Jessie

by Lori Wick

  Clancy nodded, breathless with more than just running for the duster.

  No small amount of dust came down into their faces, but they were a good team. With Clancy feeling as light as thistledown, Seth simply walked slowly in front of the shelf while she sat comfortably on his shoulder, her arm doing all the work.

  "How's it look?" Seth asked at one point, only to hear Hannah come up behind him.

  When you're done there, you should probably sweep the front walk.

  Mama does that every day."

  "What now?"

  Hannah and Seth-Clancy still perched on his shoulder-turned to find that Jessie had come into the aisle. She was not looking at all pleased, and Seth quickly but carefully lowered Clancy to the floor.

  "Have they been giving you orders?" Jessie asked of the man before her.

  Seth looked uncomfortable and was working on a delicate way of saying yes when Jessie speared her daughters with her eyes.

  116"Have you been giving Seth orders?"

  Both girls nodded, guilt written all over them.

  "That will end right now," Jessie said in a voice only a fool would argue with. "You are not Seth's boss. If I want something done,I willask Seth. You are not to boss him around ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

  Both small blonde heads bobbed.

  "Now apologize to him and remember what I said."

  "I'm sorry" came from Clancy and was immediately echoed by Hannah.

  "Thank you, girls," Seth barely got out before Jessie spoke again. "Go upstairs and start working on dinner. Make butter and jam sandwiches. The bread is cut and ready."

  Jessie watched them obey and then turned back to Seth. "Has that been going on all morning?"

  "It was my idea to put Clancy on my shoulder," Seth said, not trying to protect the girls if they needed correcting but wanting Jessie to have a full picture.

  Jessie stared at him, something occurring to her for the first time. He was afraid to make a wrong move. She had told him there would be no third chance, and he was obviously willing to put up with anything in order to be a part of their lives. This should have given her great satisfaction, but it didn't. She should have wanted to make his life miserable, but it wasn't in her.

  "I'm going to go check on the girls," Jessie said. "I'll bring you some lunch."

  "You don't have to feed me, Jessie. I can stop over at the hotel."

  "I don't mind," Jessie said, and for a moment they looked at each other. "I just realized," Jessie continued after a few seconds, "I forgot to pay you on Saturday night."

  Seth looked dreadfully uncomfortable with this, but he knew he was going to have to pay rent as soon as he found a place of his own to live. He had savings he'd just put into the bank in town, but he also had plans for that savings, and those did not include using it for monthly living expenses.

  117"I'll just cover last Saturday at the end of this week if that's all right," Jessie said. Seth nodded. More regret knifed through him, and he was not able to look at her for the moment. A customer came in, and Seth went to the front counter, using him as an excuse to walk away from his wife.

  "How are you doing, Jeb?" Rylan asked. Jeb was sitting in his living room near an open window, his ankle propped up on a pillow.

  "Not bad. It only throbs now, and Doc Ertz says that will lessen in a short time."

  "It looks like begot everything back into place," Rylan said, coming close to look at but not touch the wrapping.

  "I think so. It would be nice to have it work normally when all is said and done. Tell me, Rylan," Jeb suddenly said, "what's going on with Jessie and Seth?"

  "Were you surprised to see him?" Rylan asked, smiling a little. "I could hardly believe it. Do you know how long it's been?" "He told me eight years."

  "How did it go with him and Jessie?"

  "Good. She let him meet the girls, and he's working there right now."

  "Patience was going to stop in to check on Jessie while she ran errands, but she's not back yet."

  "They're coming to supper with us tomorrow night."

  Jeb looked thoughtful for a few seconds. He was concerned about his cousin, but he also wanted to talk to Seth. Much as he trusted Rylan, Rylan didn't know Seth like he did.

  "I want Seth to come to supper tonight. Do you know if he has plans?"

  "I don't know, but I can swing over there and mention it to him."

  "I would appreciate it, Rylan. I feel I need to talk to him. I didn'ttalk tohim as much as I should have while he was still living here, andI've regrettedthat for a long time."

