“She wasn’t raised around here?”
“No. In Oklahoma. Why?”
“Bonnie’s come down with a fever.”
Zoe almost dropped a cup. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“As soon as she’s better…”
“The fever!” Zoe’s hand flew to her throat.
“She’s sick. It may not be the fever, just a fever.”
“How can you know? That’s what Addy first thought, it was just a fever. What does this mean for the children?”
“Frank and Helen have taken them—”
“Not Seth and Bonnie’s children. Addy’s children.”
Getting up from the table, Cade carried his plate to the sink. “For the moment, it means I’ll be in Winterborn a few days longer than I intended.”
“Cade, if Bonnie has taken ill with the same fever that killed John and Addy—”
“We don’t know that. Stop borrowing trouble. It could be a short illness. In a few days, Bonnie will either be better or worse. We’ll look at the situation then.”
“Cade—”
“No, Zoe.” He answered her question before she asked. “Bonnie’s illness doesn’t change anything. It merely delays things.”
When her face clouded with resentment, he reached out and tweaked her nose. “Thank you for holding supper for me. It’s been a long time since you’ve done anything that nice for me.”
The exasperated look she gave him before she walked out of the room made him suspect it would be even longer before he sat at her table again.
He spotted Holly in the doorway. “Hi, Sweet Pea. I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
The child walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. “Don’t be mad at Zoe. She’s just tired.”
Cade squeezed her against him. “I’m not mad at Zoe. We just talk mean to each other. I really kinda like her. Hey, I could use some help feeding Maddy tomorrow. Why don’t you go into the store in the morning and get a carrot? I’ll bet she’d love that.”
The girl’s eyes brightened. “Can I give it to her?”
“Sure can.”
Dawn was streaking the sky as Cade and Holly put down fresh hay. He lifted the little girl up and sat her on the side of the stall so she could pet Maddy’s mane.
“She sure loves carrots, huh, Uncle Cade?”
“She appears to be pretty partial to you too.”
“Someday I’m going to have a horse like Maddy.”
Cade winked. “You got a pretty smile, just like your mama.”
Holly’s eyes misted. “I miss Ma and Pa. Ma was always laughin’ and singin’.”
Cade lifted her down and picked up a pitchfork. “I miss my ma too. Reckon we always will, but it gets easier. Your ma wouldn’t want us to be sad.” He paused and tipped her face up with his finger. “Let’s see that happy face.”
Her lips trembled and then turned up in a sweet smile. “I love you, Uncle Cade.”
He swallowed hard. “I love you too, Holly.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lilith’s shrill laugher could wake the dead. Once she got going, folks as far as Suffox County could hear her high-pitched squeals and intermittent snorts.
“King me!” Edna said, stacking Gracie’s checkers in her growing pile and laughing along with Lilith until tears rolled down her cheeks. Though Gracie had just lost the game, she wound up laughing as hard as the other two women.
Zoe found herself joining in, giggling at the nonsense. If she were offered a king’s ransom, she wouldn’t be able to say what was so funny.
“Oh, my.” Gracie wiped tears from her eyes as she got up. “I think it’s time for cake and coffee.”
Arranging her black pieces for a new game, Zoe smiled and asked, “Can I help with the refreshments?”
“You can cut the cake.”
Lilith never looked up as she put another “won” mark in her column. “Just a small piece for me. Hubby says I’ve been eating too much lately.”
“That man.” Gracie laughed, waving her hand. “Anything my brother says should be taken with a grain of salt.” Zoe followed Gracie into the kitchen, leaving the two women to squabble over their scores.
Gracie’s kitchen smelled of perking coffee. Grandmother Willis’s hand-crocheted white tablecloth covered the round oak pedestal table sitting near the bay window. A fresh bouquet of snapdragons from the flower garden sat in the midst of Gracie’s best china. Her Stanley cookstove and white oak cabinets were the talk of the town.
