by Linda Bridey
“I do,” she said.
Will kissed her then, a hard, passionate kiss that spoke to her of his strong feelings. She reveled in it, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back fervently. Suddenly, the kitchen grew very warm and it had nothing to do with cooking. He smelled of musk and wood and the combination tantalized her senses and sent heat racing through her blood.
Knowing Rachel loved him was as exciting to Will as the physical attraction he felt for her. This embrace represented much more than just those kinds of feelings. The two, love and passion, melded into each other, forming the perfect bond between two people, drawing them closer together in more ways than one.
When Will finally raised his head to look down at her pretty, flushed face, he said, “I will never forget this night as long as I live. You have no idea how happy you just made me.”
Her lips curved in a smile. “I think I have some idea. I owe all of my happiness to you, Will. You know how you said that I needed to move forward?”
“Yeah.”
“I have, but it’s because you’ve helped me do that. You were right. I didn’t need to keep punishing myself for my actions in the past. I want to move forward, Will. I want to move forward with you,” she said and pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss.
Will smiled when it ended and asked, “Does this mean you’re gonna stay here tonight?”
She gave him a coy look and said, “No.”
He groaned. “Now that really does make you a naughty girl. Get my hopes up one moment and then dash them the next.”
She giggled and stepped away from him. “I’m sorry. Maybe we shouldn’t kiss like that anymore. Just a peck or two on the cheek from now on.”
Will grabbed her and she shrieked with laughter as he bit her neck and tickled her. She struggled against him, but his superior strength won out until she tweaked his earlobe hard.
“Ow!” he said and released her.
She laughed and danced out of his range. “You’re lucky I love you and that I’m hungry or I would go home this instant, Mr. Foster.”
“Yes, I am very lucky you love me, and I’m hungry too,” he said with a laugh. “What can I help with?”
She held out the paring knife to him and said, “You finish peeling the potatoes and I’ll work on something else.”
He smiled and said, “Ok naughty girl, I’ll do that.”
As they worked to make dinner, they didn’t lack for conversation. Both of them were at ease with each other and yet there was always the undercurrent of excitement that existed between them. Will kept stealing glances at Rachel when he saw she wasn’t looking and thought about how he enjoyed doing just the simple, everyday things with her. They didn’t always have to go out to dinner or do wildly exciting things. Fixing dinner or working together at the shop was exciting to him. As they ate dinner that night, Will knew the time had come to make things formal between them and to take the next step forward together.
Chapter Fourteen
On Thanksgiving at their parents’ house, Tucker watched Will and Rachel argue good-naturedly over who performed the most work at their shop and smiled. They were loud and Will kept tickling Rachel and then running away. Their parents laughed at their antics and then their father, Edward, got ahold of Will and held him so Rachel could tickle him back.
Sadie laughed as Will’s face turned red. One of the things she’d always loved about Tucker’s family was that they were almost as boisterous as hers. The two brothers had always been close even though there was a six year difference in their ages, and they always seemed to be wrestling or clowning around. It was still that way.
Tucker reminded her of Dean in some ways. When he was at the mill, he was work driven, but when he was at home, he played around as much as their boys, Ethan and Chris. In fact, Tucker often instigated the fun. Her father had always been the same way. However, it did seem as though he was starting to mellow a little as he’d gotten older.
As Sadie thought about her parents, she couldn’t believe that she had a baby sister again. A baby sister with a Lakota name, no less. That alone amazed her, but the fact that her father pronounced it correctly amazed her even more. Betty, her mother-in-law put an end to the fun when she announced that dinner was ready. Sadie had helped her with much of the work, but Betty had been finishing up the gravy.
As everyone helped get the dishes on the table, Switch showed up. Everyone greeted him and he kissed each of the women hello before sitting down.
Tucker eyed his mismatched outfit and said, “You’re not wearing that to Joe’s later are you?”
Switch smiled. “Nope. I already have something nice picked out. I didn’t wear it right now because I was afraid I’d get something on it.”
Edward laughed. “Not to mention the fact that you just got out of bed a little while ago, right?”
“You would be correct, Mr. Foster.”
Betty said, “You didn’t sleep last night again.”
“Also correct,” Switch said, and put some turkey on his plate.
She shook her head and concern showed in her green eyes, which Will had inherited from her. “Nightmares?”
“Nope. Just couldn’t stop thinking,” Switch said.
Edward said, “How does a guy who’s never had anything bad happen to him have nightmares.”
Switch smiled at him and Edward winked back. “If you could find out the answer to that, I’d sure appreciate it, Mr. Foster. Of course, the nightmares didn’t start until Sadie turned down my marriage proposal.”
Sadie laughed. “To be fair, Switch, you were only eight and I was almost sixteen.”
“You were just too impatient and didn’t want to wait on me. So you had to settle for him.” Switch pointed at Tucker with his fork.
Ethan laughed and Tucker gave him a dirty look. “You would have preferred Switch as a father instead of me?” he asked his son.
Chris, Tucker and Sadie’s youngest, said, “Yeah. He’s more fun and doesn’t get mad when I break stuff.”
