Love Finds You in Daisy, Oklahoma
Page 24
Rena and Sadie went inside around eleven to make sandwiches and lemonade while Carolina and Jenny kept a watchful eye on the children. By the time they carried the food outside to the picnic table at eleven thirty, one of the little girls had disappeared on them. Lilly.
“I don’t know how she got away from us,” Carolina said. “I just turned my back for a moment to talk with Gene about something.”
Thank goodness, the youngster showed up moments later. She approached with a rosy color in her cheeks and extended her hand, revealing a beautiful daisy. “Miss Rena, I brung you a present.”
“Brought you a present,” Rena corrected as she took the flower in hand.
“Brought you a present.” Lilly giggled. “Only, I didn’t exactly bring it. I plucked it up from the ground.”
Rena’s curiosity got the better of her. She didn’t want to scold but felt sure the child had been up to mischief. “Lilly, where did that flower come from?” Daisies didn’t grow in the wild, did they? Surely not. She placed her hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “Where did you run off to? You had us scared.”
Lilly never had a chance to answer. From around the side of the house, Molly Harris came huffing their way, her face red and her lips pursed. She pointed at Lilly, and her eyes narrowed into slits. “I knew it! I chased that devilish child all the way from my house. She stole that flower from my greenhouse.”
This, of course, caused the other ladies—Carolina, Jenny, and Sadie—to draw near. Likely they thought they would have to come out swinging. Rena had a feeling she could handle this one on her own, though. With the Lord’s help, of course.
A lone tear rolled down Lilly’s cheek as she looked on. “I…I know. But it was so pretty, and I knew Miss Rena would like it. She’s always talking about daisies, and I thought…” The child’s words faded away and her tears now fell in earnest.
Rena knelt down to Lilly’s level. “It is pretty, and you’re right…I do love daisies. But it belongs to Miss Harris. We don’t go onto other people’s properties and take things that don’t belong to us.”
“This isn’t the first time,” Molly said with a frown. “I’ve taken to growing flowers in the greenhouse because these awful children ravaged my garden last summer. They’ve wreaked havoc on my flowers and my nerves. I expect them to stay away this season. Do I make myself clear?”
Abundantly.
“I’m so awfully sorry.” Rena rose and faced the older woman. “I can assure you, Lilly won’t do this again. She was swayed by the beauty of your gerbera daisies. You’ve got lovely flowers, Molly. I’ve never seen such beauties. However do you get them to bloom so early in the season?”
The woman’s expression softened. A little. “Well.” A pause followed. “As I said, I grow them in the greenhouse. Daisies bloom year-around indoors. If I can keep the pests away.” She glared at Lilly, who—thank goodness—simply smiled in response.
“Well, they’re magnificent. That’s all I have to say on the subject.” Rena reached out and took Molly by the hand. “I do hope you will try to see this through Lilly’s eyes. She saw something of beauty, and it captivated her. One can hardly blame a child for being swayed by such a lovely flower as this.”
“Hmph.”
“She did the wrong thing by taking it, but she’s learned her lesson.”
Rena turned to the child, who offered a firm nod. “I have. Oh, I have, Miss Molly. I won’t mess with your flowers again, even though they’re the prettiest in the county.” The youngster spoke in earnest, each word punctuated with emotion.
Something that almost looked like a smile turned up the edges of Molly’s lips. “The prettiest in the county, eh?”
“Oh, yes.” Callie drew near and joined in the conversation. “You know how Mrs. Hannigan likes to gloat about her daisies? Well, they’re nice, but they don’t hold a candle to yours.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “I’m sick to death of Katie Hannigan bragging about those gerberas of hers.”
“We used to steal Mrs. Hannigan’s daisies,” Callie continued. “But they’re hardly worth stealing.”
This brought an unexpected smile to Molly’s face. For a moment, anyway. “I do hope you’re not saying you’ve made the permanent switch to my place,” she said after a bit of a pause.
“I just love flowers so much.” Lilly sighed.
