Pony Express Special Delivery

by Rhonda Gibson

  “True. But I thought maybe we could invite the preacher out one Sunday for afternoon services. The men could come up to the house, hear the Word of God and then have supper.” Maggie’s eyes changed color as she spoke her thoughts. “And I’m sure there are a few things they could do for me around the house, such as chop wood or repair the chicken coop.”

  “Is something wrong with the chicken coop?” he asked, feeling confused and dismayed at the way Maggie could come up with things for the men to do.

  She shook her head. “Not yet.” Maggie’s eyes flashed as she thought of something new. “How about we have a barn raising?”

  Would she go so far as to damage the chicken coop? Surely not. “Maggie, we don’t need a new barn.” He picked up his cup and quickly took a drink before she came up with something else that might have him spewing coffee in her direction.

  “Are you sure?”

  Clayton smirked. “Pretty sure. Think of the expense and add to the mix that it’s winter.”

  Her brow furrowed. “I’ll think on it. I’m sure we’ll find ways to get the men closer to the house where Sally can meet them.”

  “And what if the men aren’t interested in courting? Then what?” Clayton shifted to his other hip. Dinah snuggled closer.

  Maggie waved her hand as if dismissing his concerns. “Oh, I’m sure one of them will find her attractive enough to start courting. We just have to get them to the house.”

  Clayton shook his head and eased Dinah into a sitting position. Holding her upright with one hand, he slid off his chair. Once standing, he scooped up the little girl. “We need to be getting back to the ranch. Are you finished with your shopping?”

  She stood also. “Yes, but I would like to buy a loaf of cinnamon nut bread before we go.”

  He carried Dinah to the display case. She rested her little head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his neck while still sucking the thumb on her other hand. Clayton paid for the bread and then walked to the wagon.

  Maggie tucked the bread into her bag and followed him. When he slowed his steps, she caught up. Her gaze moved to her sister. “Do you have any suggestions on how to get her to stop sucking her thumb?”

  If he grew to be one hundred years old, Clayton didn’t think he’d be able to keep up with the way Maggie switched from one subject to another. “Let her grow up at her own pace. She’ll stop when she’s ready.”

  She nodded. “You never did answer my question.”

  Clayton frowned. What question? All the woman had been doing for the past hour was trying to figure out ways to entrap a man for Sally Morris.

  “Is the man you hired today young and single?”

  Hadn’t he told her he didn’t know? Well, he did know the man was probably a few years older than Sally, but he didn’t know if he was single. Although, he probably was. Clayton shook his head to clear it. He was starting to think like Maggie talked.

  “That’s too bad.”

  “What’s too bad?” He repositioned Dinah in his arms, aware that several middle-aged women were watching them.

  She sighed heavily. “That he’s not young and single.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Now she frowned at him. “Yes, you did.”

  “When?”

  “Just now. You shook your head.” Maggie walked up to the wagon and gently laid James in his box filled with blankets.

  Clayton shook his head. “Woman, I shook my head trying to make sense of what you are talking about.” He heard a woman’s giggle behind him and turned to see an older couple walking past them. The man smiled at Clayton with understanding. Clayton smiled back, even though he didn’t feel much like smiling. Maggie was driving him crazy.

  The gentleman approached Clayton. “You two are bickering like a couple of old married folks. Son, can I give you some advice?”

  Clayton felt the tops of his ears grow hot from embarrassment. “Yes, sir.”

  He slapped Clayton on the back. “First off, never try to understand them, and second, just agree. It will save you time in the long run.” After dispensing his advice, the man walked back to his wife and offered her his arm.

  Clayton watched the couple walk away arm in arm. Would he and Maggie ever walk together like that? At the moment, she was busy building a pallet of blankets to lay Dinah on. Her pretty blond hair shone in the sun, and when she looked up at him, Clayton was sure he’d drown in the pools of her eyes. The air was turning colder, giving her cheeks a pretty tint of pink. Clayton waited for her to motion for him to lay Dinah down, then turned away from the sight of his pretty wife.

