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Authors: Peggy Trotter

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Year of Jubilee (7 page)

BOOK: Year of Jubilee
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“Mornin’,” He removed his hat and hung it on
the peg near the window.

The table was a simple trestle with two
bench seats on either side. Rafe chose the one against the wall in
front of the only glass pane. Jubilee fidgeted nervously by the
stove.

“Okay if I sit here?” He gestured.

She nodded and shrugged one shoulder. The
man owned the place yet asked her where to sit. She snatched up a
fork, a knife, and a clean cloth napkin to lay them on the table
close to the lone plate.

He sat and stared at her. “Is this my plate
or yours?”

She cleared her throat. “Yours.”

He glanced around the table before spreading
his search to the kitchen area. “Where’s yours?”

“I…thought I’d eat later. This way I can get
you anything you need and such…” She gnawed her lip and looked away
from him, but not before she caught the half-smile that crossed
Rafe’s face.

“So you’re just gonna stand and fetch while
I eat?”

Jubilee made the mistake of letting her gaze
wander back to his. There he sat with that quirky grin, eyebrows
lifted, humor lighting his eyes.

“I…”

And she could think of nothing, absolutely
nothing to say. All she could concentrate on was the way the early
morning sunlight lit the blond highlights in his hair.
Holy
moley
.

* * *

Rafe shook his head. If the woman thought
she’d pretend to be his servant, she had another thing coming. He
stood, retrieved a plate from the shelf, and laid it directly
opposite of his. He collected a fork, knife, and napkin, and
arranged them next to the empty dish. He went to the stove and
picked up another egg.

“What are you doing?” Her question came in a
rush.

He turned to face her, still gripping the
oval shell.

“Jubilee, I’m not gonna eat alone while you
wait on me hand and foot like some lowly servant. Let’s both sit
down and have breakfast. It’ll be a great time for us to discuss
business. We’re partners on this farm and we’ve got to work
together to make a go.”

With that he stepped up to the stove and
cracked the egg into the pan, and it immediately began to
sizzle.

* * *

He could fry an egg? She stared, opening her
mouth in disbelief as he scooped it out and plopped the finished
product onto her plate. She’d never seen a man cook. He held out
his hand toward the bench, indicating she should sit. She did so,
eyeing him the whole time. He immediately bowed and said a simple
prayer of thanks so quick Jubilee hadn’t even collected her wits
enough to bow her head. Then he peered at her, eye to eye. He
seemed very close.

“I’ll switch ya eggs if you don’t like my
cooking.” A rumble echoed from his chest as he laughed at his own
joke.

Jubilee’s hands sweated. She wiped them on
her skirt. “No, this is fine.”

“Could you pass the biscuits?” he asked.

Jubilee reached for the basket and
remembered some were overdone. Perhaps by chance he’d reach in and
get a good one. As luck would have it, a black-bottom one filled
his hand. She held her breath. He picked up the knife and sliced
the biscuit in half. The utensil clattered to the table and banged
on the bench beside him before clanging across the floor.

* * *

Jubilee’s reaction to his accidental
dropping of the knife reminded Rafe of a small, crisp leaf whipped
by a rush of wind. She leaped up, literally jumped over the bench,
and knocked it to the floor. In a flurry of skirts, she darted
across the room. He barely had time to stand before she hovered at
the back door, shaking like a frightened rabbit.

“Jubilee? What’s going on?”

She shook her head vigorously. “I didn’t
mean to burn them. It was…an accident. I’ll be more…careful next
time, I promise. I think I had the stove too hot or…”

Rafe slowly stepped towards her, and she
flinched. Her eyes were huge, muddied pools.

“Jubilee, listen to me. I accidentally
dropped the knife. I’m not mad about the biscuits. They’re fine.
I’ll just cut off the bottom. My sister Sarah used to do this every
time she made bread. Trust me. No big deal.”

She continued to hover at the back door, her
fingers worrying her skirt in a circle.

“Please come and sit down.” When she
hesitated, he returned to his bench and eased his body down. He
couldn’t feel less like eating now, but he’d stuff this food in his
mouth nonetheless, to show her everything was fine.

