For Milly, a little girl who’d lost her mother, there were half a dozen women with warm laps and plenty of room to cuddle her.
But somehow, Rose knew that these arguments were not likely to sway the Garretts. Rather, they would find fault in the generous hearts Rose was grateful to call family. Some were her blood, but others were friends they loved as such, and she knew she could count on them all, no matter what. She pressed a kiss to the top of Matthew’s head. After all, without them, there was no way she’d have been able to raise her son and walk through town with her head held high.
Maddie entered the room, an expression of long-suffering firmly planted on her face. “Supper is ready.”
* * *
Silas held out his hand for Milly. “Come now, let’s eat.”
At least the Garretts were prepared for this break in their tradition since Frank had already explained to them that they ate as a family.
As they were seated at the table, Mrs. Garrett paused, looking pointedly at Maddie. “You let the help eat with you?”
“Maddie is the housekeeper, yes, but we also consider her family,” Frank said calmly, taking his seat.
“And the baby?” Mrs. Garrett looked over at Rose.
“Of course.” Frank held out his arms for Rose to give him the baby. “We take turns holding him, so Rose has a chance to enjoy her food. As I mentioned this afternoon, this is important family time, and we take it very seriously. Now, let’s bless the meal so we can enjoy Maddie’s fine cooking.”
Silas bit back a grin at the expression on Mrs. Garrett’s face. She looked like she’d just been told they were going to eat live toads. And for her, the struggle of sharing a table with people she considered beneath her was probably just as real.
Frank gave the blessing, and it warmed Silas’s heart to hear Milly’s emphatic, “Amen!” at the end. She loved to “pway” as she called it, and the way she used the same word for praying and playing made Silas smile every time. In the few short weeks they’d been here, Milly had grown to love the Lord in a way he hadn’t experienced until adulthood.
The Garretts, of course, did not look impressed at Milly’s cheerful ending to the prayer. They didn’t see what a gift it was for her to so joyfully live out her faith. All they cared about was her obedience. He’d asked Annie about it once, how she saw her faith, and her answer had made him wonder if she knew Jesus at all.
He looked over at Rose, who was patiently cutting Milly’s chicken for her. It wasn’t fair to compare the two women, but he couldn’t help wonder if Milly would know the Lord as deeply without Rose’s influence. Rose’s daily reliance on the Lord inspired him in ways he hadn’t expected. He’d been crazy to think that they could so easily pick up where they’d left off in Ohio. Especially now that he knew there was so much more to Rose than he’d ever thought.
“Now, tell us, Mr. and Mrs. Garrett, how are you enjoying our fine city? Have you had time to take in any of our exciting entertainments?” Frank smiled at them before stabbing a piece of meat.
“I can’t imagine there’d be anything we’d find amusing in this lawless place,” Mrs. Garrett declared, frowning at her plate. “Gunshots at all hours, drunkards in the streets—why, even at your supposedly finest hotel, the Rafferty, do you know that there was a woman of the night right in the front lobby?”
Mr. Garrett patted his wife’s hand. “There, now, it will be all right. We shan’t be here long, just long enough to convince Silas of his folly in bringing our precious girl to this horrible place.”
And there it was. Another reminder that as reasonable as the Garretts tried to sound, underneath, the only thing that would satisfy them would be to get their own way. Which meant taking Milly back to Ohio with them.
“I’m sorry to hear you have such a poor impression of our fine city,” Frank said, patting his lips with a napkin. “The Tabor Opera House is famous for its entertainments. I can’t say that I ever saw finer productions, even when we were living on the East Coast.”
Then he turned to Rose. “And your involvement with the women’s charities. I understand you have a good number of teas, socials and even balls, do you not?”
Rose smiled. “Indeed we do. Mrs. Garrett, I think you’d be pleasantly surprised at how similar our society is to what you’re used to back in Ohio. In fact, I daresay you’ll find things here to be even more advanced in some ways. Some of the homes are getting electricity, and you may have heard of Alexander Graham Bell’s fantastic invention, the telephone. The Jacksons, of whom you’ve heard us speak, recently installed one themselves.”
