A Man for Glory Read online

  “I like your way of thinking,” Glory said with a grin.

  “Stick around, honey. I’ve been in this business for a long time, and I’ve figured out the best way to beat the system. Men have it pretty good. They work in the fields and the barn and then come in and sit down at the table and get waited on. Women have to figure the best way to get all the help they can. So we have kids and start training them young. My oldest girl is twelve and doggone if she can’t fix a meal pret’ near as good as me.”

  “I shouldn’t complain, and I guess I really don’t mean to,” Glory said, sipping her tea.

  “Go ahead and complain all you want, honey. I’ve got a broad shoulder, and I know all about marriage and menfolk.”

  “Well, I made a good choice when I married Cade McAllister. He’s been good to me and the children, and he works hard to keep things up and make a good living for all of us.”

  “Yeah, and he got a good deal out of it too, Glory. He got a farm and a wife and a ready-made family. Can’t ask for better than that.”

  “Well, the farm is still Buddy’s. His pa wanted it that way. Cade is just looking after things till Buddy is old enough to do for himself.”

  Etta’s gaze narrowed and she bent across the table to speak softly to Glory. “Don’t you know that when you married the man, he got title to everything you own? Anything he does is for his benefit as much as yours and the children’s.”

  “I don’t think of it that way,” she said. “Cade’s put money out for stock, the mares he bought and the heifers he got from your husband, but it’s still my farm. At least I thought it was.”

  “You better check that out. I think things changed once you married him.”

  Essie and Buddy came to the back door, and Buddy knocked, speaking to Glory. “Glory, Pa says he’s ready whenever you are.”

  She swallowed the rest of her tea and smiled at Etta. “Stop by sometime. I’d like to talk to you more about having a baby. This is all new to me, and I’m likely to need some advice before I get done.”

  “I surely will, Glory. You take care of yourself, and don’t be fussing about what I said. I know you have a good husband. Earl thinks he’s a good man, and he’s pretty good at sizing up menfolk.”

  With a hand from Cade, Glory lifted herself up to the wagon seat. Then Cade turned the team about, heading for the town road. “I made it right with Earl for the heifers. Told him I might be interested in another couple of them if I sell the colt like I’m planning.”

  “You know best,” Glory said. “Far be it from me to take care of buying and selling livestock. I just gather eggs and churn butter.”

  “And do a right good job of it, too, ma’am,” Cade said with a grin.

  When they reached the lane leading to the farmhouse, he looked up at the sign he’d recently hung over the entrance. McAllister Family, it read in bold lettering, and Buddy shared a moment of pleasure with Cade as he paid special mind to the name on the sign.

  “My pa never called the place anything but the Clark farm,” he said quietly, looking back to where the sign swung from two posts.

  “Well, it’s under different management these days, son. Our whole family is involved in the place, not just me and you. And I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if we don’t have more than two or three sons in the family before we’re done. Glory and I plan on having a big family, so you and Essie will have lots of relations.”

  He turned his head to where Essie sat behind him, delving into his pocket and pulling forth three lengths of ribbon he’d tucked inside. “You like any of these colors, Essie?” he asked, holding them out for her inspection.

  “Oh, Pa! They’re all pretty, ain’t they? I think the pink one would be nice with the new dress Glory is gonna make me, and the blue one would go with my other Sunday dress, wouldn’t it? But the purple one is just beautiful, Pa.”

  “Well, I’d say it’s a good thing you don’t have to choose then, Essie. They’re all for you, so when we get in the house you can put them up in your room and then wear a bow on your braid every day. Each morning, you’ll have to choose the color to go with your clothes for the day.”

  The child reached her small hand over Cade’s shoulder and he placed the ribbons across her palm, his sidelong glance at Glory one of joy, for the child’s response to his gift was enough to make a grown man cry. Essie bent forward and kissed Cade on his cheek, and then squealed aloud.

  “Oh, Pa, you’ve got whiskery cheeks.”

