by Zina Abbott
Luther hoped the mules were holding to the road, because he had stopped paying attention to where they were going about four sentences into Hazel’s story. All he could do was stare at Hazel Jessup with his mouth hanging open in amazement. As soon as she turned to face him he clamped his lips shut and smiled. Now, he knew where he had heard that accent before. Now, he knew who else possessed the same round eyes the color of hazelnuts.
“Is Beth Dodd one of them you know up in Lundy, Mr. Caldwell?”
Luther grinned wide and debated what to say. Did he ever know Beth Dodd. Only, she wasn’t in Lundy anymore. She was at her homestead along Robinson Creek. Luther straightened on the bench and burst out laughing.
“Mr. Caldwell, you don’t got no call to be laughin’ at me.”
A glance at Hazel’s indignant expression and tears threatening to spill down her cheeks immediately prompted Luther to settle down.
“No, Miss Jessup. The last thing I would do is laugh at you, and I certainly apologize if I’ve upset you. It’s just—you caught me by surprise.”
I guess this time it’s a good joke on me.
Luther called out to the mules and pulled on the leads to stop them. In spite of the ground being soft from the previous day’s rain, he began the process of calling out to his animals and turning the wagon around so it was headed back the way they had come.
“But, you ain’t answered me none Mr. Caldwell. Do you know my sister? You still plannin’ on takin’ me to her?”
“Yes, ma’am. I do know who Beth Dodd is, and I’ll be happy to take you to her.”
“Ma’am? I don’t reckon I’m that old. Druther you call me Hazel than ma’am.”
“I would love to call you Hazel if it is agreeable with you. But if you say it’s all right, then you must agree to call me Luther.”
After all, Luther reasoned, Beth Dodd was his brother’s fiancée, Luther’s future sister-in-law. That meant the delightful woman sitting next to him would soon be part of his family, too.
Maybe I wouldn’t mind it if she becomes closer family than my sister-in-law.
“Then what’re you aimin’ to do turnin’ around like this? I thought we was headed to Lundy.”
“Actually, we weren’t going to be able to make Lundy tonight, especially with us starting out so late this morning. Besides, I planned to stop over at the ranch house to spend the night so I can pick up my brother. We’ll leave from there tomorrow to go to Lundy.”
“But, wasn’t we headed to the ranch before?”
Luther grinned, but the mischievous imp in him held him back from telling Hazel everything.
“I just remembered I need to stop by a neighbor’s house on my way home. There’s something I need to deliver to her. I’m happy you’ll have a chance to meet her and I know she’ll be glad to see you.”
“Oh, all right. Be my pleasure to meet her, I reckon.”
Luther continued to glance Hazel’s way in an attempt to study her without being obvious about it. He silently shook his head as the reality sunk in. This was the little sister Beth had been planning to go back to Ohio to reclaim? Now, the trip was unnecessary, which meant there was no longer a reason for her to put off her marriage to his brother until the first of the year.
There was also the little matter of the way Beth had mislead them, although she may not have meant to. When she had described her sister to both Val and Luther, they had been left with the impression the sister was a young girl still in braids and short skirts—early teens, at the oldest. But, although the woman sitting next to him was young, she was certainly a woman—not a child.
Hazel was definitely old enough to marry, and it wouldn’t take long for the men in the county to figure it out and come courting. That thought did not set well with Luther. Not at all.
I saw her first. I don’t intend to let her get away from me that easy.
Luther started scheming. Yes, he had turned around so he could take Hazel to her sister’s homestead along Robinson Creek. But, as happy as Luther was for his brother for finding in Beth a woman to love, he had quickly learned Beth had no sense of humor. She certainly didn’t tolerate his practical jokes well. Luther had discovered early on he didn’t need to say much before she tore into him and dressed him out like one of the mule deer he occasionally brought down while hunting up in the mountains. If nothing else, Luther had to get back at Beth for stringing him and his brother along about the true age of her sister.
