“No, I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” She refused to make this easy for them.
“I never thought of you as obtuse.” Apparently Mrs. Sanders was ready to chime in. “We are speaking of your being seen leaving Sheriff Gleason’s home in the wee hours this morning. Do you deny you were there?”
“No, I was there. But there was nothing of an indelicate nature about it. I was merely watching over Meg while the sheriff did his job.”
“A commendable motive but a poorly thought-out plan, I’m afraid. And from what I hear, there was more than a quick goodbye exchanged when he returned.”
Hazel tried to command her cheeks to remain cool. “One should not give credence to gossip. I would think you ladies would be above such things.”
Both women drew themselves up at that.
“Of course,” Eunice said. “But one should also conduct oneself in a manner so as not to invite gossip.”
Hazel was ready to get this over with. “Just what do you expect from me?”
“There are ways to diffuse the situation.”
Were they suggesting the same solution as Ward had? Before she could comment, Mrs. Sanders spoke up.
“Everyone knows how you feel about the sheriff. You of all people should know the most obvious solution.”
Having to stand here and be lectured to in such a manner was insufferable! Right now, the move to New York didn’t seem like such a bad thing after all. “And everyone also knows he doesn’t return those feelings,” she stated firmly.
“Regardless, one must needs think about the little girl.”
Hazel’s heart seemed to skip a beat. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Meg.”
“On the contrary, I’m sure you’ll agree that protecting the innocence of a child is of utmost importance. To expose that little girl to unseemly conduct, even if it is only perceived as such, is unacceptable. And it’s not as if she is either your or the sheriff’s blood kin.”
How dare they! Hazel was ready to deliver a strong lecture of her own, when the door opened. She wasn’t sure if it was relief or irritation she felt when she saw Ward march in, a ready-for-battle look to him.
“Good afternoon, ladies.”
“Sheriff.” Both women gave him cool looks and only slight nods of acknowledgment.
He crossed his arms, looking as firmly planted where he stood as a fencepost in concrete. “Please don’t let me interrupt your discussion. My business with Miss Andrews can wait.”
“I believe we are done here,” Eunice said. She gave Hazel a pointed look. “Please give some thought to what we discussed.”
“Believe me, I will give it all the thought it deserves.”
She could tell from their expressions that they understood her meaning. Both ladies left in something of a snit.
When they were gone, she turned to Ward. “What?”
He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, a response to her tone, no doubt. “Where’s Meg?”
“Napping.”
“Good. We need to talk.”
She crossed her arms, mimicking his earlier gesture. “Yes, we do. But you go first.”
He raised a brow at that. Then nodded. “All right. I have two things, actually. First, we need to rethink Meg’s sleeping arrangements. I don’t want to risk a repeat of what happened last night.”
Some of Hazel’s ire cooled. “I know.” She leaned her elbows on the counter. “But it’ll break her heart if you try to hand her off to someone else. Even if that someone is me.”
He seemed surprised by her quick agreement. Had he expected her to argue? “I’ve thought about that. We can keep just about everything the way it is now—we’ll take meals together and she can still come to my place after work in the evenings for a couple of hours. I’ll spend time with her—taking Pugs for walks, read to her, perhaps teach her to play checkers. But then at bed time, I bring her back here to sleep at your place.”
So he was still thinking in terms of her being available to help. “What happens after I move to New York?”
He dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. “I hope to have Meg squared away in her new home by then. If not, perhaps I can convince the Coopers to help out.”
Hazel nodded. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Verity would be wonderful with Meg, and her daughter, Joy, would be the perfect playmate for the little girl. “We’ll have to be careful to present this to Meg the right way but I think we can make that work.”
She braced herself. “And the second thing you wanted to discuss?”
He raised a brow. “I think you know. Surely you haven’t been oblivious to the talk about town. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, that was the topic of the discussion I just interrupted.”
Had he come in because he saw who her visitors were? Or had the timing been mere coincidence? “Foolish talk coming from foolish people. I still think it will die down soon enough.” Should she let him know they’d brought Meg into the discussion?
“I don’t think so. Such talk tends to have a life of its own. It may recede but it will never completely fade.”
“Then so be it. I think both of us are strong enough to survive.”
“There is another way to handle this. The best solution, of course, would be to announce our engagement.” His tone was matter-of-fact, as if discussing the price of coffee at Daisy’s.
She couldn’t imagine a more unenthusiastic marriage proposal. “I told you before, I don’t think we need go to that extreme.”
His jaw worked for a moment, irritation coloring his expression. “Weren’t you listening to a word I said?”
“Yes, and it’s noble of you to offer such a sacrifice.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue. “But you forget one thing. I’ll be leaving for New York soon, and when I do, I’ll be able to put all of this behind me.” She gave him a direct look. “I’m sorry if that puts you in a bad light with the folks here. But it makes no sense for us to tie ourselves together if we are going to live our lives half a country apart.”
