Jessie

by Lori Wick

  "Don't misunderstand me, Sabrina," Rylan said, his arms holding her close. "It would be very hard to watch our child struggle with some physical affliction, but just like you had to learn to trust God for everything when you came to Token Creek, we would learn to trust God for the baby's needs as well as our own."

  Bri put her arms around her husband and held him right back. She was challenged and encouraged by his words, and she knew what he said was exactly right. She also suspected he was right about her expecting another child and how wonderful that news would be to share.

  When they both relaxed enough to doze off, neither one could say, but Danny was suddenly awake, sounds coming from his crib. Rylan went to get him, and Bri started on the hot dish she needed for that night. They were having dinner with Chas Vick, one of the church elders, and his family, and she was taking a dish to share. She would have to ask Rylan if they would be sharing their news as well.

  Cassidy watched Trace and Joey leave and then tried to summon the energy to do something about the dishes. Sheknew it wasn't important, but she enjoyed cleaning and thought it might relax her. She was wrong. She hadn't even had a chance to heat water for the washing when a pain hit. Cassidy held on to the edge of the dining room table and tried to breathe.

  60Well, now,she said to the Lord,I think it's going to be today. Every time I think of how long Joey took to arrive, I dread this. Please, Lord, help me to see this as a blessing. Help me not to count the hours until I'm comfortable but to rest in You.

  Cassidy was still praying when the pain eased and she made her way to the living room. She knew Trace would help her upstairs when he returned and for the moment let herself be lazy.

  "Cassidy?" Trace suddenly called, having gone to the bottom of the stairs on his return.

  "Over here," she said on a laugh. "I don't know how I didn't hear you come in."

  "Why are you in here?" Trace asked, sitting on the edge of the sofa.

  "Because I'm being lazy and want you to carry me upstairs."

  "I can't lift you when you're this big," Trace said, and laughter burst out of Cassidy. It was such an outrageous thing for him to say and completely unexpected. "And besides," he added, eyes twinkling, "you haven't done the dishes."

  "I was working on them when I had a contraction."

  "How long ago?"

  "I don't know," Cassidy said, looking drowsy and content, something that didn't last for more than ten minutes. She didn't end up going directly upstairs as the pains were slow in coming, but Cassidy was right: This was the day. A baby girl was born just before midnight.

  Jeanette Fulbright's buggy headed out of Token Creek and to the Holden Ranch first thing Monday morning. She had received word the day before that Cassidy was in labor, and when no word came before bedtime about a birth, she headed that way in the morning.

  It was cold out, but the wind was calm and that made a difference. Not until she pulled under the wooden archway that said Holden Ranch did Jeanette realize she would be glad to get indoors. Swinging past

  61Brad and Meg's house, Jeanette stopped in front of Trace and Cassidy's, pleased when her nephew came right out.

  "A girl!" he said, his face beaming.

  "Oh, Trace!" Jeanette cried, the two hugging before Trace could even give her a hand down. "How is Cass?"

  "Doing great. Settled in the living room under a pile of blankets." "Already out of bed?" Jeanette asked, looking concerned as the two headed inside.

  "She feels good, and I carried her down."

  "What does Joey think?"

  "You'll have to see for yourself"

  Jeanette headed into the living room to find Cassidy on the sofa, her legs on a hassock. Beside herandholding his sister was Joey. Trace followed Jeanette inside, and before she could even greet the family, Cassidy spoke. "Come in and meet Jeanette Theta Holden," she invited.

  For several long minutes Jeanette could not speak. She came near to the sofa, her eyes on Cassidy's lovely face, before swinging to Joey and the baby. Even then she couldn't find words.

  "Joey, can you tell Grandma what we're going to call the baby?" Cassidy invited, using the name they had decided the children would call Trace's aunt.

  "Netty," the little boy said.

  Jeanette put her arms around Cassidy and simply held her. Cassidy hugged her back, giving her time to collect herself.

  "She crying?" Joey suddenly asked.

  "Yes," Trace said, taking this question, "but she's not sad. She's just happy and excited about the baby."

