He carried a book with him that covered the local wildlife and plants around the area. It had colorful drawings that Levi thought Millie might enjoy.
There were also a few chapters about mountain lions and other dangerous wildlife that he prayed she’d pay attention to. Levi wondered if he should mention that chapter or let her discover it on her own. Probably the latter would be best; he just prayed she’d heed his warning and stay out of the deeper part of the woods.
Millie looked up as he entered the room. He was surprised to see she had circles under her eyes as though she hadn’t slept all night. Had she stayed awake praying for him? A wobbly smile greeted him.
Beth welcomed him from her place at the table. “Good morning, Levi. Pancakes are on the sideboard.”
He noted that neither Mrs. Englebright nor Mr. Lupin had come down yet. “I hope you don’t mind if I grab something and run. I’m supposed to meet with a customer this morning and don’t have time to sit down.” He walked over to the table and laid the book beside Millie’s plate before heading to the sideboard. “I thought you might enjoy the drawings in this book, Millie. It also has some great information about this area.”
Millie picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “Thank you.”
Her voice sounded tired and bland to his ears.
“Can I look at your book after Miss Millie is done with it?” Mark asked.
“You sure can.” He scooped up a pancake and stuffed it with sausages. Then he asked, “Are you feeling all right, Millie?” Levi rolled the pancake up much like a burrito and then headed back to the table to hear her answer.
“I am feeling fine, just a little headache,” Millie answered, setting the book down and picking up her coffee.
“Millie, I have some powders that will ease your head. I’ll go get them for you.” Beth stood and laid down her napkin on the table.
“You don’t have to get them right now, Beth,” Millie protested.
Beth waved her words away. “Nonsense, it won’t take a moment. Mark, you behave yourself while I’m gone.” She gave her son a stern look and then left the room.
“I hope you get to feeling better, Millie,” Levi offered as he walked to the door. He really hated to leave but had no real reason to stay. Millie was in good hands with Beth.
“Thank you, I’m sure I will.”
Levi left the house. What was it about Millicent Hamilton that made him feel so protective around her? He’d wanted to tell her to go back to bed after she took the powders Beth offered but didn’t want her to think he was bossing her around again.
He chewed his breakfast and wished he’d taken the time to fill a coffee mug before leaving. His thoughts turned to Millie. What would she do after taking the powders? Go back to her room and rest? Or would she head to the woods to sketch?
* * *
Millie took the medicine that Beth brought her for her headache and then carried Levi’s book up to her room to look at later. She put on her cape before picking up her sketch pad and the apple pie.
“Are you sure you feel like taking the pie to Carolyn this morning?” Beth asked as she cleared the table.
It was nice having someone care about her, and Millie was glad she and Beth were becoming fast friends. “I’m sure. It’s just a headache, I expect it will be gone by the time I get back.” She smiled at Mark. “Want to go to the general store with me before you head off to school?”
“Can I, Ma?”
Beth smiled. “Only if you promise to be good.”
“I promise. I’ll go get my stuff, Miss Millie.” He ran from the room with a happy smile on his face.
Millie looked to Mrs. Englebright. “Do you need anything from the store?”
“Would you mind picking up a spool of the blue thread?”
Mrs. Englebright had been making quilt squares using mainly blues and greens. Millie enjoyed watching her sew in the evenings. “Not at all. Do you want me to take a string so I’ll get the right shade of blue?”
“No, just tell Carolyn it’s for me. She’ll know which one to give you. Tell her to put it on my account.”
Mark ran back into the room. He slid across the floor and stopped right in front of Millie. “I’m ready.”
Beth placed both hands on her hips and demanded, “Mark Winters! What have I told you about running in the house?”
He bowed his head. “Not to.”
“That’s right. If you want a puppy this summer, you better mind your p’s and q’s around here.”
At the mention of a puppy, Mark’s head came up. “I will remember, I promise. No more running in the house.”
“Good.” Beth came over and gave him a hug. “You have fun at school today.”
He placed his hands on the sides of her face. “I will.”
Beth pulled his hands down and kissed the backs of them. Then she stood and handed him his lunch pail. “Thanks again, Millie.”
Millie nodded. She followed Mark out the door and wondered what it would be like to have such a sweet little boy. Since she’d decided to become a spinster, Millie knew she’d never know. Sadness shrouded her much like her cloak.
Mark skipped ahead for a few minutes, leaving her with her sorrow-filled thoughts. When he returned, he asked, “Miss Millie, are you going to marry Mr. Levi?”
“No.”
He twisted his face and said, “Why not?”
How did you explain life to a six-year-old? Mark’s mother was nothing like hers. He wouldn’t understand her desire to be free from bossiness and manipulation. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Oh.” He skipped off again.
She could tell he was thinking about her answer. Millie didn’t think Mark would grow up to be bossy or manipulative. He wasn’t being raised that way, but Levi—well, Levi’s mother was proving that she was both.
“Ya know what, Miss Millie?”
“What?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking and I think you should marry Mr. Levi. He’s real nice and he likes you. I can tell.” Mark’s young voice carried, and two women sharing the sidewalk with them smiled in her direction.
