The Lumberjack

by Kelli Ann Morgan

  “How can I help?” he asked Raine.

  “Come with me,” the oldest brother said.

  Together, they guided the two horses into the stables and immediately set to work in silence brushing them down, filling their water buckets, and spreading fresh straw about their stalls. After the horses were taken care of, the two men walked toward the main house.

  It had been a long day and Eli was looking forward to lying down in a nice bed and hopefully, getting some sleep. As they approached the front door, Hannah and Leah sat in the two rockers on the porch.

  “It’s wonderful to have you here, Eli,” Leah said softly. “I’m sorry that you’ll have to sleep in the same room as that grizzly bear you brought with you.”

  Hannah laughed.

  “But Jonah is already upstairs asleep,” Leah continued. “Please let me know if you need anything.”

  “Will do, ma’am. And thank you again for your generous hospitality. You have a beautiful home.”

  Raine bent over and kissed his mother’s cheek, then ruffled the top of Hannah’s hair, which she’d already let down to hang loosely about her shoulders. She narrowed her eyes at him, then swatted at his leg.

  “Goodnight,” she said to her brother, who turned and tapped the edge of his hat at Eli as he went into the house.

  “Well, um, I’m going to turn in for the night. Thank you again.”

  “We have breakfast early around here, even on Sundays, but I’ll have Lottie save you some food if you’d like to sleep a little longer.” The light from the moon shown just enough on the women’s faces that he caught Leah’s wink.

  “Much obliged, ma’am.” He glanced down at Hannah. “Ma’am,” he said, gently tugging on the front of his hat.

  “Goodnight, Eli,” she called after him as he slipped inside the house.

  When he got up to his room, Jonah snorted in his sleep and Eli had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud and waking his friend. They’d slept near each other many times throughout this trip, however, he’d generally retired to bed before Jonah and hadn’t paid as much attention to just how loudly he snored, but tonight, it would be hard to miss. A grizzly bear, Leah had fittingly called him.

  Eli chuckled to himself as he pulled off his boots and lay down on the empty bed. Folding his arms behind his head, he leaned back against the nice, thick pillow. It reminded him of the pillows his mother had recently purchased from a catalog for them back home.

  The Whittakers were not lacking in money, but he realized just how unrefined his family was compared to the Redbournes and hoped he’d be able to change that for the future. He closed his eyes, willing sleep to overtake him after the long day, but after several minutes, he still could not dowse thoughts of Hannah from his mind. His eyes popped open and he stared out at the darkness surrounding him.

  “Go to sleep,” Jonah said sleepily. “I can hear you thinking from here.”

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Go to sleep!”

  “Yes, sir.” He closed his eyes again and prayed for help. And insight. And strength. He’d been given a lot to think about today, but now was not the time to contemplate them. “Goodnight,” he whispered.

  “Goodnight.”

  Chapter 10

  “Buenos dias, señorita Hannah,” Lottie greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. The smell of fresh cooked bacon and buttery flapjacks filled her nostrils and her mouth began to water.

  “What can I help you with this morning, Lottie?” Hannah asked, sitting at the stool in front of the cabinet.

  “Aye, cariña, sit down and talk to me about the dance last night. Your brothers told me it was very interesting. Tell me about this new man here. Eli is his name, no?”

  “Yes, Eli is an old friend from Oregon. He’s here with Jonah, but only for a few days.” She picked up a slice of apple that the family’s cook had just finished preparing. “What did Cole say?” she asked skeptically.

  “Oh, just that Mr. Blythe might have some competition.” Lottie smiled as she flipped over one of the hotcakes.

  “It smells like a little bit of heaven in here, Lottie,” Raine said as he snatched a slice of the salted meat. He kissed the top of Hannah’s head before shoving it into his mouth.

  The older woman beamed at his praise while muttering something in Spanish under her breath.

  Sundays were often a little quieter around the house in the mornings as Jameson gave his hands the day off to worship as they so desired. Some of them attended church with them, but others used that time go fishing or to visit friends and family.

  Since Lottie had already seen Cole this morning, Hannah guessed that he had gone out for a morning ride on his big, black Arabian.

  Only a few minutes passed before the back door opened and little Luke burst into the kitchen with bright eyes and a smile that warmed Hannah from head to toe. He took one look at her and screamed.

  “Aunt Hannah!” he exclaimed as he ran into her awaiting arms. She spun him around, ignoring the pain emanating from her bruised leg, and showered him with kisses all over his face as he giggled and squirmed.

  Grace followed him in the house with baby Ollie in her arms and Ethan moments behind her.

  “Did you see my ribbon?” little Luke asked, pulling away from her so he could look at her face.

  “I didn’t.”

  “I was the best apple-bobber out of anybody my whole age. And I was the fastest hoop roller.” He paused and looked up, one finger on his lower lip as if trying to remember something else. “Oh, and, I was the strongest stick puller.”

  “You are certainly just like your daddy,” Hannah praised.

  Luke beamed.

  She set him down and he ran to the chair his mother had pulled out for him.

