by Linda Tillis
“Well,” Garth said, “let’s get these bags loaded and get back to the farm. I’m guessing this young man has a big list of to do’s and needs to get started on them.”
Mae was surprised by the wave of sadness washing over her as they pulled into the yard. Mama’s roses made a splash of color as they wove themselves through the split rail fence. She swallowed a lump in her throat, reminding herself no one would want the family to grow beyond their loss more than her dear Mama. She smiled to herself, and then Samuel strolled out through the front door. She squealed and jumped from the truck and ran to hug her brother.
“Good golly Moses!” he exclaimed. “What happened to the well-mannered seamstress we sent off to Tallahassee?”
Mae laughed. “She remembered she was from the country, and all her proper upbringing just flew out the door.”
“Well, Mrs. Peters won’t allow hooligans at her table, so you better straighten up, or you’re gonna miss out on a fine supper.” He laughed.
All the bags had been placed in their rooms. Mae was delighted by the changes Papa had made in the house. She and Eleanor were sharing a room, as were Patrick and Cyrus, seeing as how Patrick had practically glued himself to Cyrus all evening. Eleanor had insisted on helping Mrs. Peters clean up after a delicious dinner. Now they were all sitting on the front porch listening to the frogs down by the stream. Papa fired up the citronella cans on each end of the porch to run off the pesky mosquitoes.
Patrick was firing questions at Cyrus. “Can we go fishing in the morning? I don’t have a fishing pole. Are we gonna pick berries? ’Cause I love berry cobbler. Do we have to dig worms to fish with?”
Cyrus just looked at him in amazement. “Okay, peanut, this is how it’s going to be. First, we have to do our work.”
Garth smiled at this. He could remember the times he’d said those very words to the boys. Work always came before play. Then you could play even harder.
Cyrus continued, “Which means we feed and water the animals, milk the cows, gather the eggs, and then we talk about fishing.” If Cyrus believed this was going to put a damper on Patrick, he was mistaken.
“Oh, boy, did you hear, Mama? I get to milk the cows and gather the eggs!” They all laughed.
Chapter Nine
Eleanor was just wakening when Patrick’s voice broke through her slumber.
“Oh, yes,” he said, “I’m ready, and I have a hat, too.”
Cyrus tried not to laugh as he said, “Well, peanut, let’s get going, then. The cows are ready for us.”
“I’m going to have to tell Cyrus he is not expected to put up with Patrick for our entire visit.” Eleanor shook her head.
Mae smiled at her. “It’s his first chance to be a big brother. He’s always been the baby, and I think he is enjoying being the older one for a change.”
Mae slipped into a split skirt of dark blue denim and a red-and-white checked blouse. She twisted her hair into a bun, wrapping a red kerchief around her head. She looked at Eleanor and smiled. “Take your time. I just want to help Mrs. Peters in the kitchen. It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to cook, and I find I miss it.”
Eleanor sat on a stool at the end of the bed and brushed her hair. She had slept well last night and was anticipating a beautiful day. She smiled to herself, like a schoolgirl with a silly crush. It had been much too long since she had known this feeling. She almost laughed out loud as she finished braiding her hair.
She was going to wear a blue-and-white gingham dress, tie on a white apron, and pretend she was a young woman again. She was going to laugh, flirt, and just enjoy this interlude. If the good Lord meant for it to be more, He would make it happen.
****
Garth was returning from his early morning ride to the mill. He had slipped out before daylight and met with Hansu, who had become his right-hand man years ago. Some of his men had balked at first, not sure they wanted to take orders from a little Chinaman. However, after a couple of weeks of Hansu working circles around them, they soon warmed up to the little man.
Garth’s mind slipped back to the time before he and Ruth had married. He’d purchased the four hundred acres of good timberland located between Bell and Trenton. There had been money from a small inheritance, and he had worked hard to pay off the rest. The crosstie and sawmill business had been booming for the last six or seven years.
