Her Believing Heart (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 1)

by Vicki Hunt Budge

  Mrs. Stribling stopped reading and looked over her glasses to Nellie and Lucretia. She winked, and said, “I think you young girls are perfectly grand. Don’t let my sister’s words dishearten you.”

  The older woman went on reading loudly enough for the women clear across the room to hear. When she finished, Lucretia let out a small cough, as though relieved to be at the end of the letter, but Mrs. Stribling wasn’t quite finished.

  “P. S. Here’s a scrap of fabric from a dress I had made. Add it to one of your quilts to remember me by.” Mrs. Stribling then produced a folded swatch of purple fabric from her pocket. She patted the fabric to her cheek before unfolding it and holding it up for the girls to admire.

  After the letter recitation, the room quickly buzzed with multiple conversations again.

  “Are you going to the dance Saturday night?” Lucretia asked, keeping her voice low as though she didn’t want Mrs. Stribling to join in their conversation.

  “Absolutely,” Nellie said. “I love to dance!”

  “I’ll make sure my brother dances with you, and some of his friends too.”

  Nellie nearly burst out laughing. She didn’t need Lucretia to arrange dances for her. In fact, she wished she didn’t have to dance with so many boys and could dance more with Evan.

  “I just want to keep that Evan Howell away from you,” Lucretia said. “We need to make it clear to him that you’re not interested.”

  “But what if I am interested?”

  Lucretia gasped and covered her mouth. Then leaning close to Nellie, she whispered. “Don’t you know his father comes and goes as he pleases and never supports his family? My mother says Evan will turn out just like his pa. Like father, like son, you know. You don’t want to marry someone that leaves his wife and family for months and years at a time, never supporting them. You’d be penniless for the rest of your life.”

  “Of course, I don’t want to marry someone like Evan’s father,” Nellie said, “but I don’t think Evan is like him.”

  Lucretia leaned in closer, whispering again. “Oh, he will be. My mother says he’ll turn out to be just like his pa because character traits are passed from parent to child. I’d stay as far away from him as I could if I were you. Think of your future children, if not yourself.”

  Nellie pursed her lips, wondering if what Lucretia said could possibly be true. Perhaps she should quit thinking about Evan so much. Perhaps she should consider George Jepson as a suitor. George seemed to like her. And whoever married Lucretia’s brother was sure to have a secure family life since his father owned the mercantile.

  2

  Evan Howell stretched his back, took out his neckerchief, and wiped sweat and dirt from his face. He chuckled, picturing Nellie managing the work horses with the gentleness of a woman, and yet handling the harnesses as competently as any man. He had never known a girl as strong as her, or as hard-working. Well, his mother, but his mother worked harder than most women, taking in laundry, sewing, and baking for people because she had to. It seemed like Nellie enjoyed work, and she was certainly full of energy.

  “What are you over there chuckling about?” Charlie asked. He straightened from working around a potato plant and looked Evan’s way.

  Evan shook his head, embarrassed at any chance that Charlie could read his mind.

  “Come on, let’s take a rest, and get some water.” Charlie started walking off the field and motioned for Evan to follow. They walked over to the pump and filled tin cups with cool water, then relaxed in the shade of a nearby cottonwood tree.

  Evan gulped his water, and then leaned back, looking through bright green leaves to the blue sky above. He maneuvered his shoulders into the cool grass until they relaxed. With a sigh, he closed his eyes.

  “You’re pretty sweet on Nellie,” Charlie said about the time Evan felt himself drifting off to sleep.

  “What?” Evan’s eyes flew open, and then he chuckled again. Surely Charlie hadn’t read his mind.

  “I’ve even heard Ma and Pa talking about the way you look at her with your puppy-dog eyes.”

  Evan sat up and roared with laughter. “I didn’t think it was that obvious,” he said. “But you know I’ve liked Nellie since the three of us went to school together when you were still in short-cut pants.”

  “I never wore short-cut pants to school.”

