“Well, he’s a novelist. He’s written many books, but he says his favorite story is the way he won my mother’s hand in marriage,” Stephen confided.
“And what is that story?” Hope prompted.
“My father originally was after Amaryllis. That’s another one of my mother and Aunt Iris’s sisters,” Stephen began.
“Wait a minute—are all the sisters named after flowers? Iris, Amaryllis?” Hope wondered.
Stephen chuckled. “You guessed it. My mother is Hyacinth. And then there are Rose, Lily, Daisy, Jasmine, and Violet.”
Hope smiled. “Those are lovely names.”
“Not as lovely as yours.” Stephen resisted the urge to grab Hope’s hand. Her entire family was in plain sight, and he didn’t know if she felt anything for him. There was no doubt in his mind, though. He couldn’t stop thinking about Hope no matter how hard he tried.
Hope frowned. “Don’t change the subject. You need to finish your story.”
“My father met my aunt Amaryllis when he traveled to Seattle for business. But she was in love with another man. She married him, and my father continued to travel.” Stephen loved telling the story of how his family had come to be. It was unconventional, but full of the personality and spunk that made his family unique.
“My father is a novelist, and he traveled all over. Eventually, he decided to move to Seattle and stay there. That’s when he fell in love with my mother. She had a column in the local paper, and he—well, let’s just say, he made a lasting impression on her.” Stephen chuckled as he recalled all of the silly things his father had done when he was courting his mother. “Her column instructed men on how to attract a woman—and he followed all of her instructions to the best of his abilities.”
“And it worked?” Hope leaned in a little closer to Stephen. She loved how his eyes twinkled when he talked about his family. It was a different side of him than the calm, sensible doctor she worked with each day.
“After some confusion, it worked,” Stephen confirmed.
“So your mother and your father are both writers?” Hope asked.
“Yes. My mother slowed down once they had kids, of course. But books are very important to them—to all of us, actually,” Stephen explained.
“You should meet my sister Gertrude and her husband. They actually have a small bookstore added on to the front of their home!” Hope pointed to one of the other picnic tables, where Stephen saw a man with shaggy brown hair strumming a banjo. A few others were around him laughing and smiling. Stephen noticed that most of the other guests had left.
“I can’t believe how late it is,” Stephen told Hope.
Hope looked around and realized that Stephen was right. Most of her married sisters had gone home, but Gertrude and Jed were still there. Katie and Theresa were listening to Jed’s banjo while Hattie and Martha began packing up food. “Wow. I didn’t realize it was so late either.” She had lost all track of time talking to Stephen and hearing about his family. They sounded like lovely and intelligent people, just like him. She was surprised she had spent so much time sitting and talking to him, and she didn’t want the night to end.
“I’d be glad to help clean up.” Stephen leapt to his feet and offered a hand to help Hope up as well.
Hope felt a tiny jolt of electricity again as Stephen’s hand embraced hers. She was starting to get used to the feeling. It was strange, but exciting at the same time. “Thank you.”
Stephen walked over to the dessert table and helped Hattie pack some leftover cookies in a tin. He stacked all the empty trays together and went back into the house.
Hope followed. “You wash. I’ll dry.” As they walked into the house, Hope saw Edna Petunia and Cletus slow-dancing to Jed’s banjo music. Hope shook her head. Her parents behaved so oddly sometimes, but she truly did love them.
Stephen began wiping off one of the trays with a rag.
“What are you doing?” Hope stared at him as if he was crazy.
Stephen stopped. “Cleaning this tray. What’s the matter?”
“You’re doing it all wrong!” Hope exclaimed. “You need to put water and soap on it before you wash with the rag.”
Stephen frowned. “This is the way I’ve always washed things.”
Hope grabbed the tray from his hands. “Well, you’re not helping one bit if you wash that way.”
Stephen stepped aside with a hurt expression on his face. “You can wash, and I can dry.”
“I may as well just do the rest of the work myself. I can see you’re not going to be much help in the kitchen,” Hope told Stephen.
