Annie's Chance (Mail-Order Brides Of Prairie Meadow 3)

by Maggie McCloud

  “I’m not going anywhere Mr. Nickels, so I won’t be needing a train ticket,” said Annie in a voice that could have chipped ice.

  The surprise was evident in Jed’s face as he asked, “What do you mean?”

  “I think I made myself pretty clear, Mr. Nickels. I am staying in Prairie Siding. There is nothing for me in Pittsburg and nowhere else for me to go.”

  “But, but you can’t stay here,” said Jed.

  “Oh, but I can and I am going to. But don’t worry; your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone what brought me to Prairie Siding.”

  The red that stained Jed’s neck and was working its way up to his face was enough to let Annie know that he was embarrassed by what he’d done. She was immediately sorry and spoke gently.

  “I admit that I was hurt and embarrassed when you first told me that you didn’t want me for a bride, Mr. Nickels. As far as understanding what you are going through after losing your parents, I think I do understand. I can’t hold your feelings against you or change them.”

  She paused and then said, “I am not sorry I came here. I couldn’t stay in Pittsburg in any case. Perhaps God had a hand in getting me away from a bad situation.”

  “What are your plans here in Prairie Siding then?” asked Jed.

  “Mrs. Gregson has been so kind to me, introducing me around town and helping me find a job.”

  “Oh well that’s good news then. Where will you be working?” asked Jed.

  Annie smiled and said, “Emily Parker is pregnant and has been put on bed rest, so she and Henry need someone to help run the household. I’m going for a visit tomorrow and if all goes well I start the following day.”

  Jed had gone pale.

  “Are you all right, Mr. Nickels?”

  “Y.. yes, fine thanks. I have to get back now. Best of luck with everything Miss Sampson,” said Jed and hurried off.

  ‘That was awfully strange,’ thought Annie watching him.

  Later when she related her conversation over a cup of tea, Mrs. Gregson burst out laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Annie puzzled. “Am I missing something?”

  “It’s just that I can imagine the look on Mr. Nickel’s face when he heard that you were going to be staying with the Parkers. They are his closest neighbors. He probably thought he could avoid you until he sells up and leaves, but now he won’t be able to.”

  Chapter 7

  As Mrs. Gregson had predicted, Annie loved Emily. Both she and Henry were kind and caring. They appreciated everything that Annie did for both of them and thanked her constantly. Annie had not felt so appreciated and loved since her dear mother had passed away. She cherished every day with the Parkers.

  Although things hadn’t worked out with Jed, she was curious about him. Emily spoke freely about him and about his family.

  At one point, Emily asked, “Why are you so curious about Jed and his family?”

  Annie admitted that she had been a mail order bride who was supposed to marry Jed, but that he had called it off. She explained the circumstances to Emily and swore her to secrecy. Although she had made peace with the fact that Jed wasn’t going to marry her after all, the last thing she wanted to do was to embarrass or spread gossip about him, or call attention to her own situation.

  “My lips are sealed,” promised Emily. “I won’t even tell Henry.”

  But later when Annie was off doing chores, Emily thought about Jed and what he’d been through. She knew he was especially lonely now that his parents weren’t around. She’d always felt that Jed would be a lot happier if he had a wife to care for him because he’d been such a loner his whole life. And it sounded like Annie could use someone to care for her too.

  She added Jed and Annie to her prayer list. If God could move mountains, He could certainly move a stubborn man’s heart.

  That night she asked Henry to go around and invite Jed and the men he would be hiring to work during the harvest, to take meals with them once the harvest was on. Jed would be too busy to cook for himself and his men, and Emily told Henry that it would be the neighborly thing to do. Emily was adamant that Henry not take no for an answer. God could move mountains, but there was no reason she couldn’t get a shovel and help out a little

  Although Emily kept her promise to Annie and didn’t fill Henry in on the details, she suggested that it might be nice to encourage a friendship between Annie and Jed.

  Henry raised an eyebrow and asked, “So that’s why you wanted me to get Jed to come here for his meals. Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Emily?”

  “Oh yes, quite sure Henry,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

  Henry sighed and said, “All right, what do you want me to do?”

  Between them they hatched a plan.

  As Emily expected, Jed was reluctant to accept the invitation. But without his ma around to do the cooking for the crew, he knew he didn’t have much choice. He certainly didn’t have time to cook and since he was trying to save every penny, hiring someone to take care of that chore seemed to be an unnecessary expense.

  Annie knew that her cooking duties were soon going to include a few more workers from a neighboring farm. But when Emily gently informed Annie that one of those men was Jed, Annie had to admit to being upset with the idea. She still felt a little hurt that he had rejected her, even though he had told her why he couldn’t marry her. Knowing that she would probably see Jed from time to time since he had a neighboring farm, and having to see him on a daily basis were two different things.

  “I hope you won’t find it too uncomfortable having Jed here for meals every day, Annie,” said Emily. “But Henry and I thought it was the right thing to do what with his situation.”

  Since Emily and Henry had been so kind to her, Annie didn’t feel she could object. And she wasn’t in any position to do so in any case.