  Evan smirked. “I seem to remember—”

  “You remember that I was a whole lot shorter than you or Nellie when we moved here, but I never wore short-cut pants. You’re just jealous because I’m taller than both you and Nellie now.”

  Evan laughed again, happy that he had turned the teasing to his favor. But it was true that by the time Evan had stopped growing at nineteen, Charlie had already exceeded him in height, reaching well over six feet. “It is getting hard to remember when I was taller than you,” Evan said, frowning and acting contrite.

  “Going back to the subject of Nellie, what are your intentions?” Charlie asked.

  “Whoa!” Evan grabbed his chest. “Nothing like being direct. Are you the father here, or simply Nellie’s pesky little brother?”

  Charlie grinned. “I’m looking out for my twin. She may be the oldest by three minutes, but I’m her only brother. With eight sisters in the family, I take my role as big brother seriously.”

  Evan picked a blade of grass and threw it off to the side. How had Charlie turned the conversation from some good-natured ribbing to something more serious? “Can we have this conversation after the survey?” Spending every day for weeks around Nellie and part of her family was going to give Evan a feel for how Nellie and her folks truly regarded him. “With my family background, I’m not exactly a prime candidate for your father’s daughter, you know.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only candidate,” Charlie said.

  Evan punched his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, Charlie. You have no idea what your approval means to me.” Then, because the conversation had taken such a heavy turn, Evan added, “We’d better get back to work. I intend to finish a good portion of this field before your pa comes out to join us.”

  Evan went back to hoeing potatoes with a new enthusiasm. Charlie’s endorsement meant the world to him. Evan had wanted to ask for Nellie’s hand for months now, or at least ask if he could court her. But he was afraid. Mr. Gardner was one of the most successful farmers in the area, and with his surveying jobs on the side, he prospered more than anyone in the community except for a few other families. He likely wouldn’t want Nellie to marry someone with Evan’s family background. Even though Nellie worked hard with her family, she was also used to living in a lovely home with nice furnishings and attractive clothes.

  As good as Mr. Gardner was to him, it didn’t mean the man would approve of his oldest daughter marrying the poorest kid in town. Even if Evan promised to wait until he turned twenty-one and could homestead in the area, it might not impress Mr. Gardner.

  And then there was Nellie. Nellie liked him. Evan felt sure of that. They had been friends for years, but would she want to marry him? Evan didn’t know. He didn’t know if the next few weeks of working on the survey would help his situation, or hurt it, but when he prayed about it, he felt encouraged.

  By late afternoon, Mr. Gardner had finished his projects in the workshop and was out hoeing potatoes alongside Evan and Charlie. He commented about how much weeding they had accomplished, and gave them other words of approval. After two more hours of grueling work by the men, Gunner, the family’s black and white border collie, leaped from the front porch and raced down the farm road.

  Mr. Gardner leaned on his hoe. “Look who’s coming up the road,” he said.

  Nellie brought Sage and Venus up to the side of the field and stopped the wagon. Mr. Gardner walked over to talk to his girls, and Charlie followed. “Come on, Evan,” Charlie called out. “Take a break! Let’s see what the girls have to say.”

  Evan trudged toward the wagon. He didn’t want to stop working and have Nel
lie’s father to think him a loafer. Besides, he was covered in dirt. He raised his eyes to the wagon and found Nellie looking at him, a gentle smile on her face.

  “We’ll get busy the minute we get in the house and change our clothes,” Mrs. Gardner said to her husband. “We’ll have supper on the table in less than two hours. You’re welcome to join us, Evan.”

  Evan’s eyes widened, and a piece of dirt settled inside one of them, causing him to blink several times. He took off his worn gloves, and pulled at the side of his eye with a dirty finger. He couldn’t go in to the Gardner home and eat with Nellie and her family when he was covered with dirt. It didn’t matter that Charlie was also covered in dirt. When Evan looked up again, everyone in the Gardner family was looking at him expectantly.

