“That explains why you couldn’t find the one meant for you.” Maddie caught her hand. “He wasn’t on the list, darlin’, but he was your match.”
“Don’t I have something to say about that?” Lawson seemed more amused than he should have been in this situation, especially when a firm “no” echoed through the café. Ellie eyed him. Why wasn’t he more upset?
“We can’t abandon Ellie in her time of need.” Maddie released them and turned toward her patrons. “Didn’t Mrs. Greene say that Ellie deserves this after everything she’s done for the town?”
“Mrs. Greene said that?” Ellie turned to Lawson. “Why would Mrs. Greene say that?”
“That is strange,” he admitted with the beginnings of a grimace.
Maddie ignored them. “Well, that settles it.”
Lawson jumped up. “Wait. That settles what? What’s going on?”
Oh, now Lawson decides to look nervous.
“You just leave that to Peppin, folks.” Mrs. Cummins said. “You just leave that to Peppin.”
Just like that, it was over. Maddie promised to bring them each a special on the house. The other patrons went back to their food. Ellie and Lawson were left to stare about in shock.
Ellie spoke first. “I have chills and I’m not sure why.”
* * *
Lawson understood her feelings exactly. He didn’t have chills but he did feel a strange foreboding settle in his gut. He’d done his best to ignore what he’d convinced himself were just fleeting flashes of attraction to Ellie. Living in the old cabin on the Rutledge ranch for the past week or so hadn’t made that easy. Especially since he tended to take his meals with the Rutledge family—and Ellie, train the horses with Nathan—and Ellie, complete barn chores with Nathan, Nathan’s son Timothy—and Ellie. She seemed to be everywhere at once being helpful or kind or getting into mischief.
He’d almost wondered why Nathan hadn’t just increased Ellie’s responsibilities around the farm rather than hire him as foreman. After all, her talent for settling down high-strung horses was remarkable. Then he discovered that Nathan didn’t only need the talented horse trainer he had in Ellie, but also the brawn her slim frame didn’t carry and the business acumen she seemed to intentionally avoid.
Once he settled down into the new job and got used to being in Peppin again, his perception of her would go back to normal. It was obvious Ellie didn’t see him as anything other than a friend, almost a brother. And that was the way it was supposed to be. He wasn’t about to pin his heart on a girl who would no doubt reject him. The last thing he needed right now was for the town to bluster in and make things even more confusing. Unfortunately, it looked as if that was exactly what was about to happen.
He shook his head. “Well, Ellie, it looks like all of your matchmaking efforts are about to be repaid to you.”
“Courtesy of Mrs. Greene. Why does that sound so threatening?” She shivered. “I think she incited this on purpose. Probably because she knows you’d never...”
He almost let that comment slide before deciding against it. “I’d never what?”
She lifted her chin to continue solemnly, “No matter how hard matchmakers might try, you’re the one man who’d never fall in love with me. You’re the only man in town unrelated to me who has a legitimate reason to treat me like a little sister.”
“Ellie.” Not knowing what else to say that wouldn’t make them both feel more awkward, he covered her hand to comfort her.
She shook her head as her large green eyes filled with tears. “No, it’s true. I tell you, it’s true. She saw me punch you afterward. She knew what that meant. She did this on purpose to get back at me for who knows what.”
“Then don’t let her.” He handed her his handkerchief in case one of the tears tried to escape. “Don’t let her know it bothers you. Just go about your life as if it doesn’t matter to you. We won’t let it determine our behavior one way or the other.”
She nodded. She pulled in a deep breath, seeming to will back her tears. Maddie approached to serve their food and eyed their clasped hands. They immediately pulled apart. She smiled, as the town’s plan was working already. Lawson’s gaze flew to Ellie when she gasped. “What’s wrong?”
She straightened abruptly. “There’s Mrs. Greene. I should talk to her.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He stared after her as she strode out the door. It clanged shut with a plaintive cry of the bell. He suddenly realized everyone was watching him. He stared right back at them. Maddie gathered Ellie’s plate. “I’ll box it up for her and she can eat it on the way home.”
“Thank you.”
“Fine way to start a romance,” she muttered as she walked away.
Chapter Four
Ellie frowned as she hurried across Main Street toward where her childhood nemesis stood outside of Sew Wonderful Tailoring. For years, she’d assumed her antagonistic relationship with Mrs. Greene wasn’t something worth contemplation. Now she wasn’t so sure.
Perhaps if she’d apologized for her mischievous youth years ago instead of just letting the pattern continue, she wouldn’t be in this mess now. The funny thing was that Ellie didn’t believe it was entirely her fault. She’d sensed Mrs. Greene’s disapproval for as long as she could remember. Once she’d realized nothing she did changed the woman’s opinion of her, she’d decided she might as well live up to those low expectations and have fun while doing it. It had been a silly, childish decision for sure, and one that had gotten her into scads of trouble.
“When I was a child I spoke as a child but when I became an adult I put childish things away.”
Isn’t that in the Bible somewhere? Her heart beat rapidly in her throat even as her steps hastened in resolve. “Mrs. Greene, may I speak to you for a moment in private?”
The woman slowly turned from surveying the window to look at Ellie with a measuring stare. Her response came slowly but with precision. “Certainly.”
“The courtyard is always quiet,” she suggested. At Mrs. Greene’s nod, she led the woman toward the courthouse then stopped beside one of the courtyard’s benches. This was going to be either the wisest or the stupidest things she’d ever done. She cleared her throat. “I’d like to apologize for the way I behaved when I was younger—”
Mrs. Greene laughed. She laughed! “You must want something from me pretty badly if this is the approach you’re taking. What is it, then?”
Taken off guard, Ellie pulled in a steadying breath before replying. “M-Maddie at the café says you’ve been telling everyone that I’m engaged to Lawson.”
“Yes?”
“But I’m not!”
Mrs. Greene sniffed disdainfully. “Well, of course you are. I saw him get down on his knee and propose. It’s pure nonsense keeping the engagement hidden when you know both families will approve. Why should I keep your secret for you?”
“It isn’t a secret! I mean, it isn’t an engagement!” Ellie shook her head to clear her confusion. “Lawson was just teasing me—he proposed as a joke. As soon as he was done, I punched him on the shoulder and then we both had a good laugh about it. That was it! Or it should have been, except that you had to go and tell everyone. Now the whole town has gotten the wrong idea.”
“Have they?” Mrs. Greene tilted her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,