was trying to coax Juliet out of the tree next to the house. Juliet hissed when Helen stopped beside Charlotte and went up to the top of the tree. “Aenti, I’m going to walk home.”
“That’s a goot idea, dear. Poor Juliet is very upset with you.”
“I’m afraid she’s not the only one.” Helen didn’t bother looking to see if Mark was still watching her. She could feel his eyes boring into her back.
“I have told Juliet you aren’t staying with us long, but I’m not sure she understands me. She isn’t fond of company.”
“Please tell her I’m sorry I stepped on her.” Helen kept walking and didn’t look back. She guessed her chance of being hired by Mark Bowman was now about zero or less thanks to Clyde. Things could get desperate if her aunt chose her pet’s happiness over her niece and asked Helen to leave.
She wasn’t going home, so where would she go?
* * *
Paul walked up to Mark, swiped his finger through a clump of cream filling and stuck it in his mouth. “She and that dog together are a menace, but you have to admit she makes a fine dessert.”
“Go away.”
Paul held out his finger. “Just one more lick?”
“Paul.” Mark bit out the name with as much threat as he could manage.
“Okay, okay, I’m going. It’s sad to say, because today has been mighty entertaining, but I don’t think we will see much of Helen Zook for a while.”
“I hope not.”
Fannie came down with a wet napkin in her hand. “I thought you might need this.”
He took it and began wiping the front of his shirt. “I’ve never met anyone like that woman.”
“I know. Clyde has taken a shine to her and to you. Isn’t that wunderbarr?”
He looked up in amazement, but Fannie was already heading back up the hill chuckling to herself.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and uneventfully, for which Mark was grateful. The work was hard, but it was satisfying when the jam finally broke free and washed under the bridge. They had gathered enough wood to keep a good many homes warm during the coming winter.
Exhausted and determined not to think about the outspoken and annoying Helen Zook or the troubling letter from Angela, Mark went up to bed not long after supper. With a cool evening breeze blowing through the open window beside him, he fell sound asleep just minutes after his head hit the pillow.
Until the howling began.
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