Once in a Blue Moon (38 page)

The desperation in his
voice was disturbing. Was the poor man starving? “Would you like
some? I still have half a loaf, or if you want to wait, these
should be done soon,” she said, indicating the rising loaves.

Jed stood, wood
shavings clinging to his chest and arms. He looked uncomfortable
and visibly nervous, his eyes not meeting hers. He took a deep
breath. “I thought that while I was out this way anyway, I might as
well pay court to Miss Goodwin.” He whipped his hat off and showed
thick, wiry hair, matted against his head. “I was hopin’ you could
talk to her and maybe smooth my way.”

Oh.

Oh dear.

Melissa met Jessica’s
gaze. Jed attempting to talk with Hannah was a very bad idea; there
was no way Hannah would be receptive to him. Melissa could see the
pity in Jessica’s eyes, and was sure the same look was in her
own.

She took a breath and
decided to opt for honesty; it was probably kindest. “Mr. Peterson,
in all sincerity, I think your chances are slim to none that Hannah
will be receptive to being courted. Besides, Hannah and I aren’t
exactly the best of friends anymore, so I’m the last person you
should be asking for help.” Melissa felt a pang of sadness and
wished it weren’t true. She missed the friendship.

Jed stuck out his jaw,
his bushy beard quivering, his eyes worried. “I’m not leaving
without seeing Hannah.” He was determined, but obviously scared to
death.

Melissa turned away and
opened the stove’s clunky metal door and started loading in more
wood. How could she talk him out of this? “I didn’t realize you
were still interested in Hannah. I mean, I’m surprised you waited
this long to come calling.”

Jed looked down at his
hat, bending and shaping the brim. “I had things to do. I’ve been
working on my cabin, getting ready for the winter months. There’s a
lot to do this time of year.”

Had he been readying
his home for a bride? Or simply been afraid to come? Probably both,
poor man. Either way, he’d obviously had to work up the guts to
come today. She doubted anything she said would change his mind.
Anyway, it wasn’t her place to tell him any details. Let Hannah do
her own dirty work. But poor Jed. Melissa knew his courting Hannah
wouldn’t do any good since Hannah was unlikely to be interested,
but Melissa decided to give him some advice. “Mr. Peterson, women
usually look more favorably on a man who has shaved and cleaned
himself up a bit.”

Jed stared at her, long
seconds passed and his eyes bugged, then without a word he turned
and walked out of the cabin.

Jessica’s brow
furrowed. “Do you think his feelings are hurt?”

Melissa placed a hand
on Jessica’s shoulder and they both watched through the window as
he headed toward the bunkhouse. Had she offended him? She hadn’t
meant to, but perhaps it was for the best. There was no way it
could work between him and Hannah. Hannah had too much baggage. She
squeezed Jessica’s shoulder. “Let’s check the temperature. Maybe we
can bake the bread now.”

About thirty minutes
later, Jed came back, bathed and clean- shaven. Obviously he’d used
the men’s facilities. “How do I look?”

Well, he looked
different, that was for sure. His hair, still damp, was less bushy
and his hairless face was a bit more on the homely side than she’d
realized. His nose seemed bigger and his face was red on the upper
cheeks and white beneath where his beard and mustache used to
be.

But without his facial
hair he looked vulnerable, his brown eyes pure puppy-dog and
Melissa wondered if Hannah would have a hard time turning him away
after all.

“You look very nice.”
As soon as she said the words, she felt her conscience twist. She
really wasn’t trying to interfere.

Jed smiled and nodded
eagerly. “I’ve decided I don’t want to put you in a bad position,
so I’m just going by myself.” He quickly turned and headed off to
the ranch house.

Melissa and Jessica
exchanged a glance.

Jessica hurried to the door. “
Good
luck, Jed
!”

About
ten minutes later he was back, breathing hard, visibly sweating and
shaking. “She sent me away.” Jed looked at her beseechingly, agony
in his gaze. “She wouldn’t even talk to me. Please. You have to
help me.
Please
.”

Melissa wondered how to
be tactful about this. How could she explain that Hannah had some
emotional problems that Jed probably wasn’t equipped to deal with?
“Perhaps Hannah isn’t the girl for you?”

