Where Love Dwells (32 page)

Convinced Wryn was taking only one step back for every two
steps she took forward these days, Emma turned to take one last look down Coulter Lane. Before her common sense failed, if not her convictions, she turned around again to prevent herself from marching straight to Zachary's home and interrupting him in order to get the answer she so desperately wanted from him.

Instead, since she was now alone, she took advantage of this unexpected opportunity to pursue the matter concerning Miss Burns and changed directions completely. She reached the courthouse fairly quickly but left only minutes later. The late Gerald Burns' will had been recorded, by custom, in Bounty, the county seat, and she would need to go there to read it.

By the time she reached the end of Main Street, she was almost as tired as the plump, middle-aged woman with the reddest hair she had ever seen who was struggling her way up the steep hill just ahead of her. The woman, who waddled from side to side, was carrying a basket in each hand.

After mustering up the last of her strength, she hurried to catch up with her. “May I help you?”

“I'd . . . surely . . . appreciate . . . it,” the woman managed as she handed her baskets to Emma and tried to catch her breath. “I'm afraid I could never live all the way up there if I had to climb this hill every day.”

Emma chuckled. “It's a bit of a challenge for me today, too. My name is Widow Garrett, and I live at Hill House at the top of this very steep hill.”

“Then I'm doubly blessed you came along when you did because I was bringing those baskets to you. I'm Mrs. Fellows,” she said, pointing to the baskets Emma was holding now. “It's not much, just a couple of loaves of sweet bread to thank you for being so generous to Amos and me.”

“I thought I smelled something delicious, but there's no thanks
necessary,” Emma insisted. “If anything, I'm very grateful that your husband was willing to take all three of those goats. I'm sorry about your garden,” she added.

The woman chuckled. “Goats don't eat the roots, so that garden will still grow some. It's just Amos and me now. We'll find a way to make do until it does. I do thank you for saving me some steps, though.”

“Are you sure I can't offer you a cup of tea before you go back home?”

She chuckled again. “Not if it means I have to climb the rest of that hill. But I shouldn't dally anyway. I told Amos I was just going to drop this off and come right back home to mend his shirt before he heads out to look for work again. He hasn't found much more than a few days' labor since the match factory burned to the ground, and I'm afraid we'll have to think about leaving Candlewood if he doesn't find something soon.”

“I understand,” Emma murmured. “If you'd like to wait here, I can take the bread home and bring the baskets right back to you so you can take them home.”

Mrs. Fellows waved off Emma's suggestion. “There's no rush for that, but I wouldn't mind if you'd leave them at Mr. Breckenwith's for me. I have to stop back there the day after tomorrow to get the baskets I left there with some goodies for him. I have the opportunity to deliver some pies to the confectionery, but you can't tell anyone. Mrs. Turner doesn't want anyone to know she didn't make them herself, and me and Amos need what little I can make.”

Emma smiled. “I won't tell a soul, and I'll make sure the baskets are at Mr. Breckenwith's, too.”

“If he's not home when you get there, just leave the baskets on the bench in that garden behind his kitchen. Don't tell him I told
you so, but that garden of his looks even worse than mine did after the goats had their fill of it,” she noted with a grin.

Emma peeked inside the baskets and saw two lusciously dark loaves of bread. With her mouth watering, she practically ran the rest of the way home. There was only one way to completely salvage this curious day, and she had every intention of doing so by devouring two very thick slices of bread after slathering them with butter.

30

T
HE FOLLOWING DAY,
Emma was happy that she managed to keep herself busy all morning, especially since everyone else in her family, including Mother Garrett, seemed to have so many plans of their own today without her.

When the front bell rang, she was in the dining room with Liesel polishing the furniture. She waved for Liesel to keep working. “I'll see who it is,” she said, hoping Zachary had decided to come to see her today instead of tomorrow. She paused in front of the mirror on the oak coatrack to fix her hair, but she did not need to pinch any color to her cheeks. They were a bit too bright as they were.