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” Evan said, still trying to blink the dirt out of his eye. “That is kind of you to offer, but I’d better finish my work and head on home. Ma will be expecting me, and so will the girls.”

  Evan took the long way home after he finished working. He was tired after running most of the way to the Gardner home in the morning, helping with the tools and farm animals, and then hoeing weeds for the rest of the day. His back ached and he had blisters on his hands in spite of his gloves. He didn’t do any running on the way home.

  The long way home included a detour to a thick patch of aspen trees along the creek and away from any homesteads. The aspens concealed a natural swimming hole, and Evan couldn’t wait to slip out of his clothes and into the cold water. He didn’t worry about anyone else showing up during the supper hour, but he still stripped out of his clothes behind some bushes, and hid them behind a rock.

  Even though Evan didn’t expect any trouble, he was anxious to wash up and get his money home to his mother. Nellie’s father had taken him aside before he left their place and paid him for the day’s work. “You’re a fine worker, Evan,” Mr. Gardner had said, pulling a wad of bills out of his pocket. “For this week, I’ll pay you by the day so you can take care of any financial obligations you need to handle before we head out for the survey next week. Once we start the survey job, I’ll pay you at the end of the job, if that’s fine by you.”

  Evan’s face had registered shock at seeing so much money for one day’s worth of work. It had been a long, hard day, he’d admit, but he appreciated the money more than he could say. “Thank you, Mr. Gardner,” he had said, practically stumbling over the words. “My ma will surely appreciate this.”

  Evan walked upstream from his clothes where a deep hole awaited, and slipped into the cold water. Once he caught his breath, he turned and floated on his back, letting his sore muscles relax. The only sounds were gurgling water and birds trilling overhead until a jackrabbit crashed through the brush. Evan jerked so quickly, water splashed into his face. Coughing and snorting, he scrubbed as best he could, and then climbed out of the creek. He shook his head like a dog, and walked back to his clothes.

  What was left of the sun was hidden by the trees, causing Evan to shiver as he dressed. He, patted the pocket in his coveralls to make sure the money was still there, and headed home. After the soak in the creek and the feel of a full day’s pay in his pocket, he stepped out with vigor.

  The sun sank completely behind the mountains to the west as Evan walked into town toward his home. He’d almost made it to his street when a buggy passed him and then stopped. George Jepson waited for him to catch up.

  “Hey there, Evan,” George said, leaning out of the buggy. “I heard a rumor today that you’re working fulltime for Mr. Gardner. Going on a survey job even.”

  Evan wasn’t sure what to say. George was a year younger than him, but they had never gotten along. George came from one of the wealthiest families in town, and he had never let Evan forget it, nor the fact that Evan’s family was the poorest. Evan didn’t say anything. He simply tightened his jaw, nodded, and kept walking.

  George flicked the reins to keep his horse plodding along. He grinned at Evan like they were suddenly best friends. “Some of my friends and I are starting a game of poker Saturday night after the dance. Want to join us since you’re rolling in dough? I’m sure with your cleverness, you’ll be able to double your money before the end of the night. And we won’t care if you do, because we all have access to more money the following day.”

  Did George know Evan had cash in his pocket? He seemed to reference the fact that Evan had been the best scholar when they’d been in school, especially in math. George’s last comment also reminded Evan of his place in the community, that George and his friends had access to money because they had prominent fathers.

  “No, thanks,” Evan snarled.

  “What’s the matter? Think you’re too good to play with the big boys? If your pa was here, he’d join us in a moment.”

  Evan balled his hands into fists. “Well, my pa’s not here,” he snapped, and kept walking.

  “Think it over,” George called out. “Great chance to double your money!”

  “I’ve thought it over since I was a boy,” Evan mumbled as he turned down his street. “Made a promise to Ma that I’d never gamble when I grew big enough to get a job.”

  Evan stopped by the Jones’s, his neighbors to the south of his home. “Hey there! How you folks doing?” he called through their open front door. “Need anything before I go on home?”

