The Preacher's Lady

by Lori Copeland

  Willow stirred. “Cookie?”

  “Here.” Elly stripped out of her coat. “Cover her with this.”

  The child snuggled into Bo’s collar. Her words came soft and halting. “Papa won’t come out.”

  Bo added his jacket to swaddle Willow’s body. She never would have survived the cold had she not been wearing her coat. Now, she wore three.

  “Let’s get her warmed up.”

  Chapter 21

  Bo’s long-legged stride covered the frozen ground. The weariness of a sleepless night enveloped Elly. She lost ground behind him, but she pressed on.

  Willow stirred under the coats. “I cold.”

  “I know, sweetheart,” Bo said. “We’ll be warm in a few minutes. And Grandma is making breakfast. I hope you’re hungry.”

  How about that? Bo had already adopted the child as his own. The thought of an instant family warmed her.

  As they approached the house, men filed out of the house as if someone herded them with a stick. Bo deposited Willow before the fire and recruited a man to rub warmth back into her feet.

  The women gathered in the parlor, chattering and chirping like a clutch of hens. Bo stepped into the circle of women warily. Looking for his ma and not finding her, he called out. “Ma? What’s going on?”

  Faye streaked through the parlor carrying an armload of white sheets. “Adele’s in labor. Can you imagine?”

  “In labor? Now?”

  Faye turned toward the stairs. “Come along, Elly. You’re needed upstairs.” She paused and turned toward Bo. Tears filled her eyes. “Oh my goodness, I forgot to ask about Willow. Is she all right?”

  Bo put a hand to her shoulder. “She’s in the kitchen getting her feet rubbed.”

  A cry sounded from upstairs.

  “We’d better see to Adele,” Faye said.

  Elly spoke to Faye’s back, “The baby isn’t due for another few weeks.”

  “Tell the baby, not me.” Faye called over her shoulder to the women downstairs. “Better set the kettles to boiling.”

  When Elly saw her friend, red-faced and glistening with sweat, she stopped at the doorway. “Goodness, what a day.” Everyone seemed to know what they were doing. One woman helped Adele out of bed while Faye spread fresh sheets. She felt like an extra wheel on a wheelbarrow. “What can I do?”

  “If you want to be here when the young’un is born, you’d best step inside the door,” Faye said. “Take the end of that sheet and tuck it into the mattress.”

  Elly had promised to be by Adele’s side when the big event took place. She hadn’t, however, prepared herself to see her friend in such discomfort. But when Adele looked at her with great relief, Elly hurried to her side.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” Adele propped on her elbows, her eyes squeezed shut against a building contraction. “Where have you been?”

  “Out searching for Willow.”

  “Tell me you found her.”

  “She’s being cared for downstairs. There doesn’t seem to be any lasting—” Elly broke off when Adele motioned for her hand. Adele’s grip turned viselike. As the wave subsided, Adele fell back into the pillows.

  Elly wrung water from a cloth into a bowl and rested it on Adele’s forehead. She had no idea if the diversion helped a woman in labor, but she felt compelled to do something.

  Faye hovered nearby. “Take deep breaths, dear. The doctor will be here shortly.”

  When another pain overcame Adele, the young woman cried out. “What’s taking him so long?”

  Faye spoke evenly. “He’s been summoned. He needed to change into dry clothing and eat a bite of breakfast.”

  “He helped search for Willow,” Elly said.

  “Eat? The man is eating while I’m having a baby?”

  Elly kissed the mother-to-be on the forehead. “Relax. You have plenty of time.”

  Adele’s eyes widened. “This is going to go on a long time?”

  Tsking, Faye straightened the twisted sheet. “One never knows how long birthing will last.”

  Another spasm hit and Adele twisted Elly’s hand until tears smarted to her eyes. Elly glanced at Faye.

  “It could take all day, dear.” Faye reached to pat Elly’s shoulder. “Go keep Willow company.”

  Elly located the child in the kitchen surrounded by motherly hands. For the first time, she was able to take the child in her arms and give her a firm hug. “You scared us, Willow. Please never leave the house without telling someone.”

