by Lynn Donovan
Stephen and Bobby Lou would let Luke and Charlotte know in a similar way. Luke would let Mark and Maude know, and lastly, Mark would let Matthew and Mary know.
They would start making their way down the mountain before nightfall. Maybe, Timothy hoped, Mark would bring his fiddle. Stephen might bring his guitar, Luke might bring his harmonica, and Charlotte might bring her mouth harp. It would be great to show Nellie what a Mountain Man gathering was like. Surely then, she’d want to stay.
If Mary didn’t frighten her off.
Nellie lined the two chairs a wide-step apart and stood on one, then the other to toss a dish towel into the rafters. Dust, cobwebs, and the towel fell on her face. She sneezed, shivered at the thought of a spider in her hair, and continued clearing the cabin’s years of neglectful cleaning. Seemed as though Timothy kept a clean hearth and cupboard, but had ignored the ceiling.
She crawled around on her hands and knees scrubbing the wooden floor, like she’d seen her parent’s staff do with the water bucket and soap.
She looked around the cabin. Every surface was wiped down or scrubbed clean as a whistle. Back to Grey’s cabin, she got a clean bucket of water and the wash tub. She stood on the porch between the cabins looking out into the heavy woods for Timothy. Not hearing or seeing him approach, she rushed inside their cabin and warmed the bucket on the fire.
She hung the quilt on nails that Timothy had left in the rafters for his traps and whatnot. If he should walk in, she’d have some privacy. At least, once she screamed at him for walking in, she’d have privacy. She smiled to herself.
Standing near the fire, she stripped down and bathed, washed her hair, and redressed. All she had was Timothy’s clothes. They were dirty, but she didn’t know how to clean hide clothing, so she brushed them with the scrub brush and put them back on. Her eyes lifted to her ruined gown. There was no reason to keep that ole, tattered thing. But something in her heart just wouldn’t let her throw it away or burn it. She folded it as neatly as possible and placed it behind Timothy’s trunk.
Finger combing her hair in front of the fire, she thought about Mrs. Franklin. She had tried to show Nellie some simple man-pleasing dishes to make after she married Hoyt, but Nellie had a different attitude back then. She figured a servant would be doing all the cooking and listening to Mrs. Franklin was a waste of her time.
She had a new attitude now. Timothy’s brothers and sisters-in-law were coming over to meet her and have supper. Timothy reassured her they would bring all the food, but she couldn’t fathom they would be very impressed with her if she didn’t have something to contribute to the feast. She visualized the church socials where everybody in Belle made something and put it on two long tables. Would it be like that tonight?
Her momma had Cook make several dishes that they brought. Even then, Nellie couldn’t imagine making a dish of food with her own two hands. But everything had changed. She nearly died, and had promised God if He would send someone to save her, she’d mend her selfish ways. Apologizing to May and Hoyt was at the top of her list, and loving the man who saved her was second.
Nellie scurried into the root cellar and gathered carrots, parsnips, onions and a crock of butter. At least these would look pretty together. She prayed they’d taste good. She vaguely remembered Mrs. Franklin showing her how to cook vegetables with butter. She called it glazed. Nellie thought.
Back in the cabin, she thought about the sourdough biscuits Timothy had suggested she make. Sure she could do that, but how many? Just for him and her, she made six. Counting on her fingers she thought with ten people, she should make at least twenty or thirty. Whew! She blew wisps of hair out of her eyes. She’d better get started.
Cleaning the vegetables and slicing them into the dutch oven, she put it on the fire. Mixing the biscuit dough, she rolled them out on the cupboard and punched out thirty rounds. It took three skillets, rubbed with lard, and on the fire it went. She sat down in the chair and wiped her brow. Something nagged at her mind. Mrs. Franklin had said something about making a man happy by feeding him good food, “…but don’t ever forget to give him some kind of a sweet treat.”
Cookies!
Nellie remembered a really simple recipe Mrs. Franklin had shown her. Sugar cookies. All she needed was flour, sugar, butter, an egg, and vanilla. She had seen the brown bottle in Timothy’s cupboard and wondered what on earth he’d use that for. Now she knew.
