Camelia set a cup of milk a little in front of Hope. “That’s wonderful. It sounds like you will go back to a good life.”
Laura nodded. “I’ll be able to teach, and I’ll have Hope.”
She didn’t voice her concerns about Hope’s father showing up. After all, if he had followed Priscilla here, wouldn’t they have seen him by now?
“Are you taking her to school with you? Or leaving her with Elizabeth Maxwell?” Camelia pulled out a chair and sat down.
Laura swallowed the potatoes in her mouth. “I was thinking I’d take her with me, but if Elizabeth asks to take care of her while I’m at school, I see no reason why she can’t.”
“That would probably be easier for you.” Camelia reached over and touched Hope’s chubby little cheek. “I believe she’s gained a little weight since you came out here.”
Laura stood and carried her plate to the washtub. “So have I. I’m going to miss your cooking, Camelia.”
Camelia smiled. “Thank you. It won’t be the same without you here.” Her green eyes sparkled.
Afraid the older woman might cry, and cause her to cry, Laura changed the subject. “With Selina taking over the care of Grace. I think I’ll have a little more time on my hands. Is there anything I can do to help you?” She went to get a small rag to wash Hope’s face.
“No, if you start helping out now, I’ll get used to it and then won’t want to do my own work once you’re gone.” Camelia stood. “You’ve worked hard the last few weeks. Why not take off some time for yourself this week?”
Clint came through the kitchen door. “I think Selina and Grace are getting along just fine.” He stopped and looked at the two women.
“I’m sure they are,” Laura said, she finished washing Hope’s face and then picked her up. Laura smiled at the little girl who yawned. “Come along, Hope. I think it’s time for your nap.” She turned and walked toward her room in the pantry.
“Shouldn’t she sleep in her own room?” Clint asked.
Laura shook her head. “No, I’m not sure what Selina’s schedule will be like with Grace. Hope can nap in my room but will need to sleep at night with Grace, if that’s all right.”
Her voice came out a little crisper than she’d intended.
Laura still smarted from the lack of attention that Clint had given her on the way home. It seemed to her that all he could do was pay attention to the new nanny. He’d been silent, simply listening to the young woman go on and on all the way to the house.
“That is fine with me.” His brow furrowed as if confused.
She nodded, then walked to the closet. It didn’t take long to get Hope asleep on the little cot. Laura pressed her pillow against the child to keep her from rolling to the edge and falling off. She wished it were bigger so that Hope could sleep with her in the evenings, but the cot was only built to sleep one.
Laura stayed in the room for half an hour to insure that Hope was sound asleep. Laura peeked out the door of her new room. Not seeing Clint or Camelia, she walked out the kitchen door. What was she going to do with so much free time?
She walked to the henhouse and watched as the chickens scratched about in the dirt looking for worms or seeds. There was so much on her mind. Soon she’d have a new house but very little to put inside it. Laura grinned. Maybe she and Hope wouldn’t need a lot to start.
Her gaze moved about the ranch yard. Everything they needed was right here. Grace, Camelia, even Clint. Miss Priss walked up to the fence and looked up at Laura. As crazy as it sounded, she would miss the little hen, Miss Priss.
Tears filled her eyes; change was hard. Laura dashed the moisture from her face. She told herself that it was the changes in her life that made her sad. But deep down, Laura knew the sadness came from leaving Clint.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“So this is where you got off to.” Clint walked across the yard and joined her beside the fence. Had she been crying? He studied her profile.
“I just thought I’d check on Miss Priss.” She continued to stare down at the little hen.
He grinned. Laura had come to the henhouse every day since the Crock boys had terrorized the ranch. Usually with the pretense of gathering eggs. “You know, if you’d like, I’ll build you a small chicken coop at your house in town, and you can take Miss Priss and a couple of the other hens.”
A grin tilted her lips. “Thank you, that’s very nice, but I’m not even sure what the house in town looks like or if there is room for chickens.”
He turned around and rested his elbows on the fence as he surveyed the main entrance to the ranch. “When we were in town, I ran into Mr. Smith. He and a group of men are going out to the Mason farm and rebuilding his barn.” Clint glanced toward her. “I asked Camelia if she would like to go, but she doesn’t think it’s wise to leave Selina alone with Grace just yet but suggested you might like to go.”
Laura tilted her head sideways and smiled. “Are you asking me to come?”
He shoved his hat back and grinned. “Why not? You could visit with the other ladies and eat good food all day.” Clint realized he’d just tried to bribe her to come with him with food.
She laughed. “You didn’t mention that I’ll have to cook a lot of that food.” Her eyes challenged him to deny that she’d be working at the barn raising, too.
“Well, if you can’t cook.” Clint shrugged. This was new territory for them, and he wondered how Laura would take to his teasing.
Laura turned and faced the main entrance also. “Oh, I can cook.” She gave him a sideways glance. “I just haven’t because you would want me to stay forever, and that just wouldn’t do.”
He watched her sashay back to the house. She did have a teasing nature. Unfortunately, it just made him love her all the more, and he knew he’d miss her when she returned to town.
“She really is something, isn’t she?”
