Amanda's Beau by Shirley Raye Redmond

Author:Shirley Raye Redmond [Redmond, Shirley Raye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astraea Press, LLC
Published: 2013-12-23T05:00:00+00:00

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Amanda drew a breath of relief when the two men had gone. She was tired. Her crying jag in the yard near the clothesline earlier in the day had left her emotionally drained and feeling like a limp dishcloth. What must Gil Gladney have thought of her, clad in an old calico with a soiled apron, her mussed hair twisted into a girlish braid?

And Nate Phillips. He wasn’t anything at all like she imagined he would be. She’d pictured a pale, shy scholar with spectacles and pinched features. The description didn’t fit Mr. Phillips at all. She reluctantly admitted to herself he was a fine looking man — even more handsome than Gil, if such a thing were possible. He was taller than Gil, with white, straight teeth. His smile was one of the first things she’d noticed about him. His thick hair was dark gold in color, and his brown eyes alight with laughter, as though he were enjoying some private joke.

He’d perplexed her, to be honest, because he seemed so eager to please. She wondered why. With her nerves frayed, she’d found his flattering attention exhausting. The man hadn’t said anything in so many words, but by his manner and the way he’d fixed his eyes upon her face and figure, Amanda knew he found her attractive.

"Reckon we’ll be filling up Mama’s money jar again, soon enough," Rex said as he breezed through the door. He’d run out to see the men take off in Mr. Phillips’ jaunty, red-and-black automobile — something Amanda considered a silly indulgence.

"The extra money will be a blessing," she replied. "Mr. Phillips made a generous offer. Here, sit down and hold Minnie while I heat up some milk."

Rex obediently sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and took the baby, supporting her little neck and head, the way Amanda had shown him.

"Tomorrow I want you to sweep out the old chicken house and open the windows," Amanda told him. "We ought to air it out some before Mr. Phillips starts moving things in there." She prepared a bottle and gave the pea soup at the back of the stove a quick stir. She was too tired to make supper tonight. They could finish up the soup and make do with day-old biscuits.

"I can do it in the morning before I go to school, Aunt Mandy," he replied. Rex smoothed Minnie’s dark sprouts of hair with one hand. "I’m sure glad Mr. Phillips offered me a job washing his old potsherds. He must have changed his mind about me."

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked, filling the baby’s bottle.

"Jerry and I followed him and Mr. Gladney out to the ruins when school was dismissed," Rex explained. "I asked him for a job — to help with digging after school and on Saturdays, but he said ‘no, it was too dangerous.’"

Amanda had to give the man credit for more good sense than she’d originally thought he’d had. His financial offer for renting the old shed and for Rex’s services had been generous enough to rouse her suspicions.

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