by Kit Morgan
Ebba swallowed hard and took a step back, then glanced toward the kitchen, thinking of poor Rufi. The girl was probably next on their list. Thankfully, she was still too young to marry, but not for long …
“Well, let’s get this over with,” said Ma. “I have to admit, I am curious how that veil will look. Maybe we can spruce it up if you don’t like it.”
It didn’t take long before Ebba was into her wedding dress and the three matrons went to work. Aunt Betsy played with her hair while Ma and Leona discussed the veil. When they finally put it on her head, Ma looked very pleased. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
And Ebba had to agree – she looked better today than she had the day before. The veil definitely completed the look. Now she would truly be a bride – or at least feel like one. She could hardly believe she was to be married in less than twenty-four hours.
Speaking of which … “When will the other guests arrive?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Davis will be here tonight along with Matthew and Charlotte,” Aunt Betsy volunteered. “It’s too bad Billy and Abbey aren’t going to make it.”
“Who are Billy and Abbey?” Ebba asked.
“Charlotte’s younger sister and her husband,” Leona explained. “They moved to Clear Creek, Oregon – you know, the town my brother is from?”
“Oh yes, where is the sheriff?” Ebba glanced at Ma to see her reaction.
“He’s riding out with Tom and Rose Turner,” Leona said. “He’s been wanting to talk with Tom the entire time he’s been here. I can’t understand why.”
Ebba watched Ma’s cheeks grow pink and smiled. Daniel was right – Ma was sweet on the sheriff. “Well, they are both lawmen and from the same hometown. Why wouldn’t he want to spend time with Deputy Turner?”
“Of course he would,” Ma said. She turned to Leona. “Will your brother be going home with you the day after the wedding?”
“I assume so, but Harlan does what he wants,” Leona said.
Ma’s eyes darted around the room as she licked her lips. “Men often do.”
“Do you like your hair this way, Ebba?” Aunt Betsy asked.
“It’s very fine. Thank you for styling it for me. Do you think Daniel will like it?”
“He’ll love it, child,” Ma said with a smile. “He’ll love you.”
Ebba caught the tremor in her voice. Daniel was her baby, the last of her children to marry. She hadn’t thought about how her new mother-in-law would feel, other than ecstatically happy. Sadness had never occurred to her. “Are you referring to what we talked about the other day? That kind of love?”
Ma smiled and took her hands in her own. “It’ll be a good start, child. A very good start.”
* * *
“Stop it, I tell ya!” Daniel shouted over his brothers’ boisterous laughter. The twins each had one of his ankles in their grasp as they held him headfirst over the well. Thankfully it was deep, wide and full of water. Daniel knew to tuck himself into a ball the minute they let go. After all, this was hardly the first time they’d done this – and possibly not the last.
“C’mon, Daniel,” Calvin said with a snicker. “It’s yer last day as a free man – and our last time to throw ya in the well as one!”
Daniel’s arms splayed helplessly as he struggled. “Dagnabit, I got chores to do! Ma’s gonna have a fit when she finds out we ain’t got ‘em done in time!”
“Well, what do we have here?” a man’s voice drawled above him. Daniel tried to see who it was but couldn’t quite manage it.
“Howdy, Deputy!” Calvin replied happily. “Yer just in time!”
“Ya sure are,” said Benjamin. “This here’s what ya might call a monumental occasion.”
“Daniel?” the voice called down the well, “is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me! Who else would these idjit brothers of mine be hangin’ onto like this?”
“Seems to me it’s a good thing they are, or ya’d be splashin’ around down there by now.”
“They’re a bad influence on the younguns!” Daniel called back. He shook his head. His brothers usually didn’t hold him upside down for this long – they’d just get him in position and let go. Now that they had an audience, who knew what they’d do? “Just get it over with, why don’t ya!”
“Ya should’ve seen how hard he fought us, Deputy Turner,” Calvin said with pride. “Almost got away from us twice.”
“And I woulda if Alfonso hadn’t tripped me!” Daniel groused.
