The Romancing of Evangeline Ipswich Page 6

  Happily, Evangeline sat down next to Jennie.

  “Show them to him just the way you first showed them to me, Evie. You know, in order of when they were taken,” Jennie excitedly instructed.

  Evangeline giggled, pleased by Jennie’s enthusiasm about the photographs. She was sure Hutch was simply humoring his sister—that he probably could not have cared less about seeing photographs of the Ipswich family. Still, it was making Jennie happy to share them, so she would.

  “All right,” Evangeline began. She took a large, mounted photograph from the bottom of the pile. “This is the family photograph we had taken two years before we left Boston,” she explained. She passed the panel card to Jennie. “It’s the first photograph we had taken after Mother passed away.”

  “This is how I remember you all looking, Evie,” Jennie said. “I’ve thought of you this way ever since we parted.” She smiled as she handed the panel card to Hutch. “But you’re even more beautiful now—all grown up and a proper lady!”

  “A proper lady, hmm?” Evangeline laughed. “I think not.”

  “You Ipswich girls always were the talk of the town, you know,” Hutch said as he studied the photograph. “At least, among the boys and young men.”

  “I’ve already planned on you for supper tonight, Hutch,” Evangeline playfully told him. “No need to butter me up.”

  Hutch chuckled and continued to study the photograph. Evangeline smiled, pleased that his interest in it was sincere.

  “And next?” Jennie prodded impatiently.

  “And next…well, this one is of Father and Kizzy on their wedding day,” Evangeline said, taking a cabinet card from the pile. She gazed at it a moment, admiring how dashingly handsome her father was, at how Kizzy’s beauty seemed so ethereal. “The handsome groom and his beautiful bride,” she said, handing the mounted photograph to Jennie.

  Jennie held the photograph of Lawson Ipswich and his stunning young bride with both hands, smiling and sighing with approval.

  “Oh, your father is as handsome as ever, Evie!” she said.

  “I remember the day Mama told you that you wouldn’t be able to marry Mr. Ipswich when you grew up,” Hutch teased as his sister handed him the cabinet card photograph. “I think that about broke your little heart.”

  Evangeline watched Hutch closely as he studied her father’s wedding photograph. She watched his eyebrows arch in admiration.

  “My, my, my,” he said. “Your father looks to be as intimidating a man as ever he was.” He whistled approval and said, “And looks to me like it would take a man the likes of Lawson Ipswich to reel himself in a woman like this.”

  “Evangeline’s stepmother is a gypsy!” Jennie offered.

  “So I’ve been told once before,” Hutch said. He looked to Evangeline.

  “Now show him little Shay,” Jennie prodded.

  Drawing the cabinet card photograph of Shay from the pile, Evangeline handed it to Jennie.

  “What a little angel,” Jennie sighed. “Those eyes! They just capture a body’s very soul somehow.”

  Jennie handed the photograph of Shay to Hutch, and he chuckled. “So this is your little sister then, hmmm? The one that drags her cat around on a leash?”

  Evangeline giggled. “Oh, there’s no dragging Molly anywhere she doesn’t want to go. Shay has leash-trained her.”

  “Well, she’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she?” Hutch commented. “I’m sure she’ll be breaking a lot of boys’ hearts along the way.” His smile broadened. “And am I correct in assuming that this is the infamous leash-trained cat she’s holding?”

  Evangeline laughed, just as she did most times when she looked at the photograph of Shay, holding Molly around the waist while the cat drooped lackadaisically to one side.

  “Yep! That’s Molly, the feline with the patience of Job,” Evangeline confirmed.

  “Now Amoretta and Brake,” Jennie whispered.

  Handing another cabinet card to Jennie, Evangeline explained to Hutch, “And this is the one that should confirm to you that we really are all grown up. This is Amoretta and her husband, Brake, on their wedding day.”

  Jennie handed the photograph to Hutch, and Evangeline grinned when his eyebrows arched in astonishment.

  “This is little Amoretta?” he asked. He shook his head and smiled. “It’s hard to believe. Time travels fast, doesn’t it?”

  “It definitely does,” Jennie agreed.

  “Daddy and Amoretta were married the same day, but I didn’t bring the large photograph of the whole group,” Evangeline said.