  “No, no it’s fine, Emily. Mr. Nickels and I have said our piece to each other, so there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to put that behind us,” replied Annie.

  A few days later, harvest got underway. Annie tried to keep her thoughts away from Jed as she prepared a massive midday meal for the workers.

  ‘The first time will be the hardest,’ she thought. ‘After that it won’t be so bad.’

  What Annie was really hoping was that she could avoid him completely. She planned to bring the huge platters of food in and then stay in the kitchen until the men had left the table.

  But Emily was having none of that. The doctor had told her that she could come to the table for meals, as long as she didn’t help with the serving and went right back to bed after eating.

  “Annie, you can’t expect me to be the only woman at a tableful of men! I insist that you join us. I’ll save a seat for you right beside me,” said Emily.

  Reluctantly Annie agreed. There were fourteen at the table when they all sat down, with all the workers at one end. Henry sat across from Emily and insisted that Jed sit beside him so they could discuss their plans for the day. That meant that Jed was right across the table from Annie. As Annie sat down, their eyes met briefly. Both looked away quickly, clearly uncomfortable. After Henry said the blessing, they started passing the platters of food. For a few minutes, the only sound was that of forks scraping plates.

  Emily was content to just let Annie and Jed get used to sitting across from each other for now. She was secretly amused with their efforts to look anywhere but at each other. When the meal was nearing an end, Emily asked Henry to help her back to bed.

  “This has taken a lot out of me. I think I’ll skip coffee and dessert for today,” she said.

  Looking over at Jed, she smiled sweetly and asked, “Would you mind terribly holding the kitchen door for Annie while she gets dessert? It’ll help speed things along today. We plan to set up a table for food in here eventually, but weren’t sure how many there would be every day.”

  “Oh that won’t be necessary,” Annie protested, hurrying to the kitchen.

/>   “Nonsense,” said Emily. “Jed, you don’t mind, do you?”

  With a face that was quickly reddening, Jed mumbled, “No, course not.”

  He pushed his chair back quickly and strode across the room to hold the door.

  The doorway was not very wide and was right against the wall, forcing Annie to squeeze past Jed. Her flyaway hair brushed his cheek causing him to turn even redder. Annie herself blushed furiously when she felt her hair catch in Jed’s stubble.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Nickels,” she mumbled.

  By then they had the attention of the entire room.

  When Jed realized that, he burst out with, “What are you all looking at? Haven’t you got work to get to?”

  “Mr. Nickels,” said Annie quietly. “They haven’t had their pie and coffee yet.”

  Embarrassed Jed said, “Well hurry it up then. We haven’t got all day!”

  And with that he jammed his hat on his head and stomped outside. Once he was on the far side of the barn, he leaned against the wall and said to himself, ‘Darn Emily. I wish she would never have invited us to eat with them. I’m gonna have to sit across from Miss Sampson and go through feeling guilty every day now.’

  After he calmed down he thought, ‘Her hair sure did smell nice though, I got to admit. I wish Ma and Pa hadn’t died in that fire. I think Miss Sampson and I would have been a good match.’

  Annie was relieved when the meal was finally over and the men had left for the fields. She breathed a sigh of relief for the peace and quiet, and settled in to get the dishes washed before starting in on getting the evening meal ready.

  Her mind wandered and of course much as she tried to avoid it, her thoughts kept drifting back to Mr. Nickels. She giggled when she remembered how he’d turned red when he realized that all the men were watching. Knowing that Mr. Nickels was a loner according to what Emily had told her, she realized how difficult it must be for him to be the center of attention like that. Adding her to the mix must have made it nearly unbearable for him.

  She wondered if maybe she should try to ignore him as much as possible. That would be hard, given that Emily seemed determined to have them sitting across from each other. It might be better to make friends with him. That way they could put their unfortunate situation in the past where it belonged.

  ‘Yes, I’m going to try to have a quiet word with Mr. Nickels and see what he thinks. If we can be friends, it will certainly make the next few weeks a lot easier to get through.’

  Happy with her idea, Annie hummed under her breath as she thought about how she could have that quiet conversation without everyone else taking notice.

  Supper that evening was a more leisurely meal since the day’s work was done for all the workers. As the harvest hit its peak, there would be many evenings when the men would return to the fields to continue working after supper. But since this was the first day, everyone needed time to get settled in.

  As at lunchtime, Annie and Jed took great pains to avoid even glancing at each other. A couple of the workers elbowed each other and made a show of pointing and whispering, obviously finding the way the two were acting, amusing.

  When Annie made a move to start clearing the table and bring in dessert, Jed didn’t wait for Emily to ask him to help Annie. As far as he was concerned the less attention drawn to him the better, so he went right over and held the door for her.

  Emily smiled her thanks. Jed just nodded in reply. Once the men were settled with their coffee and pie, Jed made a move for the door.

  “Not going to stay for coffee and pie, Jed,” asked Emily? This was accompanied by snickers from the other end of the table.

  Jed glared at the men who had laughed and reluctantly sat back down and waited for Annie to pour his coffee and pass him a piece of pie. He decided to sit there until they were all finished.

