Surprise lit her eyes. “Apple pie? I guess so. Why?”
“Good. You see, I had some amazing apple pie last night at the Hartville Hotel. And I think we owe it to ourselves, after the night we’ve been through, to have some again … say, tomorrow evening?” Not exactly a sweep-the-gal-off-her-feet kind of proposal, but it would do for now.
For the longest moment, he anticipated her “no.” Could hear it ringing in his ears, even. Yet a small smile found purchase on her lips, and she gave a little laugh. “I’ve heard of celebratory drinks before, but never apple pie. Might be fun.”
Fun? Spending an hour in her company? Letting himself look his fill upon a face that held so much sway over his jumbled emotions? Fun was being seven years old, sneaking ice cream on the back porch with Houston. Apple pie with Annie?
Pleasurable torment.
Chapter Seven
So that was that. A little boy. Bill and Rachel overjoyed. And, I might venture to say, a bit more grown-up after the experience.” Annie cupped her hands around the mug of coffee, the comfort of Mrs. Miller’s parlor wrapping around her like a well-loved blanket.
The longtime midwife nodded, a smile creasing her wrinkled cheeks. “Becoming a parent has a way of turning flighty girls into careful women. And fancy-free boys into hardworking men.” Her chair creaked as she rocked back and forth, knitting needles keeping time. “Of course, you know that from experience, my dear.”
Annie looked down, steam clouding up into her face. She took a sip of the warm beverage before speaking. “Yes. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I do Robbie. He’s become my whole life. He and my patients, that is.”
“Careful, Annie. The moment we say something has overtaken our lives, is usually the moment the Almighty decides to give us more. And doesn’t He always know best?”
“What if I don’t want more?” The words had slipped out before she’d fully contemplated them. Although, if she’d been totally honest with herself, she would’ve admitted her true reason for riding over to Mrs. Miller’s. Not to discuss patients, midwife to fellow midwife. But to gain the comfort she always received when in the woman’s presence.
“Why? Don’t you think the Lord has anything else in store for you? Contentment is one thing, child. Complacency another. You have such a giving heart. Do you think the Lord intends for you to love only Robbie for the rest of your life?”
“Would that be so bad?” A sigh whooshed from her lips. She was a Benedict Arnold to her own determination. Why had she agreed to Travis’s invitation? It must’ve been fatigue. A chill from the rain.
Or a girlish desire to stay caught up in her own emotions.
It was tonight. And her thoughts shifted from backing out to keeping her promise with as much variance as the Galveston tide.
“I don’t think I’m the person to answer that. I don’t even think you are.” Mrs. Miller laid aside her knitting.
“I’m only being realistic. I’m twenty-seven. A widow. And in my current profession, I doubt I’ll be meeting throngs of eligible men. Nor do I wish to.” Because there was only one man she could ever have. She’d already married him. And he’d already died.
“I don’t think realistic expectations are holding much sway with you.” Mrs. Miller’s clear brown eyes seemed to delve deep inside Annie’s mind. “I think you believe you don’t deserve any more happiness than what you’ve already been given. Am I right?”
Annie didn’t answer.
“The thing about God giving out blessings, is that we don’t deserve a lick of them. Life isn’t about getting what we deserve. It’s about getting what He, in His love, chooses to give us. Sometimes what He chooses isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s full of so much pain that it leaves us aching. And other times, God smiles down and throws so much joy into our laps that we cannot help but rejoice at the beauty of it. I’m not going to make any attempts to grasp His path for you. But I will say this. Don’t let guilt over something that happened years ago determine the way you face your tomorrows. God isn’t like that, Annie. If He were, think of all those people in the Good Book who wouldn’t have made a thimbleful out of their lives. I know you married your husband because it was what your father wanted. Whether that was right or wrong, well, there’s no going back. But you don’t have to let that decision affect the ones you make now.”