“What do you mean? Is
someone else courting her? Have you seen someone coming around?” He
started pacing, then stopped abruptly, his fists clenched. “I
waited too long, didn’t I? I lost my chance with her. Who is
he?”

Melissa suppressed a
sympathetic smile. His show of jealousy was rather endearing. Poor
guy. “No, there’s no one else. Hannah is just very shy. Perhaps she
isn’t the type to marry? Some girls prefer the single life.”

Jed looked at her as if
he didn’t understand the language she spoke. He shook his head.
“Please, Mrs. Kendal. You’ve got to help me.”

Melissa sighed. She
knew it wouldn’t do any good, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to agree
to simply talk to Hannah. Just to set Jed’s mind at ease. Then he
could feel he’d tried every avenue open to him.

She wiped her hands on
her apron and shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was going to
do this. No doubt she wouldn’t even get in the door. The widow
would stop her and Melissa would end up feeling lousy again, but
Jed probably wouldn’t leave until she helped. “All right, I’ll talk
to her.”

Jed grabbed her right
hand in both of his and pumped her arm up and down. “Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Kendal. You’re a good Christian woman. Thank
you.”

Melissa retrieved her
hand from his big paws and untied her apron. “Yes, just call me
Mother Theresa.”

“Who?”

Melissa shook her head.
“Don’t expect too much. You wait here. Jessica, please watch the
bread and as soon as it’s done why don’t you feed Mr. Peterson some
bread and jam?”

“No, thank you, ma’am.
I couldn’t eat a bite,” said Jed.

She
could feel his hopeful gaze boring into her back as she walked
away. Since when did she look like Cupid? This was
not
going to end well.
Although Melissa and Hannah still worked together, they certainly
weren’t close, and Melissa was nervous to broach this particular
subject with Hannah. Too many bad memories for both of
them.

Perhaps Melissa could
just pretend to talk with Hannah, then go back and tell Jed it
wasn’t going to happen? Then he could forget about Hannah and get
on with his life.

Her mind made up,
Melissa suppressed a pang of guilt. Non-interference was best for
everyone at this point. Right?

* * *

As slowly as she
walked, it still took only a few minutes until Melissa stood at the
side door of the ranch house. Reluctantly, she knocked. She’d just
ask Hannah if she could borrow a cake pan or something. Maybe they
could talk about the benefits of round cakes versus square ones and
then Melissa could be on her way.

If the widow answered,
same conversation, only faster. If Melissa needed more time so Jed
would believe she’d done her best to persuade Hannah, she could
simply loiter behind Emma’s cabin before returning.

Poor Jed. But no doubt
it was for the best.

The lace curtain beside
the door fluttered briefly and the door wrenched open. Hannah,
wild-eyed, surveyed the area, grabbed hold of Melissa’s arm, pulled
her inside and quickly shut the door.

Startled, Melissa put a hand to her chest.
“
Wow. Well hello to you too!”

Terror blanched
Hannah’s face, and she sucked in several harsh breaths. “Mr.
Peterson was here!” Hannah pressed her fists to her cheeks. “What
do I do? Help me!”

Melissa opened her
mouth, shut it, and opened it again, not sure what to say. “First
take a deep breath, and then tell me what you want to do.”

Hannah gulped in air.
She wrung her hands together. “I don’t know! I just don’t
know!”

Melissa paused and
tried to gather her thoughts. This wasn’t exactly going the way
she’d planned, but she could work with it. “Well then, let me tell
you what I know and maybe it will help you make a decision. Jed is
scared to death of you.”

Hannah froze in the process of wringing her hands together.
She gaped. “He’s afraid of
me
?” Astonishment colored her voice.
“But why? I couldn’t hurt him if I tried.”

Pity tightened
Melissa’s chest. “He’s scared you won’t like him.” Melissa flapped
a hand in the air and tried to find the right words. “Jed’s not the
type of man to hurt a woman. I know you’re afraid of that. But with
Jed, well, I promise you don’t need to worry.”

“How do you know?”

Melissa sighed, closed
her eyes and leaned her head back against the door. She couldn’t
believe she was doing this. Allowing her mind to turn to the
ugliness she’d blocked out over the years. Her mother. Her mother’s
problems. The way those problems had spilled onto Melissa.