Then she turned to Silas, shaking her head. “And don’t you go encouraging Joseph about getting one. I heard you and Jasper conspiring, but Emma Jane says it’s an awful nuisance, ringing at all hours.”
Silas couldn’t help his grin. Jasper had told him that both his mother and Emma Jane objected to the device, but he could see where it would be quite useful communicating with the mine without having to go back and forth continually. The mine was nearly an hour’s ride away, and that was just for a man on horseback. With a wagon or buggy, it took even longer.
“A telephone, you say.” Mr. Garrett’s eyes twinkled. “I was just reading about it on the train ride here. I noticed many homes have gaslights, and I will admit that the bathing rooms at the Rafferty are the finest I’ve ever seen.”
“But the lawlessness!” Mrs. Garrett set her fork down. Not that she appeared to have taken a bite. She’d spent the entire conversation disdainfully pushing around her food with her fork.
Frank gave a wry smile. “I will admit that there is still much work to be done in that area. But the numbers in our church are growing, and our Mary is married to the finest deputy I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. I’m confident that soon, you won’t find a safer place to live than Leadville.”
Mrs. Garrett gave a snort. Whether it was out of genuine disbelief at the state of the town, or a refusal to consider that Leadville wasn’t as bad as she wanted to believe, he didn’t know, but it was a good reminder that she would be ill-inclined to see anything positive when it meant not getting her own way.
The conversation came to a lull, with the only sound the clinking of forks and knives on plates. Maddie had outdone herself, high praise considering her meals were always delicious. The tender chicken hardly needed a knife to cut it, and the flaky biscuits melted in Silas’s mouth.
The front door opened, and Evelyn, Rose’s younger sister, entered, followed by the rest of the Stone children, Helen, Daniel, Bess and Nugget.
Evelyn paused when she noticed the family at dinner. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”
“It’s all right, Evelyn, come in.” Frank gave a welcoming smile. “What brings you all here?”
“Could I speak with Maddie in the kitchen, please?” Evelyn said, twisting her hands as she spoke.
Nugget pushed in front of her. “Mary’s baby is coming!”
“Nugget!” Milly jumped out of her seat and ran toward the other girl, wrapping her arms around her. “You come to pway wif me?”
Milly’s words seemed to be all the encouragement the rest of the Stone children needed to incite chaos in the otherwise calm dining room. Everyone began talking at once, and when Silas glanced over at Mrs. Garrett, her face was turning redder than the cherries in the pie Maddie had waiting on the sideboard.
Maddie dabbed the napkin on her lips, then stood. “I’ll be getting on then. Rose, you don’t mind finishing up, now, do you?”
“Of course not.” Rose gave a smile, but something in her eyes told Silas she was less than pleased at the prospect. “Did you all eat?”
“Just some soup and bread,” Daniel grumbled. “And it wasn’t very good. Mary did something funny to it.”
“Daniel Stone!” The tone of Rose’s voice brought a halt to the
ruckus. “She probably wasn’t feeling well on account of the baby getting ready to come. You should be grateful she made you anything at all.”
Then she turned her attention to Milly. “And you, young lady. You’re not finished with your supper, so it’s back to your seat to eat the rest, or you’ll go to bed without any pie.”
And the Garretts thought Rose incapable of caring for Milly. His daughter gave her a sheepish look and quietly mumbled an apology, then returned to her seat.
As Maddie bustled toward the door, she paused. “You all be saying prayers for a safe and easy delivery, now, you hear?”
The room’s occupants murmured their agreement, and Maddie was off. Silas gave a quick, silent prayer for Mary and the baby, but before he even said, “Amen,” Frank had begun praying out loud.