“That’s right,” Benjamin chortled from above. “Remind me to give that boy a penny, will ya, Calvin?”
“Sure will, brother,” Calvin chuckled.
“Ain’t you boys gettin’ kinda tired of holdin’ yer brother like that?” Deputy Turner asked.
“Yeah, come to think of it,” Calvin said, his voice starting to strain. “What do ya think Benjamin? Should we drop him?”
Benjamin shrugged. “On the count of three?”
“Okay. Deputy, ya wanna count?” Calvin asked.
“I’d better not,” he said. “In my position, I cain’t be seen to condone unlawful behavior.”
Daniel could just imagine the grin on his face. “Oh for crying out loud, just do it already! I got chores to finish!”
“Yer awful anxious to get wet,” the deputy pointed out. “But I suppose these boys can’t hold ya like this forever.”
“One … two …”
Benjamin was interrupted by another voice. “What’s going on here?”
“Oh, for the love of Pete,” Daniel grumbled. He was starting to get dizzy from being upside down for so long. If they didn’t let go of him soon, he might have trouble when he hit the water “Just do it!”
“Great Scott! Is that Daniel you two have a hold of?” Daniel recognized the voice of Sheriff Hughes.
“Harlan, if’n they don’t let go, arrest ‘em! I’m startin’ to feel kinda poorly down here.”
“You heard him, boys,” the sheriff agreed.
“Three,” Benjamin called out, and he and Calvin let go.
Daniel tucked himself and hit the water – with enough force to get the men above him good and wet, he hoped. By the time he surfaced and got some air into his lungs a rope had already been lowered. “You two just wait ‘til I get my hands on ya!” he sputtered.
He heard a shuffle of feet – Benjamin and Calvin running away as usual. But then there was an unfamiliar succession of thuds, grunts and groans. Now what was that about?
Daniel grabbed the rope and expertly climbed out of the well. The sight that greeted him made him fall silent for a second, then pushed him into hysterics. Spencer Riley, Nowhere’s sheriff, and Harlan had a hold of Benjamin, while Clayton Riley and Tom Turner were restraining Calvin.
“What do you think, Daniel?” Harlan asked. “Do your brothers need a little dip too?”
“Well, now,” Daniel said. “I think it’d do ‘em a heap of good to have a li’l afternoon bath.”
“This is not how this is supposed to go!” Calvin shouted in protest.
Clayton gave him a friendly punch in the gut. “You’ve been tossing your brother down that well for years. I think he deserves this moment, don’t you?”
“You’re triflin’ with tradition!” Calvin rasped.
“Yeah, this is how we Weavers’ve always done thin’s,” Benjamin added. “That’s why it’s called a tradition.”
“Well, what say we expand that tradition?” Harlan winked at Spencer as they started to drag Benjamin toward the well. Tom and Clayton did likewise with their prisoner.
Daniel cackled with glee. “Didn’t I always tell ya that one day ya’d get yers?”
Benjamin started laughing despite himself. “No fair, no fair!”
“Consider this a wedding present, Daniel!” Harlan called out as they tossed Benjamin over the side.
There was a huge splash, followed by “woo-ee! Dang, this is cold!”
Daniel leaned over the side of the well. “That ain’t nothin’! R
emember when ya tossed me in the day after Christmas? I broke through a skin of ice that time!”
Now it was Calvin’s turn. He too fought against the men holding him, but couldn’t help laughing as his brother had. “I’m gonna get ya for this, Daniel!”
Daniel grinned ear to ear and held his arms out wide. “Get me for what? I’m not the one throwin’ ya in!”
“He’s got a point there,” Clayton said as he and Tom tossed Calvin in. Another splash, though smaller than Benjamin made. Then, silence.
All five men quickly glanced at each other, then peered over the side of the well.
“You two all right down there?” Harlan called.
“Good God A’mighty,” Calvin screeched. “This’ll like to freeze me solid!”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “They’re fine.”