He retrieved the knife, wiped it clean, and
quickly severed off the charred section of the biscuit, then
buttered the cut side. After a bite, he tried to chew, ignoring the
awful tumble in his stomach at her violent reaction. Somewhere
along the way she’d learned physical punishment accompanied burnt
food. Stoically, he forked a wad of egg into his mouth and waited
for her to return to the table. She did, and even sat down.

Jubilee picked up the fork and poked at the
meal without actually eating. Her head stayed down.

Rafe tempered his next words with an extra
soft tone. “Remember what I promised you before we got
married?”

“Yes.”

He took a deep breath. “I’m not going to
break that promise.”

Rafe stared at the top of her head,
waiting.

“Jubilee. Look at me.”

She raised her head and met his eyes.

“Whether you burn the biscuits, or drop a
dozen plates, or destroy the garden, I’m not gonna hurt you.
Understand?”

Her head bobbed.

“Do you believe me?”

He took in her perplexed face, her eyes
glistening with tears. Finally she gave that one-shouldered
shrug.

Rafe placed his hands on either side of his
plate and leaned forward. “Jubilee, you can take my oath to the
bank because whether you trust me or not, I’m gonna keep it like I
said.”

And with that he rose, excused himself, and
left the cabin.

* * *

Anger drove Rafe to work harder than ever,
and planting the last field didn’t take long to finish. Oh, what he
wouldn’t do to Colvin if that dag-burned idiot hadn’t gone and got
himself killed. She was no bigger than a child. The scene at the
table repeated through his mind, ending with her at the back door,
arm up to fend off blows. And her eyes, her huge, pleading eyes.
The incident made him sick.

Finally, he threw himself on the new grass
that ran along the fencerow. Shielding his face from the sun, he
prayed.
Oh, God, let Jubilee heal. Help her forget the meanness
and be able to forgive.

He groaned, but a peace entered him, and he
realized it was the first time he’d really prayed since he’d lost
Rosemary. He sat up. Praying hadn’t felt awkward. He hadn’t
double-thought the process or anything. The prayer had just come as
natural as his prayers had before he’d been jilted. He sighed.
I’m sorry God. I shouldn’t have quit praying.

He recalled Pastor Barnett and how he’d
promised they’d try to attend the morning service. Here, some four
weeks later, they’d never once darkened the church door. Rafe bowed
his head and rubbed his hot neck. Maybe now was time to keep his
promise, not only to Pastor Barnett, but to God.

* * *

Jubilee was in a jumble. She was an idiot.
An idiot. Why did she leap across the room for such a simple thing
as a knife dropping to the floor? She swallowed around the lump in
her throat as the tears filled her eyes. Why, if she burned the
biscuits when Colvin had been home, she’d left his meal and
disappeared into the woods until he was gone. But this wasn’t
Colvin. This huge man who now occupied a place at the table was
hard to read.

Rafe was quiet. He was calm. Or at least he
appeared to be. Jubilee knew only time would prove whether he
really possessed these qualities. He seemed honest, he even
appeared…godly. If only he weren’t so large. If he decided to, he
could tear her apart. And that was, plain and simple, why she had
such a difficult time letting go of her fear.

She took a shaky breath and scrubbed the
frying pan harder.
Trust
. The words entered her mind like a
wisp. Her movements ceased. Had this been her own thought? She
shook her head. It didn’t matter. Trusting Rafe might have
dangerous results.
Help me trust, Lord, if he is worthy. If he
is not, Lord, keep me safe.

* * *

“Church?” The word came out of her mouth as
a squeak and brought Rafe to a stop in the middle of his sentence.
They sat across from each other, having a delicious, stilted
dinner. Then he’d dropped his idea of going to the morning
service.

“Do you not want to?” he asked.

She blinked. Of course she wanted to go.
She’d yearned to attend since coming to this lonely cabin with
Colvin two years before, but he wouldn’t even discuss the
possibility.

“I…”

Dared she tell the absolute truth? Surviving
the Orphan Society, being bound out to Mrs. Galston, as well as
life with Colvin, had taught her to filter her answers to reflect
what the hearer wanted. Examining his friendly, warm expression,
she decided to take a chance. Warmth spread up her neck.

“I’d love to go.”

