Thomas laughed. “Will you two let Bella get a word in edgewise?”
Bella smiled at him. “Thank you, Thomas.” She turned her attention back to Josephine. “I think it’s a great idea, too. I love baking, so it wouldn’t be any trouble to make extra loaves for you two.”
“Good, we’ll need to let Hazel know you’ve agreed to our bargain.” Josephine picked up her fork and began eating also.
Philip loved the way Bella’s eyes lit up when she was talking about bread. The woman truly loved to bake. He knew she’d worked in a bakery before she’d taken on her nephews’ raising. Had she dreamed of running the bakery someday? For the first time, he realized exactly what all Bella had given up to raise the boys and marry him.
His heart went out to her. She was willing to allow him to follow his dream of furniture making but may have given up hers of owning or running a bakery someday. Could he help her fulfill her dreams? What were her dreams? Philip decided then and there to find out what they were.
* * *
Bella finished cleaning up the kitchen. Thomas and Josephine had left a few minutes earlier. Josephine had offered to stay and help her clean up, but Thomas was in a hurry to get back to the relay station. A Pony Express rider would be coming through soon and he had to be there to meet the rider with a fresh horse. Bella assured her new friend that she understood and to go on home.
The boys lay on their pallet. Mark was already asleep.
Caleb got up and walked over to her. He whispered, “Aunt Bella, I’m not sleepy. Can I go see what Philip is doing in the barn?”
She gave him a quick hug. “Yes, I think I’ll go, too. I can use the fresh air.”
Together they walked quietly to the door and put on their coats and gloves before heading outside. Bella inhaled the fresh, cold air. She supposed their warm spell had vanished. Wrapping her coat closer to her body, Bella followed Caleb to the barn.
It wasn’t a whole lot warmer in the barn and she couldn’t help but shiver. She heard hammering toward the back of the barn and followed the sound. Caleb hurried ahead of her.
“What are you making?” Caleb asked as soon as he saw Philip.
“A rocking chair for your aunt Bella.”
She came around the corner. “Oh, good.” Bella looked forward to having furniture in her house. The kitchen table was nice, but she was tired of always sitting at it or on the floor.
“I didn’t realize you were out here.” Philip stood.
Bella shivered. “It’s cold out here.”
Philip agreed, “Yes, but with the boys napping I thought I’d work out here.” He looked at Caleb. “Why aren’t you napping?”
“I wasn’t sleepy. Aunt Bella said I could come out here with you.”
She rubbed her arms. “I didn’t realize it had turned so cold outside.”
“Why don’t we all go back inside? I think I’ll go downstairs and start the fire.” Philip stepped out of the little room he’d been in and closed the door.
Bella didn’t have to be asked twice. She walked at a swift pace back toward the house. Caleb and Philip hurried up the steps behind her. Just before opening the door she shushed them. “Mark is sleeping, so be as quiet as you can.”
They nodded and she opened the door.
Mark sat in the middle of his pallet looking disheveled. “Where have you all been?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mark. We didn’t mean to wake you,” Bella said as she hung up her coat.
“We was in the barn with Philip,” Caleb said, answering Mark’s question.
“I thought we were supposed to take a nap,” Mark accused, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Caleb answered again, not giving the grown-ups time to respond. “Aunt Bella said I didn’t have to nap. So I went to the barn. Philip is building a rocking chair for Aunt Bella.” He dropped down on the quilt beside his brother.
Hurt filled Mark’s sleepy eyes. “Oh.” He lay back down and turned his back on them.
Bella went to the kitchen and made a cup of hot tea. She looked to Philip, who had followed her. “Would you like a cup of coffee before you head down?”
“I’ll take it with me, if you don’t mind pouring me a cup.”
She poured the rich brew into a large mug and handed it to him. Then Bella turned to her recipe box and brought it to the table.
Philip took a sip and sighed. “Thanks, that’s just what I needed to warm up my insides.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She smiled up at him. “I’m going to decide what kind of bread to make this week.”
Philip shook his head. “Plain ol’ white bread would be nice.”
She’d really hoped to try something different, but if he wanted ordinary bread, she could make that, too. “I can make white bread.”
“No, make whatever you want. I like it all.”
Bella looked at her recipes. They were written on small pieces of paper, some in her handwriting and others in Hazel’s. “I’ll make white bread and maybe a sweetbread, too. As a treat.”
“I like your sweetbread,” Caleb said in a soft voice.
Philip looked to the boy and grinned. “Me, too.”
Bella bent her head to the chore at hand. She wanted to start on the bread as soon as Mark got up. His even breathing told her he’d gone right back to sleep.
“I’m going downstairs now,” Philip remarked.
“All right.”
Thankfully Caleb followed him down. Bella wanted to study her recipes in peace. Sometimes she wondered if Caleb deliberately baited his brother, hoping for an argument. Or had he just been so happy to get out of taking a nap that he’d shared the information with Mark?
Her gaze lifted from the recipe in her hand. Was she doing a good job of raising the boys? What could she do that would be better?
