Eden Page 24

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his frown showing concern.

  “Nothing’s really wrong, but I wondered if you could afford to let me buy a piece of material to make Jane a dress. She’s only got the one she’s wearing and another that’s not fit for much but the ragbag. I thought maybe I could sew her up a nightgown out of my flannel pieces and if you’d let me pick out a nice piece of percale, I could make a dress for her.”

  His face cleared, and a smile replaced the frown he’d assumed. “Of course, you can, Katie. But you don’t need to be using your flannel pieces for her nightgown. We’ll buy a fresh piece of outing flannel for her or maybe something lighter, what with the warm weather these nights. And you’ll need a new gown, too, for when the weather starts to get colder and your other things don’t fit you anymore.”

  “I don’t mind using the flannel I’ve already got, John,” she said softly, not willing to cause more expense than necessary.

  He bent and whispered against her ear. “I thought maybe those bits of flannel would sew up into diapers for the baby, Katie. Or maybe whatever babies wear, little dresses or whatever.”

  She looked up into his face, her heart light in her chest. “That would be good, John. I can practice on them a little bit. Never made anything so small, but I guess I could learn.”

  He laughed softly. “I think you could do most anything you set your hand to, sweetheart.” Without another word, he led her to the counter where stacks of yard goods wrapped around cardboard bolts lay, luring ladies closer. And Katie was no exception, for the wealth of fabric was like a wonderland to her, various prints and plaids of all colors, striped material and solid pieces mixed.

  “Jane, come look at this,” she said, catching her sister’s attention and drawing her close with a wave of her hand. “Do you like this flowered material or the striped one better?”

  Jane stood back, clenching her hands by her sides, as if she would keep them from the temptation of touching the wealth of material on offer. “They’re all pretty, Katie. Are you planning on getting something for a new dress?”

  “She’s gonna make a new dress for you, Jane,” John said firmly. “And one for herself, too. She’s going to need a different sort of dress before too long.” And with that he shot Katie a look that spoke of the secret between them.

  “John said you could pick out something, Jane. And we can buy stuff for a nightgown for you, too. Mine is too short for you. You’ll be needing one of your own.”

  For indeed, Jane had worn Katie’s old gown to bed, and being a few inches taller than her sister, the length was off. Even with the hem let down, it only reached midcalf.

  “A new dress?” As if the offer was not to be believed, Jane’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a soft O of surprise. “I don’t mean to be any trouble, John,” she said softly.

  “You’re no trouble at all, girl. You’re Katie’s sister and as such, you’re my responsibility, too.”

  She stepped closer to where Katie stood, her eyes filling with tears as she reached out to touch a bolt of fabric. “This is right pretty,” she said, her fingers seeming to treasure the simple cotton, rubbing back and forth as if it were the finest silk or satin.

  “Do you think that four yards will be enough?” Katie asked. “You bought material before from the store, sometimes when I wasn’t here with you. I’m thinking that it takes about five yards for a nightgown, but—”

  “Get whatever you need, Katie. Just pick it out and Shandy can have his daughter cut it for you. Choose a couple of prints for Jane and something for yourself. And don’t forget the thread or whatever else you’ll need.” John turned away after issuing orders and Shandy called to his girl in the back room, inviting her to come out and be of service.

  Jessica Peterson came out from the storeroom, nodding at Jane and Katie alike and then joining in the fun of choosing what would make up well into dresses for the pair of them.

  “If you’d rather, you can pick out something ready-made, Katie,” he told her quietly. “I don’t mind paying a little extra for you not to have to do all that sewing.”

  “Oh, John. It’ll be fun. Me and Jane will have a good time.” Her smile gave him assurance, and he seemed to be agreeable, for he nodded and waved at the piles on the counter.

  “You got a couple of boxes I can put this stuff in, Shandy? I’ll get it out to the wagon while the girls do their shopping.”