Quickly she mixed the cookie dough and waited for the biscuits to cook, so she could use the same skillets for the cookies. A noise outside grabbed her attention. It wasn’t Timothy. It sounded like laughter. Women laughing. Fear slammed into Nellie’s heart. They were here early! And Timothy was not.
She rushed to the door and swung it open, just as two women stepped onto the porch.
“Well, hello,” The taller one said. They both had a bundle on one hip and a toddler on the other. Two children came behind them, each with a ceramic dish.
“H-Hello,” Nellie stammered.
“You must be Nellie.” The second one smiled as they all stopped outside the door.
“Yes. I am.” She realized they were waiting to be invited in. “Please, do come in.”
They crossed the threshold one at a time, drawing the two girls in too. “Thank you. I’m Stephen’s wife, Roberta Louise, but folks call me Bobby Lou, and—”
“I’m Charlotte. Luke’s wife.” The other interrupted.
The women exchanged a glance that meant something, but Nellie didn’t know what. Her stomach seemed to flip over and she suddenly felt sick. Bobby Lou snickered. “I told you she’d need a dress. Timothy said you nearly drowned and almost froze to death. We came early because we figured he’d have you wearing his clothes. I’ll bet you’re even wearing his longhandles.”
Nellie drew in a slow breath. Embarrassment searing her cheeks. “Yes. It’s all I have to wear.”
Charlotte laughed and pulled one of the three girls away from the trunk and guided the other two to put their ceramic ware near the fire. She put a third pot at the hearth to warm. “You girls behave, now!”
“Yeah, we figured as much.” Bobby Lou let her child down to the floor. He toddled away from her. “So, we brought you some things.” Nellie realize Bobby Lou had a bulge under her skirt. Another baby on the way and not too long from now.
The women put their bundles on the bed. Bobby Lou turned to Nellie with a huge smile. “We weren’t sure your size— do you mind if he plays with the wooden spoons?— she tilted her head toward the toddler. Nellie glanced at the child. What harm would it be? “No. That’s fine.”
Bobby Lou continued as if nothing had interrupted her. “So we brought skirts and blouses with laces and ties. That way you can adjust them as need be. Charlotte even dug up her ole corset and underthings, just in case you needed them, too.” She smiled as she shoved an elbow into Charlotte’s side. She shoved back. Nellie loved the playful way they teased each other.
“Actually, I was able to save my corset, but…” Reconsidering, she added, “it probably smells like river water.” She lowered her gaze to the clothes as they unrolled from the bundles. Tears sprang to her eyes. “Thank you. This is so nice of you.”
“Mmm. Something smells good.” Charlotte walked to the hearth and peeked in the pots. “You’re making sourdough biscuits! Timothy’s specialty. Did he teach you how to make these?”
Nellie nodded, fearful she’d done something wrong.
“It was the boys’ ma’s best kept secret. Timothy’s the only one she shared it with. He must really love you!”
Nellie’s eyes went wide. Well, he had said he did. She supposed this was proof. “He said he knew me from town. I-I’ve seen his face before, but I didn’t know…” she just couldn’t bring herself to say he had admired her from afar. Heat filled her face again. Would she ever stop blushing?
“Timothy don’t never make nothing but these biscuits when we get together. Kind of his way of showing off that he was their ma’s favorite.”
Bobby Lou laughed. Nellie wasn’t sure if she was teasing this time or not. “I’ll bet he told you not to bother cooking anything, didn’t he?”
Nellie hesitated. Was this a trick? She reluctantly nodded.
The women laughed again. “Honey.” Bobby Lou lifted her son to her hip. “That’s why we came on over. Us mountain women gotta look out for each other.”
Grateful tears of joy choked out Nellie’s ability to speak but something warm filled her chest. These wives of Timothy’s brothers included her as one of the mountain woman. She’d never felt so much a part of a group of people in her life.
Charlotte lined her girls up. “These are our girls. Mindy, Mae, and Millie.”
Nellie’s eyes went wide. How would she ever remember who was who? As if Charlotte read her mind, “Don’t worry about remembering which is which. Sometimes I can’t even call them by their right name.”