* * *
Ward braced himself for the upcoming discussion. It was imperative that he change her mind. A part of him had hoped she would rethink her plan to move to New York by this time. But he could see now that it had been just foolish wishful thinking on his part.
Time to be practical and move past that. “And what if the gossip follows you there?”
She didn’t register any concern on that score. “There’s no reason to think it will. New York City is a big, bustling place with lots of other things to occupy people’s thoughts and imagination besides a bit of small town gossip. But if it does follow me there, I think I’m strong enough to face it down.”
He didn’t doubt that for a heartbeat. But he didn’t like to think of her dealing with such a trial alone. Especially when he’d played such a big part in placing her in that situation.
But he pressed on, playing what he figured was his trump card. “There’s a part of this rumormongering that affects more than just you and me.”
Hazel’s expression softened into concern and she nodded. “Meg.”
“Yes. There are apparently some people around here who feel she should be placed with more suitable folks until her situation is resolved.”
“Eunice and Eula Fay hinted as much just before you walked in.” Her expression took on a worried quality for the first time. “Oh, but taking her away from you would break that child’s heart.”
She nervously swiped at some hair that had fallen on her forehead. “I mean, I know you don’t plan to keep her with you permanently, but to continue to move her about from family to family is just cruel.”
“I agree. That’s why I think we need to silence this talk as soon as possible. If the two of us were to bow to conventions, then there would be no reason
for anyone to try to take Meg away.”
She dropped her gaze and traced a circle on the counter. “But getting married just to appease the gossips seems to be going a bit too far.”
“Not if we don’t actually get married.” He’d just thought of a way out of this, one that was a bit unorthodox. Would she go for it?
Her gaze shot back up to meet his and her brow arched in question.
“Announcing our engagement should be enough to settle things down for now,” he explained. “I’m sure we can find believable reasons to postpone the actual wedding itself.”
Her brows drew down in thought. “Postpone for how long?”
“Long enough to keep Meg with us until her situation is resolved.”
She eyed him quizzically. “If the idea is to draw this out, there are definitely ways to do that. For instance, as the town’s seamstress with a professional reputation to uphold, I certainly wouldn’t want to get married until I have the most glorious wedding gown ever constructed.”
He smiled. “And just how long can you draw that out?”
She waved a hand airily. “As a demanding bride-to-be, I can find all kinds of little details to fuss over and all sorts of special materials to order from my aunt back east.” She nodded. “I dare say it could take several weeks.”
His smile broadened. “Perfect.”
“Perfect? I don’t understand. What are you suggesting?”
“First, I want you to understand that I am absolutely ready and willing to step up and give you the protection of my name if that is what you wish. In fact, given our situation, that would be my preference.”
He held up his hand to stop the protest he saw forming on her lips. “But I have no desire to force you to do so if you feel you can make a better life for yourself in New York as a single woman.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her expression remaining inscrutable. Then she gave a short nod. “I do.”
“Then the next best thing will be for us to get engaged, temporarily.”
“Temporarily engaged?”
“That’s right. Once Meg’s situation is safely resolved we can break it off.”
“So, you don’t really expect me to marry you?”
He tried to read her mood but her expression gave nothing away. “Not if you don’t want to.”
She hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Very well.”
“So you agree to become engaged?”
“I just said so, didn’t I? For Meg’s sake.”
Why did she sound so grumpy? Was the idea of an engagement to him so distasteful to her? Or was it just being forced into it by external forces that she objected to?
Then her expression shifted. “This feels wrong, deceitful.”
“Would you prefer that we make it real? As I said, that’s actually my preference.” How much clearer could he be? Though he wasn’t certain what answer he wanted her to give.
She fiddled with her collar, her expression troubled. “Going into a marriage for the wrong reasons feels like a lie too.” She seemed to be gathering her courage. “Because you don’t truly love me, not in that way, do you?”
How did one answer such a loaded question?
Truthfully.
“Hazel, I care for you a great deal. I suppose, in my own way, I do love you. But you need to understand something—”
She held up a hand, interrupting him. “There’s no need to go on. Tagging a but of any sort onto a declaration like that says everything that needs to be said.”
There was no way he was going to leave it at that. “For once, let me have my say, because you need to hear this.”
Her gaze bore into his stubbornly for a moment and then she waved a hand, indicating he should go on.
“Thank you. What you need to know is about me and who I am. Being sheriff of this town is important to me. It’s more than a job to me, it’s a calling. It’s the one way I can make a difference in this world, have a positive impact in a real way. And I know from experience that when I have divided loyalties I end up failing one or both. Because of that, I’m just not prepared to put having a wife above being sheriff.”
He placed his hand over hers on the counter. “And you deserve someone who will always put you first.”