This time, Luther held the winning hand. He might get a rise out of her and get her hollering at him. But in the end, how could she stay mad at him? In spite of all the gifts the Caldwell’s had brought her—Val with his chickens on Valentine’s Day, their helping her find land she could homestead and them setting up both a house-raising and barn-raising for her—today, he was going to deliver to her the biggest prize of all. That prize was the shapely blonde beauty sitting next to him. He had to think of something good so he could watch Beth squirm. In the end, what could she do? Even Beth couldn’t stay mad at the man who delivered her little sister to her doorstep.
“Hazel, how are you for playing jokes on people?”
A worried look flitted across Hazel’s face. “Depends. Don’t like to do nothin’ mean.”
“What if it isn’t mean? What if it’s all in fun and everyone gets a laugh when it’s over? Are you game for something like that?”
Luther smiled in satisfaction as he saw a playful glint spark in Hazel’s eyes. “Reckon so. I ain’t been up to doin’ nothin’ like that for a spell. But, I don’t know no one here in California but you and Mr. Leavitt and Bethie, of course. I don’t want no one mad at me for playin’ a joke on them.”
“Trust me, Hazel. This woman we’re going to go visit will love you. She’ll have fun with what I have in mind.”
Shame on me for lying. But, Beth will get over it.
“What you plannin’?”
Delight filled Luther as he witnessed the playful streak show itself in his passenger. Oh, this was one delivery that was going to be fun. After he explained what he planned to do, Hazel clapped her hands with glee. When he said she needed to cover herself up with something in the back of the wagon, Hazel assured him she had just the thing packed in the top of her valise.
As Luther guided the mules toward the front of Beth’s house, he grinned as watched both Beth and Val step outside to see who had come calling. It didn’t surprise him that his brother had returned again that day to visit his intended. The man was besotted. Luther could hardly wait until the couple married so his brother could settle down and focus on ranch work again. The way Luther saw it, with Val here, this would end up being a regular family reunion.
Before he got close enough to the front porch for Val and Beth to hear him, he reached back and placed his hand on the quilt-covered bundle behind the seat.
“Now, remember. No matter what you hear, you wait for my signal to show yourself.”
Both Beth and Val moved to the near side of the wagon as Luther pulled the mules to a halt.
“Checking up on me, are you?” Val called out. “I don’t blame you for waiting until yesterday’s rain passed before starting home, but I figured you would have gotten an earlier start than this.”
“Well, I planned to, but Hiram caught me and invited me to breakfast. And then I got asked to bring a special delivery out this way.”
“What special delivery?” Beth demanded. “Some of my chickens come in? Didn’t expect none this quick.”
Out of the corner of his eye Luther saw the quilt move. He reached his hand back and pressed down hard. “On the other side of the wagon. Go on around and take a look.”
As soon as Beth’s quick footsteps took her to the back of the wagon on the way to see what Luther had brought her, Luther turned toward the quilt and murmured quietly, “Not yet.” He straightened up to see his brother eye him with suspicion. Luther grinned and shook his head, hoping his brother would stay quiet and not give him away.
“Lu
ther Caldwell, how’d you get your hands on my quilt? And what’re you doin’ usin’ it to cover freight?” Beth had stepped onto the spoke of the wheel and grabbed the edge of the seat while she peered into the back of the freight wagon.
Luther felt the quilt bounce beneath his hand and he pressed down again to signal “not yet.” He suspected Hazel had caught on to what he was doing and was laughing. At least, she decided to play along. “This isn’t your quilt, Beth. I wouldn’t touch your quilt without your permission.”
“Don’t go tellin’ me no fibs like that, Luther. I ain’t blind, and I know my quilt. My ma made two, one for me with blue and one for…” Beth stopped, her jaw dropped open and her eyes wide with amazement, as if unable to believe what she was seeing.
Luther burst out laughing. Hazel had told him about the two quilts, identical except that each of the log cabin blocks on Beth’s quilt had two joining strips of blue fabric on the outside edge and Hazel’s had two strips of pink. Watching the expression on Beth’s face as she realized she was looking at pink instead of blue was worth every chewing out Beth had given to Luther since the day they met.
