by A. J. Goode
Caroline, however, beamed. “I love the sound of chickens,” she said. “There’s something so peaceful about the little noises they make. Adam, do any of them have names?”
“Sure. That one’s Sunday Dinner, and that one’s Chicken Soup, and that one over there --”
“That one reminds me of one of the ladies from my church back home,” she told him. “I’ll call her Edna.”
“Edna it is.”
“Uncle Adam has a name for the rooster, but it’s a word we’re not allowed to say,” Emily confided.
He flushed. “That’s not really his name. It’s just what I call him every time he charges at me.”
Caroline laughed again. She had a delightful laugh, he decided. It wasn’t a delicate, sound; it was a deep and hearty laugh that seemed to come all the way from her toes and shake her slim body. He found himself wanting to hear more of it.
Inside the barn, he was overcome by shyness when his nieces led the way to the area he jokingly referred to as his workshop. His tools were there, and it was to this spot that he retreated when he needed time to himself. He was nearly finished with a project that had seemed like a good idea at one point, but now seemed silly and frivolous.
Caroline saw it immediately, and gasped. “Oh, Adam!” she breathed. “It’s . . . it’s magnificent! Who are you making it for?”
He shrugged, unable to answer. He didn’t know exactly what had inspired him to create this slightly oversized rocking chair with the sunrise carved into the back. He had never really been one for decorative woodwork, choosing instead to focus on the more practical side of things, but for some reason this particular chair had taken on a life of its own.
“I -- I didn’t make it for anyone special,” he admitted. “I just had the idea and started building it. I’m not really sure where I’ll put it when it’s finished.”
“You need to put it somewhere that everyone can see,” she said. “It’s much too beautiful to hide away in a barn.”
“It’s nothing special,” he muttered.
A dreamy look came into her eyes as she ran her fingers across the surface. “I like the way it makes me feel. Like I’m standing outside watching the sunrise and feeling God’s glory in the new day.”
“Yes! That’s it, exactly! That’s what I felt when I started working on it.”
She smiled up at him, and found himself gazing into her eyes again. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and feel the warmth of her body against his again, but he resisted the urge.
Business arrangement, he reminded himself.
Chapter 9
They settled into an awkward routine over the following days as Caroline tried to make herself a part of the family. As she’d expected, she and Emily clashed a few times over giving up control of “her” kitchen, but the girl also seemed relieved to hand over some of the responsibility. Sophie appeared to be conflicted as well. She went from boisterously happy one moment to sullen and defensive the next if Caroline gave her any kind of instruction.
As for Adam, Caroline did her best to stay as far away from him as possible. He seemed to find reasons to avoid her as well. They shared meals together and spent time chatting in the evenings after the girls went to bed, but she did her best to remain distant. As the days wore on, however, she discovered that he always had a ready smile and something to say. He was easy to talk to, and she found herself warming up to him.
On Friday, he returned from the mill with his wagon full of supplies. Caroline and the girls helped him unload the dry goods and other items, and then he awkwardly handed her a large paper-wrapped bundle.
“I thought you might need some new clothes,” he mumbled. “You said you like to sew, and Mildred Brown helped me pick out the fabric.”
Caroline caught her breath and tore into the paper like a child on Christmas morning. She ran her fingertips across soft yellow calico and a dark green wool on top of the stack. “This is too much, Adam!”
“Mildred said every lady needs a Sunday dress,” he said, gesturing at the wool. “And your other dresses won’t keep you warm enough in the winter. If winter ever gets here this year.”
“I don’t -- I --” she stammered. She blinked back tears at his unexpected kindness. “I don’t know how to thank you. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”
An odd look crossed his face. “Caroline, you’re my wife. I promised to take care of you, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. If you need clothes or shoes or a coat, just tell me.”
She nodded, unable to speak. He wasn’t being kind, she realized. He was fulfilling his responsibility to her, nothing more. She felt her face grow warm as understanding flooded through her. She was an embarrassment to him in her ragged, poorly-fitting clothes, and he had gone to Mildred Brown for help in making her more presentable as his wife.
Emily squealed in delight at the sight of the material. “Are you going to sew, Caroline? Can you teach me?”
“Of course, Emily. I’d love to. We can start tomorrow.”
Adam was unusually quiet through supper and immediately excused himself afterward. Caroline watched him head out to the barn where she knew he would be working on the rocking chair.
After cleaning up and washing the dishes, Caroline sat down with Emily and Sophie to go over their school books and look at some of the new school supplies Adam had purchased for them that day. She was pleased to discover that both were strong readers, although Emily was far more enthusiastic about it than her twin. For her part, Sophie appeared to have a real gift for numbers, and Caroline realized immediately that the girl would soon be beyond any instruction that she might be able to give.
“Is your uncle good at math?” she asked, feeling helpless.
“Better than Miss Brown was,” Sophie admitted.
“How long have you been without a teacher?”