When she opened the front door and saw Sheriff North standing there holding Wryn by the arm, Emma was too shocked to be disappointed, but she was alarmed. Wryn's gown was caked with dried mud. She held her soiled bonnet in her hand, but the scrapes and scratches on Wryn's freckled face concerned Emma most of all.

“This young lady tells me she's your niece,” the sheriff said without bothering to hide his grin.

“Yes, she is,” Emma managed.

“Having you living in town might make my job easier now and again,” he remarked as he removed his hat.

“You may be right,” Emma muttered, grateful that Wryn had the good sense to have the sheriff bring her here instead of to the Glenns'. She opened the door wide and urged them inside.

“You can't get too mad at me. You had more mud on yourself than I do when you fell the last time,” Wryn cautioned.

“That could very well be a matter of debate,” Emma countered as she stepped aside to let Wryn pass by. “At the moment, I'm more interested in what happened to you. Why are you all scraped up? And why did the sheriff have to escort you here?”

Wryn tilted up her chin. “I didn't want Reverend Glenn and Aunt Frances to see me like this. You probably think I got myself into real trouble this time.”

“I can't say the thought hadn't occurred to me,” Emma admitted.

Wryn looked up at the sheriff and grinned. “You'd better tell her. She won't believe me half as quick as she'll believe you.”

Sheriff North nodded. “Your niece may have been a bit too foolish for her own good, but she—”

“I caught not one, but two thieves!” Wryn announced, clearly more anxious to spin her tale than she thought. “Two,” she repeated and held up two very dirty, scraped fingers.

Emma gasped. “You what?”

“Your niece caught two young men sneaking out of the back window down at MacPherson's Apothecary with a week's worth of receipts.”

“I wrestled the two of them to the ground, too.”

“No!” Emma exclaimed, shocked more by the danger her niece
had encountered than the impropriety of wrestling with not one, but two members of the opposite sex.

“They made such a fuss, there was a crowd in no time,” Wryn continued. “Some men stepped in to help me, and then Sheriff North came and hauled those two riffraff off to jail. I thought the crowd would never stop applauding, either. Mr. MacPherson was so upset, he decided to keep his funds in the bank from now on, and he was so grateful for my help that he gave me a reward. I put that right on your account at Mrs. Kelly's to pay for the reticule I bought, and I still have a few coins for myself. Mrs. Kelly didn't even complain about all the dirt I tracked into her shop, either,” Wryn blurted.

When she finally stopped to draw a breath, she looked down at her skirts and frowned. “I think I might have ruined this gown, though. Do you think the mud stains will come out if I set it to soak? It's my best gown, and I'll need it if I have to testify in court if those two stupid men don't decide to plead guilty.”

The sheriff coughed. “There's not much chance that will happen. From what I got out of those two, being bested by a female once is embarrassment enough. Now if you'll both excuse me, I'd best be getting back to the jail,” he said and shut the door behind him.

Rendered speechless, Emma struggled to gather her thoughts. Seeing Wryn as a heroine took some doing, although the young woman's feisty nature had served her well this time. There was no question the entire episode had given her the acceptance she so desperately desired, although Emma would have much preferred a more subtle solution. She looked at Wryn and smiled. “I'm proud of you. I'm also frightened just thinking about what could have happened to you, and we should probably discuss what is and what
isn't appropriate for a young woman to do when she's up against a couple of thieves. But I am truly, truly proud of you.”

Wryn grinned. “Me too.”

Emma cocked a brow.

Wryn tilted up her chin. “Well, I am. I wasn't sure if I could get the best of those two men, but I sure couldn't let them steal from Mr. MacPherson. He's been awfully good to Reverend Glenn. But the minute I spied that bag of money they were stealing, I thought of you and I just knew I could stop them if I tried hard enough.”

“You thought of me?” Emma managed. “Why?”

“Because you're the strongest, smartest woman I've ever known,” Wryn said. “You really are.”

After supper that night, once Emma's grandchildren had been put to bed and Wryn's heroics had been told and retold, the adults who had gathered together in the east parlor were ending the day with quiet conversation. Emma sat next to her mother-in-law on the settee, while her sons and their wives sat in chairs across from them, side by side as couples.

