Moonlight on the Millpond (28 page)

“I did something last night that I shouldn't have,” Maddie said at the breakfast table, causing Doyle and Cathy to stop everything and look at her. “I waited until after dark and went out to the farm and spoke with Jace. He doesn't want to be with me any longer. I hope you didn't hear me go and worry about me, but I wanted you to know why Jace won't be coming around.”

“Did he say why, Maddie?” Doyle had to ask.

“He thinks I've been with David Scales,” Maddie said quietly. “Without even asking, he just accused me.” Maddie looked into her uncle's face and saw his poor color and the strain around his eyes. She knew this had to be the end of it. “I don't wish to speak of it anymore. We'll put it behind us, all right?”

“As you wish,” Doyle told her, wishing his breathing to be a little easier.

Cathy, who hadn't cried in years, wanted nothing more than to go someplace and cry her eyes out. She managed an understanding smile when Maddie looked her way, but in truth, she was in shock.

“I'll go to the store today,” Maddie offered, thinking it might rescue her.

“I'll check on you in a little while,” Cathy offered.

Maddie hadn't touched her breakfast, but her aunt and uncle said nothing about this. They sat quietly as she left for the store, their meals untouched as well.

“Will you talk to Jace?” Doyle asked his wife.

“I doubt he'll come in,” she said, and then shook her head. “Even if he did, I wouldn't want to speak to him.”

Doyle knew that Cathy could be very protective and wondered whether she would ever welcome Jace to the store again. Oh, she would wait on him, but she would also see him on his way as swiftly as she could.

And what will I do?
Doyle asked of himself.
One of these days
I'll be back over there. Will I wait on Jace and put this behind me?
Doyle didn't know the answer to that, but he suddenly knew why Maddie said they would put this all behind them. To do anything else would not be something they could survive.

The days and weeks that followed built something of a buffer around Maddie's heart. She worked in the store as usual but with little anticipation of anything save her uncle being well enough to come back to his old life. And it seemed that he would. He was stronger lately, as though the recent hurt had forced him not to sit around any longer and wait to be well.

Cathy wanted him to keep sitting, but by the end of July, one month after Maddie had confronted Jace, Doyle was coming over to the store two mornings a week and doing everything but climbing the stairs and lifting.

But that wasn't the only change. Jace and Woody no longer went to services. Indeed, the Shephards never saw Jace in town at all. When Woody needed something, he would come on his own, without explanation or any mention of his nephew. If he had feelings one way or the other concerning Jace and Maddie, there was no sign of it while he was in the store. He was affable and seemed in good health.

Had Jace still been social with the Shephards, he could have told them this was not always the case. It hadn't taken Woody very long to figure out that Eden had had a hand in Jace and Maddie's breakup. Woody had tried to point this out to his nephew, but Jace would only say that Maddie had all but admitted that she had been with David.

The older man finally gave up, but not for a few weeks. At that time Jace had blown his top, telling his uncle he would hear no more, and Woody had quieted. That Jace was miserable was very easy to see, but Woody had heeded Jace's warning and was keeping his mouth shut. He would not have done so if Eden had been in town, but once she'd stirred things up, she'd left and not been back.

Woody knew that letters still arrived from her, but he noticed that they lay on the desk for days or a week before Jace touched them. But that wasn't Woody's main concern. Jace had stopped caring about himself. The farm and mill were handled with an impeccable touch, but it had become the norm for Jace not to shave for several days or care if his hair was combed or cut. And come the weekend, he could be expected to arrive home very drunk on Saturday night.

When Woody was in to the store for something, he half-hoped that Cathy or Maddie would question him about Jace, but it never came up. Jace had obviously been the one to cut things off, and it would seem that Maddie—Cathy too—was doing her best to get over it.

If Maddie's smile wasn't as bright and her eyes seemed a little sad, Woody thought he might be the only one to notice such things. But notice them he did, and it was hard to see her. It bothered his heart no small amount. The peace he'd felt about leaving the farm and mill to Jace had only heightened when he pictured Maddie there as well. Now Woody watched Jace each day and knew that whatever Eden had said or done, it had left a hole in Jace's heart as well as his world.

Watching all of this, Woody's heart developed a hole too. But his situation was different. He did not have time on his side and feared his life would be over before any mending could begin.

