Linda nodded. “I’ll take care of breakfast every morning. All of the parents know me, so it will be easy for them to drop off to me. What time are you planning on getting here?”
“Probably six-thirty or so. That’ll give us time to get everything we need to have together for the day. Most of the kids are either in the two-year-old or four-year-old age range. If you take the two-year-olds, I’ll take the four-year-olds. I can do a lesson plan that will teach them their numbers, letters, and colors. All of that important stuff.”
“Sure. That sounds great. I’ll go get some of the boys’ toys out of the attic, and we can get them cleaned up and ready for a new generation of children.” Linda hurried off, heading toward the garage.
Faith looked at Hope. “Do you really think we can make enough?”
Hope nodded, her eyes lit up. “I really do. I think the men will be very pleasantly surprised with the kind of money we’ll be bringing in. They don’t have a lot of faith in us yet. Let’s show them what we can do.”
“Why do people always underestimate us?” Joy asked.
Hope shrugged and looked at the clock. “I need to get home if I’m going to make dinner for my husband. I’m going to try and make a few of the Santa outfits tonight. I’d like to have one of each made up, so that we can put them on the website to let people know that they’re for sale. By the weekend, we should be able to add a page for them.”
“That’s a great idea. Hopefully, I’ll have my kiln within a week. I can’t wait to be able to work on my ‘little hobby’ full-time. Mom’s going to be so mad when she hears what we’re doing.” Faith didn’t look at all upset by that idea.
Hope waited until Linda got back. “Since I need to leave, can you guys make sure that that stuff gets cleaned and sanitized before the kids get here tomorrow?”
Chastity nodded. “I’ll take that over.”
Hope smiled at her sister. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” With a wave, she hurried out the door to walk home. She could cook a real meal for her husband that evening, and she was thrilled.
While dinner was in the oven, she quickly sewed three of the Santa outfits. She kept watching the clock, and finally at six-fifteen, she remembered that Karlan had said he had a city council meeting and would eat in town. She frowned, removing the food from the oven. He would have a good meal to eat for lunch the next day if he wanted it.
She ate her solitary meal, excited to have the evening alone, even while she was disappointed that she wouldn’t get to spend time with Karlan. After putting his meal into the refrigerator and washing the dishes, she went to work on the St. Patrick’s Day outfit.
By the time Karlan walked in the door, she had the first three little green shamrock outfits sewn as well as little Easter outfits. Only two more to go. She knew she wanted to do a onesie for the Fourth of July, but it was the last one that was befuddling her. She wanted six outfits, and she only had five. She’d have to think on the last one.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, running to the door to kiss Karlan. “How was your meeting?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, the gesture she was learning he made whenever he was stressed. “It was long. No, I’m not hungry.”
“Okay. Anything I can help with?”
He shook his head. “I need a shower and my bed.” Walking down the hall toward his room, he called over his shoulder, “G’night!”
Hope was surprised. It was the first time she’d spoken to him when he hadn’t tried to get her into bed. Was he mad at her?
Karlan stripped and stood under the shower spray. He couldn’t listen to one more word from anyone. It had been an awful meeting, with bickering from both sides of the traffic light fiasco. Half the council members were sure a traffic light would be the ruination of their calm, old-fashioned town. The other half were just as convinced that if they didn’t get the traffic light, plagues would rain down from heavens over them. Why couldn’t people just get along?
He was paid a very small salary as mayor, but he’d decided that he and Hope needed to find a way to live on that little bit until they found a way to pay Travis what he wanted. He still didn’t know why Travis thought it was all right to bankrupt the thing that had made their granddaddy happy, but if that’s what he had in mind, they weren’t going to give him the satisfaction. Thankfully his house and truck were paid for, so they should be able to make it with their expenses. He wished he could give Hope the world, but that wasn’t going to happen. Not yet anyway.
Hope stood in the living room for a few minutes after Karlan shut his bedroom door wondering what she’d done to offend him. Was he angry that she wasn’t willing to have sex yet, even though he’d agreed before they married? If he was, he was just going to have to live with it, because she wasn’t ready for that!
She went back into the craft room and started up the sewing machine, cranking out two more outfits before bed. The man could be infuriating; there was no doubt about that. She just wished she was allowed to talk to her sisters about it. She knew it would make her feel better.
* * *
Karlan was still distant during breakfast the next morning. After tossing and turning all night, Hope needed to find out what his problem was. Whatever she’d done to annoy him, she wanted out in the open so they could deal with it.
“What did I do?” she asked as he was taking a bite of his eggs.
“What do you mean?”
“I want to know why you’re mad at me. I didn’t do anything wrong that I know of, so just spit it out so we can deal with it.” Hope had never been one to pussyfoot around any negative situation.
He shook his head. “Why do you think you did something wrong?”
“You were gone all evening, and then when you came home, you went right to bed. You only kissed me once, and that’s because I kind of forced it on you. If that doesn’t mean something’s wrong, I don’t know what does.”
