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She shook the thought off. She couldn’t let herself think such things. Or, at least, she shouldn’t let her mind wander in that direction. If Blaze would show more interest in her, perhaps her thoughts wouldn’t drift the way they did.

“Do you want to go to the store and see if Blaze is there?” Zeke asked.

“I doubt he’s still there,” she replied, thinking of how efficient Blaze was about everything. “But I would like to go there.”

Blaze had thought it was a waste to get something like candy, so she hadn’t gotten it in the last town, but if Blaze wasn’t going to be rushing her, she was free to get some this time. She checked her pocket and was happy to note that the change her brother had given her was still there.

“The store is in that direction.” Zeke pointed to the west side of the town. “Of course, there’s more than one store. I was just thinking of the one we passed on the way here, but if you want to go that way,” he gestured to the east, “we can see what’s down there.”

She chuckled. “I’m alright with going to the store we passed. Every store has some candy, and I’m in the mood to have some.”

Zeke offered a nod and led her down the path that would take them to the western side of town. The sun was halfway down to the horizon. They still had plenty of daylight left. This, no doubt, was upsetting to Blaze. Bernadette stopped her mind before it went any further.

“I can’t think of the last time I had candy,” Zeke said. “Maybe I’ll get some, too. When you’re out in the wilderness, you don’t think of sweets. You just think of what you need in order to survive.”

“Where I come from, we usually have dessert with every meal. I miss having a treat like that.”

“We have desserts with our meals, too. That is, when we’re at home.”

“You have Battenberg cake, Bakewell tart, and trifles all the way out here?” she asked in surprise.

He blinked. “I’m not sure what those fancy things are, but it’s not what we have here.

Out here, we have pudding, jam tarts, cookies, candies, and pies.

” He must have noticed her disappointment, for he hurried to add, “They’re all really good.

My ma makes them so good that my uncle will ask me to sneak some to him when my aunt isn’t watching. ”

Bernadette stopped walking.

“Did you change your mind about going to the store?” he asked.

“I’ll be expected to cook out here, won’t I?

” She directed her question to him. “All the wives cook meals for their husbands, don’t they?

There won’t be any servants to do that for them.

” She didn’t know why this hadn’t occurred to her before, but her life was going to take a dramatic change if she continued on here.

Zeke shrugged. “I don’t see why that’s a problem. Cooking isn’t hard. I do it all the time.”

“What about your mother? You just mentioned her cooking. When you’re in Flagstaff, does she cook for you?”

“Sure, but she says it makes her happy to know her son is getting stuffed silly.” He patted his flat stomach. “She even says I don’t eat enough. Says I’m skinny as a rail. But I’m not that skinny. You can’t see my bones or anything.”

She bet Blaze was going to expect her to cook after they married. He would be busy working the ranch. He wouldn’t have time to spend in the kitchen. She slowly started walking to the store. “Maybe I should ask Lucas to take me back to Pennsylvania with him.”

“There’s no need to do that,” Zeke hurried to say.

“Cooking isn’t hard at all. It’s just a matter of heating things up.

With meat, you heat it until it’s brown.

And eggs are quick. Three or four minutes.

You just cut up vegetables and fruits. You don’t need to worry about any of those fancy desserts.

Just get some candy from the store. Your husband will be happy with whatever you give him. ”

“Do you really think Blaze can be happy with a simple meal when he cooks extravagant ones on the trail?”

He hesitated for a moment as if he forgot to include Blaze in the discussion. She studied him with interest. Had he meant that he would be the husband who was happy with anything she made?

He adjusted his hat then said, “Blaze is going to be the luckiest man when he marries you. He’ll be happy with anything you cook.

A woman is more than what she cooks. A wife is the one person in a man’s life who will share a lifetime with him.

She’s not just good for cooking or cleaning.

She’s someone he can talk to and someone he can hold and kiss.

Without her, a man is all by himself. He might have friends and relatives, but only a wife will be close to his heart. ”

Bernadette had to blink to make sure Zeke was the one who was saying this. Had she not been seeing this for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it. Who knew that Zeke could talk in such a poetic way? “That’s beautiful, Zeke,” she finally said when she overcame her shock.