Even though it would probably last another couple of years, Garth was a prudent man, testing ideas that might secure the future. With the railroad running from Bell to Tallahassee, and south to Deland, he could easily ship any crops he might grow. He would have to explore the possibilities.
Right now, though, he had other, more interesting, possibilities to explore. He wondered how he was going to get Eleanor alone so they could get to know each other better. Their personal correspondence had been very enlightening. She was a shrewd businesswoman. She was well educated, and there was a definite spark between them.
Eleanor was strolling behind the house when Garth found her. She was wearing a blue-and-white dress and had her hair braided and coiled around her head. She looked about twenty years old and deep in thought. She would pause at one of the flowerbeds Cyrus had designed, reach down, and pluck a bloom to place in her basket.
As Garth got closer, he could hear her singing softly. He gazed at her, and just then the sun broke through the trees, and for a moment she was lit from above. It was as if the Lord had sent forth a beam of light from heaven to guide him to Eleanor. His heart told him this was the woman the Lord had sent to him; this was the woman he hoped would travel with him into the latter years of his life. And he was filled with peace and joy. The only thing left to do was convince her.
Eleanor paused, stopping here and there to pick flowers for the breakfast table, a relaxing activity, and her song changed to, “I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses…” Becoming aware she was not alone, she turned and found herself looking up into Garth’s smiling face. She blushed a soft rosy hue as she returned his smile.
Before she could speak, he took her hand, brought her close, and whispered in her ear. “The Lord just spoke to my heart. He told me I was being given a treasure more rare than rubies and gold, and to cherish and care for it the rest of my life. Would you be my treasure, Eleanor?”
Eleanor looked into his eyes, knowing he meant every whispered word. With great tenderness, she took his face in both hands and asked, “Who are we to argue with the Lord?” Then she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him with a passion that shook each of them to the core.
****
Mae placed the biscuits on the table. When Garth and Eleanor walked into the kitchen, she glanced up at them, started to turn to the stove, and then stopped. She looked at them again, and a slow smile warmed her face. She clasped her hands in front of her and said, “Isn’t this a beautiful day? Eleanor, I see you were able to find some flowers. Papa, why don’t you find a couple of jars from the pantry while I call the boys in to breakfast and see what’s keeping Mrs. Peters at the icehouse?” Mae stepped out to the back porch, leaving Garth and Eleanor alone in the kitchen.
Eleanor was the first to speak. “Mae is nothing if not diplomatic.”
Garth was reaching to the top shelf of the pantry, where Mae kept the jars used for flowers. He turned to Eleanor. “The fact she holds you in such high esteem is going to make the idea of the two of us becoming one much easier for her.”
Eleanor felt a thrilling shiver run through her. Just hearing Garth say those words excited her. She was going to have to compose herself. She was not a giddy young virgin, for heaven’s sake! She was a forty-year-old widow. She knew about marriage.
Maybe it was the knowing that caused her to feel so giddy. She was well aware of what occurred between a man and woman, and that when it was the right two people it was breathtaking.
Eleanor smiled when she heard Mae say, “Hold on, little man. Swing yourself by the hand pump and let Cyrus get you some water to wa
sh with before you set yourself at my table.”
Breakfast was a boisterous affair. Patrick was so full of everything he had seen and done this morning he had trouble staying in his chair. Between mouthfuls, he was keeping them entertained with his funny observations about farm life.
“And Mama, I helped get the milk you’re puttin’ in your coffee!” he announced with a proud grin.
“Oh, did you, now?” Eleanor teased. “I didn’t know the milkman delivered out this far.”
Patrick exclaimed, “No, no, Mama. I got the milk from the cow. You just squeeze and tug on her, and she squirts it out!”
Eleanor almost choked on the coffee as she tried so hard to hold in her laughter. Cyrus and Samuel both whooped so hard they had to slap their hands over their mouths to keep from spitting out their eggs.