Karlan rubbed the back of his neck, and Hope’s eyes narrowed. “The city council meeting last night was awful. The council members are divided over something stupid, and it ended up as a shouting match. I was so annoyed when I got home, that I thought it would be better if I didn’t inflict my bad mood on you.”
She frowned. “Really? That’s all it was?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I made you think otherwise. We’ve been trying to decide if we’re going to put in a traffic light on Main Street. You’d think it would be an easy decision, but with the way the council is reacting, our decision is going to cause Armageddon to come early if we choose the wrong thing.” He made a face. “We’ve been fighting this same subject at every meeting for six months. One of the members called an emergency meeting last night, and I thought we’d get it resolved once and for all. Nope. Everyone is still mad at each other.”
Hope shook her head. “That sounds ridiculous.”
“It is.” He stood up. “I have to go. We’re starting to brand the cattle this morning, and it’s a long process.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet and against him. “You could tempt me to stay if you wanted to play hide the cannoli.” He kissed her sweetly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Hide the cannoli, huh?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been dying to play it with you.”
“As tempting as your offer is, I have eleven kids who will be arriving at your mother’s house in the next couple of hours. I think your mom and my sisters would appreciate it if I came and showed them the schedule I’ve worked out for Culpepper Care.”
“Fine. We’ll do the tube-snake boogie later.” He grabbed his hat from the counter, shoved it on his head and left, closing the door behind him.
“The tube-snake boogie? Where does he get these?” She hurried through her morning chores, started supper in the crock pot, and hurried over to the big house. She couldn’t get her silly husband out of her mind, though, and she knew she was walking around with a goofy grin on her face.
As soon as Chastity saw her,
she giggled. “Someone must have spent some time doing the horizontal polka with her husband this morning.”
Hope blushed and sat down at the table, pulling out the schedules she’d printed off for everyone the night before. “I made a schedule of our events of the day for everyone. Faith, I’m assuming you’re working with us until your stuff arrives.”
At Faith’s nod, she continued. “I’ve got you helping out with outside time and helping me with numbers and letters for the older kids. If you can take over during those times, I can get some sewing done.”
She’d finally decided to do a dress outfit as the last thing for the babies. The girls would get a little pink dress and the boys would get a pair of blue shorts with suspenders and a white shirt. They’d be cute, and she had the fabric she needed already. She was always buying more fabric than she needed. It was an obsession!
When the kids started coming in, Hope was surprised. Fifteen children showed up, four more than she’d planned for. Thankfully she’d brought extra snacks, so they’d be able to accommodate the bigger number. Each parent was asked to fill out a form explaining all of the children’s allergies, special dietary needs, and preferences.
Linda had brought down several books for the children, and she even had a small slide that could go into the living room. There were many balls and stick horses. The children would not lack for things to do.
Hope divided them into groups, taking the four year olds and sitting them down for a talk about the rules that needed to be followed. She could already see that a little girl named Anna would be the smartest one in the group, as well as the one who would make sure everyone else followed the rules. A little boy named Roy was going to be the rule-breaker, tugging on Anna’s pigtail during the talk about rules.
The day zipped by, even with the chaos that filled the air. Karlan stopped in for lunch. He had a way with the children that thrilled Hope, making her know he would be a good father. When his short break was up, he kissed her softly and hurried off, telling her he might be home late.
The last of the children left after six, and Hope sank into a chair, staring straight ahead for a minute. Her sisters and Linda all followed suit. “That was exhausting.”
Linda nodded. “But fun! I can’t wait until we have that many little ones running around all the time.”
Joy looked at Linda, her face serious. “You don’t want grandkids, do you, Linda?”
“Oh, no. No more than six hundred or so.” Linda rubbed her hands over her face, obviously exhausted. “It’s going to get easier once we’re used to them, right?”
“Definitely,” Hope told her. “Every day will get easier.”
Linda got up and went to the kitchen, digging through the cabinets for something quick to cook. “I usually have this all planned out early in the day. Man, this is one of those days when I think the kitchen should be removed and someone should just put in a drive-thru window for deliveries.”
Faith nodded. “That sounds good to me right about now.”
Only Chastity was unaffected, but she’d spent the majority of the day knitting. She’d take breaks to come out and talk to the children, but like the others, she was on a mission to make as much money as possible. She knew she’d have her turn with the children once Faith’s supplies arrived.
Hope got to her feet. “I’ve got to get home. I want to be there before Karlan is.”
Linda smiled. “You know he’ll understand if you’re not.”
Hope nodded. “I know he will. I just feel like I should be there first.” With a wave, she hurried out the door. Karlan didn’t have a meeting that night, so they would have the evening together. She was starting to feel like she knew him well enough to make love, but she wasn’t going to tell him that yet.
