On her way, Annie ran into Thackery himself. She let out a surprised laugh of disbelief, shaking her head at him in greeting as he grinned and waved back at her. She was roughly halfway up the street and here he was, walking towards her. Plainly on his way to the restaurant once more. She was glad to have caught him.
“I was on my way to send this to you,” she told him, holding up the letter so he could see.
“I think I can guess what it says,” Thackery replied. “You’re sorry but you can’t give up your life here because I failed to meet you at the station and who’s to say that I won’t fail you again?”
Annie lowered her arm and the letter down to her side. She frowned a little. “More or less,” she admitted.
Thackery laughed. “I was on my way to try and meet up with you at the restaurant instead of waiting for another letter from you,” he said. “I’ve been hired by a wealthy farmer in Sharon Springs and I believe, sincerely and truly, that the pay from this job will be more than enough for me to start my own farm.”
Annie looked at him doubtfully. “But Mr. Prescott—”
“I know,” he said. “I’m not asking for you to upend your life here for me. I’m only asking for you to consider… a promotion of sorts. After all, you can’t be a waitress for Mr. Stewart forever. If you marry me, heck, you could open your own restaurant. I wouldn’t stop you. Because I know it’d make you happy.”
Annie went a bit pale. She moved closer to Thackery. “Please don’t even suggest that. I’d never want to compete with the Stewart House. The last man who tried it ended up selling his steaks there anyway. He’s got a booming business here and I’m happy for him – for my friends who work there.” She bit her lip slightly. “But I do suppose you’re right. I can’t be a waitress there forever. I’m just frightened. I don’t know what else I could do.”
Thackery gave her a loving look and Annie felt her cheeks go hot. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to make him continue to look at me like that, she thought. She wished he wouldn’t because it was making it harder and harder to turn him down. Perhaps that’s why.
Suddenly, he took her hand and knelt there in the dirt in front of her. He dug a hand into the pocket of his brown, dust-covered pants and pulled out a sparkling ring. There was a gem on it that Annie refused to believe was an actual diamond. “This is what I spent my last hard-earned pay on,” he told her, gazing up at her. “Please don’t you dare turn me away anymore. I have loved you for a very long time, Annie. Let me show you. Let me prove it to you. Let me marry you and call you my wife.”
Annie stared back at him, the breath seeming caught in her throat. She didn’t know what to say. He was so sweet and the ring was so beautiful, and suddenly she realized that she was crying. Not just a little, but rivers of tears down her cheeks. “Oh, Thackery, why couldn’t you just be here for me when I needed you?”
All at once, Thackery stood back up and put his arms around her. He kept the ring safe by wearing it on his little finger on his left hand. He stroked her brown hair and cuddled her to him, not saying anything but letting her cry until the tears at last subsided. Looking around a bit, he smiled and pulled back to gaze lovingly at her again. “I know I made a terrible mistake back then,” he said to her. “But I swear to you, Annie O’Brien, I won’t ever let you down again. I mean it. I’ve made a plan and by God I’m sticking to it, but I need you with me. I need you in order to follow my dream… our dream, if you still want it.”
Annie remembered the way she had felt when they wrote to each other almost a year ago now. She’d been so happy and so in love, and so ready for a change. “I’ve been so swept up in things here,” she said to him then. “I was so afraid of failure that I clung to the only thing I knew I had. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
Thackery took the ring off of his little finger. “Then what do you say?” he asked her. “Will you give me another chance? We can do everything you wanted. I love you, Annie. I want only what makes my girl happy.”
Slowly, Annie took the ring from him and placed it onto her shaking finger. “I’ll give you this chance,” she told him. “But you’ve got to be patient with me. It’s a lot to go back to.”
Thackery smiled with tears of his own now in his eyes. “I will be,” he promised. “I’ll always be patient.”
“And let me handle this in the way I choose,” she said. “I am going to disappoint quite a few people with this news.”
