Levi decided to speak up and maybe turn the teasing card around to Millie. “They were all very nice, but I think I’ve set my cap on marrying Miss Millie. After all, she was the first mail-order bride to answer my advertisement. Isn’t that right, Millie?” He sat back and crossed his arms, daring her to deny it.
“Yes, but as I’ve already told you, I’ve changed my mind.” Millie’s cheeks turned pink and her eyes studied the plate full of food in front of her.
Mrs. Englebright chuckled as she pushed out of her chair. “I think I’ll go freshen up some before church, too.”
Levi watched her leave. She was a sweet woman, and he was glad her kids had set her up here at the boardinghouse. He turned his gaze to Millie.
She’d quietly left the table and taken her plate and Mrs. Englebright’s with her to the washtub.
He stuffed the rest of his biscuit into his mouth and grabbed up the remaining dirty dishes on the table. It surprised him when she rolled up her sleeves to do the dishes.
“You don’t have to do those. Beth usually gets to them when she does the lunch dishes.” Levi set the plates into the hot water.
Millie offered him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Why does Beth always have to do them?”
She had a point. Levi rolled his sleeves up, too, and moved to the washtub. He could tell he’d pushed too far with his teasing. Millie released pent-up air that drifted across the hairs of his arms.
“If you insist on helping, please let me wash and you dry. I have no idea where these go.” She handed him a tea towel.
Levi scooted to the side, and she moved into his spot in front of the dishpan. He took the first plate that she’d washed and dried it. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you with Mrs. Englebright.”
“Are you?” There was a slight twinge of doubt in her voice.
Was he? Levi didn’t like the fact that he’d upset her. He’d simply been trying to take the attention off himself and she had been the most convenient person in the room to direct it to. “Yes.”
She bobbed her head once. “Then thank you for that.”
Levi took the dishes as she passed them to him. When they finished, they had a nice stack piled on the sideboard and he felt a sense of accomplishment. How many Sundays had Beth come home to dirty dishes? Too many. He decided to change the way things were done on Sundays, and he had Millie to thank for that.
Millie kept quiet as they worked. Was she still angry with him? Levi decided to find out. “As soon as I toss out this water and put away the dishes, how would you like to sit with me on the front porch while we wait for the others?”
Her pretty blue eyes searched his. He could see questions within their depths and couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking. She pushed a stray curl off her forehead and nodded. “All right. I’ll even help you put the food away, but when we get out there, I have a few questions for you, Mr. Westland.”
She scooped up two platters and headed toward the kitchen. Dread filled Levi. She’d called him Mr. Westland in the same tone that his mother used when she said his full name. What new questions did she have for him now? Dread crept up his spine and into his hairline.
Chapter Five
Millie hurried as she put away the leftover food. She was tired of playing games with Levi Westland. He’d mentioned again his interest in marrying her. She needed to nip that line of thinking in the bud. He had no business even considering her as a future wife.
When the kitchen was straightened and all the food had been stored, Levi asked, “Ready?” He rolled his white sleeves back down.
Her gaze ran over the cleared buffet. “I believe so.” She led the way out to the front porch.
Levi held the door open for her. Again, Millie inhaled the sweet scent of fresh-cut wood. One of the reasons she’d answered Levi’s mail-order bride letters was because he’d written that he was a carpenter and enjoyed working with wood. Millie grinned at her own silliness, just because her father worked in a sawmill and worked in wood, she’d thought at the time her husband should, too.
He indicated for her to sit on the new hanging swing. Had he put it up this morning? She didn’t recall it being there yesterday. It swayed slightly as he sat also.
“Is this new?” Millie asked, feeling the smoothness of the arm of the swing.
His green eyes sparkled with pride. “It is. I’m hoping that our neighbors will see it and want one. Do you like it?”
Millie nodded. “It’s very comfortable.” She sat back and enjoyed the gentle rocking motion.