Clint turned to look at Richard. “That she is.” He pushed away from the fence. “We’d best get on with our day, what’s left of it.”
Richard laughed. “I suppose.”
Keeping his mind on running the ranch was harder than usual. Clint did his chores and made sure everyone else was doing theirs, too, but his mind wouldn’t stray far from Laura Lee.
He was pretty sure she’d been crying when he’d approached her earlier. Her eyelashes were moist. Was she sad about leaving the ranch? Was it possible that Laura had begun to care about him and Grace?
* * *
The next morning, Laura sat on the wagon bench with Clint. They were headed to the Smith farm with lots of food and little Hope. She’d spent the afternoon the day before baking and cooking dishes for the noonday meal. Barn raising was hard work, and the men always had large appetites.
Hope sat between her feet. She played with her rag doll and a little blanket Laura had made that matched the doll. Laura and Camelia had made several little dresses to go with each of the girl’s dolls. The baby seemed to be Hope’s favorite toy.
Clint glanced over his shoulder at the boxes of food, Laura had set in the bed of the wagon. “Looks like you made enough for a small army.”
“Everyone will be hungry come lunchtime. I hope it’s enough.” She had fussed as to what all to bring. In one box there were fresh breads and cakes. In another she’d put canned jars of pickles, green beans and various fruits. Laura had also made a meat loaf, a pot of chili and a platter of fried chicken.
“You do realize there are other women coming who will be bring food, too.” He chuckled and set the wagon into motion.
“I know. Maybe I overdid it.” She worried her bottom lip. She knew that Mrs. Smith would be there, but besides her Laura hadn’t given any thought to how many other ladies might attend. Had she done too much? Camelia hadn’t commented that she thought so.
Clint bumped her with his shoulder. “I was teasing. You did
good.”
“Thanks.” Laura wasn’t as confident as she’d like to be. The Smith family were kind and had several children that went to her school. She knew they’d welcome her, but in the past, she’d stayed away from events like this because she didn’t feel comfortable in crowds. Now Laura felt trapped and unsure how to act.
He draped an arm around her shoulder. “You’ll do fine.”
How did he know how she was feeling? Had it shown on her face? Laura nodded. “I know. I’m just a little nervous.”
Clint squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t know why. You deal with parents all the time. Don’t the Smiths have a couple of boys in your class?”
“They do. I’m just being silly.” How could she explain that being the teacher was different than just showing up to help with the food at a barn raising party. That even at church she’d kept to herself, arriving a little before service started and leaving as quickly as possible.
Hope pulled on her skirt. She held up her baby with its dress half on and half off.
Laura grinned. “Little one, do you want the dress on or off?” She took the baby and pulled the dress the rest of the way on.
The little girl frowned and pushed it back to Laura when she tried to give the toy back. Her pretty blue eyes searched Laura’s.
“Oh, you want it off.” Laura pulled the dress the rest of the way off and handed them back to Hope.
Clint chuckled again. “Still don’t see why you are concerned. You can communicate with kids just fine. Adults really aren’t that different.”
Laura smiled. “You’re right. I normally don’t have any trouble. I’ll be fine.” Inwardly she sighed and thought, I’ll do what I always do and put on a good front.
They continued on. Clint pulled his arm from around her shoulder and concentrated on his driving. Laura assumed he didn’t want to jar the boxes in the back too badly.
Thankfully the Smith’s ranch bordered Clint’s, and they were there in a matter of minutes. Other wagons were parked around the front yard under shade trees. The horses had all been unhitched and were milling about in the corral a few yards away.
Laura allowed Clint to help her down and then pulled Hope and her baby from the wagon. She set Hope on her hip and looked about. The women were working on the side of the house, setting up makeshift tables.
Several men hurried out to help Clint carry her boxes to the ladies who waited. Laura followed them to the side of the house. She swallowed the lump of uneasiness.
“Mrs. Lee!”
At the sound of her name, Laura turned to find a large group of children running to her. The older ones stopped and talked all at once. The little children grabbed her about the legs and hugged tightly.
She patted each child and answered their many questions. Some wanted to know when school would be starting back. The girls looked disappointed that it would still be a few weeks, while the older boys looked relieved. Laura laughed and walked toward the group of women who were watching their children greet the schoolteacher.
“Kids, go play while you can,” Mrs. Smith instructed once they were close enough that she didn’t have to yell.
The children took off running as fast as they had arrived.
Mrs. Smith came around the table and smiled. “Mrs. Lee, we are so glad you could come today.”
She returned the older woman’s smile. Mrs. Smith was in her early forties, and her youngest child was ten. “Thank you. But I’m not the schoolteacher today. Please, call me Laura.”
All the ladies seemed to visibly relax. Laura smiled. Maybe she didn’t always have to be the schoolteacher. Maybe, just maybe she could be herself.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Clint tried to keep an eye on Laura. He could tell she felt a little overwhelmed when they’d first arrived. It amazed him that such a confident woman could be so skittish around a group of other women.
He hammered several nails into the board that would soon be a part of the doorframe. His gaze moved about the group of men while he worked. Mr. Smith, Mr. Carson and Mr. Daniels all worked on one wall. They’d put up several barns in the last few years. It seemed as the community grew, the barns wore out.