He nodded. “I understand. I’ll wait for you. After all,” he said with a laugh. “I’m still working as a farmhand in Sharon Springs. I’m not ready to start my own farm.”
She gazed into his eyes and felt like she was seeing him for the first time again. So handsome and sweet. So hopeful. “You will be soon,” she said to him, taking his hand. “I know it.”
Bringing her hand to his lips, Thackery kissed it.
Chapter 8
Annie went back to the restaurant after that, still holding the letter in her hand. She’d completely forgotten about it and it wasn’t until Melissa tapped her on the shoulder and gestured toward it that she remembered she had it with her. Thackery hadn’t read it, but he didn’t need to now. She ripped it up and disposed of it in the nearest trash bin.
“It’s nothing,” she said to Melissa. “I’ve changed my mind.”
That’s when Melissa noticed the ring on Annie’s finger. “Oh my goodness!” she cried, pointing.
Annie swiftly hid her hand behind her back. “Shh,” she said. “I need to find the right time.”
“The right time for what?” Rita asked, suddenly appearing and overhearing the last bit of the conversation. She seemed to have a knack for doing that.
Annie blushed a little, smiling. “Nothing,” she said. “It’s no big deal. I have something I’m thinking about, that’s all. Is today’s lunch train going to be a full one? I hope so.”
Rita arched an eyebrow at her but she let the topic drop since Annie didn’t what to discuss it at present. “Yes, I do believe so,” she said instead. “Your favorite kind of train.”
The lunch rush went as promised for Annie. There were enough customers in need of her services that she didn’t have time to stop and think about what had occurred earlier that midday. However, now that there was a ring upon her finger and a promise had been made, there was no turning back for Annie and she knew it. She was going to give Thackery another chance, and that meant leaving her job. She had complete faith in him that he wouldn’t disappoint on her so soon after making this big plan with her. But who could say that would remain the case down the line…?
I must talk to Mr. Stewart tonight, she thought a bit glumly. She didn’t want to cause a fuss and she hated goodbyes, but there really wasn’t a way for her to slowly break away from the restaurant. I’ve broken the agreement, so I must let him know.
She thought of the Thackery that she’d gotten to know via the letters over months and months. She recalled how connected to him she had felt, how much she loved him. Now that he was back in her life, she felt almost as if she was dreaming. It was much too wonderful to try and ignore any longer. Fate truly was on our sides somehow!
After a long and tiring day of working in the restaurant, Annie helped the rest of the girls tidy up and prepare for the following morning, knowing full well that she likely wasn’t going to be joining them. I think he may allow me to stay on for a brief time while I’m getting things organized and moved out… He wouldn’t just put me out in the street. She had to wonder, though. She had broken the contract and as such Mr. Stewart could do pretty much whatever he wanted.
Annie took a deep breath and went to Mr. Stewart’s office, gently rapping on the door and then standing aside a bit so she wouldn’t be just awkwardly standing right there in the center of the doorway. She wished that she could hide. This was the biggest thing she’d ever done in her life, perhaps even more so than getting the job because she hated confrontation. Mr. Stewart opened the door after a few moments, looking around curiousl
y until his gaze fell upon Annie standing there waiting for him. “Miss O’Brien?” he asked her, surprised to see her there. “What are you doing out of your dormitory? It’s closing time, you know.”
He looked at his pocket watch, checking to make sure that she wasn’t breaking her curfew. Annie was pleased that at least she was following that rule.
“Good evening. I’m sorry it’s late, but I have some news, sir,” she said. “I thought you would want to know right away. I’m engaged to be married. It just happened this afternoon.”
She showed him the diamond ring, even though Mr. Stewart hadn’t even asked for proof. He appeared shocked at this news, but more in a happy way. She knew that he wished for all of his waiter-girls to get married someday, otherwise what was the point of bringing them out west and keeping them proper for a year? He was giving them work and getting good press and clientele from the girls, but ultimately, he hoped to bring lovely young ladies out west to grow the town and give it a woman’s touch. Annie knew that, but still she was nervous about letting him down.