Stephen was at a loss for words. He didn’t know if Hope was intentionally trying to get rid of him or just being her normal, no-nonsense self. “Could we go outside and talk?”
Hope wasn’t sure why Stephen wanted to go back outside. “But I’m still cleaning.”
“I’d just…I’d like to speak with you privately,” Stephen explained.
Just then, Edna Petunia and Cletus came charging into the kitchen, still dancing. Jed, finishing the last few notes of a song on his banjo, followed them, with Gertrude on his heels.
“Stephen! I’m glad you’re still here!” Edna Petunia cried out, squeezing his arm.
Stephen tried to smile, but still felt hurt by how abrupt Hope was acting.
“He doesn’t know how to wash dishes, though!” Hope teased. She wanted to show Stephen that she didn’t care who washed the dishes. She was perfectly capable of cleaning up. But instead of laughing, Stephen’s face went pale.
“I was just heading out. Thank you very much for a wonderful evening. You have a very special family.” Stephen offered a handshake to both Cletus and Edna Petunia.
Edna Petunia turned away his handshake and pulled him into an embrace. “You seem a little unsettled. Would you like a peppermint stick?” Edna Petunia reached down into her bodice and pulled out one of the candies.
Stephen was so stunned that he just stared at her. Edna Petunia pressed the candy into his hand and walked him to the door.
“You come again now, all right? We liked having you here, Stephen Bennett. If I’m not terribly mistaken, you might even have a little of your father’s charm!” Edna Petunia said cheerily. She turned to her husband. “And his father had a LOT of charm, if you know what I mean!”
“We should be going, too,” Gertrude said. “It’s getting late, and I’m tired.”
“Just one more song?” Jed pleaded with a huge grin. “The baby likes it when I play!” He rubbed Gertrude’s stomach, and she relented.
Hope continued to wash the dishes. She hoped Stephen had a nice time. He had seemed upset as he left, but she didn’t know why. She hoped her family hadn’t scared him off. The Sanders clan could be absolutely ridiculous sometimes, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.
Chapter 5
The following week, Stephen and Hope barely spoke at work. They continued in an unspoken truce, each giving the other space to do their work.
Hope felt confused and sad. She had thought that she and Stephen had actually been developing a strong friendship, and maybe even the basis for something more. Although her sisters sometimes gossiped about the young men in town, she had never considered that she would be courted or one day marry like some of the older girls had. For the first time in her life, she’d begun to imagine what life would be like as someone’s wife—and more specifically, as Stephen’s wife.
On the other hand, she also enjoyed the peace and quiet that came along with Stephen’s silence. She was able to get her cleaning, filing, and accounting done without Stephen interrupting her and asking her questions about the way things worked. For a seemingly intelligent man, he sure had a lot of questions. Hope thought maybe the schools in Seattle weren’t as thorough as the ones she had attended.
“Hope Sanders! Aren’t you looking fine today!” Hope heard a loud, cheerful voice call out. She turned around from her filing and stifled a groan.
Abner—who was known a
round town for taking out a different girl every night of the week—had entered the office and was staring at her with a smile on his face, his hands shoved in his pockets. “I didn’t know you were working with Dr. Harvey.”
“You’re not on the schedule.” Hope did not enjoy Abner’s company and wanted to get him out of her sight as soon as possible.
“That’s because I came to see you.” Abner flashed his white teeth. Hope knew that his smile was the reason girls kept agreeing to go out with him, but she wasn’t about to fall for his nonsense.
“You just said you didn’t know I worked here.” Hope turned back to her filing cabinet and continued to put away the papers she had been working with.
“I meant, now that I’m here, I’m very glad you’re here,” Abner tried again to convince her that she was the reason he was there.
Hope wasn’t having any of it. “Why are you here?”
Abner looked embarrassed. “I have a delicate matter I’d like to see Dr. Harvey about.”
Hope did not care to find out what his medical issue was. “You’ll need to come back tomorrow. She doesn’t have any openings this afternoon.”