  118"I'll tell him."

  "You might run into Patience, but let me tell her what I have in mind."

  "Certainly."

  Jeb nodded in satisfaction, reached for his Bible, and said, "I'm ready for my private sermon now."

  Rylan laughed but also opened his Bible, ready to tell Jeb what he'd missed on Sunday.

  It was Seth's turn in the storeroom, this time to eat lunch. Jessie had brought him a plate some ten minutes past, and he'd taken her place at the worktable in the back room of the store. The account books were still open and waiting for her, but Seth didn't look at them. He was curious as to how she was doing financially and knew her system from when they'd first been married, but he would never have presumed a welcome to that information.

  Seth was still deep in thought when he realized he was being watched. Hannah had come to the edge of a tall shelf and stood staring at him. He'd not seen the girls since their mother had sent them upstairs and knew why she was hesitating. Seth had no such qualms.

  "Hi, Hannah," he greeted her. "Did you eat dinner?"

  That little girl nodded and came forward.

  "Was it good?"

  Again the nod, but Hannah was still silent.

  Seth scrambled for something to say to this suddenly quiet child. It saddened him to think that if she couldn't order him around, she had nothing to say. He thought he would welcome some questions right now and even tried to come up with one for her. His mental gymnastics made him want to laugh and just a hint of a smile came to his lips. Seeing it, Hannah had a small smile of her own. Seth's smile grew a little, as did Hannah's, and before long the two were grinning at each other.

  "Come here," Seth invited and Hannah moved close. Seth fixed the

  119turned up collar on her pink gingham dress and smoothed her hair. The action seemed to tell Hannah that all was forgiven, and she asked a question.

  "Does Bri feed you at their house?"

  "She does."

  "What do you eat?"

  "Whatever she serves me," Seth said, not admitting that he wasn't at his best in the kitchen and was thankful when anyone offered him food. "I like chicken," Hannah volunteered.

  "So do I. With dumplings."

  "What are dumplings?"

  "Have you not had dumplings? Your mother makes great dumplings."

  Hannah looked surprised and would have moved away, but Seth caught her arm.

  "I don't want you to ask your mother why she never makes dumplings. If you haven't had them, then she has a good reason." "Time."

  Both Hannah and Seth looked up to see that Jessie had joined them. Seth sat back in his chair and looked at her.

  "Not even on Sundays?" he asked, remembering that's when she would serve them to him.

  "I'm tired on Sundays."

  "I'll bet you are," he agreed softly, seeing for the first time just how much had changed. The two of them working the store even after Hannah came along was nothing to watching both girls and still keeping track of customers at the same time. For a moment Seth wondered if she looked forward to school starting, but then realized he knew the answer. Jessie would not want her daughters away from her just so things could be easier. It wasn't her way.

  "Will you make dumplings sometime, Mama?" Hannah asked, her voice not at all demanding.

  "Sometime, yes, but you're not to pester me about it."

  Hannah nodded and swiftly left the room. Jessie k
new she would

  120tell Clancy about the mystery food and Clancy would demand all the details, but at the moment she let her go.

  "I won't tell the girls until I close the store," Jessie said to her husband, "but we're invited to Ry and Bri's tomorrow night for supper." "Good," Seth said, nodding with satisfaction.

  Jessie was opening her mouth to ask why that was good when Hannah came back to the storeroom to tell her that Patience Dorn was looking for her.

  Seth went back to work as soon as Jessie left the storeroom.Hethought it might be nice to sit for a while longer and relax, but some ,

  thing in Jessie's face had disturbed him. He didn't know how to read her anymore. Some things were the same and some looks were unmistakable, but as angry as she had been with him in the past, there had never been distrust, and he was sure that's what he was seeing now.

  A part of him knew he was holding back. His faith in Christwasreal, but he was still Seth Redding, a man who loved to tease and have fun with others. In just the few days he'd been back, he'd been tempted to tease Jessie a dozen times but didn't dare. He wanted to do the same with his daughters but didn't know how that would be taken.

