“I know, but I think you should stay here. You could learn to ride and rope like Pa and I did.”
Amethyst glanced up to see Mr. McHenry watching them. He smiled when he caught her eye. And nodded. She started to smile back but turned away. The way he’d barked at her still rankled. Even so, she could feel him watching her. It felt good.
Pearl pointed the way to the bedroom where the guests could lay their coats on the bed. The girls chattered and laughed with Pearl while Mrs. Robertson took Amethyst’s hand.
“I fear we weren’t very welcoming at our house yesterday. You hardly got in the door and were hit in the face with such distressing news. I wish I could do something to help you after coming so far as you did on an errand of mercy.”
“Thank you, but I know there’s really nothing that can be done.” Other than telling Pa. “The West certainly seems to have done good things for Joel. He left us a little child, and here he is half grown up.”
“You should see him on a horse and throwing that rope. He took to ranching like a duck to water.”
I’m glad Joel’s so happy out here, I really am.
So buck up and act that way. Don’t be sniveling around, feeling sorry for yourself. The voice sounded amazingly like her mother’s. If anyone knew about not feeling sorry for herself, it was her mother. Another of her sayings flitted through Amethyst’s mind: “You made your bed, so you got to lie in it.”
But I didn’t make my bed, this bed. Pa sent me out here and expects me to come back—with Joel. So do I honor my father and do what he expects— or at least return home—or…? She glanced over to see Joel watching her. Would it make a difference in his life if I stayed here? It would surely make a difference in mine. If only I could be certain this is God’s will for me.
Pearl sat down at the piano, and from her fingers flowed music that made Amethyst catch her breath.
She smiled as the Robertson girls and Joel found places on the floor, the older girl cuddling Carly. All the grown-ups sat on the seats but surged up again at the sound of harness bells, and when the guests entered, Amethyst was introduced to Charlie, his wife, Daisy, and their child, who ran to join the others. More bells.
“Opal,” Carly sang out from her place at the window, then ran to the door.
Carl stepped out to welcome and show the way to the barn. “Good thing we got plenty of tie-up spaces out there.”
A young woman laughed up at him. “Just think, the blizzards are over, at least for today. Everything outside is so sparkly and glorious.” Opal scraped her boots and took off her coat as she came through the door. “Merry Christmas, everybody.” She handed a basket to Pearl. “Ruby sent this. She said to tell all of you Merry Christmas. She and Mary are doing well, just not up to the outside cold yet. Rand stayed home with her and Per, and Linc says Little Squirrel is much improved. So that’s all my news.”
Pearl took the basket. “Opal Torvald, meet Amethyst O’Shaunasy, our new boarder.”
“Pleased to meet you. Welcome to God’s country.” Opal’s smile made Amethyst smile back.
“We have a surprise for you.” Pearl hugged the basket tighter.
“Really? What?”
“Not what, but who.” Pearl raised her voice to be heard above the chatter. “You can come out now.”
Jeremiah McHenry stepped into the parlor from behind the doorway with a smile wide as all outdoors.
“Captain McHenry.” Opal flew into his arms and hugged him, laughing and sniffing. When he let her go, she stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Or should I say Major? You came home.” She gave him a slanted look. “To stay, right?”
“To stay, but I am no longer major—it’s just McHenry.”
“But you made it to Major. Congratulations.”
“Advancements happen fast during wartime, and it was indeed war in Arizona.” He took in a deep breath. “But I am retired and, with that, renouncing the rank along with the army.” He bowed slightly. “Jeremiah McHenry at your service.” He lowered his voice. “And I do like seeing you in female attire.”
Everyone laughed as Opal’s cheeks reddened. “Just shows I can dress up if I have to.” She glanced down at her skirt, then held it out to the sides. “Straight from New York—they said that sapphire matches the color of my eyes.” The sapphire blue gown, nipping in at the waist with an overskirt gathering up into a small bustle, set off her golden hair and fair complexion. Dark pearlized buttons trailed from the high neck to the point at the waist and lined the cuffs on the long sleeves.
