“I don’t think I’ve ever come across someone so skittish,” she teased. “I just wanted to give you a kiss as a way of saying thank you.” Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “We won’t be long.”
He watched her as she left. Once she closed the door softly behind her, his hand went to his cheek. The kiss had been a brief one. More of a whisper than an actual kiss. But his cheek was warm where her lips had touched him. As silly as the thought was, he did entertain the notion that he might never wash his cheek again.
***
“I don’t recognize any of this,” Ida said as the three sat in a wagon, winding their way through the path that would take them to town. “It’s no wonder I got lost. All these trees look the same.”
Allie, who was sitting between Travis and Ida, took a moment to glance behind them. They had just passed a fork in the road, and if she was right, it had been the third one. She had to agree with Ida. In fact, she was surprised others didn’t get lost. The place was more of a maze than a trail.
“Do you get scared out here all by yourself?” Ida asked, her gaze going between Allie and Travis.
Allie glanced at Travis, and since he didn’t reply, she said, “If I was all by myself, I would get scared, but I have Travis with me. I feel safe with him.”
From beside her, Travis looked as if he couldn’t believe it.
Her heartbeat picking up, she wrapped her arm around his in silent assurance that she’d spoken the truth. Yes, it made her nervous to be so forward with him. It hadn’t been easy to touch his hand, kiss him, or even put her arm around his, but she had the nagging suspicion the only way she was going to get him to come out of his shell was by being physically expressive with him. He seemed to respond best when she touched him.
“I can see why you feel safe with him,” Ida said. “I don’t think many men, or even a bear, would mess with him.” With a smile, she told Travis, “I admit I was frightened yesterday when you were coming over to me. Now I realize how silly that was. You’re actually a gentle person.”
His eyebrows furrowed as he peeked at Ida.
“You’re strong, too,” Ida continued then turned her gaze to Allie. “He carried me as if I weighed no more than a feather. Mike isn’t as strong. His back would have been bothering him if he’d carried me all the way from where he found me to Carl’s wagon. Just how far did you think that was, Travis?”
After a moment, he shrugged. “Almost a mile, I think.”
“Can you believe that? Almost an entire mile. And your back and arms aren’t sore at all?”
He shook his head.
“Mike would be full of envy if he knew how strong Travis was,” Ida said. “Which is why I won’t mention it when I see him.” She leaned forward and whispered in Allie’s ear, “One thing I’ve learned during the course of my marriage is that husbands like to believe they’re better than other men.”
“That could be said for women, too,” Allie whispered in return. “A wife, after all, doesn’t want to take second place to another woman.”
“Yes, that is true.” She sat back and nodded. “I suppose both men and women are vain.”
Though Travis seemed curious about their quiet discussion, he didn’t ask about it. Had he been more comfortable with her and Ida, Allie suspected he might. But since that wasn’t the case, he kept his thoughts to himself.
Travis led the wagon around a bend in the road, and suddenly, they had emerged out of the mass of trees and into a clearing with tall grass and a path that would take them directly into town.
Allie wasn’t sure, but she thought she felt Travis breathe a sigh of relief. She could only imagine how difficult this whole process was for him. Hoping to offer him a source of encouragement, she squeezed his arm and smiled at him.
“I really do appreciate your kindness toward me,” Ida told Allie and Travis. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I assure you, things will be different from now on. I’ll be a better person.”
“I know you’ll be a better person,” Allie assured her since Ida seemed to need to hear someone tell her they believed her.
Who knew? With all the gossiping she’d done, maybe she was used to people not taking her seriously.
Soon, Travis pulled the wagon to a stop right in front of a modest home where a swarm of children were in disarray.
A man came running toward them, looking relieved as a couple of the younger children followed him. “Thank God,” he told Ida as he held his hands up to help her down. “I thought something bad happened to you.”
“So you’re not mad at me for running off?” Ida asked.
“I was at first, but when you didn’t come home and I couldn’t find you, I feared an animal attacked you,” he replied. “Or, worse, maybe the man who killed Lydia got to you, too. For all we know, there could be someone lurking around town who wants to kill more women.”
“No, I’m fine. Travis and Allie Martin were kind enough to take care of me last night.” She turned to Allie and held her hand out for the crutch.
Allie hurried to give it to her, just as Mike inspected her bandaged ankle.
“What happened to you?” he asked.
“I fell over a tree root,” Ida said. “It was stupid. I should have been watching where I was going.”
“Well, if we hadn’t gotten into that fight, then you wouldn’t have run off to begin with.”
“You spent the night in his house?” one of the boys asked, pointing to Travis.
Allie glanced at Travis and saw him turn his face away as he lowered the hat over his forehead. Noting his embarrassment, Allie scooted back to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, hoping the small show of support might help ease his discomfort. The poor man. He had so much to offer people, but he didn’t realize it.
“Yes, I did,” Ida spoke up, surprising her. “Travis Martin is a good man.”
“But I thought you said he was a monster,” one of the girls piped up.