  In no time, the food was gathered together, John and Shandy carrying it easily to the wagon in front of the store, and Katie stood with Jane and Jessica, making the decisions that loomed before them. Jane hung back, not willing to take advantage and Katie laughed at her reticence.

  “Come on, Jane. If John didn’t want us to get all this stuff, he wouldn’t have offered.” And so they picked and chose, Jessica measuring and cutting fabric at their bidding, until four pieces lay before them, matching thread and a card of buttons in each color needed added to the pile.

  “I’ve never felt so rich in my life,” Jane said softly as Jessica added up the purchases.

  “That’s the way John makes me feel every day,” Katie told her firmly. “It’s like I’m living in a dream most of the time.”

  “I’ll work hard to earn it out,” Jane said. “Maybe I can do stuff in the house for Berta to help. I don’t want John to think I’m taking advantage.”

  “He won’t,” Katie said blithely, more confident than ever now in her position as John’s wife, his pleasure in the thought of a child being born to them buoying her self-assurance.

  Jane carried the package by her side as they left the store, then held it on her lap once they were atop the wagon’s seat.

  “You can put it in the back if you want to,” John said with a quick glance at the bulky bundle.

  “No, I don’t mind holding it,” Jane said, exchanging a smile with Katie.

  And so wrapped up in their happiness were they that the sight of a man on horseback in front of sheriff’s office didn’t register in their minds.

  SATURDAY BROUGHT MRS. RICE to visit again and Katie and Jane were caught up for most of the afternoon with her books and papers. She brought them supplies to use for their schoolwork, and suggested to John firmly that Jane attend school more often in town, once the new school year began in a month or so.

  “I’m not real fond of her traveling alone on the back roads,” John said carefully.

  “I think I have some idea of the girls’ problems,” Mrs. Rice said quietly. “But if it could be done, Jane needs to be in school this fall more than she was in the spring. She’s entering her last year of school, and I’ve done all I can for her. If she can go on to the State Normal College next year it would ensure her a position in teaching. Perhaps not in this area, but certainly somewhere close by in the territory.”

  “We’ll see what we can do,” John said, leaving an opening for himself.

  THE SUMMER REACHED AN END with a final display of tomatoes to be canned and put into the pantry for winter, the end of the green beans picked and awaiting Mason jars to be filled with their bounty. Beets were pickled and canned, carrots pulled from the ground and placed in piles in the fruit cellar under the big house, along with piles of potatoes that would provide nourishing meals all winter long.

  Katie was weary at night when she crawled into her bed, for carrying a child was a task all of its own, and added to it now were the preparations for winter that were a housewife’s due. She and Jane worked diligently at the duties that were implicit in running a household, cleaning a final time before winter should come and find them penned indoors. Under Berta’s watchful eye, for she was much like a mother hen when it came to Katie’s well-being, they washed curtains and turned mattresses, hung the rugs over the line and used a carpet beater to clean them of dust before they laid them once more on the floors.

  It was a satisfying time, a time of preparation for the long months of winter and Katie knew that soon Jane would not be there on a daily basis, but would be going to
school as often as possible in order to complete her final year.

  Their sewing was accomplished in the evenings, sitting near the fireplace, fabric in their laps, needles flashing as they sewed seams and hems for their new clothing. John deemed it necessary for Jane to have a new winter coat, and he helped her choose one in the general store. Determined to treat the two women in his household as they deserved, he bought boots for each of them, and a soft pair of house shoes to be worn once they came in the back door and removed their outdoor clothing.

  Katie was filling out, her waist having lost the battle and growing at a rapid pace. She touched the rounded area beneath her apron frequently, rejoicing in the knowledge that she nurtured a small being within herself. It was a time of contemplation, of planning for the future, and she worked with Jane to sew small gowns for the child that would soon be in their midst, who would make his or her presence known in a mighty way before winter’s end.

  She spoke to Berta at length about her expanding belly, about the timing of events and between them it was decided that the child would make an appearance in late January or early February. Berta’s own sewing took on new life, for she was working diligently on hemming diapers and making small blankets that would enclose a tiny baby in their folds.