When she got there, she hurried to set the table and put dinner on. She didn’t have to wait long for him. He arrived ten minutes after she did, looking dead on his feet. “Long day?” she asked.
He nodded. “Very long day. Do I have time to shower before supper?”
Hope nodded. “Sure. That’ll give me time to make some biscuits to go with the stew.”
Karlan came back out twenty minutes later, looking refreshed. “How did the first day with the kids go?”
“Oh, really well. They’re all angels.”
He snorted. “I saw Roy Pettigrew put a frog down Anna Smith’s shirt. He’s an angel?”
“Well, he might be the exception to the rule, but he was sweet and well-behaved as could be while he was napping.”
“I’m sure. That’s probably the only time that boy is well-behaved. I saw him push a little boy down because he was blocking the water fountain at church one Sunday morning.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that!” Hope said with a grin. “The biscuits aren’t quite ready, so start with the salad.” She put the salad in front of him, a bottle of ranch dressing beside it. She knew he liked ranch, because it was the one of the few things that had been in his refrigerator when she’d arrived.
He started getting calls again right after supper, and spent the whole evening discussing city business. Hope did the dishes and then cut out more of the clothes for the dolls. She’d planned to take the evening off to spend with her husband, but if he was too busy, she’d certainly make the most of her free time.
When he finally put his phone down after the last call, he sighed. “Bedtime for me. Another tough day tomorrow.” He kissed her briefly. “I’m going to bed.” He was already in bed before she realized he had once again failed to ask her to make love with him. Was he losing interest in her already?
She cleaned up her mess and carefully put the pieces in a bag. She would work during the kids’ nap time. Chastity and Joy had agreed to take over during nap time because their crafts were quiet while Hope’s was loud.
Hope yawned as she headed into bed. It was going to be a long week.
8
That first day set a pattern for the week. The newlyweds woke early, went their separate ways, saw each other for a few minutes for lunch, ate supper together, and then Karlan spent the evenings on the phone while Hope worked on sewing.
On Friday night, she expected to have his full attention for a change, because she knew that she wouldn’t be working the next day, but Karlan was again on the phone all night. When he finished his last call, she walked to him and sat on his lap, kissing his cheek. “What are we going to do tomorrow?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m going to have to work like I always do on Saturdays. I figured you’d spend the day with Mom and your sisters doing all your crafty stuff.”
She frowned. She’d made good money that week with the number of children they’d ended up with, and she already had a waiting list for Culpepper Care. Of course, there was always more work to be done. “That’s fine. I have lots of work I can do. I should probably spend a couple of hours cleaning the house as well.”
Karlan looked around him, trying to see something that needed to be cleaned. The woman kept everything neat as a pin. “I guess.”
She shrugged. “I’ll spend the morning with your mom and my sisters, and I’ll come back here to work after that.” She stood up, certain he wasn’t interested in spending time with her. Was he regretting he hadn’t married one of her sisters?
Karlan watched her, knowing he’d done something wrong, but not sure what. She didn’t want him to let Travis force them to sell the ranch, did she? “G’night, Hope.”
“Good night.”
Hope slipped off to her room, trying not to let him see the tears. She’d messed up their marriage by not being willing to consummate immediately. That had to be the problem.
She climbed into bed, worried about her marriage. What if they could never recover from her mistakes? Would he even be interested if she were to walk into his room and climb into bed with him?
She sighed. Faith was getting married tomorrow evening. She had to keep smiling for her sisters.
* * *
After the wedding
, Hope and Karlan walked home hand-in-hand. She rested her head against his shoulder. “It’s so beautiful out here at night,” she said. “I don’t miss Kentucky at all, and I was sure I would.”
“I’m glad you don’t. I don’t know how I’d react if my wife just wanted to run off back to her parents.”
Hope sighed. No matter how bad life got, she knew she’d never want to go back to her parents. “No, I like the freedom I have here. I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked, but I have so much more freedom. I love working with the children, and your mother is just darling. She’s so helpful with both the kids and the quilts she’s making for the dolls.”
“You all seem to revolve your lives around those silly dolls.”
“They’re not silly. Trust me. You’re going to be thankful for those dolls soon.”
Karlan shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that. I guess if they make you and your sisters happy, that’s a good thing, though.”
“Are you working tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yeah, we have to work on the fences still.” He sighed. “I hope Faith and Cooper have an easier time being together than we do. I swear, between my position as mayor, and your daycare and sewing, I feel like we have no time together at all.”
“You could shut your phone off one evening per week,” she suggested, holding her breath for his response. Would he agree?
“I would, if not for that stupid traffic light. We have to get that thing resolved as soon as we can.”
Hope didn’t say another word about it. When they walked into the house, she grabbed his tie and led him to the couch by it, curling up beside him and kissing him. She was ready to really be his wife, and ever since she’d made that decision, he was too busy to pay any attention to her.
Wyoming Wedding (Culpepper Cowboys Book 1) Page 8