Love's unending legacy (Love Comes Softly #5)

by Janette Oke

  "I'd like thet. I'll come early and help ya git ready."

  Marty laughed. "Haven't ya been listenin' to a thing I've been sayin'?" she said, giving Ellie a playful pat on the bottom. "I'm fine. I can fix a dinner fer my family. Honest!"

  "All right," said Ellie. "You fix it, an' we girls will do the cleanin' up. Fair?"

  Marty laughed again. "Fair," she said and let it go.

  "An' while yer a fixin'," said Ellie as she was about to leave, "how 'bout some lemon pie? Seems I haven't had a good one fer ages. I never did git the hang of makin' lemon pie."

  213

  "Okay," Marty cheerfully agreed, "lemon pie it is. An', Ellie ..."

  Ellie hesitated, her hand on the door.

  "Thanks fer stoppin' by." Marty went on. "I needed a little chat. I've been missin' ya."

  "I've missed ya, too," said Ellie, "an' Kate an' Pa an' even Belinda. She's growin' already, Ma. Just look at her."

  Marty turned to look at the baby lying contentedly in the crib in the corner of the kitchen. She was playing with her hands and crooning to herself.

  "She is, isn't she? She's already got her pa all twisted round those little fingers, I'm a thinkin'."

  "Thet weren't a big job," answered Ellie. "He was a pushover the day she arrived."

  Marty smiled.

  "See ya both on Sunday, then."

  Ellie nodded and left the kitchen.

  Marty crossed to the window and watched Ellie walk out to the barn, where Clark would hitch up the team to her wagon. Marty went back to the baby, who was dropping off to sleep. "Little girl," she whispered, stroking the soft cheek with one finger, "ya have no idea what a big achin' void yer helpin' to fill."

  Sunday came and with it the family. They all followed Clark and Marty's team home from church, making quite a procession. Marty smiled to herself as she thought of the sight they must be making.

  The women and children were let off at the house, and the men went on down to the barn to unhitch the animals.

  Soon everyone was inside, joshing and joking good-naturedly as they flocked through the kitchen. Marty shooed anyone who wasn't fixing the meal out to other places in the house. The menfolk settled themselves around the fire in the family living room.

  214

  The children gathered in the upstairs hall with toys Marty and Clark had fashioned and acquired over the years. All except Tina. She insisted she was now one of the ladies and asked to help set the table. And of course Baby Belinda was too little for the children's play and lay contentedly in her pa's lap in the big, much-used rocker, obviously enjoying the motion of the chair and the solid arms around her.

  Arnie cocked an eyebrow at his pa. "Been noticin' yer not as good 'bout sharin' as ya used to be," he remarked.

  "Meanin'?" said Clark, frowning slightly.

  "Ever'time I see ya, yer a hoggin' thet girl. She belongs to all of us, ya know."

  There was laughter around the circle, and Clark reluctantly passed the small baby to Arnie.

  He didn't get to keep her for long. From there she went to Josh and then to Clare, and finally Lane even got a chance to hold her. She turned on the charm for each one of them.

  "I can see it all now," said Arnie. "Pa's gonna be awful busy guardin' the gate when this one grows up. Boy, ain't she somethin'?"

  They all agreed, and Clark looked as if he would pop some buttons.

  "Look at thet smile," said Clare. "Ever see so much sweetness in such a little mite?"

  The group of men had turned their full attention on the baby, admiring and commenting on every little thing she did. Belinda cooed and squirmed and smiled at all her admirers.

  It was not long until they were called to the table. They all took their places rather noisily, but complete silence reigned as Clark led them in a fervent prayer of gratitude to God. In the midst of the prayer, Marty heard a contented gurgle, and when she raised her head she saw that Clark was still holding the baby.

  "My goodness," she said to him after the chorus of amens, "how ya plannin' on eatin' with the young'un in yer arms?"

  215

  "It's a leg I'm missin'--I got me two hands," Clark noted with a grin.

  "Well, ya need 'em both fer eatin'." Marty laughed. "My lands, she's gonna be so spoilt she won't be fittin' to live with." Marty got up from her place and took the baby girl.

