Isaac shook his head. “I want to be reaping with the men, not staying inside with the women.”
Dave thought for a moment then said, “I’m sure we can find some work suitable for a boy your age. Maybe you can help gather up the crops and load them into the wagons. Let me talk to Uncle Tom and the others about it.”
Isaac seemed happy by the promise, and that satisfied Dave. The two continued with their ride for another half hour. When they came back to the barn, Isaac helped him put the saddles and reins away.
Dave didn’t notice the ache in his leg until he took the horses out to the pasture. He was going to have to sit down in the chair on the porch. Riding the horse had worn him out more than he’d expected. But it’d been worth it. The ride had been a good one. He and Isaac had spent quality time together.
He returned to the barn to close the horses’ stalls when he saw Isaac sitting in front of the crate with the bird in it.
“Here you are, Richie,” Isaac said as he pulled a kernel from the corn. “I got this just for you.”
Dave remained still for several long moments while Isaac continued to fuss over the bird. If he had known Isaac wanted the cornstalk so he could feed the bird, he would have said no. Mary was already making sure the thing had enough to eat. It didn’t need the kernels of corn on top of it. So much for a pleasant afternoon. Now whenever he thought of it, he’d remember the only reason Isaac agreed to go out with him was to get the corn.
Hiding his disappointment, Dave shut the stall doors and left the barn.
***
That evening, Dave lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. From time to time, he could hear Isaac talking about the bird. He ended up having to shut the window to block the talking out. But even so, he couldn’t relax. He was tempted to take the article with the interview of Richard in it from Isaac’s room so he could burn it when he took care of the trash. The only reason he didn’t get up and get the article was because it would upset his son.
When Mary came into the room a while later, everything was quiet. She shut the door and glanced at the window. “I thought I left the window open.”
“I closed it,” he said.
“Aren’t you hot?”
Ignoring the fact that he still had on his shirt and pants, he shrugged. “I’m fine.”
She went over to him and touched his forehead. “I hope you’re not getting sick.”
“I feel fine. I just didn’t want to listen to everyone talking outside, so I shut the window for a while.”
With a smile, she went to the window and opened it. At once, a breeze came into the room and started cooling things off. “The children can make a lot of noise. We don’t really get any quiet until they’re asleep.” She walked over to the dresser and removed the pins from her hair. “Remember how quiet it was before Isaac was born?”
“Yeah.” He stared up at the ceiling again. He wished Isaac would be quiet when it came to Richard. But, of course, Isaac was just a child. He didn’t realize how much he went on and on about his uncle.
“Don’t misunderstand me,” Mary continued. “I love having the children around. I’m looking forward to having more of them. But I have to admit I appreciate the silence much more because they’re in our lives. It gives me time to plan out what I want to cook for the next day.”
Dave wondered if Isaac wished Richard had been his father. He tried not to think of it. No good could come from letting his mind wander in that direction, but the more he tried to resist it, the more his mind insisted on dwelling on it.
The bed shifted, and he blinked in surprise. He hadn’t realized Mary was still talking or that she had already put on her nightgown.
“I think I’ll sleep on top of the covers tonight,” she said and got on her side so she could face him. “You want me to help you undress?”
“I’m fine. I’ll undress later.”
With a suggestive smile, she unbuttoned one of the buttons on his shirt and slid her hand across his chest. “It might be more fun if I help you right now.”
He put his arm around her, but he didn’t make a move to help her remove his shirt. Instead, he asked, “Did you tell Isaac to give the bird one of the cornstalks?”
She blinked in surprise. “No. I assume you gave him permission to do that.”
“I did. I just thought maybe you gave him the idea. Birds like to eat kernels.”
“Birds will eat almost anything. They’re not picky.” She studied him for a moment. “Are you upset he was feeding the bird some of the kernels from that cornstalk?”
Dave sighed. “Don’t you think Isaac’s getting obsessive about Richard?”
Her eyes grew wide. “You’re still worried about Isaac and Richard?”
“How can I not be? All Isaac ever talks about is how great Richard is. And even today, when I took him to see the big cornstalks, he was thinking of feeding the bird—the bird he named after my brother.”
“Oh, Dave.” She kissed him. “Isaac doesn’t like Richard more than you. This is just a season in his life. Everything with Richard is still new. Isaac will grow bored of it in time.”
“The interview happened a long time ago. Isaac should have forgotten all about it by now.”
“It wasn’t that long ago. It happened after you broke your leg, and you’re just now able to walk on it.”
“I was unable to walk on it for a very long time.”
“It was only two months.”
“I was confined to the chair,” he said. “It was a very long time.”
She chuckled and kissed him again. “Alright. It was a very long time. I know it wasn’t easy for you to stay off of your leg for that long.” She snuggled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re Isaac’s father. You’ll always be more important to him than any uncle is. Try not to let it bother you. This, too, shall pass.”