After several moments of comfortable silence, Levi cleared his throat. “I understand you have some questions for me? The others will be out soon.” He gently reminded her.
She turned on the seat so that she could look him in the eyes. “I do. Why do you keep insinuating you’d like to marry me when you know perfectly well I’ve changed my mind about marriage?”
He chuckled and cleared his throat. “Last night, I was teasing you. This morning, well, I’ll be honest, I was in an embarrassing position and wanted to get the attention off me with a little playful banter with you. It worked, too. Mrs. Englebright left the dining area without any more talk about mail-order brides.” He beamed a dimple-filled smile at her.
Frustration filled her. “Yes, she did, but did it ever occur to you that she might have taken you seriously and even now is plotting some form of matchmaking?”
He stared back at her with a blank expression.
Millie felt lost in the sea of green that was his eyes. They flashed with specks of yellow and hints of little-boy mischief and grown-man joy. Levi always seemed to be smiling or at least his eyes were.
She shook her head and turned her gaze from his. Eyes didn’t smile. What was wrong with her? If she didn’t watch it, next thing she knew she’d be fantasizing about his mouth and finding different meanings for his words. Like some silly girl whose head was full of romantic nonsense.
“No, but would that be so bad?”
She quickly cut her gaze back to him in disbelief. Was the man deaf? Hadn’t she just told him she didn’t want to get married?
He held up both hands in a show of surrender. “I’m not saying we have to get married. As long as Ma and everyone else assume we’re courting, they won’t be after me to choose one of the other brides.” Levi tilted his head as if saying, Think about it.
Millie stared at him. Did she understand him correctly? He wanted everyone to believe they were courting just so he wouldn’t have to deal with his mother and the other brides. Was that fair to the prospective brides? Was it fair to his mother? Could she seriously go along with his plan?
Levi turned on the bench and faced forward. “I’m not ready to get married, either, Millie. But I feel like I’m being forced to make decisions for my future that I don’t feel comfortable with. All I’m asking is that we be friends. If others read more than friendship into that, that is their business. I need time to figure out which bride I’m going to marry.” His voice sounded tired. She recognized the cause. She’d lived with it all her life: the inability to chart your own course in life because of an overbearing parent. She considered the pros and cons of his suggestion.
Being friends with Levi would be nice, and she could move around freely in the town under the umbrella of his protection. The bad part was, his mother seemed to be even more assertive than hers and Millie would have to endure even more contact with her. But who better than herself to deal with an aggressive mother, since she had vast years of experience?
She took a deep breath and offered, “I’m willing to be friends, Levi, but I don’t want to deliberately mislead others into thinking it is more than friendship. Agreed?”
His shoulders relaxed, and he turned his head back around to look at her. His eyes studied her with curious intensity. Finally, he let out a long and audible breath and said, “Agreed, and thank you.”
Millie offered him a gentle smile. “You’re welcome.” She smoothed the folds of her dr
ess over her lap. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
He regarded her with open amusement. “I’d say we’ve passed the need to ask before we speak of personal matters, but sure, ask anything you want.”
“Do you spend a lot of time here at the boardinghouse?” She picked at imaginary lint on her dress.
Was he secretly in love with Beth? Is that why he seemed to spend a lot of time there? Though she felt comfortable with him, she didn’t dare ask those questions.
He seemed to take a long time answering so she switched her gaze back to his face. Amusement danced in his eyes once more, and he said, “Since I live here and take my meals here, I suppose I do.”
“You live here?” Millie couldn’t have been more shocked. She’d thought he had a small house somewhere else in town. But now that she thought about it, Levi would have been foolish to live anywhere else. He owned the building and had a built-in maid and cook. It was no wonder he didn’t need or want a wife.
He pointed toward the roof. “Top floor. I converted it into my own private quarters when I purchased the building.”
“I see. When did you make it into a boardinghouse?” She turned to face him more fully. Levi was just the person she needed to talk to if she intended to start her own business.