  "I'll hold her," volunteered Arnie quickly.

  "She don't need to be held. She'll be perfectly content here in her bed." And Marty bent to lay the baby down.

  "Don't seem fair somehow," put in Clare. "All the rest of the family is round the table."

  "An' she will be, too give her time."

  "Avv, Grandma," coaxed Tina. "She'll miss what's goin' on."

  "I don't think she's gonna miss it thet much," said Marty. "None of the rest of ya ever got so much holdin'."

  "That's different," Arnie continued. "There was more babies than big folk then. Now it's been turned round. Lots of people here to hold a young'un now."

  Marty looked around the table. "Yeah, lots of big folks, and lookin' round this table, I s'pect thet it could very soon be turned the other way again."

  They must have caught her meaning, and Marty noticed a couple at the table exchanging glances and looking a bit sheepish. "Anybody got anythin' to tell us?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

  Arnie swallowed hard and looked at Anne. "Well," he said, "we hadn't planned on an announcement just yet, but yeah ... I reckon we do."

  There was laughter and congratulations for the blushing newlyweds. Marty could feel their joy, but then she thought of poor Kate and a pain went through her. Kate was slowly pushing back her chair and rising to her feet. Marty felt her throat constrict. Poor Kate. It was just too much for her. Too soon. First Belinda and now this. But Kate was not rushing from the room. Instead, she was standing with a hand on Clare's shoulder and a smile on her

  216

  face. "I'm glad 'bout Arnie and Anne's announcement," she said in a clear, soft voice, "glad fer them and glad because ... well, I just think it's important fer every child to have a little cousin 'bout his own age."

  "Are ya sayin'--?" began Ellie, but Kate stopped her with, "Sure am! Just 'bout the same time as Anne. Doctor just told me fer sure yesterday."

  Marty couldn't help the happy tears. She was going to be a grandma again--twice over.

  217

  TWENTY-SEVEN Surprise

  Ellie knew Lane really didn't have a whole lot that needed to be done around the farm. The animals had all been either sold or shipped off to the new ranch in the West. There were no fences to fix, no wood to cut, no harness to mend. At first he had enjoyed it since it meant he had lots of time to spend with her, but after a few days of drinking coffee and watching her work around the kitchen, she could tell he was beginning to grow restless. She didn't blame him at all. She was used to being busier herself, and now and then she, too, felt time hanging a bit heavy on her hands. At least she had baking to do, clothes to wash, a house to keep clean, and many little tasks about the home. She tried to think of some ideas for Lane to fill his hours, but nothing presented itself. It was hard for him to just sit around waiting for the farm to sell, she could tell.

  "Lane," she ventured one day, "I been thinkin'. We're only a couple of miles outta town. Ya think it would matter any to the LaHayes iffen ya were to take a town job?"

  Lane's expression indicated he wondered why he hadn't thought of it. "Don't rightly know what I'm fittin' to do in a town," he said reflectively, "but it sure is worth a try. Would ya mind?"

  Ellie smiled to assure him. "I know thet it's hard fer ya not to be busy. An' I don't blame ya one bit. Fact is, I don't think I'd care much to be married to a lazy man. Why don't ya go on in an'

  218

  make a few inquiries? Ain't a thing more in the world fer ya to do round here."

  Lane saddled his horse, kissed his wife good-bye, and rode from the yard.

  At first it appeared there woul
d be no work for Lane in the small town. The bank needed another man and the town's one tailor said he could sure use some help, but Lane did not have the required experience for either job. He was about to give up and head for home again when the man from the general store waved him down.

  "Hear tell yer lookin' fer work."

  "Sure am. Willin' to try most anythin'. Ya need a man?"

  "Not me, no. I got all the help I need, but I hear thet Matt over to the livery is down sick an' poor ol' Tom is 'bout wearin' hisself out tryin' to keep up with things. Ya might wander on over there an' see iffen he's found somebody yet."

  Lane thanked him and turned his horse to the livery stable. Funny that he hadn't thought to try it first off, since he sure knew about horses.