  His job wasn’t to admire Maggie but to work the ranch, manage the Pony Express and to study. Do not add falling in love with your wife to the mix, he commanded himself as he climbed up on the wagon seat.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, Maggie felt as giddy as a schoolgirl. It was fun to think of ways to help Sally meet the single men at the ranch. After they’d stopped at the blacksmith’s and picked up Bones, Clayton had become even quieter than normal, giving her time to think of ways to bring the young people together.

  Maggie cleaned the kitchen of the breakfast dishes and then turned to Dinah. “How would you like to help me bake sugar cookies?”

  Dinah pushed away from the table where she’d been sorting beans. “I love making cookies. I’ll help.”

  “Go wash your hands well.” Maggie smiled as the little girl skipped to the washbasin. “Can I make them have faces?”

  “Um, you can make some like that, but I want the rest to be real pretty.”

  “How come?” Dinah dried her hands.

  Maggie smiled. “Well, I thought we might share them with the men.”

  Dinah pushed her stool up to the counter. “How come?”

  “To be nice.” Maggie slid a bowl toward Dinah. “Start stirring this together,” she instructed.

  Dinah stirred the flour mixture. She smiled. “Can I go when you take them to the men?”

  Maggie grinned. “Well, I was going to ask Sally to take them, but I’m sure she won’t mind if you go with her.” She watched Dinah stirring. Her heart ached as she recalled helping their mother make cookies. Dinah would never have the pleasure of those memories.

  “Sally is nice, isn’t she, Sissy?”

  “I think so,” Maggie agreed. She brought a cookie sheet over to where Dinah stood.

  Clayton came through the kitchen door. Cold air announced his arrival shortly after his boots entered the room. “Good morning, ladies. What are you doing?” His smile said he knew it was baking and couldn’t wait to hear what kind.

  Dinah looked over her small shoulder at him. “We’re making sugar cookies.”

  He hung his coat beside the back door. “I love sugar cookies.”

  Maggie admired the way the muscles in Clayton’s shoulders rippled under his shirt as he lifted the coffeepot from the back of the stove. She quickly looked away.

  “Me, too,” Dinah agreed. She looked to Maggie. “Is this stirred enough?”

  Thankful for something to do, Maggie considered the bowl of dough. “I think it’s about right.” She pulled the bowl to her and added the remaining ingredients, aware that Dinah watched her every move.

  “Where’s the little man?” Clayton asked.

  “He’s napping upstairs,” Maggie answered. She worked the dough until it was the perfect consistency for sugar cookies.

  Clayton leaned a hip against the counter. “I’m heading upstairs to read. I’ll keep an ear open for him.” He pushed away from the counter.

  “Thank you.” Maggie handed Dinah a small spoon.

  He nodded. “Half-pint, you can bring me a couple of those cookies when they are done.” Clayton winked at the little girl.

  “Al
l right. But Sissy says we have to save most of them for the men that live outside.”

  Clayton’s gaze flew to Maggie. “And why is that?”

  Dinah giggled. “We’re being nice.”

  Maggie averted her eyes but felt him looking at her.

  “That is nice. Just put them on a plate and I’ll take them out for you.”

  Sadness filled Dinah’s voice. “But I thought me and Sally were going to take them out.”

  Clayton’s voice held a hint of amusement. “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

  “That’s what Sissy said.” Disappointment sounded in her little voice.

  Maggie heard the thud of his boots as he walked back to where she and Dinah stood. She glanced in his direction.

  His face beamed with amusement. “Maggie, why aren’t you taking the cookies out to the men? After all, Sally has never met them.”

  “I thought this would be a sweet way to meet them,” she answered.

  He chuckled. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” He turned and left the kitchen.

