“All right. I’ll talk to him. When would be convenient? Where do you live?”
She frowned. “Do you know the Sanders’ house? It’s just north of town.”
“I do. You’re too young to be Cletus Sander’s daughter!”
“He adopted me and my sisters.”
“Really? How many sisters do you have?”
“Fourteen.” Penny bit her lip to keep from laughing at the expression that crossed his face. “They’re not really my sisters. We were raised in an orphanage together and all adopted by Cletus and Edna Petunia Sanders.”
“I will stop on my way home to talk to him. If he says yes, may I take you out tomorrow night?”
She sighed. The man was persistent. “Why don’t you come to supper tonight? You can talk to Cletus and meet Edna Petunia and my sisters.” Only the most earnest suitor would make it past her crazy family. Hopefully he’d pass the test.
“I’ll be there.” He pulled a watch from his pocket, and she was struck by how shiny it was. Could Cletus be right? Was he the son of a rancher? “What time do you get off work?”
“Not until five.” It was only around four, and she wasn’t about to leave early. She knew better than going places with men she didn’t know.
“I’ll wait for you. May I drive you home?”
She shook her head. “Not until you get permission from Cletus. I’m sorry. I just don’t know you.”
He frowned. “You’re difficult.”
The look on his face made her want to laugh. She understood why he thought she was difficult, but she truly wasn’t trying to be. “I’m sorry you think so. I prefer not to put myself in situations where I could get hurt. I don’t know you well enough to go off alone with you.”
“If I find us a chaperone, then will you go with me?”
She sighed. “I suppose. If I know the chaperone and feel safe.”
“I’ll be back.”
While she watched, Tom marched straight up to her brother-in-law Lewis, the owner of the mercantile, and talked to him. Lewis looked over at her with a smile and nodded, before walking to the door that led to his family’s quarters above the store.
Shortly after Ruby came down the stairs holding her six-month-old baby on her hip. Lewis walked to her and spoke softly, and Ruby nodded before walking over to Penny. “I hear you need a chaperone. We’ll send the boys home with you, and they can spend the night. I’d love to have a bit of a break.”
“You won’t get a break unless you send the twins,” Penny said, taking the baby from her sister. “How’s my favorite nephew?”
“He’s fine. And I thought Robert and James were your favorite nephews!”
“Well, they’re not here right now, are they?”
Ruby laughed. “You know, if you want to take the twins, you can. Then you can have the four of them, and I’ll just have the baby.”
“You wouldn’t know what to do with only Jasper around!”
“Oh yes, I would! Please, take them all! Edna Petunia would be in heaven with four grand-bastards around.”
“I don’t mind taking them all. What time will you come get them?”
Ruby shrugged. “Tomorrow evening.”
Penny worked only from Monday through Friday. Edna Petunia insisted she needed a day off besides Sunday, so she took the time off away from the store, but she almost always had work to take home with her. “I’ll tell Edna Petunia.”
“You should leave now. It’s not that early, and you’ll just work at home anyway.”
Penny eyed Ruby. “Are you trying to be nice to me? Or do you just want to get rid of the children immediately?”
“It’s one of those,” Ruby said with a wink. “I’m going to run upstairs, tell them, and pack for them all. So happy to have a break for a change.”
Penny frowned. “You do look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?”
“You never get enough sleep when you have an infant,” Ruby responded. “At least it wasn’t twins again. Do you want to keep him with you while I get the others ready?”
Penny nodded. “I don’t get nearly enough time with him.” She gave Jasper a kiss on his chubby cheek.
Tom came back from the counter. “Are the chaperones acceptable?”
“You know we’re taking four children out to my house, right? Two of them are only two.”
He shrugged. “I like kids. We’ll be fine.” He wanted to watch her with them. He needed to know she’d be good with their seven boys.
The baby whimpered a little, and Penny bounced up and down to quiet him. “If you say so.”
“Will your parents mind that you invited me for supper?”
