A Quiet Life Read online

  Lucy nodded and pulled herself inside the wagon. She did not try to sleep. She didn’t even lie down. She sat back on her heels waiting for her heart to return to its normal rhythm. She knew as soon as she saw him that she’d been afraid something had happened to Justus. And she knew it wasn’t the idea of a husband or the fantasy of running away that she was afraid of losing. She cared about Justus Baker. The stories she’d heard on the journey painted a picture of an attractive man, even more so when punctuated with that disarming smile.

  Lucy wasn’t running away at all. She was now running towards something, a new home and a new family. Grace and Matthias sounded nice and though Lucy was excited to meet them, she was also worried. What if they judged her harshly for not honoring the arrangement of her father? What if Matthias thought she had tricked Justus into the fast wedding? What if Grace resented sharing her kitchen?

  A pleasant crackling noise came through the canvas and the light spot grew as Justus apparently built up the fire. Lucy shivered slightly and tucked herself back under a blanket. She did not sleep. Too many thrilling and scary thoughts filled her head. Tomorrow she would arrive at her new home. Tomorrow she would meet a new brother and sister to replace the one who had left her behind and the one she had left behind. Tomorrow she would spend another day with Justus. She didn’t know what she had done to make him look so amused after he kissed her. She smiled at the thought that she might get another chance to find out.

  The sky had barely begun to lighten when Lucy sat up and began to tidy herself for the new day. She was happy the weather had been cool enough to avoid much perspiration but she would still be glad to get into fresh clothes at the farm. There was no way she was going to do so in the back of a wagon. Justus liked the dress she had on though. The memory of his compliment made her face warm as she slipped her cloak over it. She hoped he would like the other dress as well, though neither was particularly practical. They were carrying several bolts of plain fabric in the supplies from town and she could start work on a sturdier dress as soon as they were settled.

  Justus was not near the fire when she climbed out of the wagon. She saw him filling a canteen at the lake and went in the opposite direction to take care of some personal business before she joined him. He was staring at the tiny ripples and didn’t seem to hear her approach. He looked up suddenly as she knelt to dip her hands in the clear water. His expression troubled her.

  He said, “Four months can be a long time, can’t it?”

  Lucy gave a tiny shrug, not sure what he was getting at.

  “I’ve been excited about getting home. Now that we’re close I can’t shake the feeling I won’t like what I find there.”

  Lucy splashed some water on her face. She had, before now, never been away from home longer than a day. A lot could happen in four months... a fire... a bandit... sickness. Lucy couldn’t tell him that she knew everything was fine. He didn’t seem to expect that though. He had returned to staring contemplatively at the water, or maybe across it. Lucy sat quietly next to him until he sighed and stood. “Well, God has seen me through trials before,” he said as he held out a hand to her, “and I’m bringing good news.” He flashed a smile and Lucy wondered if he meant that she was good news or merely the fact that he had found a wife.

  She took his hand only long enough for him to help her off the grass.

  “There’s some jerky left,” Justus said. “And some dry fruit. If we don’t have to cook breakfast, we can be on our way sooner.”

  “I’ll get it.” Lucy picked up her pace back to the wagon. She climbed inside and pulled out the bag of food.

  They began their last day of driving when the sun had barely cleared the horizon. Lucy began to regret her lack of sleep as the rocking of the wagon made her eyelids heavy.

  “It’s my fault you’re tired, isn’t it?” Justus said.

  Lucy tried to clear the sleepy fog from her brain. She remembered lying awake fretting about meeting her new family and not why she had been awake in the first place.

  “I should’ve waked you more gently before I fired at least.”

  The gunshot. Lucy was more awake even at the memory of it. “I was startled,” she said, “but it’s all right.”

  “Startled?” Justus said with a soft chuckle. “You bolted from the wagon like it was a starter pistol for a race. Would you believe I reckoned it might not wake you at all?” He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “You’ll be glad to get off the wagon for a while, won’t you? I’d say it’s been a rather dull and uncomfortable journey for you, hasn’t it? It’ll be good to be home.” Justus inclined his head to the farm in the distance.

  It felt to Lucy as though they’d been driving towards it for an hour without getting any closer. Justus didn’t say anything else and Lucy didn’t have the courage to tell him the drive had been anything but dull. One emotional delight after another had sustained her through the pretty though unchanging scenery and the hard seat.

  She stared at the destination as it loomed ever ahead and never closer. Perhaps she had begun to doze because it was quite suddenly growing larger and two people, a man and a woman, were visible standing in the yard in front of the house.

  The woman waved one arm over her head in a greeting. Justus continued to guide the horses until he was close enough to jump down and give her a hug. He clapped the man next to her on the back and then turned to offer a hand to Lucy.

  Even with help, climbing off that wagon was more difficult than it had ever been and it had nothing to do with her stiff legs. Lucy could feel these new people watching her, possibly trying to judge whether she was or was not worthy of the man who had brought her.

  She managed to reach the ground without stumbling and faced the waiting couple with a brave facade. She knew who they were since Justus had described only two other people at the farm. Matthias resembled his brother except that he had straight hair and was a little shorter and stockier. Grace had fair hair twisted in tiny braids at the back of her head. Lucy was nearly a head taller but felt small until Justus said, “Allow me to present Lucy Baker.” There was pride in his voice. Lucy’s back strengthened a bit at the sound.

