For Theresa, the service passed in a blur. She had to leave the building a few times when one of the twins started crying. She was starting to forget what life had been like before she had found the twins. They felt like a part of her life now.
As the services ended, two of the brothers-in-law, Jed and Carter, surrounded Cletus. “Hello!” Jed said brightly.
“We have someone we’d like you to speak with,” Carter explained. Each man flanked Cletus as he stood up and ushered him back to the crowd of brothers-in-law.
“What is the meaning of this?” Cletus asked. He was ready to get back to the Sanders’ home and eat his post-church slice of pie.
“You remember Mr. Witherspoon,” Jed said as they approached the man.
Cletus frowned. “Of course. The salesman.”
“You see, Cletus, we’ve all signed on for Cody’s insurance policies. It turns out they’re a lot better than the ones we previously had, and we pay less for premiums,” Jed said lightly.
Cletus frowned. “You say you pay less?”
“That’s right,” Carter affirmed.
“I’d be happy to review your current policies with you and tell you a little more about our policies,” Cody said politely.
“Hm. Maybe. We’ll see,” Cletus said sternly. “But now I’d like to go home with my family.”
“There’s something else,” Lewis mentioned, coming around the other side of Cletus. “Mr. Witherspoon has something to ask of you.”
“Sir, I’d like to court your daughter, Theresa,” Cody said, remembering to be specific and straightforward this time.
Cletus paused and turned around so he could make eye contact with each man. The look on his face made Cody nervous. He was silent for a long time, then finally spoke up. “Well, Theresa’s her own person. She can decide for herself what she wants to do.”
Cody breathed a sigh of relief. Around him, the other men relaxed and smiled.
Cletus elbowed his way away from the group and through the exit. “That was an ambush!”
“What was an ambush, dear?” Edna Petunia asked, sipping from her cough medicine flask outside.
“All of our daughters’ husbands seemed to have joined forces. I don’t like it one bit,” Cletus told his wife. “Now, let’s get home.”
Edna Petunia nodded and scanned the crowd for Theresa. Katie was at her side, but Theresa and the babies were nowhere to be found.
Inside the church, Cody helped Theresa load the babies into their bassinette. Even though Cletus had given his approval, he still felt nervous. What if Theresa had changed her mind? She had seemed exhausted and sleep-deprived when she’d agreed to marry him originally. Maybe it had all been a big misunderstanding.
Theresa could hear her parents and Katie calling for her outside. She looked up at Cody’s strong, handsome face. “I need to go. It was nice to see you.”
“Wait,” Cody said, grabbing onto Theresa’s wrist. She felt a crackle of electricity every time he touched her, and she wanted more of it. “I’d like to court you, Theresa Sanders.”
Theresa felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach. She felt lighter than air. She blinked back tears and nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that,” Cody said, a smile spreading across his face.
“Theresa!” Edna Petunia called from outside the church. “We’re leaving!”
Theresa could tell her family was getting impatient. “I need to go. But I hope to see you soon.”
Cody nodded. “I’ll be thinking about you every minute until I see you again.” He looked around and made sure no one else was in the church, then leaned down and kissed Theresa on the lips.
When Cody finally stepped backwards, Theresa sucked in a deep breath. Cody had the strange effect of taking her breath away—but she found that she quite enjoyed it.
As Theresa carried the babies out into the bright, sunlit day, she imagined that one day, she may be climbing into Cody’s wagon instead of Cletus’s. The thought brought a smile to her face.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Katie whispered as she helped Theresa swing the bassinette into the wagon.
“Nothing,” Theresa fibbed. She wasn’t sure what to tell Katie or if she should even tell her parents about what Cody had asked her. Edna Petunia and Cletus didn’t seem like his biggest fans.
However, on the way home, Cody Witherspoon was all Cletus could talk about. “Seems all the sons-in-law are in cahoots with this man now. I’m inclined to trust him since they’ve all agreed to vouch for him. But Theresa, that’s no reason to let him court you if you don’t want to.”
