Chapter 23 #2
“I don’t really know.” Cressida paused, running her fingers through her hair, sorting through the tangles as she thought about it. “I guess I woke up one morning, and I realized that life felt a little sadder without someone to share it, and then I saw the potentials out there.”
“You mean Ronan.”
“I do care for him.” Cressida knew there was no point in denying it. She cared for him deeply.
“I knew it.” Etta smiled and got up. “Now, what are we going to do with your hair?”
“I’m not sure yet. I want it to look nice, because if it’s not, you know people are going to talk,” she said with a little flutter in her chest. “You picked out a beautiful color for yourself. That shade of green is always so pretty with your skin. Tobin is going to declare you the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. ”
Etta blushed a deep shade of red. “Cressy.”
“Etta.” Cressida laughed and got up. “I see the way that man looks at you. It’s like you hung the stars in the sky.
I know you might be worried about what he’s going to think, but I truly don’t think you have any reason to be.
He’s going to fall even deeper in love with you the moment you get to spend some time together at the festival. ”
With another little squeal, Etta took off down the hallway to her room, while Cressida went to her own room to finish getting ready.
She took her time finding the right dress, one that would look nice but not too nice.
One that wouldn’t seem like she had just finished working with the animals and then come to town because all that would do was prompt people to talk.
And maybe if she was being a little honest with herself, she wanted to look good for Ronan. She wanted him to see her and to look at her like she was the one who hung the stars in the sky.
As Cressida got ready, she thought about the ride into town. She wanted to give Tobin and Etta some time, without her around, to get to know each other better.
“I’m going to head into town a little early,” Cressida said, stepping out of her room and heading to Etta’s. “There are a couple of things I want to order before the shops shut down for the festival.”
Etta’s eyebrows pulled together. “You’re sure about that?”
“I am. You and Tobin can ride to town together, and maybe I’ll get a ride home with you after, but I think the fresh air and the walk would do me some good after being sick.”
“You look stunning,” Etta said, her gaze raking up and down Cressida. “Is that a new dress? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear that one before.”
“Thank you.” Cressida’s cheeks warmed, and though Etta didn’t tease her for dressing up and trying to catch Ronan’s attention, the teasing was there in the softness of her smile.
“Well, if you’re going to walk, you should at least make sure you have a good time with it. Take as long as you want and enjoy yourself. You usually don’t take time to just go for a walk.”
“I know.” Cressida smiled, going to the front door and pulling on her shoes.
Diver yipped, already waiting by the front door. Cressida rubbed his head, wishing she could bring him with her, but it would be too much excitement for the puppy.
“I’ll see you when I get back, and I’ll bring you a bit of meat from the festival, too.” She smiled and scratched behind his ears before putting on her shoes and leaving.
She walked down the road, heading to town, the sun warm on her cheeks and the breeze gentle. A couple of strands of her hair fell loose, and she made sure to tuck them back into the knot at the nape of her neck, though even that was a little looser and softer than it normally was.
Wildflowers danced in the wind, bees and butterflies darting from one flower to another.
Cressida walked down the main street in town, heading to the wide-open square in front of the town hall.
Normally, it was nothing but grass and a large tree in the corner, but today it held a floor for dancing made of sheets of wood, and there were tables surrounding it.
There was a band on the front steps of the town hall, tuning their instruments and practicing.
People were already starting to show up, even though the festival wasn’t set to begin for nearly an hour yet.
She made her way around town, walking beside the town hall and seeing the side of beef that was being roasted over an open fire. Potatoes were baking in the coals of other fires that looked like they had been burning earlier.
The scent that rose into the air as the food cooked was mouthwatering. Cressida’s stomach growled as she eyed the lines of desserts on one of the far tables, an array of pies and cakes and cookies just waiting to be eaten.
Perhaps it was a good thing she came to the festival, even if Ronan wasn’t going to be here.
She kept walking around the perimeter of town, waving to people she knew, stopping and talking with some of the women from church.
“Ms. Lockridge!” a little boy, Tommy, yelled as he came running over. “Ms. Lockridge!”
“Hello!” Cressida crouched and swept him up into a hug as he came running over to her. “How are you doing? I haven’t seen you in so long. You’re getting so big!”
He giggled and shook his head. “You say the same thing every Sunday!”
“I do, but it’s because I don’t see you at school anymore.” Cressida kneeled on the ground in front of him, wanting to be eye-level with one of her favorite students. “I hope you’re on your best behavior for your new teacher.”
“I am. She’s not as much fun as you, though. And she doesn’t like it when we ask questions.” Tommy sighed, scuffing the toe of his boot on the ground between them. “I want you to come back and teach us more.”
“I’m going to be back before you know it,” she said, feeling the promise down to her bones.
If today went well, she was going to see what she could do about finally going back to her job. She just needed to be sure that Etta was going to be well on her own, that Tobin could help take care of her properly if Cressida was working.
Tommy hugged her again as his mother called for him in the distance. “I want you to be my teacher again, so you’d better be back soon. I’m going to tell everyone that you miss us.”
“I do miss all of you.” Cressida smiled, a longing in her chest as she stood and watched him run back to his mother.
She continued around the town, taking a look at all the houses going up in the distance, lining the perimeter of town.
It was going to be nice to have more people in town.
A growing town meant more of a need for teachers, which meant it might be easier to get her job back than she thought it would be.
Once she finished walking around, she went back to the town square, watching as a buggy came trotting down the street.
A slow smile started to tug at the corners of her mouth when she saw Etta in the buggy, grinning like she was having the time of her life and looking at Tobin like he was the only thing in the world that mattered to her.
Tobin got out of the buggy first, motioning to a couple of men to come over and hold the horses steady. He went back to help Etta out of the buggy, his hands on her waist and lifting her down, gently setting her on her feet and standing near her for a moment to make sure she was fine.
Cressida’s heart swelled.
If Tobin was going to be the man looking after Etta, then she was going to be just fine.
Etta looked around and saw her, lighting up and making her way over while Tobin got back in the buggy, likely to go hitch it with the others in the wide field a block over.
“You look so happy!” Cressida said, pulling Etta into a tight hug.
“I am!” Etta eyed the musicians as they began to play a happy tune on the fiddles.
“He’s such a gentleman. He picked me up at the house and helped me into the buggy.
And he made sure we brought my crutches in case I need them later.
He even put a thick blanket down on the buggy seat to make sure it didn’t jostle me around and put too much stress on my leg. ”
Tears pricked the corners of Cressida’s eyes. She reached up and wiped them away with a laugh. “I’m so happy to see you happy, Etta. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
“I want you to be happy too.” Etta took her by the hand and twirled her around, laughing as Cressida came to a stop and shook her head. “Now, what do we do at these things? I don’t think we’ve been to one since we were little.”
“Well, if I were you, I would avoid the men over there.” Cressida nodded to a group of men dressed in suits.
“They’re going to speak of nothing but politics, and from what I’ve overheard on other occasions when I’ve been in town fetching our supplies, they don’t care much for the opinions of women. ”
Children went dashing by with colorful ribbons streaming behind them, dancing on the wind, waving to Cressida before swarming her.
Etta took a step back, laughing as Cressida took time to greet each of the children with a smile and a hug, feeling like she was back at school with them all over again.
Tobin made his way over with his hands tucked in his pockets and an easy smile on his face. “Afternoon, Cressida. You look lovely.”
“Thank you.” Cressida glanced around, scanning the crowd, trying to see if Ronan was arriving with the sea of people filtering into the square.