Zoe breathed a sigh of envy. Someday she hoped to have a house like this one. She lifted the cake cover and sniffed. “Do you think Lilith won the last game fair and square?”
“Well, she may be my sister-in-law, but that doesn’t keep me from keeping a close eye on her.”
Zoe laughed. “I’ve never beat her, but I haven’t seen her cheat.”
While Gracie filled the creamer, Zoe cut thin slices of cake and arranged them on china plates.
“I’ve been dying to talk to you all day.” Gracie glanced up and grinned. “What’s this about Cade moving in with you? Lawrence said he saw him there the morning after the storm.”
Zoe’s cheeks burned. She wiped a bit of gooey burnt-sugar frosting off the knife and tasted it. “He didn’t ‘move in’ with me. The jail roof had a leak in it.”
“Lawrence says there are no sleeping quarters over the jail anymore.”
“No, the storm took care of that. The children want Cade to stay with us, but that’s impossible.”
“There’s always Pop. His place is small, but he could put up one more.”
“Pop’s under the weather.”
“Edna said he ate eight pieces of gooseberry pie at the social. That’s enough to fell an elephant.” Gracie replenished the sugar bowl.
Zoe grinned. “No telling how many he actually ate, but then he broke out in hives. I guess he’s had a miserable few days.”
Gracie poured coffee into the server, wiping up stray drips with a clean cloth. “I don’t suppose GloriLee can help. She’s closed off half her rooms since she hurt her back last spring.”
Arranging cups on a tray, Zoe sighed. She didn’t know what she was going to do now that Cade had no place to go. He was ill-equipped for fatherhood, and one would think, after the café incident, he’d know enough to leave the child-rearing to her.
“Where’s he sleeping? Land’s sake, you can hardly move around the way it is.”
“In the mercantile, on Jim’s cot. It’s all very proper. I could hardly turn away the children’s uncle without explaining why, and I didn’t want to get into that.”
Not only crowded, it was much too close for comfort. She couldn’t avoid Cade if she wanted to. This morning she’d been caught off guard when she walked out of the bedroom and found him bare chested, shaving at the sink. She’d caught herself staring. And he’d noticed. She’d pretended not to let it bother her, but he wasn’t fooled. He took his sweet time putting on his shirt, his mischievous eyes never leaving hers. She wasn’t about to back down, so she just stared right back.
Zoe shivered against goose bumps, recalling the effect he still had on her as she licked the knife and put it in the dishpan. “It’s nice to see the children smiling again. When I left this evening, Cade was on the floor wrestling with Brody and Will. You should have heard Holly and Missy giggling, Gracie. They haven’t done that in weeks.”
“So they’ve really taken to him.”
“Yes, I’m afraid they have. He’ll break their hearts when he leaves, and they’ve had enough sorrow in their young lives. By the way, he stopped at the Brightons’ to talk about the children. Bonnie’s come down with a fever.”
“You don’t say!” Gracie frowned. “Like Addy and John?”
“They don’t think so. Seth’s worried, but Doc Whitney will be back in a couple of days. He’s off in another county. I thought I’d take dinner to them tomorrow and ask if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“
What about their young’uns?”
“Seth took them to Frank and Helen’s, in case the fever’s contagious.”
Gracie paused. “How will that affect Cade’s plans to let the Brightons adopt the kids?”
Zoe shrugged. “Not that I wish ill health on anyone, but it buys me some time. I’m going to do my best to convince him to let me raise the children. They’re so much a part of me already.”
“You’re bent on keeping them, aren’t you?”
“I’ve always wanted them, but I did what Addy asked. I sent for Cade. Now I wish I hadn’t. I thought surely he wouldn’t object to me raising them if he didn’t intend to.”
“Why does he object to your having them? Is it the money?”
“He doesn’t know my financial situation. He says he wants the children to have a mother and a father, but I think he’s just being spiteful.”
Gracie raised her brows.
“Don’t speculate,” Zoe chided. “I just mean things are strained between us right now. He wouldn’t let me have them if I were married to King Solomon.”