  It wasn’t long before the table was near full of family. Both parents and Raine had joined them. Jonah and Eli appeared from the hall and took the seats where Tag and Levi used to sit.

  “Lukey,” Jameson said to his grandson, “will you say grace?”

  The little boy looked up at his mama.

  “He means will you bless the food?” Grace whispered.

  Luke’s eyes opened wide in understanding and he nodded, then folded his little arms, resting them on the table top and squeezed his eyes shut tight.

  “Dear Lord,” he said quietly, “we are grateful for the bounty of this food. We are happy Lottie is a good cook and that she loves us. We…”

  After a long enough pause, Hannah opened her eyes to see Luke with one eye open, looking at his mother, who whispered in his ear.

  “What?” he whispered back loudly.

  It was hard not to laugh.

  “Bless us to be kind and happy.”

  Grace nodded, then mouthed the word, ‘Amen.’

  Luke shook his head.

  “And, please bless that Aunt Hannah gets hitched real soon to the new fella that loves her, so I can have more cousins to play with. Amen.”

  The whole table erupted in laughter and Luke sat back in his chair looking very proud of himself. Hannah’s cheeks flamed. It took every ounce of strength not to look over at Eli.

  “Thank you for thinking of me, Lukey,” she said, despite her embarrassment.

  Throughout breakfast, Hannah could not stop herself from stealing glances at the handsome lumberjack. Though he still wore a beard, it was well kempt and accentuated his strong jawline. She appreciated how well his green shirt with the darker green suspenders brought out the color in his eyes.

  Stop gawking, she chided herself, and she turned her gaze to the back door when it opened once again to reveal Cole and Alaric.

  She had to admit it was strange not having all of her brothers around all the time, but it seemed fitting that the two men sitting across from her were like family—well, Jonah was family, but Eli just…fit. And Alaric had been a surrogate Redbourne near her whole life.

  For many years she had compared every man with whom she’d come in contac
t with the Oregon native, which may have seemed unfair, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but wonder how or if Gordon would fit in with the family.

  The Blythes were a wonderful family, though different from the Redbournes. They lived on a very small plot of land just outside of town and had no interest in farming it or raising stock. Mr. Blythe was the new banker in town and his eldest son had plans to work in the business community. He had often mentioned working in the railroad offices or in property acquisition. University was supposed to help him decide, but his letters had said nothing about it.

  When she’d come home, devastated by Eli’s rejection, Gordon had been attentive, and playful, just what she’d needed. They’d become wonderful friends, which eventually had led to more. He aspired to live a genteel life without the physically hard labor that came with owning a ranch.

  Life with him would certainly be more refined than what she experienced on the ranch and her role would be more like that of the ladies of society who spent their days socializing with each other at teas, quilting bees, and other events which may or may not include doing a lot of charity work. She would likely be expected to hone the creative pastimes of the fairer sex…sewing, playing music, and such and she had no doubt that Gordon would provide a good life for her. Still, fear of boredom plagued her thoughts of that kind of life and what the future might hold for her.

  She enjoyed working on the ranch and helping out wherever she could—the animals, the orchard, they were a part of her and she wasn’t sure she was ready to give that up to live the kind of life most women would dream of.

  In contrast, marriage to someone like Eli would mean living her life in a similar manner to what she was accustomed now—unless he dragged her back to the lumber camps in Oregon, of course. That would be simply awful. While the countryside was beautiful there, she had not been allowed to go near many of the places the men worked for propriety and safety both.

  Hannah shook her head to help clear the multitude of thoughts that raced through her mind. Over the last few years, it had been Gordon who had been there for her, Gordon who’d escorted her to town events, and Gordon who’d listened and encouraged her at every turn, yet, when he’d left for school, they’d made no promises or commitments to one another and she found herself again obliging new suitors as they came to call.

  “Hannah.”

  The faint sound of her name echoed in the back of her mind.

  “Hannah!”

  Raine nudged her with his elbow and she looked up to realize that her father had been calling her name while she’d been caught up in her thoughts.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I spoke with Mayor Nichols and he told me that you have been inquiring about the children who are passing through on the orphan train.”

  Hannah picked up her napkin and wiped the corners of her mouth even though she had yet to eat anything other than one small slice of an apple that she had stolen out of Lottie’s bowl on the counter.

  “Yes. I spoke briefly with Miss Hampton, who is the caretaker of the children we saw at the jubilee yesterday.”

  “And might I ask why you are so interested?”

  Hannah wasn’t sure she was ready to explain her thoughts as she felt they were still quite unorganized in her own head, but she needed something to say as all eyes had suddenly fallen on her.

  “I was just wondering how long it takes for the children to be taken in by a family. We have been so blessed to have a beautiful home, a full family that loves each other, and so many other things.”

  Everyone at the table grunted words of agreement.

  She cleared her throat.

  “But, since you asked, I had a mind to ask you if we might look into purchasing some new clothes for the children.”

  Jameson had stabbed one of the hotcakes with his fork, but paused mid-air a moment before bringing it to his plate.