At once, a marvelous idea came to Rena. She rested her palm on Molly’s arm. “Would you consider…I mean, would you do us the great honor of helping me plant a flower garden here at the children’s home?”
“What?” Molly looked stunned at this proposition. “Why, that’s just ridiculous. The children would destroy it before we could bring any of the flowers to bloom. And you know perfectly well that I can’t abide children.”
“Oh, please, Miss Molly!” Callie cried out.
“I would love that so much!” Lilly added.
The boys and girls all began to talk at once, their voices layering like the petals on the daisy.
“I think it’s a marvelous idea,” Carolina added. “I’ll even help. What do you say, Molly? With your expertise, we’ll have the prettiest flower garden in the state.” She gave her a wink. “I’ll bet Jonathan will do a write-up in the paper about it too. Why, they’ll probably run it on the front page!”
This certainly brought a smile to Molly’s lips. “Well, I’ll have to think about it. Not sure I’m up to working with these rapscallions.”
Lilly slipped her hand into Molly’s and gazed up at her with a smile. “Oh, but we want you to work with us, Miss Molly. Really, we do. We don’t know how to grow pretty flowers like you do.”
Molly pursed her lips. “Well, I’ll think on it. In the meantime, stay out of my greenhouse, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lilly echoed. Then she did the craziest thing in the world. She wrapped her arms around Molly’s waist and gave her a tight squeeze.
The older woman, stunned, stood frozen in place. After a moment she gave Lilly’s hair a gentle pat. Lilly released her hold, looked up at Molly with the sweetest expression on her face, then skipped off to play.
Rena couldn’t help but smile. Molly, on the other hand, seemed rather discombobulated. She stammered a few words and then stopped cold, her expression stiffening.
“Would you like to stay to lunch, Molly?” Carolina asked. “Rena has made the most delightful chicken-salad sandwiches.”
“Heavens, no. Eat with these children? I should think not.” Molly marched off, muttering something about children being a nuisance.
“Methinks she dost protest too much,” Carolina whispered. “I daresay that woman is going to be won over to our way of thinking before long.”
“That would be the best possible news.” Rena’s heart practically sang at this idea.
Carolina called out for the men to join them, and before long they were all seated at the table, sharing a wonderful lunch together. Rena took her seat next to Gene, as always. These days, she could hardly stand the idea of being away from him for more than a minute. She knew he felt the same, based on the words he so often whispered into her ear when the others weren’t around. Who needed love letters when you had a fellow so happy to share his thoughts aloud? Yes, the Lord had done an amazing work all the way around. And she felt sure He would continue.
About halfway through the meal, a shaggy-looking dog approached. His coat was matted, but he had a pleasant disposition…as was evidenced when he began to lick Old Man Tucker’s hand. Either that, or the mongrel wanted a bite of the chicken-salad sandwich. At either rate, James Tucker shooed him away.
“Get out of here, mutt.”
The dog didn’t leave. In fact, the words only served to make him happier. His tail wagged and he nuzzled up to Rena, who gazed down at him, perplexed.
“Well, who have we here?” she asked.
“Saw him hanging around town yesterday,” Jenny said. “No idea where he came from. I don’t think he belongs to any of the locals.”
“Ooh, can we keep him, Miss Rena?” Lilly threw her arms around the muddy pup.
“Of course not. That’s a ridiculous notion.” Ridiculous, indeed! As if watching over seventeen children wasn’t enough!
“His name is…” Lilly paused. “Daisy! Like the town.”
“That’s a boy dog!” Wesley hollered then laughed. “Yer gonna name him Daisy?”
“Trust me, son,” Gene said with a smile. “He won’t know the difference.” He began to sing, “‘Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do,’” and before long the children joined in, in multiple keys at once.
“Oh, please!” Wesley got down on his knees in a begging position in front of Rena. “Give us your answer, Miss Rena. Do! Can we keep ’im? Huh?”
She laughed. “Now, why in the world would we want a mangy mutt around here? He would be nothing but trouble.”
The dog began to lick Wesley in the face, and before long the two were rolling around on the ground together.