Glad she couldn’t see him, Dave rolled his eyes. She meant well, but she was usually so busy cooking or cleaning that she missed what Isaac was doing when he was on the porch or in the barn. Isaac spent a lot of time talking about Richard and that stupid article. It was too bad Dave couldn’t go back in time and tell Amanda they didn’t want one of the papers she’d brought out to his parents’ house that day.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, willing his irritation to cool so he could sleep. This, however, proved to be a difficult task. He didn’t fall asleep until well after it was dark in the room.
Chapter Ten
The next day before noon, Sally came by. “Maureen and Connie have started selling their foods. I thought you might want to see how things are going for them,” she told Mary.
Since Dave said it was fine with him if she went, Mary gathered the children and got into the buggy with Sally. The only reason they could all fit was because the children were still small. Mary doubted they would be able to use her buggy much longer.
Mary shifted Adam so that he was more securely on her lap. “Where are they selling their foods?”
“In a small shop.” Sally led the horse down the bend in the path that would take them to town. “I saw them this morning as I was taking Greg and Laura to Rick’s parents. I immediately thought of you, so I came out here.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in what they did outside of the annual baking contest.”
“I won’t lie. I love the fact that the judges always have a hard time picking whether they like your food or theirs best, but usually, I don’t pay attention to what they’re doing. They don’t hang around the same social circles that I do. They like to keep up with the more prosperous people in Omaha, though they don’t go around the same circle that Richard and Amanda do. Speaking of which,” her smile grew wider, “you’ll never believe who’s in town today.”
“Who?”
“That magazine reporter from Chicago. Rick saw him when he was walking home from the courthouse yesterday. The reporter was on his way to a hotel.”
Mary’s eyebrows furrowed. “How did Rick
know it was a reporter from Chicago?”
“Because some of the men were talking about him. The reporter has to be here because of Richard. I can’t think of any other reason he’d be in Omaha.”
Isaac turned to Sally in interest. “Is Uncle Richard getting interviewed today?”
Mary glanced at her son, a wave of apprehension coming over her as she recalled how sad Dave had been last night.
“I don’t know,” Sally told Isaac. “We can stop by and see Richard while you’re in town.”
Isaac glanced over at Mary, eyes wide with hope. “Can we do that?”
“Oh, well…” Dave wouldn’t like this. It would only make him feel worse if he knew Isaac was jumping at the chance to see Richard.
“Jenny has been wanting to see Amanda about a new hat Amanda bought,” Sally told Mary. “Jenny wants to see if she can duplicate it. She thinks it might go well with one of her dresses. We could go to Jenny’s and then all take her wagon into town.”
Mary didn’t know how she could argue her way out of going to Richard and Amanda’s. If she’d known this was going to happen, she would have had Isaac stay home. But what good would that do? Rachel would mention seeing Richard, and Isaac would find out anyway.
“Why not?” Mary finally replied.
Isaac cheered, and Mary did her best to hide her apprehension. She hoped she hadn’t just made things worse for Dave.
Sally went to Jenny’s, and soon, everyone was climbing into the wagon. Jeremy decided to stay at the cabin so he could keep cutting wood for the upcoming winter. That left them with Carl and Emma who sat in the back of the wagon with Isaac and Rachel.
“We’re going to see Uncle Richard,” Isaac told Carl and Emma. “The reporter is going to write about him in a magazine.”
To Mary’s surprise, Isaac was the only one who seemed impressed with this. The other children were more interested in saying goodbye to the dog that was trying to get up into the wagon.
“Down, boy,” Jenny called out to the animal. She looked over at Jeremy who was stacking wood into a neat pile. “Jeremy, get the dog. I don’t want to accidently run over him.”
Jeremy hurried to pull the dog away from the wagon.
Everyone but Isaac seemed disappointed that the dog was no longer trying to jump into the wagon. Isaac, Mary guessed, was too excited about seeing his uncle to care about the dog. She released her breath and faced forward. Dave was probably going to hear about today’s visit with Richard from either Isaac or Rachel before she had a chance to warn him. Every time she returned from town, she had to change Adam’s diaper right away or he ended up leaking through his clothes. That would give the other two children plenty of time to talk to Dave.
“Are you alright?” Sally asked Mary.
Unaware she’d been wincing, Mary relaxed her face. “I’m fine.”
Mary was sure Dave didn’t want anyone else to know that he was insecure about Isaac’s admiration for Richard. Glad Adam was squirming in her arms so she could avoid looking at either Sally or Jenny, Mary pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and gave it to him. Adam settled down and leaned into her as the wagon moved forward.
“We should probably see Richard and Amanda before we see how Maureen and Connie are doing,” Sally said as Jenny guided the wagon off the property. “It sounds like they’re going to show the reporter around Omaha after the interview. The reporter’s never been here before, so I’m sure he’s interested in seeing what we have to offer, though, I doubt he’ll find anything as exciting as what they have in Chicago. Chicago’s a lot bigger than Omaha.”
“That might be true, but Omaha is a nice place to live,” Jenny said. “It’s grown a lot since we arrived here.”
Sally nodded. “It’s too bad you didn’t see it back when we came here in 1864, Mary.” She gasped. “That was twenty years ago, Jenny.”
Jenny grinned. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I don’t miss New York.”