Frank’s prayer wasn’t anything fancy, or even long, but Silas found his throat tightening at the older man’s words. No one had prayed for them when Milly was coming, and certainly no prayers had supported them during Annie’s long and challenging second birth. He’d been sitting alone in the kitchen when the midwife had come in, shaking her head and wringing her hands in her apron. He’d gone to inform the Garretts, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Mr. Garrett had shaken his head. They already knew.
He stole a look at the older couple. Were they having similar thoughts? Of an impending birth that had ended in disaster?
Lord, I don’t know why You took Annie and the baby. But please, spare this family from the pain I’ve been living.
Silas couldn’t help the silent prayer bursting from his heart. And yet, he also found himself asking the question that God had never answered. Why?
Why had the Lord seen fit to let them have Milly, but take Annie and the next baby? And why, when Milly was the only thing Silas had left, were the Garretts so intent on taking her?
He thought he saw the light reflect off a tiny glistening drop in Mrs. Garrett’s eye as Frank said, “Amen.”
The reminder of his own grief hit Silas in the gut. Of course the Garretts were grieving. Frank had made mention of the other couple’s grief several times since they’d visited. For the first time, Silas realized he hadn’t given their feelings the significance they deserved.
Milly was all they had left, too.
The rest of the meal passed with chatter between the Stones and Frank about the coming baby, but the Garretts remained subdued. Silas couldn’t bring himself to join in the chatter, not with the thoughts simmering in his heart. Nugget had found a seat next to Milly, and the older girl quietly entertained his daughter as she ate. The Garretts couldn’t find fault in Milly’s behavior, or how easily Rose fell into the position of making sure everyone’s needs were taken care of.
Once they were finished, Frank calmly stood. “I apologize that our meeting didn’t turn out as planned. Perhaps another night...”
Though Frank’s attention was on Rose, Silas stood, as well. “No need to put Rose or Maddie out to prepare another meal for company. If the Garretts and Rose are agreeable, I think it would be acceptable if they wanted to visit with Milly for a couple of hours either in the morning or in the afternoon, whichever fits best in the household schedule.”
The words weren’t as hard to say as he’d thought they’d be. He’d spent so much time in a contentious battle with the other couple, yet the idea of winning no longer appealed to him. Granted, he’d tried, back in Ohio, to keep them all together as a family. They’d forced his hand by shutting him out of the family business, then making it virtually impossible to find honest work. Worse, they’d made it difficult for him to spend time with Milly, saying it interfered with the household routine. But with the reminder of how much they’d all lost, he’d do what he could to minimize their pain.
“I typically do my visiting in the afternoons,” Rose said quietly, “but if the mornings don’t work for you, I’m sure we could come to an agreement.”
Mrs. Garrett didn’t smile. Didn’t show any emotion at the idea of being able to spend time with Milly. Instead, her scowl deepened. “We weren’t planning on staying in Leadville.”
“But we are.” Silas kept his tone firm, calm. “I have a good job, good friends, and Milly is becoming part of the community. I’m happy for you to spend time with her for as long as you are here.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Garrett said without glancing at his wife. Usually, he deferred to her, but as the other man cast a longing look at Milly, Silas realized once more how little credit he’d given them for their desire to spend time with their granddaughter. As much as he resented them for trying to take Milly from him, hadn’t his actions in taking his daughter to Leadville been the same?
Milly was fortunate to have so many people who loved her. If only they could figure out a way to equitably distribute their time with her so everyone got the chance to love Milly.
Chapter Five
After the Garretts had left, Silas couldn’t lose the melancholy that filled him, despite the excitement in the air over the impending birth. Even Milly was running around the parlor with Nugget, happily singing, “The baby is coming,” over and over. Of course, she really had no idea what was going on, but it didn’t matter to his little girl. In this room was everything he’d ever hoped to give his daughter. A family who surrounded her with love and joy.
Completely the opposite of the oppressive feeling in the Garrett home.
