Leave a Candle Burning (39 page)

“Please.”

“Where is everyone?” Dannan asked after Iris handed him a fork.

“Finn went home to work on a project, and Scottie fell asleep on the sofa with Corina.”

Dannan stood and went to the door. He peeked out into the parlor and came right back.

“Is that normal?”

“It is since Eli died. I’m not sure she’s sleeping at night.”

“She’s here all alone, isn’t she?”

“Yes, but she says she’s not afraid.”

Dannan didn’t comment. He ate every bite on the plate and the pie Iris served him as well, and then he told the cook he would be in the parlor. He slipped into that room and onto the other end of the sofa. Scottie had curled into the corner with Corina’s head in her lap. Dannan sat on the other end, not even needing to shift Corina’s feet, and stared at them.

It wasn’t every man who could watch a woman be another man’s wife and then have the chance to have that woman as his own wife. Scottie Peterson was very special. She had put her husband’s needs ahead of her own and been a helpmate to him in every way. And she had been happy; he had seen that every time he was here.

Dannan’s heart wanted her to have that same happiness with him. He wanted her to be Scottie MacKay and to care for him as she had Eli. In the same way, he wanted to cherish her every day and have her be his very own.

Dannan was studying her face, thinking about how beautiful she was, when Corina shifted around a bit and Scottie woke. She took a moment to see him.

“Hi,” Dannan said softly.

“I didn’t see you.”

“I haven’t been here too long.”

“Did Iris feed you?”

“Yes, thank you. Are you sleeping at night?”

Scottie made a face. “Not very well. I tried to skip the naps, but I still wake up and end up too tired during the day.”

“Are you nervous about being here alone?”

“No.” She looked surprised at the very thought. “But sometimes it would be nice to have someone to talk to.”

The image this created for Dannan was purely intended for a married couple. He thought about how sweet it would be to share a bed with your wife and have companionship just inches away.

“What are you thinking about?” Scottie asked in a way that was becoming familiar.

“I’ll tell you sometime,” Dannan stalled, “but right now I have to get back to work.”

Scottie looked disappointed, which gave Dannan pause. He didn’t want to leave her with questions about his motives.

Scottie saw him look at her and waited.

“You look beautiful,” he told her sincerely.

The surprise on Scottie’s face made Dannan smile.

“What did you think I was thinking?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Just not that.”

Dannan smiled again but didn’t linger. Reese had told him that Scottie was coming to dinner on Sunday, so he knew he had that to look forward to. At the moment, it was the only thing that made him willing to leave.

Seventeen

“Did I see Dannan headed this way after dinner?” Finn asked Scottie later that day as she helped him make some repairs on the chicken pens. The chicks were getting out and disappearing.

“Yes. Iris said he had a delivery to make, but she still fed him.”

“Did the two of you talk?”

“A little.”

“I mean, did you get to ask him your questions?”

Scottie looked across at him. “How much do you know, Finn?”

“As far as Eli is concerned, he talked to me about everything. You and Dannan are another matter.”

“So you knew that he talked to Dannan and what he was going to say?”

“I was there.”

Scottie hesitated. Finn had much on his mind but waited for a question.

“Do you think Eli trusted me?”

“With all his heart.”

“Even to take care of myself?”

Finn smiled. “Now that’s where Eli struggled, Scottie. He wanted so much to know that you’d be looked after. He even doubted his God at times, and you know how strong his faith was.”

“Why did he worry about me?”

Finn’s eyes were fond. “You don’t know what we all saw when you came here. You don’t know how we all lost our hearts to that shy little girl who came into our midst.”

Scottie said on a sigh, “I miss Eli so much.” She didn’t want to cry but felt as though she could.

“Of course you do.”

“But then how can I be thinking about Dannan?”

“Scottie, it’s normal and right that you would want a fine man like Dannan. Eli shouldn’t have interfered. Dannan would have found a way on his own. But your feelings are normal.”

“Why did Eli do it?”

“Like I said, Scottie, he was still trying to take care of that shy little girl.”

Scottie looked thoughtful and a little unhappy.

“Don’t withhold your forgiveness, Scottie. Your Bible teaches otherwise.”

“You’re a fine one, Irv Finnegan.” Scottie sprang on him without warning. “Saying
Eli’s God
and
my Bible.
They could be your God and your Bible too!”

Finn’s eyes twinkled.