“It’s just the truth. Blaze understands it. That’s why he’s looking forward to marrying you.”

She frowned. No, Blaze wasn’t looking forward to marrying her because if he was, he would be spending time with her right now. Fighting off her disappointment, she started walking again.

“Are you still thinking of going back to Pennsylvania?” Zeke asked as he fell into step beside her.

She shrugged. She would have to talk to Lucas. She couldn’t decide anything until then. Even if Gail’s money secured his financial situation, he still had a say in her future.

The rest of the way to the store was spent in silence.

She didn’t know why she cared at this point, but she did scan the area for Blaze.

He wasn’t in the store. Of course, he wasn’t there.

It didn’t take an hour to shop for supplies for a trip through the desert.

Not with someone like Blaze who knew exactly what to buy.

She turned her attention to the coins in the palm of her hand and counted them.

She would have more than enough for candy.

She slipped the amount she wouldn’t need into her pocket.

On her way to the counter, she caught sight of a few thin books and newspapers that were all about the Red Ghost. She paused at the display in surprise.

There were even drawings of the thing, and most were ghastly looking, as if the thing really had come from the pit of Hell.

Zeke reached around her to pick up one of the newspapers.

She jerked. She hadn’t realized he had chosen to follow her.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I want to see what the local reports are of the Red Ghost.” He tucked the paper under his arm then selected another newspaper.

She decided she had heard enough of the Red Ghost for now and decided to keep going.

When she reached the counter, the owner was talking to a customer.

She picked up a small bag and collected the candy she wanted to purchase.

At the end of the counter was a selection of necklaces.

The sign above it said the gemstones all came from Arizona.

Her gaze went to the Bisbee turquoise teardrop gemstone that hung on a gold chain.

The blue shade made her think of the sky at noon.

In the middle of the stone was a red-brown spiderweb pattern that made it more unique than any other piece of jewelry she’d ever seen.

“That’s a nice necklace,” Zeke said from next to her.

Again, she jumped. Did Zeke always make it a habit of sneaking up on people?

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you again,” he apologized. “Did you know that this particular gemstone was found in the Bisbee Turquoise Mine? The men were looking for copper and found that.”

“So they didn’t find the copper they were looking for?”

“Oh, they found copper. There’s a lot of it there. What I meant is that they found that gemstone while they were mining for copper. From what I hear, there aren’t many gemstones like that.”

She nodded. That explained how expensive the necklace was. She released it.

“Aren’t you going to get it?” he asked.

With what money? Sure, she had enough for candy and something else, but she didn’t want to spend everything she had on something as impractical as a necklace.

Besides, if she returned to Pennsylvania, she could buy gemstones far more impressive.

The jewelry her brother had given her before she left Pennsylvania had been worth more than this.

“I was just looking at it while waiting to buy my candy,” she told Zeke and held up her small bag so he could see the candy she had collected.

“I don’t know. That necklace is a nice one.

It would look good on you. You have a hint of blue around the brown of your eyes.

It’s almost as if that gem was crafted especially for you.

” He took the necklace off the display and held it close to her face.

He nodded and urged her to check her reflection in the mirror.

“Given the color of your golden hair, a tan shirtwaist would be the best choice to help bring out that blue outline you have in those eyes. Your eyes almost make me think of the bright blue of the noonday sky when there’s not a cloud in sight.

Nothing complements a sunrise better than a sky like that. ”

She blinked in surprise and turned her attention away from the mirror so she could look at him.

She had no idea he looked at her in such a special way.

It was enough to tempt her to buy it. But she had to be practical.

What good was a necklace out in this rugged territory?

It didn’t ensure survival. The money would be better spent on things she could eat.

She shook her head. “I can’t get it. Lucas and Gail have been careful to only spend money on things they need out here. I should do the same.” She glanced at the candy. While she didn’t need the candy, it was something to eat, and something to eat was better than a piece of jewelry.

Ignoring the look of disappointment on Zeke’s face, she went to the owner and purchased the candy.