So how did he include the Garretts, who thought the laughter and tomfoolery happening now was completely inappropriate? He could just imagine the sour expression on Mrs. Garrett’s face if she could see the way the children were running around the room.
As if Frank understood the nature of Silas’s thoughts, he clapped his hands.
“Now, children, I’m sure the baby won’t be coming for some time now. So let’s all say a final prayer for a safe delivery, then you can go upstairs to get ready for bed. Rose is already up there and she can tuck you in.”
Rose had gone upstairs to feed Matthew, and judging from the hall clock, it was well past bedtime.
After a quick prayer, Silas held his hand out to Milly. “I’ll take you up, sweetheart.”
“No!” Milly crossed her arms. “Want Nugget.”
He should be angry at his daughter’s defiance, especially knowing that the Garretts would disapprove. But how could he not smile at how quickly Milly had bonded with the other girl?
Nugget reached for Milly’s hand. “I don’t mind. I like Milly. She makes me not so lonesome for Caitlin and Isabella.”
Frank gave the girls an indulgent smile, then turned to Silas. “Isabella, that’s Mitch and Polly’s little girl, is a little older than Milly. Caitlin is Polly’s younger sister, and she and Nugget are best friends. They’re all in Denver right now, but hopefully you’ll meet them soon. The two of them are thick as thieves, and they take turns mothering little Isabella like she was their personal baby doll.”
Then he hugged the two girls. “And I know when they return, you’ll be the best of friends.”
“Nugget my fwiend,” Milly said, looking up at Nugget with such adoration Silas knew that there was no way he could compromise on ever letting his daughter leave this place. So how could he convince the Garretts of that fact but still give them a relationship with their granddaughter?
“There’s always room for more friends.” Frank ruffled Milly’s hair as he released the girls from his embrace.
The other children brushed past him and went upstairs. Silas held out his hand again to Milly. “How about we both tuck you in tonight?”
“I sweep wif Nugget.” She still didn’t take his hand. Naturally his daughter wanted to sleep with Nugget.
Though the Stones, as well as the other families connected to Frank, maintained their own households, there was a sense of fluidity among them all, and it was common to have differe
nt children sleeping in different houses. Even with tonight’s disruption, the children knew exactly where to sleep in Frank’s home. They’d done it often enough.
The lack of routine might be troubling to some, particularly the Garretts, but Silas thought it was good for all the children to have so many safe places to go and family members looking out for them.
“You can sleep with me,” Nugget said. “But don’t you think your papa should still tuck you in?”
Milly appeared to consider the words. “Papa pway wif me?”
Her insistence on having Nugget with her rather than him didn’t matter in light of those words. Until coming to Leadville, his daughter had never asked him to pray with her. Prayer wasn’t as big a part of their lives back in Ohio. And maybe, just maybe, that was the key to getting the Garretts on their side. Not just praying for them to do what Silas wanted, as had been his selfish prayer until now, but praying that they would come to know the Lord with the same added depth he’d found since coming here. And that they could all, as a family, find the right solution for everyone having a relationship with Milly.
He followed the girls up the stairs to the room Milly shared with Rose and Matthew. Milly was afraid to sleep by herself, so Rose had insisted that Milly stay with her. But the little girl paused at the door.
“I sweep in big room wif da kids.” Milly looked up at him with huge, hopeful blue eyes. When the other children stayed at the Lassiter house, they slept in an attic room with enough beds for all the children. Silas had often envied the children their ability to be so close. What would it have been like, sharing a room with siblings, cousins and relatives, sharing confidences and each other’s company?
Nugget grinned and headed toward the attic stairs. “I’ll watch out for her.”
Milly didn’t wait for his answer as she scampered behind the other little girl. By the time Silas arrived in the attic, Milly was already bouncing on the bed she and Nugget would share.
“You know better than to jump on the bed, Milly.” He tried to give his daughter a stern look despite the joy in his heart. The sense of camaraderie she had with the other children made every sacrifice worthwhile.
For the Sake of the Children Page 6