“Thank you.” She ducked her head. “So do you.”
Celia’s sister sighed loudly from behind the counter.
Jack swallowed every reason he had to run back to the depot and extended an arm to Celia. He was creating a new life here. It was time to put his old self to rest. The new Jack Wendler would be a family man. He would run a simple business with no wild ideas and come home each night to a lovely wife.
“Mrs. Thornton, would you care to accompany me to church to be wed?” He used an overly formal voice, hoping to put both himself and Celia at ease.
She giggled and took his arm. “I will.”
And without a backward glance at her sister’s disapproving expression as she followed them out the door, they headed to the church.
Chapter Six
Celia woke early the next morning in Faith’s house in town. Her sister must have already arisen, because Celia was alone in the bedroom. She stretched and thought back to the prior evening. After an awkward marriage ceremony that lasted much longer than it should have, with Pastor Collins intoning for far too many minutes about God’s plans for them and the righteousness of marriage, it was too late to drive out to the farm. Celia was secretly relieved. Being alone with Jack was slightly terrifying, as nice as he was. Not to mention that it avoided any awkward discussion about where Jack would sleep, since his only option here was the settee in the room that served as both Faith’s parlor and the post and telegraph office.
Celia washed and dressed before making her way to Faith’s kitchen, where her sister had already cooked a small breakfast. Food was in shortage all over town and at most of the farms, given the hot, dry summer and then the blizzards that had killed what was left to be harvested. Heather Barnes had led the effort to save the meat from the livestock that had frozen in the blizzard, but even that was beginning to run low, given that everyone in town had been dependent on it. Ned had thankfully already harvested a small amount of vegetables, some of which Celia had brought to Faith, and butchered their hog before his death. And thankfully, she still had the cow and calf she’d brought to town with her when she came to stay with Faith, but there wasn’t much else either here or at home.
Faith had scrounged up a few eggs, likely purchased from some lucky soul whose chickens had survived, and she served these now with a few small potatoes and no meat. Jack emerged from the parlor barely a moment after Celia arrived. She couldn’t help smiling at her new husband. He certainly was handsome with his dark hair neatly combed and his strong jaw. But good looks only went so far, as she’d quickly learned with Ned. Jack was certainly more amiable than her first husband, however. She prayed he’d continue to enjoy her company. Surely God wouldn’t give her the burden of an uncaring husband more than once, would he?
“Good morning, Mrs. Wendler,” he said, smiling at her.
Celia immediately went warm from head to toe. That smile would be her undoing, she was certain of it. “Good morning,” she said in return.
“This looks awfully good, Mrs. Thornton,” Jack said, spearing a potato on a fork.
He was thoughtful enough not to mention the small amount of food or the lack of meat, and Celia was grateful for that. She made a note to bring her sister some of the salt pork she had set aside for winter. Faith thanked him, and they ate mostly in silence.
When they finished, Faith shooed them out of the kitchen while she cleaned up.
“We’ll need to stop by the livery,” Celia said, setting the small bag of clothing she’d brought to town with her on one of the chairs in the front room. “I have only the one horse, which I rode into town. The other perished with Ned.”
“You had two horses?” Jack raised his eyebrows, as if this impressed him.
“Yes, two are a necessity.” Celia couldn’t imagine plowing the fields with only one horse. It might have worked, but the single horse would have tired quickly. She tried not to think about how they’d need to replace the missing horse before spring.
Jack still looked confused, but instead of asking whatever question was on his mind, he took up both of their cases and held the door open for her. They made the short walk to the livery and collected the livestock from Becca Collingsworth, who had been living and helping at the livery since the blizzards.
“I didn’t expect a cow and . . . a baby cow,” Jack said when she emerged with the animals.
Celia laughed. “She’s a calf. Her name is Freda. And the cow is Mrs. Hewlett.”
“Are you sure you want to bring them home?” He scrunched up his eyebrows as if he couldn’t imagine what she’d do with them.
“Of course. We’ll need them for milk and butter.” She petted Mrs. Hewlett’s soft nose. “Mr. McFarland was kind enough to keep them for me while I stayed with Faith. He didn’t charge me, just offered to take some of the milk as payment.”
Jack gave the cow a puzzled look, as if he’d never seen such a thing before. And perhaps he hadn’t, living in the city. Finally, he said, “Why don’t you ride and I’ll lead the cow and calf?”
“Are you certain?” Celia asked. She clamped her mouth shut before she suggested they share the horse. It was a long way to the farm, not impossible to walk, but much more feasible on horseback. She tried to imagine sitting so close to Jack in the saddle. She clenched her gloved hands together to try