  “Thank you for stopping by,” Mrs. Jones said as she slowly walked to the door. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had been like grandparents to Evan and his sisters, looking out for Evan’s family over the years. “We’re getting by pretty well today. If I could just get Mr. Jones here to quit working in the garden a little earlier, he might last longer. The man is completely worn out. But he promised me he’d go to bed early tonight.”

  “Tell him to take care of himself,” Evan said, grinning. “We need him to be healthy so he can keep playing the organ for the Saturday night dances.”

  “Won’t you come in for a few minutes, Evan?”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Jones, but I’d better get on home. I’ve been gone all day working for the Gardner family.”

  Mrs. Jones chuckled. “I’d bet you’re starving after all that hard work.”

  “You’d be right,” Evan said, and stepped off their porch. “I’ll talk to Ma and have a couple of the girls come over to help in your garden tomorrow. Ma likes to keep the girls busy working for her or for the neighbors.”

  “That’d be right kind of you, Evan.” Mrs. Jones smiled softly. “Your ma . . . she’s the best neighbor in Clover Creek.”

  Evan doffed his cap and continued on his way, a smile lighting his face. Stopping to talk to Mrs. Jones had replaced the sour feeling he’d had when talking to George Jepson. It wasn’t much further to his house, and he couldn’t wait to get home. His home was a small cabin with a high-pitched roof in need of repair and windows on both sides of the door. Inside, a wooden ladder led up to the loft where his sisters slept. His mother slept in a small room off the kitchen, and Evan slept on the kitchen floor.

  “Evan’s home!” one of his sister’s yelled as Evan approached the cabin. Soon he was smothered with hugs from all four sisters and his mother.

  “We’re just sitting down to eat,” Mrs. Howell said. “You must be famished.”

  Evan grinned and nodded his head. “I’ve looked forward to a bowl of your beans and good bread all day.”

  After the family prayed, the girls filled Evan in on their day while they ate. He told them about the jackrabbit crashing through the brush and scaring him, causing him to inhale a bunch of creek water. “I thought a bunch of ruffians were after my clothes,” he added, laughing as he told the story. He didn’t mention how frightened he’d been about losing his hard-earned money if someone had been after his clothes. He also didn’t tell them about George Jepson trying to get him to gamble with the money he’d just earned.

  Evan’s two oldest sisters cleaned the kitchen after they finished their meal. The two younger girls sat across the room and played cat’s cradle w
ith some yellow yarn. Evan and his mother sat at the kitchen table, quietly talking about the best way to use the money that Evan counted out.

  “I’ll go to the bank first thing in the morning and make a deposit on one of the back payments we owe on this house,” Mrs. Howell said. “Mr. Myers will be so happy to see this and know more money is coming later in the week. I won’t give all of this money to the bank though. I’ll pay part of our debt at the mercantile with some of it.”

  “When I get back from this survey job, we’ll pay off Jepson’s mercantile and order new shoes for everyone,” Evan said. It bothered him that he had already ordered new boots for himself but no shoes for his sisters. Mr. Gardner had told him he’d need good sturdy boots for traipsing over the rough terrain where the survey crew was going.

  Mrs. Howell blinked back tears as she gathered up the money. “Thank you, Evan,” she said. “The older girls want to go to the dance with you Saturday night. Do you think it would be okay if I saved out enough money from this to buy fabric so they can make new dresses?”

  “Absolutely,” Evan said, patting his mother’s hand. “I’m going to make enough money this summer to get us out of debt. And we’ll have extra for things we’ve been going without. You watch and see.”

  Tears filled his mother’s eyes again. “Are you sure you want me to spend all your money on your sisters and me?” she asked.

  Evan held his hand out as though to block any of the money coming back to him. “It’s your money, Ma. I’ll be making this much more tomorrow and every day till Sunday. The Gardner family doesn’t work on Sundays, except to take care of their animals.”