“My, my,” Mr. Stewart said, tutting a little bit. He smiled at her then. “You seem awfully anxious about this, but it’s a happy occasion! I had no idea that you were interested in all that. Of course, I knew that gentlemen had been courting you. Miss De La Cruz let me know that a gentleman was writing to you. I must confess that I shall be sad to lose you. I hope you’ll stay in Wallace.” He offered his hand to Annie.
She shook his hand, biting her lip slightly. She felt like she might start crying, but her heart also leapt for joy over the fact that Mr. Stewart wasn’t at all mad about what had happened. I haven’t burned this bridge, she thought. He still hopes that I shall stick around!
Of course, now that she thought about it, she recalled that he had been much the same when Carrie and Beverly had married their respective husbands. All the time, she’d been trying to be better than they had been, but Mr. Stewart still seemed quite fond of her friends and the work they’d done at his restaurant. He never really had an ill word to say about any of his waitresses. I don’t know why I was so afraid. I suppose it’s more that I must leave him.
“I shall really miss this place and working for you,” Annie told Mr. Stewart. “Thank you so, so much for giving me this job and home when I needed it the most.”
“Of course, of course,” Mr. Stewart said with another handsome smile. “And while you’re getting things ready to move out and be happily wed, please do stay here. I don’t want you thinking you must hasten off to an inn or something like that. You’re welcome to stay here until that blessed day.”
“Thank you, sir,” Annie replied. This made sense to her. He was still trying to ensure that things remained chaste between her and her husband-to-be until they were married.
She left the restaurant not long after that, not feeling quite so heavy about it because she now knew that she didn’t need to leave right away. When she arrived back in her dormitory room, she found Melissa sitting there on her bed like usual. She was already in her white nightgown, her ringlets down at her shoulders. Annie took the bow off of her head and allowed her own hair down, shaking out her cinnamon curls. She smiled at her friend. It would be much easier to tell her the news. The scariest part was over.
“Now I can tell you,” she said, sitting down at her vanity and removing her shoes and apron. “I just got back from speaking with Mr. Stewart. I’m going to be leaving soon. I’m not sure when yet, but soon.”
Melissa appeared to be alarmed at first. “What? Why? Are you in trouble?”
Annie shook her head and smiled at her. She held out her left hand so that Melissa could see the sparkling ring that was there on her finger. “Mr. Prescott asked me to marry him this afternoon and I said yes.”
Melissa squealed excitedly and bounded from her bed. She came over to get a better look at Annie’s ring and then the two friends hugged each other and bounced around in their mirth. Suddenly, there was a knock on their door and the stern face of Rita was staring down at them. Somehow, she always seemed much taller when she had taken on her schoolmarm persona.
“What’s going on in here?” Rita demanded, looking between the two girls, from one to the other and back at Annie. “Are you causing trouble, Annie? This isn’t like you.”
Annie reddened. She hated that for once she was indeed causing trouble… “I’m sorry, Rita. I didn’t mean to be so loud. But you see, I’m engaged.” She showed her the ring on her finger, flashing it around in the lantern light for maximum ‘wow’ effect. “I’ve just come in from telling Mr. Stewart.”
Rita looked at her in amazement, but then she smiled. “I knew this was going to happen,” she said. “As soon as you started receiving letters, I just knew that you would be next.”
Annie was a lovely shade of pink. “I certainly didn’t plan this,” she said. “But it just so happens that this gentleman – my fiancé – golly, it feels nice to say that… He was exchanging letters with me back before I moved here from Massachusetts.”
Rita’s eyes widened. “And he tracked you down here? This is no coincidence.”
“No,” Melissa agreed with a happy nod of her head. “It’s a miracle.”
Annie laughed a little. “Well, it’s something like that.” I suppose that’s what fate is. A miracle. A blessing. “When he first arrived in the restaurant, I had no idea who he was, of course, but he was drawn to me and met with me again later… I suppose we were just destined to be together somehow, some way.”
