Catalina laughed a little and nodded. “I have a feeling you’re right.” She continued to smile as she and Bethany gathered the things they came for and headed to the counter. Mrs. Weatherby had Issie and Minda with her sitting quietly on the ground, sucking on their peppermint sticks and playing with their flour sack dolls.
“You’re wonderful with children, Mrs. Weatherby.”
“Please call me Prudence, dear. We’re all friends here. Friends call each other by their Christian names.”
Catalina nodded. “Yes, ma’—I mean Prudence.”
Mrs. Weatherby nodded her approval. “Shall we load these things for you while you’re finishing up your other tasks in town?”
“Yes, please, and everything for the Harveys as well. We won’t be long. Just having lunch before we head back to Shadow Point.”
Prudence nodded as she handed Catalina a catalogue. “You’ll be needing that. Take it with you and look through it in your spare time. Bring it back when you’re through, and we’ll order it all.”
Catalina flipped through the first few pages and then a few more at the back. It had all sorts of household items in it. Everything from mixing bowls to teakettles, fabric and hair ribbons. “Thank you.” She found the older woman’s eyes. “For everything.”
Prudence shook her head and patted Catalina’s hand that was still holding the thick catalogue. “No thanks needed, young one. This is Shady Creek; we look out for family here.”
Catalina wasn’t sure what to say other than the obvious. That she couldn’t be family. They’d just met. Prudence was a wise woman, though, and squeezed Catalina’s hand this time. “Time has no meaning to the heart. It keeps its own rhythm. Think about that as you return with this precious girl to her father and your new home.”
Chapter Eight
Catalina was thrilled with the purchases they’d made and had enjoyed spending time with Bethany. She and Judith seemed to get on really well. The girls played in the other room while the three women had talked about love, marriage, parenting, and teaching. Catalina had been very thankful the mercantile had had some of the things she’d needed. The rest she’d ordered, and Prudence had assured her it would all be there in a few weeks. She had already begun putting lesson plans together in her head. She’d have the Harvey boys together and then Minda and Issie. She could get more time with the children if she had them learning in age groups.
Madam Wiggs had taught her a great deal. Everything she knew, in fact, about teaching. She’d had years and years of experience before she’d thought to teach Catalina and her sisters to carry on her philosophies. Age grouped learning was one of those things. It had taken Madam Wiggs a while to hone her practices, but once she had she’d begun to see a marked improvement in the children she worked with. Catalina, at first, had hoped to do the same. She’d planned to come to Shady Creek and help as many children as possible. Have them all learn faster and retain more than they had in the past, therefore proving her worth in the town and to her new husband, but after what she’d seen earlier that day she knew she had to change her objective.
Catalina was still concerned with each child learning as fast and retaining as much as possible, but now she was more concerned with each and every child having the ability to learn in the way they wanted to. She wanted them all to feel safe, and she didn’t want them to have to be away from their families. Her belly burned with all the emotions of the day. She picked at the bread before her as Judith and Bethany prattled on about the different women in town and who was best at what. Judith knew everyone, she’d been there so long, and all her information was useful. It would for sure come in handy to know who the best seamstress was or whose cinnamon cookies were famous throughout town.
“Are you still with us, Cat?”
Catalina picked up her sandwich and took a bite before nodding. Her mouth was so dry the bread stuck to her teeth and the roof of her mouth, effectually gluing her mouth shut. Thankfully her nod was enough, and Bethany went back to interrogating Judith about all the goings on in town.
Catalina had never known where she’d come from. Madam Wiggs had found her as a baby on her doorstep just like all good orphan stories start. She’d been abandoned, wrapped in a light pink quilt on a warm summer evening. Madam Wiggs told her that she’d been about two weeks old at the time. She often wondered why it had taken so long for her mother to give her up. Had she done something in those first two weeks to make her leave her? Had her mother not planned to have a baby? Had her father died? And if not, did he even know about her? She had more questions than she could count and not a single answer, which hadn’t bothered her since she’d turned about thirteen and had been desperate to fit in with her sisters.
