A Fine Mess (13 page)

“Let me just grab a jacket-”

She turned as though she might actually go and get one, but was stopped in her tracks when Ian grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. When he didn’t let her go, she looked up at him. He looked tired, she noted. He also looked serious.

“What?”

“You’re not a shrew,” he said quietly, kissing her forehead softly. “Goodnight, Annie.”

~~~~

Ian planned on just hiring a moving service to load and unload a truck, but Pastor Caldwell had nixed the idea the previous Wednesday. He’d round up some help and save the McCann’s the expense. And he’d been as good as his word.

At six o’clock Friday evening, thirteen men, including the pastor, showed up at the apartment with three pickup trucks and a van. One man even brought a flatbed trailer that he used for hauling snowmobiles on. It came in very handy for moving Ian’s king size waterbed and the antique dining room set he’d inherited from his grandmother, a heavy table that seated eight, along with an ornately carved hutch and buffet.

Annie had gone on ahead to the house, where heaven only knew how many women would be there to help her unpack.

“So how
are you liking
married life?” Max Caldwell asked when Ian climbed into his truck.

“
I’m liking
it just fine,” Ian told him truthfully. Not that he’d expected to, but Annie was not all that hard to live with. She knew how to be quiet, she had a wonderful sense of humor, and the girl could cook. Something that hadn’t escaped her pastor, who was saying,

“Well, I’ll tell you what. You got blessed with one of the best cooks in the county, that’s for sure.”

“You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already figured out,” he agreed wholeheartedly.

“Yup.
She’s quite a special woman. I can tell you that there were more than a few guys at church whose hearts were broken when they found out she was no longer available.”

Ian glanced over at him. Max was a big bear of a man, with bright red hair and a neatly trimmed beard the exact same shade. A nice man from what he’d observed thus far.

He wondered why he’d been the recipient of that little bit of news. He also wondered why that little bit of news annoyed him.

“Well I guess they’ll just have to get over it because I have no plans to put her back in circulation,” he said a little stiffly.
At least not in the near future.
Max laughed a big booming laugh.

“Don’t worry about it, son. They know she’s off-limits now. And if they forget, I suspect that you won’t hesitate to remind them.”

“You’ve got that right,” Ian managed to say through clenched teeth. He sure hoped he didn’t have to chase anymore men away from his wife.
Especially not ones who attended their church.

His
wife?
Their
church?
He shook his head, as though to clear it. Talk about getting possessive over a woman he basically had a five year contract with! He’d have to watch himself. When that contract was up he was going to be footloose and fancy-free again.

In four years, eleven months, two weeks and one day.

~~~~

“I can’t believe it,” Ian was saying as they stood on the front steps waving at the car loads of helpers who were headed home. “It’s not even nine o’clock and we’re not only moved, but everything is unpacked and put away. They even took the boxes.” He sounded so stunned that Annie had to laugh.

“I told you they were going to be a lot of help,” she reminded him as they stepped inside their immaculate foyer with its pretty cherry wood Queen Anne side table.

“You did. But I had no idea they were so
good
at this.”

“Now you do.
Although I should warn you.
Max will probably be calling us to help the next family that needs moving.”

“Given what they just did for us, I don’t think I’ll be complaining if they do.” Annie laughed again, linking her arm through his and leading him toward the kitchen.

“You might change your mind. The last time I helped with a move, it was a family of six with eight rooms of furniture. Not even counting all the boxes of dishes and clothes and toys and knick-knacks. We had about the same amount of volunteers but it took us a day and a half!”

“Even so, it would have taken us the weekend to settle in so, no, I won’t mind helping someone else,” he told her. It sounded like he sincerely meant it.

“You really are a nice man, Ian McCann.”

“’bout time you noticed. Now are you going to feed me before I starve? Those sandwiches we had at five didn’t last very long.”

“Have a seat and I’ll get you a plate. Fiona Hansen dropped off a crock pot of stew and dumplings.
Although you might have trouble sleeping if you eat too much.”

Annie quickly filled two plates and joined him at the round wooden table, set in a small glassed in alcove in the corner of the kitchen.

They ate in silence, which allowed her to admire the place she would prepare many meals over the next few years.

It was a dream kitchen, bright white with white appliances and lemon yellow accents and flooring. Long counters would give her more than adequate work space for making pies and other baked goods, the most important feature in her opinion.

“Max said you had quite a few admirers at church,” Ian said suddenly.

“He did?”

“Said you broke all their hearts when you married me.”

“I think Max was exaggerating,” Annie said, wondering what would possess her pastor to tell Ian something like that.