“I don’t know if I can wait until tomorrow.” Abner grimaced.
Hope had an idea. “One moment.” She walked to the back of the building and rapped on the office door.
“Come in!” Stephen called.
“Would you be able to see a patient today? He’s telling me it’s a bit urgent. And he said it’s delicate,” Hope added.
Stephen looked at the clock on the wall. “I can see him quickly, before Dr. Harvey gets back for her one o’clock patient.”
“Thank you.” Hope turned and headed back to Abner. “You can go into the exam room.”
“Dr. Harvey can see me?” Abner asked, looking excited.
“She’s not here. Her nephew, Dr. Stephen Bennett, can see you.”
Abner’s face fell. “I prefer Dr. Harvey,” he grumbled.
“Abner, you’re not in a position to complain. You’re very lucky the doctor is willing to fit you in,” Hope told him.
Abner muttered something under his breath as he went into the exam room, hands still stuffed in his pockets.
Stephen walked into the exam room and shut the door behind him, and Hope thanked her lucky stars that Abner was out of her hair for a while. The man was downright annoying. She was pretty sure he had tried to go out with each and every one of her older sisters at some point in time.
Inside the room, Stephen looked at the man in front of him. “I’m Dr. Bennett. What seems to be your trouble today?”
Abner seemed a bit sheepish. “I can wait for Dr. Harvey to get back…”
“No, don’t worry about that. I’m perfectly capable of helping. What made you come in today?” Stephen assured him.
“Everything I tell you is confidential, right?” Abner asked nervously.
Stephen nodded.
Abner looked at the door. “So you won’t tell anyone about this?”
“Correct,” Stephen said.
Abner sighed and pulled one his right hand out of his pocket. It was stuck inside a jar of honey. “I somehow managed to get my hand stuck, and I can’t for the life of me get it out.”
Stephen fought the urge to break into uncontrollable laughter. “And you thought a doctor would be able to help you?”
Abner frowned. “I thought you’d at least know what to do! My stupid sister only made fun of me, and I knew I couldn’t show my face at work like this.”
“Well, I’ll see what I can do.” Stephen rolled up the sleeves of Abner’s shirt. Life in Nowhere was certainly interesting. You never know who would turn up and what kind of shape they would be in.
Stephen stared at the jar and the angle Abner’s hand was in.
Abner felt anxious. He didn’t like the way the doctor was looking at his hand. “You know Hope out front?”
Stephen nodded.
“I’ll be taking her out this weekend,” Abner boasted.
“Excuse me?” Stephen tried to hide his shock and keep a professional expression on his face.
“One of the prettiest girls in town, but she’s only got eyes for me. She’s always fancied me, to tell the truth. All of her sisters have, when I think about it.” Abner kept talking to distract himself from the pain he knew he was going to experience.
“I didn’t realize that. The Sanders women are certainly wonderful young women.” Stephen didn’t know what to say. He tried to focus on the problem in front of him: Abner and his jar of honey.
“Wonderful looking, I’ll give you that,” Abner said appreciatively.
Stephen could not understand what Hope saw in the man in front of him. Although Stephen had just met Abner, he seemed like a brute who wasn’t very intelligent, and certainly not deserving of someone as beautiful and smart as Hope. He cleared his throat and put both hands on Abner’s arm.
“Abner, I’d like you to count to three,” Stephen said. “One—” Instead of waiting for three, Stephen yanked Abner’s arm hard toward the window. The jar flew off Abner’s hand and smashed to the floor. Honey oozed everywhere.
“OUCH!” Abner screamed. He put his hand in his mouth and began sucking on it.
Stephen was in disbelief that this childish man was a potential suitor to Hope. He had to remind himself that he had no claim on the woman. She had made that perfectly clear at the house. She only thought of him as a nuisance.
“Well, you’re all set. But now you’ve got honey all over the floor.” Stephen said pointedly. He assumed Abner would at least clean up the broken glass and honey for his trouble.