  Trace knew that Joey had no idea what that meant, but in time he would learn. He didn't question his father again, but Trace could see he was growing a bit restless. Jeanette was just containing herself when Trace tucked the baby into the crook of one arm.

  "Sit here, Jeanette." Trace invited her to take the spot Joey had just vacated. "Someone is waiting to meet you."

  Jeanette could not stop smiling as she held the newest family member

  62in her arms. Tiny and adorable, with dark hair and brows, Netty Holden had a rosebud mouth and a round face. Her face was a little red in places, but everyone knew that would fade.

  "Netty," her mother spoke softly, "are you going to wake up and meet Grandma Jeanette?"

  Everyone smiled when she made absolutely no move of any kind. Jeanette watched her for a moment more and then began to talk to Trace and Cassidy.

  "So how was it?"

  "Long," Trace said, his voice dry. "I thought the second time around went faster."

  "I tried to tell him that wasn't always the case," Cassidy put in.

  "It has been with Meg," Trace said, "and she didn't spend much

  time with Savanna or Cathryn. Brad will be afraid to leave her alone

  for the next one," Trace said.

  "Have they been here?" Jeanette asked.

  "Just before you came."

  Joey climbed back onto the sofa then, standing in stocking feet next to Jeanette. He had a toy to show to Jeanette, and she was careful to give him her full attention.

  Netty never did wake up, but Jeanette stayed for a longtime, enjoying each child._ She still missed her sister, the real grandmother to these children. But not a day went by that if Theta Holden had to be gone, Jeanette didn't thank God that He'd left her in her place.

  "Is Grandma coming?" three-and-a-half-year-old Savanna asked her mother when Jeanette's carriage could still be seen at the other house.

  "I'm sure she'll stop in," Meg said, cleaning two-year-old Cathryn's hands and face. She had just given them a late breakfast and was working on the dishes. Brad had already headed to the barn and quite possibly out to the range.

  "When will we see Netty more?"

  63"Maybe this afternoon. I think Joey might come here for his nap again, and then we can see Netty when we take him home."

  Savanna went back to the wooden horses she was playing with, and Meg kept an eye on Cathryn to see where she would end up. The toddler's attention was suddenly taken with the butter churn in the corner, and Meg knew that would keep Cathryn busy for a time.

  Meg took full advantage, even going so far as to work on dinner and make plans for supper. If Jeanette was coming this morning and Joey this afternoon, she had plenty to get done in the meantime.

  "Tell me everything," Heather, who lived with Jeanette, invited as soon as Jeanette arrived home.

  "A girl! And wait until you hear the name: Jeanette Theta. They'll call her Netty."

  Heather looked as pleased as she felt. She was the woman Jeanette had hired more than ten years ago to see to Brad and Trace's mother. She had even written a book about Theta Holden after she died. So far no one had wanted to publish it, but since it was also a book about the things she learned from caring for Theta and the way she'd grown in her trust of God, it didn't bother her. Just writing it had made for a time of healing, and that was all that mattered to Heather.

  "What did I miss?" Becky asked, coming from the kitchen. She had been cooking and taking care o
f the house for Jeanette for more years than anyone could remember.

  "A girl!" Heather said. "Jeanette Theta."

  Tears filled Becky's eyes, and that started the other women. Whenever Becky cried it made them all cry as tears were a rather new thing for the cook. Just a few years earlier, Bri Jarvik had come into their lives when she was still Bri Matthews. Her new faith in Christ and love for all had touched Becky in a way she'd never known before. After years of watching Jeanette and Heather go off to church, she suddenly wanted to join them. The change had gone all the way to

  64her heart. For the first time Becky admitted her need for a Savior and repented to God.

  "Is Cassie all right?" Becky finally managed.

  "Yes. She's already downstairs, comfortable in the living room. And you won't believe how close I came to forgetting the food!" Jeanette remembered. "Trace came out to meet me when I got there, and then I was seeing the baby, and then I went over to Brad and Meg's, and I came within an inch of bringing it all back home."