Other men were working on other frames for walls. Each man had a job, some were crew chiefs. They’d been around long enough to have learned some things, make good decisions and guide the younger men. Some were what he referred to as “go-getters” because they were young, had strong muscles and were the ones who were told to “go get this or lift that.” Normally a barn took a full day to get up, and even then, sometimes, depending on the weather and the man power, they’d have to return the next day to finish it up.
His gaze moved to Laura. He knew the women had a similar way of doing things. The barn hostess gave everyone jobs. Clint half expected to see Laura with the young children, since she was the schoolteacher, but instead saw her organizing the dessert table.
She looked to him and grinned. Gone was the nervousness in her eyes. The stress lines in her face had disappeared, as well. Laura Lee’s inner beauty had worked its way out and painted a picture of her in his mind. A picture he’d probably never forget.
Pain exploded into his thumb. Clint yelped and stuck the throbbing member into his mouth. His gaze shot to Laura, who looked away.
Male laugher filled the morning air. “Keep your mind on the job, Shepard,” his crew chief, Mr. Lawrence, yelled from his supervision spot under a big oak tree.
Mr. Lawrence knew how to put up a barn. As one of the old-timers, who played a lot of checkers at the general store, this position was one of great respect.
“Yes, sir,” Clint called back. He bent his head to look at the damage to his thumb. He’d probably lose the nail in a few weeks or at least have a purple thumb for a few days.
But it had been worth it to see Laura look away with a faint blush on her cheeks. The women had all stopped what they were doing and glanced from her to him. He could see the speculations growing and prayed they’d not hound her about them.
“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Eli Porter said as he came to help Clint line up another board.
Clint looked to the young man. He was probably in his early twenties. His baby face still hadn’t seen the edge of a good razor. “Done what?”
“Opened the door for a whole mess of worms.” He grinned at Clint. “I might be young, but everyone here now knows you are sweet on Mrs. Lee.”
“As far as I can tell, that’s not so bad. It will keep the other bachelors away.” He winked at the younger man.
“Yes, sir. And, it will get the women into a matchmaking mood. Mark my word, before the day is up there’ll be a barn dance in this here barn in a couple of days, and it’s all your fault.”
“Eli, quit your jawin’ and go help Mr. Carson with that wall!”
The young boy yelled back, “Yes, sir.” Then he lowered his voice for only Clint to hear. “Mr. Lawrence is having fun. Isn’t he?”
Clint laughed. “He sure is.” His thoughts returned to Eli’s speculations on a barn dance. Would the women really start planning all that, simply because he hit his thumb and Laura blushed?
A few hours later, Clint’s stomach growled. Thankfully his wasn’t the only one, and the crew chief called for the lunch break. He got in line with the other men, aware that Laura stood at her place at the dessert table.
Mr. Smith blessed the food and announced they could all dig in. Clint looked for the meat loaf he knew that Laura had made. In the weeks she’d been on the ranch, Camelia had done all the cooking. He was looking forward to seeing for himself that Laura could make a good meat loaf.
When his plate was full, he went to join Eli’s table. The young man had piled his plate to overflowing. His brown eyes met Clint’s when he sat down. He held a drumstick in one hand and a biscuit in another. “This chicken is so good. You should have got a piece.
” He waved the leg around as if it were a grand prize.
“I went for the meat loaf.”
Eli looked at Clint’s plate. “No dessert?” he asked, frowning.
Clint laughed. “Not yet. I like to eat the good foods first, and if there is room, go back for dessert.”
“That’s too bad. Mrs. Lee said her peach pie was all taken.”
He hadn’t known she’d baked a peach pie, too. No wonder she’d been working in the kitchen half the night as well as all afternoon. “That’s too bad. I would have liked to try it.”
“She doesn’t make peach pie at your place?” Eli snickered with a couple of the other boys who also sat at the table.
Clint chose to ignore their childish ways. “Afraid not.” He dipped his fork into the meat loaf. Flavors danced over his tongue like rain on a still pond. He smiled. Laura could cook, and she did a far better job on meat loaf than either Camelia or Martha ever had.
He turned around and looked to the dessert table. Laura was no longer there. He sighed and returned to his meal.
Eli leaned over and whispered, “She went to get a little girl.” He nodded to a group of children standing not far off. “See?”
“Thanks.” He felt his neck grow red. Clint picked up his plate and drink and walked to where Laura was gathering Hope.
Clint smiled when Laura looked up at him. “Where are you going to eat?”
She smiled and pointed to an unoccupied space under one of the many trees. “That’s our blanket over there.”
If people were going to gossip about them, they might as well have material to use in their conversations. “I’ll take Hope while you go fix your plates.” He moved his drink to the crook of his arm and reached down to take Hope’s little hand in his and walked to the tree.
Hope’s steps were slow, but they finally made it to their spot for lunch. He sat down and sighed. His thumb throbbed and so did his heart. What was it about Laura that made him wish for a wife and more children? Was it her sweet nature? Or the fact that he’d been alone for two years?
Baby On Her Doorstep Page 17
