. .

Chapter Twelve

. .

Like Minds

. .

"I made blueberry scones this morning, so I'll contribute those. Shall I make some lemonade to bring as well?" Faith asked as, walking home from church, they neared the row houses.

"Lemonade sounds refreshing. I boiled eggs earlier, so Allie and I will make egg salad sandwiches. Is that okay with you? I've been preoccupied and didn't plan ahead as I ought to have this week." Nathan explained with a teasing grin.

"Egg salad will be good." Faith glanced from Nathan to Allie. "Have you ever tasted it with a little mustard added?"

"I don't think so, but Dad and I like mustard. Should we try it, Dad?'

"Sure. Why don't we all change first and you come meet us at our house? You can show us how much mustard to add and we'll have the sandwiches prepared quickly." Nathan had another idea. "Why don't you bring the lemons and we'll make lemonade together? We have the Mason jars and plenty of sugar. It won't take us long to prepare our lunch when working together."

. .

Dressed in a dark brown split skirt and pale blue striped blouse with a ruffle edging the V-neckline and sleeves, Faith arrived at the Grant's home and immediately threw her head back, laughing, when Nathan answered the door. Sputtering and holding on to the door jam, she handed her basket to Nathan as he invited her in.

Enjoying Faith's hilarity, Nathan was nevertheless clueless as to what precipitated her laughter. "What's so funny?"

Coming towards the front door to see what was going on, Allie suddenly burst out laughing as well. Baffled, Nathan looked from one to the other of his ladies. Shrugging his shoulders, he was turning towards the kitchen when Allie reached for his arm.

"Dad. Wait. Don't you see? What's so funny?" Allie asked between giggles. "Look around, Dad!"

"I don't know what you are talking about, Allie! What am I supposed to be looking for?" Nathan leaned so he could catch a quick glance of himself in the mirror. "My hair isn't messy…I…"

"Dad what color trousers are you wearing?"

"Brown. Dark brown."

"And what color is your shirt?"

"Blue and white stripes."

"What color is Doctor Faith wearing?"

With a quick appraisal , Nathan responded, "A blue and white striped blouse... Ah ha!" Nathan wiggled his eyebrows before triumphantly exclaiming, "We match!"

"It's as though you planned it!" Allie waved them to the kitchen.

"My blouse has ruffles though, so technically we are different." Faith gave a teasing wink.

Whispering, Nathan confided. "Oh, I know we are different and that is my delight."

Nathan followed the ladies into the kitchen and, placing the basket on the table, he glanced at Allie. "Um, look at yourself young lady." He pointed to his daughter. "Maybe the color is slightly lighter, but a brown riding skirt and brown and white striped blouse, huh?"

Nathan handed Faith an apron and stood behind her to tie it around her neck while she held up her hair. Allie watched, curious, and after noticing Allie's raised eyebrow, Nathan made the announcement. Placing his hand on Faith's shoulder, he beamed. "Allie? We are courting!"

"Oh! Really?" Eyes wide and filling, Allie moved to wrap them both in a hug. "This is so great! So exciting! Oh! Does anyone else know? Can I tell my friends?"

Laughing, Nathan cautioned. "You are the first to know, but we want to tell Uncle Bill, Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Lee, then you may tell anyone you wish to tell." Nathan stroked Allie's hair. "You really are okay with this, Honey?"

"Okay? Dad! Of course I'm okay, more than okay really." Allie hugged Faith again. "Maybe this is the best news ever!"

"It sure is the best news ever for me, Allie!" Faith gazed up at Nathan and they became lost in each other for a few moments.

After a few moments, Allie giggled. "I guess I'll have to get used to this now? Ahem!"

Startled, Nathan felt warmth creep up his neck. "Uh, I missed that. What did you say, Allie?"

"I guess I'll have to get used to you two, being distracted and making eyes at each other and all!"

Giggling, Faith reached up to pat Nathan's cheek. "I'm afraid so, Allie. If I was drawn to watch your father before, I can only imagine it will get worse…" She held Nathan's gaze again. "No, not worse! More frequent is a better phrase because everything can only get better from here."

Faith turned to the sink and, after washing her hands, Faith washed the lemons and asked for a knife and a lemon reamer.

"What's that?" Nathan asked as he opened a drawer and handed a knife to Faith.

"That, Nathan." She pointed. "The wooden reamer right there."

"Is that a 'reamer?' How does it work?"

Faith stopped, looking into Nathan's quizzical expression with one of her own. "Are you teasing me, Nathan Grant? Or…"

"I'm serious. That came from Mom when we divided up the utensils from the ranch's kitchen. I never knew what it was for."

With her lilting laugh, Faith, motioned for Nathan to watch. "Let me show you, Sir." Faith halved the lemon and inserted the point, twisting to produce a stream of lemon juice into a small bowl.

"You mean that all this time, I could have used that and not spent time mushing the pulp with a spoon?" Nathan smirked. "Making lemonade is so much more appealing now!"

Faith quickly peeled a swirl of the yellow skin and popped it and the two lemon halves into the jar, commenting, "And pretty too!" She sprinkled in some sugar, added the lemon juice and water, then handed it to Nathan. "It's your job to shake well!"

