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Authors: Shanna Hatfield
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in a direction they didn’t need to go. Yet.
“This is about the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had,” Luke said, taking another sip, staring at her over his cup.
Philamena answered by blushing and nodding her head. He wondered how many times a day he would make her blush until she got used to being around him.
With her cheeks hot from both the stove and Luke’s presence, Philamena wondered how long it would take her to get used to being around her handsome husband. Freshly shaven, his tan cheeks were taut and smooth. He smelled so… manly and wonderful. It was all she could do to keep from burning the pancakes. When he turned those icy blue eyes on her, she thought her knees would refuse to hold her. She had to get over this infatuation with Luke and focus on her responsibilities to him which was cooking and keeping order in his home.
If only he didn’t look and smell so appealing.
Placing a platter of pancakes and another of bacon on the table, Philamena was shocked when Luke pulled out her chair for her and waited for her to be seated before sitting down across from her. Offering thanks for their meal, Philamena got lost in the deep timbre of his voice and forgot to pay attention to what he was saying. Giving herself a mental shake, she knew she needed to keep better control of her thoughts.
“Thank you for making this nice breakfast, Philamena,” Luke said, cutting into his third light-as-a-feather pancake and munching on the crisp bacon.
“My pleasure,” she said, without lifting her eyes from her plate. “It’s what I’m here for. Right?”
“Right.”
They continued eating in silence until Philamena finally spoke up, “What time do we leave for church. Chauncy didn’t mention what time the service started.”
“We’ll leave just before ten. Sometimes I go over early and help Chauncy warm up the church, but today isn’t my turn.”
“Okay,” Philamena said, clearing the table and setting the plates to soak in a pan of warm water. Swallowing twice, she worked up the courage to look Luke in the face.“Luke, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure. What’s on your mind?” Luke said, leaning back in his chair, wondering what was going through Philamena’s head.
“How does your house stay so warm?” Philamena asked, feeling like an uneducated idiot. She would have remained quiet, but curiosity was getting the best of her.
“Radiators are heated from a huge boiler in the basement that runs on coal. I check the boiler twice a day, so you shouldn’t need to concern yourself with it. If you hear a big banging noise coming from the basement, it’s a delivery of coal going down the chute.”
“Oh,” was all she managed to say.
“What else? You said questions,” Luke said as he got up from the table, picked up a dish towel and started drying dishes as Philamena washed them. Realizing he should let her do all the work since she was paying off her father’s debt, Luke felt some unexplainable need to help her.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, feeling foolish, blushing again.
“Please, Philamena. If you have questions, ask them. I’m sure a lot of the things here in the house are different than what you are used to,” Luke said with surprising insight.
“How does the ice box work?” Philamena stopped scrubbing the skillet in her hand and looked at him with her green eyes bright and interested.
“It’s quite an invention, isn’t it?” Luke asked. At Philamena’s nod, he continued. “A block of ice sits in the top and the cold circulates down, keeping the contents chilled. I try to bring in new ice daily, but if I forget, you’ll find the ice house out back next to the smokehouse. There is a drip pan beneath it that needs emptied every day or so.”
Luke showed her where to put the ice and how to empty the drip pan. “Simple enough,” he said.
“Yes, it is.” Philamena said, fascinated that she could keep milk, eggs and any number of things chilled right
“This is about the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had,” Luke said, taking another sip, staring at her over his cup.
Philamena answered by blushing and nodding her head. He wondered how many times a day he would make her blush until she got used to being around him.
With her cheeks hot from both the stove and Luke’s presence, Philamena wondered how long it would take her to get used to being around her handsome husband. Freshly shaven, his tan cheeks were taut and smooth. He smelled so… manly and wonderful. It was all she could do to keep from burning the pancakes. When he turned those icy blue eyes on her, she thought her knees would refuse to hold her. She had to get over this infatuation with Luke and focus on her responsibilities to him which was cooking and keeping order in his home.
If only he didn’t look and smell so appealing.
Placing a platter of pancakes and another of bacon on the table, Philamena was shocked when Luke pulled out her chair for her and waited for her to be seated before sitting down across from her. Offering thanks for their meal, Philamena got lost in the deep timbre of his voice and forgot to pay attention to what he was saying. Giving herself a mental shake, she knew she needed to keep better control of her thoughts.
“Thank you for making this nice breakfast, Philamena,” Luke said, cutting into his third light-as-a-feather pancake and munching on the crisp bacon.
“My pleasure,” she said, without lifting her eyes from her plate. “It’s what I’m here for. Right?”
“Right.”
They continued eating in silence until Philamena finally spoke up, “What time do we leave for church. Chauncy didn’t mention what time the service started.”
“We’ll leave just before ten. Sometimes I go over early and help Chauncy warm up the church, but today isn’t my turn.”
“Okay,” Philamena said, clearing the table and setting the plates to soak in a pan of warm water. Swallowing twice, she worked up the courage to look Luke in the face.“Luke, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Sure. What’s on your mind?” Luke said, leaning back in his chair, wondering what was going through Philamena’s head.
“How does your house stay so warm?” Philamena asked, feeling like an uneducated idiot. She would have remained quiet, but curiosity was getting the best of her.
“Radiators are heated from a huge boiler in the basement that runs on coal. I check the boiler twice a day, so you shouldn’t need to concern yourself with it. If you hear a big banging noise coming from the basement, it’s a delivery of coal going down the chute.”
“Oh,” was all she managed to say.
“What else? You said questions,” Luke said as he got up from the table, picked up a dish towel and started drying dishes as Philamena washed them. Realizing he should let her do all the work since she was paying off her father’s debt, Luke felt some unexplainable need to help her.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, feeling foolish, blushing again.
“Please, Philamena. If you have questions, ask them. I’m sure a lot of the things here in the house are different than what you are used to,” Luke said with surprising insight.
“How does the ice box work?” Philamena stopped scrubbing the skillet in her hand and looked at him with her green eyes bright and interested.
“It’s quite an invention, isn’t it?” Luke asked. At Philamena’s nod, he continued. “A block of ice sits in the top and the cold circulates down, keeping the contents chilled. I try to bring in new ice daily, but if I forget, you’ll find the ice house out back next to the smokehouse. There is a drip pan beneath it that needs emptied every day or so.”
Luke showed her where to put the ice and how to empty the drip pan. “Simple enough,” he said.
“Yes, it is.” Philamena said, fascinated that she could keep milk, eggs and any number of things chilled right
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