Sweet Annie Part 15

"I made it myself," Annie said proudly. "Well, Aunt Vera helped, but I did most of it alone."

"The color makes your eyes as green as new spring gra.s.s," he said quietly, and she blushed.

Luke helped them both into the back seat of the buggy and climbed on the front seat to guide the horse. Annie recognized the vehicle as one of the finer rigs her father sometimes rented.

"You must have made a lot today, renting all these rigs," Charmaine said.

"No, I loaned them."

"For free?"

"Yes, it was for the town's celebration, after all."

Charmaine glanced at Annie and raised a brow.

"That was kind of you," Annie said.

"Where we headed?" he asked. The streets were filled with people and makeshift stands selling fudge and popcorn b.a.l.l.s and lemonade.

"Annie's chair is at the school where we started," Charmaine replied.

The closer they came to the school, the harder Annie's heart thudded. And there, standing in the side-yard as Luke pulled the buggy to a stop, was Annie's family.

Chapter Nine.

"Oh, dear," Annie gasped.

"It's all right," Charmaine said.

"They saw me. They saw me smile and blow him a kiss."

"Easy, Annie," Luke said over his shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen that we can't handle."

Ignoring his a.s.surance, she wobbled to her feet and started down the carriage steps.

Burdell rushed toward her. "What are you doing? Wait for help!"

"Annie!" her mother said, hurrying forward. "What has gotten into you, child?" She stared agape at her daughter. "And where did you get that dress? You left before I could see you this morning."

"He hasn't done anything!" Annie said, rushing to get the words out before trouble started.

"It was me who talked Annie into joining us on the float, Aunt Mildred," Charmaine said, taking the blame. "None of us thought ahead to how we'd get her back to her chair, and Mr. Carpenter was kind enough to give us a ride in his buggy."

Eldon moved forward with Annie's chair. Burdell plucked Annie from the step of the buggy and carried her toward her seat. Diana stood nearby with Will in tow and gave Annie an apologetic shrug.

"Is that correct?" her father asked Annie.

"Yes," she replied quickly. "But it wasn't Charmaine's fault. In all the years I was tutored I sometimes got to help on the school float, but I never got to ride on it. I wanted to, Daddy. It was my decision."

"You could have fallen and been badly hurt," her mother scolded. "I was terrified when I saw you up there. Where's your regard for your parents?"

Diana stepped forward then, just as Luke descended. "Thank you for seeing her safely back here, Mr. Carpenter." She extended a gloved hand and Luke took it briefly. "I know her parents appreciate your attention to their daughter's safety. And I'm sure you went out of your way to bring her here."

"My pleasure, ma'am," he returned politely.

After that, there really wasn't much Burdy or her father could say about Luke bringing Annie home. Charmaine and Diana had made it look like he'd done them a favor. And he had. Suddenly they were obligated to the man they'd detested for so many years.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Carpenter," Annie added and Charmaine murmured her thanks as well.

Luke tugged the brim of his straw hat politely and turned to leave.

"You haven't thanked the man," Diana whispered to her husband and father-in-law.

Annie cringed. It had been enough that they hadn't beaten him flat, couldn't Diana leave well enough alone?

Seated again, Luke shook the reins over the horse's back and the buggy pulled away from the schoolyard.

"We should take her home," Mildred said to her husband.

Her father turned toward her. "Do you want to go home, Annie?"

She almost fell out of her chair.

Her mother placed her hand on her hip and glared at him.

He'd never before asked what Annie wanted. She didn't care why he had this time, she just knew she wasn't going to let the opportunity to express her choice pa.s.s. "No. I want to see the contests and the displays and watch the dancing tonight."

"Very well," he said. "But you'll inform us if you get tired."

She nodded. "I will."

"Eldon," her mother said in a disapproving tone.

Charmaine shared a look of astonishment with Annie while Annie's parents had an angrily whispered exchange.

"Glenda entered her pickles in a compet.i.tion. I want to go see if she's won a prize yet," Annie said cheerfully.

"I don't think that's wise," her mother objected.

"Annie said she'd let us know when she got tired," Eldon said. Then, more quietly as he stepped behind her chair and pushed, he added, "And I've never seen her tired yet."

Annie twisted to look at her father. His face didn't reveal his thoughts, but he gave her a nod and pushed her toward the activities. When no one was watching, he slipped several dollars into her hand.

Annie had never enjoyed herself more. The only thing that would have given her more pleasure would have been if she could have gotten out of her chair and stood beside the townspeople playing games-or maybe played a few herself. But she'd been allowed to attend, even over her mother's objections, and for that she gave silent thanks.

A crowd gathered around for the sheriff to announce the winning float, and the Ladies' League won again. "We'll beat 'em next time!" Doneta Parker called to Charmaine and Annie.

Glenda invited the Sweet.w.a.ters to join her family's picnic at noon. Mildred declined, but Annie asked to stay. Finally, her father left her in Charmaine's care and the rest of her family moved into the crowd.

Glenda's daughters were fair-haired darlings, Gwen nine and Gerta seven. They wore simple calico dresses that had seen much wear, but were clean and pressed. Annie thought of the wardrobe in her room filled with frilly dresses she detested and wondered if she could figure out how to use the material to make clothing that would fit them.