  “I think they would have more of a chance of being adopted if they looked clean and presentable, don’t you, Pa?”

  She held her breath, allowing the rest of those sitting around the table to fade into the background as she focused on her father.

  He set down his fork. “I’m not sure why God blessed me with such a wonderful daughter, but I am so grateful He gave you to us.”

  Hannah smiled.

  “Yes, I think we can make the proper arrangements.”

  “I thought she was going to ask if we could adopt them,” Cole said with a laugh, earning him a raised brow from his father.

  It may not be realistic to adopt seven children, but there was so much more they could do. Miss Hampton had told her that these children were the last of a group of over fifty orphaned children brought out from New York. They had come into Kansas City by train, had been inspected by the local population there, then, those who had not been adopted, were split up and driven to the closest surrounding communities to find willing couples to take them in.

  “Not yet, anyway,” Hannah teased.

  Color drained from her father’s face.

  Raine laughed, shaking his head, and everyone soon joined in.

  Hannah knew her father to have the biggest heart of them all and when the time came, she would tell him what it was she really wanted to do. She just needed to come up with a solid idea how to make her plan work first.

  Chapter 11

  As they walked into the small, white church house for Sunday services, Eli was surprised to see the little orphan children standing in a line at the front of the building. They had changed clothes into plain-colored garments that for some were too big, some too small, and some with worn spots and holes, but their faces and hair had been washed and combed neatly and all of them wore one type of a hat or another. He guessed they were being displayed for the townsfolk in Stone Creek for possible adoption.

  He dared a glance over at Hannah, who smiled encouragingly at the children. The little girl who he danced with last night and the little boy he’d carried up the hill yesterday, took one another by the hand as the preacher stood up to address the congregation. He wondered if they might be siblings.

  “As you can see, God has blessed our town with a wonderful opportunity. These seven children are seeking a home and I ask each of you to search within yourselves to see if that home may be with you.”

  An excited murmur spread over the churchgoers.

  “They will be outside the church after services for you to talk with and measure.”

  The woman, whom Eli guessed was the Mrs. Hampton, of which Hannah had spoken of this morning, ushered the children to the back of the church and filed them into the last pew.

  It had been a while since Eli had been to church. There were a few bible pushers that would come around the lumber camps, but their meetings were mostly condemning the way of life led by a lumberjack and were nothing like this.

  This preacher talked of redemption and God’s love for his children—hope. And once again he found himself yearning for this kind of life. His father hadn’t understood when he’d told him that he was heading to Texas with Jonah on one of his drives. Over and again he’d reminded his son that he was a lumberman, a lumberjack at heart, and that he should not turn his back on that heritage as it would provide a good life—though Eli was beginning to realize what his father considered to be a good life and what he considered to be one, were very different ideas.

  He hadn’t told his father that Taggert Redbourne had offered him a proposition, just that Jonah had needed some extra help. Isaiah hadn’t questioned it simply because Eli was always doing things with and for the Deardon brothers in addition to his responsibilities with the company.

  However, now, he was expected to be home in just a couple of weeks and he found himself dreading the thought. He missed his family, but they’d never shared the closeness or tight knit family dynamic like that of the Redbournes or the Deardons, and since Seph had passed away, it had only gotten worse. He imagined that was likely the reason he’d been drawn to these people. He felt like a part
of them.

  When the services ended, the orphan children were rushed outside as to not miss any of the patrons as they left. Eli watched as several men and women inspected teeth, measured their stature, evaluated their strength, and talked with them.

  Hannah waited by the side of the wagon, chewing on her thumbnail as she watched the interactions of her neighbors with the children. One by one, each of the orphans were taken by a family until the last two remaining were his favorites, still clutching each other by the hand, watching wide-eyed as they were passed over by each of the potential parents. The first five children had been older and would be able to help the men with their farming or ranching responsibilities or the women with the cooking and taking care of younger children, but taking on smaller children would be a bigger challenge, especially for those families who already had young’ns of their own.

  Eli wished there was something he could do, but he was certainly in no position to take on two children, and he refused to subject any of them to the harsh environments of his father’s camps in the lumber industry.

  As the townsfolk dispersed, the shoulders of both remaining children slumped. The little boy put an arm around the little girl and Eli’s heart nearly burst in his chest.

  Their caretaker bent down, speaking to them softly, and placing a finger beneath the boy’s chin to bring his eyes up to look at her. He could not hear what she was saying, but the boy nodded and managed a sort of half-smile. She then took each of them by the hand and together they walked down the street.

  “How about we find this Miss Hampton tomorrow and we will take both of those children to get fitted for some new clothes?” Jameson was saying to Hannah as Eli approached the wagon.

  “I just wish we could do more,” she said, leaning her head onto her father’s shoulder.

  “I know, little girl. I know.” He placed his arm around his daughter and squeezed. Then, with a pat, he set her aside. “Well, let’s get on home.”

  “It’s a beautiful day. I think I’ll walk,” Hannah said with a smile.