“I did say that, and I was wrong,” Ida replied. Glancing at Allie and Travis, she added, “I’m sorry.” Then she turned her attention to her children. “The sheriff was right about me. I do say things that hurt others, and that’s wrong. We’d do well to heed the sheriff’s advice. Only speak that which is true, and when you say something, make sure it’s because you want to help someone.”
“You really mean that, Ida?” Mike asked, studying her.
Ida nodded. “Yesterday taught me a lot. Travis, Allie, and Carl were kind to me even though I didn’t deserve it.”
“Carl?” Mike asked. “What does Carl have to do with yesterday?”
“I ended up on his property when I tripped and hurt my ankle. Travis and Carl took me to Travis’, and from there, Travis and Allie made sure I was taken care of for the night.”
“You’re lucky Carl didn’t hurt you.”
“Carl wasn’t going to hurt me. He was scared. He thought I was there to hurt him.” When Mike didn’t seem convinced, she shrugged. “It’s true. I could tell it by the way he was running over to me with a gun in his hand.”
“A gun?”
“He didn’t use it. In fact, he let me hold it because I was scared of them at first.”
“But Carl might have killed Lydia,” Mike said.
“He didn’t,” Travis spoke up.
Surprised, everyone turned their attention to Travis, who had, up to now, done everything he could to be invisible.
Travis cleared his throat. “The person who killed Lydia threatened to hurt Carl if Carl didn’t confess to the murder.”
The children gasped, and Mike shooed them away. “Go on and do your chores. You don’t need to be listening to this.”
“But you’ve been saying Carl did it,” a girl told him.
Mike’s face went bright red. “Go on, or I’ll have you milk the cow.”
The girl quickly followed her brothers and sisters as they headed back to the house.
When Mike’s gaze returned to Travis, he offered a he
sitant smile. “I suppose Ida isn’t the only one around here who says more than they should.”
“I accept your apology,” Ida told him and leaned on her crutch so she could kiss him.
Despite the fact that Mike still seemed embarrassed by what his daughter had blurted out, he asked, “How can you be sure the killer threatened Carl? We’ve heard nothing about this.”
“I saw Carl lying in the stream right after he was attacked,” Travis replied. “There’s no way he could have inflicted those injuries upon himself. I told the sheriff about it, but we’re keeping things quiet in case the killer finds out and goes after him again. Next time, he might not just leave Carl with a warning.”
“Really?” Mike seemed as if he didn’t know whether to believe it or not.
“He’s telling the truth, Mike,” Ida said. “He has nothing to gain by lying.”
“Well, I suppose not.”
“We need to keep this to ourselves,” Ida told him. “Right now the sheriff has the advantage. As long as the killer doesn’t know what we know, then Carl’s safer than he’d be otherwise.”
Mike considered her words. “When you put it that way, it makes sense.”
“Of course, it does. We don’t want someone else dying around here, do we?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no harm in keeping quiet unless we find out something that can help the sheriff find the killer. Allie and I were talking about it, and we decided there’s a time we need to keep quiet and a time we need to speak up. This is one of those times we need to keep quiet.”
“Alright.”
Seeming satisfied, Ida turned back to Allie and Travis. “Thank you both very much for all your help. I’ll be sure to let everyone know you’re a good man, Travis.”
Travis opened his mouth, as if to protest, but Allie squeezed his waist and shook her head. This was Ida’s way of extending an olive branch—her way of trying to make amends for the wrong she’d done to him. And Allie saw no reason why she shouldn’t do it. When Travis relented, Allie thanked Ida.
As Mike helped Ida to the house, Travis snapped the reins and led them back to the tree-lined path that’d take them home.
Chapter Fourteen
Allie assumed since Travis had spent the night with her the previous evening, he’d come into the cottage as the sun was setting for the night. But he didn’t. He remained out in the building, just as he had every other night since they married.
She spent the night in a fitful sleep. Images of killers roaming around the trees kept interrupting her dreams, and she found herself bolting up in the bed, out of breath and clutching the blanket to her chest. She wouldn’t have to feel this way if Travis were in bed with her.
Finally, when daylight arrived, she was able to drift off to a restful sleep. When she decided to get up for the day, she took her time getting dressed. Before last night, her nightmares here had been restricted to animals coming into the cottage to attack her because she’d left the door open by mistake. On her wedding night, she had even been wary that Travis really was a monster, like the judge had said.
But last night, she dreamt of men who were outside seeking someone to kill. It was probably because of all the talk about Lydia being murdered. If that was anything as awful as watching a man get stabbed to death on the train, she had to feel sorry for Lydia, even if she didn’t know anything positive about the woman.
Thankful it was daytime, she brought in the eggs Travis had left at her door and cooked an omelet, topping it with cheese, diced tomatoes, and sliced green peppers. She glanced out the kitchen window from time to time. Would Travis come in here to eat, or would she have to bring this out to him?
What a silly question. He was planning to stay out there to eat. He’d only braved coming into this cottage when Ida had been here, and he’d wanted Ida to think they were a normal couple.
