about ordinary things—the crops coming in, who was getting married or giving birth, who had died or moved away. We shared childhood memories, too. “Do you remember that time a few years back when we came to visit and I hid in the barn and launched dirt clods at you and your sisters when you walked past?” he asked.
I laughed. “I’d just been allowed to wear my hair up and I was trying to be such a lady, but all I really wanted to do was to chase you down and make you say ‘uncle.’ I thought you were the most horrid little boy.”
“And I thought you were beautiful. Being horrible was the only way I knew to get your attention.”
“Did you really think that?” I asked, shy in the face of such flattery.
“I did. I still do.”
I wondered if he was thinking of kissing me again. I certainly wanted him to, but it was broad daylight and my mother and sisters were in the kitchen canning beans so there was no way we could risk it. But the way he looked at me, blue eyes as clear and deep as a mountain lake, was almost as good as a kiss, and had much the same effect, making me feel weak at the knees.
“You’ve had an effect on me, Zee, and that’s no lie,” he said. “Ever since I kissed you at Lucy’s wedding, I’ve thought about you. I even dreamed you crawled into bed with me, here in this parlor. Does that shock you?”
My face burned, but I shook my head. “That was no dream,” I said.
“No?”
“No.” I lowered my voice, fearful of being overheard. “It was the first night you were here. You were suffering horribly from fever and chills. I was afraid you’d injure yourself if I didn’t find some way to warm you.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “It was the best dream I’ve ever had. Would you consider doing it again, now that I’m sensible enough to enjoy it?”
I caught my breath, scarcely believing what he was asking.
He wrapped both his hands around mine. “I’d never ask you to do something you wouldn’t enjoy, but I can’t help thinking on these nights when I can’t sleep for the pain, how nice it would be to have you with me.”
“How could I manage it?” I asked. He no longer needed anyone to sit up with him nights.
“Sneak down here after the others are asleep.”
I should have been appalled by the idea. Instead, I remembered how good it felt to be so close to him. “We might be caught.”
“We won’t be. Not once in all these nights has anyone come down to check on me, though many times I couldn’t sleep and would have welcomed the company.”
“All right. I’ll try to slip down tonight.” The thought of spending the night with him thrilled me as much as the idea of doing something so daring and outrageous.
I took extra care washing before bed, and left my hair loose, then slipped under the covers to wait. I would have thought sleep would escape me, but I must have dozed, for when I woke moonlight streamed through my open window. The world was utterly silent; not even a cricket chirped. Careful not to wake Sallie, I crept to the window and peered out. No sign of sunrise on the horizon; morning was still hours away.
I moved down the stairs on tip-toe, scarcely putting my weight on the treads. I’d expected to have to make my way to the parlor in the dark, but a faint glow guided me, and I found that Jesse had left a lamp on the table by his bed, turned down low.
He waited to speak until I stood beside the cot. “I’d about given up on you,” he said.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“My watch is there by the lamp.” He rose up on one elbow and picked up the silver pocket watch and held it to the light. “It’s just after one.” He held back the covers. “We have plenty of time.”
I slid in beside him and he pulled the covers over us and blew out the lamp. Darkness closed around us, shutting out the rest of the world and driving away some of my nervousness. The bed was narrow, and I had no choice but to lie pressed tight against him, but I
I laughed. “I’d just been allowed to wear my hair up and I was trying to be such a lady, but all I really wanted to do was to chase you down and make you say ‘uncle.’ I thought you were the most horrid little boy.”
“And I thought you were beautiful. Being horrible was the only way I knew to get your attention.”
“Did you really think that?” I asked, shy in the face of such flattery.
“I did. I still do.”
I wondered if he was thinking of kissing me again. I certainly wanted him to, but it was broad daylight and my mother and sisters were in the kitchen canning beans so there was no way we could risk it. But the way he looked at me, blue eyes as clear and deep as a mountain lake, was almost as good as a kiss, and had much the same effect, making me feel weak at the knees.
“You’ve had an effect on me, Zee, and that’s no lie,” he said. “Ever since I kissed you at Lucy’s wedding, I’ve thought about you. I even dreamed you crawled into bed with me, here in this parlor. Does that shock you?”
My face burned, but I shook my head. “That was no dream,” I said.
“No?”
“No.” I lowered my voice, fearful of being overheard. “It was the first night you were here. You were suffering horribly from fever and chills. I was afraid you’d injure yourself if I didn’t find some way to warm you.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “It was the best dream I’ve ever had. Would you consider doing it again, now that I’m sensible enough to enjoy it?”
I caught my breath, scarcely believing what he was asking.
He wrapped both his hands around mine. “I’d never ask you to do something you wouldn’t enjoy, but I can’t help thinking on these nights when I can’t sleep for the pain, how nice it would be to have you with me.”
“How could I manage it?” I asked. He no longer needed anyone to sit up with him nights.
“Sneak down here after the others are asleep.”
I should have been appalled by the idea. Instead, I remembered how good it felt to be so close to him. “We might be caught.”
“We won’t be. Not once in all these nights has anyone come down to check on me, though many times I couldn’t sleep and would have welcomed the company.”
“All right. I’ll try to slip down tonight.” The thought of spending the night with him thrilled me as much as the idea of doing something so daring and outrageous.
I took extra care washing before bed, and left my hair loose, then slipped under the covers to wait. I would have thought sleep would escape me, but I must have dozed, for when I woke moonlight streamed through my open window. The world was utterly silent; not even a cricket chirped. Careful not to wake Sallie, I crept to the window and peered out. No sign of sunrise on the horizon; morning was still hours away.
I moved down the stairs on tip-toe, scarcely putting my weight on the treads. I’d expected to have to make my way to the parlor in the dark, but a faint glow guided me, and I found that Jesse had left a lamp on the table by his bed, turned down low.
He waited to speak until I stood beside the cot. “I’d about given up on you,” he said.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“My watch is there by the lamp.” He rose up on one elbow and picked up the silver pocket watch and held it to the light. “It’s just after one.” He held back the covers. “We have plenty of time.”
I slid in beside him and he pulled the covers over us and blew out the lamp. Darkness closed around us, shutting out the rest of the world and driving away some of my nervousness. The bed was narrow, and I had no choice but to lie pressed tight against him, but I
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