“He said that?”
“Not in so many words. He said I needed to marry and get on with my life. Have my own family.”
“You should.”
“Those kids are my family.” Tears stung her eyes. She threw a spoon into the sink. “I don’t understand why Addy didn’t give them to me in the first place.”
“Hmm,” Gracie mused. “A body would swear she was matchmaking, trying to bring you and Cade back together. After all, other than John and the children, you were the two people she loved the most.”
“That’s crazy. Even Addy wouldn’t do something that far fetched.” But privately, Zoe wouldn’t put it beyond Addy to have thought that if Cade came back, it could be the same as before. Unfortunately, Zoe had gained enough sense to realize that loving him was like loving the wind.
Edna’s voice resounded from the parlor. “Lilith! Where did that third king come from?”
Hyena-like laughing filled the parlor.
Zoe and Gracie broke into smiles. “Sounds like there’s going to be a tiff,” Gracie said. “We’d better get the cake and coffee in there.”
Backing out the kitchen door, Zoe balanced the tray with both hands, four white linen napkins tucked under her chin. “Gracie, promise me you won’t mention my financial situation to anyone.”
Gracie chuckled. “Have you ever known me to gossip?”
“Only since I was born.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next two days passed in relative peace. After the supper dishes had been cleared, Brody wandered into the kitchen. “It’s Saturday night, Zoe. Are we going to the dance?”
Cade sat on the back porch, cleaning his saddle. He glanced up when the boy’s question filtered through the screen door.
Zoe folded the dishcloth and hung it up to dry. “Not tonight, Brody. You need to go to bed early. We missed Sunday school last week, and I don’t want that to happen again.”
It was the first Sunday she’d missed in nine months. Ironing until the wee hours of the morning took its toll. If only the new yard goods would arrive, she wouldn’t have to take in extra work. She had enough orders to make her bank payments through the coming winter months. The shipment was due any day.
Holly peered out the window. “The lights are on at the dance hall.”
“I know, dear. Perhaps we’ll go next week.”
“I’ll bet Mr. Drake will be there,” Holly added.
“Mr. Drake will understand.”
Brody snagged Will around the neck, noisily kissing him on the cheek. “Ohhh, Zoe, you’re so preeetty with your long red hair!”
Will grabbed Brody back. “Oh, Perry, you’re so strong and handsome.”
“Boys!” Zoe admonished.
“Are you talking about Perry Drake?” Cade called.
Zoe felt heat rise to her cheeks. Cade was watching them through the screen, and she wished he hadn’t heard the boys’ teasing. He would make more of their playful remarks than he should. Perry had taken her to the Saturday night dance before John and Addy had taken ill, but it was nothing.
“Did Perry ever marry Jenny Parson?”
“Yes, Jim and I considered them two of our best friends.” Zoe put a skillet away. “Jenny died of snakebite a month before Jim was killed.” She ventured a glance toward Cade.
“So,” he said, holding her gaze through the screen, “are you and Perry sweet on each other?”
She slammed the cabinet door shut. “The boys are teases.” Banking occupied Perry’s time and interest, and the good Lord knew that she had no time to socialize. Gracie thought Perry would make a suitable companion for her, but there was no love interest on her part. Only good company.
Holly moved to the table. “It’s gettin’ dark. Want me to light the lamp?”
“Why don’t we use candles tonight?” Zoe suggested. There was barely enough oil left to last the month. She needed to be sparing with what remained. No coffee, no lamp oil—how soon would it be before Cade noticed?
“We can’t see good with candles,” Brody complained.
“A candle will do, Brody. Thank you.”
“It’s been weeks since we’ve gone to the Saturday night dance,” Holly complained.
Zoe realized fun was a thing of the past for all of them. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. After baths, I’ll play the phonograph. You can hold your own dance.” Addy had loved records, a new device that emitted music. She collected all she could get her hands on.
“Ouw own dance!” Missy said joyfully. “Can I tuwn the handle?”