  The man was right. Old Tom did want another man, and Lane started in right away on his town job.

  The chance to work not only helped put Lane in a much better frame of mind concerning himself, but it enabled him and Ellie to begin to tuck away a little money week by week, as well. They both felt good about it, and when Lane would ride in at night, tired from lifting feed sacks and grooming horses, Ellie was there waiting for him with a warm fire and fresh-baked bread. Their marriage prospered under such an arrangement.

  One day as Ellie matched socks from the day's washing and waited for Lane to return for supper, she heard Rex barking. The

  219

  sound of his bark told Ellie that someone had arrived. It wasn't Lane, she knew, and it wasn't one of her family. Rex barked as though the visitor was a stranger.

  She hurried to the window and saw a tall man in a long, dark coat tying his horse to the hitching rail. Ellie had never seen the man before. "Maybe it's a buyer fer the farm," she mused and hoped with all her heart that it might be so.

  She answered the knock and greeted the man cordially. "I understand Lane Howard lives here."

  "Thet's right," said Ellie. "I'm Mrs. Howard."

  "Is Mr. Howard in?"

  "Not at the moment. He works in town, but I'm expectin 'im home 'fore long."

  "Mind if I wait for him?" the man asked, and Ellie wasn't sure for a moment if she minded or not.

  "I'll just wait out here if it's all right."

  "Ya needn't do thet!" exclaimed Ellie, chiding herself for hesitating. "Ya can come on in an' have a cup of coffee while ya wait."

  The man did not refuse and followed Ellie into the small kitchen. Ellie pushed the coffeepot she had in readiness for Lane's supper onto the heat and nodded at a chair.

  "Just sit ya down," she offered. "He should be home most any minute."

  She looked at the man. His clothes were different from what the farmers round about wore, she noticed. And he didn't really dress like the men from town, either. He must be from the city, she concluded. If he came about the farm, he must be coming on behalf of someone else. He didn't look like a farmer.

  She decided to ask, but before she could speak, the man spoke to her.

  "Nice farm here," he commented. "Well kept."

  "First-rate," agreed Ellie, ready to give an honest sales pitch. "There's been lots of time an' money put in on it. It's in real good shape."

  220

  "Didn't see much stock about."

  "Stock's all been sold right now. But it has good pastureland an' plenty of barn room. Barns fer cows, with good milk stalls, lots of pigpens, a real fine horse barn thet holds eight head, big chicken coop, five granaries ... or is it six? ... no, five, I think. Even got a root cellar an' a real good well."

  The man looked just a shade puzzled, but Ellie hurried on. "Lots of good crop land, too. Had a first-rate stand of barley last year, and the lower field had a hay crop like I've never seen afore ... an' thet field out back, the one ya can't see too well from the road--" Ellie caught herself. "'Course ya can't see any of the fields too well just by ridin' on by 'cause of the snow, but it'll soon be ready fer workin'. Folks hereabouts say they expect an early spring this year. Some of the farmers are already gittin' their seed ready to plant."

  "Interesting," the man said, but he really didn't look much interested.

  "There's a good garden plot, too," Ellie continued, since it was at least something to talk about. She reached for a cup to fill with coffee for the stranger. "Even got a few fruit trees. Pa says thet apples would do real good here, but no one's gotten round to plantin 'em yet."

  "You just buy the farm recently?" asked the man as Ellie returned to the stove.

  Ellie stopped in midstride. "Us?" she said. "Oh no, it's still fer sale," she hurried to explain. "We're just livin' here till it sells. The LaHayes already moved on out west an' left us to care fer the place till someone buys it. We're goin' west, too, as soon--" Ellie stopped herself. Now, that didn't sound good. The man might think something was wrong with the farm with everyone moving away.

  "Not thet we wouldn't like to buy the farm ourselves, but my husband really prefers ranchin'. An' 'sides, we don't have the money thet it takes to buy a farm. Takes a heap of money to git

  221

  started farmin' nowadays." That didn't sound good, either. Might scare a body off.