She shook her head. “No. Edna Petunia makes enough to feed an army anyway. Our door is always open.” Edna would have adopted another thirty children if Cletus had let her.
Ruby came back down, Robert holding Jade by the hand, and James holding Crystal. Ruby carried a carpet bag that looked like it was stuffed full. She handed the bag to Tom, who took it without question, before hugging Penny and taking the baby. “Thank you!”
Penny looked down at the girls. “We’re going to have fun, right?”
Crystal nodded. “I play with Minnie.”
“Yes, you can play with Minnie.” Minnie was the sister who was the most motherly, and Penny knew the nephews and nieces all preferred her. She took her sewing basket with Tom’s shirt pieces in it and put it over her arm. “I’m ready.”
Lewis was grinning as he watched the six of them leave together, as if it had been his idea to begin with. She waved at him as she and the children followed Tom toward the door.
Tom held the door for her and then hurried to walk in front so he could show them which wagon was his. Robert sat in front holding one of his sisters, while Penny held the other. “Anything you need before we head out to the Sanders’ place?”
Penny shook her head. “No, I have my work, and really that’s all I need to go home.”
“You should work less.”
“I’d like that a lot,” she said. “I like to feel productive though, and if I wasn’t doing work for pay, I’d be making something for someone.”
He chatted with her while they drove, trying to learn as much about her as he could. “How many nephews and nieces do you have?”
“Oh, let me think. Between Ruby and Opal, I have eight. Then Sarah Jane has one and is expecting her second. Evelyn has one. I’m sure she’ll be expecting any day, but she hasn’t been married long. So that’s how many? Ten and a half?”
“That’s a lot of kids.”
“My mother would take another fifty or sixty if we’d give them to her. She loves kids.”
“Sounds like it!” He shook his head. “Why were you raised in an orphanage?”
“My mother died when I was three. My father was killed in a factory accident two years later. They were immigrants, and their families are still in Germany. So I was raised in the orphanage. I’m lucky to know. Some of the girls were left when they were infants and have no idea who their families are. At least we have records of my family.”
He couldn’t imagine not knowing everything about his family for generations and generations. Now that he thought about it, he knew little about his mother’s family. Only his father’s. He found that odd. “What brought you to Texas?”
She shook her head. “The orphanage in New York where I grew up had a new church take over, and they decided it wasn’t right for boys and girls to live together. So they sent the girls away. There were fifteen of us on a bus, and we camped on the side of the road. There was only enough money to get here. We arrived and found out that the house we’d been told the church had waiting for us didn’t exist. Edna Petunia said she’d take all fifteen of us on the spot.”
“She must be an awfully special woman.”
Penny grinned. “That’s one way of putting it.”
He pulled into the driveway and jumped down to take the twins and put them on their feet before offering her a hand to
help her down. “You love her, don’t you?”
“If I didn’t love her just for getting us out of that situation, I’d love her for just being Edna Petunia. She’s really a special lady. Wait until you meet her. You’ll understand.”
Penny saw that the boys each had one of their sisters’ hands, so she got the carpet bag from the back of the wagon, only to have Tom remove it from her grasp right away. When their hands met, she felt as if electricity was zinging through her entire body. She took her sewing basket and led the way to the house, calling out as she opened the door. “Edna Petunia! I’m home, and I brought company!”
An old woman came out of a room at the back of the house and squealed loudly, running to pick up one of the twins and hug her tightly. As Tom watched, she exclaimed over each child, before turning to Penny. “Is Ruby all right?”
Penny nodded. “Ruby’s fine. I didn’t want to let Mr. McClain drive me home without a chaperone, because I barely know him, so he arranged for four chaperones. Ruby will be coming to pick them up tomorrow evening.”
“Oh good. I get to keep you for a whole day!”
