know. I bring tomorrow morning to your house.”
Looked like Matthew could choose an evening to have Jack over to supper. Would that all of his problems were solved as easily as this one. He set his hat back on his head. “Agreed.” His gaze shifted to the reverend. “Thank you, sir.”
“Not at all. Not at all.”
Matthew wondered if he should ask the man’s permission to call upon his daughter. A part of him thought he should. Yet it felt dishonest somehow. He couldn’t very well say that he was interested in marrying her so she could care for his nephew when Matthew went back to driving stagecoaches. No, he’d best concentrate on Shannon first and worry about her father later.
12
With the efficient Sun Ling in charge of the Dubois kitchen and Alice Jackson seeming to grow a little stronger each day that week, Shannon began to wonder if she was needed at all. At least not as a nurse, although Alice did seem to want her for a friend.
“Sit with me,” Alice said to Shannon as she returned once again to a chair on the veranda on Thursday afternoon, this time on the north side of the house overlooking the small fenced yard where Todd played with his puppy. Alice’s eyes rarely left him, a gentle smile upon her lips.
Shannon tucked the light blanket around Alice’s legs before sitting on the chair beside her. Then she took up the embroidery work she’d brought with her from home.
“What are you making?”
“An altar cloth for Father’s church.”
“It’s lovely,” Alice said. “I was never much good with a needle. I did well enough for fixing a tear in my husband’s shirt or for letting down the hem of Todd’s trousers. But not for something as intricate and fine as that.”
“My mother taught me to embroider. She didn’t believe it was healthy for a woman to be idle, so when we were at home, we were embroidering or playing the piano or trying to perfect our painting. I suppose that’s why I liked helping the doctors at the army hospital. It made me feel busy and useful, as if I could make some bit of difference in the world.”
Of course, it was doubtful Adelyn Adair would have approved of her unmarried daughter tending to the needs of men who’d been shot or blown apart by cannon fire. Thankfully her father believed caring for others was of more importance than social conventions. “Mother’s one exception in regard to idle hands was reading. She loved to read and she encouraged my love of books as well.”
“I hope Todd will develop an appreciation for books and learning.”
Shannon heard the longing in her voice, the fear that she wasn’t going to be around to help Todd develop that appreciation.
“When I was little, Matt used to read to me at bedtime.” Alice closed her eyes, and her expression seemed to indicate she could still hear that voice from her past. “And when there wasn’t a book to read,” she continued at last, “he made up stories for me. Oh, the tales he could spin.” She laughed softly.
Shannon tried to imagine the scene in her mind. Alice as a little girl, looking up at her older brother, perhaps Matthew’s arm around her shoulders.
Alice sighed as she opened her eyes again, her gaze immediately returning to Todd. “I don’t suppose my brother has had time for reading much since leaving home. But perhaps now that he is here, with us . . .” She let the words drift into silence, the thought unfinished.
Shannon hadn’t seen any books in the boy’s room. They probably hadn’t been able to bring much with them from Wisconsin. This the two women had in common. Shannon had left many things behind in Virginia, some of them quite dear to her. She took another careful stitch, trying not to remember those things she might never see again.
“Matt is going to make a wonderful father when he gets around to marrying and starting a family. He has such a huge capacity for love. Whoever he chooses for a wife will be such a lucky woman. I can only pray it will be
Looked like Matthew could choose an evening to have Jack over to supper. Would that all of his problems were solved as easily as this one. He set his hat back on his head. “Agreed.” His gaze shifted to the reverend. “Thank you, sir.”
“Not at all. Not at all.”
Matthew wondered if he should ask the man’s permission to call upon his daughter. A part of him thought he should. Yet it felt dishonest somehow. He couldn’t very well say that he was interested in marrying her so she could care for his nephew when Matthew went back to driving stagecoaches. No, he’d best concentrate on Shannon first and worry about her father later.
12
With the efficient Sun Ling in charge of the Dubois kitchen and Alice Jackson seeming to grow a little stronger each day that week, Shannon began to wonder if she was needed at all. At least not as a nurse, although Alice did seem to want her for a friend.
“Sit with me,” Alice said to Shannon as she returned once again to a chair on the veranda on Thursday afternoon, this time on the north side of the house overlooking the small fenced yard where Todd played with his puppy. Alice’s eyes rarely left him, a gentle smile upon her lips.
Shannon tucked the light blanket around Alice’s legs before sitting on the chair beside her. Then she took up the embroidery work she’d brought with her from home.
“What are you making?”
“An altar cloth for Father’s church.”
“It’s lovely,” Alice said. “I was never much good with a needle. I did well enough for fixing a tear in my husband’s shirt or for letting down the hem of Todd’s trousers. But not for something as intricate and fine as that.”
“My mother taught me to embroider. She didn’t believe it was healthy for a woman to be idle, so when we were at home, we were embroidering or playing the piano or trying to perfect our painting. I suppose that’s why I liked helping the doctors at the army hospital. It made me feel busy and useful, as if I could make some bit of difference in the world.”
Of course, it was doubtful Adelyn Adair would have approved of her unmarried daughter tending to the needs of men who’d been shot or blown apart by cannon fire. Thankfully her father believed caring for others was of more importance than social conventions. “Mother’s one exception in regard to idle hands was reading. She loved to read and she encouraged my love of books as well.”
“I hope Todd will develop an appreciation for books and learning.”
Shannon heard the longing in her voice, the fear that she wasn’t going to be around to help Todd develop that appreciation.
“When I was little, Matt used to read to me at bedtime.” Alice closed her eyes, and her expression seemed to indicate she could still hear that voice from her past. “And when there wasn’t a book to read,” she continued at last, “he made up stories for me. Oh, the tales he could spin.” She laughed softly.
Shannon tried to imagine the scene in her mind. Alice as a little girl, looking up at her older brother, perhaps Matthew’s arm around her shoulders.
Alice sighed as she opened her eyes again, her gaze immediately returning to Todd. “I don’t suppose my brother has had time for reading much since leaving home. But perhaps now that he is here, with us . . .” She let the words drift into silence, the thought unfinished.
Shannon hadn’t seen any books in the boy’s room. They probably hadn’t been able to bring much with them from Wisconsin. This the two women had in common. Shannon had left many things behind in Virginia, some of them quite dear to her. She took another careful stitch, trying not to remember those things she might never see again.
“Matt is going to make a wonderful father when he gets around to marrying and starting a family. He has such a huge capacity for love. Whoever he chooses for a wife will be such a lucky woman. I can only pray it will be
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