Nellie and her new friends laughed. She blew a “Whew!” And they laughed again. Bobby Lou wiggled her son at her hip. “And this is Stephen Junior. We call him SJ.” She patted her bulging belly. “This one we call, Oh No.”
She and Charlotte laughed heartily. Nellie couldn’t help but laugh too. She really liked these women.
Never having a sister, and her friends in Belle were… well, she hadn’t always been nice to them. They only tolerated her because of her daddy’s money. With her new lease on life, she wanted these two to like her. And so far, it seemed like they did.
Bobby Lou lifted the quilt that Nellie had folded and laid on top of the trunk. “Let’s get you dressed like a girl. Unless you favor dressing like a boy…”
“Oh, no. I feel ridiculous in this!”
Bobby Lou lifted her brow in agreement. “Alright then, let’s get you changed.” She held up the quilt while Charlotte helped Nellie undress and redress, this time in clothes that felt so much more comfortable and more in line with what she was accustomed to wearing. The blouse was a heavy linen and the skirt was a thick woven wool. The petticoat was made of flannel and felt warm on her legs. They had brought warm stockings, and the corset was ribbed with a cotton twine, not the hard bone she had worn in Belle. It was so much more comfortable. Last, they gave Nellie women’s boots. Luckily the size was perfect. No more socks rolled up at her toes.
“And last, but not least.” Bobby Lou said as she refolded the quilt. Spinning around, she handed Nellie a silver boars-hair brush and a wood-carved comb to put in her hair. She sighed with so much pleasure. She hadn’t been able to brush her hair, other than with her fingers, for a week. Quickly she brushed it out and lifted it up, securing it with the comb and turned to the women. “How do I look?”
“Amazing.” They both said at the same time. “Welcome to the family!”
Nellie blinked away the tears. “Thank you.”
Charlotte stood next to the bed. “Now those clothes that Bobby Lou brought you is for indoor wear only. When you need to go out in the snow to work, remember cotton kills. You gotta change into these.” She gestured to the clothes she had unbundled.
Nellie lowered her eyes to a set of fur lined hide clothing, just like Timothy’s, except it was a shirtwaist and skirt. Her eyes welled with tears again. “Thank you” She fell into Charlotte’s arms and hugged her.
“Hey I want some of that!” Bobby Lou rushed over for a hug too.
Charlotte glanced at the cupboard. “I see you’re making cookies. We brought milk and rolled oats. Timothy don’t have a cow or goat, so we always send him milk. I was gonna make cookies with the oats, but you’ve got that covered. Do you know how to make buttermilk pie?”
“No.” Nellie couldn’t remember if Mrs. Franklin had showed her that one or not. “It sounds delicious.”
“It is.” Bobby Lou flapped her hand.
The door opened. “Oh, hey.” Timothy’s eyes roved over his brother’s wives. Then turned to Nellie. “You alri—“ He froze in place. “You look… amazing.”
“That’s what we said.” Bobby Lou slapped him on the arm.
“You do this?” He addressed her.
“Well…, Charlotte and I might of thought she’d be needing a woman’s touch to getting ready for all of us Moses’s bombarding your little cabin tonight.”
“Well, thank you.” He hugged them both, then lowered his voice. “Did you tell her about Mary?”
Charlotte looked away, busying herself with the girls. Bobby Lou swallowed. “No. Not yet. We were getting to that.”
Nellie stepped up to Timothy. “How’d it go? And why do they need to tell me about Mary?”
“Traps were full, I put out both trotlines, and… well…Mary don’t cotton to city folks. She’s what you might call prejudice about non-mountain people.” He glanced at the two and walked past Nellie. “Mmmm. Whatever you got cooking over here, sure smells good.”
“Don’t change the subject. Tell me what I need to know.” Her eyes darted between Timothy and the two women. She bulged her eyes to emphasize her point.
One of the three girls crashed into Nellie, wrapping her spindly arms around Nellie's skirt. "Are you going to marry Uncle Timothy?"
She looked down at the precious child's innocent face. "As a matter of fact, he did ask me to marry him."
The middle girl rushed to her sister's side and embraced Nellie's legs. "Did you say yes?"
Nellie smiled and stroked both their brunette heads. "I did say yes."
