“You needed to hear it.”
“I suppose….” Dell glanced at the sleeping babies. “What are you going to name them?” he asked.
“I don’t know. How about if you name the boy and I name the girl?”
“Sounds reasonable.” Dell squinted, deep in thought. “How about Timothy?”
Cassidy wrinkled her nose.
“Matthew?”
“No.”
“I thought you said I get to name the boy.” Dell’s eyes twinkled, and a smile spread over his face.
“Okay, I won’t say anything about the next one you pick.”
“Hiram,” he said with a smirk.
“This beautiful little boy does not look like a—”
Dell threw back his head and laughed heartily. “All right. What do you want to call him?”
Cassidy eyed him. “Can I still name the girl?”
He gave her a wry grin. “I guess.”
“All right. Let’s call him William, after my brother. It’ll mean so much to Emily.”
Dell nodded. “Sounds like a pretty good name. Mind if I call him Will?”
“That’s fine. But not Willie or Billy. My brother hated those nicknames.”
“What about our sweet little girl here?” he asked, cooing at his daughter, whose tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
“I’d like to call her Hope.”
Bending over, he brushed Cassidy’s forehead with his lips. “Hope and Will. Our babies.” He gently unwrapped Hope’s fingers from his. “Do you feel up to seeing the rest of the children for a few minutes? They’re sort of waiting outside the door.”
“Of course.”
Dell went to the door and opened it to reveal five excited faces.
Slowly they filed in, one by one, kissing Cassidy on the cheek and running gentle hands over the fuzzy baby heads of their new sister and brother.
Tarah stood before Cassidy with trembling lips. “Forgive me?” was all she could manage before a fresh onslaught of tears.
“Of course I forgive you, sweetheart. I’m just glad everything worked out the way it did.” Cassidy grinned at her. “I imagine you’ll pay penance enough helping me take care of two babies!”
“Oh, Ma, I truly love you.” Tarah maneuvered cautiously around the twins and gave Cassidy a squeeze.
Cassidy’s heart leaped from the wonder of it all. God knew what it took to finally make them a family. She stroked Tarah’s ebony hair. “I truly love you, too.”
“All right,” Dell said with authority. “Everyone out. Your ma needs her rest.”
The children lifted their voices in protest. But Dell was firm. “You’ll have plenty of time to see her and the babies tomorrow, but for now I want you in your beds. No arguments.”
They didn’t have to be told again, and one by one they slowly left the room.
“Now as for you, my darling,” he said, “I want you to get some rest, too.”
“I will. I feel like I could sleep for a month.”
Dell chuckled. “You’ll be lucky to get a couple hours before one or both want to be fed.”
“Then you’d better let me sleep.”
He pulled the covers up around her, careful not to cover the babies’ heads.
“Cassidy, I want you to know I thought about what you said earlier.” He reached forward and brushed a damp strand of hair away from her eyes. “About trusting God to care for you.”
“Yes?”
“And I think I’m beginning to understand. Anna was tiny and weak from the start. But you…you’re so strong—strong enough to argue with me the whole time you were having the babies.”
“Well, you’re so thickheaded,” she said in her own defense. “And I was feeling pretty cranky.”
“I can imagine,” he drawled. “And Doc had a point about me trying to control whether someone lives or dies.”
Hope rose in Cassidy’s heart. “That’s entirely up to God.”
“I’m beginning to realize that. Anyway, like the doctor said, you’re a very strong woman and could most likely bear a dozen children.”
“Dell!” Cassidy gasped.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “I don’t intend to have a dozen more. But I wouldn’t mind another one or two eventually.”
Cassidy stared up at him, eyes wide. “Do you mean you want a real marriage?”
He nodded. “I’ve allowed fear of losing you to control our relationship. But not anymore.”
“Not anymore?” Cassidy repeated, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Nope. Never again.”