  The movement of her child was a revelation to Katie, and she spent long moments with a hand against the rounding in her lap, feeling the movement inside, aware of small hands and feet that made their movements known to the woman who held such a treasure within her being.

  It was a time of enlightenment, for she and John became closer than before, his big hand resting against her at night, waiting patiently for a sign of the child that made his presence noticed on a regular basis. For John was sure that she was to bear a boy, a son for him to rear and train and raise as his own father had done with him. Katie on the other hand was determined that her child should be a girl, that she would have the joy of braiding long hair, of dressing her child in skirts and sharing long hours with a girl child of her loins. Perhaps know the joy her own mother must have felt as she cared for her child.

  Jane rode one of the horses to school almost daily, John escorting her some days when it was imperative that he go into town on errands for Bill Stanley. Other days, he simply rode beside her until they were within sight of the school, then he watched her until she had arrived safely before he headed for home and the chores that awaited him there. A long talk with the sheriff just outside of town one such day gave John reason to be fearful, for the lawman told him news of Jacob Schrader. The man had been asking around town for information on Jane, telling folks that she’d run off and he was certain she was with Katie out at the Stanley ranch.

  The sheriff said that the man was angry, had made threats against John for his part in giving shelter to Jane, robbing Jacob of her much-needed help on the farm. All of which made John even more careful, more watchful over Jane in her trips back and forth to the school.

  Winter was a quiet time on the ranch, but there was always the mending of tack, the repairing of stalls and the care and feeding of mares and heifers who would be bearing young in the spring. The men hauled hay to the fields for the cattle to eat when the snow covered the grassy areas, then brought the animals closer to the barns when the weather grew too cold and snowy for them to stay warm in the fields.

  A load of lumber was brought from the mill in town one day, deposited near the cabin by the men who had hauled it to the ranch. Katie watched as they carried the long two-by-fours, the lengths of boards that would make up walls and the roof of an addition to the cabin, and rejoiced that their living space would soon be expanded. John said that they needed another bedroom for Jane’s use, and their own room should be enlarged for a crib to hold the baby.

  Bill Stanley hired on another man to help with the building project, an Indian from the Dakota tribe, a man who hailed from Holly Hill, twenty miles or so to the west. His name was Gray Wolf and he came well recommended, for he had worked with several carpenters building houses over the past five years or so. He was a tall man, stalwart and clean, and John took to him immediately, as if he’d known him for years.

  Gray Wolf spoke of his sister and her husband, who farmed near Holly Hill, and told of his life on the reservation, but of late he’d been working on homes and businesses that were going up apace in the Territory. Men and women were moving from the East almost daily it seemed, and there was good money to be made in the building of homes for the newcomers.

  Gray Wolf stayed in the bunkhouse with the men and made himself useful in several ways, riding out when an extra hand was needed and when the building was underway, he assumed leadership of the work being done. The men followed his lead without question, for he was obviously well trained in his work.

  His help was invaluable, Bill Stanley said, and he praised the man to the skies, telling him he was welcome to stay on at the ranch for the winter, even after the building was completed.

  The lumber for the addition lay in the weather for less than a week when the men gathered one morning to begin the work. Katie cooked all morning to feed them, for she felt compelled to bring them en masse into her kitchen for their noon meal. Berta came out to the small cabin to lend a hand and together they put beef and vegetables into a big kettle, then added dumplings on top to make a stew for the hearty appetites of the crew who spent the morning hard at work.

  The kitchen bulged with men, the table crammed with their bodies around it, chairs brought from the big house to be used, for Katie and John did not have enough to hold all the crew. They ate rapidly, all of them anxious to get back to the work they had begun, for the framework was up and one wall almost completed. That the cabin would be almost doubled in size was apparent, and Katie reveled in the additional room she would have available for their use.