"Yay!" They twirled away from Nellie. Her heart once against filled with warmth. She looked up at Timothy with a watery smile. "What do I need to do to convince Mary I belong here?"
Timothy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and cleared his throat. "Just be yourself, like you just did right there. Everybody will love you almost as much as I do."
"Good Lord, Timmy!" Bobby Lou slapped him on the back. "This is all we been hearing for most your life. How beautiful Nellie Harris is. Someday you was gonna marry that girl."
Charlotte chimed in and together the women teased. "Just you wait ta see!" They fell apart laughing.
"Nobody," Charlotte continued. "Not even Mary Moses is gonna be too dang surprised THE Nellie Harris came to you in a snowstorm and you saved her life. The mountain provides. You know that! Mary knows that. If she don't, then she's a fool!"
"Or just a bit—"
Charlotte shoved her elbow into Bobby Lou's side, cutting off her words. "Don't do that. She's our matriarch and we love her."
Bobby Lou's eyebrows shot up and came back down. "You're right. Us mountain women gotta stick together. No matter how bi— difficult we are." The two bent over laughing. "Trust us. Nellie, you'll find your niche with Mary. We all have. Just keep loving the baby brother, like you obviously do, and eventually she'll get over the fact that you came from the city and not some desolate mountain."
Nellie smiled, but her nerves were prickling her spine. She just needed this night to be over. Surely even if Mary Moses hated her, they lived far enough apart that she wouldn't have to put up with her… difficult personality, too often.
The biscuits were done and removed from the fire. Sugar cookies went on while Bobby Lou and Charlotte showed Nellie how to make a pie crust and the buttermilk custard filling.
Chapter Nine
Timothy went outside to clear Grey's back and put everything away, feed his trusted mule, and stoke the Franklin. The chickens clucked and clambered around him while he worked. Did they know the family was coming over? It was an exciting time. Timothy was anxious to show everybody his Nellie had come to him at last.
Before too much time passed, Luke and Stephen showed up in Luke’s supplies wagon and Luke’s mule with four rocking chairs. As Timothy had hoped, Stephen had his guitar slung over his back. He knew Luke would have his harmonica in his pocket. Behind them, about a quarter mile, Mark, Maude, and their three kids, Matthew and Mary, with their four boys, came down the mountain in a single buckboard wagon and Mark’s mule. The women carried dishes of food, the men carried porch chairs and some folding
tables while the older children carried in extra chairs.
Bed rolls were placed in Grey’s cabin. The family always spent the night at these gatherings. Timothy greeted them in his yard and opened the door for them to come in. Mary and Matthew lingered outside, setting up the chairs and tables in Grey's cabin. The children rushed in with the others. Everybody welcomed Nellie to the family, as Timothy had hoped they'd do. But when Matthew and Mary walked in, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the cabin. Matthew had a troubled wrinkle between his brow and Mary frowned.
Timothy imagined his oldest brother had been getting an earful of Mary's opinion before they arrived. At least now, she was silent. "Matthew, Mary, I want you to meet Miss Nellie Harris."
Nellie, this is my oldest brother and his wife, Matthew and—"
"Mary." Nellie finished for him. She put on her best smile. "Thank you all for coming. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." She curtsied, slightly.
Mindy grabbed Nellie around her skirt and looked back at her aunts and uncle. "She's gonna be our aunt, too!"
Nellie touched the child's head and smiled down at her. "Yes. I am. And you will be my niece."
Mary's oldest son grinned. He looked to be in his teens. "Did you really fall in the river wearing a city-slickin' ballgown?"
Nellie turned to Timothy with wide eyes. How much had he put in that note to invite them?"
"Yes." She reached behind the trunk and unfurled the ruined gown. She held it up for the kids to see. "I was stupid and nearly got myself killed. I know better now." Nellie answered him as truthfully as she knew how.
The kids giggled. A girl that she thought belonged to Mark and Maude asked, "Does your pa really own the railroads?"
Nellie snorted a slight smile. "Well, no. He's President of the Union Pacific Railroad, but he doesn't own the railroads."
"Wow!" The kids chanted.
Nellie considered their response. "You know, my daddy is an impressive man, but your Uncle Timothy is more impressive to me. You know why?"