  “Papa.”

  “I know. We all miss your Papa, sweetie.” Filling the teapot, she set it to boil. “Want some more milk?”

  The child shook her head. Eyes drooped.

  “You’re very tired. Why don’t I give you a warm bath and put you to bed?”

  At the mention of bed, the girl’s strength returned. “No!”

  Elly sat down at the table and stared at the child. She was slowly creeping her way into her heart. Love would not be hard to find. She could easily raise this girl—give her love and a good home. She could overcome the past if it meant a life with Bo.

  Sighing she smiled. “You have a good daddy. You are very blessed.”

  Willow shook her head vigorously. “Bad daddy.”

  “Willow!” Elly sat upright. “Why would you say such a thing? Your daddy is very good.”

  A sly grin crossed the child’s features as though Elly was teasing and she’d caught on to the jest. “Huh uh. He’s bad man.” Willow spooned applesauce into her mouth.

  Elly glanced over her shoulder, praying Bo wouldn’t walk in and hear her talking like this. Wiping a stray drip of applesauce, Elly lowered her tone. “You must never let your daddy hear you talk this way. He’s a good man, not bad.”

  “Snake,” Willow pronounced.

  “Your daddy is a snake?”

  Big eyes turned on her. “Mommy says Daddy lives in the grass.”

  Elly felt faint. What had her mother told her about Bo? No, he was not the model of sainthood, but he certainly would never hurt Willow and he wasn’t a snake.

  Suddenly Willow’s words hit her.

  “Willow? What is your daddy’s name?”

  “Buck.” She dug for another spoonful of applesauce.

  “I thought Bo was your daddy.” The faintest hint of an all-out miracle started to form in Elly’s mind. Out of the mouth of babes…

  Again Willow looked at her as if she’d turned daft. “Bo’s my friend, silly.”

  “And Buck would be… ”

  “Daddy.”

  The low-down snake-in-the-grass who undoubtedly sired this little angel and walked away from her mother. Children’s ears could pick up the important information.

  Springing to her feet, Elly squealed, grabbed the child up from the chair, and smothered her face with grateful kisses.

  Giggling, Willow wiped the kisses away. “Play?” she asked.

  “You can play—you can do anything you want!”

  Setting Willow on her feet, Elly did a jig around the room, dancing her way past the expectant ones who waited for Adele to give birth, past her pa who stared at her as though she’d grown horns, and out to the front porch. She located Bo walking back across the street with the doctor.

  Coming to her senses, she cleared her throat and made some sort of an apology to the gathered neighbors.

  Bo wasn’t Willow’s daddy; Buck was.

  In deference to Adele’s child’s pending birth, she would wait to tell Bo.

  She glanced at her watch. As long as the baby didn’t take too long.

  The collection of women downstairs thinned and disappeared through the morning hours. Bread needed to be baked. Roasts put in the oven. Laundry scrubbed and children tended. Adele labored on.

  Every thirty minutes Faye and Elly switched places. The doc had arrived shortly after nine. The baby might be early, but it was in no real hurry to make an appearance.

  Around eleven, Elly escaped to the front porch, where a group of single girls gather
ed to support Adele. Elly shook her head when questions flew. No, the baby wasn’t here yet. Yes, Adele was doing fine. “The screams only make it sound as though she’s dying.”

  No one seemed comforted by her explanation.

  Accepting a mug of hot coffee from a neighbor, Elly thanked her and sat down beside Bo on the steps. Cold seeped through her bones. “Why isn’t everyone inside?”

  “It’s a little noisy in there.” He reached to draw her near. “I noticed Gideon standing beside Cecelia at the service.”

  Stifling a yawn, she nodded. “I haven’t found a moment to tell you. Gideon and I had a very long, very unusual talk.”

  “How did he take the news?”

  How did he take the news? Apparently well. “Good.”

  “Good?” Bo shook his head. “I figured he would put up an argument. I feared I might lose you before I’d won you back. Hearing you call off the wedding again must have been a knife to his heart.”