She had wanted nothing more than to have a story. To know where she’d come from. Madam Wiggs hadn’t even been able to tell her if she’d come from the South or the North. As she’d grown and been able to get out into the city, she’d come to the conclusion that either had to be the case because of her features. One or both of her parents had to have come up from the South, Mexico, or down from the North, Iroquois country. Now that she was in Arizona, it seemed the moment she’d set her eyes on Minda the answer had settled over her in a way it hadn’t ever before. It didn’t matter. Where you came from, or where your parents came from, had no bearing on the person you became. What mattered was how you were raised. The people you were surrounded by. Who you loved and how you loved them. Catalina vowed to herself and her friends the moment after she’d taken a long drink of tea and made herself able to speak again, that that would be the lesson she’d focus on the most.
“Love and tolerance.”
Judith’s head turned first. “Sorry?”
Catalina smiled. “Love and tolerance. That’s what I can teach the children.” She was convinced the reason she’d been the one to answer Oliver’s ad wasn’t just for Oliver and Minda, but because she was the best choice for their little town. She had the training and life experience that a place like Shady Creek needed. She exhaled before once again picking up her teacup, taking a sip and setting it gently back in its saucer. “The children. Of course they need to learn their letters, reading, and arithmetic, but it seems to me that they need to learn tolerance and love just as urgently.”
Catalina watched both her friends carefully. They sat in silence, watching Issie and Minda play together. “These two are a prefect example of what I mean.”
Judith looked at Catalina, a small smile on her lips. She nodded.
Catalina returned her smile, and Bethany spoke. “I still don’t understand.”
“Children are most often taught by their parents. Similar people flock together, so more often than not, children are raised surrounded by other children that look and act the same way they do.” Catalina nodded back to Issie and Minda. “These little girls have been friends since the moment they met, even though they’re so different from one another. Their friendship is completely due to their parents, both because their parents are in similar places in their lives and also because even though they’re different, their families haven’t kept them apart.” She turned back to her friend. “Those folks in town…the ones with the signs and chanting, I’m guessing they weren’t given those liberties and exposures. I was lucky enough as a child not to be singled out for my differences. Madam Wiggs and my sisters treated me the same. All of us were treated the same.” She smiled hugely and got up from her chair. “That’s what I want to bring to Shady Creek, to the children and families that live here. I want them to have a place where everyone has the opportunity to be the same. Not that their differences aren’t noticed, but that they don’t matter. Especially the ways that the people in town were making them matter today.”
Bethany stood and began picking up the plates from around the table. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.” She paused to watch the girls in the next room. “Those two are adorable together. Like sisters but without the fighting.”
“Ohhhhhh they fight plenty. Not l
ike the boys do either—I catch those two rolling around in the yard, covered in mud. They each get a few hits in, and they’re over it by the time I’m dragging them to the well to rinse them off. Issie and Minda though…they scream like fishers on the hunt. They’ll pull back and forth with a doll between them for as long as I’ll let them. Both stubborn as mules and as hard headed as their pa’s.”
Catalina laughed. She hadn’t seen the girls get into a single argument, but she believed Judith. She and her sisters at Madam Wiggs’ would argue often. “It can be hard being so close to someone all the time.”
Judith nodded, wincing and rubbing her hand over her round belly. “I’m thinking it might be time to fetch the wagon and get back to the ranch before dark. If we wait too much longer we’ll be on the trail after the sun sets and the men won’t like that at all.” She shook her head. “Not that I would, but they’d be likely to come after us.”
Catalina nodded. “Minda. You and Isabel gather your things and thank Mrs. Landry. We’re going to go now.”
Minda hopped up immediately from her place on the floor with Issie following on her heels. The girls skidded to a stop right at Bethany’s feet. One blonde and fair, the other tan with jet black hair, both their wide eyes looking up at Catalina’s friend. “Thank you, Mrs. Landry.”