  Matthias nodded respectfully and said, “Welcome.”

  “This is exciting,” Grace said. “I hoped Justus would bring home a wife so I wouldn’t be the only female around but I confess doubts about his finding one who’d put up with him.” She smiled warmly, making it clear her comment was only a playful jab at her brother-in-law.

  “I believe you expressed those doubts before I left,” he responded. “And now I’m happy to have proven you wrong. She puts up with me so far.” He squeezed Lucy’s hand before he let go to begin unloading the wagon with Matthias.

  “Well, Lucy,” Grace said, “you must be tired of sitting. Let me show you around while the men unload so you’ll have a chance to stretch your legs.”

  Lucy nodded. She glanced back at the brothers – all smiles as they untied the cover – before she followed Grace. They walked around the barn and the henhouse and they quickly reached a partially completed house. “This’ll be for you and Justus,” Grace said. “I’m sure he told you we had started it.”

  The house had sturdy-looking walls and a frame for a roof. There was no floor yet and only holes where the door and windows would go. “We got a good start on the walls,” Grace continued, “and Matthias was getting excited that you’d be able to move in soon after arriving. But then it snowed so much in January it slowed us down and we didn’t expect you for a few more weeks.”

  “Do you mind?”

  “That you’re early?” Grace smiled. “Of course not. I’m so glad you’re both here.”

  “I mean, do you mind that we’ll have to stay with you?”

  “We’ll get on just fine. You’ll see. Let me show you the house now. I can keep the men in the barn and put up a curtain. That way you can have a bath before dinner.”

  “That would be heavenly,” Lucy said. She was
eager to change clothes and a bath first would make her even more comfortable.

  Grace took her into the house. The main room was larger than the one Lucy had with her pa and the furnishings, though simple, were finer. Someone had put a lot more time into smoothing the tabletop and the chairs around it. There were two rocking chairs on the other side of the room and a closed door that Grace indicated was her and Matthias’ bedroom. There were two other bedrooms across from the first and Grace didn’t say anything about the fact that Justus had placed Lucy’s lone bag on the bed in one room and his things in the other. The straw mattresses were not on the floor but had wooden frames. Lucy ran her hand along the curved wood before she opened her bag to lay out a fresh outfit.

  Grace watched from the doorway. “Justus made the bed frame,” she said. “He’s real modest about his woodworking but it’s the nicest I’ve seen. Everything you’ll need for the new house is already in the barn. Anyway, I’ll start heating some water for you.”

  The bath was more relaxing than Lucy expected. She thought she’d feel strange and want to rush into her clothes but the new house didn’t feel strange. It felt immediately like home. Grace had some washing to do and the women worked side by side getting to know each other. Grace insisted that Lucy shouldn’t help with dinner because she must be tired from the journey. She watched carefully as Grace made the fried chicken with dumplings to see if there was anything she could learn. It smelled delicious.

  Justus and his brother came in from the barn appreciating the aroma as well. Matthias walked across the room and whispered something to Grace that made her smile. He squeezed his wife’s arm before he took a seat at the table to wait for dinner.

  Justus took a chair and nodded Lucy towards an empty one. “I’m glad you had a chance to freshen up,” he said. “You look nice.”

  While a compliment from him made her slightly giddy on the inside, it also drew attention to how out of place her outward appearance was. Her second dress was pale pink with a ruffle along the hem and fancy buttons on the front. The other three were dressed for chores. Grace had said she’d be willing to help make some sturdier dresses so Lucy could put the nice ones back for Sundays.

  Grace put the food on the table and bowed her head as soon as she was seated. Matthias offered a brief blessing and added thanksgiving that Justus had returned safely with a new addition to the family. And then he helped himself to some chicken before passing the bowl. He gave a silent nod to his wife at the first bite.

  “I think your chicken got even better while I was away,” Justus said.

  “You wouldn’t be buttering me up for a pie already, would you?”

  Justus grinned and said nothing about the accusation. “Have you been showing my wife around the kitchen?”

  Grace nodded and smiled at Lucy. “She’ll be making you pies before long.”

  Lucy nervously returned the smile. She was a little afraid Grace had only insisted she’d be too tired to keep her out of the way.

  “When was the wedding?” Matthias asked.

  This was the topic Lucy feared. How would they react to the details of the impulsive wedding? Her jaw worked more stiffly on the bite in her mouth.

  “Oh, let’s see,” Justus said calmly. “In the morning, we’ll have been married for three whole days.”

  “But that means your wedding was the same day you left town?” Grace looked suspicious.

  Matthias smiled as though he understood something.

  “Took you the whole winter to convince her, huh?” Grace asked, smiling.

  Justus winked at Lucy before he answered. “I knew she was smitten from the start but she insisted on playing hard to get.”

  Grace made something like a snort before she said, “Pretty plain who’s smitten.”