  Finally, after enjoying their dessert, the men left the table to go and get settled in. Henry excused himself to help Emily to her room. That left Jed and Annie. Before Jed could make his escape, Annie quietly asked if she could have a word with him.

  “Maybe we could step out onto the porch Mr. Nickels?” asked Annie.

  Jed nodded and followed Annie outside, “What did you want to talk to me about, Miss Sampson?” he asked with arms folded.

  “Well Mr. Nickels, it seems as if we are going to be seeing quite a bit of each other over the next few weeks. I know where you stand as far as our previous arrangement is concerned and I’m not going to try to change your mind. But it might be easier for both of us if we could put all that behind us and try to be friends,” said Annie, in a rush to get it out.

  When Jed didn’t reply, she hurriedly added, “No one knows I was going to be your mail order bride. We call more attention to ourselves when we try to avoid looking at or talking to each other. Maybe the men would stop teasing if they see that there is no reason to tease.”

  Annie waited for a response. But when Jed still had nothing to say, she made a move to go back inside. “It was just a thought, Mr. Nickels.”

  “Wait!” Jed called. “I, I think that’s a good idea, Miss Sampson. I’m just not used to talking to women much.”

  “But in your letters, you had lots to say,” Annie replied. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so quiet.”

  “Well, letter writing is different from talking. I could take my time deciding exactly what I wanted to say when I was writing to you. It’s not so easy just talking,” said Jed ducking his head.

  “Thank you for explaining that to me, Mr. Nickels. I thought maybe I wasn’t what you were expecting, so you just didn’t want to talk to me.”

  “Oh no, you’re exactly like you sounded in your letters,” said Jed with a slight smile.

  Then perhaps realizing that he’d said more than he’d meant to, Jed abruptly tipped his hat and said, “Anyway, I’ll say good night for now, Miss Sampson.” And with that he walked off.

  “Good night to you too, Mr. Nickels,” Annie called after him.

  Chapter 8

  Things went more smoothly for Jed and Annie after their talk. The two made an effort to act friendly towards each other and just as Annie had predicted, the men lost interest in teasing Jed once they realized that they weren’t going to get a rise out of him.

  Emily was quite pleased with the way things were going between the two.

  “You and Jed seem to be getting along much better lately,” she commented one day when Annie was rolling out piecrusts.

  “Uh huh,” said Annie.

  “In fact, Jed seems to have become downright sociable,”” added Emily looking carefully over at Annie.

  Annie again responded with, “Uh huh.”

  “I’ve never seen him like this, so it must have something to do with you.”

  Annie kept her head down concentrating on the piecrust.

  “Do you think he might be having second thoughts about marrying you after all?” asked Emily.

  “Oh no,” said Annie with cheeks reddening. “I don’t think Mr. Nickels has changed his mind about that at all. He just didn’t like the teasing from the men, so we figured if we started talking to each other they’d leave us alone.”

  After that Annie changed the subject asking Emily what vegetables she wanted picked for supper.

  Emily took the hint, but decided that it might be time to put the next part of her plan in play.

  A few days later, the harvest had moved over to Jed’s place. With the men working in the far corner of his property, it was going to be a long way for them to come all the way to Emily’s for meals. Emily suggested that instead, they bring the meals to Jed’s place for the time being.

  Henry helped Annie load up the wagon to bring the tables and other things that would be needed each day. Together they set things up near the barn at Jed’s place and then headed back home. Henry had Annie drive the team to make sure she was going to be able to handle them going back and forth.

  “You’re a natural Annie. You drive like you’ve been doi
ng it for years,” said Henry. “Are you going to be okay on your own, though? I could send one of the men to drive you back and forth if you want.”

  “Thank you Henry, but I think I should be fine. I’ll be sure to take my time.”

  “Alright, see you at supper then. The men will have to make do with these sandwiches for lunch today.” And with that he saddled up his horse and headed back to Jed’s place.

  Annie hurried in to start supper. Emily was already sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes and cutting up vegetables for the beef stew they were making for supper.

  Annie was very quiet as she worked. Her mind was on the pile of rubble that had once been the home of Jed and his parents.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” said Emily.

  Annie looked over at Emily with tears in her eyes.

  “No wonder Mr. Nickels wants to move away. Every time he walks around his place he is constantly reminded of what happened,” said Annie.

  “Yes it was a terrible thing that happened, but I’m not sure that leaving is the best thing for Jed. He’s lonely without his folks, but at least here he is among friends. People do care about him, even though he does his best to keep everyone away.”

  “Come and sit down for a minute Annie. You’ve been run off your feet all day.”

  When she had, Emily sighed, “I do wish Jed would marry you. It would be so good for both of you. And if I’m honest, you’ve become such a good friend, Annie. If you were married to Jed, we’d live close enough to see each other often.”

  Seeing that she’d upset Annie with her comments, Emily apologized.

  “Oh I’m sorry, Annie! Don’t pay me any mind. I’ve got too much time on my hands right now. It’s none of my business.”

  “No it’s not that at all. It’s just that I don’t know what I’m going to do once the harvest is over and you don’t need a cook any longer. And I’ll miss you too, Emily.”

  The two women were silent for a time.