Garth sat at the head of the table and observed all this with a smile. He was filled with a sense of rightness, a bone-deep happiness he had not experienced in years.
For the most part, Garth was a contented man. While he had been through his share of pain and heartache, he never let them become the focus of his life. He was aware the Lord had blessed him many times over. He tried to live a life worthy of all those blessings.
Something had been missing since Ruth passed on—that warm spark within, that which made a man want to run out and meet the day, the spark that made him feel like he could take on the world. He could feel it now, growing inside him. Oh, he didn’t try to fool himself into thinking there wouldn’t be any rocks in the road ahead. He and his little family were facing many hard choices in the next several months; how would Eleanor feel about moving her business to Trenton? Or what would the boys say about relocating to Tallahassee? Or how would Patrick accept having to share the woman he’d had to himself for most of his little life?
None of these issues were going to be strong enough to stop the forward motion of all their lives. This little family was on a path to a great life. While they might have to steer around some big rocks, Garth was going to see to it the journey was good for all of them, with the help of the Lord. Garth was wise enough to know he’d not come this far in his life without the Lord at his back. Prayer had given him the right answers to so many of life’s questions. He wasn’t about to try a different formula now.
Mae sat at the opposite end of the table. She could see the inner peace reflected on his face. It was obvious her Papa had forged a plan in his mind. He had always been a man who looked at all sides of an issue, waited for a word from the Lord, then did his best to fulfill whatever mission he was given.
It was one of the many things she loved about him. He was humble, giving credit for all his successes to his Lord. He understood being humble did not make him weak. Papa was a man given to strong opinions, and while he would not force his ideas on anyone, he did not hesitate to speak up when he witnessed a wrong being committed. Mae thanked the Lord each night she had been blessed with such a man for a father. She was aware of other fathers who would not have been so wise if they had been faced with the type of decisions Garth had been forced to make. For instance, he had been ready to storm into town and hunt down the men who had attacked Mae, but to do so would have let the whole town know what had happened.
Mae’s life would have been very different. There were always those people who’d have believed she’d caused the attack herself. They would’ve said she’d lured those men into behaving like animals. Papa may have wanted to find and kill them, but he put Mae first. By swallowing the hurt and anger, he did what was best for his little girl, and she would always honor and love him for that.
Garth rose from the sturdy pine chair Samuel had made and spoke to his little family. “I’m going to take Eleanor into town so she can see we are not completely cut off from civilization. Does anyone need anything while we’re there?”
“Are you going to ride horses?” Patrick chirped.
Mae read his mind and was one step ahead of him.
“No, they’ll be taking the buggy or the truck. You, my little friend, will be berry picking with Cyrus and me. Mrs. Peters promised a cobbler if we find enough berries. I don’t know about you, but I would love a warm cobbler after supper!”
Eleanor smiled her thanks to Mae for her cleverness.
“Patrick,” she said, “you be sure to do everything Cyrus and Mae tell you. Mind your manners, and watch for snakes.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am.” Cyrus beamed. “I’ll keep a good eye on the little fellow. Besides, Mae always has her ‘little beauty’ with her if we need it.”
Mae was glad this last remark seemed to fly right over Patrick’s head. She didn’t want to have to come up with a reason why she kept a pistol with her all the time. Explaining it to Eleanor had been painful enough.
Chapter Ten
Eleanor had been stunned the first time she saw the pistol. They were working on a dress for the mayor’s wife. Mae had to put on the skirt so Eleanor could check the drape. Mae took off her skirt and placed it on a chair. Eleanor was startled when it slid off and hit the floor with a thud. “What in the world was that?” Eleanor said.
Mae froze in embarrassment. This kind woman had every right to an explanation. If she learned the truth, would she look at Mae differently? Mae’s breathing quickened. Eleanor could see she had paled and looked as if she might faint.
“Mae, come sit down. Take a deep breath. Whatever it is, I’m sure it can’t be that awful.” Eleanor picked up the skirt and pulled out the pistol. She turned to Mae. “Dear, is there something you need to tell me?”