“I want him to court me,” Theresa blurted out.
Katie giggled. “I knew it!”
“These bastards grow up so fast,” Edna Petunia lamented. “Pretty soon suitors will be knocking on Faith’s door.”
“I think Cody is a good man, and he’s already been wonderful with the babies,” Theresa explained.
“Do you think you’ll get married?” Katie asked. “A fall wedding would be nice. Or winter!” She began imagining it and was soon lost in reverie.
“It’s too soon for that, Katie!” Theresa chided.
“But I thought he asked you—” Katie began.
Gabriel began fussing, and Theresa lifted him out of the bassinette to soothe him. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have time to get married,” Theresa said honestly. “Not with these two around.”
“That reminds me,” Cletus said, clearing his throat. “We need to talk about those two little creatures.”
It made Theresa nervous any time Cletus referred to the babies as “creatures.” “What do we need to talk about?”
Cletus looked at Edna Petunia. “We think it’s time the babies found a permanent home.”
“Or homes,” Edna Petunia added gently.
“What are you talking about?” Theresa felt shocked, angry, and taken aback. Gabriel began to cry louder, and soon, Faith began fussing, too.
Cletus continued to steer the wagon toward their home in Nowhere nonchalantly. “We haven’t been able to find the mother. Everyone says it was a young girl who was passing through. None of her family lives around here.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Theresa asked. Whenever she thought about giving up either of the babies, her heart wrenched in agony.
Edna Petunia tried to soften the news. “Theresa, you’re a young woman with your entire life ahead of you. You’ve bit off more than you can chew with two babies as a single woman.”
“And heaven knows Edna Petunia and I aren’t as youthful as we were when we took you all in. We just don’t have it in us to take care of babies that young,” Cletus continued.
Theresa thought Edna Petunia and Cletus looked the same as when the orphans had arrived in Nowhere, but she decided to focus on the twins instead of mentioning this. “But who would take the babies? How would we know they were going to a good home?”
Edna Petunia and Cletus exchanged another look. Edna Petunia sighed. “There are two very nice families from church who are willing to adopt a baby apiece.”
Theresa felt her stomach clench. “We can’t split up the twins!”
“It’s very difficult to take care of two babies at once, Theresa,” Edna Petunia said gently.
“You of all people should know that,” Cletus chimed in.
Theresa felt attacked. She had the urge to wait until the wagon stopped and jump out with the twins. She could find Cody, run away, and never come back. “It would be wrong to separate them,” Theresa repeated.
Katie helped Theresa soothe the twins. “I wish we could keep them, too, Theresa,” Katie added. “But it is a lot of work. I haven’t been sleeping very well either. I can hear the babies crying upstairs.”
Theresa felt tears pooling in her eyes. How did no one else understand? “All the twins have is each other. You said it yourself—we haven’t been able to locate their mother. We can’t take them away from each other!”
“That’s enough arguing in the wagon. Let’s discuss this further at home,” Cletus declared.
Theresa nodded in understanding, but tears blurred her vision. She wiped them away, looking down lovingly at the babies. She had to find a way to tell Cody about what was happening. She knew he of all people would understand.
Later that evening, Theresa brought up the subject to Edna Petunia and Cletus again.
Cletus seemed crankier than he had earlier. “I need my home back, Theresa. This has gone on long enough. I can’t even sit in my chair!”
Theresa had covered Cletus’s chair in the formal parlor with baby clothes, bottles, and children’s books that she read to the twins over and over again. “I’m sorry, Cletus. I’ll clean it up.”
Cletus sighed wearily. “It’s not about the chair. It’s about you not being old enough to raise two babies on your own.”
“But I’m not on my own. I have my sisters, and I have Cody,” Theresa pointed out. “Plus, I’m nearly as old as Ruby and Opal were when they had their twins.”
“You’re not even married, Theresa!” Edna Petunia said, exasperated. “I’m sick of the fighting around here. The babies are making us all angry with one another.”