  Heather and Becky laughed at her expression before Becky said that dinner was almost on. Over the meal Jeanette told the women each and every detail, not just about the baby but about Joey and about Brad's girls too. By the time she was finished, they felt almost as if they'd visited the ranch with her.

  Bri was at the mercantile first thing Tuesday morning, Danny in tow. Jessie was in the rear but called a greeting. As soon as she heard Bri's voice, she came to the front.

  "Hi, Danny," Jessie greeted, wasting no time in taking the baby from his mother. "How are you?" she asked fondly, kissing his round cheek as she removed his hat. "Hi, Bri," Jessie finally remembered to add, and that woman laughed.

  "You become invisible when you bring a baby into the room," Bri said dryly. "Have you ever noticed that?"

  "Try being Clancy's mother. That child draws attention like flies." "She's a charmer," Bri agreed.

  "Big list today?"

  "Not bad, but I'm out of a few things."

  "Do you want help?" Jessie offered. Bri had worked for her in the past and knew her way around the store.

  "Not if you want to keep holding Danny."

  Jessie only smiled, and Bri got busy. She stacked things on the front counter where Jessie kept a list going, and then put them in her bag.

  65"Do you miss the girls when they're at school?" Bri asked on one trip to the register.

  "By the end of the day, yes. It's nice to have the morning to get things cleaned up and organized with no interruptions, but by afternoon I can't wait to see them."

  "Summer will be here before we have a chance to blink."

  "That's certain. We'll change from cries of 'too cold' to 'too hot!" "It's always hard to imagine too hot on a day like this," Bri added,

  heading back down the aisles.

  "The girls are going to be sorry they missed you," Jessie said to Danny as he tried to put a box of yeast cakes into his mouth.

  "Come for supper," Bri invited, still gathering items.

  "I just put a pot of soup on. Why don't you three come here?"

  "All right," Bri said, arriving back with her last item. "What time, and what shall I bring?"

  The women put the details together for the night before Bri paid and gathered her son and bag. Much too soon it was time to head back out into the cold.

  Before Cassidy married Trace, she had opened a small business in town, Token Creek Apparel. For a time she ran it on her own, but then Jeanette Fulbright came to work for her. Token Creek supported the business well, and when Cassidy got married, Jeanette purchased it from her and took over, opening the shop door to the public four days a week. Heather worked with her now, and on Wednesday morning when the shop opened, both women were busy inside.

  They were working on several orders at the moment, but they weren't swamped. Cold weather, they had learned, was not the most conducive to business, but they were busy enough. This is the way Rylan found them when he stopped in on his way to the livery.

  "Good morning, ladies."

  66"Good morning, Rylan. Come in and warm up a bit," Jeanette invited. She was nearest the stove, and Heather was at the sewing machine.

  "Thank you, I will. I've got to get to the livery pretty soon, but I thought I'd stop and see how you're doing."

  Rylan heard all about Netty's birth, well and truly pleased that Cassidy was doing fine and that Joey had a baby sister.

  "Pastor Rylan," Heather suddenly asked, "do you have news of your own?"

  Rylan smiled at her, not sure how she knew but very glad she did. These women were very dear to him, and it seemed most fitting that they would know as soon as he could tell them.

  "As a matter of fact, I do. It's early yet-we've only told the Vicksbut Sabrina is expecting."

  The women were as thrilled about this news as they were about Trace and Cassidy's. Both of them hugged Rylan and nearly made him late for work with their questions. He hadn't been gone ten minutes when Jeanette realized she wanted to see Bri. Heather urged her to go, and it was for this reason that Nate arrived at the shop and found Heather on her own.

  "Hello," Heather greeted with a smile. "You just missed Jeanette." "Actually, I thought I saw Rylan over this way"

  "You just missed him too," Heather said, laughing a little.

  Nate smiled at her laughter and wondered at the fact that every time he saw Heather Wales, he wanted to find reasons not to end the conversation too swiftly.

  "Do you have many orders?" Nate asked, trying not to stare at her hair or eyes, both of which he found very nice.

