PART 5
Jo hurriedly left the kitchen and walked to the front of the house. Luckily, Nick hadn't decided to follow her. "What have I done?" she muttered to herself. Slowly, Jo sat on the porch steps. "What will Nick think of me now? What about the children?" Jo buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
The clattering of a carriage could be heard coming through Plumfield's gates. Jo raised her head to see who it was. "Great," she thought, "Just what I need." She quickly dried her tears and stood, smoothing her brown skirt.
Jo recognized the person in the carriage as it came closer--it was her sister, Meg. Somewhat relieved, Jo sat back down on the steps and waited for her sister to join her. Without fail, Meg rushed to her sister's side. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jo tried to smile, "I just made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, that's all."
"You've been crying." Meg held Jo's chin with one hand and wiped away her tears with the other.
"Trust me, you won't blame me after you've heard what I just did." Jo sighed and leaned against her sister. Meg put her arms around Jo and stroked her brown hair.
In the kitchen, Nick was frozen. He couldn't fully comprehend the situation that had taken place between him and Jo because it had all happened so quickly. Having composed himself, Nick headed for the kitchen door, but thought better of it, "Maybe I should let her make the next move."
Nick grabbed his hat from the kitchen table. Holding it in his hands, he smiled as he thought about Jo. "This may be a good thing," he thought. Putting on his hat, Nick walked to the barn to start his chores.
Jo saw Nick leave the house for the barn. "Let's go inside," she whispered to Meg. Jo's gaze followed Nick across the yard. Meg took this all in while she lead the way into the house.
Inside the house, Dan and Bess ran into the sisters. "Hi, Aunt Meg,"
Bess hugged her aunt. "What brings you out here?"
"Nothing in particular. Just a visit."
"I'd love to chat, but Dan and I are already late for school," Bess tried not to make eye contact with Jo.
Jo put her hands on her hips. "Why are you two late?"
"It's my fault, Mrs. Jo," Dan offered. "I didn't understand some arithmetic and I needed Bess to explain it to me."
"We would have done it sooner," continued Bess, "but we were busy with other chores."
"All right." Jo held the door open for the pair. "Tell Franz that you were talking to me so that you don't get into too much trouble."
"Thank you, Aunt Jo." Bess hugged Jo then followed Dan to the schoolroom.
"Just don't let it happen again," Jo called after them.
"We promise!" Dan returned.
Meg looked at her sister. "Where do you want to talk?"
Jo thought about it for a minute. She wanted to talk in an area where they were least likely to be interrupted. "My room."
In her bedroom, both of the women sat on Jo's bed. Meg put her hand on Jo's back and gently rubbed it. "Okay, Jo. What terrible mistake did you make?"
Jo took a deep breath and said it all at once. "I kissed Nick . . . on the lips. We were standing in the kitchen and some strange impulse came over me and I just couldn't stop myself. I left the kitchen before I could comprehend what I had done. I don't even know what Nick thought about it. I just left him standing there, probably awestruck."
"Well," Meg was so surprised that she didn't know what else to say. Her eyes were wide and she just stared at her younger sister. "It may no be an incredibly terrible thing, Jo."
Jo shot Meg an angry glance. "Of course it is! Nick and I can't start courting. What will the children think? What will Rob think? What will Amy think? What will the town think?" Jo stood as she vented her frustration.
"They'll think it's absolutely fine. In fact, all of us have been expecting this for a long time. You and Nick are great together. You just needed some time to realized that Jo," Meg reassured her.
"What?" exclaimed Jo.
"Well . . . yes," Meg stuttered, "All of us have sensed an attraction between you and Nick since the beginning." Jo sat back down. "I think you've sensed this attraction too and just haven't acted on it until now," whispered Meg.
"I hate to admit it, Meg, but I think you might be right." Jo bit her bottom lip and began to blush, thinking about the kiss.
"Of course I am."
"What do I do about it, though? I mean, if Nick and I do begin courting, it won't stay private very long around here." Jo looked into her sister's eyes for the confidence she so badly needed at this moment.
"My advice to you is just not to hide your feelings for one another. Sit down with Nick and sort out your feelings and your future together. If this relationship is meant to be, maybe now is the right time." Meg couldn't help but smile at the prospect of Jo and Nick actually courting.
"You're right. Thank you," Jo hugged her sister and let out a sigh of relief.
"So, you've got to tell me," Meg said excitedly.
"Tell you what," Jo teased.
"How was the kiss?"
Jo started to blush and moved toward the window. "Very quick, but very natural."
PART 6