* * *
Philip had the fire pit going downstairs in no time. He opened the curtains around the bedrooms so that the heat would fill them, as well. His gaze moved about the spacious room. “What do you think of it down here?” he asked Caleb.
The little boy looked around. “It’s kind of scary but kind of fun.”
The fire cast shadows on the wall. Philip laughed. “Yeah, I understand what you mean.”
Caleb went to the room that was to be his and Mark’s. “I wish we had real beds, like at home.”
Philip had followed. He laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “You will have. Would you like to help me make them?”
“Uh-huh.”
He grinned. “Then you will. I hope you enjoy making stuff out of wood as much as I do.”
An hour later, they climbed back up the stairs. Caleb had told Philip all about his parents’ deaths and how he and Mark had been put into one of his pa’s employee’s homes before Bella had arrived to take them with her. The little boy missed his papa and said that someday he wanted to grow up to be just like him.
When they walked into the main part of the house, they found it empty. Both Bella and Mark were gone.
Philip frowned.
“I wonder where they went,” Caleb said, looking around the room. “And Mark didn’t make up the pallet.” He walked over to the blankets and began folding them.
Philip found that odd also. Bella insisted that the beds be put away as soon as everyone was up. Why would she and Mark have left the house before it was made? Then it dawned on him that they probably had gone to the outhouse.
He walked to the stove and poured himself another cup of coffee. Philip glanced around his warm home. Bella’s feminine touch could be seen in each area. She’d made paper flowers and put them in clear jars about the sitting room. In the center of the table she’d placed a bowl and put colorful balls of yarn insi
de it to create a splash of color in the otherwise dull room.
The door opened and Bella hurried inside. She shut the door as fast as she could. “It’s getting colder out there.”
Philip pushed away from the counter he’d been leaning on. “Where’s Mark?”
Her gaze moved to where Caleb stood, folding the last quilt and laying it on top of the others. She turned stricken eyes on Philip. “I left him sleeping. Isn’t he here?”
“Evidently not.” He started toward the door. “You stay here. I’ll go search for him. He can’t be far.” Philip grabbed his coat off its hook, thrust his arms into the sleeves and then pulled his gloves out of the pocket. His heart beat fast as he tried to imagine where the boy might have gone.
“He’s probably in the barn,” Caleb said.
Bella turned toward Philip. “I’ll go with you.”
Philip shook his head. “No, you stay with Caleb. If he comes back, you will need to come tell me. Caleb will need to stay with Mark. He’s too young to be out on his own.” Caleb was too young to be outside on his own also. The two boys would be better off in the house.
At her nod of understanding, he pulled the door open. “I’ll find him. Don’t worry.”
Philip hurried to the barn. “Mark!” he called as he opened the door.
The horses stomped their feet, but Mark didn’t answer.
He stood in the yard trying to think where the little boy could have gone. Had he gone to the outhouse and then, finding Bella there, ventured into the woods to do his business? Philip hurried to the outhouse.
“Mark!”
Still no answer. The wind had picked up and now carried Philip’s voice back to him. He went around to the back of the small building and searched the ground for prints. Seeing none, he turned back to the house.
Would Mark go to Thomas’s? Or Hazel’s? Why hadn’t Mark come down to where he and Caleb had been? Had the little boy run away from home?
Philip knew Mark had felt left out earlier, but that was no reason to run away. He decided to tell Bella Mark wasn’t in the barn. The little boy may have thought he could go to Thomas’s and help with the chores.
He entered the door and was immediately questioned by Bella.
“Did you find him?” Her lips trembled.
“No, I’m going to saddle up my horse and ride over to Thomas’s. It’s time to do chores over there. Mark might have thought to help.” Philip walked over to Bella and pulled her into a tight hug. “You know how much he loves horses.” He pulled back and looked deeply into her eyes. “We’ll find him.”
Her blue eyes filled with tears, but she raised her head and said, “I know we will. Hurry.”
Philip didn’t need any further prompting. He spun on his heels to leave. Then turned back to look at Caleb. “Take care of your aunt while I’m gone.”
“I will.”
He hurried back to the barn and began to saddle his horse. As he worked he prayed, asking God to watch out for Mark. The temperature was dropping with the sun. Philip fought down the panic that threatened to overwhelm him.
Chapter Twenty
Bella paced the sitting room. Where could Mark have gone? And why? She fought back tears, trying to be brave for Caleb.
Caleb sat looking at his favorite book. His gaze wandered to the door frequently.
A sharp knock sounded at the door. Both Bella and Caleb jumped. Bella hurried to answer the summons. She pulled it open, praying it was Mark but knowing he wouldn’t knock if it was him. Bella was surprised to see Hazel, Mark and an Indian standing on the porch.
Hazel had her hand clamped tightly on Mark’s shoulder. “See? I told you she’d be worried sick. You should be ashamed of yourself, young man.” Hazel gently shoved him into the house.
Mark hurried to Caleb, where he buried his face in his brother’s chest.
“Thank you for bringing him home. Won’t you come in?” Bella invited, curious about the man standing behind Hazel. His dark skin and the way his long black hair was fixed let her know that he was a Pawnee Indian.
