“And Faye was devastated because the man she considered her papa committed two terrible crimes and is dead. She may be eighteen, but her growing up was stunted living in a brothel and not going to school or church as a normal girl would have done.”
Rusty thought of Cate’s observation of Faye. He thought Faye was just heartless at first, but as he got to know her, Rusty knew Cate was right. Faye hadn’t had the upbringing to understand what was right or wrong, and she was scared to show her ignorance too. But she could bluff her way around men. There she’d had experience.
And Rusty couldn’t help being mesmerized by her flirting, just as the other men had been after church.
“I hope the weather cools off soon,” Cate said, probably to change the subject. “Heat rash on four babies’ bottoms has been a trial for both the babies and their mothers.”
Rusty turned to Cate. “What in the world brought that thought into your head? You’re leaving that problem, and others, behind for a while, remember?”
“Yes, but all the babies’ problems are magnified by four. I hope the girls can handle it,” Cate said as she looked over her shoulder.
“Cate, we’re not turning back. The idea for this trip to town is for the girls—no, adult mothers—to handle it themselves.”
Cate turned around and straightened her back. “You’re absolutely right. Thank you for reminding me.”
They made small talk until they arrived on the edge of town.
“Rusty, please let me off at the church. I want to talk to Pastor Reagan, then I’ll go over to Adam and Millie’s home. When I’m ready to go back to the ranch in a day or two, I’ll have Adam bring me back.”
“All right. Have a good rest in town and don’t worry about the family. I won’t say you’re not wanted or needed, but there’s plenty of adults on the ranch to help out with the children,” Rusty said as he pulled up to the parsonage.
Cate’s smile was broad when Rusty helped her down from the buggy. “Just an hour of fresh air and relative silence and I feel better already. I believe I’ll truly enjoy my few days off the ranch.”
“Glad to hear it, Ma’am,” Rusty replied because Cate had taken on a lot to help with her sudden influx of grandchildren.
Rusty was on the edge of town when he turned back to stop at Taylor’s Mercantile for a minute. A bag of peppermint candy for the older children would be a welcome surprise. And what about something for Faye and Violet?
Rusty went inside, eying the shelves and counters on his way to the candy jar display. Canned foods, clothing, tools, picture frames…
Rusty stopped and picked up a picture frame, wondering if Faye would like a photograph of Violet.
Another thought struck Rusty. Cate had suggested Violet should be baptized in the church as the triplets had been two weeks before. When Pastor Reagan baptized babies, the children often wore a unique gown, sometimes passed down through the family for such occasion or at least a new set of clothing.
Violet was already older than the triplets so she couldn’t wear one of their baptismal gowns.
“May I help you, Rusty?” Mrs. Taylor came around the counter to assist him.
Rusty only hesitated a moment because the woman was in church last Sunday and knew of Faye and Violet’s arrival.
“Violet, the new baby at the Cross C, needs a gown for her baptism. Do you have anything suitable for that? You saw about what size she was.”
“Yes, small for her age, but I’m sure she’ll catch up in weight now that she has care,” Mrs. Taylor said matter-of-factly.
The woman raised her hand and moved it across the shelf display, thinking as she walked.
“Ah, this would be lovely, and Violet could wear it for church for a few months before she outgrew it.”
Mrs. Taylor held up a pale ivory gown, covered with white lace and ribbons. Rusty reached out to finger it, but drew back, thinking his calloused fingers would snag the delicate lace.
Rusty imagined Violet wearing it and Faye proudly carrying her baby up to the altar to have her baptized at the baptismal font.
Or would she be embarrassed to have the baby baptized when she didn’t have the father standing beside her?
I could stand beside Faye and be Violet’s sponsor.
Rusty shook his head to clear it of the image. Sarah and Marcus would be the child’s sponsors, not himself.
“I think it would be a noble gesture, Rusty, and I know any young mother would love to see her baby in this gown.”
Rusty knew half of Mrs. Taylor’s words were to get a sale out of him, but she’d heard the plight of Faye and Violet. And luckily hadn’t passed judgment on the pair as some people had already done.
“You’re right. I’ll take it, and this picture frame,” Rusty agreed.
“And the usual bag of candy for the older children?”
Yes, he was spoiling the children, but they’d had such a hard blow so early in their young lives. If a sack of candy made them forget their sorrows for a few hours, so be it. And they’d come to expect it when he returned from town. Was he spoiling them? Yes, but until Sarah or Marcus said to stop, he’d continue treating the children.
And now he was buying gifts for Violet and Faye. To spoil them, or because he felt something more for the mother and child?
Rusty mulled that question over and over in his mind all the way home to the ranch.
***
“I suppose you’re going to blame me for your mother leaving?” Faye snapped at Sarah, trying to be heard above the cries of four babies.
“Well, your surprise arrival certainly upset the household,” Sarah spit back as she flipped a diaper over her shoulder and picked up…one of the baby boys. They were so identical, Faye hadn’t figured out which one was which yet.
Faye laid a diaper over her shoulder and lifted Violet to her own shoulder to mimic Sarah. At least their actions caused the noise level to notch down a few decibels.