Well, Allie was done pretending, and she didn’t feel like going back to how things were before. She wanted a normal marriage. Even if she didn’t want to force the issue, she didn’t see how she had a choice. If she didn’t do something drastic, then nothing would change between them.
She placed the omelets on their plates with cut up fruit and poured two cups of coffee. After she put everything on the tray, she carried it out to the building. She paused when she reached the closed door, realizing she had nowhere to set the tray down so she could knock. A moment passed then she kicked the door with her foot.
Usually, once she knocked on the door, she headed back to the cottage. Travis would wait for a couple minutes and then open it to get the food she’d made for him. Today, she waited. She almost called out to him but thought better of it. He was skittish enough as it was. She didn’t need to give him a reason to keep the door closed.
When he did open it, he gasped and shut it. The expression of shock on his face made her chuckle despite the situation.
“Travis, this tray is getting heavy,” she called out.
The door opened a crack, and she saw him peeking out at her.
She shook her head. “I’m surprised. I thought after the last couple of days, you wouldn’t be afraid of me anymore.”
He opened the door a little more. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“No?”
“No.”
She didn’t believe him. She didn’t believe him one single bit. And it struck her as the silliest thing she’d ever come across. It was like an elephant being afraid of a little old mouse. If anyone should be afraid of another person, she should have been afraid of him!
“Travis, this whole thing is ridiculous,” she said. “Are you going to hide from me forever?”
“Well…” He glanced back at the makeshift bed in the corner of the building.
“How are we ever going to have children if we only exchange little notes on each other’s doorsteps?”
The words came out before she had a chance to consider them, and she could tell by the shocked expression on his face that he hadn’t expected her to be so forward in her speech. She was about to apologize, but then she decided she wouldn’t.
When she’d answered the mail-order bride ad, she had been excited about the prospect of having children. Just because she didn’t end up with the man she thought she would, there was no reason why she should give up on the notion of ever having them. Besides, Travis would make a good father. He was kind and gentle, and considering the care he took in his work, she suspected he would be patient with them, too.
“Can I come in?” She lifted the tray. “This is getting heavy.”
After a moment, he took the tray from her. She expected him to take it into the building or to the cottage, but he stood still.
“Where would you like to eat?” she asked.
“Eat? You want to eat with me?”
“That’s why I brought two of everything,” she replied, keeping her tone light so he wouldn’t panic.
“Um…I…” His gaze shifted from the cottage to the inside of the building.
“It makes the most sense to eat in the cottage,” she said. “But I’d like to eat with you, so if you’re more comfortable out here, then let’s eat here.”
“Oh, well…”
He scanned the building, and she could only guess what he was thinking. Maybe he was searching for a reason why they shouldn’t eat breakfast together. If that was the case, she might as well intervene. They needed to share meals together. Doing so would help them do other things together, and that was necessary if she ever wanted this marriage to be what it was supposed to be.
She stepped into the building, not terribly surprised when he jerked back, a little of the coffee spilling out of the cups and onto the tray. “I won’t hurt you,” she assured him. “I promise.”
“I know you won’t,” he replied, though his breath slightly shook.
“Then you have nothing to worry about.” She went further into the room, her gaze resting on the new kitchen table he’d been working on. “Oh, Travis!” She hurried o
ver to the table and traced the design of a flower etched into the center of the wood. “This is truly a work of art. Back in Tennessee, there was a man who had a gift for painting. He could put anything on a canvas and make it look lifelike. You have the same gift, except you don’t work on a canvas. You work on wood.”
“You really like it?”
“I do.” She turned to him and smiled. “I can’t understand why someone who has such a splendid gift doesn’t think he’s worth being with.”
Though his face turned pink, he said, “I don’t have anything interesting to say.”
“I bet you do. Anyone who has this in his mind,” she gestured to the table, “has something worth saying.”
He shrugged, and probably because he finally realized she wasn’t going to leave him alone, he brought the tray over to the small table he usually ate at.
“When do you think the table will be ready?” she asked as she followed him.
“Um…two…maybe three days,” he replied, his voice quiet.
“The kitchen will look better when that table’s in there. I can’t wait to see it with the new chairs. Can you?”
Again, he shrugged.
She hesitated then said, “I’d like to eat in there together once the table’s in there. It’d be a shame to waste such a fine piece of furniture.” She set the plates and cups in their respective spots before she put the tray aside. She pulled up a chair, sat down, and motioned to the chair across from her. “It’d be more comfortable to eat if you’re sitting.”
The corner of his mouth twitched up, and she relaxed, glad he showed the hint of a smile.
He sat down but didn’t make a move to eat or drink anything.
Hoping it would further ease him into being with her, she picked up her fork and cut into her omelet. “One thing I don’t miss about Tennessee is having to fight my brothers for food. There were four of them, and even though they were younger, they would eat so much that I had to fend them off with a ladle whenever they tried to grab something off of my plate.”
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