Ready to Wed (5 page)

Jane felt guilty as she rinsed the china teapot. Maybe Alice was right. She supposed it could be possible that God gave Belle that peculiar dream. Still, it seemed strange. Then again, Jane realized it wasn’t her place to second-guess God’s ways or to cast judgments on guests.

Chapter Four

F
or the first time in ages, Jane decided to get up early Thursday morning, lace up her jogging shoes, and take a short run before starting breakfast. Going running was a real test of her will, because it was still gloomy and chilly out. But she suspected that part of her recent slump was as much a result of a lack of exercise as a lack of sunshine. Still, it was hard to force herself out into the dull gray dawn. Once again, although the temperature seemed warmer, it looked like rain. She was just finishing her run, only a block away from the inn, when she noticed a familiar figure strolling up ahead. Tall and slender, with short dark hair and dressed in casual gray slacks and a navy pullover sweater, the man was easily discernable to Jane as the pastor of Grace Chapel.

“Hello, Kenneth,” she called as she slowed her pace to walk beside him.

“Morning, Jane,” he said, a smile crinkling his hazel eyes. “Did you have a good run?”

“Yes, thanks,” she said breathlessly. “I’m afraid I’ve gotten out of shape. I haven’t run in weeks.”

“Well, congratulations to you for getting back to it. That takes discipline.”

“What are you doing out this early?”

“Last night, Henry Ley called me. My faithful associate pastor was worried that there might be some water seepage going on at the church.” Kenneth chuckled. “Consequently, I woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream in which I was wearing my hip waders to make my way up to the pulpit to preach on Sunday. The sanctuary was like an indoor swimming pool, and I found myself thigh high in murky water where there were actually a couple of fish swimming around. I should’ve had my rod handy.”

Jane laughed.

“It bothered me enough that I decided to take an early morning walk to investigate.”

“I hope it’s nothing too serious.” Jane glanced toward the chapel, which appeared high and dry to her. “It has been an awfully wet spring.”

“Wet and cold,” said Kenneth, “but I heard that’s going to change soon.”

“I sure hope so.”

“I also heard this foul weather has hurt your business.” They paused in front of the inn. “Louise told me she’d had more cancellations and that it’s pretty quiet this week.” Then he smiled. “But maybe you ladies need a little break.
And I suppose that means you’re off the hook for cooking one of your big, delightful breakfasts this morning.”

“Not completely off the hook. We got an unexpected guest yesterday. In fact, if you feel hungry after checking out the church—which, I hope, has not converted itself into a swimming pool—stop in and join us.”

He grinned. “That’s an offer that’s hard to resist.”

“Good,” she called as she jogged up to the house. Then she went upstairs, took a quick shower, dressed and went down to her kitchen to put together a breakfast that was probably more for Kenneth than Belle. She knew how their pastor, being single, appreciated good home cooking. She also knew that if the church was in need of any serious water-damage repairs, he’d probably need a little encouragement as well.

“Good morning,” said Alice as she joined Jane in the kitchen.

“You’re up early,” observed Jane as she stirred waffle batter. “I thought this was your day off.”

“There’s a staff meeting at the hospital that I need to attend.”

Jane shook her head. “That doesn’t seem fair, making you come in on your day off.”

Alice laughed. “Oh, I don’t mind. I don’t have to wear my uniform, and I get to come home as soon as it’s
over. The other nurses will probably wish they were in my shoes.”

“The teakettle’s hot.”

Alice brewed herself a cup of green tea and sat down at the table. Wendell leaped into her lap. “Silly old cat,” she said as she petted him.

“Ever since I started the bacon cooking, he’s been begging.”

“Now, Wendell,” warned Alice, “you need to be watching your waistline.”

“Exactly what I told him.”

“It looks like you’re making a rather big breakfast for just one guest,” observed Alice.

“Oh, I saw Kenneth a bit ago. I invited him to stop in for some nourishment.” Then she told Alice about his nightmare.

