wanted to hear about Michael.
Dressed now in her own clothing, Courtney led her to two waiting chairs in the common area and sat down. She patted the other for Louisa, who sat, too, her defenses rising again.
Courtney leaned close, pinning her with an intense gaze. ‘‘What if I told you Michael has decided not to partner at your father’s law firm?’’
Louisa swallowed. ‘‘He what?’’
‘‘He must love you a lot to give all that up. Don’t you think?’’
‘‘No way he’s walking from the firm.’’
‘‘Don’t be so sure. I think he wants to prove something to you in a big way.’’
‘‘Then why didn’t he want you to tell me?’’
Courtney shook her head. ‘‘Maybe he wanted to say it himself. Remember, he wanted to fly out here? But you shut him down?’’
‘‘Courtney . . .’’ Louisa frowned. ‘‘Michael and I closed the door on our relationship . . . months ago.’’
Courtney stared at her. ‘‘He’s a great guy, and putting it bluntly, you’re nuts to ignore him.’’
‘‘Sounds like you’ve gotten to know him pretty well since I’ve been here.’’
‘‘All I’m saying is count your lucky stars that Michael’s willing to give the whole thing another chance . . . after you left him, basically, standing at the altar.’’
‘‘Hey, you know that’s not true.’’
‘‘I don’t see you throwing away that kind of love, Louisa.’’
‘‘Honestly, I doubt Michael and I ever really had the devoted kind of love two people should marry for. The ‘in sickness, in health’ kind,’’ Louisa said. The image of Sam’s gentle eyes crossed her mind before she could blink it away.
‘‘This is the real world, not some fairy-tale romance. No love is perfect, right? But Michael loves you and you love him. Or at least you used to.’’
‘‘Yeah, I used to do a lot of things, Court.’’
Now it was Courtney’s turn to sigh loudly.
‘‘Listen, I don’t want you to leave like this.’’ Louisa reached over and squeezed Courtney’s arm. ‘‘You have one day left here. Let’s make the most of it—do something fun together, just the two of us. I’ll take you to this art gallery I know, then out for lunch at a Dutch smorgasbord. Okay with you?’’
Courtney’s eyes were sad, even defeated, but she smiled gamely. ‘‘Sounds good, Ms. Stratford . . . but you’re buying.’’
Chapter 10
B en drove back to the harness shop where he found Irvin and another man negotiating a price on a new harness. Resuming his work, Ben checked the measurements for a custom miniature horse harness before cutting the leather.
He had never been awestruck by a girl before, and a Plain one at that. But Annie’s personality was unlike any young woman he had dated. She was a peculiar yet appealing mix of beauty, naivete, and spunk. She knew her mind and was rarely hesitant about speaking it, but only if she felt she was in a comfortable environment. Ben smiled to himself. She’s definitely become more at ease with me .
Thinking ahead to the best choice of a restaurant for their first real date, he wondered how it would go . . . the two of them out together, and Annie vulnerable to the public eye. Inwardly he cringed at putting her at risk in any way and was contemplating rethinking where he might take her for supper when in walked Zeke Hochstetler.
‘‘Ben, hullo again!’’
Ben motioned him over to the large table where he worked. ‘‘What can I do for you?’’
‘‘Well, I came to ask Irvin if he could spare an hour or so,’’ Zeke said, glancing over at Irvin and the farmer still haggling over cost. ‘‘Need some help mendin’ a fence, and I mean that literally.’’
Ben smiled at his quip, though he found it curious that Zeke should drop by twice in one day. ‘‘I’d be happy to help with your fence,’’ Ben volunteered. They both looked Irvin’s way. ‘‘Looks like he might be tied up for a while, but I could get away once I’m done
Dressed now in her own clothing, Courtney led her to two waiting chairs in the common area and sat down. She patted the other for Louisa, who sat, too, her defenses rising again.
Courtney leaned close, pinning her with an intense gaze. ‘‘What if I told you Michael has decided not to partner at your father’s law firm?’’
Louisa swallowed. ‘‘He what?’’
‘‘He must love you a lot to give all that up. Don’t you think?’’
‘‘No way he’s walking from the firm.’’
‘‘Don’t be so sure. I think he wants to prove something to you in a big way.’’
‘‘Then why didn’t he want you to tell me?’’
Courtney shook her head. ‘‘Maybe he wanted to say it himself. Remember, he wanted to fly out here? But you shut him down?’’
‘‘Courtney . . .’’ Louisa frowned. ‘‘Michael and I closed the door on our relationship . . . months ago.’’
Courtney stared at her. ‘‘He’s a great guy, and putting it bluntly, you’re nuts to ignore him.’’
‘‘Sounds like you’ve gotten to know him pretty well since I’ve been here.’’
‘‘All I’m saying is count your lucky stars that Michael’s willing to give the whole thing another chance . . . after you left him, basically, standing at the altar.’’
‘‘Hey, you know that’s not true.’’
‘‘I don’t see you throwing away that kind of love, Louisa.’’
‘‘Honestly, I doubt Michael and I ever really had the devoted kind of love two people should marry for. The ‘in sickness, in health’ kind,’’ Louisa said. The image of Sam’s gentle eyes crossed her mind before she could blink it away.
‘‘This is the real world, not some fairy-tale romance. No love is perfect, right? But Michael loves you and you love him. Or at least you used to.’’
‘‘Yeah, I used to do a lot of things, Court.’’
Now it was Courtney’s turn to sigh loudly.
‘‘Listen, I don’t want you to leave like this.’’ Louisa reached over and squeezed Courtney’s arm. ‘‘You have one day left here. Let’s make the most of it—do something fun together, just the two of us. I’ll take you to this art gallery I know, then out for lunch at a Dutch smorgasbord. Okay with you?’’
Courtney’s eyes were sad, even defeated, but she smiled gamely. ‘‘Sounds good, Ms. Stratford . . . but you’re buying.’’
Chapter 10
B en drove back to the harness shop where he found Irvin and another man negotiating a price on a new harness. Resuming his work, Ben checked the measurements for a custom miniature horse harness before cutting the leather.
He had never been awestruck by a girl before, and a Plain one at that. But Annie’s personality was unlike any young woman he had dated. She was a peculiar yet appealing mix of beauty, naivete, and spunk. She knew her mind and was rarely hesitant about speaking it, but only if she felt she was in a comfortable environment. Ben smiled to himself. She’s definitely become more at ease with me .
Thinking ahead to the best choice of a restaurant for their first real date, he wondered how it would go . . . the two of them out together, and Annie vulnerable to the public eye. Inwardly he cringed at putting her at risk in any way and was contemplating rethinking where he might take her for supper when in walked Zeke Hochstetler.
‘‘Ben, hullo again!’’
Ben motioned him over to the large table where he worked. ‘‘What can I do for you?’’
‘‘Well, I came to ask Irvin if he could spare an hour or so,’’ Zeke said, glancing over at Irvin and the farmer still haggling over cost. ‘‘Need some help mendin’ a fence, and I mean that literally.’’
Ben smiled at his quip, though he found it curious that Zeke should drop by twice in one day. ‘‘I’d be happy to help with your fence,’’ Ben volunteered. They both looked Irvin’s way. ‘‘Looks like he might be tied up for a while, but I could get away once I’m done
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