No sooner had he said it than Benjamin started to climb out, a silly grin on his face. “Ma’s gonna kill us if’n she finds out what we … oh. Hi, Ma.”
The men slowly turned around to find Ma Weaver, her arms folded across her chest as she tapped one foot on the ground. She glared at each of them in turn as Calvin began his ascent. “What have you got to say for yourselves, gentlemen?”
Each and every man audibly gulped.
Harlan stepped forward, took off his hat and began to nervously turn it in his hands. “Er … well, myself and the other lawmen came across your twins here giving the groom-to-be a soaking. They said it was a tradition of sorts. And being the law, we felt that the punishment should fit the crime, so …”
“So we were startin’ a new tradition,” Benjamin quickly added.
At this point Calvin reached the top and fell out onto the grass, his breathing heavy from the climb. “By golly if that wasn’t kind of fun, though.”
“Though maybe the punishment should be more severe if they’re enjoying it,” Spencer suggested.
Benjamin, not wanting to suffer further, kicked Calvin in the hip to silence him.
It didn’t work. “Ow! What did ya do that for?”
Ma marched over to him and kicked him in the other hip. “Get up, Calvin! You want your wife to see you acting like such a fool?” She turned and glared at the rest of them. “And that goes for the lot of you! You’re grown men – you all know better! I’ve got a mind to tan all of your hides until WHAAA!”
The men laughed as Harlan scooped her up into his arms and headed off. “What in tarnation are you doing, Harlan Hughes?” she screeched.
“Having some fun, woman.” he said as he aimed for the barn.
Her three sons began to laugh as she struggled. “That’s showin’ her, Harlan!” Benjamin called after him.
“Harlan, you put me down right this instant!”
“I will – just as soon as we get where we’re going.”
“And where is that?” she snapped.
Harlan lowered his voice to a whisper. “Someplace where I can kiss you proper!”
Ma thought she would die of embarrassment. And she would have, if she hadn’t been enjoying herself so much. “You’ll do no such thing!”
“Oh, won’t I?” Harlan said. “Even though it’s a long time coming?”
“Why you, you…” were the last words the Weaver men and the others heard her speak as Sheriff Hughes entered the barn.
“Ya don’t think she’ll hurt him, do ya?” Calvin asked.
“Nah, they’re fine,” Benjamin said.
“Ain’t folks gonna think it’s improper that Sheriff Hughes is sparkin’ with your ma in the barn?” Deputy Turner asked.
Daniel shook his head. “They’ve been sweet on each other for years now. Let the man propose any way he wants.”
“Propose?” Clayton and Spencer said in unison.
“Well, I’ll be,” Deputy Turner drawled. “How did I not know he was sweet on your ma?”
“No idea,” said Calvin. “We’ve known for ages. Though she’d have rather died than say it.”
Benjamin smiled at Daniel. “Ya know, little brother, ya might not be the only one gettin’ hitched tomorrow …”
Meanwhile, in the barn …
“Ow! Tarnation, woman, what are you trying to do, skewer me? Put down that pitchfork!”
“I’ll put it down when I’m good and ready! Now what do you mean, hauling me in here like a sack of grain?”
“Don’t you know a romantic gesture when you see one?” he shot back.
“Sheriff Hughes, plucking a woman off the ground and running away with her is not a romantic notion!”
“Great Scott, woman, haven’t you ever read poetry?” Harlan threw up his hands. “For crying out loud, you’ve got four sons! You must’ve had some sense of romance to bring them about!”
Mary gasped. “That is none of your business, Sheriff!”
Harlan stared at her a moment. Her face was red, her body trembling from her earlier struggles. She was fire on two legs, and had a way of setting his blood to boiling. Harlan never thought he’d love anyone ever again, but he was wrong. Now he had to fix this. “Mary … what happened to calling me Harlan?” he asked gently.
She lowered the pitchfork a notch. “You can’t go around doing what you just did.”
He smiled. “I think you liked it.”
“I did not like it!”
“I think you did.”
“What makes you so sure?” she asked as her eyes narrowed to slits.