“Yes, it does.” The masculine voice from the doorway stopped her like she’d run into a wall of ice.
The young woman’s cheeks flamed, but she straightened her shoulders back, and her forthright chin dipped slightly to the side. Haughty, regal. “Thank you, Mr. Chandler.” Her voice froze the word mister.
Oh my, thought Amethyst, just what is going on here? She glanced up to catch Pearl’s laughing gaze and raised eyebrow, as though they shared a private joke. Will someone please tell me the punch line? The way Opal threw herself into McHenry’s arms had made her think there might be a romantic connection, but there was great disparity in their ages. And now Mr. Chandler. The fleeting look she’d caught in his eyes made her wonder again. Not that she was much good at recognizing romance.
“Sit beside me, Opal.” Joel patted the floor.
“No, she needs to sit on the sofa.” McHenry indicated the place beside where he had been sitting. He gave her a knowing look. “Like a proper young lady.” He took her arm and guided her to the place.
Ignoring the look from Mr. Chandler, she laughed up at McHenry. “Mustn’t mess my dress, eh? You sound just like Ruby.”
“And we all know that Ruby knows what’s proper.”
Opal leaned closer to the man. “And we all know that her little sister has a perpetual war with proper.”
Carl and two more people entered just behind Mr. Chandler, and more introductions set Amethyst’s head in a spin. How to remember all the names? Everyone was so friendly, welcoming her like a long-lost relative.
Pearl’s fingers rippling over the keys brought an end to the greetings as voice after voice picked up on the words of “Silent Night,” then flowed into “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Away in a Manger.” The harmony sounded like a heavenly chorus. When McHenry’s mouth organ soared on the high notes of “Joy to the World,” the voices faded away, leaving the piano and mouth organ to finish their duet.
Amethyst sniffed back the tears of joy at such beauty. Never had she heard anything like it.
After everyone had enjoyed the variety of desserts set out on the table and headed out the door, laughing their good-byes, Joel stopped beside his aunt. “You won’t leave without telling me goodbye, will you?”
Amethyst cupped his cheeks with her hands and looked right into his eyes. The words that came from her mouth surprised her and delighted him. “I’m not leaving.”
Joel threw his arms around her waist. “Auntie Colleen, I’m so happy.”
“Me too.” She glanced up from Joel’s hug to see McHenry watching them. Had he heard her announcement?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Ah, Ruby, I’m so sorry you weren’t there. I’ve never heard singing like that.”
“That’s all right, dear, there’ll be more singing. I’m just so glad Cap—Mr. McHenry is back.” Ruby shook her head. “Fiddle. I’ll never be able to address him without his rank. That’s just who he was.”
“Was is right. He said he retired from the army, and his rank retired with him.” Opal sat cross-legged at the foot of Ruby and Rand’s bed with Ruby nursing her baby and Rand sitting in the rocker, pipe smoke circling his head. “We sure missed you, but everyone said to tell you congratulations and they’d be by to see the baby when she gets a bit older.” Opal cocked her head. “Seems like I got home just in time.” The wind had picked up and now whined at the eaves of the low log house that had started as a log cabin and grown as needed. Both front and back walls were s
haded by porches that stretched from one end to the other. Now the back porch that faced into the trees at the base of a bluff was stacked to the roof with firewood. Rand had taken no chances, believing all the natural signs of a hard winter ahead.
“Shame Atticus didn’t stay long enough to attend tonight and get to see everyone.” Rand rested one ankle on his other knee, his feet clad in two pairs of wool socks knit by his wife.
Opal blinked back the tears that caught her by surprise. She thought she was done crying about Atticus leaving—again. While she’d been thrilled to see him, and knowing he was well again was such a relief, he seemed to have no qualms about leaving her again. And he’d almost not stopped by to see her. That thought dried her tears. What kind of a friend would just go on by and not stop? And yet he’d said he was coming back. She glanced up from playing with the yarn ties on the quilt. “What?”
Ruby smiled at her. “You took off somewhere, and we were just waiting.”