Hazel marched past her and the man followed. Bella shut the door and then turned to look at Mark. His legs were wet from the knee down. “Where have you been?” she asked.
His cheeks were wet with tears. “I went to the river,” he answered.
“To the river!”
Mark nodded.
Caleb placed his small arm around his brother’s shoulders.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?” Bella walked over to him. She passed Hazel, whose arms were crossed. She had an angry gaze focused on Mark.
“I wanted to go fishing,” he sobbed.
“Mark, it’s too cold to fish and you aren’t ever supposed to leave this house without telling me or Philip.” She stopped in front of the boys. Tempted to get down on their level, Bella made herself not be too soft on the boy. He could have drowned. “Wait, isn’t the pond frozen over?”
Hazel snorted. “That wasn’t going to stop him.”
Bella turned to her friend. “What do you mean?”
“When Johnny found him, Mark had busted a hole in the ice and then his feet slipped out from under him. Johnny pulled him out.” Hazel pointed to the Indian man beside her to indicate that he was Johnny.
“Thank you,” Bella said, looking at the dark-eyed stranger.
He dipped his head in her direction.
She turned back to the boys. “Mark, take off your wet clothes and then sit down there by the fire. As soon as Philip gets back we’ll decide what your punishment will be for leaving the house and worrying us to death.”
In a quiet voice, Caleb asked, “Can I take him downstairs to change?”
Realizing the little boy didn’t want to undress in front of strangers, Bella nodded. “But you two hurry up and get back here. I’ll not have you playing down there when Mark is in trouble.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Caleb took Mark by the hand and led him out of the room.
Once more Bella turned to her visitors. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing him home.”
“He is young,” the stranger said in a gruff voice.
Bella nodded. “Yes, and he should not have been out by the river.”
Hazel’s face softened and she turned loving eyes on the Indian. “Johnny, do you have time to stay for a cup of coffee?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I would have water.”
Bella smiled. Johnny was the first man she’d ever met who didn’t seem to care for coffee. But even more important was the fact that Hazel seemingly loved him. “Let’s move to the table.”
Hazel led the way with Johnny following her and Bella following them both. Johnny wasn’t an Indian name; she was pretty sure of that fact. So, how had he acquired his name?
As soon as they were seated, Bella dipped fresh water from the water bucket into a cup and handed it to Johnny. She then turned to the stove and poured hot coffee for Hazel. “Would you and Johnny like a slice of peach pie?” she asked.
“I wondered what that smell was when we came in. Knew it was some kind of pie, just hadn’t realized it was peach. I think we’d both like a slice, if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all.” Bella was glad she’d made the pie earlier.
Once her guests were served, she sat down and asked, “So, how do you two know each other?”
Hazel answered, “Johnny is my son.” She took a bite of her pie and grinned. “This crust is so flaky. Mine never turns out this nice.”
Bella looked from mother to son. He didn’t look anything like Hazel.
Johnny smiled at her. “My mother has surprised you with her words.”
“Yes, she has. I had no idea that Hazel had a child.” She looked to her friend. “Do you have other childre
n?”
“No, Johnny is my only child who lived. He is my pride and joy.” She reached across the table and touched his brown hand.
Bella looked to the wooden box of toys and realized now where they’d come from. “I’m glad you found Mark. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.” She pushed back her chair. It was time to go get Philip and tell him that Mark was home safe.
* * *
Philip leaped from his horse and hurried up the porch stairs. He opened the door. “Bella, he wasn’t at Thomas’s. Thomas and I are riding—” His words trailed off as he saw Bella sitting at the table with Hazel and an Indian.
“I’m so glad you are back.” Bella walked over to him. “Hazel and her son, Johnny, just brought Mark home. He’s downstairs changing into dry clothes.”
Thomas entered behind his brother and shut the door.
“Why didn’t you come tell me?” Philip demanded.
Hazel said, “We’ve only been here a few minutes, Phil. Come have a piece of this peach pie with us. You, too, Thomas.” She waved them to the table with her fork.
He looked to Bella. “It’s true. They haven’t been here long. I was going to come get you,” Bella said.
“Where was Mark?” Thomas asked, walking around his brother and joining Hazel and Johnny at the table.
Philip followed his brother. He wanted to know what happened, too.
Bella answered behind him. “Down by the river.”
“What was he doing there?” Philip asked, sitting down on the last log stool.
“Fishing,” Johnny answered. “He is smart for one so young.”
Philip and Thomas accepted plates with pie on them. “What makes you say that?” Philip asked. He really wasn’t in the mood for pie, so when Bella came back to the table with two cups of coffee, he laid down his fork.
“I watched him. He took a big rock and slammed it into the ice to make a fishing hole. Then he found a stick and tied string, like that, to it.” He pointed to the balls of yarn on the table.
“I wonder what he was going to use as a hook,” Thomas mused.
Johnny shook his head and laid down his fork. “No know. His feet slid out from under him and he was trapped in the hole he had created. That is when I pulled him out.” He drained the water from his cup, then stood. “Mother, are you ready to go now?”
Pony Express Mail-Order Bride Page 14