“You can’t blame that on the babies!” Theresa cried passionately. She felt awful for the poor infants. First their mother had abandoned them, and now that they were in a loving home, they were going to be abandoned again—and worse than that, they would be torn apart.
“I spoke to Gerald Sibley from church,” Cletus said. “He and his wife will be here on Wednesday to pick up one of the babies. I think they said they wanted the boy.”
Theresa held Gabriel closer. “They are not taking either of the babies. I won’t allow it.”
Cletus sighed. “Theresa, you’re acting like a spoiled child. I know Edna Petunia and I have taught you better than that.”
Theresa felt so angry she couldn’t think of an intelligent response. “You’re wrong!” Theresa cried, rushing out of the room with both babies in tow. She went upstairs into her bedroom, where she hadn’t slept in weeks. She laid both babies down on the bed, watching them carefully to make sure they didn’t squirm their way onto the floor. What was she going to do?
Katie came upstairs with the bassinette and some of the baby supplies. “Are you okay?”
Theresa sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t let the babies be split apart.”
Katie nodded. “You’ve been taking care of them nonstop since they arrived. I’m sure it’s hard to say goodbye.”
“It’s more than that, Katie,” Theresa said. “It’s hard to explain. But these babies are twins. That’s a special bond. Think about Ruby and Opal. Can you imagine one without the other?”
Katie thought about it. “You have a point there,” she admitted. “I can’t picture that.”
“You have to help me,” Theresa pleaded.
Katie gulped. “I don’t want to disobey Edna Petunia or Cletus.”
“I understand,” Theresa told her. “But this is about doing the right thing.”
Katie looked at the babies. “Okay. I’ll help you. For their sake.”
Theresa’s expression brightened. “I have an idea. Here’s how you can help me.” She explained her plan to Katie.
After some deliberation, Katie nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Seven
The following morning, Cody woke up to someone pounding on his door. He leapt out of bed and dressed quickly. He cracked open his door.
Mrs. Winchester peered at him, adjusting her glasses. “You have a visitor.”
Cody’s heart rose as he imagined Theresa visiting him with the babies even though he knew that would be unlikely. He followed Mrs. Winchester to the entrance to the boardinghouse and saw Katie Sanders there.
Katie fidgeted nervously with her hands. “Hi, Mr. Witherspoon.”
“Call me Cody, please,” Cody told her.
“You see, Mr. Witherspoon—Cody—my parents told Theresa that they’re going to give the babies away. And they’re going to split them up,” Katie explained.
“What?” A look of horror crossed Cody’s face. He had always assumed that Theresa would keep the babies for the rest of their lives. He thought that was what they both wanted.
“They’ve found two separate families to take the babies. They’re coming to our house on Wednesday night to take them away,” Katie told Cody.
Cody thought quickly. He had imagined courting Theresa for several weeks and eventually proposing to her again, this time with more preparation and style. But if she was in danger of the babies being taken away, he would need to adjust his plans. “Thank you for telling me that, Katie.”
“You’re welcome. Theresa wanted you to know. If you don’t mind, I need to leave now to get to work. Theresa normally works at the school, but since she brought the babies home, I’ve been going in her place,” Katie said.
“Of course. Have a good day, Katie,” Cody told her and walked her to the front door.
“Thanks, Cody. You too!” Katie said cheerily. She exited the building and started for the schoolhouse.
Cody stood in the doorway, lost in thought. He needed to come up with a plan quickly. He knew what he wanted, but how could he make it happen in only two days’ time?
He scrambled around all morning, learning as much as he could from Dr. Bennett, Lewis, Jed, and Will, who had all become like brothers in the span of a few days. He’d learned Theresa’s favorite color, favorite flower, and favorite type of candy.
Cody dressed in his nicest suit. He wanted to look the part for the occasion. He hoped it would be a day that he and Theresa would both remember forever.
As Cody set off for the Sanders’ house, he realized that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink all day. It would be wise to get something to eat. If things went according to plan, he and the Sanders family would want to celebrate.
