The Homesteader's Sweetheart

by Lacy Williams

  “I’ll be fine, Penny-girl. Why don’t you go get some grub?”

  In the scuffle and resulting chaos, she’d nearly forgotten they were to join the picnicking families from the church. She didn’t particularly feel like socializing, not wearing this uncomfortable dress, and not after her brother had just caused a dust-up. She could see several people on the fringes of the food tables glancing in their direction.

  “Miss Penny, Miss Penny!” Breanna came running, hair flying loose behind her. Why hadn’t Jonas put it in a braid?

  “Come sit with us! I helped fill you a plate…”

  Letting the girl’s words flow over her, Penny allowed herself to be dragged by the hand to a worn, quilted blanket where Jonas sat alone. Head down, he seemed pensive and separate from those surrounding him; alone in a crowd of chattering families.

  “I found Miss Penny,” Breanna announced, flouncing down onto the blanket with no sense of decorum, her skirt flying up as she did so.

  Penny gently lowered herself to the blanket, smoothing the calico skirt so that no one got a view of her legs. She accepted the overloaded plate Jonas handed her with a silent nod of thanks.

  “What happened with your brother?” Breanna waved an ear of corn toward the direction they’d just come from.

  Penny waited for Jonas to correct his daughter’s impolite behavior as it wasn’t fitting to gesture with one’s food like that, but he had tucked into his own dinner and hadn’t seemed to notice Breanna’s action.

  “He’s caused a bit of trouble, hasn’t he?” Penny knew the young girl was likely to ask more questions, so she changed the subject. “Where are your brothers? Aren’t they going to join us?”

  Penny spared a glance to see if her grandfather had gotten his food yet. She wanted to ensure he was all right after that coughing fit.

  Breanna waved her arm around, this time thankfully without the ear of corn clutched in her fingers. “They’s too busy playin’ with friends to eat now. Reckon they’ll get somethin’ afore we leave. ’Sides all they want to talk about is bronc ridin’ in the Round Up.”

  The young girl scrunched up her nose as if disgusted with her brothers’ chosen topic. Then with a shrug, she dug into her food, with no regard for the fork lying on the blanket nearby. She used her hands to bring a piece of pie to her mouth.

  Penny looked down, unable to watch. Why didn’t Jonas say something to his daughter? Didn’t he mind that her manners were lacking? Penny remembered the chaos surrounding the Whites’ dining table just yesterday and couldn’t be sure.

  “I’m disappointed Grandfather and I couldn’t bring anything to contribute for supper.” Although it didn’t stop Penny from taking a dainty bite of fried chicken. Delicious.

  “’s a’ight,” Breanna said around a mouthful of corn. “We brung loads of stuff.”

  “Breanna, it’s not polite to speak with your mouth full of food.” Penny couldn’t help gently chiding the girl when it was obvious Jonas wasn’t going to correct her.

  “Miss Castlerock—” Jonas started.

  Breanna looked abashed. She gulped a huge swallow, brown eyes large in her face. “Sorry, miss.”

  A glance at Jonas revealed his tight jaw; he probably wasn’t happy with her interfering, but the girl needed to be taught. Penny comforted Breanna with a pat on her hand. “It’s all right.”

  Penny dabbed her mouth with her handkerchief. “A lady must be polite at all times.”

  Breanna started to open her mouth midchew, then apparently thought better of it. She swallowed, then spoke. “Reckon I ain’t much of a lady, Miss Penny.”

  “Breanna is just a little girl,” Jonas stated, looking as if he wanted to say more.

  Penny admired his desire to defend his daughter, but without a mother’s influence, how could the girl learn? “Yes, but it’s never too early to learn proper manners,” Penny insisted.

  Jonas looked as if he wanted to argue, but how could he? Breanna did need to learn manners.

  Breanna seemed so disheartened, staring down at her plate with a wobbly bottom lip, that Penny offered, “Perhaps I could teach you some of the social graces.”

  Breanna’s face lit up.

  “Just while I’m staying with my grandfather, you understand,” Penny was careful to clarify.

