A Man for Glory Page 17

  “When my mama was gonna have Essie, my pa and me took good care of her. She was right sickly and she didn’t live long after Essie was born, but it wasn’t ‘cause we didn’t tend to her real good. She was just too sickly to make it.” He halted and his gaze was intent on the woman who’d been his mother for the past three years or so.

  “Glory ain’t gonna be sickly, is she? If we take good care of her, she’ll be all right, won’t she? I sure wouldn’t want anything to happen to Glory.”

  “She’ll be fine, Buddy. I can almost guarantee it, for Glory is healthy and strong and she’ll be just fine. Women have all the special equipment it takes to have babies and take care of them afterward. Between the three of us, we’ll look out for her and come next spring, we’ll have a new baby for all four of us to love.

  “Our whole family will be blessed, for this is the most wonderful gift in the world. A new baby here in our home.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  They were ready for the trip to town bright and early, breakfast out of the way and the chores finished before the sun had reached the tree-tops in the east pasture. Essie wiggled, standing on one foot then the other as Glory braided her hair.

  “I’ve got the list you made, Glory. Did we remember everything?”

  Glory smiled, recalling the fuss made over the listing of each item Essie could dredge up from memory. They’d included the bit of flannel, fabric for curtains and the promised pillowcases, along with the list of foodstuffs that were in short supply in the kitchen.

  “Don’t forget you wanted to see about new Mason jars for canning, too, Glory,” the child reminded her.

  “I’ll write it down, Essie. And lids and rubber rings, too.”

  “And maybe a piece of stuff to make my dolly a dress.” Essie forgot nothing, Glory had found, especially those items relating to her doll and the bedroom she was intent on furnishing.

  The wagon was before the back door and Cade and Buddy awaited their womenfolk, Cade jumping to the ground to lift his wife onto the high seat. She straightened her skirts and looked over her shoulder at the two behind her. Essie could barely sit still, she was so excited thinking of the list she held in her pocket.

  The wagon rolled down the road that wound through the countryside, past the first few houses and then the church, the bank and the establishments that made up the business area of Green River. The storekeeper, Jeremiah Nelson, was sweeping the sidewalk in front of his establishment, a bucket of water near the door awaiting his attention. It was Friday, the day for his stint of window washing, because Saturday was the busiest day of the week for a general store and he liked to have his place clean and ready for his customers.

  “I see the schoolteacher inside the store, Cade. Do you think this is a good time to speak with her about Buddy?”

  “Can’t think of a better time. I’ll have him with me, so go ahead and see what she says.”

  Cade dropped Glory and Essie off at the general store, taking Buddy with him to make a stop over at the bank. “I’ll be back with you right soon,” he said.

  Essie held her list ready as she and Glory entered the store, peering down at it to read the items Glory had written down. “Can I help you, young lady?” Mrs. Nelson asked kindly, exchanging an understanding look with Glory.

  “Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Nelson. Me and Glory got a whole list of stuff we need today.” She looked up at Glory and offered her the paper she held. “I’ll go look at the material while you talk to the lady, Glory. Is that all right?”

  “I’d like to speak with the schoolteacher for just a minute,” Glory told Mrs. Nelson. “Then I’ll be right back.”

  Mrs. Nelson nodded, and Glory approached Sally Thomas, the woman who taught all grades at the local schoolhouse.

  “Good morning, ma’am. I need to speak with you about my stepson, Buddy.”

  “I’ve seen Buddy in town,” the woman said with a smile. “He’s the young man you’ve borrowed books for, isn’t he? Will I be having him in school this year?”

  “I surely hope so. I’ve worked with him at home for three years and I think he’s pretty well up to his age level. And he’s read everything you’ve lent us, too.

  “Buddy has learned about all I can teach him, Miss Thomas. He’s a right good reader and his maths are excellent, and he’s working on history right now. I think he’s more than ready for real learning.”

  “I’d enjoy having him. School starts in two weeks, you know.”