  “Oh, I wish you would’ve,” Jennie sighed. “I would love to have seen everyone all together.”

  “I’ll bring it next time,” Evangeline told her friend.

  Jennie smiled and nodded. “Now the Tom Thumb wedding, Evie,” Jennie instructed.

  Evangeline giggled, pleased that Jennie was enjoying herself so much.

  “Now this,” Evangeline began, “is a photograph of the entire cast of the Tom Thumb wedding Calliope orchestrated for Meadowlark Lake.”

  “You helped too,” Jennie reminded.

  “Yes, but it was all Calliope’s idea.” Evangeline handed the large panel card directly to Hutch.

  “Aw, yes!” he exclaimed. “I fell victim to having to play the groom in one these damn things when I was about eight.”

  “Don’t swear in front of Evie, Hutch,” Jennie scolded in a whisper.

  But Evangeline laughed, remembering how unwilling the groom in the Meadowlark Lake Tom Thumb wedding had been at first.

  “Warren Ackerman, our groom, probably would’ve sworn if he thought he could’ve gotten away with it,” Evangeline admitted.

  “But your pretty little sister was the bride,” Hutch noted. “And I’m assuming that made everything all right with your groom in the end?”

  Evangeline laughed. “Yes. Shay won him over, and Warren made it through admirably.”

  “And Calliope got married that very day!” Jennie exclaimed. “Right after the Tom Thumb wedding.” Overwrought with excitement, Jennie snatched the last cabinet card photograph from Evangeline’s lap, handing it to Hutch. “Can you believe this is little Calliope?”

  Hutch again shook his head. “It’s kind of hard to take in, all these little girls I once knew, grown up and married.”

  All but one, Evangeline thought to herself.

  She watched as Hutch carefully shuffled the photographs, settling once more on the one of Evangeline’s father and Kizzy.

  “So your daddy’s wife is really a gypsy?” he asked.

  Evangeline exchanged amused glances with Jennie.

  “Yes,” she answered. “Well, she’s got gypsy ancestry and knows their ways,” she explained. “And she is different a bit from what we’re all used to—not quite eccentric exactly, just…herself.”

  “How so?” Hutch asked.

  Evangeline shrugged. “Well, she doesn’t ever wear her hair up the way that is considered proper.” She smiled, adding, “But Daddy prefers it down.”

  “I bet he does,” Hutch chuckled.

  “And Evangeline says she rarely wears shoes or slippers when she’s in the house,” Jennie continued.

  “And every dress, skirt, blouse, and scarf she wears seems so light and flowing—colorful too,” Evangeline added. She shrugged. “It’s rather hard to explain. One has to meet Kizzy to understand her unique beauty of face and spirit.”

  “And you say she’s going to have a baby?” he asked.

  Again Evangeline smiled. “Yes, she is. Close to Thanksgiving.”

  Hutch’s laughter drew her mind from its reveries.

  “What’s so amusing?” Jennie asked her brother.

  Evangeline couldn’t help but smile at Hutch, for the very brightness of his handsome smile was enough to make the sun envious.

  “I just can’t imagine those little Ipswich girls grown up and getting married,” he explained. He exhaled a sigh, shook his head once more, and added, “Makes me
feel near to ancient.” He leaned over and kissed Jennie on the cheek. “But I guess my own little sister is married and having a baby, so it stands to reason everyone else has grown up too.”

  Hutch offered the stack of photographs to Evangeline. Yet as she reached out to accept them, Jennie asked, “Oh, can’t I look at them just a bit longer, Evie? I’m just enchanted by seeing everyone again.”

  Evangeline smiled. “Of course, Jen,” she said.

  Hutch gently deposited the photographs on Jennie’s lap, kissed her forehead, and stood up from the bed.

  “I better be getting back to the livery,” he said. He snapped his fingers as if just having remembered something. “Oh, Evangeline,” he began, taking an envelope from his back pocket, “Calvin said there was a letter for you at the postal office when he stopped by this morning. I told him I’d hand it off to you.”

  “Thank you,” Evangeline said, accepting the envelope he offered. Evangeline smiled. “It’s Daddy’s hand on the addressing. News from home!”

  “Oh, good!” Jennie said. “Why don’t you read it to me later…after I’ve rested a bit.”

