Part 8 (1/2)
A month later they were married in a private ceremony. As they walked out into the early morning suns.h.i.+ne, Jackson turned to the woman who was now his wife and wished he could speak the words that filled his heart. Instead, he was forced to say something anyone could tell her.
”You're a lovely bride, Mrs. Steadman.”
”Thank you, Mr. Steadman. You look very nice, too.”
He loosened his tie. ”Why does looking nice have to be so uncomfortable?”
”I know what you mean. I think my feet must be swollen. These shoes feel two sizes too small.”
”Take them off. I'm supposed to carry you over the threshold anyway. We'll just extend that to carrying you from the truck.”
She laughed. ”I might take you up on that. My days of wearing four-inch heels are numbered.”
He shook his head. ”I've never understood why anyone would want to wear them in the first place. It looks like torture to me.”
”In my case, I do it because I need the height. You have noticed that I'm short, haven't you?”
Jackson grinned teasingly. ”There's nothing about you that I haven't noticed or appreciated.”
”Spoken like a new husband. I'll do the wifely thing and tell you how much I appreciate all the work you've done in the nursery. It would have taken me days to put the crib and changing table together.”
”No, it wouldn't because I was going to take care of that no matter where you were living.”
She gave him a playful push. ”Don't be so sure about that. I'm not a doormat.”
”That's good; I don't like things to be too easy.”
With a speaking glance, she allowed him to carry her into the house. After he set her gently on her feet, she said, ”I'm going to change clothes and make lunch.”
Jackson glanced at the clock. ”It's only a little after ten.”
Hannah laughed. ”You better get used to being around a pregnant woman. I eat every two to three hours.”
”Well, go ahead, but don't fix anything for me.” As she walked toward the guestroom, he put out his hand to stop her. ”In all the excitement of getting married, I forgot to tell you something. I switched rooms with you. After you left last night, I noticed how crowded your room was so I moved your things into the master bedroom. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I also put the crib in there. You'll probably want the baby with you at first since you're...um, nursing and everything. Anyway, it will give you more privacy and the bathroom is bigger, too.”
”You gave up your room?”
”It's not a big deal.”
”To me, it is. It's not as if you're getting much out of this arrangement. You won't even let me help with the mortgage or buy groceries.”
Jackson shrugged out of his suitcoat. ”I didn't do it to get something in return.”
Her cheeks flushed. ”I didn't mean that. You've been so good about everything. ”
”If it's a problem, I can try being uncooperative and mean,” he suggested with a crooked grin.
Hannah came over to where he stood. ”I don't think that's possible. Thank you for the bigger room.”
Jackson looked everywhere but at her. Her grat.i.tude was almost too much to bear at that moment. Would he ever have her love? ”I was just trying to make things easier for you.”
Hannah pushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. ”You've been doing that ever since you came to St. Simons.”
”I hope to keep doing it.” Summoning a smile, he stepped away from her. ”I hear Freya scratching at the door.”
”I hope my living here isn't going to bother her.”
”No worries there. Like me, she's fallen completely under your spell. I'll see you later.”
She watched him walk away with a puzzled look on her face.
After dinner, Jackson took Freya for a walk while Hannah finished the last of her unpacking. Getting married hadn't been the ordeal he imagined, but he wasn't naive enough to think there wouldn't be problems along the way. All marriages experienced setbacks; he didn't know what to expect from one that had so little foundation to build on.
As he watched his inquisitive dog investigate the interesting smells coming from his neighbor's garbage cans, he resolved not to force his company on Hannah. He would treat her exactly the same as he always did. In no way did he want her to feel like she had to spend all her free time with him. They might be married, but there wasn't anything conventional about their relations.h.i.+p.
When he turned the corner, he saw her standing on the front porch, the setting sun gilding her dark hair with an amber glow. He knew the road he'd chosen wasn't going to be easy. Having Hannah living with him in the house was going to challenge his endurance and self-control. They hadn't discussed the possibility of a physical relations.h.i.+p, and Jackson had no intention of bringing the subject up. As much as he desired her, he wanted her to come to him in love.
”Anything wrong?” he asked when he got closer.
”No, I just came out for some air. Are we going to early or late service tomorrow?”
Jackson fished a few dog biscuits out of his pocket and gave them to Freya. ”Let's go to late service. It's been an exhausting week for both of us. Do you like blueberry pancakes?”
”Doesn't everyone?”
”That's what I make every Sunday for breakfast.”
”My mouth is watering already. I hate to bring the practical into our special day, but could you take a look at my essay? I have to turn it in by midnight.”
He laughed as they walked into the house. ”Sure. Let me feed the beast, and I'll join you in the living room.”
When he returned, she was sitting on the couch. She patted the cus.h.i.+on next to her. ”Do you mind reading it on my laptop? I don't have my printer set up yet.”
As he sat down next to her, he said, ”I'll take care of that tomorrow. Don't let me forget.”
Hannah slid the laptop onto his legs. ”Don't hold back; if it's terrible, tell me.”
”For that I'll have to take off my husband hat and put on my tutor hat.”
”I don't care what hat you put on just read it.”
When he finished, he said, ”It's good. I didn't know all that about Nathaniel Hawthorne.”
”So it makes sense?”
”Yes, it does. You write much better than I do.”