“Just since last spring. Mr. Baxter has been trying to get a new teacher for us, but he says it’s hard to find a trustworthy one willing to come out here.” Emily sat forward with her chin in her hand, a dreamy look on her face. “Our old teacher eloped with a man from a wagon train that was passing by. They stopped for a few days to fix a broken wagon wheel, and when he left, she went with him. It was all so romantic.”
Caroline thought it was more irresponsible than romantic, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “Who is Mr. Baxter, Emily?” she asked instead.
“He owns the general store.”
“He’s head of the school committee,” Sophie added. “Him and Reverend Brown and some of the other men. They don’t want a young single teacher who might run away again, but Uncle Adam says they can’t find any married women or old spinster ladies to come out here.”
“Oh, yes, I think I met him.” She vaguely recalled a tall, dark-haired man who had been called into the church as a witness at the wedding.
“He’s also David’s father.” Emily elbowed her sister and made kissing sounds.
Sophie shoved at her. “Stop it!”
“Girls, that’s enough of that at the table.”
Sophie glared at Emily. “David is my best friend, and you know it. Just ‘cause we’re getting married when we grow up doesn’t mean I like him like that now.”
Caroline hid a smile. She gave them both an assignment from one of the new books and set out a plate of cookies she had baked earlier in the day. Then she fixed another plate to take out to Adam in his workshop. The sun had set and she welcomed the slight breeze outside on her walk to the barn, but the air around her was still oppressively warm on her skin.
He wasn’t working on the rocking chair when she reached the barn. Instead, he sat on his bench reading a crumpled letter. When he didn’t appear to notice her presence, she cleared her throat to get his attention.
He looked up, startled. She saw immediately that his face was flushed and his jaw was clenched with obvious anger.
“Is everything all right, Adam?” she asked.
He held out the letter. “Th
is was waiting for me in town today. It’s from Charles Harrington, Rebecca’s father -- Sophie and Emily’s grandfather. He wants me to send the girls to live with him and his wife in New York.”
“But he can’t just take the girls, can he?”
“I don’t know. But he included a letter from his big-city lawyer, and train tickets for me to bring the girls to New York.” He looked up at her as though seeing her for the first time. “Caroline, he says it’s just not appropriate for a man to raise two girls alone, especially since I’m not their father. I wrote to them to tell them I am married now, but he must not have gotten my letter yet.”
“So perhaps you can send the train tickets back to him.”
“I hope so,” Adam said fervently. He looked at the letter once more. “He wants us to take the train on Monday, October ninth. That’s less than two weeks away.”
“Nothing to fret about, then,” Caroline said. “He should get your letter by then, and he’ll understand when you return the tickets.”
She held out the dish of cookies and remained silent, watching him eat with a distant look in his eyes. “Maybe he’s right,” he finally said, more to himself than to her. “Maybe they really would be better off in New York.”
“Don’t think that way, Adam. You’re doing a wonderful job with the girls!”
He seemed unconvinced.
Chapter 10
The following evening, Adam rigged up a blanket as a curtain near the stove and hauled in a small tub for their baths. While he filled it with steaming water, the girls went through a complicated routine of hand-slapping, finger-snapping, and spinning in place that only they seemed to understand.
Adam laughed at the bemused expression on Caroline’s face. “They do this every week to decide who gets to go first,” he explained. “I have no idea how it works, but as long as they don’t argue, I guess it doesn’t concern me.”
Emily “won” their competition, prompting Sophie to groan. “Don’t take forever like you always do. There are three other people here who need to take a bath when you’re done.”
Emily stuck her tongue out at her sister.
By the time both girls had bathed and scurried up the ladder into their loft, Caroline had finished the mending she had been working on. She gathered up her things while Adam emptied the tub and refilled it with fresh water for her.
“I’m going out to the barn so you can have some privacy,” he told her. “When you finish your bath, just set the lamp near the window.”
“Thank you for that, Adam.”
He nodded and let himself out. Caroline moved behind the curtain and stepped out of her clothes. Slowly, she lowered her body into the hot water and let out a sigh. The tub was smaller than what she was used to back home, but it was clean. It felt good to scrub her hair and let the warm water slide across her skin, and she sighed again as the tension melted out of her muscles.
Thoughts of home entered her mind unbidden. She tried to push away the twinge of guilt she felt when she thought of her cousin Stan and wondered how he might be suffering at the hands of Big Tom. Surely the gambler wouldn’t have beaten him too badly, she hoped. She wondered exactly how much money her cousin owed the man and shuddered as her mind wandered over all the ways she would have paid the price had she not run away that night.
Her uncle may have given his word that she would marry Big Tom, but she hadn’t done any such thing. She swallowed the nagging fear that he might travel all the way out here to Kansas to drag her back, but dismissed the thought immediately. No matter how much money her family owed, surely it couldn’t be worth a trip out west to retrieve her.
Besides, she reassured herself, she was married now. Any claim Big Tom may have had over her, no matter how tenuous, was cancelled out by the fact that she was legally married to Adam.