  “Not in the least.” She sighed. “He’s the one who broke the engagement, Bo.” When his jaw dropped, she added, “I was trying my best to tell him that I was breaking up, but it appears that he favors Cee’s cooking over mine.”

  “Cee’s cooking? What does Cee’s cooking have to do with your engagement?”

  She rubbed her bleary eyes. “It’s a long story. Cee has been bringing Gideon dinners. I might know the way to win a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I’ve never mastered the skills to do so. I believe Cee used my ineptness to her advantage.” She squeezed Bo’s arm. “I can’t fault her. Her cooking saved me from a very difficult task.”

  He sat up straighter. “You’re serious? Gideon broke the engagement?”

  “Dead serious, but only because I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. That man can talk himself into a frenzy when his conscience hurts him. I went there to break the engagement, but he did all the work.”

  Bo gathered her even closer and buried his face in her neck. His arms felt like home.

  Clearing her throat, she prompted. “Don’t you have something to tell me?”

  “Me?” He thought for a moment. “I love you?”

  “I know that. Something bigger.”

  “Bigger?” He shook his head. “I’m not good at games, Elly, not after being up all night.”

  Lowering her voice, she met his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me that Willow wasn’t your child?”

  He looked straight into her eyes. “You thought she was my daughter?”

  “Of course,” she said. “It was rather obvious.”

  “That I fathered Willow?”

  “Yes. You knew I had to be tied in knots wondering why a strange woman would drop a three-year-old child at your house and you’d accept her without question.”

  Shaking his head, he started to chuckle.

  “I fail to see the humor in my question.”

  “Just give me a minute.” He tried to wipe the grin off his face. “Willow isn’t my child, Elly, and I am sorry that you thought otherwise. Willow’s mother was a young woman in my congregation. When I first met her, she was running away from a man who mistreated her. Buck Tarrash. He nearly beat her to death when he learned she was carrying his child.

  “She sought refuge with our congregation. She and Willow were taken in by a very kind couple in the church. The couple became like grandparents to Willow, but when Jenna returned to saloon work, the father discovered their whereabouts and threatened to take the child away from her.

  “Jenna wanted to run, but she had nowhere to go. Her folks disowned her when she was thirteen. A woman—still a girl, actually—doesn’t have too many options at that point.

  “Not long after I returned to Berrytop, a gunfight erupted in the bar and Jenna took a bullet. The note asked me to watch over Willow until I could find her a good, God-fearing home, a home where no one knew Jenna’s past. She didn’t want her choices to reflect on her child.

  “So far, I haven’t found anyone young enough or inclined to take on an extra mouth to feed. The older couple she earlier lived with had poor health, and though they loved her like a granddaughter, they couldn’t take her back.”

  The world slowly tilted back to normal. “You could have said something.”

  “I should have, but for some reason it never occurred to me that you’d connect Willow with my ugly past.” He gently turned her to face him. “I may have broken promises, lost my way for a while, but you and you alone will be my children’s mother. I can’t believe you thought it could ever be otherwise.”

  “Me and the whole town,” she grumbled.

  “Seriously.” He shook his head. “Huh.”

  Men.

  He drew her close to nuzzle her neck. “You smell good.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “Bo Garrett is asking—begging—Elly Sullivan to marry him. Can you see past the hurt I’ve caused to trust me with your heart?”

  Smiling, she leaned back in his arms, confident that she could. “Elly Sullivan trusts you implicitly and accepts your proposal.”

  Elly was only slightly aware of the folks coming and going with covered dishes. The front door banged shut and then reopened every few minutes. Above them, Adele’s screams intensified.

  Bo held on to Elly tightly, as though she might slip away from him. “I know this isn’t the most romantic proposal, but I needed to catch you when you weren’t betrothed to Gideon.” She felt the breath of his words on her ear.

  She swatted him. “What about your church in Parsons? I will follow you wherever you decide to settle, and as far as me being a pastor’s wife, I can do that now, and I will, with all my heart.”

