Page 21 of The Preacher's Wife
Emily picked up the kettle and poured the tea. “Ah. Yes, we moved from Omaha in ‘63. The town isn’t really a town yet. It is more of a community. I’m sure Hubert told you some things, but I’m happy to share with you my thoughts.”
“Hubert spoke of the people, but it seems we have different ideas of what those thoughts meant when put together.” Prudence sipped her tea and waited to see what Emily would say.
“Of course he did. Men and women view things differently. So, in the town proper, there is my family. We, of course, own the mercantile and live upstairs. Then there is the sheriff and his wife. They arrived in town recently and are currently at the boarding house. When building season starts in June, I expect them to be building a house behind the sheriff’s office.”
“You have a sheriff?”
“Well, we have a marshal who is the acting sheriff. Though I expect his title will change before long. That’s Jackson and Chloe. She’s from Pittsburgh.”
Prudence nodded and hesitantly reached for the teapot. At the nod of her hostess, she poured another cup for herself, feeling a bit more settled.
“Then there’s the banker, Irving. He built an apartment for himself behind what will be the bank. Silas is staying at the boarding house as well. The others are out of town a couple of miles. You’ll meet them on Friday, I’m sure.”
“That is a lot of information. Do you like it here?”
The bell over the door jingled. Prudence turned to see her husband enter the store, and her heart stilled.Hubert came back to her.
“I do. My best friend is here. It’s not as busy as Omaha, but it has its own charms. There also isn’t a saloon here, which I appreciate.”
“Hey little man.” Hubert’s voice echoed as he crouched down to greet Alex, who raced across the floor to him.
Prudence watched them embrace and Hubert straighten up, taking the toddler up with ease and settling him on his side.
The toddler chattered, and Prudence turned back to Emily. “Thank you for the insight. Could we maybe have tea again sometime?”
What she wanted to say was,I fully intend to cling to you like a lifeline since my husband seems to only dole out information when asked.
Instead, her new friend laughed merrily. “I’ll see you for dinner. Those of us in town gather at the boarding house. Otherwise, I fear the single men would starve. Aside from that, I always have a kettle and a coffee pot on during the day so that people can come and go with ease.”
“Oh. Oh! That’s wonderful!” Relief rushed through her, alleviating her fear of being isolated with the partner she was still getting to know.
“Did I miss anything?” Hubert asked, walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder.
Despite being irritated by him, Prudence was fascinated by watching her husband interact with the surrounding people.
“I think everyone held themselves back, knowing how you don’t like to be left out,” the other woman teased.
“Good. I see Alex is still growing like a weed. I’m shocked at how tall he’s gotten in the last ten days.”
“Children will do that, Hubert. You’ll see soon enough.” Emily rose and collected her son. Her words rushed through Prudence like ice water.
They hadn’t talked about children. She also would never allow another child to live how she had. Her chest grew tight as she stared at Hubert with what she could only assume was horror in her eyes. He gave her a gentle smile and then winked. How could he wink at her when she was sure that she was going to suffocate at any moment?
“When the time is right. I’m going to take my wife over to the boarding house and get her settled. I’m also going to grab the key for my second room.”
“We’ll see you both for dinner then. Prudence, welcome to Sterling. I think if you give it a chance, you’ll find that it’s just what you needed, even if you didn’t know it.”
Numbly, she stood, refusing the hand that Hubert held out to her. Soothing tea or not, she was still angry that this wasn’t something he’d bothered to mention. There were going to be witnesses to every single growing pain they had in the coming days.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Emily. Let me know if I can help with anything for dinner. First, I’m going to scrub myself clean and take a rest.”
She followed her husband out of the store and across the street. The boarding house was lovely. It looked like several houses put together from the front, but if they were such a small town, why did they need one so large?
“We all lived here when we first arrived. It made little sense for everyone to be working on different projects. We spent a couple of weeks building the boarding house. As the couples married and set up their own houses, they moved out. Charlie and Amanda were the first to marry and the first to build a homestead just over there. John was already married, but his wife hadn’t traveled here when we first arrived. We built his home next.” He opened the door and walked over to the long counter, pulling a key out from behind it. Prudence didn’t know what to say, and so she just kept following him as he headed up the stairs. “We all get together Friday or Saturday evenings and have a small worship service the following morning. I can’t imagine that will last forever as the town grows, but it works for now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Prudence paused at the top of the stairs, refusing to follow him any further until he answered her.
“Tell you what? This is where I live for now. We’d talked about building me a parsonage, but it seemed like it would be a waste of time and resources when someone else was in need.”