Violet was loving attention now, after not getting much in her early life, and demanded it as her cousins did.
Cousins. Sister. Faye was still having problems wrapping her mind around the fact she and Violet had a family.
That thought toned down her annoyance with Sarah. She was with family now, and she and Violet were going to have a healthy life, compared to what she’d been forced to endure.
“Nonetheless, I’m still glad I’m here, away from the brothel and Mr. Silas,” Faye lifted her chin and announced in defiance.
“I’m sorry, Faye. I’m glad you’re out of that horrible place too. Forgive me for being short with you. It’s just another thing on my plate to worry about now.”
“Why worry? You have another pair of hands to help with your children now.”
“And I do appreciate it,” Sarah relented, “And I should appreciate what all my momma has been doing for me too.”
Faye looked at Sarah as she laid down her quiet baby and picked up one of the triplets. “I noticed Cate left with a carpet bag. Any idea where she was going, and for how long?”
“Probably to one of my brothers’ homes for a day or two. None of them have children, and their wives seem to be in better control of their household than I am at the moment.”
Faye looked around at the kitchen table and the counter by the stove. The surfaces needed a good cleaning, not that they’d last long that way, but still…Faye could see why Cate could use a break. She and Sarah had been letting Cate do more than her share of work. And Cate was, what, about thirty years older than Faye.
“Want to call a truce and give the house a good cleaning before my momma comes home?” Sarah asked as she switched babies in her arms.
“Seems more than fair, considering I moved in unannounced,” Faye said in a teasing voice.
Sarah turned and studied Faye. “I grew up with three older brothers, and then they gave me three sisters-in-law. Although they’ve all been annoying at times, I’m sure glad I have them.”
“I wish I could have grown up wi
th you all,” Faye said quietly, knowing how much she’d missed in her eighteen years.
“Actually, me too. Then I would have had an ally against my brothers,” Sarah acknowledged.
Sarah held her hand out to Faye, and she took it, giving it a squeeze.
“Truce?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, truce, big sister,” Faye replied. And Faye was ready to tackle house cleaning, diaper washing, and cooking for the family. Because she finally felt like this could become her family after all.
Chapter 8
Rusty noticed a change in the air when he walked into the ranch house in the late afternoon. The floors had been swept, and the clutter was gone from the dining room table.
Not that they could keep up with the dirt the five older children and the puppies naturally carried into the house daily, but the overall disarray had been cleaned up.
Rusty found the two sisters animatedly talking between themselves as Sarah cut up potatoes by the dry sink and Faye was folding the mound of clean diapers that she must have taken off the outside clothesline.
Cate was right in that the sisters needed to work out their differences without her being around because there was no animosity between them now.
Maisie and Moses were sleeping on a blanket in the corner of the room, not bothered at all by the women’s talking. At ages two and three, they were more work to take care of than the four babies because they were mobile.
The babies and the older children must be napping upstairs. Rusty would wait to give the children their candy after supper then.
Sarah looked up and saw Rusty in the kitchen door and asked. “Did momma come home with you, or stay in town?”
“I believe your mother plans to stay with Adam and Millie for a day…or two,” Rusty admitted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and playing with the rim of his hat in his hand.
“She still upset with us?” Sarah asked after the sisters exchanged a look between themselves.
Maybe things were settling down between the two of them as Cate planned.
“Um, she was better by the time we reached town. She’s confident you’ll work things out between the two of you,” Rusty hedged with his words, although it was mostly correct. He considered their talk going into town to be confidential as Cate needed to blow off some steam and frustrations. Rusty expected Pastor Reagan got an earful after he left Cate at the pastor’s office though. Rusty knew Cate wouldn’t tell him everything, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to carry the burden of that around in his heart and mind anyway.
“I see you stopped at the mercantile,” Sarah waved her hand with the potato peeler at the brown-paper-wrapped package tucked against his side. Should he give the gift to Faye now, with Sarah in the room, or wait until this evening?
“What’d you bring us?” Marty squealed as he pulled the package out from under Rusty’s arm. The kids crawled up on the table bench opposite the one he’d just sat on and slung the package on the table. Before he could comprehend what they were doing, Marty and Molly were tearing open the paper.
“Stop. Now,” Sarah’s command made the kids’ groping hands freeze for a second.
“But we wanna see—”
“That’s not your package to open, Marty,” Sarah said sternly. “Please apologize to Rusty for opening it without his permission and give it back to him.”
“Sorry, but I thought maybe there was—”
“Marty, you still don’t grab or open something that isn’t yours,” Sarah patently said again to the child.
“He grabbed my book this afternoon, so he’s already in trouble,” Molly tattle-tailed on her brother.
Oh gosh, now Moses and Maisie were awake, sleepily crawling up on the bench seat beside him. As Rusty wrapped his arm around Maisie, so she didn’t tumble off the bench backward, Moses stood up on the chair, reached for the package and pulled it his way. Rusty grabbed the package, barely making the catch before it hit the floor
Now Rusty was upset with the kids because they could have broken the frame.
“That’s enough. Calm down, or I won’t let you have what’s inside,” Rusty warned them sternly. Four children sat up straight on the benches, hands folded on the table where they could be accounted for. How did they learn to do that? Probably from Cate.