  Pete Stillwell, the local livery owner, came in looking for shoe polish just then, and Seth had to go out front and put his mind back on the job, but he did so with a prayer that he could someday be himself again. Not the selfish man he had been, but the peaceful man he now was-the one who loved his family but had no idea how to show it.

  121

  "HowARE YOU?" PATIENCEwasted no time in asking Jessie. The women had walked only to the back of the store, but it was private enough. "Jeb wanted me to come yesterday and then decided you might need a little more time."

  "It's all right. Seth is good with the girls."

  "And with you?"

  Jessie put it plainly, "He doesn't have to be good with me." "Jeb wants to know if he's treating you well."

  "Well, tell him I'm fine. We're getting along fine. How is Jeb doing, by the way?"

  "It's hard on his back to lie around, but other than that he's doing well."

  "Good. The girls and I will come by on Sunday to see you." "We'll plan on that. Do you want to come for dinner?"

  "That sounds good. What shall I bring?"

  "Just the girls. I'll take care of everything else."

  "What time?"

  "Come at noon. If we're running late, just use the back door. Now, Jessie, before I forget, do you have thread in this color?" Patience asked, bringing a piece from the reticule that hung from her wrist.

  122"I don't know," Jessie said, fingering the small piece of cinnamon- colored thread. "You might have to check with Jeanette."

  "Jeanette isn't open on Mondays."

  "Well, then, let's go look."

  The women found Seth at the front counter, but he was working with a pretty, dark-haired woman who wanted to order something from the catalog. Clancy sat on the counter looking on, and Hannah lingered near the door. The moment the woman had placed her order and walked from the store, Clancy started in.

  "Tell me now," she ordered her father.

  "Well," Seth said, trying to think. "Dumplings are like wet biscuits."

  The look of distaste on Clancy's face caused her mother and Patience to laugh. Not until that point did Seth realize he was being listened to and watched. He turned and leaned one hip on the counter, his arms crossing over his chest and a challenging look covering his face.

  "Well, ladies," he said with mild sarcasm, "if you think you can describe dumplings better, be my guest."

  Jessie opened her mouth and then shut it. Patience, however, was ready to give it a try.

  "The dough for dumplings is a little like biscuit dough, Clancy, but it doesn't bake in a pan. You drop spoonfuls of dough onto the top of the gravy and they cook there. They end up a little wet on the bottom, but the inside is light and fluffy."

  "Why are they wet?" Clancy asked, not able to let this go.

  Her mother tried to explain, but it didn't go very well. Jessie looked over at one point and found Seth watching her, a more-than-satisfied look on his face that she hadn't had a ready explanation.

  "You had to mention dumplings," Jessie muttered, shooting him a look.

  Seth did not look the least bit repentant. He shrugged a little and said, "We were talking about foods we liked."

  Jessie rolled her eyes at him and realized that if she was going to

  123

  settle Clancy on the topic, she was going to have to make dumplings sometime soon.

  "I didn't know," Seth told Jeb that evening near the end of the meal, "how much I would want to talk to Pastor English. I had so many questions when I was still in prison. When I lived in his house, I didn't know there would come a time when I would give anything to have answers from him."

  "Did you actually remember some of the things he said?" Patience asked.

  "Not specifics, but I remembered that he was so open and honest about praying for me. I might have thanked him, but never once did I think to ask him why he believed that way." Seth stopped and stared at the couple and then asked, "Is he dead now?"

  "Yes," Patience volunteered. "He was quite ill when he left here and went back to Denver. I'm not sure he lived another year."

  "But he's in heaven," Seth said.

  "Yes, he is."

  "He's the first person I've ever known who I thought went to heaven. For a long time I didn't know if heaven was real or not, but now I do, and I realize I have a friend there in Pastor English. It changes the way I think about heaven and eternity."

  "That's a special gift," Jeb agreed. "For me, it's my father. I want to talk to Jesus more than anything, but knowing that my father is there, the man who told me about my need for salvation, means so much to me."