Tucker smiled and said, “You’re lucky we’re having dinner right now or I’d make you regret that remark, young man.”
Will said, “That’s only because you’re not breaking Switch’s stuff, Chris. I once broke a snow globe he had and he didn’t talk to me for a week.”
Switch said, “It wasn’t that you broke the snow globe, it was that you broke it by throwing it at me.”
Betty looked at Will sharply. “Will! Shame on you!”
“What? We were kids! Snow globes are sort of like balls. I thought he’d catch it!” Will insisted.
Rachel laughed. “I wouldn’t try to catch a snow globe if someone threw it at me.”
“Thank you, Rachel,” Switch said. “I thought it was a lot smarter to duck instead of catching it, too. I couldn’t believe you did that. And right after I’d saved your life, too.”
Rachel looked between the two men. “You saved Will’s life?”
“Tucker’s, too,” Switch said.
“You’re pulling my leg,” Rachel said.
Tucker shook his head. “No, he’s tellin’ the truth. It was the first year Will was allowed to go hunting. He’d already been out with Pa, so I took him out. Well, Switch decided to go with us. He’s a couple years younger than Will, so I told him he wasn’t allowed to shoot a gun. He didn’t have a problem with that, so I said he could go along.
“We’d been in the woods a couple of hours, but we still hadn’t seen any deer. Finally, a small herd came our way. What also came our way was a mother black bear and her two cubs. Will and I froze because she was scenting the air. One of those cubs kept coming closer to us and I was afraid to run because she was gonna come after us since we’re so close to her baby.
“The rifle I had wasn’t powerful enough to take her down, and she was big. But I figured that if the boys got a good head start, I could hold her off long enough for them to get completely away. I had no idea what was gonna happen to me. All I could think about
was saving them.
“So I whisper the plan to them. Will nods, and Switch just does this funny little shrug, which I think means yes. Sure enough, the mama bear gets our scent and at the same time, the cub reaches us. It’s not afraid of us at all. The more I try to get that cub to leave us alone, the more it seems to like us. Mama bear was not happy about this and started to come after us.
“I yelled at the boys to run and I take aim. I didn’t bother with a warning shot at this point. I got her in my sights and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. The damn gun jammed. There’s nothing left to do but run. Now, the whole time we’re running, the cub is following us. I think it thought we were playing with it.
“Mama bear was right behind us. Switch started laughing his head off and I kept yelling at him to shut up and save his breath for running. Next thing I know, Switch hollers, ‘You fellas go on ahead. I’ll take care of these critters.’ He ran off in another direction and the cub followed him, mainly because he was playing with it as much as he was running. So off went Switch with a baby bear running after him.
“The mother bear didn’t know what to do at first, but she wanted her cub more than she wanted us. So she went off after it. I panicked. How was I gonna explain to his parents that Switch got eaten by a bear? How do I live with myself? I had all these terrible pictures in my head of what was happening to him. I made Will keep on running for our place and I went after Switch.
“I lost them somehow. I couldn’t find them. I wasn’t a good tracker at the time and it was dry out, so there weren’t really any paw prints. Anyway, I’m running along and I hear this whistle, so I stop. It happened again, so I look up. There sits Switch in the very, very top branches of a tree. He smiled and waved like nothing scary just happened.”
Tucker started laughing. “I yelled up it, askin’ him if he’s ok and he hollered back, ‘Yeah, but if you’re not busy, could you help me get down?’”
Rachel burst into laughter and the rest followed.
Edward said, “When Tuck told us that story that day, I thought it was some sort of joke they were all playin’ on us.”
“No, it happened just like Tuck says it did,” Will said. “One second, Switch is running alongside of me, the next, off into the trees he goes. I didn’t know what to do except keep running.”
Rachel asked, “How did you get rid of the bears, Switch?”
“I told them to get lost. I’ve always been a fast tree climber and I was a pretty fast runner for being so young. I got away from the cub and started climbing. The cub came after me and I finally got really mad. I kept climbing until I couldn’t go any higher. I was hungry and I wanted to go home. I knew that wasn’t going to happen until the damn bears went away so I yelled at the cub to get down. It did, and then I told them to go away. They did, which was great, but I couldn’t figure out how to get down until Tuck came along.”
“How did you get down?” Rachel asked.
“Jumped. I was little and I knew Tuck would catch me,” Switch said with a shrug.
Tucker nudged him roughly. “I’m glad you knew it. Next thing I know, he climbs down a few branches and I thought he was gonna keep going. He shouts, ‘Here I come’ and just steps off the branch he’s standing on. I caught him, but it wasn’t pretty. My back was messed up for week because of it. It’s just a good thing you were little at the time.”
Switch grinned. “See, Sadie, you could have married a hero instead of a boring old feed mill manager. You should have waited for me.”
Will pointed at Switch and said, “Yeah, well, don’t get any ideas about Rachel, buddy. She’s mine, hero or no hero.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t steal her from you,” Switch said. “She wants to have babies and I don’t, so it would never work. Hey, speaking of work, are you gonna have the shop open tomorrow, Willie?”
“Don’t call me that,” Will said. “I hate that name. Yeah, of course, why?”
“Ok. I’ll be down then,” Switch said.