“Sorry.” The thought that she’d said she’d be waiting for him nagged at her. Did she want to marry Atticus? After all, she volunteered. He didn’t ask her. And marriage, well, marriage was forever.
Her thoughts veered back to the singing at the Heglands’, reminding her of the look in Mr. Chandler’s eyes when he saw her all dressed up like that. She could still feel the heat start about her collarbone and work upward.
“You know, sometimes dressing up like that isn’t so bad.”
“I’ll bet you caught McHenry by surprise.” Rand laid his pipe down in the ashtray. “He left here when you were still a girl, and you walked in there a very fashionable young woman.”
“He was rather shocked, but when I ran and threw myself into his arms, he didn’t mind.” She glanced up at Ruby from under her eyelashes. “He’s still as handsome as ever, even with the eye patch.”
“Eye patch!” Ruby sat up straighter.
Opal nodded. “He lost an eye in this last campaign, took a bullet in his leg, and still limps. He said Kentucky took an arrow in the shoulder, and he’s still limping too. ‘Two old war horses put out to pasture.’ That’s what he said.”
“Well, he won’t find pasture here for a few months, let me tell you. That wind is sounding worse by the minute.” Rand rose to look out the window. “Nothing but whirling snow. Sure glad I got all those posts redone, so our ropes aren’t buried.” He and Beans had nailed taller posts to those already planted. “Snow doesn’t usually get that deep up here by the house.” Earlier in the fall they had dug holes for posts and strung rope to the springhouse, the barn, and on to the bunkhouse and the soddy where Linc and Little Squirrel lived. During the winter the ranch hands took turns out on the prairie at the line shacks, which were set up to keep the cattle from drifting before the wind out on the open prairies. Otherwise the hands lived in the bunkhouse but took their meals at the main house along with the family.
Opal caught a yawn. “Guess I better go on to bed. You want me to put more wood in the stove first?”
“Thanks, but I’ll take care of that.” Rand stood and stretched. “Might be a good thing we put in supplies and plenty of wood at the bunkhouse. I told the guys if a bad blizzard hits to just stay inside.”
“The same for Linc and Little Squirrel. Sure hope she is feeling a whole lot better. Did he come up tonight to talk with you?” Opal had stopped in the doorway. With the term of their baby coming closer, Little Squirrel had fallen terribly sick and had not recovered yet.
Rand shook his head as he answered. “Nope. But he’d have let us know if there was a change for the worse. Not much else we can do but wait it out.”
Once in bed Opal managed to thank God for taking care of them all. Still praying, she tucked the covers over her head, leaving only her nose showing, and fell asleep to the roar of the howling wind.
She woke sometime in the night hours to hear the wind trying to tear the roof off, some blasts making the house shudder. The room was so cold, she pulled the coyote pelt blanket up, covered her head with the quilt, and went back to sleep.
Snow had blown into drifts that covered the front windows when, after pulling her clothes on under the covers, she rushed out to the kitchen in the morning, boots in hand, trusting that Rand would have the fire burning. Even though he’d kept the stove hot all night, the water bucket on the stand against the wall had frozen several inches down. He was pouring hot water from the reservoir on it to melt it enough so they had water for breakfast.
“Good morning.” He gave up and set the water bucket on the end of the stove. “Melt quicker that way.”
“What about the livestock?”
“No way we can go out there. We’d get blown clear out of the territory.” He fed the flames and set the lids back in place. “I got the other stove going, but move ten feet from the fire and you’ll get frostbite. We took Per in with us during the night. Figured if you got too cold, you’d come too.”
“Those coyote skins helped keep me warm. Get a whole blanket of them, and I’ll never be cold.” Opal pulled on her boots and buttoned her sheepskin vest. “Did Ruby say what to make for breakfast?”
“Can’t get out to the springhouse for eggs, so we’ll have mush. We got plenty of ham in here too. Going to have to bake bread today.”
“You think it will rise, cold as it is?”
“If you leave it set on the reservoir or the oven door.”
Opal set about starting breakfast; cooking for so few would seem strange. “The men are all right?”
“They’ll have to shovel to get out, but other than getting bored, they’ll be fine. Good thing we added more stovepipe to the soddy.”