  Glory nodded. She was aware that classes began early so that the older boys could be excused for harvest later on. “I’ve had Buddy write a book report on A Tale of Two Cities for you. I’ll send it with him, if that’s all right. I’d say he’s at sixth-grade level in most everything. He’s had a little trouble with long division, but he’s a whiz at reading. I’m sure he’ll be willing to take any tests you want to offer him.”

  “There’s a younger child too, am I right?”

  “Yes. Essie is just learning to read, and has been working on arithmetic for me. But I think we’ll keep her home another year. Perhaps next year I’ll feel better about sending her along with Buddy.”

  “I’ll be happy to have him, and Essie, too, when you think she’s ready,” Miss Thomas said.

  “Will there be a problem with Buddy riding a horse to town? It’s too far for him to walk and my husband said that Buddy’s a good rider, so he wouldn’t be fearful of sending him off on a mare.”

  “Several of the older boys ride to school. There’s a fine place for them to stake their horses during school.”

  “I’m so glad we had time to speak. I’ll talk to Buddy when we go home and be sure he’s ready for you. I’ll send the books I’ve borrowed from you back with him when he shows up for the first day of school, too.”

  “I have a lot of books in my own library and the children are always free to borrow them,” Miss Thomas said. “I’ll look forward to meeting Buddy.”

  Glory was pleased at the progress made today and fairly itched to speak with Cade and Buddy on the way home, because she knew the boy would be delighted to make preparations for schooling.

  She made her way back to the shopkeeper’s wife, glancing over to where Essie stood before the bolts of yard goods that lay on the counter across the store. The child lifted one hand, gingerly touching a pretty, flowered bit of percale. She looked back at Glory for approval and then moved on to where several small remnants lay at the end of the counter.

  A bit of flannel caught the child’s eye and she picked it up, shaking it open to see how long it might be. Not quite a yard, Glory saw from her vantage point. And best of all, it wasn’t the usual white offered for baby things and winter nightgowns. It was pink, a shade that would enhance Essie’s doll. Another bit of remnant caught the child’s attention and she reached for it, this one yellow, perhaps a little larger than the first.

  With care, Essie refolded the piece she’d already examined and then added the second bit, bringing them to where Glory waited and watched. “Will these be all right, Glory? We could get the pink and make the dress. Or maybe we could get the yellow for the quilt.”

  “You in the market for outing flannel, Mrs. McAllister?” Jenny Nelson asked archly, her gaze twitching to Glory’s flat stomach.

  “No, not for myself, but for Essie’s doll baby. I promised her I’d make a quilt and perhaps a kimono.” She turned to Essie and nodded her approval of the two pieces of fabric.

  “I thought just one of them, Glory. We don’t need to get them both.” And yet her hand brushed the nap of the flannel as she spoke, and her eyes fixed on both the pink and yellow material.

  “We can get them both, Essie. Cade won’t mind if you have them.”

  “He’s a right generous man, ain’t he?” Mrs. Nelson said. She peered down at the list she held and reached to the shelf behind her for a sack of coffee. “How many pounds, Mrs. McAllister?”

  “I think five will be fine. And I’ll need twenty-five pounds of flour. I’m almost
out.”

  “Don’t forget the curtains, Glory.” Essie tugged at her sleeve, looking up beseechingly.

  “I won’t, sweet. We’ll go look right now.”

  “You’re doing a heap of sewing these days,” Mrs. Nelson said. “Going to make any new clothes for the two of you?”

  “Not this week. Just curtain material for the children’s rooms.”

  “And new pillowcases for me, too,” Essie said proudly.

  They sorted through the gingham fabric, both checks and plaids available in the stack. Essie voted for pink-and-white checks for her room and Glory settled on a darker color for Buddy, wavering for a moment between the green and blue gingham, finally selecting ten yards of the blue.

  Essie watched wide-eyed as Mrs. Nelson measured it off. “I won’t need but half that much, for I only have one window, and Buddy has two,” she offered brightly.

  Glory chose thread for her sewing projects, adding a card of small white buttons to the stack, along with the flannel Essie had chosen.