Cassidy’s pulse quickened as his gaze melted into hers. Gently he lowered his head inch by inch until their lips met. His hands went to either side of her neck as he deepened the kiss. When he finally released her, tears glistened in his blue eyes. “I love you more than anything in this world, Cassidy St. John.” Lovingly he stroked her cheek. “I’ll make it all up to you. I promise.”
Cassidy shook her head. “I just want to go forward. There’s been too much looking back in this family—too much trying to pay for the past.”
“All right,” Dell said softly. “There’ll be no more talk of the past, then. We start fresh right now.”
“What about God?” Cassidy asked. “Our marriage will never be the way it is supposed to be unless we make Him the center of our lives.”
“I reckon it’s time to start fresh with Him, too.”
Cassidy saw the mist in his eyes and smiled. “‘Behold, all things are become new,’” she said wearily, just before a yawn rose from inside of her, catching her unaware.
With his forefinger, Dell gently traced a line from her cheekbone to her chin. “I want you to get some rest while you can,” he said softly. “I’ll be here on a pallet if you need me for anything.”
“Oh Dell, don’t sleep on the floor,” Cassidy protested.
He smiled tenderly. “I’ve spent enough nights alone. From now on, I’m sleeping wherever you are.”
After dropping a final kiss on her upturned lips, he blew out the lamp.
Cassidy pressed a kiss to each little head beside her, then snuggled down under the covers. Her mouth curved into a smile as she drifted to sleep.
Tarah’s Lessons
Dedication
Lovingly dedicated to my four children:
Cat, Michael, Stevan, and Will.
You’ll learn so many lessons throughout your precious lives, lessons taught by scores of teachers.
But the most important, by far, are those taught by a loving Father as He molds you into the vessels He created you to be.
My prayer is that you will learn the lessons well.
Mommy loves you.
Special thanks to Chris Lynxwiler and my mom, Frances Devine, who have each read this book so many times for editing purposes, they must know it by heart.
Chapter 1
1871
Tarah St. John stood at the doorway of the little sod schoolhouse and waved good-bye to her departing students. Finally the endless day was over!
Releasing a weary sigh, she pressed her palms to her cheeks and rubbed vigorously, attempting to ease her aching jaw. Whoever had said that “a smile never hurt anyone” had obviously never tried to force one all day.
With purpose, she pulled the wooden door firmly shut and turned to her one remaining student. She narrowed her gaze, set her lips into a firm line, and stomped back to the front of the room, her blue gingham skirt swishing about her legs.
Very near to tears, Tarah rammed her hands on her hips and faced the redheaded boy writing sentences on the slate blackboard. “Luke St. John,” she said furiously, “you just wait till Pa hears about this.”
“Aw,” her twelve-year-old brother protested, keeping his eyes on the task at hand, “you ain’t gotta tell Ma and Pa.”
“I don’t have to tell them,” she corrected. “But it just so happens I want to. Honestly, your orneriness is probably the sole reason Miss Nelson gave up teaching and high
tailed it back east.” She paced the floor behind him, trying to come up with just the right words to make him thoroughly ashamed of himself.
“Come on, Tarah.” He kicked at the ground with a booted toe. “Don’t be mad.”
Steeling herself against his conciliatory tone, Tarah glared at her brother. She refused to let him off the hook so easily. “You made me look plumb foolish, Luke. Did you have to show off for the new girl on my very first day of teaching?”
Luke stopped his nearly illegible scrawling and turned to her, his green eyes flashing in anger. “I weren’t showing off for no girl!”
“Wasn’t showing off for any girl. And you were so. I saw you staring at Josie Raney all during spelling lessons this morning. And from the looks of those sentences,” she said with a pointed glance at the board, “you need to concentrate on spelling a sight more than you need to look at a pretty new face. There are two b’s in ribbons.”
“I wasn’t looking at her pretty face,” Luke insisted.
Tarah couldn’t resist a teasing grin. “So you do think she’s pretty.”
Caught by his own words, the boy grinned back, showing teeth still rather large for his face. He shrugged. “I reckon.”