  Gray Wolf’s gaze seemed to settle on Jane often, his dark eyes watchful as she moved about the kitchen. Katie thought he was rather taken with Jane, for she noted him watching her sister on more than one occasion, his gaze ever respectful as he followed her progress about the ranch. And yet, Jane seemed to be oblivious to him, treating him in a reserved manner as she did all the other men.

  Now that Katie and Jane were sewing and preparing for a child to be born, they had needed a new chest of drawers, and John purchased one from the catalog, having it sent to the general store and then brought home in a wagon. They filled the drawers rapidly with small items of clothing, blankets and diapers.

  Christmas was a holiday for rejoicing this year, and Katie welcomed it with open arms, for never had she found so much to be thankful for. The time of celebration was filled with happiness and the shirt she had sewn for John was welcomed with a grin and an immediate trial run, for he must put it on and be certain the buttons and buttonholes matched properly, he said.

  As for Katie, she was the recipient of new mittens and a long scarf from Berta, Jane receiving the same items from Berta’s knitting needles. John’s scarf was brown, matching his eyes, and he wore it about his neck on a daily basis, pleasing Berta no end.

  A baby’s crib was brought into the house on Christmas eve, from the barn where the men had worked on it for the past weeks. Formed of oak, it boasted multiple bars that attached both top and bottom to the sides of the bed, with a mattress purchased from the catalog filling it neatly. Katie had made sheets to fit the small bed, tucking them in carefully, hemming a pillowcase for the feather pillow Berta said was to be used by the newborn.

  They had a tree, a small spruce that filled one corner of the main room of the cabin, and decorated it with candles and a few choice ornaments that John had determined they should buy from the store. Made of blown glass and painted with sparkling gold and silver stripes, they were a delight to the two women who had never seen such a thing to be enjoyed at this time of the year.

  The addition to the cabin was completed after the first of the year, curtains made to fit the new windows and a braided rug put together from rags Berta found in the ragbag in t
he big house. Evenings found Jane and Katie braiding the strands of fabric together, sewing the ends of pieces to form long strips and then sewing the braid in a circular form to make a rug for the new rooms.

  The excitement of readying a bedroom for Jane’s use was a pleasure for Katie, for she knew that Jane would appreciate a room of her own in which to keep her things neat and tidy. She had made do with so little in her life, and now she found herself in possession of a small bedroom called her own, a bed made by the men in the barn for her use, a chest of drawers from the catalog, purchased by John and given to her with a flourish as a gift to his “sister.” Jane had cried at the gesture and been the recipient of a hug and a kiss on the cheek from Katie’s husband.

  Now they awaited the birth of a child, Katie’s body swollen almost beyond recognition, her belly enlarged until she thought it would surely burst. Her breasts were readying themselves for the child to come, and she looked forward to the time of nursing her baby and rocking in the chair John had purchased for her use.

  It was late January when an aching in her back soon transmitted itself to a nagging pain that came and went with irregular timing. Katie was silent, not wanting John to be worried before time, and when Jane went to school one morning, she watched them leave the ranch and then returned to her work. Wanting to have the house as clean as it could be before she took to her bed, she scrubbed the floor and blacked the stove during the morning hours.

  The pantry needed to be sorted out, she decided, and the afternoon was given over to that project, lifting jars of canned foods from one shelf to another until it met her standards. It was time and past for Jane to return from school and Katie watched the long lane to the main road for the sight of Jane astride the mare she rode. John had deemed it safe for her to come home on her own, after escorting her in the morning to the edge of town, and now Katie began to fidget, knowing that Jane was late, that it was beyond time for her to arrive.

  John was out on the range, feeding the cattle from the hayloft, the men having loaded up the hay wagon after dinner and then made their way north to where the steers were penned. She watched for his return, impatient for him to arrive so that she could tell him of her fears for Jane. But he did not come and she began to fret overmuch about him. Perhaps the men had run into trouble, maybe the steers had needed to be brought closer to the barns and the men were herding them in a southerly direction.