“Were you involved with someone?”

“What?”

“Were-you-involved-with-someone?” he repeated slowly.

“From church?”

“From anywhere.
I guess we never got around to talking about that when we decided to get married.”

“No. I wasn’t involved with anyone.”

“Good. Neither was I, in case you were wondering.”

An awkward silence filled the air as they finished eating. What an odd conversation to be having their first night in the new house, Annie thought. She wondered if Ian
was doubting
her vow of fidelity.

“You know that I meant it when I said there would be no one else for the duration of our marriage, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’m just hoping I won’t have to have any heart-to-hearts with any guys from church. I don’t imagine I’d be too popular for giving out black eyes.”

“I don’t think it’ll come down to that. Now, do you want seconds before I put the rest of the food away?”

“No. I think I’d rather turn in so I can get up early and mow the lawn. Besides, your folks are planning on bringing Jack over at nine, right?”

“The last I knew, yes. Mom’s pretty excited about seeing the house.”

“Then shall we call it a night?”

“In a few minutes.
I’ll just clean up here first.” The last few words came out in a yawn. “You’re right. It’s been a long day.”

“Then let’s just rinse these and put them in the sink. They can wait until morning.”

“But-”

“But nothing.
I’ll rinse the dishes. You can put the stew away. It‘s been a long day, Annie, so don‘t argue with your lord and master.”

~~~~

Ian let loose of the handle that had to be held in order to keep the lawnmower running and wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirtsleeve. Although he’d been at it for about an hour and a half, only about two-thirds of the acre the house sat on was finished. As he crossed the lawn, rubbing his tingling palms on the legs of his jeans, he decided that a riding mower was going to be the number one priority when they went on sale next spring.

“Good morning,” Paul called as he opened the door to help his wife out of the car. “Looks like you’re hard at work already.”

“Growing grass waits for no man,” Ian sighed, walking over to his mother-in-law and kissing her cheek. “How are you feeling today, Maddie?”

“Excited,” she answered, slipping her hand in the crook of his arm. “Your house is lovely! I can’t wait to see inside!”

“Then let’s not keep you waiting,” he said, grinning down at her.

“Where should I put Jack?” Paul wanted to know, opening the back door.

Jack.

Ian still wasn’t sure how he felt about having a dog. From what he gathered, Jack was an inside dog, as opposed to one that could be kept in a dog house outside. But Annie loved him, and already had beds set out in her room and the kitchen for him, so what could he do?

“Bring him in, I guess. Annie’s been about beside herself waiting for him.” Realizing how that might have sounded, he added, “And the two of you, of course. She’s making breakfast for all of us as we speak.”

“Do we have a few minutes?” Maddie said enthusiastically. “I’d like a tour before we eat.”

The short trek to the front door was a slow one. Maddie didn’t seem to have an abundance of energy that Ian had ever seen. But then again, from what he understood about chemo treatments, they tended to drain the victims. And victim was the only word he could think of to describe the people undergoing the treatment. Maddie was nothing but skin over bone with dark shadows beneath eyes that seemed to large for her face.

“We have all the time you want, Maddie.”

Ian glanced down when he heard her gasp as they entered the foyer, relieved that it was from pleasure and not something else.

“Oh! It‘s beautiful,” she breathed, looking at everything from the louvered closet doors stained to match the honey colored railing on the stairway.
Which matched all the hardwood floors and woodwork throughout the rest of the house.

“Shall we start upstairs first?” Ian asked, smiling gently at her pleasure. “Paul, you could take Jack out to Annie and then join us. The kitchen is straight down this hall.”

“I’ll be right there then.”

“Okay.
 
Now, Maddie, if you don’t mind-” Ian quickly, and far too easily, lifted her in his arms and started up the first five steps, turning to the right and continuing up the rest of the way to the second floor before setting her gently on her feet.

“Thank you, Ian. I was wondering how I was going to manage,” she said, flushing.

“As your personal tour guide, it’s my duty to see to your every need,” he said suavely, bowing at the waist. “Now, if you’ll give me your hand,” he tucked into the crook of his arm again, “we’ll continue. To your right you will note the linen closet. Probably built sometime after the completion of the first floor, it is more than adequate to store all of the sheets and blankets required by the residents of the house…”

~~~~

From the kitchen, where Annie was kneeling on the floor to welcome Jack, she heard her mother’s laugh and wondered what Ian might be up to now. He had, over the course of the past three weeks, made it his mission to bring as much joy as he could into Maddie’s life. Something he seemed to excel at.