“I’m back,” she called out as she set her shopping basket on the kitchen table. “Sorry I took so long.”
Mrs. Flanagan wheeled her chair into the kitchen. “Rather than apologizing,” the widow said acerbically, “tell me what that father of yours wanted.”
Cassie Lynn should have realized her employer had known he was there. How much should she say? “He wanted to give me some news about Verne and Dinah.”
Mrs. Flanagan raised a brow. “They’re expecting a new young’un, are they?”
“No, at least not that I know of.” She started putting away the items she’d purchased at the mercantile. “But they are moving out and planning to set up their own place.”
There was a moment of silence, but even with her back turned, Cassie Lynn could feel the keen stare the widow had focused on her.
“I’ve known Alvin Vickers most of his life,” Mrs. Flanagan finally said, “so I know he didn’t come all the way into town just to deliver news like that. He wants you to move back to his place and take care of him, doesn’t he?”
Cassie Lynn reluctantly glanced back over her shoulder and nodded.
“You didn’t agree to go, did you?”
“Not exactly.”
The widow’s eyes narrowed. “What does not exactly mean?”
Rather than give a direct answer, she hedged. “He was very insistent.”
“You mean he tried to roll right over your objections!”
Cassie Lynn gave her a tight smile that was part grimace. “I appreciate you’re concerned about me, but—”
“Ha! Who said I was concerned about you?”
When she’d first come to work here, Cassie Lynn had been taken aback by Mrs. Flanagan’s vinegary tongue, but it hadn’t taken her long to see behind the woman’s facade to the soft heart beneath. So she didn’t take offense at the words.
The woman settled back in her chair with a determined frown. “I’ve got a stake in that bakery business you’re trying to start, remember? And you can’t run it from that back-of-beyond farm.”
Cassie Lynn felt compelled to defend her father. “He’s my pa. I owe him—”
Mrs. Flanagan actually wagged a finger at her. “Cassie Lynn Vickers, you’re twenty-two years old, a grown woman by anyone’s reckoning. You need to grow some backbone and make that father of yours listen to you.”
Cassie Lynn grimaced, then turned away. Mrs. Flanagan might not say that if she knew the whole story. “At any rate, I told him I wasn’t leaving here as long as you needed my help.”
“Well, that’s something.” The widow gave a decisive snort. “And I have a feeling that I may need your help for much longer than we first expected.”
Startled, Cassie Lynn shot her a quick glance. Then, making up her mind, she decided to share her plan. “I do have an idea about how I might get around this.”
Mrs. Flanagan straightened. “Well, bless my soul, you do have some gumption, after all.” She leaned back with a satisfied nod. “Let’s hear it.”
Cassie Lynn took a deep breath. “It appears the only excuse my father will accept is if I was spoken for. So that’s what I intend to do—find a man to marry.”
The widow’s brow went up. “Just like that, you’re going to go out and find yourself a suitor?”
“I didn’t say it would be easy.” Cassie Lynn tried to keep the defensiveness from her tone. “And it’s not as if I expect anything romantic.” She didn’t have any notions of finding a fairy-tale prince who would look at her, fall instantly in love and whisk her away.
After all, she’d already contemplated a businesslike marriage with Mr. Chandler when she’d first come to town. So she’d already come to terms with that kind of arrangement.
But Mrs. Flanagan was frowning at her. “You’re much too young to be giving up on love. Don’t you want at least a touch of romance in your life?”
“Romance is no guarantee of happiness. And even if that was something I wanted, in this case there’s no time for such schoolgirl notions. So a more practical approach is called for.”
“I see.” Mrs. Flanagan crossed her arms, clearly not in agreement with Cassie Lynn’s argument, but willing to move on. “Is there a particular bachelor you’ve set your sights on?”
“I’ve been pondering on that and I have a couple of ideas. The main thing, though, is I’ve decided what requirements the gents need to meet.” She’d given that a lot of thought on her walk home.
“And those are?”
“Well, for one, since I want to continue pursuing my goal of opening a bakery, the candidate will need to be okay with having a wife who does more than just keep his house. And it would also require that he live here in town so I can be close to my customers, for delivery purposes.”
“Surely you also want to consider his character.”
“Of course. He should be honest, kind and God-fearing.” She didn’t expect affection—after all, this would be a businesslike arrangement—but she did hope for mutual respect.
“And his appearance?”
Cassie Lynn shrugged. “That’s of less importance. Though naturally, I wouldn’t mind if he’s pleasant to look at.” Like Mr. Walker, for example.
She shook off that thought and returned to the discussion at hand. “But none of that matters unless I can find someone who’s also open to my proposal.”
“And you’ve thought of someone who meets this list of qualifications?”
“Two. But I don’t really know the men here very well, so I was hoping that perhaps you could give me some suggestions.”
“Humph! I’ve always thought of matchmakers as busybodies, so I never aspired to become one.”
“Oh, I don’t want a matchmaker—I intend to make up my own mind on who I marry. I’d just like to have the benefit of advice from someone who knows the townsfolk better than I do. And who has experienced what a marriage involves.”
“Well, then, much as I’m not sure I approve of this plan of yours, I don’t suppose I can just let you go through it without guidance of some sort.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Flanagan. I can’t tell you what a relief that is.”
“Now don’t go getting all emotional on me. I said I’d help and I will. Tell me who these two gents are that you’re considering.”
“The first name that occurred to me was Morris Hilburn.”
“The butcher?”
Cassie Lynn nodded. “From what I can tell, he meets most of my criteria. Of course, I won’t know how he feels about having a wife who runs a bakery until I talk to him.”
“Morris Hilburn is a God-fearing man with a good heart, all right. But he is not the smartest of men and he’s not much of a talker.”
“Book learning and good conversation are not requirements.”
“Think about that before you rule them out. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with a man whose idea of conversation is single syllable responses?”
Cassie Lynn paused. Then she remembered the fate her father had in mind for her. “There are worse things.” She moved on before her employer could comment. “The other gentleman I thought of was Mr. Gilbert Drummond.”
“The undertaker? Well, I suppose he might be someone to look at. Then again, he strikes me as being a bit finicky.”