Benjamin lifted his hand to still the chatter about the latest topic of conversation, which had Emma sitting on the edge of the settee. To her, Zachary's absence these past few days had been palpable, but she had not realized how much it had been a topic of concern. Until now.

When everyone quieted, Benjamin grinned. “None of you should be surprised at all that Mr. Breckenwith has made himself scarce these past few days. Once he's married my mother, he'll have little time to himself, especially with all of us around,” he teased.

“The man's a lawyer. He has clients to contend with,” Mark added, supporting his brother's argument.

Warren cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. “It's getting late, so rather than spend any more time discussing a man who isn't here to defend himself, I have some news I'd like to share with all of you.”

Ever grateful that he had steered the conversation in another direction, Emma was able to relax and sit back in her seat again, fully aware that Mother Garrett was watching her closely. She glanced at Anna and knew from the smile on her face that Warren had already shared his news with his wife. Judging by the satisfied expression on Mother Garrett's face, she had been told already, too.

“As of Monday, I'll be gainfully employed at the First Bank of Candlewood,” Warren announced and blushed when the room erupted in cheers and applause. He waved them to quiet. “I might have been the first one to hightail it out of Candlewood, but I'm also the first one to decide to live here again permanently, too. Since you all know why Anna and I had no choice but to come home, I can see now that living in Candlewood is going to be a blessing for me and my family,” he said.

Emma's heart swelled.

Warren looked at Mother Garrett and smiled. “Thanks for speaking up for me with Mr. Wyatt, Grams.”

Mother Garrett beamed. “He didn't take much convincing once Frances and I reminded him of a few things.”

Emma had been unaware that her mother-in-law even knew the owner of the bank, but she realized now that it was Mother Garrett Anna had seen going into the bank the other day. “What ‘few things'?”

“Frances and I simply reminded him that folks like Mr. MacPherson still don't trust banks, and if he had a mind to convince them
otherwise, he'd best hire someone like Warren. Besides, Frances and I have gotten friendly with his mother. She moved here with her son and his family, and we see her a lot at the General Store. I believe she spoke to her son about Warren, too.”

Satisfied, Emma turned back to Warren. “Exactly what kind of work will you be doing?”

He grinned. “Eventually, I'll be reviewing loan applications. Unlike those big city bankers, Mr. Wyatt figured I had enough firsthand experience to know exactly when a request for a loan should be denied.”

Emma chuckled, along with everyone else, including Warren.

When the laughter died down, Warren turned to Benjamin. “I know you like a whole lot more space around you, but there's plenty of good farmland here.”

Benjamin grinned. “Maybe so, but I'm still heading back to Ohio. If I can get my brothers-in-law to help me out again, we'll be back to visit more often,” he said, and Betsy nodded her agreement.

Warren turned to Mark next. “When you left to open that bookstore of yours in Albany, Candlewood wasn't much more than a simple farm town. The canal's changed that, and I'm hoping you'll think about coming back, too.”

With his face flushed, Mark looked at Catherine and smiled. “As a matter of fact, Catherine and I have spent the past few days talking about doing just that.”

“You have?” Emma blurted, unaware that her youngest son was entertaining any thoughts about moving back to Candlewood.

“We have, Mother Emma,” Catherine assured her. “Now that my parents are both gone, you're the only grandparent our children have left, and we'd like them to be closer to you.”

Emma clasped her heart, overwhelmed to think that not one, but two of her sons might call Candlewood home again, which meant she would also have most of her grandchildren here, too.

“There's more than enough business here now to support a store like mine, but I need to work out a few details first before I make my final decision,” Mark cautioned.

Warren grinned. “I'll be glad to consider your loan application, if you need to borrow any funds.”

Mark laughed. “You might have to do just that, but I should get enough from the sale of my store to avoid borrowing anything. I've had a few offers in the past, so I don't think I'll have much trouble selling out. As a matter of fact, the young man who's tending the store while I'm gone might be interested. I'll talk to him first, of course, as soon as we get back. In any case, I should expect we'd be able to come back to Candlewood by midsummer at the latest.”