“You may help.” The machine was costly and required adult supervision.
Brody hauled in the wooden tub, and Zoe put water on the stove to heat. While she hung a curtain to allow the bather privacy, she noted that Cade remained on the porch, keeping a safe distance from all the commotion.
By eight o’clock the kids were spanking clean, their hair washed and smelling of New England rum, a solution Addy believed kept the hair shiny and free from disease.
Cade grumbled, consenting to a bath but refusing to put rum on his hair. “I’ll drink it, but I’m not wearing it,” he said.
Afterward, he refilled the tub with clean water, and then disappeared into the store with the kids.
Zoe bathed in peace, listening to the sound of music coming from the mercantile. Cade’s booming laughter nearly drowned out the strains of “Little Brown Jug” as the kids and he thumped noisily across the floor.
Smiling, she closed her eyes and slid deeper into the hot water. What were the children going to do when Cade left? To his credit, he’d been truthful with them, telling them outright that he couldn’t stay. However frank he’d been, his departure wouldn’t be any less painful. At times she wondered if they fully understood the implications of his leaving and that they could be living with another family soon. She dreaded the emptiness she would feel once they were gone.
Picking up the sponge, she lathered her arms, shoving her gloominess aside. Judging by the racket coming from the store, the children were having too much fun for her to be having maudlin thoughts. She smiled when she thought how just a few short weeks ago she’d lived a life of solitude, evenings when you could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet.
Wincing when she heard Butch bark and Romeo yowl, she hoped her mother’s priceless figurines were surviving the rowdy goings-on in the next room. Unfortunately, when Cade moved in, so had the animals.
She stood up, reached for a towel, and dried off. Tying the sash of her robe, she poked her head into the store and smiled when she saw Missy standing on Cade’s feet, dancing to the strains of “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.”
The boys were dancing together, arm in arm, mocking Cade and Missy. They pranced around the room, making faces at each other.
Holly sat on the settee, hands folded, seemingly awaiting a turn around the dance floor with her uncle. Butch and Romeo lay on the floor next t
o her feet, their eyes following the dancers.
Cade had never looked more masterful or graceful as he glided around the floor clasping Missy’s tiny hand in his large one. Zoe felt an uncharacteristic pang of envy. When, where, and with whom had he learned such niceties? In whose parlor had he last danced so elegantly? Whose hand had he been holding at the time? She doubted it was a five-year-old’s.
Cade glanced up, smiling at her. “Care to join the fun, Red?”
She pulled the collar of her robe higher around her neck. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on,” he coaxed. “The boys need a little refining.” His eyes indicated Brody and Will, who were stumbling over each other’s feet.
“Come on, Wed, it’s fun,” Missy encouraged.
“Well.” Zoe stood for a moment, debating the advisability, and then she quickly decided it couldn’t hurt. The children needed a little diversion. She went back to her room, put on a clean dress, and joined the fun.
After scooting the table of figurines to a safe corner, she held out her hand to Will. “May I have this dance, kind sir?”
Will’s face turned beet red, his gaze shifting to the ceiling, but he walked into her arms.
The phonograph played, and the dancing couples swirled to the music. Holly took her turn with Cade, and Missy made Brody dance with her.
When the music ended, the dancers collapsed in nearby chairs, laughing and breathless. Brody hurried over to rewind the phonograph.
Zoe held up her hand, protesting. “Brody, it’s getting late.”
“Just once more,” Holly pleaded.
Missy grabbed hold of Cade’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “I want to dance with you again.”
He turned to Zoe and winked. “Women. They just can’t get enough of me.”
Zoe had no trouble seeing why. “Really?” She winked back. “There’s no accounting for taste.”
His eyes said, “Touché.” They broke into friendly grins.
The music played on as Cade took turns dancing with Holly and Missy. The young girls’ flushed faces and sparkling eyes were well worth the party
When the clock chimed nine thirty, Zoe put a halt to the festivities.
A Kiss for Cade Page 10