“Then why in the world did you dip her ribbon in your inkwell? Don’t you know they cost money?”
Luke shifted and stared at his feet. “Guess I weren’t thinking about that,” he mumbled.
“Apparently you weren’t,” Tarah said with a sniff. “Well, you’ll just have to buy her a new one.”
Panic sparked in the boy’s eyes. “But I don’t got no money.”
She lifted a delicate brow and regarded him frankly. “I suppose I’d be willing to help you out.”
“You would?” Hope widened Luke’s eyes.
Tarah nodded. “I’ll give you a penny a day until you have enough to pay for the ribbons. But you’ll have to earn it.”
She felt a prick of guilt about bribing him, but after the day he’d put her through, she was just weary enough to offer him anything. If he would just be good until the other children got used to her, his disruptions would be manageable. As it was, he only encouraged unruly behavior among the other students.
Suspicion clouded the hope in his eyes. “What do I gotta do?”
“All you have to do is be good in class.”
Luke’s eyebrows darted upward. “That’s it?”
Tarah bit back the smile threatening the corners of her mouth. She knew her brother. He would definitely have to work hard to earn that money. “That’s all. Think you can manage it?”
He scrunched his nose, obviously trying to weigh his options. “How much do hair ribbons cost?”
“Five cents ought to get her enough ribbon for a matched pair.”
“Two? But I only inked one of her ol’ ribbons.”
“Yes, but she was wearing a matching set. One of which you ruined. A girl can’t go around wearing two different-colored ribbons in her hair.”
Luke’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and he turned back to writing his sentences. “Aw, who cares if they match anyway?” he muttered.
“She does,” Tarah replied firmly. “And so do I. Do we have a deal?”
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “I guess I don’t got no choice.”
“Good.” Elated by the victory, Tarah didn’t even bother to correct his grammar. “I’ll buy the ribbon on the way home from school, and all you have to do is behave yourself for a week.”
He scowled and nodded.
“Now hurry and finish those sentences so we can get home and help with chores.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Tarah turned and began to tidy up the books scattered across her desk.
The door opened just then, and sunlight streamed into the small schoolhouse. Tarah glanced up as Josie Raney shuffled to the front of the room.
“Why, Josie, did you forget something?”
A deep chuckle emanated from the doorway. “My niece forgot her little brother, I’m afraid.”
Tarah squinted against the blinding light, trying to make out the man’s features. She caught her breath as he stepped through the doorway into plain view. Anthony Greene. Looking every bit as handsome as ever. He still had the same unruly sandy-blond hair and brown eyes, able to melt a girl’s insides with one glance in her direction—like now. “Why, Anthony,” she said breathlessly. “When did you get back in town?”
“Hello, Tarah.” He grinned broadly. “So you are the new schoolteacher. I thought Ma was pulling my leg.”
Tarah bristled. “Why’s that? Don’t you think I can be a teacher?” After the day she had just gone through, she wasn’t at all sure she could be a teacher, but she certainly didn’t need anyone else questioning the fact.
“Sure,” he said with a lift of his brow. “I just figured some lucky man would have married you by now.”
Heat rose to her cheeks as memories of her schoolgirl crush came rushing back to torture her. She’d had dreams of marrying him. But one year her senior, Anthony Greene was the only young man in Harper who had seemed unaware she existed. Much to Tarah’s humiliation, he’d preferred the simpering Louisa Thomas.
When he’d left for seminary, no one had expected he’d ever be back. But there he was, as real as Luke’s big, ornery, knowing grin.
“Hi, Anthony,” Luke said, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “We’ve missed you.” Tilting his head, he gave Tarah a sly look from the corner of his eye. “Haven’t we, sis?”
The lilt in his voice sent a warning through Tarah. Surely he was not going to humiliate her in front of Anthony Greene, of all people!
“Luke…,” Tarah warned.
“My hand’s awfully tired from writing those sentences, Tarah.” Luke’s voice rang with challenge.