  Glory laughed at her, and tugged the child forward to sit on her lap.

  “Here, let me put one of your ribbons on your braid, Essie. You might as well enjoy them today.”

  “Which one, Glory? My dress is kinda faded out, but it used to be blue.”

  Glory made a production of holding the three ribbons next to Essie’s skirt, finally choosing the purple one to use. “This one will make your dress look a bit purple, I think. And the next time we buy some fabric for you, we’ll get a print with purple flowers in it. Will that work?”

  “Oh, yes.” The child was ecstatic, wiggling on Glory’s lap, trying to see the bow Glory formed for her. She reached for her braid, which was long enough to lay across her chest, and carefully brushed the chosen ribbon with her small fingers as she admired it up close.

  “I feel so special, Pa. Thank you again.” Essie curled up on Glory’s lap, her index finger again making contact with the bit of cloth that had so delighted her.

  Cade leaned closer to Glory as he pulled the wagon up to the back porch. “Sure doesn’t take much to make her happy, does it?”

  “She’s never had anyone pay much mind to her before, only me. Essie doesn’t ask for much in life.”

  “Kinda like her mama, ain’t she?” He lifted Essie to the ground and then held up his arms for Glory, grasping her waist and lowering her to stand in his embrace. His kiss was brief, but offered promise, his mouth touching her cheek and temple with a caress she leaned into.

  “You’re a good father, Cade,” Glory whispered against his ear. “The children love you. Now, hand me one of those boxes and I’ll carry it in.”

  He grinned at her and turned her toward the porch. “You don’t need to do any totin’ boxes, sweetheart. Buddy and I will carry stuff in and Essie can handle the bundle of fabric.”

  “I need to talk to Buddy, too. I spoke with Sally Thomas, the schoolteacher in town, and she’s real pleased that Buddy will be coming to school in a couple weeks. I asked her about him riding a horse and she said several of the older boys ride in every day. There’s a place to stake the horses during school.”

  “We’ll have to decide for sure which horse he’ll ride, Glory. I think he likes the black mare the best. But he can make a choice for himself. He’s a good rider.”

  “Well, maybe you should speak with him, Cade. He’d likely rather hear all that from you.”

  She hastened ahead of him then, watching as Buddy lifted his share of the load from the wagon, handing Essie the bundle of fabric to carry.

  Glory opened the back door and held it for her menfolk, waving at the table as the preferred spot to place her purchases. Essie carefully undid the package she carried and rolled the string up to save in the pantry. The brown paper was smoothed out and folded over to be used for various things. Schoolwork could be done and lists made on any scrap of paper available, and such a large piece was a treasure.

  “I’ll use that piece for drawing out the plans for your room, Essie,” Cade told her, halting her progress to the pantry.

  Essie grinned happily, and placed the paper on the kitchen dresser for Cade’s use later on. “Don’t forget my shelves, Pa. I’d like to have two of them, one for my clothes and one for my schoolwork and stuff.”

  “This box the Mason jars are in would do well for your dolly, Essie. We could cut it down and make her a bed out of it, and then when we finish her quilt, we’ll put together some of the chicken feathers I’ve put aside and make a pillow for her, too,” Glory told her. She bent d
own to remove the jars from the carton in question and set them carefully on the pantry shelf, upside down, lest bugs get inside.

  Essie ran up the stairs to her bedroom and returned just moments later with her doll. She knelt on the floor where Glory had put the box and laid her dolly inside. “She fits real good, Glory. Come look and see.”

  And Glory did, bending to inspect the space the doll inhabited. “This will work out just fine, Essie. Carry it to your room, and we’ll work on it later.”

  Once they’d finished putting away their purchases, Glory had thought to make Essie’s pink-and-white dress right away, but the child protested loudly. “You promised we’d make a quilt. I want to do that first,” Essie cried, her short little arms trying in vain to reach around Glory’s middle. “You promised, Glory. You promised, remember?”