Alice chuckled. “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if some water may have leaked in. I remember a time, years ago, when we had the same sort of odd weather with this freezing and raining. Some cracks in the foundation had frozen and thawed, allowing groundwater to seep into the church basement. Father fixed the damage himself, and once the weather cleared up, we never had problems like that again.”

“So, no swimming pool in the sanctuary then?”

“Goodness, no.”

Jane turned on the waffle iron. “Do you have time for breakfast, Alice?”

“No, I should get going in a few minutes. Besides, they usually bring in all sorts of food for our meetings—sort of an incentive to come, I think.” Alice got a curious expression as she peered at Jane over her tea. “You seem to be feeling better, Jane,” she said.

Jane shrugged. “Well, I did force myself to run this morning. That probably helps with my somber spirits. They do say that exercise produces endorphins, and endorphins are supposed to make us happier people.”

Alice nodded but still looked curious. Jane suspected this was because of the letter Alice put in Jane’s room yesterday. Jane wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss her dilemma yet. Part of her wanted to believe that it wasn’t going to happen, that it was all only her imagination. Or perhaps Justin had changed his mind about coming by now.

“Well, I suppose I should get moving,” said Alice as she stood and placed her cup in the sink. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

Alice had barely left when Jane heard someone tapping on the back door. She was just pouring batter into the hot waffle iron and couldn’t go open it. Thinking it was Kenneth, she called out for him to let himself in.

“Jane,” called a hoarse-sounding female voice.

Jane closed the waffle iron onto the batter and turned to see who was there. But the puffy red nose poking through the cracked open door looked unfamiliar. She walked over to see more clearly.

“It’s me,” hissed the voice. “Aunt Ethel. But don’t look at me, Jane. I am perfectly hideous.”

“What on earth!” exclaimed Jane as she fully opened the door to see Ethel standing there, with a bright purple silk scarf draped over her head and partially covering her face, which was blotchy, red and swollen. “What happened to you, Auntie?”

Ethel pulled her scarf more tightly around her chin, clearly embarrassed by her appearance. “An allergic reaction.”

Jane nodded as realization sunk in. “Oh. Was it from last night’s facial?”

“I’m afraid so. Anyway, that’s what Dr. Bentley suspected.”

“You’ve already been to the doctor?”

“He came to see me. I felt bad calling him so early, but I wasn’t sure what had happened to me and I seemed to be having difficulty breathing. I was quite alarmed.”

“Oh my!”

“Dr. Bentley gave me a shot and some antihistamine
pills. He said I should feel and look better in a day or two.” She slowly shook her head, then pulled her scarf over her face a bit more.

“Poor Aunt Ethel.” Jane gently patted her aunt’s shoulder.

“Believe it or not, my dear, I actually looked worse than this only a few hours ago.”

“Good grief,” said Jane. “Why didn’t you call over here for help?”

“I considered doing that, but I felt it was rather serious and I knew that our good doctor would make a house call. I thought it best to see a physician.”

“Yes, it seems you were right about that.”

“Anyway, it just hit me a few minutes ago that I had promised to show Belle the town today. I wanted to introduce her around and all. And I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that now.”

“You could’ve just called over here to cancel, Auntie. I’m sure Belle will understand.”

“Yes, I suppose. But I wanted to ask you a personal favor, Jane. You see, I thought perhaps you could step in for me. Belle is a sweet person, and I do so like her. I really do want to help her, despite my reaction to her beauty products. Anyway, I would like to assist Belle in establishing herself in Acorn Hill. And I thought that you, being not
terribly busy since the inn isn’t full, well, couldn’t you step in for your poor old auntie?”

“Oh, I don’t really think that’s a good—”

“Please, Jane,” pleaded Ethel. “It will only be for a day or two at the most. And, as you know, time is of the essence. Belle needs to get started on her mission right away.”

“Her mission?” Jane frowned.

“Of finding a man.” She shoved a piece of paper at Jane. “I’ve made a list of all the people you can begin introducing her to.”