  By the time Cade joined them in the store, they had quite a selection to carry home with them. Essie held up a remnant Glory had chosen for her, large enough to make new drawers and a petticoat for her Sunday dress. Her old ones were well worn, and almost too small, and Glory could not resist the fine batiste remnant she’d spotted.

  “You girls about done in here?” Cade asked, watching as Mrs. Nelson began adding up the prices of Glory’s purchases.

  “I can pay for most of this from my egg-and-butter money,” Glory told him in an undertone, but he only gave her a sharp look and shook his head.

  “Put it on my page in your book, Mrs. Nelson. I’ll pay you at the end of the month.”

  “That’ll be just fine, sir,” the woman said. “Your wife got some real bargains today, what with the remnants she and the little girl picked out.”

  “My daughter is learning fast, isn’t she?” Cade asked, one hand reaching to touch Essie’s golden hair.

  “She’s sure enough lucky to have such a generous Pa, I’d say.” She wrapped the package of fabric and sewing notions in brown paper, tied it with a length of string and put it aside. Then she packed the food into an empty box from the storeroom.

  “I’d say I was the lucky one, Mrs. Nelson,” Cade said quietly, his smile backing up the words he spoke. With one arm around Glory’s waist, the other filled with the box of groceries, he nodded at the door. Essie picked up the bundle from the counter, saying her goodbyes with a grin.

  Buddy sat in the wagon, jumping up to lend a hand as Cade brought the box to the tailgate. “Is that it, Glory?” he called out.

  “Oh, my, I forgot the Mason jar and rings and lids I need for canning,” she said, turning to go back into the store.

  “I’ll get them for you. How many do you need?”

  “I think I can get by with a dozen quart jars and a dozen pints, and enough rubber rings and lids to cover them. If we can’t afford that many, I’ll make do, Cade.”

  “Are there any more left in the cellar?” he asked.

  “Enough for the tomatoes when they ripen. But the beans will be ready right soon, and I need the pints for the last of the peas and the carrots. Oh, and I forgot to look at a piece of ribbon for Essie’s hair. Maybe pink to match her new dress.”

  Cade grinned at Essie. “You need a ribbon, girl?”

  “I can get along without a ribbon, sir. Glory is gonna make me a new dress and new curtains and stuff for my dolly, so I don’t really need a hair ribbon.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he said, entering the store again, the bell ringing as the door opened.

  Glory sat atop the wagon and watched as a group of menfolk passed by the store, one of them looking to where an old man snoozed, sitting on a bench outside the big window.

  “Say, fella. Do you know where the Clark place is located?” one of the men asked in an undertone.

  Glory’s ears picked up the name he mentioned and she turned to look at Buddy, motioning for him to be quiet, lest he offer his knowledge to the man who asked after their place.

  He nodded, as if he understood that he’d best listen and not speak up.

  The old man who sat on the bench only nodded and pointed to the west, in the direction of the farm, and then leaned back on the bench, his eyes closing once more.

  Glory was silent, her eyes averted as the men walked down the sidewalk, turning in to the newspaper office.

  When Cade came from the store, Glory lifted a hand, indicating he should come closer so she could speak to him. After depositing his big box of supplies on the back of the wagon, he walked over to stand beside her.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart? What happened?”

  Glory leaned close to him and spoke quietly. “There were three men here in front of the store just a minute ago, wanting to know where the Clark farm was. I didn’t recognize them, but I didn’t like their looks, Cade. They frightened me. The gentleman on the bench didn’t give them very good directions, just pointed to the west. They went into the newspaper office.” She scooted over to make room for him on the wagon bench.

  Cade nodded and lifted himself to sit beside her, then picked up the reins and snapped them in the air over the draft horses’ backs. The big animals turned the wagon around and it moved down the road, heading toward the east.

  Buddy leaned over the seat, speaking softly into Cade’s ear. “Are you going the wrong direction on purpose, Pa?”

  Cade nodded. “No sense in leading the fellas to our front door, I figure,” he said, looking back at the boy. “We’ll just go a roundabout way.”