“I'm going on a buying trip,” Doyle announced at the end of August. “I think it's time to get back on my feet, and that's how I'm going to start.”

Cathy stared at her husband but didn't speak. She wanted to object, but in truth he was doing very well.

“Cathy?” Doyle pressed her.

“I'll worry, Doyle, but I can see you're ready to do this.”

Doyle reached over and patted her hand before turning to Maddie. She was somewhat lost in thought but didn't take long to respond when her uncle's eyes turned to her.

“May I go with you?” she asked.

Doyle looked at her, clearly surprised.

“Go with me?” he questioned, having never thought of it.

“Yes. I'm sure you'll go to Boston, and I'd really like to. It's been a long time since I've seen the Nunleys, and I would enjoy it so much.”

Doyle nodded slowly, his eyes not meeting Cathy's.

“I think that would be all right, Maddie. It's really your decision to make.”

“Thank you, Doyle,” Maddie said, rising to take care of her dishes and then to head upstairs.

Husband and wife finally looked at each other. They had watched her hurt and struggle for the past few months, bearing up like a soldier in war, uncomplaining and never giving up. How could they deny her such a thing? The question echoed in both of their minds even as they knew that if she accompanied Doyle to Boston, she would not make the return journey.

Thirteen

Boston

“Maddie,” Paige said, having found her in the back hall. “Have you seen my dark blue coat?”

Paige hadn't really been looking at Maddie, and when she did, she found the other woman holding the garment out to her. Paige grinned.

“How did I find anything when you were gone?”

“According to your mother, you didn't.”

Paige's eyes rolled. “She was most unhappy with me at times.”

“Well, I'm here now.”

“Until we leave,” Paige put in.

“Oh, I'll still be here.” Maddie would not be drawn. “It's you who will be gone.”

“There's still time for you to come,” Paige invited.

Maddie didn't comment, but Paige had come to accept her silence. She was the same Maddie, but then she wasn't. Something had happened in Tucker Mills, something she wasn't talking about, something so serious that she didn't even want to accompany them on their trip. Mrs. Nunley had coaxed and pleaded, but Maddie was staying in Boston for the months they would be gone.

Nevertheless, Paige had devised a plan. They weren't scheduled to leave for two more months, and she hoped she might be able to talk Maddie around. Deep in her heart, however, she knew they would be sailing for Europe without their companion and friend.

“All right, Paige,” Maddie said, snapping the younger woman from her thoughts. “Head to the front door; your mother will be waiting.”

“Oh, that's right, but when I get back I have something to show you.”

“I'll be here,” Maddie assured her, smiling when Paige looked so pleased. She walked behind her to the foyer and saw her and the missus off, glad to have the house quiet again. For a long time she stood just inside the front door, her thoughts wandering.

Maddie's head tipped back as she took in the beautiful crown molding that stretched from the foyer into the rest of the downstairs. It really was a lovely home, and Maddie had been happy here, but she now wondered whether a change might be in order.

Paige would not be home for many more years. Maddie would not rush away before then, and she would want to give the missus a chance to adjust, but in a few years, Maddie thought, it might be time to move on. She knew not to where or what, but beautiful as it was, she didn't think she wanted to live in this house forever.

Thoughts of Jace filled her mind without warning. She had been planning to live in Tucker Mills forever, happy to do so, happy to wait for Jace to ask that question and then become his wife.

Maddie shook her head a little and told herself to get to work. There was no point in crying over something she couldn't have. It was over, and the sooner she realized that, the better it would be.

Tucker Mills

Jace was nearing the one-year mark. He'd come to the farm in the midst of the harvest last year, and now he was here to meet the harvest head-on. Woody had lots of tricks up his sleeve to make things more efficient and productive, but there was no getting around the hard work involved. The men put in long hours each day, their backs aching and sore, but satisfaction over the harvest and fruits of their labor dulled their fatigue.

But what pleased Jace the most was knowing that the mill waited. Repairs to the equipment and even to the building, if needed, to ready the mill for cutting boards in the late winter, would start as soon as the harvest was done. Jace enjoyed the farm work and even the animals, but he loved the mill. The mill had gotten into his blood in a surprising way.