Millie bent down in front of Mark. “I tell you what, Mark. If you stop talking about marrying me off to Levi, I’ll buy you a lemon drop.”
His little head bobbed, and the gap in his teeth shone. “All right, but you really should think more about it.” With that, he opened the door to the general store and hurried inside.
The two ladies laughed. Just as the door closed behind Millie, she heard one of them say, “Out of the mouths of babes.”
Millie gave Carolyn the pie and bought Mark’s candy and Mrs. Englebright’s thread. She was about to leave when Carolyn said, “Oh, I ordered a couple of sketch pads and some watercolors. I’m pretty sure they are in one of those boxes in the back. If you want to come in tomorrow morning, I’ll show them to you and return Beth’s pie plate.”
Millie’s heart skipped a beat. She’d wanted to play with watercolors for some time but never had the chance. “Do you think about mid-morning would be a good time to stop in?”
“That will be perfect. Maybe we could have a cup of tea, too.”
“I’d like that. Thank you, Carolyn.” Millie waved and then closed the door behind her.
Mark had seen a toy windup car in the store he’d like to have for his birthday and chattered nonstop about it until they reached the school. She waved goodbye to him and then returned to the boardinghouse.
After giving Mrs. Englebright her thread, Millie excused herself. She went to her room and sat down beside the open window. With her trip to the store and school, she really didn’t have time to go to the woods to sketch. The light breeze helped to soothe her head.
Mark’s words drifted through her mind. He’s real nice and he likes you. Yes, Levi seemed very nice and he did like her, but as a friend. She rubbed her temples. And friendship was all they would have, Millie told herself.
Especially now that Susanna was in town, Millie expe
cted Levi to spend more time with the mail-order bride. Susanna had made it very plain that she wanted to be more than friends with Levi. Susanna wanted to be his wife.
Millie laid her head down on the table and closed her eyes. After several long minutes, a vision of a little boy with brown hair and green eyes entered her mind. She could see him holding both her and Levi’s hands. He swung between them and looked up with at her with laughter in his eyes. Eyes that were grass-green and looked just like Levi’s.
She awoke with a jerk. Had the headache powders put her to sleep? And what about the dream? Was she secretly harboring dreams of life with Levi and having a family with him?
* * *
Millie continued to plague Levi’s thoughts even after Mr. Monroe came to the shop, ordered a porch swing like the one at the boardinghouse and left. Levi looked about his shop. He had lots of work to do today but decided he would rather check on Millie.
At nine-thirty, he turned the open sign to closed, and left another sign, handwritten, under it that said, Be Back At Ten. Levi realized as he headed to the boardinghouse that if Millie was in her room, he couldn’t just knock on her door and ask how she was feeling. He might wake her. He slowed his footsteps.
Maybe she’d gone to the woods to draw. Levi turned and headed to the spot where he’d found her the day before. If she wasn’t there, he’d assume she’d stayed home.
Home. The word stuck in his mind. What would it be like once he married? He wouldn’t be able to stay at the boardinghouse. His new bride would more than likely want her own house. Levi frowned. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? As far as he knew, there weren’t any houses in Granite for sale. He’d have to build one.
He arrived at the big boulder but didn’t see Millie on the edge of the woods. Levi walked within the canopy of trees, thinking she might have decided to ignore his warning and gone to the log where he’d found her before.
Levi was both disappointed and relieved when he saw that she wasn’t there. He’d wanted to talk to her about his house situation. As crazy as it sounded, he realized he was beginning to depend on Millie.
When she wasn’t as prickly as a cactus, Millie was easy to talk to and smart when it came to dealing with the other brides and his mother, and he liked the way she reasoned things out in her mind. Levi knew he could never fall in love with her, but he already felt a bond growing between them.
Did she feel the same way toward him? What would Millie have thought if he had found her this morning and asked what kind of house he should build? Once more the thought came to him that he should offer her a marriage of convenience, but would she accept?
Chapter Nine
By the time Levi arrived back at the boardinghouse it was late in the evening. He had gotten so busy at the shop that he’d missed lunch and ended up having dinner at The Eating House with another customer. It irritated him that his thoughts were never far from Millie and how she might be feeling.
He heard muffled voices on the front porch as he approached. The sun was fading in the sky and shadows covered the two people sitting on the swing. As Levi got closer, he recognized Mark’s young voice.
“What do you think of my dog?” the little boy asked.
Millie answered, “I think he is coming along well. You still need to work on making your marks just a little lighter so you can correct anything about him that you don’t like.”
Levi quietly stepped up onto the porch. Millie and Mark’s heads were together as they studied the paper in Mark’s lap.
“It’s getting hard to see out here,” Mark commented.
When he looked up, Mark said, “Oh, hi, Mr. Levi.”
“Good evening, Mark, Millie.” Levi walked across the porch and sat down beside the little boy. He leaned forward and studied Mark’s picture. “Hey, that’s pretty good.”
Mark’s face lit up. “Thanks. Miss Millie’s been teaching me.” He looked down at the picture once more. “I hope Ma will like it.”
Levi wondered where Beth was, but didn’t ask. “I’m sure she will.”