Rita smiled, touched. She placed a hand on her chest as she stood there in the doorway. “That’s the sweetest story I’ve ever heard. Congratulations, dear! I’m so happy for you!” She hugged Annie and then pulled back to get a good look at her. Annie was wearing the black dress without any of its additional accessories. “Of course, we’re all going to miss you here so much. You simply must visit.”
“I shall miss you all too,” Annie said. “That was one of the reasons I was so resistant at first… But Mr. Stewart says I may work here a little longer as I get reacquainted with Mr. Prescott again. Keeping things respectable, you know.” She smiled. “It will also give me some time to prepare to move away.”
Annie had no idea what sort of place she would be moving to. Thackery had promised that they’d be able to live in a farmhouse in Wallace, but she thought they’d first have to live in Sharon Springs for a time. He needed to earn enough money to buy his own place, and she didn’t think it was fair to keep him waiting forever to marry her… As long as they handled things properly. He was free to court her now. She was more than a little giddy about that.
I’ve never been the girl who was courted and flirted with, she thought. Only in letters. And letters don’t really count. Annie was glad, in that way, that they had more time in person to get to know one another.
She went to sleep that night, dreaming happy dreams about what may lay ahead for her when she did finally leave the nest of the Stewart House.
Chapter 9
Thackery seemed surprised when he found out that Annie was still working at the restaurant when he showed up to spend time with her the next day. He was really tenacious and Annie was no longer surprised by his constant vigilance when it came to pursuing her. After all, he did say that he wasn’t going to leave me alone ever again, she thought with a smile.
“I’m guessing that the big boss was okay with you being engaged,” Thackery said to her, admiring her black and white uniform.
She smiled back at him, nodding her head and blushing a little. “He sure was. He told me that I was welcome to stay while we get things figured out and planned.”
“That’s terrific,” Thackery replied. “It wouldn’t be right if he demanded you leave immediately on account of me.”
They strolled along the dirt lane together, having a bit of a ‘get-to-know-you’ chat. Although they’d written letters to each other, that had been a while ago now so they needed some reminding about things. “What’s it been like for you?”
she asked him. “Being a farmhand and going from town to town…?”
Thackery smiled a wistful sort of smile. “I’ve really enjoyed it, actually. It’s a great way to see the west and all that it has to offer. I moved out here to settle down and even though I haven’t yet, I’ve found that I’m much more content than I was when I lived back east.”
Annie looked at him as they walked along the winding path. She smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. Without her white bow, her unruly locks didn’t like staying in place as much. That was one good thing about the silly piece of headwear. “And you don’t think that settling here in Wallace instead of continuing to be a migrant worker will end up making you feel bored or stuck?”
He gave her a sincere look. Whenever Thackery looked into her eyes, she could feel like he was looking into her very heart. “No, I don’t think so. Not if I have you with me.”
“You’re putting an awful lot of faith in me,” Annie said. “I’m a little frightened that I’m going to disappoint you now.”
Thackery chuckled and shook his head. “As long as you’re my companion in all of this, then I know I shall be completely happy and at peace with whatever comes.”
She smiled at him a little. “I did think of something I could do as far as keeping myself occupied, once I’m no longer working at the restaurant. And I think it will be a good help for you, too.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh really?” he asked her. “What’s that?”
“I was thinking that I could become a sort of teacher, for the people in town who might need reading and writing lessons,” Annie said. “A tutor, of sorts.”
Thackery grinned at her. “That’s a terrific idea!” he enthused, nodding his head. “I would like that a lot. I know there are plenty of fellows around these parts who can’t read or write so good.”
She nodded back at him. “Well,” she corrected gently. “Can’t read or write so well.”
Annie: A Bride For The Farmhand - A Clean Historical Western Romance (Stewart House Brides Book 3) Page 5