Beth started gulping air. Her voice quavered. “Zelly?”
Who or what was Zelly? Luther wondered. He tapped the top of the quilt. “Now!”
CHAPTER 13
As quickly as she could, considering she was curled in a tight ball and wedged in the back of the wagon between the seat and sacks of freight, Hazel jumped to her feet. Even though he could only see the profile of her features, Luther’s view of Hazel’s face revealed the most brilliant expression of joy he could recall having ever witnessed. Her hat was cock-eyed and a few strands of hair had pulled loose from her pins. They, along with the quilt she still held behind her with her arms outspread, waved in the breeze.
“It’s me, Bethie. I came with the quilt.”
“Zelly! Oh, Zelly. You’re here! I plumb can’t feature it, but you’re here!”
In spite of bending over with laughter, instinctively Luther reached forward and grabbed Beth’s elbow as she scrambled into the footwell and leaned over the bench to hug her sister.
“Luther Caldwell, you plumb got yourself in a heap of trouble this time, foolin’ me with that quilt.”
“Yeah, but you’ll get over it.”
Then Luther felt the wagon rock as the mules, unnerved over the commotion in the wagon, began to stomp their feet and pull unevenly at their harnesses. Luther turned and grabbed the leads. He began to call out to calm them. At the same time, Val rushed over and grabbed the headstall of one of the lead mules, and talked to them in a soothing voice. Both women, realizing they were at risk for getting pitched out of the wagon, grabbed onto the seatback to keep their balance.
Luther glanced at the two sisters and shook his head. He had seen Beth encounter several different situations. He had seen her madder than all get-out chewing him out for cracking a joke she didn’t appreciate. He had seen her with pursed lips and a stern expression, determined to get her way about something. He had seen her with her double barrel derringer in one hand and her father’s old hunting knife in the other while she faced off a tableful of trouble-makers. Without her getting weak-kneed or fainting at the sight of blood, he had seen her stanch a bleeding shoulder and help her old boss to the doctor after he’d been shot. But this was the first time he had seen her cry.
Once the mules were settled, Val strolled around and, with his arms akimbo, grinned up at the two women. “So, Beth, this is your sister? Your little sister? The one you planned to go back to Ohio for?”
“Yes, Val. This is Zelly, my little sister.”
“Zelly?” asked Luther, puzzled. “I thought her name was Hazel.”
“It is. But we been callin’ her Zelly since she was knee-high to a grasshopper.”
“Oh, Bethie, you got you a right smart house. Two windows in front and one to the side, it looks like. It’s nicer than our house back on the farm.”
“It’s all ours, little sister. Leastways, it will be in five years once I prove it up.”
“Well, your little sister doesn’t look like she’s so little anymore, but we’re still happy to have her. Here,” Val said as he reached for Beth’s waist. “Let’s get you to ladies down on the ground and away from the wagon so these mules don’t decide to take off on us again.” After Beth was on the ground, he reached for Hazel.
By then, Luther had secured the leads to the brake and was out of the wagon. He shoulder-butted his brother aside and reached his arms up to Hazel. “You already got your pretty lady, brother. This one’s mine.”
Hazel giggled as Luther closed his hands around her waist and helped her out of the wagon. Luther steadied Hazel on the ground and turned only to find Beth glowering at him. Whatever good will he had earned with his future sister-in-law by delivering her sister to her had faded fast.
“Don’t get no notions about my sister, Luther Caldwell. She ain’t old enough to have no men takin’ a shine to her.”
Hazel jammed her fists on each side of her waist and stamped her foot. “I ain’t too young, Bethie. You done lost track of how much I’ve growed up. I’m seventeen now, and I’ve had two young men back in Ohio ask to court me already.”
“You already had two men courtin’ you?”