The screen door creaked. “Mark, time to get ready for bed.” Beth motioned for the little boy to join her inside.
“Ma. Look what Miss Millie taught me.” Mark jumped off the swing and waved the paper up at her.
Beth took his drawing and studied it. “That’s very good, Mark. I like it.” She handed it back to him. “Go put your night clothes on. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Dejection filled his young voice. “Can’t I stay up just a little longer and work on my dog?” He held the paper up for her to see again.
Beth looked down on him like only a mother could and answered in a firm voice. “No. Now off to bed with you.”
“All right. ’Night, Miss Millie. ’Night, Mr. Levi.” Mark walked around his mother with his head down.
As soon as he was in the house, all three adults chuckled. “He sure is growing,” Levi said.
“He sure is.” Beth smiled at Levi and said, “You must have had a busy day at the shop. I don’t think I’ve seen you since breakfast.”
He leaned back on the swing. “Very busy. I didn’t know there for a while if I was coming or going. Things should slow down a little now, though. I hired Amos to help out around the store and to do the odd jobs that I have been doing, like delivering your supplies on Tuesday mornings.”
“That is an excellent idea. His ma and sisters could use the extra money.” Beth wiped her hands on her apron and then asked, “Have you had supper?”
“I ate at The Eating House.”
She nodded. “I better get in there. There is no telling what that boy is doing.” Beth returned inside.
The swing swayed gently as Millie stood. “I need to be going, too.”
“That’s too bad. I’d hoped I could talk to you about something.”
Her skirts brushed the top of his boots. “Oh?” She stood in front of him, waiting. “Does it have anything to do with Mrs. Marsh? Did she ask you to take her back to the ranch?”
Levi liked the fact that she was interested in what Susanna Marsh was up to. “No, I didn’t see her all day.”
“Don’t you think that is odd?” Millie asked.
Now that she mentioned it, it did seem strange that the mail-order bride hadn’t searched him out all day. “Maybe she was busy doing something else,” he offered.
“Maybe.” Millie looked out across the front yard. After several minutes, she turned back to him. “If you didn’t want to talk about Susanna, what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.
He’d meant to ask her about the house, but then felt strange about it so he said instead, “Daniel’s birthday is in less than two weeks and I have something in mind that I want to give him, but I need your help.”
She tilted her head sideways and studied his face. “If I can help, I will.”
Levi sat up straight. “Please sit back down. I promise I won’t keep you long.” He patted the seat of the bench.
Millie moved back to her spot and sat down. He noted that she’d moved as close to the opposite arm of the swing as possible. Surely, she wasn’t afraid of him. So why sit so far away?
There was an edge to her voice when she spoke that caused him to think that she might have perceived his request as bossing her around. “All right, I’m sitting. What do you need me to do?”
He pressed on before she changed her mind. “I want to do an art piece for him using wood.”
Millie seemed to have forgotten her anger and leaned toward him. Her eyes sparkled in the lingering light as she asked, “What kind of art piece?”
“When we were kids, Daniel and I were in Austin once and a gentleman traveling through was selling goods out of the back of his wagon. He had a horse head in a nice wooden picture frame. Daniel loved it but the man wanted way more money than either of us could afford at the time. I’ve always wanted to duplicate it for Daniel.”
Horror filled Millie’s face. She pulled back and rested a hand on her chest.
“A real horse head? Levi, that’s disgusting.”
Levi chuckled. “No, silly. Not a real horse head. It was a wooden one, only flat like a drawing.”
Her hand dropped, and a smile crept across her face. “Oh, well, thank goodness it wasn’t real. So what do you want me to do?”
“Well, I thought if you could sketch a horse’s head, maybe I could use it as a template and recreate what we saw all those years ago.” He laid his arm across the back of the swing and leaned toward her and whispered, “Of course, I’d have to swear you to secrecy until after his birthday.”
She leaned forward and whispered back, “I think I can keep your secret.” A giggle slipped from her, and he laughed.
“Good.” Levi stared into her pretty blue eyes. Her face was mere inches from his. His gaze moved to her lips.
Millie pulled back. “Levi, I have to admit I’m not sure I can make a good horse’s head, but I’ll try.” She pushed up from the swing once more. “I really should be getting back inside.”
He didn’t know why, but Levi wasn’t ready to let her go. Levi stood and grabbed her hand, stopping her from walking away. “I hope I wasn’t too forward in asking you to sit earlier. I only did so because my neck is sore from bending it most of the day.”
She turned and looked down at their clasped hands. “It’s all right. I’m trying to learn that not everything you say is meant to control me.” Millie pulled her hand from his and opened the door. “I’ll try to get the sketch to you in a couple of days. Good night, Levi.”
And then she was gone. He sat back down on the swing. What had gotten into him? He’d almost kissed her.
* * *
Millie couldn’t sleep. She tossed the covers back and lit the lamp. Her emotions were running too high tonight.
Spending time with Levi on the porch, she’d discovered that she really liked him, even considered him a friend. Until they’d been nose to nose. It was at that point her emotions had begun to act crazy. She felt sure he’d intended to kiss her and that both excited and scared her.
His Chosen Bride (Love Inspired Historical) Page 10