He took a few steps forward, but still kept some distance between them, for safety’s sake. “Because I know that when you’re really mad you get quiet. You don’t take to hollering like you’re doing now.”
She took a deep breath. He was right, of course, and they both knew it. She trembled anew, but not from her earlier exertions. Now she trembled because of the man himself. “Oh, what do you know?”
“Plenty.” He closed the distance between them, pulled the pitchfork from her hands and tossed it at a pile of hay. “Mary …”
She backed up a few steps. “Harlan … I … that is, we …”
“Don’t fight me, woman,” he said quietly. “We’re both old enough to know better. Now I’m just gonna say it right out. I love you, Mary Weaver, I’ve loved you for a long time and I’ll be powerful upset if you say no.”
She swallowed hard. “No to what?”
Harlan got down on one knee.
“Oh, sweet Lord above!” Mary gasped.
Harlan cleared his throat. “Mary Weaver, you’d make me that happiest old coot alive if you’d be my wife.” He stared at her and waited.
Mary stared right back. It took her a moment to find her voice and when she did, all she could say was, “you’re not an old coot.” Then she fled from the barn.
Chapter 12
“Ma?” Charity said with a raised eyebrow as Ma burst through the kitchen’s back door, crossed the room to the hallway and disappeared. She exchanged a quick look with Ebba.
“Is something wrong?” Ebba asked.
“I’m not sure,” Charity stepped away from the stove to peek down the hallway. “But she didn’t seem right.”
“Maybe one of us should check on her,” Ebba suggested.
“You go,” Charity said. “I’ve got to take these pies out of the oven.”
Ebba wiped her hands on her apron and left the kitchen. She had a feeling she’d find Ma in the sewing room. Sure enough, there she was at her worktable, stabbing at a hat with a long needle. “Ma? Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine, child,” she replied in a voice indicating it clearly wasn’t. “How are the pies coming along?”
“The pies are fine. But if you don’t mind me saying so, you’re not.”
Ma fiddled with the half-made hat on the worktable. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Men! Pigheaded fools.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ma gasped as she turned to look at her. “Oh, Ebba, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out sounding like that.”
“Are you … mad at some
one?”
Ma sighed. “If I’m upset with anyone, it’s myself. In fact, I just did something that might not have been the brightest, considering the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?” Ebba asked. “What happened?”
Ma sat back in her chair and seemed to crumple. “Did you ever want something, then when it came along you discovered you were too scared to take it?”
Ebba thought a moment. “Yes, I think so.”
“What was it?”
Ebba gave her a tentative smile. “Your son.”
“Daniel?” Ma said, sitting bolt upright. “Land sakes, child, why would you be afraid of Daniel?”
“Well … he’s a stranger, yes, but I’ll get to know him over time … and I’ve always wanted to be married and have a family. But there are no guarantees anything will work out, is there?”
“What are you talking about, child?”
“I’m talking about, what if we never fall in love? You know, what you were telling me the other day? Those three things I have to have in my pocket? What if I only ever get two and never find the third?”
Ma sighed again. “Child, you’re young, and with two in your pocket the third is bound to come along. But at my age … it’s more difficult.”
Ebba suddenly knew what was going on. “Sheriff Hughes.”
Ma’s mouth dropped open. “How do you know about …”
“Daniel told me. In fact, all of your sons know that the sheriff and you – as they put it – ‘have eyes for each other’.”
Ma rested her elbows on the worktable and put her face in her hands. “I never thought this would happen to me,” she muttered into her fingers. “I never thought I’d find it again.” She looked up. “And now here it is and I don’t know what to do with it.”
Ebba came around the worktable and sat in a nearby chair. “If it were me, what advice would you give?”
“Oh, now that’s not fair,” Ma objected, then chuckled. “You’ll make a Weaver yet, Ebba.”
Ebba smiled at her. “What would you tell me? What should I do?”
“I’d ask you if you liked him, loved him and were in love with him.”
Ebba leaned forward. “Are you?”