Abner stopped nursing his hand and smiled. “Thank you, Doctor. I’ll need both my hands this weekend, if you know what I mean!”
Stephen was horrified. He knew Abner had been joking, but he didn’t find his sense of humor funny. Before he could respond, Abner had jumped off the exam table and ran out the door. Stephen shook his head and went out to get the broom and a mop.
Though he knew Hope probably had her own way of cleaning the floor, he didn’t want to trouble her with Abner’s mess. He also knew that if she came into the exam room, she’d have plenty of questions about what a jar of honey was doing on the floor. Even though he strongly disliked the immature young man he’d just met, he couldn’t break his sworn oath as a doctor and tell Hope what had gone on in the exam room.
In the front office, Abner came up to Hope’s desk and tapped on it with his newly-freed hand. “I’m going to take you out this weekend, Hope.”
Hope stared at Abner with distaste on her face. “No, you are not.”
Abner looked crestfallen. “You’d be lucky to go out with me, Hope, and you know it. I’ve seen the way you look at me in church.”
“I’ve never seen you in church, Abner,” Hope said truthfully.
“You should reconsider. Lots of girls are dying to get a date with me.”
“You should go out with them, then. I’m not interested.” Hope sighed.
Just then, Stephen came out of the exam room and saw Abner leaning in next to Hope.
“You can bill Abner for the normal amount, Hope,” Stephen instructed.
“Put it on my father’s account. I’ll see you on Sunday, Hope!” Abner called as he walked out the door, and Hope shook her head, smiling. Some men would never learn.
Stephen frowned. The more he learned about this man, the less he liked him. “He’s certainly interesting.”
“That’s just Abner,” Hope said matter-of-factly. “He’s always been like that.” She returned to her pile of papers to file.
Stephen went back into his office and stayed there between visits for the rest of the afternoon. He wondered if Cletus and Edna Petunia approved of this Abner fellow. From what he had experienced so far, they seemed like kind and smart people who only wanted the best for their girls. They had their quirks, of course, but at the end of the day, it was important to them to keep their girls safe and happy. He couldn’t imagine
them being comfortable with that idiot dating Hope.
Hope deserved a man who was so much better than Abner. But it wasn’t his place to tell her that. He hoped she’d figure it out on her own—and soon.
Chapter 6
At church the following Sunday, Dorothy invited Stephen to sit with the Sanders family. Stephen looked around for Abner, but he wasn’t in sight. He smiled and accepted Dorothy’s invitation, sitting down next to Dorothy’s husband, Carter.
Hope stole a few glances at Stephen during the sermon. She knew she should be focusing on Micah’s words, but she found it difficult to concentrate with Stephen only a few feet away. Her sisters could be obnoxious with their meddling sometimes. She knew that Dorothy had taken a liking to Stephen, finding him kind and trustworthy. Betsy, of course, had praised the way Stephen had fixed Matthew’s broken leg. Edna Petunia thought Stephen was an ideal young man and had dropped several hints to Hope that she wanted the two of them to end up together.
Even Gertrude and Sarah Jane, the two pickiest Sanders sisters, had told Hope they liked Stephen. He had mentioned a few of his favorite books, and Gertrude said he had good taste. Sarah Jane liked the fact that he diligently attended church and helped some of the elderly parishioners get into and out of their seats.
Hope wasn’t as sure as Edna Petunia that Stephen was her perfect match. For one thing, they had opposite ways of doing almost everything. She knew he was intelligent, but didn’t have much common sense. For another, he was always so sensitive and talking to people about their feelings. For Hope, things were black and white, and she wasn’t afraid to say anything out loud. She worried that Stephen was too sensitive for her tastes.
But then again, she also could admit to herself that every time she was in a room with Stephen, she watched him and only him. She loved the way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he really cared about, or how he gave extra help to the people who came to see him at the medical office. She watched him as he played and joked with her nieces and nephews and found herself imagining him as a father himself one day.
Hope (Orlan Orphans Book 10) Page 4