“What’d ya bring us?” Marty asked loudly in a false whisper.
Rusty bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. The children were a handful, but they sure livened up the ranch.
He carefully unwrapped the torn paper enough to pull a smaller paper bag out of the package. The children recognized the candy bag immediately, and four hands from both sides of the table reached for the bag, but Rusty got to it first and raised it in the air.
“When your ma says you can, you’ll each get a peppermint stick. Now or after supper, Sarah?” Rusty shook the bag to indicate to Sarah it had more than four pieces of candy in it, giving her options.
Four heads whipped around to look at Sarah. No, five. Faye was wanting a peppermint and looked up at her big sister as if she was six years old too.
It was four o’clock and would be another two hours before they ate supper. Rusty rattled the bag again to catch Sarah’s attention.
“All right. One piece each, and suck on the stick, don’t bite on it. Please thank Rusty for the candy.”
The kids mumbled their thanks as the sticks went into their mouths. Faces, clothing, and tablecloths would be sticky in a few minutes.
“Before I give you a peppermint, Faye, I want to give you something else first,” Rusty said as he handed the package to Faye.
Sarah sat down beside Faye, curious as Faye carefully unwrapped the package.
“A picture frame, and, oh, my, what a beautiful little dress!” Faye exclaimed as she laid them on the table. She gently spread the dress out on the table, just as Maisie reached for it.
“Mine!” Maisie proclaimed as her sticky fingers almost reached the dress hem.
Rusty caught her little fingers and held them in his hand. “Sorry, Maisie, this dress is too small for you. It’s for Violet.”
“It’s for Violet?” Faye mimicked back, looking up at Rusty with a question in her eyes.
“For her baptism in church, and to wear for however long she’ll fit in the dress,” Rusty added.
“I didn’t even think about having her wear something special for her baptism,” Faye whispered. Now Rusty worried that he’d hurt Faye’s feelings.
“And it could become a special gown to hand down to other generations, Faye,” Sarah said, gratefully coming to Rusty’s rescue. “Violet’s children could be baptized in the same dress.”
“Or if you marry and have more children, and then they could wear the gown too,” Rusty added but felt a jealous stab of Faye marrying. Why was that?
“And the lovely picture frame?” Sarah held it up, her raised eyebrow asking Rusty why this sweet gift for Faye?
Rusty cleared his throat, now wondering about his motive for buying the frame for Faye.
“I’m sure Isaac will suggest having Violet’s portrait taken to commemorate her baptism. The frame is to display the finished photograph.”
There, that sounded like a plausible reason for buying the gift for Faye.
“I thank you for both gifts…for Violet, Rusty,” Faye added as she touched the ribbons on the dress again.
“I hadn’t thought about being able to marry and have more children while I was under Mr. Silas’ thumb. I guess it’s possible, but it would be hard to find a man who didn’t disdain me for my past,” Faye mumbled under her breath.
The young woman’s former profession would turn away some men, but the fact didn’t really bother Rusty. Why? Because he knew of her circumstance and that she hadn’t had any say in it.
“Please don’t put yourself down, Faye. Any man would be fortunate to have you as his wife,” Rusty answered, trying to boost her self-esteem.
Faye sat up straight, meeting Rusty’s gaze. “Really?
What about you, Rusty? Would you think of me as a candidate for a wife, or just for a good time?”
Rusty was taken aback by her bold words and body language. Faye had set her hands on her hips and twisted her torso into a pose to catch his eye as if he was a potential customer.
“Faye!” Sarah hissed, “Rusty is our foreman, and you can’t proposition—”
Sarah clamped her mouth shut when she realized four young children were looking at her.
“What’s proposition mean, Ma?” Molly asked, looking back and forth between the adults.
“Uh, it means I have lots of duties as the ranch foreman, and can’t always help out in other ways, even if Faye asks.”
“Kinda like when I ask you to push me in the swing, and you say no?” Molly asked as she tilted her head and studied him.
“Exactly,” Rusty hoped his explanation held up until he left the room. “And now I need to get back to my work,” he added as he rose from the chair.
“Thank you for your gifts, Rusty,” Faye said as he was almost out the kitchen door. “Maybe I’ll come by this evening and thank you properly?”
“Faye…” Sarah warned her sister, of…what? Rusty didn’t stick around to find out.
Chapter 9
“I’m home!” Faye heard Cate call from the entryway of the house. Finally, after being gone for three days, Cate, the person who knew how to keep this house organized, was back.
Cate had been right to leave for a while though. Sarah had to step up to take care of the family, and she and Faye had learned to work together—for the most part—to keep the children fed and clean. It felt good to be needed, Faye realized, and Violet was blooming with the attention she was getting from everyone, both the adults and the children.
Faye, with Violet in her arms, followed Sarah, who had Maisie on her hip, as she walked from the kitchen into the living room.
“Welcome back, Cate,” Isaac said as he sauntered into the living room from the library. “Looks like you bought a few things on your trip?” Adam, who had brought Cate back to the ranch, dropped a wooden trunk into the middle of the living room.
Faye Favors a Foreman: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 11) Page 5