She shook her head to clear it. The water had cooled, and she knew her husband must be getting impatient for his turn in the little tub. She climbed out and toweled off before quickly donning her cotton nightgown and wrap. Dragging a comb through her damp curls, she padded across the wooden floor to place the oil lamp in the window and then darted back to her own room.
Moments later, she heard the door open. Adam’s footsteps crossed the room and stopped outside her curtained doorway.
“Did you find everything you needed?” he called softly.
“Yes, thank you,” she said. “Good night, Adam.”
“Good night, Caroline. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams.”
She heard him empty the tub and refill it once more from the reservoir on the back of the stove. Closing her eyes, she tried not to imagine him stripping off his dirty clothes and stepping into the hot water. Her face grew warm as she pictured his broad, muscular chest that she had felt through his shirt when he held her on her that first day here in the cabin.
She gave herself a mental scolding for having such improper thoughts.
He doesn’t care for me that way, she reminded herself. I am here to help him raise his nieces, and nothing more.
Caroline lay still in her bed, willing herself to go to sleep long after the sounds of Adam’s bath had faded away. She heard him empty the tub one last time and followed the sound of his steps across the room. He paused for a long moment outside her room before moving on to his own, where she heard him moving around for a few minutes before all was silent once more.
Sweet dreams, indeed, she thought. She could only hope her dreams wouldn’t include him.
# # #
They rode into town for church the following morning, and Mildred Brown gave Caroline an enthusiastic hug as soon as the service was over.
“Married life seems to agree with you,” she observed. “You already look better than you did the last time I saw you.”
“Adam and the girls have been very kind to me,” Caroline said. She allowed the older woman to take her arm and introduce her to some of the other members of the church, beginning with a cluster of women who stood near the doorway.
Johanna VanDam was a dimpled blonde woman with bright blue eyes and a ready smile. She greeted Caroline warmly and spoke with a thick accent that was nearly impossible to decipher.
The petite woman standing next to her chuckled. “She said ‘welcome to Serenity’. She gets excited and mixes up her Dutch and her English. I’m Nellie Conway, by the way. That handsome fellow over there playing catch with the children is my husband.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Caroline told them.
“My Pieter owns the sawmill,” Johanna said haltingly. “Your man is the foreman there. Adam was in much need of a wife.”
A third woman watched the introductions with an expression of utter contempt on her face. Even with her face twisted into a grimace she was beautiful, with shiny gold ringlets under a fashionable little hat. Her sky-blue dress was impeccably tailored and flattered her figure, although it was easy to see that she was in the advanced stages of pregnancy.
“Caroline, this is Grace Anderson,” Mildred said. “Jacob was her father-in-law.”
“I am so sorry for your loss. From his letters, he seemed to be a kind man,” Caroline was quick to say.
Grace gave her a sickly-sweet smile. “How nice for you that you found another husband so quickly,” she purred. “I’m sure my father-in-law would be happy to know that his money was so well-spent on a stranger.”
“I will repay your family for the train ticket,” Caroline said hastily. “It will take time, but I give you my word.”
Grace arched an eyebrow and said nothing. She merely sniffed and walked away, followed by Johanna and Nellie.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” Caroline murmured.
“She doesn’t like anyone or anything but money,” Mildred said. “She thinks she’s better than the rest of us here in Serenity just because she comes from Boston. It’s tearing her up to know that she can’t get her hands on the money Jacob sent you. Don’t you be in any hurry to repay it, Caroline. Jacob lie
d to you to get you out here, and I would say you deserve every penny of that money.”
Just then, Sophie raced past them at full speed with a tall, gangly-looking boy right on her heels. Caroline glanced over at Adam and saw a proud grin on his face, but in doing so she also saw the disapproving glances sent in his direction.
“That’s David Baxter,” Mildred told her. “One of these days he’s actually going to catch that girl, but I don’t think either one of them will know what to do when that happens.”
“I should hope not!’
“That’s his father over there.” Mildred pointed to the tall, dark-haired man who was speaking with Adam. “Will is a widower, and I would have introduced you to him if you hadn’t met Adam first. He owns the general store. I keep trying to help him find a new wife, but he just doesn’t seem interested.”
Will Baxter looked in their direction as though he could sense they were talking about him. She recognized him from her wedding, and nodded at him now. He was handsome enough, she decided, but there was a sadness in his eyes that made her think all of Mildred’s matchmaking would come to naught.
“I understand he’s in charge of the school committee,” she said, trying to change the subject. “Is there any news about when they’ll be able to find a teacher so the children can go back to school?”
“No, nothing yet. Last I heard, the one he was writing to turned out to be a young little thing who certainly couldn’t live in Serenity without a family. It’s such a shame, really. I know of three families who have sent their children away to live with relatives so they can go to school, but most of the people here can’t afford that. We need to find a teacher so the children can stay here. It’s really what’s best for the children.”
A sudden thought occurred to Caroline. “Mildred, the girls said their old teacher was Miss Brown.”
“Ah, so you’ve finally put it all together, have you?” Mildred smiled sadly. “I told you my daughter just got married. Yes, she was the schoolteacher here until she met Owen.”