“Will we see you when this little one decides to arrive?” Judith was still rubbing a hand over her belly, her forehead etched with deep lines. Catalina couldn’t tell if she was concentrating really hard or if it was something more.
Bethany nodded. “I sure hope so. I told Joshua in our letters that I wanted to work with him as much as possible. I’ve never been trained though, so we’ll have to see if he has time to teach me. He’s very short-handed right now. Could really use a nurse or two, maybe even a midwife. He says the town’s at least doubled since he’s been here.”
Judith nodded. “When Nathaniel and I rolled in to set up camp on our homestead, there was a saloon and the telegraph office, other than the church. There were no other buildings. The train didn’t even have a platform. Just a pair of steps people would move around so the weren’t too close to the tracks.”
Catalina laughed. “I guess Shady Creek is a busy place now though? It seems so small compared to New York.”
“I would imagine it would, but yes! Shady Creek is getting busier by the day. Mr. Perkins was telling Nate and I, last time we stopped there, that he used to get a message or two every five to seven days. Now he’s sending more than seven and receiving more than seven every day.”
Catalina once again found herself showing her ignorance of the West. She had no idea what was big or small, busy or not. She only knew Shady Creek, and even that she didn’t know well. “Mr. Perkins is the telegraph operator?”
Judith nodded. “Yes. He, his wife, and their daughter Sophia live just outside of town, and he comes into the office every day.”
“How old is their daughter? Will she need schooling?”
Judith shrugged, but it wasn’t the way she normally would have. Her shoulders were still tense, and her mouth was set in a hard line. “Probably. I think she’s about seven or so.”
Catalina couldn’t help it. She was making notes about the children she’d seen and heard about in town. Judging by how many there were, she’d eventually need to build a school house to hold them. The distance between the ranch and town would make it difficult for the school to be in town but it would be just as hard to have it at the ranch. “Remind me as we’re on the way back to have you explain to me which land belongs to whom.”
Bethany turned from where she was heating water for their dishes. “I heard they’re wanting to take half of Mr. Ketcher’s homestead to build the Indian school.”
Judith cringed. “Can they do that? He owns it. They’d at least have to compensate him for it, wouldn’t they?”
Catalina could tell that wasn’t why Bethany had said anything. She realized what Catalina was trying to figure out.
“We should be off.” Judith seemed a bit out of breath. Her words left her mouth hard and on big puffs of air.
“Are you alright?” Bethany rushed to Judith’s side. She held her arm and escorted her back to the chair she’d vacated not long ago. “Should I fetch Joshua?”
Judith started to furiously shake her head. “No. No. I’m fine. Just a few pains is all. I’m sure he or she’s just excited for the food they’re getting since we had lunch. The baby is always more active after I eat.”
Catalina had noticed her struggling but hadn’t wanted to call attention to it. What had felt like critters in her belly now felt as if they were gnawing their way out, making her realize she might have been wrong about that. “Judith, let’s just let him take a look before we go. I’m a lot of things, but a doctor isn’t one of them, and though it would be much harder for you than me, I really don’t think that having only me, Issie, and Minda to help deliver your baby in the back of a buckboard is a good idea.”
She laughed and Judith laughed with her before nodding. “Fine. Fetch him, but Catalina, if we can’t go back tonight we have to send someone to the ranch. Nathaniel and the boys will have to come to town. You’ll need Oliver to take you home as well.”
Catalina and Bethany made eye contact above Judith’s head. Bethany nodded and headed for the door as Catalina sat beside Judith. “Don’t you go fretting ‘bout that. We’ll do what needs doin’.”
Judith’s breaths started to become shorter and faster. She leaned over and clutched her belly. “The girls,” she said between gritted teeth. Catalina looked around for them. They’d said thank you to Bethany and had then retreated to playing quietly as the women talked. Now the two were in the far corner talking amongst themselves like they weren’t in the middle of something that could leave marks on their little minds for a lifetime.