“But, Auntie,” demanded Jane, “surely you don’t expect me to drag poor Belle about the town, introducing her to every available male and making complete fools of both of—”

“I only expect you to use your head, Jane. Of course, you won’t let it be known that Belle is, well, on a manhunt. You must be more diplomatic than that. Just casually give Belle a tour of our dear little town and make it seem coincidental when you just happen to run into certain eligible bachelors. It’s really quite simple.” Ethel sighed heavily, as if this whole business was wearing her out.

“Oh, Auntie, I really don’t think—”

“That’s just the point, Jane. Don’t think. You’re always making a mountain out of a molehill, dear. It’s really not such a great deal to ask of one’s niece. In fact, while you’re
at it, you might take some notes from Belle because she seems much more likely to wed than you.”

Because of Ethel’s pitiful condition, Jane decided to control the urge to respond. What good would it do anyway?

“So, you’ll do it for me then?” Ethel twisted her swollen and purplish lips into a crooked smile.

“I’ll do what I can, Auntie. But no guarantees.”

“And I’ll give Lloyd a call later this morning. Maybe he can be of some help to us as well. Thank you, Jane.” Ethel pulled her scarf closer around her face. “Now I feel the need to go and rest a bit. I think I shall put my feet up, perhaps have a cup of tea.”

Jane softened toward her aunt. “And I’ll bring you some breakfast in a little bit.”

“Oh, you are a dear.” Then Ethel went out the back door.

Jane watched as her elderly aunt scurried toward her home in the inn’s carriage house. She walked in a hunched-back manner, as if she thought this posture might make her less visible as she quickly returned to the sanctuary of the carriage house. Poor Auntie!

Then, as Jane noticed smoke coming out of the waffle iron, she thought,
Poor Jane!
Not only had her waffles burnt, but she had allowed Ethel to rope her into a perfectly silly scheme.
Really, what could I have been thinking?

“Hello in there?” called Kenneth.

“Come in, come in,” she called in a less than welcoming voice as she turned on the range fan and began scraping blackened waffle crumbs from the waffle iron and into the sink.

“Uh-oh,” said Kenneth in a teasing tone, “looks like I picked the wrong day to have breakfast at the inn.”

“Just a little mishap,” she assured him. “I was distracted.”

He poured himself a mug of decaf. “Was that your aunt I saw hurrying away from here just now?”

Jane chuckled. “Yes. And
that
was my distraction.”

“She was moving pretty fast,” he said as he sat down at the kitchen table, planting his elbows and taking a slow sip. “Anything wrong?”

Jane explained that her aunt had suffered an allergic reaction and had been forced to call for medical assistance early this morning.

“God bless small-town doctors who still make house calls.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

“Are those blueberry muffins?” he asked, nodding to the basket on the counter.

“They are. Help yourself.” Jane flipped over the ham slices that she’d been heating on the grill, then began cracking eggs into a heavy ceramic bowl.

“So, what’s new with you, Jane?”

“You mean besides the fact that, thanks to the weather, my garden is weeks behind and the inn is having a slump?”

He chuckled as he buttered his muffin. “Yes, besides that. What’s up with Jane?”

She avoided his question. Kenneth was a good friend and trustworthy confidant, but even so she just wasn’t sure that she was ready to tell him, or anyone, about Justin’s impending visit. At least not yet. “Hey, I forgot to ask, how’s the church? Will I need to bring my snorkel on Sunday?”

He laughed. “It’s not too bad. Just some leaks in the basement. It looks like it may have happened before.”

Jane told him about what Alice had said, and he nodded. “Yes, that sounds about right. I’ll stop by the hardware store and ask Fred if he has a recommendation.”

Then to distract him from any more personal inquiries, Jane told him about Belle’s little “beauty treatment” last night and how it may have been the source of Ethel’s allergic reaction. “The rest of us seem perfectly fine.” She touched her cheek. “In fact, I think my skin genuinely feels better than usual this morning. I was a skeptic, but I may actually buy some of her products myself.”