A grin broke across his face and Jubilee
caught her breath. She flicked her gaze to her plate.

“Excellent. I’d hoped you’d want to. I
promised Pastor Barnett, after all, and I remembered the other day
we hadn’t been yet.”

She contemplated the new shirt she’d
finished for him. The garment was burgundy and would look fine for
church if he had no other. She’d make sure she gave it to him
before he took his leave tonight. Her thoughts came to a halt as he
continued to speak.

“Uh, I’ve also got some more news.”

She gazed at him. His face had lost its
carefree grin and had now been replaced by a puckered brow.

“I received a letter from my family,” He
took a drink of water before his eyes came back to hers. “They’re
inviting us to come so they can meet you.”

Jubilee’s stomach practically hit the floor.
She clutched the table edge and looked down. Had this plate
contained tasty food? Because, right now, the meal looked awful.
Her hand worried her skirt and, when she didn’t reply, he
continued.

“I thought the best time to go would be in
the next couple of months while the crops are growing. I can get
one of the neighbors to take care of the animals. Perhaps one of
the boys could weed the garden. We’ll go by steamboat up the Ohio.
It’s a long haul in a wagon.”

His voice was so calm and quiet. Yet a
buzzing began in her head. Visiting family? People who’d believe
they were just any ordinary couple? An actual family? What did one
do with kin? How in the world would she cope in a house full of
strangers?

“Should I go ahead and get the tickets?”

She tried to wrap her brain around the
matter. Had he asked a question?

“Jubilee?”

She jerked her head up.

“I’d really like for us to go and visit my
family. Is it okay?”

She could do nothing but echo his last
words. “Is it okay? I…you’re asking me?” A little bit of her fear
turned to surprise.

He nodded. “I know we’re business partners
in this farm, but we need to work and make decisions together.
Please feel free to tell me what you want. In a lot of ways, we
really are a married couple like other people see us. We oughta get
along and have happy lives. This is a big decision, and I aim for
you to have your say.”

* * *

Rafe watched her face go from fear to
confusion to surprise. The poor girl had no idea how transparent
her emotions were most of the time. Teasingly, he gave a small
smile to take away the seriousness of the moment and watched as a
pink blush covered her cheeks before she lowered her head.

Maybe she needed a spell to think on it.
“You can decide over the next couple of days and let me know on the
drive to church. That sound okay?”

She nodded but didn’t lift her chin again.
Rafe’s smile grew as he excused himself and went whistling out the
door.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Next day, after breakfast, Rafe whistled
again as he headed for the garden shed to collect implements. He
stopped dead when his eyes caught Jubilee, bent over, sticking
seeds in a long furrow. The shovel, rake and hoe lay next to two
bushel baskets full of seed.

“Well, I guess this is one way to know where
everything is.” He ran his eye over the patch. “Is this the corn?”
He indicated the mounds running east to west on the north side.

At her nod he smiled. “Good thinking. Don’t
want to shade the rest of the garden. What’s here?”

“Cucumbers.”

“That’s a good use of the space around the
corn. Now what?” He walked down the row toward her as she started
the green beans. “Give me a handful and we’ll work two rows
together.”

The beans went in quick, and they started a
row of squash. Rafe grabbed the seed potatoes from the bushel
basket and cut them into fours with his knife, leaving an eye in
each piece.

“Shoulda got these potatoes in earlier.” He
grunted and shook his head as he placed several potato chunks in
each dirt hole. “Guess we’ll have to remember for next year.”

Next year. Shoveling the dirt to fill the
hole, he wondered.
Will I be planting with Jubilee again next
spring?
“Seems you’re experienced in garden layout. You’ve done
a fine job.”

Jubilee stood up, and Rafe could sense her
assessing him.

“I guess you’ve done this before?” He was
determined to get an answer from her.

“Yes.”

That one word contained loads of
information. “Colvin teach you?”

“No.”

Rafe smiled to himself as her blunt answer
spoke volumes. “You must’ve been educated at the orphan’s home,
then.”

“Some.”

He dug a few more holes for the potatoes
before taking another stab at conversation. “What orphan home were
you in?”

BOOK: Year of Jubilee
7.93Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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