  "Just enough," Heather said. "We expect two to be picked up today- those are done-and then three items were ordered on Friday and Saturday. I'm working on those now."

  "Did you make this shirt?" Nate asked, having forced himself not to stare and spotting a man's shirt hanging on a hook.

  "I'm not sure. Jeanette might have done that one."

  "How do you divide up the work?"

  67"I just do what Jeanette tells me."

  Nate could not stop his smile, his eyes filling with amusement. "What did I say?" Heather asked, unable to miss how much he wanted to laugh.

  "You don't by any chance want to go into law enforcement, do you? Having someone simply do as I tell them would be a dream come true."

  Heather laughed with him then, and this is the way Jeanette found them.

  "Well, Nate! How good to see you."

  "Hello, Jeanette."

  "How are the wounds?"

  "Healing fast. I'm looking forward to spring."

  "It iscoldout there today!" Jeanette agreed, going close to the stove and keeping her coat on.

  "Well, I'd best let you ladies get back to work."

  "Thanks for stopping," Heather said as he left. She bent back over the machine. It took some time for her to see that Jeanette was staring at her.

  "How is Bri?" Heather asked.

  "Doing well. The Jarviks areigoing to come to supper tonight, so you can see her then."

  "Oh, good."

  Heather went back to work but then found Jeanette's eyes on her again.

  "Is something wrong?"

  "I don't think so, but I did wonder if you wanted to tell me something."

  Heather glanced around, wondering what she had missed, but then looked back to Jeanette with a shrug.

  "Is Nate sweet on you, Heather?" Jeanette finally came out and asked.

  Heather blinked at her employer, stared for a moment at the place Nate had been standing, and then looked to Jeanette with a sad shake of her head.

  68"It's not even spring, Jeanette. What put such thoughts in your head?"

  "Well, maybe he's not, but he didn't seem in a hurry to leave either."

  "He was probably just cold."

  "Heather," Jeanette said patiently, "you're lovely and sweet, and he would be a fool not to notice."

  "You're lovely and sweet too," Heather argued.

  "But I still love my late husband, and everyone knows that. You
're whole of heart and quite available."

  Heather could only laugh.Availablewas never a word she would use to describe herself, and while still chuckling, she bent back over the machine, her foot pumping methodically on the treadle.

  Jeanette was not so easily put off. She smiled at the bent head, thinking her friend was too precious for words. And then her smile became of an entirely different sort. She eventually removed her coat and went back to work, but her mind was not on sewing. Nate and Heather. Why had she never thought of it before?

  69

  70

  SETH REDDING STOOD ONthe train station platform and breathed in the old sights and sounds of Token Creek. Everything was not the same. New paint could be seen here and there-new buildings too-but the town was still recognizable after all these years. The August heat was oppressive, but he paid little heed, even in his dark suit.

  Walking slowly away from the train station, a large satchel in one hand, he took in everything he could see until he arrived on Main Street. It too was a mixture of the familiar and the new. The bank had a new facade, and someone had opened a shop called Token Creek Apparel. The assayer's office was still there, but the sign out front now said Ryan Samz, Attorney.

  One thing hadn't changed, however: Wheeler's Mercantile. Seth didn't move closer to the establishment that was still a block down the way but stared at the windows and the name overhead for a long time. When he did move, it was in the opposite direction, his heart beating painfully in his chest. There might be someone in this town who could help him, and until he had that help, the mercantile would have to wait.

  71Just managing not to laugh, Bri watched 19-month-old Danny make his way into the room. He had found an empty box and was dragging it into the living room. His face was intent, and she knew if she spoke from the kitchen doorway, she would startle him. Instead, she waited for him to spot her.

  "Mama!" he said with pleasure, patting the box.

  "What did you find?" she asked, now free to laugh with the delight she felt inside.

  He patted it again, and then ran to hug her legs. Bri swung him up into her arms just as Rylan came from his office.

  "Well, now," he said, having spotted the box. "Did we find a treasure?"