“No. I done turned them down. I didn’t love them none, and I was fixin’ on comin’ out here to find a husband so you and I could live close by. Besides, Ma was sixteen when she and Pa up and married. You tryin’ to say our own ma didn’t know her own mind and didn’t do well marryin’ Pa?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it ain’t. Just because you didn’t start courtin’ at my age don’t mean I ain’t ready. Even Charlotte done told me a man who will love me’s been waitin’ for me to come here.”
And that was when Luther knew who had been waiting for Hazel Jessup.
“Who’s Charlotte?” asked Beth.
“She’s a haint what stays at the Leavitt House. I done shared a room with her last night.”
“The White Lady,” Luther clarified for Val. The two brothers with eyebrows raised gave at each other knowing looks.
“I don’t know no white lady like you’re talkin’ about, Zelly.”
“I’ll tell you about her later. And, Beth? I aim to go by Hazel now I’m startin’ fresh in California. I know you ain’t much on Agnes Dodd and her ways, but she done said it right that Zelly’s a baby name. I’m all growed up now, and I need to go by my real name.”
“You ain’t full growed yet.”
“I surely am, Bethie. You just best accept it.”
Luther had to smile at the way Hazel stood up to her sister. Her expression was a cross between a pout and a tease. “Here, let me get your trunk for you, Hazel. Maybe Beth can tell me where she wants it and I’ll take it in for you.”
“At the foot of the bed, Luther. Reckon you know what room that is seein’ as how you helped put this house back together after we brung it down from Lundy.”
Hazel’s eyes followed Luther’s movements with admiration as he grabbed her valise and tossed it to Val. While he climbed down with her trunk, Hazel stepped closer to Beth. “Ain’t he somethin’, Bethie? He’s so much fun. Don’t he remind you of our Jimmy?”
CHAPTER 14
Beth thought Luther was a lot of things. Fun wasn’t one of them. But at the mention of Jimmy’s name she stepped back and, her hands fisted, clutched her forearms around her stomach. Her forehead wrinkled into a frown. She felt her eyes threaten to shed tears once more. She willed them to stay dry as she watched her sister turn her attention back to Luther.
Val’s arm gently wrapped around Beth’s waist as he softly tugged her toward the house. “Who’s Jimmy, Beth?”
Beth took a deep breath before she answered. “He was our brother, about a year-and-a-half older than Zelly. They was like two peas in a pod, always playin’ around, jokin’—Jimmy loved to tease and torment me ’til I’d get so fed up I could’ve wrung his n
eck. Zelly was right there with him, eggin’ him on and laughin’ at his antics. About broke her heart when he done fell out of the loft and broke his neck—he was about eight when it happened. She ain’t been the same since—a lot quieter and ain’t so sure of herself.”
What Beth was not ready to share with Val was the terrible guilt she had felt after her brother’s death. As the oldest sibling, so much older than her brother and sister, she had been the main target of their teasing and practical jokes. Many times, Beth had screamed her fury at her brother and sister, and wished them dead, especially Jimmy, since she knew he was the instigator. And then…he was dead. She had tried to bury her grief, but her guilt magnified it to where it wore on her. She coped with it by working herself to exhaustion.
As for Hazel, once their mother died, Beth had taken over her sister’s care as if Zelly were her own child. She couldn’t give their mother or their brother back to her sister, but Beth had been determined to do the best she could. It was penance for having wished her brother dead.
Maybe her sister was right. Maybe the reason why Luther got on her nerves so bad and she was so quick to find fault with him was because a part of her recognized he possessed a lot of the same personality traits of the brother she didn’t know she loved until she’d lost him.
But, if Luther reminded Zelly—Hazel, she had to get in the habit of calling her sister Hazel—of Jimmy, then she needed to keep a close eye on things. She had always suspected that Hazel would find humor in Luther’s jokes and antics. Beth shuddered at the thought of the trouble the two could get into, especially if Hazel herself felt he was a kindred soul the way she had regarded Jimmy to be. Beth’s scowl deepened.