  "One soon is able to make it back, though, on a good farm--an' this is a good farm," she hurried on, but then she decided she'd said enough. Whatever the man was here for, she didn't want something she said to give the wrong impression.

  The man said nothing, and Ellie placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

  She checked the biscuits in the oven and stirred the vegetables. They were ready. She hoped that Lane wouldn't be too late.

  The silence now hung heavy between them. The man didn't seem too inclined toward conversation. In fact, he seemed rather impatient and kept drumming his fingers on the table, an irritating thing to Ellie. At last Ellie heard Rex bark again, and this time she could tell it was Lane who was approaching. She heaved a big sigh of relief and glanced across at the close-lipped stranger.

  "Thet's my husband now," she said. "He'll be in as soon as he cares fer the horse."

  The man grunted his approval. Ellie was about to start dishing up the supper but changed her mind. She'd better hold off for a few minutes while the man had his talk with Lane about the farm. Somehow, Ellie didn't expect the stranger to accept an invitation to join them at the table.

  Lane came in with a puzzled look on his face.

  "Lane, this is ... is ... I'm sorry, sir. I didn't even ask yer name."

  "Peters," said the man, extending his hand to Lane and rising to his feet.

  "My husband," finished Ellie lamely.

  "Mr. Peters," said Lane, shaking the hand. "I believe I had the pleasure of rentin' ya a horse a little earlier."

  Mr. Peters seemed taken aback. "To be sure," he said, looking more closely at Lane. "If I'd known whom I was talking to, I could have saved myself this trip. I was told that you lived on the farm."

  222

  "We do," said Lane good-naturedly, "but there's nothin' to do hereabouts right now. All the stock's been sold. We have one horse an' one dog. Don't keep a man very busy. We are just here till---"

  Mr. Peters stopped him with an impatient gesture. "Your wife explained," he said hurriedly.

  "Please," said Lane, "sit yerself back down an' tell me how I can help ya."

  He's here 'bout the farm, Ellie started to say, but she decided she wasn't sure about that anymore.

  "The matter is a private one," said Mr. Peters, pulling forth a small case that Ellie had not noticed when he had arrived. Lane looked surprised.

  "Well, I guess we are 'bout as private as we can git," he responded.

  Mr. Peters cast a glance toward Ellie.

  "Nothin' is so private as to exclude my wife, sir," Lane said firmly.

  Mr. Peters said nothing but opened up his case and spread some papers out before him.

  He pulled a small pair of spectacles from his pocket and balanced them on the end of his nose. Then he cleared his throat and said, "I understand that you are Lane Howard."
r />   "Thet's correct."

  "Who is your father, Mr. Howard?"

  "Well, I ... I don't have a father. Thet is, he died when I was five years old."

  "And his name?"

  "His name? His name was ... ah ... Will. They called him Will. His real name was William. William Clayton Howard." "And your mother? Where is she?"

  "She died only one week after. She'd been hurt in the same storm."

  "And her name?"

  "Rebecca. Rebecca Marie."

  223

  "Who raised you?" asked the man.

  "An aunt. A maiden aunt. Her name was Aunt Maggie. Ah ... Margery. Margery Thorn."

  "Is she living?"

  "Sir. I heard 'bout four or five years ago thet she had passed on."

  "So you weren't with her when she died?"

  "No. I left when I was fourteen."

  "Why?"

  "Why? 'Cause I wanted to. I didn't feel thet I should stay." "Were you told to leave?"

  Lane looked a bit annoyed. "Course not."

  "What were the circumstances?"

  "The what?"

  "The circumstances. Why did you go if you weren't told to leave?"

  "My aunt married. She was older. Had never married before. People round town said it was gonna be hard fer her to adjust to being' married. They also said it would be even harder with me there to ... to..."

  "Folks said that?"

  "Well, they didn't say it right to me. They didn't know when I overheard 'em. But I did."

  Ellie felt rather unsettled. Why in the world all the strange questions? Why should this man come in from nowhere and begin to ask her husband things concerning his past? Things he had shared only with her.

  "What about the man? Your aunt's new husband?" the questioner went on.