The Mess I Made

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Daniel's POV

"Are you sure you're ready to be a husband, Daniel?" Abigail asked as we fed the horses. One of my favorite horses was named Jake. I used to ride him when I was younger, back when he was young and fast. Jake was getting old now, but he was still one of the best horses in town. He was gentle and humble, unlike Abi's horse, Jack. Jack was wild and fearless. I think he scared some of the other horses sometimes.

"I'm ready. I love Casey," I assured Abi.

"Good, I really want her to be my sister in law," Abigail joked.

"Come on, son, we have a lot to do today," my daed said as he got into the buggy. We've been having a lot of work lately. There's a new bakery opening up in town and they needed chairs and tables. Jacob and Mark were building the tables while daed and I built the chairs. We're making between twenty and thirty chairs. Daed had been building like crazy to get it done. David came to work twice a week and only for a few hours. He didn't want Seth and Helen to become a burden. I personally thought that it was good practice for the future. Casey has assured and reassured me that she doesn't want a baby anytime soon, but I think she secretly does.

"All right," I said as I rubbed Jake's nose. "I'll be back, buddy."

I jumped into the wagon and we left. I knew work would pass by slowly today. Whenever we had a lot of the same work to do, time moved in slow motion.

By the time I finished my third chair, only two hours had passed. I had to work the register and build chairs today. Normally David would build and I'd work the register on busy days like this, but he wasn't there.

Even though slow days were the worst, I sucked it up as best as I could and went to work. Daed and I couldn't even take a lunch break today. Those chairs had to be finished by Friday.

By the end of the day, my hands felt stiff and hot. They felt like I had caught them on fire. The tips of my fingers were so red they looked like I painted them that color.

"Son, I'm going to go over to the Bishop's place. We have an important meeting to discuss some things in town. Do you think you can get our horse and buggy back home without destroying anything?"

"Very funny. I've got this, Daed. You go ahead."

Daed placed his hat on his head and left the store. I swept the store and dusted the shelves to make everything look more presentable. After I fixed up the store, I put my hat on and walked outside.

Ugh, it's freezing.

I blew my breath into my hands and rubbed them together swiftly. I couldn't believe how cold it was. We'd probably be getting some snow soon. Snow. I hadn't seen snow since I left.

I climbed into the wagon and started on my way. It was such a dark night. Clouds covered the moon and stars. I could smell the rain in the distance. We were in for quite a storm tomorrow.

As I went along, I saw a young lady walking down the road. It was too cold and certainly too dark to be outside walking alone. I pulled back, making the horses stop, and jumped out of my seat.

"Excuse me," I said as I approached the young woman, "it's kind of cold and dark out here. Do you need a ride?"

The young lady turned around and I noticed that it was just Catherine.

"Oh, hey, Daniel. I'm okay," she smiled.

Even though I wanted to get in my wagon and go home, I knew I couldn't let Catherine walk home in this weather. Her home was in the opposite direction, too. It would take her forever to get home. The wind alone could blow her away.

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