Cody decided to stop at the mercantile for a Coca Cola and a snack.
“Back so soon?” Lewis teased. He had helped Cody prepare candy for Theresa.
“I didn’t want to go to the Sanders’ house on an empty stomach,” Cody explained.
Just then, the door opened and Fitzsimmon Clarkson strode into the mercantile. His face brightened when he saw Cody.
“Mr. Clarkson? What are you doing here?” Cody felt nervous suddenly. His boss had never shown up before in any of the other towns he had worked in. Was he in trouble?
“Good to see you, Witherspoon. I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again,” Clarkson joked.
“I’ll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything,” Lewis said, walking toward the back of the store with his ledger in hand.
“I’m not due back for two weeks,” Cody pointed out.
“Relax, Witherspoon,” Clarkson told him. “You’re not in trouble. I just hadn’t heard from you in a while, so I thought maybe the locals had captured you.”
Cody smiled ruefully. “Not exactly.”
“Ah, but there’s something going on here, isn’t there?” Clarkson took note of the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates in Cody’s hands.
Cody nodded sheepishly. “I’m about to propose.”
Clarkson clapped Cody on the back. “Congratulations, son! This calls for celebration!”
Cody smiled, relieved that he wasn’t in trouble with his boss. “Thank you, Mr. Clarkson.”
“And it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Clarkson added.
“Why is that?” Cody was lost again.
“I’m promoting you to Vice President of Clarkson Insurance,” Clarkson explained. “Congratulations, son! You’ve worked hard for this, and you’ve earned it.”
Cody couldn’t believe it. First, Theresa had agreed to let him court her, and now his employer was promoting him to Vice President of the company? It seemed too good to be true. Cody realized Clarkson was still talking.
“We’ll have to introduce our wives, I’m sure the
y’ll get along. We’ll set you up in our neighborhood. There are a lot of nice properties where you could build a home if you’d like, or plenty to choose from if you want to buy one,” Clarkson rambled.
“Your neighborhood?” Cody asked, confused.
“Naturally, you’ll need to be at corporate headquarters in Austin,” Clarkson explained. “It will be nice for your new wife-to-be that you won’t be traveling so much, don’t you think?”
Cody considered it. Austin sounded promising. He’d been there a few times before and had always enjoyed himself. But he hadn’t talked to Theresa about moving. He knew that she had moved once before—from Orlan to Nowhere—but how did she feel about moving again? And did she even like living in a city?
“I thought you’d be overjoyed!” Clarkson seemed dismayed. “Where’s the enthusiasm? Are you not excited to take this job?”
“Oh, no, sir! I’m delighted!” Cody assured his boss. “Thank you for the opportunity. You won’t regret it.”
“Excellent,” Clarkson smiled. “I’ll expect you there in two weeks’ time. I’ll arrange for a rental house for you. Just the two of you, I assume?”
“Actually . . .” Cody trailed off. How would he explain this delicate situation to his employer?
Clarkson frowned. “More than two of you?”
“It’s a rather long story, Mr. Clarkson. If you can do me a favor, I’ll tell you the whole story soon. But if things go according to my plan, we’ll have a set of infants with us when we move in two weeks,” Cody replied.
Clarkson whistled. “Witherspoon, how scandalous! You haven’t even made her an honest woman yet, and there are twins on the way?”
Lewis poked his head up from his desk near the back of the store. “Everything okay out there?”
“It’s fine,” Cody called back. He looked at Clarkson. “I promise I’ll explain everything later. But it’s not what you think.”
Clarkson smiled and clapped Cody on the back again. “Whatever you say, Witherspoon. In any case, I was just passing through on my own way back to Austin, and I hoped I’d find you here. I’ve been to a few establishments—a law office, a doctor’s office, and a trading house. It seems like you have clients everywhere in this town. Well done, Witherspoon!”
Theresa (Orlan Orphans Book 15) Page 5