  Maggie hoped so, too. Here she was meddling in Sally’s life, and why? So that she could help the girl get away from her mother for a while? Or was she hoping Sally could find a man who wouldn’t run at the first sign of hardship or another woman?

  Dinah chattered as she shaped the dough into soft balls. The little girl flattened a few of them and then used her fingers to give them eyes, noses and mouths, all the while telling Maggie who they were for. She even made one for her dolly.

  She was thankful her little sister could entertain herself. Maggie placed a tray of cookies into the oven. “Thanks for helping me, Dinah. If you want to, you can go play in the sitting room now.”

  “Can I go upstairs and play in my room, Sissy?” Dinah climbed down from her stool. She untied the small apron from around her waist. “I want to play with my dolly.”

  “Play quietly. Baby James is still sleeping and Clayton is trying to study. Do not disturb him.” Maggie wiped off the counter. Her thoughts were on Sally and her own matchmaking skills.

  “I will, Sissy.” Dinah skipped out of the kitchen.

  Maggie turned. Did that mean Dinah was going to disturb Clayton? Or play quietly? She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter. What was wrong with her? Was she so determined to help Sally find a husband that she was no longer paying attention to her sister?

  She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Maggie asked herself why she was so excited about helping Sally look for a husband. She took a sip of her coffee. Sally hadn’t seemed as interested in finding a husband as her mother had. Was it possible there was a reason Sally hadn’t found a beau?

  The sweet scent of baking cookies filled the warm kitchen. Maggie pulled them from the oven. She walked to the kitchen window and stared out at the cloudy day. Cold air whipped about the house, but she was comfortable in her cozy kitchen.

  “You seem deep in thought.” Clayton stood in the doorway. He cradled the baby in his arms. “Someone woke from his nap.”

  Maggie stared. Clayton had slipped his boots off and stood in stocking feet. His shirttails were out and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing muscular arms. Baby James stared up at him with serious eyes, comfortable with Clayton. She took a step toward Clayton, but he stopped her.

  “Stay, I’ll bring him to you.” Clayton crossed the floor and handed the baby to Maggie.

  “Thank you.” It seemed she was always thanking him for something. Maggie cuddled James close and breathed his baby scent in deeply.

  Clayton sat down. “Are you all right?”

  “I believe so. I was just asking myself why I want to find Sally a husband.” Using two fingers, she caressed the side of James’s small face. His skin felt silky soft.

  “I’ve been wondering that myself,” Clayton admitted. “She’s young and if I understood correctly, will be working at least six months out here. So why the rush?”

  James began to fuss.

  Maggie cradled the baby in her arms and started to pace. “I don’t know.” She stopped in front of the window again and looked out into the yard. “I guess I thought of Sally as a project. You know, something that would keep me busy. Finding new ways to bring her and the men together.” Maggie frowned. “That didn’t come out the way I meant for it to.”

  Clayton laughed. “I know. I’m just glad Mrs. Morris wasn’t here to hear it.”

  She started giggling. “Yes, that would have been horrible. She would never let Sally come to the ranch.”

  Moisture seeped through James’s blanket around his bottom. “Excuse me, I need to change the baby.” Maggie carried her son up the stairs. She went into her room where his diapers were and quickly got rid of the soiled one.

  James was now dry but he released a cry that screamed, “I’m hungry.”

  Maggie sat down to nurse him. She rocked the baby and thought about Clayton. He’d been sweet to bring the baby to her. With the new hired men handling ranch duties, Clayton had taken the morning to read a chapter from one of the doctor’s books. She had just finished feeding the baby when Clayton knocked on the bedroom door.

  “I hate to disturb you, but I wanted to let you know I’m heading out. I’ve a Pony Express rider coming in here in a bit.” He kept his gaze locked on the floor.

  She loved that he cared about her feelings. “Come in. James and I are ready to go back downstairs and work on the sugar cookies. We made enough dough to feed a church picnic crowd.”

  Clayton looked up. “Are you still going to share them with the men?”