  Heat began creeping up Lucy’s neck before she realized that Grace wasn’t looking at her. Neither was Matthias. They were smirking at Justus as though he was the one who’d lost his head. Where had they gotten that idea? He seemed happy enough to be married but he talked about it in practical terms. He was glad to have someone to cook and sew on his buttons. He married Lucy because his choices were limited and she happened to be there when he’d given up… not because he’d sought her out. Why didn’t he tell his brother that the marriage was not the romantic kind?

  It was true that Lucy thought of it that way. How could she not be smitten with her dashing rescuer? And then she spent time with him and learned how caring he was. And then he’d kissed her. Twice. While that had intensified her own feelings, she wasn’t convinced that confirmed anything on his side. Of course Lucy had no idea how a kiss was supposed to happen but there had been no tender moment beforehand or anything that seemed to prompt the kisses. She thought he was simply trying to be thorough about filling the husband role. Not that she minded.

  Lucy tried to cover her swirling thoughts by pushing the dumplings around on her plate. Matthias asked Justus about the jobs he’d found during the winter.

  “I helped put a new roof on a barn. It’d been damaged by a fire.” Justus plopped a forkful of dumplings in his mouth and seemed temporarily distracted by the flavor. “The widow running the diner paid me to chop firewood for her. At first, I refused to take her money but the woman let out a fiery tirade about not letting anyone accuse her of taking advantage of someone’s kindness. I slipped extra wood into her pile a few times and she didn’t notice because she was too busy slipping some of it to a family outside town where the pa was laid up with a broken arm. And with Miss Mary being more interested in having me fix things around her place than in taking my money… we ended the winter much farther ahead than we’d expected.” Justus paused for a wide grin. “Which is why I splurged at the general store.”

  Grace laughed and Matthias rolled his eyes. Lucy’s confusion must have shown because Grace said, “He bought twice as much white sugar as planned.”

  “In case no one has noticed,” Justus said, “we have twice as many people living in this house as we did last year. I only did what was right.”

  No one pressed on about the sugar and Justus told a few stories about his time in town. Lucy had heard them on the drive and it gave her a small sense of intimacy to know the endings before he told the others.

  Lucy helped Grace clean up after the meal and Justus helped his brother tend to the animals. He shivered out of his coat as he reentered the house. “The warm spell lasted just long enough for us to get home. I won’t be surprised if snow is headed our way.”

  Matthias nodded his agreement as he also hung up his hat and coat.

  Justus had brought in a knife and a piece of wood. He set them on the floor next to one of the rocking chairs and pulled a box of wood shavings from the corner of the room where it had apparently spent the winter, waiting patiently for someone to make it fuller.

  He did not claim the chair as Lucy expected, however. “Too tired to start something tonight,” he said. “I’ll turn in. Goodnight.”

  Justus had acknowledged all three of them with the sentiment. His eyes seemed to linger a second longer on Lucy. She imagined a flood of feelings passing between them in that second. And then the door to his bedroom closed and closed out her fantasy.

  She was almost too exhausted to care. If Justus could turn in then it was not too early for her to do the same. “I’m done in from the drive, too,” she said. “Goodnight.”

  Lucy went into another bedroom and closed that door. Her clothes were neatly folded on the bed where she had put them after washing. She went to remove a nightdress from her bag when she noticed a wooden box at the end of the bed. It hadn’t been there earlier. There was a small piece of paper on top of it. She picked it up and read a simple message. “A wedding present. ~Justus.”

  She knelt beside the box to examine it while she tried to think when he could have delivered it without her seeing. She’d only left the house a few times. Perhaps when she’d taken some scraps to the pigs.

  The box was cedar. She could smell it. H
er fingers traced the designs he’d carved in the wood before she opened it. The lid came off smoothly and the inside was too large and too fine for her meager belongings. He might be offended if she didn’t use it though. She arranged her things inside and included his note before she put the lid back in place. Her fingers didn’t want to leave the fancy grooves. Lucy stayed on her knees and prayed. God had sent her a true hero in her hour of need.

  ~~ ~~

  The next several days passed too quickly. Justus hadn’t known how much he missed his home until he returned to it. He and his brother fought the cold to get a roof on the new house. Even though Grace and Lucy were nearly the same age, Grace seemed to take to her like a big sister. She spent a lot of time building Lucy’s confidence in the kitchen and with the other housework. They seemed to be becoming fast friends.

  Justus was glad to see the relationship developing. He only wished he could see more developing between him and Lucy. They spoke less now that they weren’t forced next to each other all day and they were rarely alone. She still seemed shocked every time she noticed him looking at her. While the reactions had been endearing at first, it was beginning to frustrate him that his wife didn’t expect his attention.

  He had hopes for the day ahead. It was Sunday, which meant fewer chores. Grace and Matthias would likely take a walk together in the afternoon. A light dusting of snow the previous night had made the landscape lovely and they wouldn’t let the cold stop them from enjoying it. Justus planned to make the most of the time it would give him with Lucy.

  She appeared nervous when the four of them sat for church. He remembered how uncomfortable she’d been reading aloud the previous Sunday so he volunteered to read before she had time to worry about the duty falling to her. He continued in Matthew without mentioning why to the others. And he kept the discussion short.