Her expression had softened and she slowly nodded. “For what it’s worth, I believe your thinking is wrong, that your heart and spirit are big enough to allow you to have both. But that’s neither here nor there if you don’t believe it. The question right now is how do we go forward without lying to all our friends?”
“I suppose, if it makes it more palatable for you, we could merely tell people that we are engaged, which is true. We don’t mention a wedding or a wedding date.” The warm softness of her hand beneath his, so small and delicate, was quite distracting. It took him a moment to notice that his words hadn’t erased any of the worry lines in her face.
“That’s just splitting hairs,” she said.
He removed his hand and reined in his thoughts. “So, do you have a better suggestion?”
She grimaced, as if surprised he’d thrown it back in her lap. “Perhaps we should use this engagement period as a time to really and truly pray about it,” she said slowly, “to try to discern God’s plan for our future, whether it be together in name only as you suggested, or separate as I’m leaning toward. That leaves open the possibility at least that, in the end, we will marry after all.”
He studied her carefully, his traitorous heart latching on to her implication. “Does that mean you really are open to the idea of marriage?”
“If we go through with this, that has to be how we approach it. It’s the only way to be true to ourselves and to our faith.”
So why didn’t she just outright agree to marry him? But he would take this small commitment since it was all she was willing to give right now.
Hazel gave him a half-smile. “Now that that’s decided, how do we go about letting folks know?”
He allowed himself a wry smile. “I think that by telling just a few key people the word will get out quickly enough.”
Hazel grinned. “I believe a visit to the mercantile may be on my agenda this afternoon. I can place an order for some special thread that I’ll need for my wedding gown.”
“And I should probably give the mayor an update on my latest findings.”
Her expression shifted to one of eager interest. “Do you actually have some findings?”
His smile faded. “Nothing much. One of the varmints who broke into the Coopers’ place last night stepped in a bit of spilled oil on his way out. I managed to find some tracks and followed them along Oak Street into the woods. But I lost the trail at the stream.”
This time she squeezed his hand. “I have faith in you. You’ll catch him soon.”
“Thank you.” He wasn’t sure which affected him more, her obvious sincerity or the touch of her hand. Both made him want to succeed if only to keep from disappointing her.
Then he pulled his hand back to scratch his chin, wanting to distance himself from those feelings. He gave her a mock grimace. “I just wish the rest of the town felt the same way.”
Before either of them could say more, Meg stepped from the workroom, clutching her doll with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the knuckles of her other. She smiled when she saw Ward standing there. “Hello. Is it time for me to go to your house now?”
“Not yet, Half-pint. But I do need to talk to you.”
He lifted her up and seated her on the counter. “We need to change things up a little bit.”
She squeezed her doll closer to her chest. “Change what up?”
“Starting tonight, you’re going to be sleeping here at Miss Hazel’s place rather than at my place.”
“Is it because you want your bed back
?” Her words were rushed and had a desperate edge to them. “Because I can sleep on the sofa again.”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s because I sometimes get called out in the middle of the night and you are so important to me that I want to keep you safe.”
“I’m important?”
“Absolutely! So important that I want to make sure we still spend lots of time together.”
“But you just said you want me to move here.”
“At bedtime, yes. But that’s the only thing that will change. You’ll still come with me to my place after work, and we’ll still take our meals together and walk Pugs and do everything else we did before.”
“You promise?”
He gave her a quick hug, then stepped back. “I promise.”
“Okay.” Then she glanced Hazel’s way. “Maybe Sheriff Gleason could sleep here, too, so we could all be together.”
Ward coughed to cover his reaction to her innocent suggestion.
After a quick, reproving glance his way, Hazel smiled down at the child. “That would be nice. But I’m afraid it isn’t proper for a grown man and woman who aren’t kinfolk and aren’t married to live together.”
“Oh.” She appeared crestfallen but, to Ward’s relief, didn’t ask any additional questions.
He cleared his throat, then lifted Meg off the counter and set her on the floor. “Now, I need to get back to work, but I’ll return around five thirty to take you gals to supper.”
Hazel walked him to the door. “You don’t have to keep buying my meals, you know. My financial situation isn’t quite that dire.”
Did she think that was the only reason he was inviting her? Perhaps he was doing a better job of hiding his feelings than he’d thought. Best to keep up the act.
He shrugged. “We’re engaged now, remember? It’ll be expected that we spend more time together, not less. Besides, I no longer have to concern myself with paying for Bethany’s care so I have the funds to cover it.”
* * *
Hazel tried to process what Ward had confided to her. How could he feel that he needed to fully dedicate himself to his job and sacrifice every other part of his life in order to make a difference? Didn’t he realize it was the man he was inside that was important, not the job he held? But that way of thinking, as wrong as it was, explained so much about Ward. This was what had gotten twisted inside him when Bethany had her accident.
A Tailor-Made Husband Page 13