The boy would pay and pay dearly. “All right,” she replied through gritted teeth, taking care to keep what she hoped to be a sweet smile plastered on her face. “I think you’ve learned your lesson.” She’d deal with the little stinker later. Right now she had to thwart any embarrassing comment he might make about her former crush.
“Now,” she said, turning her attention back to Anthony and Josie. “What’s this about Toby not making it home with you?” she asked the girl.
“I thought he was right behind me,” Josie replied, keeping her gaze on the floor.
“I know where he is,” Luke spoke up. “I saw him go to the outhouse.”
Josie’s chin jerked upward, and she stared wide-eyed at Luke.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I…uh…saw him through the window when I was writing sentences.”
“And you didn’t see him come out?” Anthony asked incredulously.
Luke kept his gaze fixed on Josie’s pale face. “Naw,” he said with a shrug. “But that old latch is rusty. It gets stuck all the time. Don’t it, Tarah?”
“Doesn’t it,” she corrected. “And Pa just fixed it last week.”
“I’d better go check on him,” Anthony said. “Come along, Jo.”
“I think I’ll stay in here and help Luke clean the blackboard,” Josie said, giving Anthony a sweet smile. “If that’s okay with you, Uncle Anthony.”
A flood of color rushed to Luke’s cheeks, making his freckles pop out even brighter. “I don’t need no—”
“How sweet of you,” Tarah broke in, pleasantly surprised by the kind gesture. Maybe Luke’s crush on this girl would prove to be a motivating factor for improving his behavior. One could certainly hope, anyway.
Tarah observed Anthony’s broad shoulders as he headed toward the door. Her heartbeat quickened, and she hurried to follow him. It was only natural for her to make sure the little boy made it home all right, she inwardly insisted. Her concern had nothing whatsoever to do with a desire to prolong her contact with Anthony. Oh, who was she trying to fool? Anthony had walked out of her life when he’d left town two years ago without so much as a backward glance, and she had no intention of letting it happen again!
“So y
ou’re the new teacher….”
“I didn’t know you had a niece and nephew….”
They spoke together as they walked around the side of the building.
Tarah laughed. “You first.”
He gave a deep chuckle, the pleasant sound causing Tarah’s stomach to do somersaults.
“They’re my sister Ella’s kids,” he explained. “She and her husband, Joe, stayed back east when Pa moved the family out here three years ago.”
“So your sister and brother-in-law decided to move out here after all?”
He shook his head. “Only Ella and the children came. They’ll stay and help Ma for a while. Pa’s death was awfully hard on her.”
“Oh Anthony, how thoughtless of me. I’m terribly sorry about your pa’s passing.”
Anthony swallowed hard and nodded. “It was a shock. If I had known he was ill, I never would have left.”
Tarah reached out and gently touched his arm. “You mustn’t blame yourself,” she said softly. “There was no way you or anyone else could possibly have known.”
He stopped walking and turned to her, covering her hand with his own. “Thank you, Tarah,” he said earnestly. “I guess I know that in my heart. But I can’t help but feel if I had been here to take on some of the load, his heart wouldn’t have given out the way it did.”
Tarah opened her mouth to reply but stopped short as a cry broke through the moment.
“L–l–let me out. I w–w–want out.”
Together, Tarah and Anthony sprinted the few final yards to the outhouse.
The door was more than jammed. Someone had wrapped a rope around the entire outhouse, obviously locking the little boy in there on purpose.
“Honestly,” Tarah said. “Who would have done such a thing?”
Anthony tossed a quick glance toward the schoolhouse. “I think I have a pretty good idea,” he drawled.
He quickly untied the simple knot and unwound the rope. The door swung open, and six-year-old Toby stumbled out of the doorway. Fat tears rolled down his chubby cheeks as he grabbed on to Anthony’s legs and hung on for all he was worth.
Tarah knelt beside the boy. “Sweetie, who did this?”
Brides of Kansas Page 17