"How much mustard do I add, Doctor Faith?" Allie waited with a spoon poised.

Peeking into the bowl to assess the quantity of eggs, Faith replied. "Start with a scant teaspoonful and you and your dad can taste it to see if you want more."

Nathan was dancing around the kitchen shaking the jars so came to observe and test the salad. "Umm. Delicious. I've got another favorite food, ladies!" Eyes full of mirth, he grinned.

. .

At the front door, Faith slung a leather strap over her shoulder, a canteen and a leather pouch attached. After sliding the strap into position, she lifted the blanket from the sofa and turned to find two curious sets of eyes watching her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm wondering why you are bringing a canteen to the river?" Nathan pointed as he adjusted the wicker backpack over his shoulders, and lifted two fishing poles.

"Oh! Well, I guess it's a force of habit. I often wear this just in case. You know I might have to cleanse a cut or scrape or…" Blushing she confessed, "I have antiseptic and bandages in my purse too! I mean you never know…"

Grinning, Nathan queried. "Doctor Carter, exactly what do you think we plan to do while fishing?"

"Ahhh. Fish?" She lifted her chin defensively. "If you had seen the disastrous results of seemingly benign activities as I have, you would be prepared too." She scrunched her nose. "I have had to extract more than one fishing hook from someone's scalp or…"

Allie and Nathan chuckled simultaneously.

"Oh! Well, that explains it then. But let me assure you that in all our years of fishing together, the worst disaster with a fishing hook was getting the line caught on Allie's sweater when she was trying to attach the bait! I think we'll be okay."

Relieved to hear this, Faith nevertheless kept her belongings as planned and stepped into the street. A quick glance both ways allowed Faith to see Elizabeth stop and stare her way before entering her own row house, so Faith offered a modest wave which went unreciprocated.

Taking her place beside Nathan she declined the offer of his elbow with a whisper, "Elizabeth is watching."

"Oh? Okay." With Allie present Nathan decided not to question anything and the three walked on in silence. "What…"

"I'm very hap…" Faith began, talking over Nathan's voice.

Smiling down at her, Nathan offered, "You first."

Faith continued, "I'm happy with Hans's progress and I believe God is answering prayers."

"That's amazing!" Nathan grinned. "I was just going to ask about his condition this morning!" He leaned towards her nudging her shoulder. "Like minds!"

With twinkling eyes, Faith smiled. How she was enjoying being of like mind with Nathan Grant now. "I guess so. Never have I seen a deep infection like his heal so quickly. I may need to continue with only weekly treatments, soon, but he is doing very well. I instructed him to let Jed continue the morning and evening routines, but maybe next week, Hans can begin to care for the horses as long as he stays away from any potential kicks."

"His horses seemed docile enough to not be a problem in my opinion. He'll feel good slowly returning to normal."

"I'll require a thick bandage if he is in any compromising positions, but, it will be good. Maybe he can supervise the harvest from a wagon so he remains in charge of his apple crop. Have any of the young people expressed interest in volunteering, Allie?"

"Robert was telling some of our friends after church and some are definitely going to ask their parents." Allie responded then added thoughtfully, "Dad, do you think, Mr. Sterk would send them home with a bag of apples as a thank you? I wonder if some parents might be interested in that, especially if they have chores at home the children would normally have been doing."

"Good thought, Allie. I certainly will not ask, but I'll have to find a way to plant the idea."

After walking a ways in silence, Allie and Nathan stopped as they approached a river. "Now, here we are, Faith! This is our spot. Isn't it lovely?" Nathan carefully lowered the wicker basket to the ground and helped Faith spread the blanket while Allie retrieved their bait from the pail she had carried.

"This is a lovely spot, Nathan. I haven't seen this before." Faith stood and, shielding her eyes from the sun, turned in a full circle as she examined the view. "You said this is Bill's land?"

"It is. I almost bought it from him a couple years ago, but decided against it. Have a seat for a few moments, Faith, so we can sip some lemonade before we get started." Nathan reached out his hand to guide her as she sat gracefully.

"Why did you decide against purchasing it?"

"It was a difficult time and for a brief moment I thought there was a future for Allie and me here with the Thorntons. Turned out that wasn't to be so we stayed in the row house. You like it here?"

"I do. It is a little extra walk from town, but with a vehicle for the bad weather, it is lovely." Faith thought she remembered Nathan had spoken about land when he had shared his history with Elizabeth some time ago. "This is a retreat in some ways. Would you consider purchasing it again or do you have another parcel in mind?"

"I guess I would need to make some more memories here before I would reconsider. You see over there from the pines and beyond is land that Jack Thornton purchased for Elizabeth and himself. I believe she is keeping it for young Jack someday, but I would prefer to live with someone else as our next door neighbors. There is another place that Lee has told me about as he and Rosemary might want to build there if we built there as well. We are all considering it, therefore we might do some planning over the winter." Nathan screwed the lid back on his lemonade. "Are you ready for your first fishing lesson, Doctor?"

"It is really fun. Doctor Faith. We just have to remain quiet or speak softly." Allie advised.

