Chapter 5

"Kathryn, so have you and Elliot finally set a date?" asked Marcie excitedly.

"Yes we did! We decided on next month! Elliot said that he finally has saved up enough money to buy the house I wanted plus a few acres for us. I love him so! He will finally be able to quit that second job and just work the one he likes," said Kathryn smiling.

"Boy he just spoils you rotten! Most men would have asked you to help them save," said Marcie with a touch of jealousy.

"I know! But he said that he wants to take care of me so I can concentrate on our family. He wanted me to spend as much time with my family at their store before we're married. He only worries about me and that makes me love him so much! He sweet and not to mention he's very hot," said Kathryn, grinning big at Marcie.

"I know he's hot. I will never understand how you hooked him. Don't get me wrong, you're cute as well, but he has all the girls after him including a few of the wealthier merchant's daughters.

"He could have anything he wanted in life by marrying one of them and not having to work so hard, but he won't even consider that because he loves you so much. He's willing to forgo the easy life to work hard at two jobs to prove his love for you.

"He's sweet, he helps everyone no questions asked, he never complains, and he planned for finding you your dream home," said Marcie again with a touch of jealousy.

She wanted a man who loved her that much to ignore everyone else around her.

"Tell me about it, I mean I really lucked out getting him didn't I. But it also didn't hurt that when his family moved here when we were kids I was the first person to go over and see them. I sure got in on the ground floor of that one," said Kathryn smiling big.

"Are the two of you still planning on, uhhm, waiting until you get married before you give yourselves to each other?" asked Marcie as she watched Kathryn's face.

She couldn't understand why they still hadn't had slept together yet. They truly loved each other, but they were abstaining.

"Yes, Elliot asked me early a couple seasons ago to sleep with him, but we spoke at length about why I wanted to wait. I told him that I really wanted the two of us to go into our marriage as virgins and only give ourselves to each other. He respects me enough to honor my request," said Kathryn smiling big.

"Wow, I don't know of many men who would do that. Not and try and sneak any on the side," said Marcie with wide eyes.

"No Elliot is working two jobs and is spending any spare time he has with me. And he's not the type to cheat on me. I trust him and love him with my whole heart," smiled Kathryn at Marcie.

"Well if you ever get tired of him, throw him my way. I know that Carol Puckett and I would climb over a wet eight foot high mud fence if we knew he was on the other side waiting for us," said Marcie with a smile.

After visiting a few minutes more Marcie had to get back to her parents house.

She would take a break and come visit her friend Kathryn at her parent's store. While Kathryn's parents were the merchants as well, they weren't the wealthiest of the all of the merchants in the city. But they did well for themselves.

Kathryn was the middle child of three. She had two brothers, Jonas the older brother and Gary her younger brother. But as the only girl she often got what she wanted more often than not.

Elliot's father worked in the Mill as a foreman. He was good at his job and was very respected in the city as honest and hardworking. Elliot also worked there at nights and worked in the stables during the day.

Kathryn couldn't believe how handsome Elliot became as they grew up.

She didn't always like boys when she was younger, but as she grew older she often had boys paying her attention all the time and she liked that.

Once she finally stopped growing she was 5'8 and had shoulder length brown hair. She had deep crystal brown eyes that always seemed to twinkle as she looked at you. She had rounded and puckered lips.

But she had a well balanced figure and a stunning face and that is what drew the boys.

She almost had the classic hourglass figure that was more pronounced by the dresses that she liked to wear that had pull strings in the back to snug up her waistline. It almost looked like a corset when she wore them.

Kathryn favored those dresses that were snug in the chest because they showed off her generous breasts.

And as she grew she unconsciously walked in a way that made her hips seem like they were rolling from side to side. It was one of the things that made her nice to watch coming as well as going.

But Elliot was different.

Whereas all the boys were only trying to impress her Elliot always stayed in the background. He didn't really stand out much. But she couldn't help but notice every time she needed something or someone there he was.

When her cat died when they were small children he sat with her and let her cry on his shoulder. He helped her bury it and even said a few words as they did.

As a small boy when her father was sick he came over every day to check on them and asked if there was anything he could do to help. And anything that they couldn't manage he helped out with doing.

When she broke a vase on accident when they were children visiting a friend's home, Elliot took the blame and went home and came back with the money to pay for it. He had to borrow it from his father and worked to pay him back. He never said anything to anyone about what happened, he took the blame no questions asked.

That was just a few of countless examples of what Elliot did for her. But he never asked for anything from her. He was there when she needed him and disappeared back into the background when she didn't.

But as she grew and became a teenager she often found herself seeking him out. The differences between him and the other boys fascinated her. And when she later found out that he was doing the same for the other girls and they all were starting to have the same plans for him that she had, she decided to move fast.