  Maggie grinned. “Yes, but I think Dinah and I will deliver them while Sally gets used to the house. She can watch James for me for a few minutes.”

  He leaned against the doorjamb. “What about playing matchmaker?”

  She stood and cuddled the baby close. “I still want to help her but will try to let things happen naturally instead of forcing them.”

  He walked over to them and touched the baby’s soft hair on his head. James reached out with a chubby hand and grasped Clayton’s finger. Clayton looked deeply into Maggie’s eyes. “I think that is wise. Things should happen naturally between a man and a woman. It’s my opinion that God never meant for men and women to be forced into a relationship.”

  Maggie swallowed hard. She felt the same way but had never put it into words. When she’d met Jack, she’d felt like she had no choice. She nodded. “I agree.”

  Clayton gently pulled his hand from the baby and brushed the hair off Maggie’s forehead. “I’m glad.” Then he turned to go into his room.

  Her forehead tingled where his fingers had touched. Maggie left the room feeling as if he’d been trying to tell her something. But what?

  * * *

  Clayton watched the gentle sway of Maggie’s skirts as she walked away. His fingers had felt as if he’d touched a warm fire when he’d brushed her forehead. Her pretty eyes had flickered with some emotion that he couldn’t read. He worked the laces of his boots with trembling hands.

  Clayton knew he cared for Maggie and that she affected him like no one else ever had in his life. Even his fiancée had never made him feel hot and cold at the same time. What was it about his wife that he found so appealing? Was she the woman God had always intended to be his?

  He stood and walked out of his bedroom and into hers and James’s. She’d added a pretty quilt made of brown and blue squares to the bed. In the center of each square was a smaller red square. Clayton walked to the side table. A light blue cloth runner covered the dark wood, giving the room a cheerful look. His gaze moved to the window. New brown-and-blue curtains covered it. As he looked about, Clayton realized that her favorite colors were blues and browns.

  As he walked down the stairs, Clayton looked about her home. When he’d first moved in, h
e hadn’t noticed all the little touches that screamed Maggie’s doing. He stopped at the foot of the stairs and glanced into the warm, inviting kitchen.

  Maggie had changed things in there, as well. The kitchen table now sat closer to the stove, away from the window and back door. She’d placed a cabinet that he knew held plates and cups under the window. On top of the table was another quilted table runner, only it held yellows and reds in the fabric. Dinah sat off to the side of the stove, not too close but close enough she could play and be warm and still be out of the way of Maggie’s cooking. With her box of toys, she had her own space in the kitchen.

  James still rested in his washtub, but now it too had its own special place on the counter, within reach of both Maggie and Dinah. The baby’s hands and feet could be seen waving above the rim of the tub.

  Everything and everyone had a place in Maggie’s home. Even him. She never entered his bedroom, but in the sitting room she’d given him the rocker by the fireplace with a table beside the rocker. Maggie had placed a Bible there and even given him a fancy doily to put his coffee cup on.

  She looked up from the oven and smiled at him. Clayton wanted to go gather her up in his arms and thank her for the home that she was creating for them, but instead he waved and continued out the door. He couldn’t let her see that she was thawing out his heart.

  Cold air snagged his open coat. Clayton looked up into the darkening sky. His gaze moved to the bunkhouse, where smoke rose from the chimney. He hurried to the barn to prepare the Pony Express horse for its future rider.

  George met him at the door. “It’s getting colder out there by the minute.”

  “I’ll say.” Clayton walked to the horse’s stall and gave her another cup of oats. It wouldn’t do to send a Pony Express horse out on an empty stomach. She’d be ridden hard. The least he could do was prevent her from feeling hunger on the trip.

  “Do you think we’ll get snow?” George asked as he pulled the barn doors closed.

  Clayton hoped not. So far, the winter had been mild. Cold, but not extremely wet like many of the previous winters. “We might. We’ve had an easy winter of it so far this year.”