“You have to admit, a dog would be a good companion,” Gene whispered. He slipped his arm around her waist. “And I’d sleep better at night, knowing you had a watchdog.”
“Watchdog?” Rena laughed as she glanced down at the playful mutt. “That dog couldn’t shake off a flea, let alone a burglar.”
“Sometimes looks can be deceiving.” Gene gave her a wink. “He’s probably vicious when the situation calls for it.”
“Hmm.” Rena looked on as the boys piled on top of Wesley with the dog in the center of the pack. “Hardly.”
Still, as the children looked up at her with their wide eyes and pouty faces, her heart softened. By the time they asked again, she’d already made up her mind. They could keep the dog. Hadn’t she witnessed transformation in all of the children and even in her own life? Surely this mutt would clean up just as nicely. She hoped.
Gene looked on with a smile. The boys and girls would do well with a dog around. Rena, on the other hand…well, she would forgive him later for suggesting they keep Daisy.
Daisy. He had to smile at the name the children had chosen. The scraggly-looking mongrel didn’t look anything like a daisy, and he certainly didn’t smell like one. Just the opposite, in fact.
“Tell you what,” Gene said. “You children finish up your lunch, and then you can give this pup a bath while we keep working on the house.”
They went back to eating, though he caught several of them sneaking bits of chicken salad to the dog. Not that he blamed them. The poor pup was awfully thin. Well, they would fatten him up over time, no doubt about it.
As he turned back to his meal, he half expected Rena to be angry with him. Instead, she looked at him with a smile. “Did you see that Molly was here earlier?”
“I caught a glimpse of her. Who’s in trouble now?”
“Lilly. She stole a flower from Molly’s greenhouse.”
Gene sighed.
“You know, in many ways Molly reminds me of this pup,” Rena said. “She’s a mess on the outside. But I have a feeling she’s a softy on the inside. We need to give her time. I think she’ll come around.”
Gene chuckled. “Well, pull out an extra washtub and we’ll scrub her down next to the dog. Maybe she’ll come out smelling fresh as a daisy.” He had to laugh as he realized what he’d said.
“Fresh as a daisy.” Rena smiled. “That’s the name of her campaign. Haven’t heard as many folks talking about it, of late.”
“I think the scuttlebutt is dying down,” Gene said. He gave Rena a little kiss on the cheek. “I daresay you’ve won them all over with your charm, Rena Jewel.”
She blushed and swatted him away. “Gene, not in front of the children.”
“And why not?” He looked at her, pretending to be offended. “If a man can’t kiss the woman he loves in front of the children she loves, then what good is he?”
“What good, indeed?” his mother said, passing by. “What good, indeed?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
TIPS FOR DEALING WITH UNRULY YOUNG’UNS—I’ve never been one to abide children. I’ve found them to be noisy, dirty, and, in general, nuisances. So no one was more surprised than me when I found myself working alongside a couple dozen of them, planting a springtime garden of daisies. Wasn’t sure my heart could take it, to be quite honest, but it turns out I’m not as put off by the idea as I once was. Not sure who—or what—put a spell on me, though I suspect one little girl with dark hair and a button nose. All I know is, I’ve somehow found myself knee-deep in soil and flowers, with young’uns on every side.
—Molly Harris, Confused Citizen of Daisy
By the time the April showers lifted, Rena’s concerns over the naysayers of Daisy had lifted, as well. Molly Harris showed up several days a week to help in the ever-expanding flower garden. Oh, she still grumbled. Still complained about the boys. But Rena had her suspicions that Molly had taken a liking to the girls, one in particular. It didn’t hurt that Lilly had fallen head over heels in love with her former nemesis and practically hung on her every word.
On the first Saturday in May, Rena surveyed the garden, filled with flowers in bloom, and tried to quiet her racing heart. As she turned to face Carolina, Molly, and the children, tears welled up. “I can scarcely believe it. Who would have known that this garden would change the face of the property?”
“What?” Gene approached from the front steps and gave her a pretend pout. “What about all my work? New shutters on the windows. New roof. New front porch steps. The whole place is spiffed up.”