  “Oh, Miss Penny, yes!” Breanna exclaimed, plate clattering to the blanket as she clapped her hands together. A little gravy spilled over the side of the plate, staining the blanket.

  Breanna became distracted when a little girl who looked to be about her same age approached the blanket.

  Jonas’s expression remained closed off; he kept his gaze on his plate. Penny’s offer had been sincere, but she hoped she hadn’t offended him.

  “I hope I’ve not overstepped where I shouldn’t have,” she said softly.

  A muscle ticked in Jonas’s jaw, though he kept his head bowed over his tin plate. “Perhaps my parenting skills are suspect, but Breanna doesn’t know any better than to act as she does.”

  She had offended him. Why couldn’t she learn to curb her tongue? “I’m certain you’re doing the best you can with the children. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to begin…”

  “Well, I don’t know much about…what did you say? Social graces.” His words were quiet and she had to lean closer to hear him, bringing their heads close.

  Penny regretted her handling of the situation. Jonas had been nothing but kind to her and her family, first by providing her and Sam a ride in his wagon, and then allowing them to share meals at his table. Was there a way she could make things right?

  “Perhaps… Have you thought that Breanna might need a woman’s guidance? Is there anyone—someone you would consider marrying?”

  A flush of red swept up Jonas’s neck and into his face. “I suppose you think I can just go into town and procure a wife at the mercantile?”

  She’d said the wrong thing again. Penny started to apologize but was interrupted when a young woman about her age approached their shared blanket with a welcoming smile.

  * * *

  Is there anyone you would consider marrying?

  Jonas forced Penny’s impertinent question from his mind as the schoolteacher, Miss Prince, struck up a conversation with his neighbor’s granddaughter. The sour woman didn’t think too much of him after the confrontation they’d had over Breanna attending school a few months back. Even now, the brown-haired tyrant was glaring at him from the corner of her eye. It made him uncomfortable.

  He was used to people looking down on him, thinking he was lesser than them, but he didn’t want that for Breanna. Especially not because of a condition beyond her control.

  “My brother and I are staying with our grandfather, Walt Nelson, for a few weeks,” Penny said to the schoolteacher.

  Breanna shifted on the blanket, and Penny smiled down at her and wrapped one arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “And I’ve been getting to know one of your students, Miss Breanna White, here.”

  The teacher’s smile drooped, her gaze turned icy. “I’m afraid the girl is not allowed in my classroom.”

  Jonas wanted to protect Breanna from any disparaging remarks the teacher might make. “Honey, why don’t you run and find Seb for me? I haven’t heard his yell in a while, so he might be getting into trouble.”

  Breanna left after giving him a quick hug around his neck.

  Penny looked between Jonas and the teacher, puzzlement evident in her creased brow. “Why isn’t Breanna allowed to come to school?”

  He should have known she would just ask outright. She was a forthright person and not afraid to speak her mind. But he didn’t want her to hear what the teacher would say about Breanna, or about the other members of his family. True, Penny had seen one of Breanna’s seizures up close, but she might change her opinion of his daughter when she understood the censure Breanna faced from others because of her condition.

  “She had an episode,” the schoolteacher spat the word, “and I simply ca
n’t have such goings-on in my classroom.”

  Penny met the other woman’s gaze without faltering. “It’s not Breanna’s fault she has the seizures. She can’t control it.”

  “It is disrupting and scares the other children. There’s no telling when she could have another episode and—”

  Penny didn’t wait for the other woman to stop speaking, just interrupted with squared shoulders. “I’ve witnessed one of Breanna’s seizures, and it wasn’t a terrifying experience for me. I’m sure if someone explained her condition to the other children, they could be made to understand—”

  “I don’t want that kind of distraction in my classroom. I won’t have it.”

  Penny’s eyes flashed. Jonas was surprised she was fighting so vehemently for Breanna’s right to be in the classroom. Breanna was only a neighbor, not a relation, but the way Penny was acting, Breanna could have been her own daughter.

  “Miss Prince, are you sure you aren’t the one who is frightened of Breanna’s seizures?”

