“I baked cookies this morning. Jacob is too young to assist, but he did encourage me by sniffing the air and rubbing his belly.”
“I suppose a boy’s place is not in the kitchen, anyway, although I do recall the cook continually shoving Daniel from the kitchen in his early years. He, too, appreciated the smells generating from the oven.”
“Ah, then it runs in the family,” Gwen said. “Good to know.” She placed a teacup and saucer in front of the lady, brought a plate of cookies to the table, sat beside Jake and smiled. “Thank you for coming.”
“I almost didn’t. Daniel stopped by this morning to announce that he was off to do his duty with the woman he’d spurned, and I am quite upset about his misguided sense of justice. Men do all sorts of inappropriate things that women have accepted as the norm.”
“Perhaps in the past, but apparently not so in a gentleman’s heart of the new day. Possibly Daniel feels that Shannon did not accept his rejection as the norm, and now needs to settle the issue.”
“Fiddle-de-dee—the woman needs to face the real world.”
“I beg to disagree,” Gwen said. “When your husband repented of what was considered the norm in days-gone-by—what had been a part of the real world in which you all lived—he became a different man, eager to love his wife and family. So, as much as I hate to see Daniel pursue this wild-goose chase, I am very proud of his conviction and strength of character.”
“I must admit, I am enjoying my new man,” said Mrs. McAlister. “My husband believes you care for our son.”
“I do. He has been my patient…”
“That is not what I meant,” Mrs. McAlister said. “You have a romantic interest in Daniel, yes?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. He will return with Jacob’s mother, and I will leave, as it should be.”
“Oh, no. You’d ruin all my plans, and for once in my life, my husband is listening to me as if I had a head on my shoulders worthy of offering advice.”
Jake chose that moment to applaud, not because he understood his grandmother’s newfound joy, but because he was lost in the moment, smearing the chocolaty mass of cookie over his face.
The women laughed, and Gwen retrieved a damp cloth to wipe the boy’s face.
“We are working on his manners,” Gwen explained.
“He is a baby,” Mrs. McAlister said, “but thank you for persevering in the etiquette department. I mean, should the boy ever come to the big house for a meal, we would be most grateful for his good behavior.”
“Perhaps you should start picking out a nanny from your staff to further his education after I leave.”
“There you go, talking of leaving again.” Mrs. McAlister seemed irritated. “My husband and I would like to offer you another position on the plantation, one that would allow you to use your nursing skills.”
Although Gwen was not interested, she encouraged the woman to continue. The idea seemed to be her first step into independence, and Gwen hated to quench it before hearing her through to the end.
“I’m listening.”
“Things are evolving on the plantation. We’ve had to downscale our cotton production and are dabbling in other, more urgent crops that will help feed many families who are struggling. And now it appears our son has this idea about full-scale forestry and mill production to help rebuild our country. Heaven knows we have been blessed with thousands of acres of timber,” she paused and took a breath, “which means we will need many more employees in the very near future, and with them will come families that may require simple medical attention that a nurse with your skills could provide. We would like to set up the spare room in the cottage here as a mini-hospital of sorts. The doctor services a large territory and is often not available when workers make the trip to town with cuts and minor ailments. We are confident you would know your limitations, and would set up regular times for the traveling medicine man to stop by to see your more difficult cases.”
Gwen could not stop her heart from doing flip-flops. The idea of her own clinic for this mini-community excited her. She attempted to remember her resolution to leave and responded calmly. “You have given much thought to this plan.”
“Oh, I have, and Mr. McAlister is one-hundred percent behind me. Please, say you will consider our proposal. We shall pay you handsomely.”
Gwen smiled at the excitement in the woman’s face. She was ecstatic, and the lady had known so little encouragement from men in her lifetime that Gwen could not burst her bubble entirely. “I suppose we could see how it all plays out if the people here would feel confident in coming to me, but I won’t promise to stay when your son returns.” Gwen could not push back the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes.
“I am sorry,” Mrs. McAlister said. “He loves you—you know that, right?”
“All the more reason for me to be gone. I will not be the other woman and hinder their happiness. He deserves everything good that life has to offer.”
“I hope and pray the boy’s mother is happily married and with child,” Mrs. McAlister said. “You and my son deserve each other, especially you after the grief that boy has put you through since coming to Kentucky.”
“Enough about me,” Gwen said, moving to the chair to pick up Jake. “You are here to see your grandson. Let’s go into the parlor.”
For the next hour, the three played with blocks of wood, drew unrecognizable pictures on paper, and laughed at the child’s antics.
Mrs. McAlister fell back against the settee. “How ever do you manage the
