Page 18 of A Joyful Ring
At the time, he’d thought whoever owned the shack had chosen a good location. It was on a slight rise from the river, which meant it wasn’t going to be the first place to flood, but close enough that roots would likely have a good source of groundwater.
Then his gaze had landed on a tall shapely woman leaning against the front of the shack. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes or the expression on her face, something about her pulled at him, and made him want to stride over to her and get to know everything there was to learn about her.
Before he’d lost his mind and followed the inclination, he nodded to her and continued on his way to the church with his box of apricots.
The pastor had decided to move the service to the shade of the trees along the riverbank, so Gunder had jumped in to help carry pews out of the church. It wasn’t until he was seated beside Lars, who was behind the woman he’d seen earlier, that he wondered about Lars’ daughter.
There hadn’t been time to ask before the service. It wasn’t until Lars had asked him to help carry the food the Hoffman family werecontributing to the meal over from their house that Gunder had realized Risa wasn’t a child, but a lovely young woman.
“Your first day as a paid freighter?” Risa asked, finally joining the conversation.
“That’s right, miss,” Gunder said, shoving a bite of tender beef into his mouth to keep from laughing when she knocked over her jar of water.
Risa righted it with a sound of exasperation. Gunder was about to offer to refill it, when Lars joined them. The freighter and Mrs. Baldwin carried the conversation.
Gunder refilled his plate twice, and went back three times to sample the various desserts. His favorite was a spicy square he wasn’t sure was a cookie or some sort of a cake, but it was moist and bursting with flavor. The spices reminded him of thepepparkakorcookies his mother made for Christmas every year.
When the meal was over, some of the men went fishing in the river. The younger boys threw off their shirts and waded into the chilly water.
Gunder knew firsthand how cool it was from taking a bath in it that morning and shaving. He’d completed the task without a mirror or hot water, but had only nicked his chin once. At least he’d gotten rid of the scruff on his face, and he hoped he appeared at least halfway presentable.
From the way Risa kept casting glimpses at him, he either had something on his face or she was as interested in him as he was in her.
Then again, Lars was his friend, and Gunder didn’t want to offend him. Gunder had nothing tooffer a woman like Risa Hoffman. Not a home. Not a hearth. Not a thing.
And why are you thinking in terms of forever?The voice in his head asked.
That was a good question.
Gunder shifted his thoughts to the celebration and watching the community enjoy what appeared to be a rare day of rest.
The clink of metal hitting metal drew his gaze to a group of men playing a game of horseshoes. Gunder was a good player, but he had no interest in joining them. Not when he preferred to sit by Risa and listen to the conversations roll around him.
Sleepy children and women wanting to get the dirty dishes washed and out of their way drew an end to the festivities.
“You’ll still join us for supper?” Lars questioned when Gunder stood and looked around to see what he could do to be of assistance.
“If you’re sure you still want company this evening.”
Lars nodded. “Of course. We’ll eat at six, but you’re welcome to come earlier if you like.”
“Thank you, Lars.” Gunder shook his hand, then set about helping to carry the heavy pews back inside the church and joining those who remained behind in cleaning up.
A hand on his shoulder brought him up short, and Gunder turned to find Mr. Goodwin giving him an approving look. “It’s good to see you jumping right into the Lovely festivities, Gunder. From what Lars said, you’ll do just fine hauling freight. Be at the mine, ready to leave at five in the morning.”
“Yes, sir.” Gunder smiled and shook Mr. Goodwin’s hand, assuming Lars would fill in the details in the morning.
When everything was put away and it appeared as though the picnic had never taken place, Gunder strolled along the riverbank, not eager to return to his stuffy little tent.
When Lars had asked him to help carry the food out for the picnic, Gunder had dashed over to his tent and retrieved a basket he’d fashioned out of bark and string and filled with apricots. He’d left it on the table at the Hoffman house so no one looking in his tent would be tempted to take it.
It made Gunder nervous not to have a door where he could lock away his belongings. Last night, he’d dug a hole beneath his cot big enough to hold his pack and had hidden it there today. He just hoped it would be there when he returned to his tent later.
He was half tempted to go check on it, not that he had much of anything worth stealing, but what little he did own, he preferred not to lose. Perhaps he just needed to put his faith and trust to work and not worry about his earthly possessions quite so much.
Gunder sighed and kicked at a pine cone, then glanced up to see he’d walked quite a distance from Lovely. The trees were thicker here, and he was pleased to see pine trees as well as white oak trees growing near the river, where lush green grass covered the banks.
Something yellow caught his eye in the distance, and he walked over to it to find a plant with arrow-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers.He started to pluck a few buds, then changed his mind. Risa struck him as someone who would rather have a plant that would continue growing and blooming than a few posies that would wilt and die.