“There’s Per.”
“I’ll get him. We better think of setting up a bed in here for Ruby and the baby. Might move all the beds in here and close off the back of the house. Had to do that one other year.” He shook his head as he left the room.
Opal knew what he was thinking. Back then he’d not had a wife and children, one a newborn baby.
Per had a runny nose and coughed when Opal took him from his father. “I’ll dress him.”
“Opa, hungry.”
“I know. It’ll be ready in a minute.” She stood him on a chair near the stove with the oven door open to send out extra heat. Stripping off his nightdress, she unbuttoned his long johns and stripped those off too. He’d wet during the night, so she’d need to wash clothes. Suddenly the day loomed overwhelming.
“One thing at a time,” Rand counseled as he pushed the kettle to the back of the stove. He laid ham slices in the frying pan before pouring himself a cup of coffee. “You want some?”
“No, thanks.” Opal finished washing Per and dressed him in clean, dry clothes, including a sweater and woolen stockings. She set him on her lap to pull his shoes on, but they wouldn’t go.
He whimpered and pulled his foot back, looking up at her over his shoulder. His eyes looked as crusty as his nose.
“Too tight with all that stocking in there, eh?”
“Put his shoes on, then pull the wool stockings over them. From the look of him, he won’t be running around much on the floor anyway.” Rand chucked his son under the chin and headed back to the bedroom. Even with the vent in the wall for the heat to float through, the bedroom was not warm.
He brought Ruby and the baby back out, wrapped in quilts, and, pulling the rocker close to the fire, set them in it.
“Sorry to be so weak yet. I thought I’d be feeling fine by now.” Ruby set the baby to her breast and covered her with a flannel blanket.
“Is she warm enough?” Opal asked, setting Per on his stool on a chair pulled up to the table.
“She’s fine, but from the looks of him, Per isn’t.”
“I know.” Opal handed the little guy a crust of hard bread to gnaw on while she finished making breakfast.
“Jelly.”
“Coming.”
With the rest of the breakfast on the table, she and Rand sat down and he said grace, thanking God for keeping the
m safe and snug in this strong house. “And, Lord, protect our cattle and our livestock, the men in the line shacks, all our friends, and the folks around here. You can see through the blizzard, and if you choose, you can calm the wind. We thank you for this meal and for Opal, who is taking over so capably. Amen.”
“Thank you.” She dished up the bowl of mush for Per, drizzled honey on the cereal, and checked the cream. It had thawed enough to pour, so she gave it a stir and poured some on his cereal.
Per pushed the bowl away. “No.” He coughed again and rubbed his nose.
“You have to eat.” Opal reached for his bread and smeared more jam on it before giving it back to him. She glanced to Ruby. “Should I feed him?”
“If you can.” Ruby laid her hand on her son’s forehead. “Warm.”
Opal studied the pale skin and bright red circles on his cheeks. He really did look miserable. She stood and picked him up, then sat back down with him on her lap. Kissing the top of his head, she dipped a spoonful and held it to his lips. Like a little bird, he opened wide and the mush disappeared. “Good boy, Per. Let Opal help you.”
“Ja, Opa.”
After eating about a third of the bowl, he shook his head and turned his face into her shoulder. “No mo.” He turned to look at his mother. “Ma?” And held out his arms.
“Trade you.” Ruby nodded to the babe in her arms.
“All right.” Opal stood, Per on her hip. After wiping his nose again, she set him on the table, took the baby, and Per crawled into his mother’s arms. Opal’s stomach rumbled. Here she’d fed the others but not had a bite yet herself. But glancing down at the little bundle wrapped so snugly and sound asleep in the crook of her arm, she felt a grin stretch her cheeks. “For a human baby, she’s not bad.”
“Opal Marie Torvald!” Ruby faked a glare at her sister. “What a thing to say.”
“Well, if she was a calf or colt, and it was summer, she’d be running across the pasture by now, following her mother, all spindly legs and fluffy coat. She’d even know how to get her own food, just bop her mother’s udder.”
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