Annie moved to sit on the quilt beside Charmaine and the girls. Glenda served them lunch, and they ate and visited and laughed.

Glenda's tall, mustached husband, Tim, wasn't the most handsome man Annie'd ever laid eyes on, but he had a genuine smile and a way of making people feel special. His interaction with his wife and daughters touched Annie. She remembered Glenda's tale of how he'd courted her with candy and flowers, and her esteem for him grew even more now that she'd met him.

A pair of lanky young fellows joined them as they finished their lunch. Gwen and Gerta immediately pounced on the youngest, and he hugged them good-naturedly, though he blushed.

"Annie, Charmaine, do you know my brother, Wayne?" Glenda asked. "Wayne, Miss Renlow is Miss Sweet.w.a.ter's cousin."

Annie had never met Wayne, but Charmaine said, "I remember you from school before you graduated. You work on your ranch now?"

Wayne nodded. "Always did."

"And this is Wayne's friend, Levi Cutter," Glenda said.

The young man she introduced removed his hat, bent to take each of their hands and gave Annie and Charmaine knockout smiles. He wore his fair hair a little too long, but it didn't detract from his compelling good looks. His blue eyes sparkled with humor and seemed to hold intimate secrets.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Cutter," Annie said politely.

"You pretty ladies save me a dance tonight," he said with a grin and a wink, then settled his hat back on his head.

The comment embarra.s.sed Annie, and she turned her attention to helping Glenda pack away the dishes and silverware.

The young men wandered back toward the busy street, and Charmaine grabbed Annie's forearm breathlessly. "Isn't he absolutely the handsomest devil?"

She nodded. "Levi's very nice looking."

"No, not Levi. Wayne!"

"Oh-oh, yes, he's handsome, too."

"Levi is a scoundrel and everyone knows it," Charmaine whispered. "He's ruined more than one girl's reputation. They say he lives on a ranch with a brother who is hideously scarred and never comes to town."

"Oh."

"But Glenda's brother is from a nice family, and he hasn't been seen courting anyone. Maybe he'll ask me to dance tonight."

"I'm sure he will," Annie replied. "You'll be the prettiest girl there." She stood and stretched her legs after being seated on the ground for so long, then sat in her chair and waited for Charmaine to push her back to the festivities.

They came upon one of the booths set up in the side yard of the church, and admired the prettily embroidered items for sale. Charmaine examined a pair of pillowslips with bright peac.o.c.ks st.i.tched in vivid colors and lace crocheted along the hem.

"That's always a popular design," Mrs. Krenshaw said in her loud library whisper from behind the makeshift counter. "They'd be a nice addition to any young lady's trousseau."

"You made these?" Charmaine asked.

Mrs. Krenshaw nodded and turned to answer a question for a woman standing beside Annie.

"Aren't they stunning?" Charmaine asked Annie, running her fingers over the embroidered st.i.tches.

"Yes, they're lovely." She pulled her cousin down close. "I never pictured her sitting and embroidering, did you?"

Shrugging, Charmaine counted change from the coin bag in her reticule and gave it to the librarian.

Annie thought the purchase an odd one for her cousin. "What are you going to do with those? Give them to someone?"

"They're for my hope chest."

"Oh." Annie's gaze flittered across the items on the linen-covered boards. Things for a young lady's trousseau, Mrs. Krenshaw had said. "Do you have much in your hope chest?"

"Mama has sewn me dish towels and my great aunt Elsbeth made me a quilt before she died. Last year Papa bought me a set of dishes from a catalog."

This was the first Annie had considered the notion. Lizzy had mentioned her hope chest, too, but Annie hadn't given it any thought at the time. Now here she was thinking about marrying Luke and she had nothing packed away for married life.

Of course her mother wouldn't have started or encouraged any such collection for Annie, since she didn't believe she'd ever be married. Not much hope there. But Annie's hopes had soared over the past months.

Her interest in the table tripled and she selected two pairs of pillowslips, one embroidered with purple pansies, the other with delicate pale-green ivy, both edged with crocheted lace. She added a set of dish towels and a baby bib to her pile and paid Mrs. Krenshaw.

Charmaine's brows rose into the middle of her forehead, but she only grinned and carried Annie's purchases with her own.

Occasionally throughout the afternoon Annie glimpsed Luke, watching games, tasting pies, drinking beer with the men. Before the sun started to set behind the mountains, people cleared the street to stand along the sides and horse races commenced.

Annie hadn't expected to see Luke on one of the horses that shot past in a cloud of dust, but when she recognized him, she worked her way to her feet and cheered with the rest of the boisterous crowd.

"Did he win? Did he win?" She jumped up and down in excitement, holding her cousin's arm for support.

"I can't see with you bouncing in front of me," Charmaine replied, and they laughed.

After the races Lizzy and her new husband, Guy Halverson, greeted them. A glowing Lizzy stood beside her young husband with adoration, clinging to his arm and giving him coquettish smiles as they shared talk of the day's fun.

"That's enough to make you sick," Charmaine commented after they'd moved on.

"I thought it was sweet," Annie replied. "You had that same look on your face when Wayne spoke to you."

"I did not."

"Did so. How do you know? I was looking at you. You were making goo-goo eyes at him."

"You're making it up."

"Am not."

"Take it back or I'll push you into a pile of horse dung."