“A little over a year ago, Beth and Mark entered my life. Beth was a godsend. She needed a job and place to stay and I needed someone to turn this place into a real business.” He grinned at her. “It was Beth’s idea to add the restaurant. We’ve agreed that if she should ever want to buy it, she can.”
So why didn’t Levi marry Beth? They seemed to get along well and were good business partners, according to him. “Why not ask Beth to marry you?” The question popped out of her mouth before she could stop it.
Levi laughed. “Beth is still in love with her late husband and she’s also about ten years older than me.”
Millie lowered her voice. Disbelief filled her voice. “She’s ten years older than you?”
His laughter filled the porch. “You just turned nineteen, didn’t you?”
Millie nodded.
“Then Beth must seem really old to you.”
She shook her head. “Twenty-one years isn’t that much older. It’s just that she just looks so young.” Millie prayed she’d look as young as Beth did now when she turned forty years old.
Levi leaned back against the seat. “That’s what comes from living a God-filled life. Sin ages a person, but clean living keeps us looking young.” He grinned across at her.
“One more question,” Millie said.
“All right.”
“If you live here, where were you going last night?” She studied his face.
Levi seemed to release pent-up air. “To the livery. I had to return the horses and buggy.”
Mark ran through the front door. “Are you ready to go, Mr. Levi?” he asked, coming to a stop in front of Levi.
He pushed his way up. “Sure am.”
Millie walked along with Beth and Mrs. Englebright as the men led the way to the church. It was a nice walk, and she enjoyed the women’s company. Millie’s gaze moved to Levi’s back. He walked between Mr. Lupin and Mark. The little boy kicked at stones along the way.
“We’d love for you to join our quilting bee, Millie. Some of us ladies meet on Thursday afternoon,” Mrs. Englebright offered as she readjusted her handbag.
“I wish I could, Mrs. Englebright, but I’ll be helping Beth in the restaurant starting tomorrow.” Millie hadn’t worked on a quilt since she’d left home. She and her mother had been active members of the quilting bee in Cottonwood Springs.
Millie wondered briefly if the ladies had finished the wedding ring quilt that Mrs. Miller had planned to give her husband’s niece. Millie pushed the thought aside. She didn’t want to become homesick today.
“That’s too bad. Maybe Beth would let you have a couple of hours off so you could come for a short visit.”
Beth answered, “I’m sure we can arrange something.”
Millie smiled at her boss. “Thank you.”
“Which quilt are you working on now?” Beth asked.
She hadn’t missed the longing in Beth’s voice. Millie realized that with the boardinghouse, the restaurant and Mark, Beth probably didn’t get to socialize very often.
“Right now we’re working on a log cabin Christmas quilt. We plan to raffle it off at the county fair this fall. The money will go to Dr. Bryant. During the winter, he doesn’t receive much in the way of payments.” Mrs. Englebright smiled at the two ladies. “Doesn’t that sound like a nice, Christian thing to do?”
“It sure does,” both women chimed and then laughed.
Millie watched a resigned look cross Beth’s features, and her sense of fairness kicked in. If the woman wanted to quilt then there had to be a way to make it happen. An idea came to her and she blurted it out. “You know, maybe you and I could take turns going to the quilting bee, Beth.” She didn’t give Beth time to respond. “Would that be all right with you, Mrs. Englebright?”
“What a wonderful idea, Millie. It’s fine by me and I’m sure it will be all right with the other ladies, too.” Mrs. Englebright beamed her pleasure.
Millie felt Beth’s hand squeeze hers. “That’s very kind of you to offer, Millie.”
It felt good to be accepted by others. Millie hadn’t realized how much she’d missed having friends. In Cottonwood Springs, she’d been a girl dealing with other girls. Here, Millie felt as if she were a grown woman being accepted by other women.
Would all of that change once her family found out where she was? Would she once more be thought of and treated as a child? A young girl who needed constant supervision and guidance? A shiver ran down her spine. She could not let that happen.