“Why?” Will asked.
“So your sales are good. I’m your good luck charm,” Switch said.
Will said, “No, Rachel is my good luck charm. You just annoy me. The sales have been great whether you’re there or not.”
Switch said, “I’m gonna imitate Joe Dwyer. Wanna bet?”
Sadie laughed. “He does say that all the time. That was a good Texan accent, too, Switch.”
“Thank you, darlin’,” Switch said with a wink.
Edward laughed so hard he almost choked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone do such a good impersonation of Joe before.”
Will grinned. “So what’s this bet?”
“You go back over the sales for the days I’ve been at the shop and I’ll bet you they’re higher than the days I wasn’t. If I’m right, you have to make me something very special.”
“Like what?” Will asked.
“I don’t know yet. I’ll let you know when I do,” Switch said.
“So what do I get?” Will asked.
“What do you want? Money? I’ve got lots of that,” Switch said.
“No. I don’t want money. I get to borrow your train for the holidays to set up as a display in the store,” Will said.
“Train?” Rachel asked.
Switch asked, “Which one, Will?”
“That fancy German one your uncle sent you,” Will replied.
Switch put down his silverware. “Wait, you said ‘train’, not ‘train set’. You’re not gonna put my train set in your store. You can have any of the other trains, but not the German set. He had that specially made for me. They don’t make train sets in mass production, Will.”
Tucker chuckled. “Now you did it, Will.”
“Did what?” Sadie asked as she looked at her husband.
Clearing his throat, Switch said, “I’ll explain. Almost everyone has seen a toy train, right?”
Sadie nodded. “Yes.”
“But when have you ever seen a complete set?” he asked.
“Never, but then I’ve never paid much attention,” Sadie said.
“Never. That’s right. Toymakers don’t make them yet, but they will, I’m sure. My Uncle Boris, who is actually Russian, had a German friend of his, who is an expert toymaker, make me a set. It has the steam engine, ten cars, and the caboose. It’s handcrafted and rare as all get out. That is not gonna sit in your display window overnight every night, Will. People don’t even know I have it.”
Tucker chuckled again. “See, Will? You got him all riled up.”
Will grinned. “C’mon, Switch. I’ll lock it up in the back at night and you can set it up in the mornings. Just imagine the crowds it’ll draw. You really will be my lucky charm then.”
Switch thought about it for a few moments. “I have an idea. Instead of a bet, why don’t we help each other instead?”
“What do you mean?”
“You build me a track system for the set and I’ll let you display it over the holidays, but it gets locked up every night in a safe.”
“I don’t have a safe that big, Switch.”
“Don’t worry. If we make this deal, I’ll bring the safe,” Switch said. “There’s a safe in our basement that we’re not using right now that will be plenty big enough. So?”
Rachel suddenly asked, “Why don’t I remember you from school, Switch? You’re only a couple of years younger than me.”
“I didn’t go to school around here. I was in boarding school by the time I was thirteen, so that’s why you don’t remember me,” Switch said. “For five years The Wayland Academy of Wisconsin was my home away from home.”
“Oh,” she said. “Do they have a good educational program?”
“Yeah,” Switch said, “but the main reason they sent me there was because whatever trouble I did cause, no one here would ever find out about it. It was far enough away that no one would ever know about my scrambled brains.”
“Switch, stop that,” Betty said. “Your brains are not scrambled. Shame
on you.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Foster. I appreciate that,” Switch said as he flashed her a smile. “I came home for good when I was eighteen.”
“I guess I wouldn’t know you then. I was in Canada when you came back and I didn’t really know Will before I left so I wouldn’t have known you, either,” Rachel said.
Switch agreed with her and then asked, “So do we have a deal, Will?”
“Yeah, it’s a deal, just so I can see you bring this safe in there,” Will said.
Switch chuckled and Edward turned the conversation back to hunting.
*****
That evening, Mitch and Will were closeted in Joe’s office. Will figured this was the best place to corner the sheriff so they would have privacy.
“Mitch, you know by now that I love Rachel and that things are going really well between us,” Will said.
Mitch nodded. “That’s what Rachel’s told us and I’m glad to hear it.”
Will had thought he’d be nervous about talking to Mitch about this, but he felt confident instead. “I’ll cut right to the chase. I’m asking your permission to marry Rachel.”
Mitch didn’t even pretend to think it over. He grinned and said, “Permission granted, son,” as he held out a hand to Will.
Will shook it and laughed. “Thanks, Mitch. I’ll take good care of her.”
“I know you will. You’re the kind of guy every parent wishes their daughter would marry. When are you gonna ask her?”
“Soon. Still working out a couple of things, but very soon,” Will replied.
“I’m sure we’ll know as soon as it happens. You know how women are about these things,” Mitch said.
“Yes, sir, I do,” Will said. “I want it to be special.”
“Well, you’re a smart man. I’m sure you’ll do it justice. We’d better get back out there before charades start and we’re missed,” Mitch said.
As he followed Mitch, Will couldn’t stop smiling. By the time he’d found Rachel, he was able to bring his happiness under control somewhat so that he didn’t seem to be acting strange.
*****