She took a deep breath,
opened her eyes and admitted something she’d rarely allowed herself
to think about and certainly never told to another soul. “My mother
had men move into our home during my childhood; different men all
the time. Some of the men were abusive and knocked us around.”

Melissa’s lips
tightened. “I can spot a man like that coming from miles away. Jed
may get a little physical with his friends; that’s just boys
blowing off steam, and believe it or not, that’s perfectly
normal.”

She finally looked
straight at Hannah. “But if he ever harmed a hair on your head, I’d
die from shock. Like I said, the man is more afraid of you than you
are of him.”

Hannah looked astounded
by the concept.

Melissa wrestled with
her conscience for a moment. It was like shooting fish in a barrel;
too easy. But she’d already gone this far, so why not go all the
way? Why not help Jed out? He seemed like a decent guy, and Melissa
could at least give him a chance. And it would give Hannah a chance
too.

Melissa sighed loudly.
Melissa the manipulator, take one. “In fact, I feel sorry for the
guy. Really sorry for him.”

Hannah’s brow creased.
“Why?”

Melissa shook her head
mournfully. “I don’t think he’s getting much to eat lately.”

Hannah put a hand to
her heart. “He’s hungry?”

Melissa thought of his
bulk and barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Talk about
gullible. The guy had no extra fat, she’d be willing to bet, but
that hard muscle certainly wasn’t shriveling up. But if Hannah
would buy it, and it would help Jed? Why not?

“Yes,” she shook her
head. “Poor, poor, Jed. Starving to death, and no one to feed him.
He’s in my cabin right now, practically wasting away. He was
staring at my fresh baked bread like a wolf looks at a lamb. Poor
guy.”

Wide-eyed, Melissa met
Hannah’s gaze. “Did I ever tell you about the time he tried to give
me cooking lessons? No? Well, let’s just say that no normal person
would eat anything he’s ever cooked.”

Melissa pushed away
from the door and walked to the window. “But it’s not exactly my
problem, is it? I mean, I need all the food in my house to feed my
growing kids and my husband. I really can’t spare any. But it was
kind of sad to see him eyeing my bread that way.”

Melissa leaned against
the counter. “I wonder.” She tapped a finger to her lips. “Perhaps
I could send him to go and scrounge in the garden? He could see if
there’s any leftover tomatoes or cucumbers or anything that we
missed. I think some of them were only half rotten.”

Concern drew lines on
Hannah’s brow as she seemed to look inward as she shook her
head.

Melissa managed to keep
a straight face. Barely. “Yes, that’s a good idea. He can have all
the rotten vegetables he can find.” Melissa nodded. “Like you said.
He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

Horror colored Hannah’s
face. “I never said that!”

“You didn’t?”

“
No
!”
Hannah glanced around the kitchen. “Perhaps I have something here
he could eat.” Moving quickly, Hannah grabbed a big basket from the
corner, layered a couple of towels in it and started to pile food
inside: a pie, a loaf of bread, a crock of butter, some cooked
meat. It looked like the only one going hungry tonight might be the
widow.

Melissa bit back a grin. Somehow, the fact that Jed was as
large as a bear seemed to be lost on Hannah. “Well, I have to say I
really want him out of my cabin. You have to admit, his clothes
don’t look all that clean. I guess he does the best he can do, not
being married and all, but I mean
really
. I guess it’s too bad he has
no one to do the wash for him. I wonder if people make fun of him
when he goes to town? Probably. Poor guy.”

Hannah’s gaze was full
of pity and tears actually sprang to her eyes. She held out the
basket, now overflowing with food.

“Maybe you could give
him this basket?”

Melissa shook her head
and held up both hands. “No way! I’ve made up my mind. I feel the
same way you do. I don’t want to see that man again. He’s probably
like a stray dog; feed him and he’ll keep coming around. I can’t
stand the way he looks at me with those sad little boy eyes. It
makes me feel sorry for him.” Melissa shrugged. “But he probably
does it on purpose just to get my sympathy. Anyway, it’s just not
my problem.”

Hannah looked lost,
unsure.

One more push ought to
do it. Melissa indicated the basket.