An Unsinkable Love - By Terri Benson Page 0,55
You never did take me for that ride you promised," A weathered male voice came from over his shoulder.
With a sigh, Malcolm turned her around to face a white-haired man who leaned heavily on a cane.
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An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
Bree watched as Malcolm broke into a broad grin and stepped up to shake the old man's hand. "Caleb, it's good to see you. How have you been?"
"Good 'nuf. Good 'nuf. You tell your mamma I got some mighty fine vegetables coming on. They can start cannin' any time now."
"I'll let her know. We returned yesterday, so it may be a day or two before she's settled and ready to start putting up fruits and vegetables. Caleb, I'd like to introduce you to my fianc茅e, Bree Barry. We met while I traveled."
Caleb perused her up and down, a toothy smile splitting his face. "She's a beauty, Mal, my boy."
Bree blushed and dipped her head in thanks.
"Well, boy, you born in a barn? Bring her in. Bring her in.
Teddy'll want to meet her too, yup, she will."
Malcolm steered Bree inside the building, which turned out to be a store. Bree had never seen, or smelled, anything like it. It seemed to contain everything imaginable. Tall shelves ringed the walls and divided the floor into aisles. Big barrels and wooden crates were scattered in corners and any place there was room to walk by. Fresh produce filled the crates to overflowing, smoked meats and fragrant herbs dangled from the ceiling, bolts of fabric lay willy-nilly on shelves alongside kegs of nails. Her head swam with the effort to see everything. Malcolm urged her forward to a long counter hugging one side of the room. A portly woman stood watching them, her big grin bracketed by fat, rosy cheeks.
She stepped from behind the counter and embraced Malcolm fiercely, but her motherly affection didn't stir a surge 178
An Unsinkable Love
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of jealousy the way Melody's overly affectionate mauling had.
After a few pats on his back, Teddy stepped away and gave him a once-over. "Well, you didn't waste away eatin' all that furin food, so I guess it didn't do you no harm." She looked askance at Bree and back to Malcolm. "Where are your manners, boy?"
He slipped his arm around the woman's beefy shoulder and pushed her over to where Bree stood watching. "Teddy, this is Bree Barry. Bree, this is Theodora Michaels, Caleb's wife.
Teddy, Bree and I are going to marry."
"Well I never ... What do you think, Caleb? The boy's gettin' married. You tell your ma she can count on me to help. It's been too long without such a joyous occasion.
There's still hard feelin's need to be smoothed over, and a wedding's just the thing to do it."
Malcolm agreed and, with a wave, steered Bree out into the bright sunlight. He took a deep breath and grinned at her.
"You better get used to it. It's a small town, and we'll be going through this with everyone we meet."
Bree smiled. "I don't mind a bit. I'd like to know all your friends." She didn't add she hoped that's all any of them were, but the thought stuck in the back of her mind. "What are the hard feelings Teddy mentioned?"
"A strike at the mill. People haven't gotten over it yet."
The morning passed quickly. Bree was left with a montage of faces and names swirling in her head, and the fear she'd never get the right name with the right face. They stopped in a small caf茅 and lunched on savory lobster cakes and a bottle of light wine. Bree felt quite carefree as they exited the 179
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by Terri Benson
restaurant, but her happiness died as she noticed Eldon leaning casually against the fender of the Mercer.
"Glad you took my advice and decided to tend to your girl, Malcolm. Leaving her on her lonesome while you putter around in an office might put ideas in some young buck's head."
"Don't worry, Eldon. I'll keep Bree close by. In fact, I was just going to take her to the mill for a tour. She and Mother have some splendid ideas for next year's line. I expect they'll both be spending quite of bit of time there with me from now on."
Bree had no trouble figuring out the emotion flickering across Eldon's face this time. It was pure hatred. Malcolm obviously saw it, too. "I'll be calling on the members of the board over the next few weeks. It's time they understand as majority stockholder,