“Neither do I. I never would have met Rick if we’d stayed back there. And you wouldn’t have met Owen, and,” she glanced at Mary, “Dave wouldn’t have been here when Mary came.”
“And our children wouldn’t be here, either,” Jenny added.
Figuring she’d better say something since Sally and Jenny would start to wonder what was preoccupying her thoughts, Mary jumped in with, “My life has been better off with you two and Dave in it.”
Sally shot her a teasing glance. “I notice you put us before David in that comment. Don’t worry. We won’t tell him.”
Mary chuckled, and the mood eased somewhat. She still couldn’t get rid of the gnawing feeling in her stomach that told her she’d be better off telling them they should take her, Isaac, Rachel, and Adam back home right now. She knew that was the best thing to do, but she didn’t know how to do that without making them wonder what was going on.
So, in the end, she kept her mouth shut and did her best to pretend that nothing was wrong. When Jenny pulled the wagon up to the front of Richard’s house, Isaac was the first to hop down from it. Mary released her breath. This was going to be an interesting day.
Once the others were all down, Mary held Adam and followed the others up to the house. Not surprising, Isaac was the first one at the door. He was peering through the vertical window by the door in unbridled excitement.
“Do you think the reporter’s here?” Isaac asked Sally.
“He might be.” Sally pulled the small pocket watch out of her drawstring purse. “It’s almost noon.” She winced. “This might be a bad time. What if they’re eating lunch?”
A spark of hope shot through Mary. “Maybe now isn’t a good time to interrupt them.” Then they could see Maureen and Connie, and afterwards, Richard and the reporter might be out around town. Then Jenny would have to come back another day to see Amanda’s hat.
Before Mary could suggest seeing Maureen and Connie, Jenny said, “We’ll knock on the door. If they’re busy, the butler will tell us to come back later.”
She frowned in disappointment, but no one noticed.
Jenny used the doorknocker and stepped back.
Mary silently prayed the butler would tell them Richard and the reporter were already gone.
Unfortunately, her prayer was for naught. The butler opened the door and encouraged them to enter the house.
“Mr. Larson and Mr. Conway haven’t left yet,” he said as he led them to the large parlor. “They’re in the den at the moment. I’ll let Mr. Larson know you’re here when they’re finished in there. In the meantime, I’ll tell Mrs. Larson that you’re here and bring in some refreshments. Have a seat and make yourselves comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Jenny said.
Resigned, Mary sat with Rachel and Adam on the couch. Isaac was too busy standing in the center of the room so he could keep an eye on the doorway. Sally sat beside Mary, and Jenny instructed her children to sit in the chairs.
“This is kind of exciting,” Sally whispered to Mary and Jenny once Jenny sat with them. “I can’t believe Richard’s going to be in a nationwide magazine.”
“It feels like we’re related to someone who’s famous,” Jenny agreed. “I’m sure Amanda’s proud of him. She wanted him to be successful when we all first came here. She should be a part of the interview if you think about it. She was the one who encouraged Richard to go into business for himself. She even managed the finances for him.”
“Behind every successful man is a good woman,” Sally mused, “but you know how it is. Reporters are interested in the men who run the company. They aren’t interested in the wife’s contribution to it.”
Jenny nodded, though she seemed disappointed. “Yes, you’re right. I suppose it’ll have to be enough that Richard knows how much Amanda’s helped him. He was telling Pa that he mentioned Amanda’s contribution to the newspaper reporter, but that part of the interview got left out.”
The butler came into the room and set a tray full of cookies and coffee down. “I’ll come back with
lemonade for the children,” he said before he left.
Rachel, Carl, and Emma grabbed the cookies.
Mary got one for Adam in case the other children took them all. She glanced over at Isaac who hadn’t made a move to the tray. “Don’t you want a cookie?”
“I’m not hungry,” Isaac said without even looking over at the cookies.
Sally laughed. “Since when have any of our children refused the offer to get a cookie?”
Since their uncle Richard became famous. Mary bit her tongue so she wouldn’t say that aloud.
Amanda came into the room, followed by fifteen-year-old Annabelle. Both were dressed in their best. Mary hadn’t thought about it, but they would have wanted to look their best with the reporter here. It was too bad she hadn’t thought to tell Sally and Jenny that they shouldn’t have come here since they weren’t in their Sunday clothes. She might have been able to dissuade them from coming here with that argument, and that would have meant Isaac wouldn’t brag about being here while his uncle was interviewed.
“Did we come at a bad time?” Sally asked.
“No, everyone is fine,” Amanda replied. “Did everyone get something to eat and drink?”
“All of us who wanted something got it,” Sally said. Then with a smirk, she added, “Isaac is more excited about the reporter than the cookies.”
Amanda turned to him, pretending to be shocked. “Is that true?”
Isaac nodded. “Can I see Uncle Richard?”
Mary put Adam down and rose to her feet. “He’s been talking of little else but how famous his uncle is. But,” her gaze went to Isaac, “your uncle is busy, and we didn’t give him or your aunt any notice that we were coming.” She offered Amanda an apologetic smile. “I hope we’re not putting you in an awkward spot.”
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