  Evangeline frowned as she looked at Jennie then. Her friend looked paler than she had a moment before—and suddenly very fatigued.

  “Are you feeling all right, Jennie?” Hutch asked, having obviously noticed the quick change in his sister’s demeanor and appearance as well.

  “Just tired,” Jennie said. She picked up the photographs that had been lying on her lap, offering them to Evangeline with trembling hands. “I just need a little rest, that’s all.”

  “Of course,” Evangeline said—though anxiety began to rise in her.

  “You have a good day, Hutch,” Jennie mumbled as she closed her eyes. “I’ll see you for supper.”

  “All right, sweetheart,” Hutch said, also frowning. “You rest now.”

  Hutch looked to Evangeline, nodding toward the bedroom door in gesturing she should follow him out of the room.

  Once they were both in the kitchen, he asked in a whisper, “I didn’t like the looks of that, did you?”

  Evangeline shook her head. “No, indeed not!”

  “Do you think I should fetch Calvin home?” he asked.

  Evangeline nodded, swallowing the lump of uneasiness that was forming in her throat. “Hutch…I think you should fetch Doctor Swayze too. Just to be safe.”

  “I think you’re right,” Hutch mumbled as he headed for the door.

  Jones instantly hopped up on all three legs to greet his master. But Hutch said, “You stay put, Jones. I’ll be right back.”

  Hutch grabbed his hat from the hat rack and, with a final nod of reassurance to Evangeline, left the house.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Mrs. McKee has a slight fever,” Doctor Swayze explained to Calvin. Evangeline stood nearby, listening with deep concern. Hutch was there as well, frowning. He kept rubbing the whiskers of his chin and jaw, and Evangeline knew he was worried too. Why wouldn’t he be? Evangeline and Hutch had been sitting on Jennie’s bed with her looking at photographs and enjoying light, merry conversation one moment, and Jennie had gone pale and weak the next!

  “Is she all right?” Calvin asked.

  Evangeline stared at the doctor, studying his countenance as he spoke.

  “So far, yes,” the doctor answered. “Let’s hope she’s just a bit under the weather.” He looked to Evangeline, however, adding, “But I also checked her where the coming of the baby is concerned, and I believe the baby will come early, Miss Ipswich. You need to be watchful for me—especially if you see any fluid escape her or if she begins having her pains. All right?”

  Evangeline nodded. “Of course,” she assured him.

  “What else can we do, Doc?” Hutch asked.

  Evangeline reached out and took Calvin’s hand, squeezing it with a gesture of offering reassurance. Calvin had suddenly gone nearly as pale as his wife had, and Evangeline knew the fear he was experiencing—for she’d experienced a similar fear in her own past, just before her mother and baby brother had passed away from complications of childbirth.

  “Just keep a watchful eye on her and notify me if anything changes,” Doctor Swayze answered. “At this point, I’d have someone sit with her around the clock, even when she’s resting.”

  “I’ll stay in her room when she’s alone, at all times,” Evangeline assured the men with a nod to each in turn.

  “I’ll be fine,” Jennie called from the bedroom. “You all worry too much. I won’t be wearing out Evangeline with playing nursemaid to me!”

  Everyone smiled, and Hutch said, “Sounds like she’s feeling a little better anyway.”

  Evangeline did feel somewhat relieved at the sound of Jennie’s reassuring voice.

  “Keep a watchful eye on her, all of you,” Doctor Swayze whispered. “And don’t hesitate to call for me if you have any questions or concerns.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” Calvin said, shaking Doctor Swayze’s hand gratefully.

  Calvin opened the door to allow Doctor Swayze to leave. There was a young woman standing on the front porch, poised as if she’d just begun to knock on the door.

  “Oh my! Hello there, Doctor Swayze,” the very pretty young woman greeted. A frown of concern puckered her lovely brow as she asked, “Is everything all right? I just came by to peek in on Mrs. McKee, to see if she was faring well, so I’m a little befuddled to see you here, Doctor.”

  “Mrs. McKee is doing just fine, Miss Griffiths,” Doctor Swayze said.