  “Who do you suppose they were?” Glory asked, fear rising in her throat as if it would choke her.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like the idea of strangers asking after Harvey. We’d best keep our eyes sharp and let the sheriff know what you heard.”

  Cade pulled the team over in front of the jailhouse and stepped down. “I’ll be right back, Glory. Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.”

  He went into the building, finding the lawman behind his desk. “Say there, McAllister. How are things going out on the farm? I’ve been meaning to stop by and speak with you. Maybe next week one day.”

  “Maybe you’d better hear what I have to say first, sir,” Cade told him, quickly relating the details of what Glory had overheard.

  “I’ll step outside and keep a lookout for them. They may even stop here and ask for directions. Don’t worry about it, McAllister, I won’t send them your way.”

  Cade nodded briefly. “I’d appreciate your help. I don’t cotton to strangers coming around asking questions. There’s been a new development out at the farm and Glory and the children don’t need any trouble.”

  He went back out to the wagon and drove along an alleyway out of town. The route he took added three miles to their trip, but he was unwilling to lead anyone to the farm, lest the men follow them. As they passed all the fenced-in property along the way, he looked behind the wagon frequently to be sure no one followed them.

  When they reached the lane leading to Earl Bradley’s farm, Cade turned in, driving his team to the back of the house. Earl came from the barn to greet him, even as his wife came out onto the porch.

  “You remember Etta, don’t you, Mrs. McAllister?” Earl asked. His wife stepped down from the porch and approached the wagon.

  “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or maybe tea?” she asked nicely.

  Glory stepped down, her hands going to Cade’s shoulders as he moved closer to the wagon to help her. “I’ll be in the barn for a few minutes,” he said quietly against her ear.

  Glory followed Etta Bradley into the house, looking around her at the kitchen. It was neat, clean and well organized, just what she would have expected. Etta Bradley had a good reputation with the ladies in town.

  “I’m glad you stopped by today. I’ve been meaning to have Earl take me with him when he went to see your husband, but it hasn’t worked out. I wondered how y
ou and the children are doing. I know it had to be a jolt to the young’uns having their pa taken the way he was.”

  Glory sat down at the table, accepting the cup and saucer Etta handed her. “Tea will be fine, ma’am. Coffee hasn’t been agreeing with me of late.”

  Etta shot her a quick look. “Any special reason for that?”

  Glory knew she blushed, but there was no help for it, and she dived in headfirst. “Well, to begin with, I think I’m having a baby. In fact, I’m certain that’s what the problem is. I’ve been losing at least one meal a day, and I’m getting right sick and tired of it. In fact, that about describes me lately. Sick and tired.”

  Etta laughed. “That sounds mighty familiar to me. Each time I got in the family way, I spent about six months moping around, yawning and retching. It seems to be a common symptom for most women.”

  “Well, I didn’t plan on it. I thought I was healthy and able to handle most anything,” Glory said.

  “You probably are. But having a baby is a condition like no other. It ain’t like measles or mumps, but some days it’s about as bad. You feel like bawlin’ some mornings, and other days you wonder how you ever got into such a mess. Just wait till you start growin’ out of all your dresses and you feel like a tub of lard.” She laughed as if she was describing her own woes as a pregnant woman.

  “That sounds familiar to me. Things are starting to get tight already and I’m only about three months along, I figure.”

  “That sounds about right. What does your new husband have to say about it?” Etta asked, settling into her chair, the teapot before her.

  “He’s tickled to death, and the children are delighted.”

  Etta laughed, pouring tea into both their cups. “Well, that leaves you, Glory. How do you feel about it?”

  “Most days I’m as pleased as Cade, except when I get so sleepy in the middle of the day. I haven’t felt like scrubbin’ out the wash or cleaning out the chicken coop in two weeks. Of course, you just go ahead and do what you have to, but it’s no fun.”

  “Well, cleaning the chicken coop is a job I wouldn’t do on a bet. I figure I got four kids for a reason or two, and one of them is the chicken coop. If they don’t clean it, then Earl gets the job. Cooking and cleaning and that sort of thing is enough for any woman to do.”