  The other woman didn’t respond, only turned and walked away.

  Jonas watched Penny sit in silence, staring down at her hands. She interlaced her fingers once, then again.

  When she finally looked up, her blue eyes still flashed fire. “I cannot believe that woman.”

  Jonas didn’t know how to respond to her indignation.

  “She isn’t the only one who feels that way,” he said quietly. No, there were several others in the community who avoided Jonas and his family, both covertly and blatantly. Just before Penny and Breanna had joined him on the picnic blanket, another family had moved away.

  Penny settled one hand over Jonas’s, her fingers curling under the edge of his palm. The move startled him into looking up into her bright blue eyes, compassion shining from their depths.

  “I’m sorry you have to deal with their ignorance. Sorry for Breanna’s sake.”

  Penny’s strident defense of his daughter, and her compassion at this moment dissolved Jonas’s earlier indignation at her interference. It sounded as if she cared about his daughter. What if her insistence that Breanna learn manners stemmed from concern?

  But how could he be sure? He didn’t know anything about fine ladies like Penny Castlerock.

  Before he could fully understand her motives, she squeezed his hand and then released him, just in time for Matty and Ricky to slide onto the picnic blanket on their knees, bunching the blanket and almost toppling Penny.

  “Sorry!” they chorused as one.

  The moment was lost, but for a second, Jonas wondered if he’d seen something more than compassion in Penny’s eyes—something like admiration.

  * * *

  Penny glanced behind her to the passel of children in the wagon—all asleep. The gentle rocking motion, along with the rowdy play they’d engaged in at the church picnic had put them to sleep.

  The four older boys, Sam included, rode ahead on horseback with Walt.

  The group was nearing the Whites’ home, and Penny’s chance of talking to Jonas about her grandfather’s problems was dwindling. Jonas had been pensive and quiet since they’d spoken on the picnic blanket, hardly saying anything, even to the children. She hoped she hadn’t offended him again with her unkind words about the schoolteacher. It had just made her so angry that the woman held a prejudice against sweet little Breanna.

  “Can I ask your advice about something?” She took care to keep her voice quiet. She didn’t want to wake the children, but more so, she didn’t want her grandfather to overhear.

  “About what?”

  Well, his response wasn’t exactly the enthusiastic “yes” she’d wanted, but she continued regardless.

  “My grandfather. He…trusts you. Counts you as a friend.”

  She saw Jonas’s eyes flicker up to where her grandfather rode with the boys.

  “I know his health has been a concern; he’s seemed…not ill, exactly, since Sam and I have been with him, but…slower than I remember.”

  Jonas nodded. “We spoke before about his place being run-down.”

  “And then this afternoon, during the confrontation Sam caused, Grandfather couldn’t stop coughing. I’ve heard him in the mornings, as well…sometimes it’s almost as if he can’t catch his breath.”

  Jonas’s brow creased.

  “Do you think…” Penny hesitated, trying to word her question appropriately. “Do you think he might consider coming to Calvin to live with my parents? There’s plenty of room in our home.”

  Jonas’s eyes narrowed. He considered her words for a moment, eyes fixed on the group ahead.

  “Some men have the West in their blood,” he finally said. “Your grandfather’s one of them, I think. He loves his place, loves the land. His horses. I don’t know if you’d be able to persuade him to move into town.”

  He was right. She knew he was right. But the helpless feeling that had come over her earlier, after Sam’s fight, wouldn’t lift. She threw up her hands. “Sam and I aren’t prepared for the kind of work Grandfather needs around his place. You’ve heard what I did to the kitchen…”

  She took a deep breath and forged on. “And Sam…well, I’m worried Sam is going to cause even more trouble for my grandfather. Even if he doesn’t, neither of us knows how to fix the leaky roof in the barn or the chicken coop that’s half blown away because of the wind out here.”

  He was silent, still staring ahead. What was he thinking? Was he sympathizing with her plight? Or did he think she was a grumbler, complaining when there was plenty of work to go around?

  “Can’t your father send some money? Or hire some workers?”