  The lovely young woman with brown hair and green eyes put a dainty, graceful hand to her bosom and said, “Oh, thank heaven!” Looking past Doctor Swayze then—and even Calvin—the young woman gazed directly at Hutch and asked, “Is there anything I can do to help your sister, Mr. LaMontagne?”

  Evangeline noted the manner in which Hutch’s posture stiffened a bit. “Nope. We have things well in hand, Heather. But thank you all the same,” he kindly, but almost tersely, answered.

  “Are you sure?” the woman named Heather asked. She looked to Evangeline, arching one eyebrow as if she’d only just met an archenemy.

  “We’re sure,” Calvin answered. “In fact, my Jennie’s dear friend has traveled up to stay with her until the baby comes, so we’re just fine.”

  “Hmm,” Heather hummed. She looked to Hutch again, smiling as if she’d only just opened a door to find a horde of gold piled up in front of her. “Well, you’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do, won’t you, Hutchner?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Hutch said with a nod.

  “You have a good day, Heather,” Calvin said, closing the door then.

  Hutch and Calvin both exhaled heavy sighs of what appeared to be relief and exchanged understanding glances.

  “Calvin! Hutch!” Jennie called in a loud whisper from the bedroom. “Evie, bring those two into me right now!” she added.

  Evangeline giggled, smiled at Calvin, and said, “I think she is feeling better, Calvin.”

  Calvin chuckled and hurried into the bedroom.

  “You too, Hutch,” Jennie called.

  When Evangeline entered the bedroom just before Hutch, she audibly sighed with relief. Jennie did indeed look much better. In fact, the pink had returned to her cheeks, and her eyes were sparkling with mischief.

  “Was that Heather Griffiths I heard at the door?” Jennie asked in a still lowered voice.

  “Indeed it was,” Hutch almost moaned.

  Somewhat absentmindedly, Evangeline went to the window of Jennie and Calvin’s bedroom, gazing through the sheer curtains and watching Heather Griffiths rather wiggle her way across the street.

  “She’s getting mighty brazen, Hutch,” Jennie laughed. “What’re you gonna do when she corners you alone one day, hmmm?”

  “Are you courting her, Hutch?” Evangeline asked before she could stop herself. The hot anxiety of jealousy was smoldering in her bosom—even though she had no right to feel it.

  But when Calvin, Hutch, and Jennie
all three burst into laughter, Evangeline turned to see Hutch shaking his head emphatically as he repeated, “No! No, no, no, never!”

  “Remember how you explained to me about Amoretta’s husband, Brake, Evie?” Jennie asked. “How all the girls in town were doe-eyes and puppy slobbers over him?”

  “Yes,” Evangeline assured her.

  “Well, it isn’t any different here in Red Peak where the handsome Hutchner LaMontagne is concerned,” Jennie explained. “And no woman in town is more improperly forward in her obvious desire to win Hutch for herself than Miss Heather Griffiths.”

  “That’s enough,” Hutch grumbled. “I don’t want to talk about that…not at all.”

  Evangeline looked to Hutch and then back to Jennie. Jennie still wore a smile of amusement stretching from ear to ear, at her brother’s expense.

  “So am I to understand you’re not courting her?” Evangeline asked Hutch.

  “Oh, hell no!” Hutch growled, frowning.

  “I told you not to swear in front of Evangeline, Hutch,” Jennie playfully scolded.

  Calvin chuckled, adding, “Heather Griffiths is after Hutch as serious as a hound dog chasing a rabbit! She pretty much makes his life miserable at least four days a week. Isn’t that right, Hutch?”

  It was obvious Hutch was uncomfortable—uncomfortable with Heather Griffiths’s pursuit of him, as well as being the topic of conversation in the room. Evangeline tried not to smile—tried not to be amused by his discomfort—but she couldn’t help it, and she smiled at him when he glared at her.

  “Hey,” Calvin exclaimed, snapping his fingers, “I’ve got it!” He turned to Evangeline and said, “Why don’t you just take Hutchner here as your lover, Evangeline? Then Jennie and I can spread some mild gossip about it, and Heather Griffiths will run for the hills where Hutch is concerned.”

  “What?” Evangeline exclaimed in an astonished whisper.

  “Yes, that’s a wonderful idea, Calvin!” Jennie agreed with enthusiasm. “That would work just fine!”