  Drawing back, he met her gaze. “I know you haven’t dedicated your life to serve God—”

  How could this crucial truth have been missed in their declarations? “I have dedicated my life to serve God, you, and Willow—your whole family. I hadn’t realized until recently that He was asking.” She marveled that the thought of being a pastor’s wife no longer intimidated her. In fact, the thought of serving God in such a gratifying way fit like a comfortable old shoe.

  Elly put her hand to Bo’s cheek. “You and I have come a long way, and you’ve made me grow to adore God as a loving, not an angry, Father. Reverend Richardson is good and preaches from his heart. I only pray that he will someday experience the love of God and share that knowledge with his congregation.”

  “I suppose every person approaches the message in his own way. Richardson is a fine man. He’s served the Lord faithfully, but he’s nearing his end in the pulpit.” Bo shifted and sat up straighter. “Yesterday I stopped by to visit the Reverend. Pa learned much through his teachings, and I wanted to thank him for his service to the community. The Reverend confessed he was slow to regain strength from his last bout with pneumonia. The doctor has, indeed, advised him to reduce his pastoral duties to a trickle. He asked me to take over here.”

  “Permanently?”

  “Odd, isn’t it? We were two entirely different people seven years ago. People hated to see us coming because of the mischief that followed. And now we’ll be shepherds to this small community.”

  A bubble of joy rose in her throat. “So you’re going to accept the position?”

  “I’ve barely had time to consider the offer. I love my congregation in Parsons, but now that Pa’s gone, Ma will need help with the bogs. And I’m thinking you won’t want to leave your parents and Adele, plus the little someone she’s trying to bring into the world right now. Ma would like to have her grandchildren around, and it’s likely Anne won’t ever come back. To be honest, now that I’m home, I don’t want to leave.”

  Elly marveled to hear Willow referred to as a grandchild, but that was the Garrett way. No family in all of Berrytop loved better, and the child’s spark was endearing to all who knew her. Elly could think of no sweeter calling than to be her mother.

  A high-pitched, ear shattering scream interrupted her thoughts. Elly and Bo turned to gape at the second floor window. “Should we be doin
g something?” he asked.

  “Adele’s in very good hands with your mother and the doctor at her side. I’ve been praying as we talked.”

  “Anyway,” Bo continued absently, “now that I have a moment to think, I believe this is what God had in mind all along.” He turned and tucked a lock of hair behind Elly’s ear. “I want to come home to you and Willow every single night of my life.”

  Their mouths drew closer. “We should probably tame our kisses while sitting here,” she whispered. She would surely melt into her shoes if they didn’t.

  “Why? I shouted my love to you and to the world not so many years ago.”

  “We were only kids. Besides, the neighbors will talk, and it’s too soon after your father’s death, don’t you think?”

  “Pa loved you.” His lips gently touched behind her ear. “And I love you more than words can say.”

  “Bo… ” Her limbs went as weak as a newborn lamb.

  The front door burst open and Faye rushed out. “It’s a boy!”

  Scrambling to her feet, Elly clapped her hands. “A boy!”

  Faye wiped her forehead with a cloth. “Doc’s getting the scales, but he says he’ll weigh in round about six pounds.”

  Elly’s smile faded. “Isn’t that small?”

  “For a young’un that’s this early? Not at all! It’s a good weight. He’s fine, and he looks just like his pa!”

  “Ike must be dancing for joy in heaven!” Elly drew Faye into an exuberant hug. “You must be so proud, Grandma.”

  Tears brimmed in Faye’s eyes, but she smiled like a child at the county fair. Milt hadn’t been in the ground but a few hours and already she seemed determined to march on. “Milt said it would be a boy. I imagine he’s dancing along with Ike right about now.” Turning on her heel, she rushed back into the house, where tiny cries were now coming from the upstairs.

  “A boy.” Elly sank to the step, wiping tears from her eyes. “A life is taken, and a new life appears.” Scooting closer, Elly risked a brief congratulatory kiss. Later, she would more properly show her admiration to the new uncle. “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “That could have been one of our children being born today, if you’d come home earlier.” Here she was nagging already.