  “Yes, I remember.” It was all she could do not to laugh aloud, for the child was grimly determined to have her own way in this, and Glory would not deny her the right to choose her own priorities. “We’ll make the quilt first, Essie. But you need to help me find the right pieces for the top of it. We’ll go through my fabric scraps and see what we can find. I’ll show you my special place for keeping things in my room.”

  “Can we go up now, Glory?” Essie asked.

  “I don’t know why not,” Glory said.

  Cade was out back and Glory made a mental note to ask him about the men in town—for she was fearful of them finding the place, even though it was called by a new name. For the sign no longer designated it The Clark Farm, but instead read McAllister Family, a phrase that warmed her heart.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Together they went to Glory’s bedroom. It was a room Essie was very seldom allowed in, so she had decided that this was an occasion worth celebrating. “Is this your special trunk, Glory? Do you have your very own things in it?”

  Essie knelt beside a trunk Harvey Clark had bought her soon after her appearance at his back door. He’d brought it home from the general store, presented it to her and announced that she must keep her belongings inside it.

  “A cardboard box would do as well,” Glory had said, amazed at the gift.

  Never had Glory possessed anything so fine, and now as she handed Essie the key and directed her to open it, she told her the story of the day the child’s father had brought it home from town and given it to her.

  “My pa, my real pa, gave you this?” Essie was stunned by the revelation and Glory explained further.

  “He wanted me to have a place for my own things, and even gave me a key for it, so that what I kept inside would be for my eyes alone, unless I chose to share the contents with someone else.”

  “Am I someone else?” Essie asked softly.

  “You’re my very own girl, Essie. And I want you to see the things I’ve kept in a special place,” Glory told her, watching as the small fingers worked to fit the key into the brass lock. It turned with a snick, and Essie lifted the lid with care, allowing the hinges to take its weight, even as she knelt before the wooden chest to survey its contents.

  Glory knelt beside her, gathering up various pieces of fabric, left over from things she had sewn in the past three years. “I thought we could use these pieces to patch together a quilt top for your bed and one for your dolly, too, Essie.”

  “Oh, yes, Glory. That would be grand.” The child wiggled in excitement, barely able to be still as she picked up piece after piece of the fabric bits that Glory had set aside. At the bottom of the trunk lay a dress, faded and worn, patched and mended by careful hands, until there was little left but the seams to hold the worn stuff together.

  “What is this piece, Glory?” Essie held it up, puzzled by its condition, for Glory had used less worn items for rags when she scrubbed the floor or dusted the furniture.

  “That’s the dress I was wearing the day I came to your back door, Essie. It was the only thing I had to my name when I left the wagon train and walked across the prairie, looking for a place to stay. I had it on the first time you saw me.”

  “I don’t remember for sure.” Her eyes searched out the worn garment, then held it up against Glory’s apron. “Did you wear it a lot after you came here?”

  “It was all I had, until your pa went to the store and bought me some material to make a dress from. I’d mended it and sewn up the seams and tried to keep it in one piece, but it almost fell apart one day when I washed it.”

  “And you kept it anyway? You didn’t want to use it for a rag?”

  Glory shook her head. “No, I wanted it to remind me of how little I had when I came here, and how much your pa did for me. I was poor as a church mouse, and someday I’ll tell you what that means, sweet. And your pa gave me a home and a family and let me live with you and Buddy. And one day, when you’re older, this trunk your pa gave me will be yours. Maybe he was thinking of that when he gave it to me.”

  “I’m glad he got it for you, Glory.” She leaned against the woman who’d been her mother for three years and her arms fit better this time as she hugged her tightly.

  “So am I.” From behind them, a strong, deep voice echoed the sentiments expressed by the child as Cade stepped into the bedroom. “What are you two doing in here, anyway? Telling secrets?” He grinned at Essie and shot Glory a look filled with tenderness.

  “Glory’s gonna make me a quilt for my bed when you get my bedroom fixed up, Pa. And she said we can make one for my dolly, too. See all the pretty scraps of fabric she has in her trunk? She’s been saving them for a special occasion.”