Eleanor’s kindness had sent Mae over the edge, and she burst into sobs. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t want you to know. It was not my fault!” she cried as she tried to get her breathing under control.
Eleanor had no idea what Mae was talking about but believed it must be awful. She took Mae in her arms and held her close. “Honey, whatever it is, if you want to talk about it, I’ll be glad to listen.”
Mae’s sobs became softer, and she hiccupped her way to an awkward silence. After taking a shuddering breath, she started to talk. By the time she finished her story, there were tears in Eleanor’s eyes, as well as fire.
“Did they find the animals? Did they hang all of them?” Eleanor snapped.
“No, ma’am. Papa and I talked about it. I couldn’t remember enough to be able to say who may have been responsible. And there was no way to search for them without the whole county knowing what had happened. Papa wanted to go after someone, but he said he would let me decide how to handle it.
“I chose to let it go. I felt dirty enough as it was. I don’t think I could have faced everyone in town, knowing they would all be watching me to see if there were ‘consequences.’ Of course, some would have blamed me. Folks are just that way.” She smiled sadly. “So when Doc Walters rode out to check on me again a couple of days later, I was more than happy to take the gift of the pistol. It was small enough to conceal in hidden pockets I sewed in my skirts, and it gave me a sense of security. I’m not sure I could kill another human being, but I could sure scare the daylights out of someone. Actually”—Mae blushed—“I’m very good with it and could hit a man’s heart at thirty paces. Samuel spent weeks working with me, until he could declare me a crack shot.
“I could never say I was happy about what happened, but I can say one good thing rose from it. The Lord showed me what I should be doing with the rest of my life. That’s how I came to be here. That’s why I needed a broader education. The Lord has helped me deal with the past. What I need from you is to learn how to deal with the future. I am going to build and operate a safe place for women who need help, where they can heal from life’s wounds, where they can learn to be strong, independent, and never feel guilty about the circumstances that may bring them to me.”
Eleanor sat looking at Mae. She had a feeling this young woman was not as strong as she wanted the world to believe. She was sure Mae’s pain and shame had been covered very well by this outward show of strengt
h, but the wounds had not yet healed. It would be some time before Mae was as strong as her words implied.
For Eleanor, one thing had been certain: Mae was one of the bravest young women she’d ever met. She would do everything she could to help this remarkable young woman reach her goal.
****
Garth and Eleanor took the truck into town. Eleanor was glad to see there were several stores, a gas pumping station, and even a hotel. Garth explained that the hotel had been built to accommodate the men who built the railroad. When they stopped in at Doc Walters’ office, he had just seen his last patient. He invited them into his office.
“Doc, I want you to meet Eleanor Taylor from Tallahassee. She is Mae’s tutor and employer. Eleanor, this is our local doctor, Martin Walters.”
Doc looked at the petite redhead and smiled. “I think we may have met at an event of some kind, possibly something my sister was hosting?”
“Yes, Dr. Walters, I think you may be right. I’m sure it was a few years ago,” Eleanor replied.
“Well, ma’am, how is our girl doing?” Doc asked.
“Sir, I can tell you that Mae is like a sponge. She soaks up knowledge like it was water and she was lost in the desert. She has been a blessing to me, for sure.”
After a nice visit with Doc, Garth and Eleanor took their leave. As he helped Eleanor into the truck, Garth announced, “I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh, and just what might that be?”
“I had Mrs. Peters pack a picnic for us. We are going to a favorite place of mine to have lunch.”
Eleanor gave Garth a long look and then smiled. “I like a man with initiative, one who isn’t afraid to make a decision.”
Forty-five minutes later, Garth’s truck left the roadway to cross a meadow. He stopped the truck under a large oak tree, and Eleanor could see a stream several yards away.
Garth took Eleanor’s hand as she stepped down. Still holding onto her, he reached behind the seat and pulled out a blanket, which he spread in the shade of the tree.