“Oh, it’s all beautiful. I especially love the gingerbread trim across the front of the house.” Rena drew her hands to her heart, wondering if she could take any more. She turned her attention back to the garden, her emotions overflowing. “But there’s something so special about flowers. They really liven the place up, and they require so little work on our part.”
Behind her, Molly huffed. “Speak for yourself. I’ve spent a lot of hours on my knees in the dirt to get them looking like this. Or haven’t you noticed?”
“I have, of course.” Rena knelt beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “And I’m so grateful. You’ve been such a godsend. Truly.”
“Well.” Molly shifted her gaze back to the dirt, clearly not ready for a heartfelt chat.
Lilly tugged on Rena’s skirt. “Daisies in Daisy!” She laughed. “Get it, Miss Rena? We’re growing daisies in a town called Daisy.”
“With a dog named Daisy who smells anything but sweet,” Gene said, reaching down to scratch the newest member of the family behind the ears. The dog—who’d turned out to be part spaniel underneath all his matted fur—wagged his tail. “Though, for the life of me, I don’t think I’d be very sweet either, if someone named me Daisy.” Gene gave the pup an endearing smile. “Right, boy?”
Daisy leaped up several times, begging to be held. When Gene headed off to the house to continue his work, the dog turned his attentions to Carolina. The mongrel gave her a nudge and she pushed him away.
“Down with you!” Carolina scolded. She rose from the garden, brushed the dirt from her skirt, and sighed. “I know you all love that dog, but no one ever said I had to.”
“He’ll win you over, Carolina,” Rena said. “Watch and see.”
“I just hope he stays out of the garden this time.” Carolina sighed. “He did far too much damage the last time around.”
“But he asked for forgiveness,” Lilly said.
“The dog asked for forgiveness?” Molly looked up and brushed a loose gray curl out of her eyes. “And how, may I ask, did he manage that?”
Lilly pointed to the dog, who had reverted to the begging position. Even Molly laughed when she saw him—for a moment, anyway. Then her expression soured. “Well, tell him to take it up with the Almighty. God’s quicker to forgive than I am.�
�
Though there was some truth in that statement, Rena did her best not to laugh. Truth be told, Molly had turned out to be softer on the inside than she’d imagined. Not that the older woman had been completely won over. Still, great strides had been made in that direction.
Rena looked on as Lilly plucked one of the flowers from the soil and stuck it behind her ear. The youngster put a finger to her lips and whispered, “Don’t tell Molly!” then skipped across the yard.
Carolina knelt again and started pulling weeds. “I’ve been a fan of daisies from the time I was a little girl. Used to pick them for my mama.”
The saddest feeling swept over Rena as she thought about Carolina’s words. She knelt beside her and reached out to touch one of the daisies. “It’s strange, but I have almost no memories of myself as a little girl. Not with my mama, anyway. It’s almost as if my life before the age of fourteen didn’t exist.”
Carolina paused and gave her a tender look. “Then you have more in common with these flowers than you know. Do you know the origin of the daisy?”
“No.” Rena looked up from the soil and squinted against the sunlight.
“The word ‘daisy’ means ‘day’s eye.’ The name was given to the flower because daisies open up at dawn just as the day begins.”
Rena paused to think through what Carolina had said before responding. “That’s beautiful. They open at the break of day, eh?” She giggled at her unintended rhyme.
“Yes. And I think you’re a daisy.” Carolina winked. “Want to know why?”
“Why?”
Caroline gave her a tender look. “Because this is a new day for you, Rena. You’re not the same young woman who arrived on the train just six months ago. You’ve blossomed and grown, and you’re in full bloom now.”
“Is it that obvious?” Rena returned her wink.
“Yes, but I’m not just talking about the fact that you’re in love with Gene. You’ve blossomed as a mother figure to the children, and you’ve grown in your faith, as well. You’ve taken all this town has dished out—much of it good, but some of it not—and you’ve dealt with it like a real trooper. You’re not just a thing of beauty like this flower, honey. You’re rooted. Grounded.”