  “She never let me look in her trunk,” Cade said mournfully, making Essie break out in uninhibited laughter.

  “You can look if you want to, Pa. Glory won’t care, will you?”

  “There’s not much in here, just bits and pieces of things I set aside until I needed them,” Glory said, rising from where she’d knelt beside Essie.

  “No nest egg? No hidey-hole hard cold cash?” Cade asked, teasing her as he bent to kiss her lightly.

  “I should be so rich,” Glory said, leaning to close the lid once more. “My butter-and-egg money is in the kitchen, on the kitchen dresser in the old sugar bowl. Everyone in the family knows where I keep my riches.”

  “And what riches do you have, Glory?” Cade asked soberly.

  “I have Essie and Buddy and you, Cade McAllister. That’s all any woman could ask for.” She looked down at Essie’s lap, full now with the assortment of fabric pieces. “And I have the makings for a quilt for Essie’s bed and one for her dolly’s new bed.”

  “So I see,” Cade said, bending to inspect the stack of material Essie had found. “Don’t I recognize this bit of stuff?” He held up a blue flowered scrap.

  “That’s like my dress I had on yesterday, Pa.” Essie squealed with delight that Cade should recognize it. “Only, my dress is old now and all faded out, but that was what it looked like when Glory first made it.”

  “And when will we see this quilt take shape?” he asked Essie.

  “Maybe tomorrow we’ll start it, if Glory says so.”

  “All right. And now, if you’ll take your bits and pieces to your room, Essie, I need to talk to Glory for a minute or two.”

  Essie rose and left the room clutching her find tightly. They heard her door opening and closing behind her down the hallway.

  Cade held Glory close. “We need to talk about something,” he said softly. “I don’t want to frighten the children, but you need to be very careful when I’m not in the house with you. If those men show up here, we’ll need to be ready for them, Glory. I brought my shotgun into the house and put it in the pantry, along with a box of shells on the top shelf. I have a rifle in the barn, and my pistols are in the tack room.

  “And now for the big question. Can you fire a gun? Have you ever shot a long gun?”

  “Yes, on the wagon train, everyone had to learn how to load a gun, aim and fire and know enough to protect themselves. The wagon master took all the women out one day and gave us instructio
ns. I was pretty good at it, too.”

  “Well, I hope you never have to prove that, sweetheart, for I don’t want to ever see you be forced to lift a gun against another human being. But if you have to, I want to know that you can. Those men may be looking for gold.”

  “I don’t think Harvey had any gold, Cade. I told you, I’ve never seen hide nor hair of it, and I looked.”

  He hesitated, wondering if he should tell her of his discovery in the wall of Buddy’s room, and decided she deserved to know what he had found there.

  “He had the gold, all right, love. But he managed to hide it away and didn’t tell you about it. I found it in the wall when I was tearing up things for Buddy’s room. I put it back and nailed the boards over it again, for I wasn’t sure what to do about it, when we should tell the sheriff about it. I’m afraid that if the townsfolk know the gold has been here all along they might decide you knew about it. And I don’t want anyone talking about you or making judgments about your character.”

  “I think we need to let the law know that the gold is here, Cade. It’s not ours to keep and Mr. Clark was wrong to hide it and leave me holding the bag, so to speak.”

  He grinned. “I’d say you’re right there, sweetheart.

  But on the other hand, perhaps now isn’t the right time to spill the beans on the old fella.”

  Glory shivered. “I still remember how adamant he was that he not be blamed for the robbery. And perhaps he wasn’t the leader behind the whole thing, for I don’t think Mr. Clark was all that brainy. I think if he was involved, he must have followed the man in charge, who led him in the wrong direction. And he ended up losing his life because he was the fall guy.”

  “I think you’re probably right, Glory. And for now, I’m going to leave the gold where it is. We’ll give it back a bit further down the line, when we can do so without involving you or the children in the whole mess. Although I don’t think you’re going to come out lily-white no matter how we figure it out.