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“I’m not the trouble, you are the trouble!” he shouted back.
Wren laughed and even her aunt and uncle were chuckling. None of them were immune to Georgie’s charms. She thanked her aunt and uncle once more and waved to Georgie. Georgie waved back sadly, and Wren ran back to give him one more kiss on the cheek.
“I love you, trouble,” she said as she pulled away.
“Love you, too,” he grumbled and turned defeatedly back to his eggs.
Wren didn’t feel too awful at having to leave Georgie sad. He would soon find something to cheer him up, and, more importantly, these days were so painfully rare for Wren.
She eagerly went to the stable and saddled up a brown mare new to the stable and yet to be named. The mare recognized her and snorted before moving towards Wren and butting her head against Wren’s chest. Wren rubbed the horse’s nose before mounting her and urging her forward. Wren relished the feeling of the wind in her hair and the earth moving quickly beneath her. This felt like freedom, this felt like a choice she could make every day. Their ride to the village was far too quick as they arrived at a familiar cottage on the outskirt of the village. Tying up the horse, she quickly walked to the door and knocked eagerly.
A middle-aged woman opened the door looking concerned until her eyes took in Wren. “Oh, Wren, it’s only you.”
“Good morning, Ms. Landry,” Wren replied politely.
“Cara!” called the woman, turning her head towards the house. Not a second later, a beautiful raven-haired girl appeared in the doorway. Upon seeing her friend, she threw her arms around Wren and squealed delightedly.
“You wicked creature! Why has it been so long since I’ve seen you?” Cara exclaimed in mock indignity.
Wren smiled as the other girl released her from her tight embrace. “It’s not exactly up to me when I get a day off, Cara,” she said playfully, even though the reality was her lack of freedom was endlessly frustrating for her.
These days she could spend with Cara were far and few between and while she understood the need to help with the farm, she still wanted to be a woman in her youth who could socialize and choose her days.
Cara narrowed her gaze as she followed Wren’s thoughts. In truth, she had only ever voiced these feelings to Cara because she would never want to hurt her aunt or uncle or for them to feel she was ungrateful for everything they provided for her. Deciding not to say anything about the situation, Cara turned to her mother. “Mama, may I go with Wren?”
Her mother rolled her eyes and wiped her hands on her stained white apron. “I am no monster, Cara.”
Cara lifted up on her toes and kissed her mother’s cheek. Ms. Landry smiled fondly at her daughter and said, “Be sure to be back before sundown. I don’t want you both out after dark.”
Cara gave a quick, “Yes, Mama!” And then she was grabbing Wren’s arm and dragging her down the street, kicking up dirt in their haste.
Wren shouted a goodbye to Ms. Landry who was shaking her head with a smile. Wren felt a familiar pang of loss and bitterness as she watched the older woman’s reaction. She would give anything to know what it felt like to have her mother look at her like that. To know what it felt like to have someone love you so unconditionally.
Her aunt was a good woman and she was a wonderful mother to Georgie, but she couldn’t fill that void and it was something she had never asked of her. It was a loss Wren would carry for her entire life. Sometimes when Wren thought about it she would be filled with such rage she couldn’t breathe. Even at twenty-two, Wren had yet to make peace with the blinding loss. She often wondered if she would die, old and gray, and with bitterness in her heart over what never was.
If the day came that she met someone and fell in love, she would do it without her mother’s advice or her warnings. If she had children of her own, she would not be able to ask her mother for help or learn from her. Every day was a reminder she would never have what so many people took for granted.
“Where are you, Wren?” asked Cara, looking at her with furrowed brows.
Wren hadn’t even realized they had slowed to a walk and she had lost herself in the painful thoughts. “I’m sorry, Cara. I was distracted,” she said simply, not wanting to explain the path her mind had wandered.
“Well, it wasn’t a very happy distraction. Look at your face!” Cara pinched Wren’s cheeks playfully. “I will have none of that today. Today is for fun and mischief.”
Wren laughed, knowing Cara’s plans never ended well. “And what mischief are we up to today? It better not have anything to do with Andrew Hastings! I’ll not share you,” she declared proudly.
Cara gave a snort. “That moron! Oh, no, you won’t have to worry about him anymore. Did you know Arianna caught him with Melanie Hornbrook kissing outside of the market last week? I rid myself of him in a most public and humiliating way.”
Wren laughed at her friend’s confidence. “Good. You were too good for him anyway.”
Cara gave her a sly glance. “Matthew Dennish has been asking after you an awful lot lately.”
Wren blushed. Matthew was good looking to be sure, but she had never really given the subject much thought. There was little time to spend in town and with everything to do on the farm; time for that seemed impossible. She wondered what her aunt and uncle would do if someone did try to court her. It wasn’t a secret she was getting older and most of the women her age were married or soon to be married, but the prospect never thrilled her. Perhaps it was that no one in the village thrilled her.
“Shall we take a small detour to the blacksmith shop then?”
“Oh, no!” Wren had not meant the words to be a shout, but panic seized her. “It’s just, Matthew was always very nice and, of course, a blacksmith apprenticeship is a great opportunity and I would be lucky, but I just don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Cara stopped walking and turned to face Wren, her beautiful face gravely serious. “He would be lucky. Not you.”
