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Heather’s hands were shaking as she carefully cut the bread. She couldn’t understand anything happening around her. Just a month before, her mother had told her she had a month or two to live, and now she was in Clover Creek?
After cutting the bread, Heather set the table for four. Then she carried all the bread into the dining room.
Caroline looked at all the bread. “Do you think you’re feeding an army? That’s way too much food for us.”
“My husband comes in for lunch most days.”
“Oh, I look forward to meeting him. Patrick, I believe you said in your letter?”
At Heather’s nod, Caroline smiled. “Oh, I can’t wait to meet the man who took you away from me.”
When Patrick walked into the house, he stopped, staring at Caroline. “Who are you?” he asked. He knew it was rude, but he wasn’t used to people he didn’t know being in his home.
“I’m Caroline, your new mother-in-law.” She stood up to look at him, and she seemed to slink back away from him. “You’re a rather large man.”
Patrick shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed.” His mind was spinning with all Heather had told him about her mother, and he had no idea what to do with the information. “Are you visiting for a while?”
Caroline nodded. “Oh, yes. I sold my farm and came to Heather. I knew she’d need me by her side.”
Patrick looked between Caroline and Heather, and for his wife’s comfort, he said, “I’ll take you to the boarding house in town after supper. I’m sure they’ll have room for you, and you’ll be able to meet some of the townsfolk.”
Caroline gasped. “Are you saying that I can’t stay here?”
“I believe you’ll be more comfortable at the boarding house in town.”
Sally seemed confused when she came in with two plates of bacon, both piled high. “She’s going to the boarding house? That Mrs. Prewitt runs?”
Patrick nodded. “I believe that would be best.”
Sally still looked confused, but she nodded her agreement. “After supper then. Would you like to help Heather and I put up blackberry jam today? We’ve been harvesting the berries for two days, and it’s time to turn them into something to see us through the winter.”
Caroline smiled. “Oh, I would adore that! I do love making jam.”
Heather gaped at her mother, whom she had never seen do something as mundane as making jam. No, her mother was more the type to sit in the opposite corner of the kitchen while Heather and her grandmother did the work themselves. She had no idea what kind of game her mother was playing, but it was already starting to upset her.
“Oh, good!” Sally said. “It’ll be a canning party.”
“My favorite kind!” Caroline said.
Heather was done listening and being surprised by what her mother was saying. It was time to eat, and she plopped her bottom onto a chair at the table.
Patrick offered the prayer, and afterward, he started to put his own sandwiches together, planning to sit silently and learn as much about Caroline as he could.
Heather picked at her food, only eating one sandwich, and it felt like lead in her stomach.
Caroline talked about how much she enjoyed cooking and taking care of her home. “I taught my Heather everything I know.”
Heather didn’t respond, but she could feel Patrick’s eyes on her. Did he believe her mother and that she was a liar? Or did he believe the stories she’d told him about how her mother had acted when she was pretending to be ill?
As soon as the meal was over, Heather began clearing the table while Patrick went back to work for the afternoon. Once the kitchen was clean, she waited on Sally to give her directions as to her job in the process of jam making. Sally had certain ways she liked to do things, and Heather was always happy to comply.
Her mother stood back and watched, but then, she jumped into the middle. “Heather, why aren’t you washing these berries and getting the stems out? Sally, I’m so sorry. I raised my daughter to be more helpful around the house.”
Caroline began washing the jars they would use, while Sally gathered everything they would need for making the jam. “I just love blackberry jam,” Caroline said.
Heather kept at her task, sorting out the bad pieces from the blackberries. She wanted to start mumbling under her breath, but she was able to resist.
Sally smiled at Caroline. “You did a great job on the jars. I can see you must have done a lot of canning. Don’t you just love harvest time?”
