fall came and went quickly and I don’t know who’s more shocked, me or Grant, the morning we wake up to an early snowfall only a few days before Christmas.
I find Grant staring out at it, like it has personally offended him.
“Grant honey, what’s the matter? This will be melted in a few days. You know how these storms come and go, come sit down and relax. You’ve been running so much here lately, you could use a day off.”
“I wanted us to go find a tree before it got too cold.”
“The trees aren’t n going anywhere. We can go ahead and start on some of the decorations if you want.”
He seems to come to some sort of decision because when he turns back, it’s my Grant staring back at me. “Go get your coat, the one Beatrice just sent, and put on some mittens. We are going to make the best of this and use the sleigh.”