“Hey, girls…why don’t you to take these cookies and see if Mrs. Landry has any books out by the stove and the sofa? You could read some pages while we wait for her to come back.”
Minda ran to Catalina, wrapping her tiny arms around Catalina’s legs. “Yes, new Momma. If we find a good book that we don’t know all the words, will you read it?”
Catalina crouched down and hugged the little girl to her chest. “I’d love to read with you. I’m going to help Mrs. Harvey first, though. I want to stay with her until Mrs. Landry returns.”
Minda nodded and grabbed Issie by the hand, pulling her into the next room to look for a book.
“What do you suppose whoever this is is doing on your land?”
Nathaniel shook his head while holding the bag Oliver had picked up from behind the rock. “Not sure exactly. Could be a number of things.”
Nate cinched the bag, and Oliver stashed the pistol in his saddlebag. “Boys, I want you to ride on the way back. We need to get home. Talk to the others.”
Oliver wasn’t surprised. He was much more on the lookout though. Whoever had be cutting the fences and staying on Harvey’s land couldn’t be far from where they were. They could even be watching them that very moment.
“Come on, Jasper, let’s ride out.” Oliver laughed as he helped the boy into the saddle. Isaac rode with his father, his tiny body an exact replica of the man sitting behind him.
“Do you think we’ll find him, Uncle Oliver?”
Oliver nodded as he prodded the horse into moving. “Of course. There isn’t a thing that happens on this ranch that your pa doesn’t know about before it happens or shortly after. He’d do anything to protect you and your brother and sister. As would I. We’ll figure it out. Don’t you worry.”
Jasper was a small boy but feisty. At only eight years old, he gave his older brother a run for it. He took every step, every bite of food, did every chore that his older brother did and didn’t complain a bit. Nathaniel and Oliver had worked those boys. They’d tried to get them to basically collapse into their beds at night; never once had it worked. They’d seemed to have endless energy. Jasper especially. “Can we go faster? I
wanna beat Isaac and Pa. He always thinks he can do stuff better than me because he’s bigger, but I know he can’t. He’s not as fast as me.” Oliver laughed heartily from his belly, eventually whispering over Jasper’s head. “Hold on, boy.” As he snapped the reins, the horse took off like a bullet.
They had two ranch hands that stayed in the bunkhouse, both of whom were outside the paddock looking at something intently as the four of them came skidding into the yard, Oliver and Jasper only just ahead of Nathaniel and Isaac.
“I’m never gonna be able to get Jasper to shut up.”
“That’s enough. You win some, you lose some. Your brother isn’t always going to be smaller than you, Isaac. You’ll need to start bringing it up a notch or two to keep up.”
Isaac looked as though someone had switched him. His face was red and his eyes were watery. “He’ll never be bigger than me. I’m the big brother.”
Jasper and Isaac both hopped down from their saddles, their small boots kicking up clouds of red dust. “Ha! I’ll eat and eat and eat until I can’t no more just so I can be bigger than you.” Jasper stalked over and started yelling in Isaac’s face.
Isaac allowed it until he thought that Jasper was thinking he had won. That he’d finally gotten his point across to his brother and that he’d finally leave him be, but then he struck. Hard and fast, Isaac planted his hands on his brother’s shoulders and pushed him hard. Jasper flew backward into the hard packed ground surrounding the paddock, hitting his head on the wood crossbeam of the fence.
Nathaniel and Oliver both jumped off their horses, handing the reins off to Jed and Matthew to take into the barn. Oliver rushed over to Jasper, who was struggling to push himself up while Nathaniel took Isaac by the arm and held him while he forced him to watch his younger brother struggle to get up. “We do not pick on those that are smaller than us, Isaac. We’ve talked about this. See what’s happened.” Nathaniel’s words made everyone silent as Jasper sat up and blood trickled down his forehead.
Catalina’s Cause: The Alphabet Mail-Order Brides Book 3 Page 7