“And don’t be smiling at me,” she went on fiercely. “I know the promise you gave Eli, and I’ve yet to see you at the meetinghouse!”

“You’re right,” Finn agreed, as calm as ever. “I did promise, and I’m working on it.”

Scottie gave a single nod of her head and did not press the matter further. She had plenty more to say but knew that no amount of words would sway the man. She also knew that the promise had been between Finn and Eli, and that Finn, sooner or later, would be true to his word.

“I’ve learned so much,” Cathy shared with Douglas and Alison before they even sat down for Sunday dinner. “I never really read the Bible before, and I can’t believe what I’ve missed.”

“Well, you and I did read,” Doyle amended, “but not with any depth of understanding.”

“I can see the changes in you,” Douglas told Cathy. “You were guarded before, but that’s all gone.”

Cathy looked pleased and peaceful, and the smile in Doyle’s eyes was impossible to miss.

“Come to the table,” Alison invited, knowing it was going to be a great afternoon.

“How are you?” Dannan asked of Scottie at the big house, his first chance to speak to her that day.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you. How is the back of your hand?”

Scottie showed him. There was a scab now, long and jagged, but healing was coming along nicely.

“It looks good,” Dannan said, having taken her hand. “It must have been the good doctoring.”

Scottie tried not to laugh at Dannan’s innocent eyes but failed. Dannan watched her, smiling at how relaxed she seemed. The last time they spoke he’d not been able to say all that was on his mind, and he hoped that no walls had come up between them.

“Sottie!” Corina cried, suddenly there and throwing her arms around Scottie’s legs. Scottie reached down to hold the little girl’s face in her hands, and the two smiled at each other.

“Where is that little girl?” Troy’s voice came, and Corina’s eyes got huge.

“Mr. Roy! Hide!”

For everyone but Scottie this was old stuff. Troy played hide-and-seek with Corina on a regular basis. At first Corina tried to hide behind Scottie’s skirt, but the closer Troy got, the more excited she became. She scurried from the entryway into the parlor, giggling all the while.

“Come in,” Reese greeted from the door of the dining room. “Troy will find Corina in about two seconds, and they’ll join us.”

“Sit here,” Conner invited when Scottie entered the large dining room. She hadn’t been in this room recently and had forgotten how lovely it was. Reese’s dishes and flatware sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the windows, and although there was no fire burning in the fireplace, the mantle—with a family portrait hanging above—gave the room a homey feel.

The six of them were all seated a short time later, Conner and Reese taking the ends and Dannan and Corina on one side with Troy and Scottie across from them. Reese had prepared ham and corn chowder with biscuits. The bowls of vegetables that she put on the table were mouthwatering and plentiful.

Dannan served Corina, and when everyone’s plate was ready and they had prayed, Conner asked Troy to share about the letter he’d received from his daughter, Ruth.

“They had a bit of excitement in downtown Linden Heights last week,” Troy began, his eyes twinkling. “It seems that one of the town constables was in the bank to settle a matter with his account when he dropped his weapon and it discharged. No one was harmed, but the bank had several customers right then, mostly women, and the shot, along with the screaming women, gave another officer the impression that the bank was being robbed. Complete panic broke out before the sheriff stepped in and sorted things out.”

“And was your daughter there at the time, or did she just hear about it?” Dannan asked.

“She heard about it, along with the entire town. She wrote that folks were in and out of the bank all day, just wanting to see the bullet hole and hear what happened firsthand from the tellers.”

Even Conner and Reese, who had already heard Troy read the letter, laughed all over again. The story caused Conner to think of one of his own, and for the next hour, the men regaled the company with banking stories.

The stories made the time move swiftly, but Dannan was still constantly aware of Scottie’s presence and wished he could talk to her alone. Not until Conner went with Reese to get the dessert and Corina climbed onto Troy’s knee did Dannan have an opportunity to speak quietly across the table to her.

“Are you sleeping any better?”

“No, but I’m going to fight it this week and try not to fall asleep with Corina.”

“Do you want me to give you something?”

Scottie looked surprised. “Every so often I forget you’re a doctor.”

Dannan laughed a little.

“What would you give me?” Scottie asked now.

“A glass of whiskey would work, but you don’t drink.”

Scottie knew she was being teased. Her hand came to her mouth, but her eyes were brimming with suppressed laughter.