  Seth looked at the couple for a moment and said, "I can't tell you how much I want to be able to talk to Jessie the way I talk to you and Rylan and Bri, but I can't do it. She doesn't understand."

  "Her father didn't either," Jeb said. "Maryann was a little more receptive, but never Hiram."

  "And Jessie is so much like him," Patience added. She had been a

  124little uncomfortable when she learned that Seth was coming, but was very glad she had listened to her husband and given him a chance.

  "She certainly is," Jeb agreed. "How are you doing with the girls?"

  "I can tell they like me but don't know quite what to do with me. And Jessie is still very tentative, not that I blame her."

  "I'm not condoning what you did, Seth," Jeb offered, but I hope you know that after Clancy was born it wouldn't have mattered when you returned. I knew better than to even ask if she'd heard from you. After Clancy's birth she was calling herself Jessie Wheeler again. She didn't seem bitter. Itwasmore like you'd never existed."

  "I think it was the only way she could survive," Patience guessed. "I think so too," Jeb agreed. "The Wheelers have always been very good at surviving."

  Seth hadn't thought about any of this, but it was true. She was Jessie Wheeler again in nearly every way. Were it not for the girls, it would be hard to find any evidence that he'd even been in Token Creek.

  "Have we given you too much to think about, Seth?" Jeb asked, having watched the younger man's face.

  "It's a lot to take in, but I'm all right."

  "Well, I don't want to pile more on you, Seth, but I do need to repent to you about something," Jeb stated.

  Seth had all he could do not to blink in astonishment at his host.

  "We didn't have you over enough and befriend you as we should have all those years ago. You might have come to me about the way you were feeling instead of just leaving, and for that I'm sorry."

  "Thank you, Jeb," Seth said quietly, his heart overwhelmed.

  Patience could feel tears at the back of her eyes and rose long enough to get the cake she had made. She did not make a fuss over it but simply served up large pieces and set them out.

  Over dessert, the m
en continued to talk about the changes God had brought to both of them in the last eight years. Before Seth left for the Jarviks', he knew he would not make the same mistake again. Even if he was tempted to leave, he would come here first.

  125Jeanette had never seen anyone move more slowly than Sheriff Nate Kaderly. Since commenting to Heather months past about his possible interest, Jeanette had simply kept her eyes open. And she had not been disappointed. Nate was interested in Heather-Jeanette was sure of it-but doing nothing about it.

  And as for Heather! She had no clue. Jeanette watched her as well, thinking that the way he lingered in her company whenever he had a chance or the kind way he spoke to her would have to get her attention, but so far it hadn't worked.

  "You're not opening today, are you, Jeanette?" Rylan asked, finding her outside the shop:

  "No, I just came to get some papers," Jeanette answered in a distracted way, her gaze flicking down the street.

  Rylan glanced behind him and then back at Jeanette. He took a moment to study her before saying, "I think you're watching someone."

  Just Nate Jeanette admitted.

  "You haven't lost your heart, have you, Jeanette?" Rylan asked, his voice turning serious.

  "Of course not!" Jeanette said, an incredulous laugh escaping her. "That's good since Nate has already lost his."

  Jeanette gripped his arm, her face hopeful. "Is it Heather?" "Of course," Rylan said with a kind smile. "Who else?"

  "I knew it!" Jeanette said too loudly, looking triumphant as she worked to keep her voice down. "If he feels that way, why hasn't he said anything?"

  "Because the lady herself shows not the least bit of interest." Jeanette sighed. "I tried to talk to her about this some months ago, and she basically told me I was imagining things."

  "You're not, but I know he would not appreciate your being involved."

  126"No, I don't suppose he would."

  She looked so saddened by this that Rylan smiled, but he still had to be getting home.

  Jeanette said goodbye, not realizing until he was too far away that she had one last question. Jeanette turned for home herself, almost glad she hadn't had a chance to ask. It would be much too hard if he had said no.

  "Is this going to work?" Bri asked Rylan while she worked on dinner Tuesday afternoon. "I mean, I don't really know how they're getting along."