Read Online The Romancing of Evangeline Ipswich by Marcia Lynn McClure - Free Book Online
Authors: Marcia Lynn McClure
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Admittedly, it was Hutch’s presence that had finally woken her up from the despairing daydream of having to settle for marrying Floyd Longfellow. Hutch made Evangeline feel alive—so wildly alive! She’d forgotten how wonderfully alive he had always made her feel—until the moment she’d seen him at the train station, that is. But after a week of seeing Hutch LaMontagne every night for supper, and on any other occasion throughout the day when he chose to stop in at the McKee residence and see how his sister was faring, Evangeline knew that she wanted to feel alive while living—the sort of excitement in living that Hutch inspired in her. Simply the sparkle in Hutch’s eyes when he spoke to her about his day at the livery each evening or the way he pampered his three-legged dog with treats from his pockets and frequent scratchings behind the ears—everything about him was more exciting than anything Evangeline had experienced in a very long time.
In truth, she could hardly wait for supper each evening—for Hutch to arrive, beg Jennie to let Jones come into the house and curl up on the entryway rug, remove his hat, and smile at her as he entered the kitchen. Furthermore, almost every evening Hutch and Evangeline spent their meal solely in one another’s company, for Calvin preferred to eat his supper with Jennie in the bedroom—and Evangeline was secretly delighted that he did.
And so, after a week in Red Peak, not only had Evangeline made some decisions on how she would change her circumstances once she returned to Meadowlark Lake, but also she’d begun to enjoy the hard work of caring for Jennie and Calvin. She especially enjoyed Jennie’s waking hours, when the two of them would sit together in Jennie’s bed, laughing over memories, talking of their new lives, and just sharing conversation and friendship.
And she’d learned so much about the life Jennie had led since she’d left Boston—since Evangeline had left Boston. Naturally, Evangeline’s favorite stories were of Jennie and Calvin’s meeting—of their falling in love and their move to Red Peak. Evangeline had grown to admire and appreciate Calvin McKee all the more with every detail Jennie revealed about him. Calvin was a hard-working, sincere man, and it was obvious he loved Jennie more than his own life. Calvin was very affectionate with Jennie—very patient and always concerned for her well-being.
Once in a while a despairing fear would try to creep into Evangeline’s mind—a fear that something might happen to Jennie when it was her time to have the baby. When the thought did try to take hold of her courage and begin to cause her to imagine the pain Calvin would know if something did go wrong, Evangeline would simply whisper a silent prayer and send despairing thoughts scampering back to oblivion. Evangeline would not be able to endure watching Calvin lose Jennie. She wondered if she could even endure it—though she had endured losing her mother and knew that if she could endure that, she could endure…
“What’re you so lost in thought about this morning?” Hutch asked, stepping through the front door. “Jones,” he mumbled, pointing to the entryway rug.
Evangeline smiled as Hutch’s three-legged companion curled up on the rug, exhaled a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes.
“Oh, nothing worth mentioning,” Evangeline answered. “What brings you by? Just checking in on Jennie?”
“Yeah. There’s not much going on over at the livery right now,” Hutch explained. “So I thought I’d look in on her. Is she sleeping?”
“Not now !” Jennie called from the bedroom. “Not with all the clattering around you make when you come into the house, Hutch.”
Evangeline grinned and said, “I think she’s awake.”
Hutch smiled in return, saying, “Sounds like it.”
“Evie, will you bring in those photographs you showed me the other day?” Jennie called. “I would love for Hutch to see them too, if you don’t
Admittedly, it was Hutch’s presence that had finally woken her up from the despairing daydream of having to settle for marrying Floyd Longfellow. Hutch made Evangeline feel alive—so wildly alive! She’d forgotten how wonderfully alive he had always made her feel—until the moment she’d seen him at the train station, that is. But after a week of seeing Hutch LaMontagne every night for supper, and on any other occasion throughout the day when he chose to stop in at the McKee residence and see how his sister was faring, Evangeline knew that she wanted to feel alive while living—the sort of excitement in living that Hutch inspired in her. Simply the sparkle in Hutch’s eyes when he spoke to her about his day at the livery each evening or the way he pampered his three-legged dog with treats from his pockets and frequent scratchings behind the ears—everything about him was more exciting than anything Evangeline had experienced in a very long time.
In truth, she could hardly wait for supper each evening—for Hutch to arrive, beg Jennie to let Jones come into the house and curl up on the entryway rug, remove his hat, and smile at her as he entered the kitchen. Furthermore, almost every evening Hutch and Evangeline spent their meal solely in one another’s company, for Calvin preferred to eat his supper with Jennie in the bedroom—and Evangeline was secretly delighted that he did.
And so, after a week in Red Peak, not only had Evangeline made some decisions on how she would change her circumstances once she returned to Meadowlark Lake, but also she’d begun to enjoy the hard work of caring for Jennie and Calvin. She especially enjoyed Jennie’s waking hours, when the two of them would sit together in Jennie’s bed, laughing over memories, talking of their new lives, and just sharing conversation and friendship.
And she’d learned so much about the life Jennie had led since she’d left Boston—since Evangeline had left Boston. Naturally, Evangeline’s favorite stories were of Jennie and Calvin’s meeting—of their falling in love and their move to Red Peak. Evangeline had grown to admire and appreciate Calvin McKee all the more with every detail Jennie revealed about him. Calvin was a hard-working, sincere man, and it was obvious he loved Jennie more than his own life. Calvin was very affectionate with Jennie—very patient and always concerned for her well-being.
Once in a while a despairing fear would try to creep into Evangeline’s mind—a fear that something might happen to Jennie when it was her time to have the baby. When the thought did try to take hold of her courage and begin to cause her to imagine the pain Calvin would know if something did go wrong, Evangeline would simply whisper a silent prayer and send despairing thoughts scampering back to oblivion. Evangeline would not be able to endure watching Calvin lose Jennie. She wondered if she could even endure it—though she had endured losing her mother and knew that if she could endure that, she could endure…
“What’re you so lost in thought about this morning?” Hutch asked, stepping through the front door. “Jones,” he mumbled, pointing to the entryway rug.
Evangeline smiled as Hutch’s three-legged companion curled up on the rug, exhaled a heavy sigh, and closed his eyes.
“Oh, nothing worth mentioning,” Evangeline answered. “What brings you by? Just checking in on Jennie?”
“Yeah. There’s not much going on over at the livery right now,” Hutch explained. “So I thought I’d look in on her. Is she sleeping?”
“Not now !” Jennie called from the bedroom. “Not with all the clattering around you make when you come into the house, Hutch.”
Evangeline grinned and said, “I think she’s awake.”
Hutch smiled in return, saying, “Sounds like it.”
“Evie, will you bring in those photographs you showed me the other day?” Jennie called. “I would love for Hutch to see them too, if you don’t
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