  Considering the way her father felt about her grandfather, that wasn’t likely. “I doubt that my father would be willing to do so. He and Grandfather don’t really get along.”

  * * *

  Jonas bit back the retort that wanted to escape. How could anyone dislike Walt Nelson? The older man had taught Jonas what it meant to be a believer, was always willing to pitch in and help when Jonas needed it. And his own son-in-law wasn’t willing to send funds to help the older man?

  Here was more evidence of the different worlds Jonas and Penny came from. And yet, maybe they weren’t so different. Jonas’s father hadn’t been what a real father should be, either.

  “Plus, there were…extenuating circumstances that led me to leave Calvin. I’m quite sure Father isn’t happy with me at the moment. He would probably ignore any letter I sent him just now.”

  Jonas thought the man sounded like a tyrant, if he wouldn’t listen to his daughter’s request for help. He wanted to ask what had prompted her to leave town, but it wasn’t his place. And she didn’t offer the information. Did she think he wouldn’t be able to understand her reasons for leaving town?

  “I don’t suppose…” Penny cleared her throat delicately, and her head tipped to one side, giving Jonas a full view of her face.

  His mouth went dry, even as he tried to ignore his attraction to her.

  “I know you’re busy with your own homestead, but would there be any way you could find some time to help my grandfather with some of the repairs he needs? At least until I can find another solution…”

  Jonas was already shaking his head by the time her voice faded away. He had enough work—an overwhelming amount of work—to do on his own spread, plus he’d agreed to take on the job of cutting Mr. Sumner’s hay for the extra cash. He’d already be putting in extra hours, would be missing sleep. And still needed to find someone to care for Breanna.

  But…

  Walt was a good friend. He and Peg had been there for Jonas during times when he’d needed help with the kids. With Breanna when she’d been a baby. Walt had taught him everything Jonas now knew about horses. Walt had taught him about being a father, since Jonas’s own example of a father had been pitifully lacking.

  Jonas owed the man.

  “I want to help. Walt is a good friend. I just don’t see how I can manage all the work I already have to do.”r />
  “I understand.” Her voice was low and laden with disappointment. Her shoulders slumped, and she gazed off into the distance. She seemed so discouraged that Jonas felt the need to explain himself.

  “I’ve agreed to help another neighbor bring in his hay. His wife’s mother is sick and he’s going to pay me, but the boys and I are going to have a time of it getting all the work done before fall sets in.”

  She nodded, touched her cheek. Had she wiped away a tear? Her face was turned away, so he couldn’t tell. He hoped not as he had no idea how to handle a teary woman. He wanted her to understand.

  “With the money I’ll earn, I should be able to pay for Breanna’s treatment.”

  And after today’s demonstration at the picnic, she had to understand how important that was to him.

  “I just need to find someone to watch Breanna. I can’t have her underfoot.” Maybe that was the solution. “What if—do you think…?”

  Now his tongue was getting all tangled. Penny did that to him. Discombobulated him.

  “If you were able to watch Breanna for me, maybe handle some of the easier tasks around my place—not cooking,” he hurried to say, “maybe doing the washing, gathering eggs—Ricky and Matty can help show you how things are done—then perhaps I could spare Maxwell for a couple of days to help out at Walt’s place. Show Sam how things should be done,” he explained. He had no intention of sending his son over to Walt’s to do all the work, but Maxwell was a capable teacher.

  Her expressive blue eyes settled on him, and the joy in their depths made his chest expand with an answering emotion. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Early Monday morning, after Walt and Sam had breakfasted and returned to the family homestead, Penny followed Breanna and Seb outside for her first lesson in gathering eggs. She hoped to accomplish this without getting her arms pecked. She already bore a long red scratch from her battle with her grandfather’s hens.

  Approaching the coop, Penny was distracted for a moment by the sight of Jonas’s tall figure striding into the barn. She was grateful that he’d agreed to help her grandfather, but he’d been distant, almost preoccupied this morning. Not that any of the children had seemed to notice. They shared a rowdy breakfast as usual, although Seb and Ricky had been curious about the manners she’d tried to teach Breanna.