* * *
Levi followed Millie into the pew. He sat beside her but felt as if she were unaware of his existence. “Are you feeling all right?” he whispered in her ear.
Millie jumped. “I’m fine. I was just deep in thought.” She looked about the small church as if she wasn’t sure how she’d gotten there.
For a moment, he’d seen fear in her eyes. What did she have to fear? Protectiveness swelled inside his heart. He looked about the church for danger.
She clutched a small Bible in her hands. Her fingers trembled on its black cover.
Levi reached down and covered her hands with his. “You’re among friends here. You’ve nothing to fear.” He didn’t know if she would accept his comfort or not.
Millie offered him a soft smile. “Thank you.” She pulled her hands out from under his. “I’m fine now, really.”
Everyone stood for the first hymn. Levi joined her in song. Her voice sounded sweet and wholesome. She seemed more at ease, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Millie had been battling some inner turmoil.
He’d enjoyed their visit on the porch. In time, Levi was sure that he and Millie could become close friends. He cut his eyes in her direction as they sang. She grinned at him.
If he had to get married, he’d rather marry a friend than a stranger. Levi knew he could never give her his heart like a true husband. But maybe she’d consider a marriage of convenience.
For the rest of the service Levi tried to focus on the singing and the sermon. The soft scent of lavender teased at him every time Millie moved. She listened to the preacher and nodded in all the same places as he.
When the final amen was spoken, she turned to him and smiled, her eyes alight with pleasure. “I enjoyed my first church meeting in Granite.”
“I’m glad.” He looked over her head and saw two ladies elbowing each other. Levi couldn’t resist the urge to look at them and wink.
His grin faded as he saw his mother and the brides headed his way. Levi knew a lunch invitation was forthcoming even before she reached his side. He felt more than saw Millie move to leave. Acting on instinct, he grabbed her wrist and held fast.
Thankfully, Millie didn’t pull away. He slowly released h
er hand. Then he watched in wonder and disbelief as Millie stepped around him.
“Hello, Mrs. Westland. How are you doing, ladies?” she asked.
His mother titled her head and narrowed her eyes. “Miss Hamilton. It is good to see you in church this morning.”
“Thank you. I enjoyed the service. Did you ladies enjoy it, as well?”
Levi noted that Millie wasn’t giving his mother any quarter. Millie directed her gaze at the three mail-order brides. He felt a moment of pride in her actions. Not many men stood up to his mother, and yet here this slip of a girl was doing just that. Levi didn’t know why she did so, but he knew he liked it.
The three ladies agreed that the service was nice. Levi placed his hand in the small of Millie’s back and applied a gentle pressure. She moved forward as he’d anticipated.
Millie nodded to the ladies. “It was nice seeing you all again and I hate to rush off, but we are headed to the boardinghouse for lunch. Beth has made a wonderful stew and I’d hate for it to overcook. You are welcome to join us,” she invited even as she took a step away from them.
Bonnie Westland answered in a strained voice. “Thank you, but we prepared a picnic and I was hoping my son could join us.”
Levi opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a familiar voice. “Excuse me, Levi. I was wondering if you’ve finished my table. If so, Mr. Lewis and I would like to take it home with us.”
He had never been so happy to see Mrs. Lewis. He’d known she’d want her table today but hadn’t expected her to save him from lunching with his mother and the ladies. He gave her a large smile. “I finished it this morning. Give me a moment and then I’ll ride over with you and Mr. Lewis to the shop.”
“Bless you, Levi. I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me. I’ll just go get Mr. Lewis and we’ll meet you at our wagon.” She turned to retrieve her husband.
Relief filled Levi, as if he were a little boy who’d just been saved from a trip to the woodshed. He turned to his mother. “I’m sorry, Ma. I did promise to give them the table today.” He smiled at the brides. “Ladies, I’ll try to come out one day next week and have dinner with you all.”
His Chosen Bride (Love Inspired Historical) Page 6