Tom peered at the woman, noticing she had something sticking out of her cleavage. He wanted to ask what it was, but the twin Edna Petunia was holding, reached down and pulled it out, sticking the object into her mouth. That’s when he realized it was a peppermint stick. He wanted to ask why there was candy in the woman’s bosom, but he decided against it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer.
“Edna Petunia, this is Thomas McClain.”
Edna Petunia looked at the young man in front of her for a moment. “I don’t like the idea of a cowboy escorting one of my girls. You may go home.”
Tom blinked a couple of times. “I’m not just a cowboy, Mrs. Sanders. My family owns a ranch not too far from here. I dress like this, because my father is still running the ranch, and I’m out working with the cattle.”
Penny was surprised at his answer. She hadn’t really thought Cletus had been talking about his family when he said he knew some McClains.
“Is that so?” Edna Petunia asked. “I suppose you may talk to her then, but don’t get it into your head you’re going to drag her off to the preacher tomorrow. I’m planning her wedding if it’s the last thing I do!” She stomped off, carrying one girl and holding the hand of the other. “Come along, boys. Your Grandpa Cletus needs to see you.”
Penny stood staring after Edna Petunia, wondering why she’d been left alone with Tom. Of course, in a house with thirteen people living in it, you were never really alone. She led Tom into the informal parlor. Katie was sitting at the piano, playing and singing softly. Betsy was sitting on the piano bench beside her, her hand poised to turn the pages. Minnie was sitting on the sofa, crocheting the same baby afghan as she’d been working on the previous evening.
“These are three of my sisters,” Penny said to Tom. “Katie is the one singing. Betsy is beside her, and Minnie is crocheting. This is Mr. McClain.”
“Please, call me Tom.” How many times did he have to ask her to call him by his first name?
Penny nodded. If he was going to ask Cletus for permission to court her, then she needed to use his first name. She walked to the other sofa and sat down, watching as he walked toward her and took the spot beside her. It was only then she realized he’d removed his hat. Her gaze met his, and she was again struck by his unusual eyes. “I like your eyes,” she blurted out, before she realized what she was doing.
Tom smiled self-consciously. “All of the men in my family have the same color eyes. Our hair color changes from person to person, but the eyes remain the same.”
“Do you come from a big family?”
He nodded. “I have six brothers. All older.”
“Oh, you’re a seventh son! That’s supposed to be lucky or something, isn’t it?” She had a friend back in New York who claimed to speak to fairies who told her that seventh sons were always special.
He nodded. “Something like that.” He wasn’t going to go into his gift or tell her she was destined to marry him. Not yet. He’d wait until he’d known her at least a week before getting into all that craziness.
Theresa walked into the room then. The look on her face told Penny she was about to say something she shouldn’t. “I was eavesdropping from the hallway. You don’t look lucky to me.”
Tom smiled at the girl. “How does lucky look?”
“Not like you.” Theresa walked over and plopped down on the other sofa beside Minnie. “Ruby’s kids are here. All except the baby.” She was focused on Minnie as she said it.
“I thought I heard them come in!” Minnie said, jumping up. She carefully gathered her crocheting and put it into a basket. “I’m going to go help Edna Petunia with the children.”
Penny looked at Tom. “My sister, Theresa.”
“But we’re not really sisters. I don’t have any real sisters that I know of. I mean, I might, but I got dumped at the orphanage when I was an infant. Who knows where I’d be otherwise. Penny doesn’t have any real sisters either.”
“I feel like all of you are my real sisters.” Penny looked down when she felt Tom’s hand cover hers. How had he known it bothered her when Theresa said that? She happened to know she did a good job of hiding her upset. There really was something special about him. And almost eerie.
Chapter Three
Watching the Sanders family as they ate their dinner was a surprise to Tom. They were so…boisterous. He came from a big family, but he and his brothers had all been raised in the same house by the same parents. This hodgepodge of people was interesting. While he watched two of the sisters, the one who sang whose name he couldn’t remember, and one he hadn’t met yet, got into a boisterous discussion. The singer claimed she should be able to practice singing any time she wanted. The other girl said she was “disturbing the peace and needed to keep her silly melodies to herself” while others were studying.