"Okay. Show me how to fish!" Faith laughed quietly, but scrunched her nose as Nathan opened a jar of worms and held it towards her. "Am I supposed to take one?" she gulped.

"Yes, Faie. Lift it out and I'll show you how to secure it on the hook." Watching her hesitation, Nathan chuckled low. "Here. Watch me." With a swift move, Nathan had attached the bait to his pole while Allie had hers ready to go. "Don't think about it. Just do it!"

"I took an oath to do no harm, Nathan, and this must be painful for that little worm." Faith looked up at him, pleading. "Will you please bait the hook for me? I don't mind holding the pole."

"Faith, this is not as bad as touching the insides of a person during surgery. You can do it." Nathan held her hook steady while Faith moved the wiggling worm a little closer.

"Not to be compared, Nathan. Surgery is attempting to restore health and eliminate pain. Surgery attempts to save a life. This…" She moved away from him again.

"The fish will be gone if I don't get started, Dad. I'll go upstream a little ways."

"Okay, Honey." Returning to address Faith, Nathan asked. "Exactly how do you think fish arrive at the fishmongers or meat at the butchers? Or poultry? Did you ever pluck a chicken?"

"I was raised in the city, Nathan. I bought food that had already been prepared, but yes, I have plucked a chicken. I couldn't eat it that day though. Even now I try not to think of it when I sit down to dinner."

"Okay then. Let me bait the hook so we can catch some dinner." Nathan quickly added the worm and, after extending his hand to help her stand, handed the pole to Faith. He pointed to a good spot and whispered, "Right over here." Glancing upstream at Allie, Nathan saw the glint of silver and knew his daughter had already caught enough for an appetizer.

. .

After what seemed like an hour, Nathan had caught three fish and Allie had secured four, but Faith was ready to give up on fishing! Reeling in her line in preparation for returning to the blanket to embroider, a sudden tug got Faith's attention. "Nathan! I think I caught something. What do I do now?"

"Reel it in slowly. That's right, slow and steady. When you get it close enough I'll catch it in the net. Good. Steady. Keep going. You're almost there. Okay, hold tightly." Nathan reached out and caught the fish just as it surfaced. "This is a beaut! Good job, Faith! Your first fish."

Excitedly, Faith clapped her hands as she watched Nathan extract the hook and slide the fish into the pail of water, joining the rest of their dinner. "Oops!" She whispered. "Did I scare away the other fish in my enthusiasm?"

Glancing into the bucket, Nathan shook his head. "These aren't going anywhere!" Grinning, he laid her fishing rod beside his on the ground. "We have our dinner!"

"Oh, but they all look the same. Which one is Finny?" Faith peered into the bucket.

"Finny?"

"Yes, Finny, the fish. He's mine! Which one is mine?" Faith asked again.

Snickering, Nathan pointed to one of the fish, having no idea which one he had just added to the bucket. "Does it matter?"

"It does to me. He's my first fish and I want to know what he tastes like."

"May I suggest that in the future you don't name the creature you will be eating? It digests better that way!" Chuckling, Nathan placed his hand on the small of her back. "Let's head to the blanket and when Allie sees us she'll join us for our lunch."

"You sound like you have experience not naming your food." Faith looked at Nathan's inscrutable expression. "Is there a story there?"

As they sat on the blanket side-by-side, Nathan looked to the azure sky above. "Colleen named every animal we had. For horses and milk cows that was fine, but she could not eat a chicken or fish she had named. Finally Mom resorted to trickery and tried to hide which animal was being prepared for dinner. A few days after a delicious chicken stew, Colleen returned from collecting the eggs wanting to know were Snowbird went. Her eyes went wide when Mom explained that the hen had been our dinner. With tears streaming down her face, Colleen admitted that she had tasted really good and from that time on chickens were called Chickens and our pig was just Pig!"

"How old was Mama then?" Allie had joined them and was shaking water from her hands.

"Oh, maybe ten or so? You, Allie-girl never had that issue, for which I am thankful!" Nathan opened the basket and began to unpack their lunch.

"Well, actually, I did name some animals in my mind. You know, when I made up little stories. Like Beatrix Potter?"

Stopping in the middle of lifting a sandwich, Nathan stared at his daughter. "You've made up stories?"

Allie shrugged. "Sure. Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't know about everyone, but have you ever written them down? Do you remember them?"

"I remember because sometimes I still think about them although they are stories for little children. Should I write them out?"

Faith and Nathan both nodded, but Faith spoke first. "I think you should, Allie. Maybe write them and illustrate them? You never know what might come of it."

"Oh, I already have illustrations, but they are old. I would have to re-do them before I show them to anyone." Allie blushed as she dipped her head.

Unfrozen, Nathan placed his hand on Allie's shoulder. "Would you show them to Faith and me? I would love to see your creative endeavors."

"Maybe? Let me find them and see?" Allie nodded at the sandwiches. "Are you ready to eat now?"

"'Good' to the stories and artwork and 'yes' to lunch!" Faith smiled.

"Good!" Chuckling, Nathan looked at Faith as they spoke simultaneously. "I think so, shall I give thanks?"

. .

.