Penny watched Tom looking at her sisters. “Katie is the singer, and Alice is studying to be a nurse,” she whispered softly.
“Do they always fight like this?”
Penny nodded. “Of course. Don’t your brothers fight?”
“They do, but are girls supposed to fight?”
She did her best not to laugh, but she couldn’t contain it. “Girls always fight. They just do it differently. Their fights are with words and hairstyles and dresses. Boys use their fists. Much cleaner.”
He eyed her in confusion but shrugged. It truly must be a girl thing. He looked at Cletus sitting at the head of the table. The older man seemed to be studying him blatantly. He took a deep breath. “I’d like a word with you after dinner, Mr. Sanders.”
Theresa looked straight at him. “We all know you’re going to ask his permission to court Penny, so why don’t you just do it now? It’s not like we won’t hear his answer as soon as he tells you.”
Tom felt himself actually blushing when all eleven young ladies stopped talking to look at him. Thankfully Edna Petunia was too busy with the twins to notice. “There’s a way you’re supposed to do these things…”
Theresa shrugged. “We rarely do anything the way we’re supposed to. Our adopted mother keeps peppermint sticks in her cleavage and drinks cough syrup out of a flask all day, and she thinks we believe it’s cough syrup. Do you really think you asking to court Penny at the dinner table is something we wouldn’t enjoy watching?”
“I’m not asking to court Penny for your enjoyment.”
Theresa grinned. “So you’re doing it for your enjoyment?”
He sighed. “May I speak with you in private after dinner, Mr. Sanders?” Ignoring Theresa seemed the only course of action. The girl was making him crazy.
Cletus nodded. “Sure. Come see me in the formal parlor after supper. Theresa’s right though. Everyone knows what you’re asking, and they’ll all know the answer after we eat.”
Tom shook his head. “I appreciate you being willing to talk to me privately, sir.” He didn’t l
et his eyes stray to Theresa like he wanted to.
Penny let out a giggle. “You mean not in front of Theresa, right?” She knew she shouldn’t have said it, but she just couldn’t resist.
“Exactly.” Tom looked down at his food, refusing to become involved in the Sanders’ shenanigans again.
Thirty minutes later, he followed Mr. Sanders into the formal parlor while Penny stayed to help with the dishes. He was surprised when he saw Edna Petunia come in behind him and shut the door. He glanced over his shoulder at her and watched as she walked to stand beside Cletus’s chair, her hand resting on the back of it.
Tom cleared his throat, trying to hide his nervousness. After all, the entire household, including the two-year-old twins knew why he was in there. “I wanted to ask your permission to court Penny.”
“We have stipulations,” Edna Petunia said, crossing her arms over her voluminous chest. A peppermint stick was squeezed out of her cleavage and landed on the floor, but no one seemed to notice.
“What kind of stipulations?” Suddenly Tom was a bit frightened of the kindly old woman. Her eyes had taken on a fire that scared him.
“I need your promise, in writing, that you will not marry her with no notice. Cletus will draw up a legal contract that you will sign promising there will be at least three months between the time you become engaged and you marry. Won’t you, Cletus?”
“Now, Edna Petunia, I think you’re being a little harsh. What if he promises to let you have a big reception, but doesn’t wait a long time to marry? You know our girls take after their mother, and they’ll all have fast weddings. It’s not fair to ask Tom to sign something saying it will be different.” Cletus didn’t look at Edna Petunia as he said the words, and actually seemed to flinch when she stepped closer.
“Those little bastards aren’t even related to me, and you know it!”
Tom blinked a couple of times. “Did you just call the woman I intend to marry a bastard?” He wasn’t sure if he was more shocked or angry.
“Of course, I did, but only in the most affectionate of ways. I love bastards!” She pulled a flask out of a pocket on her apron and unscrewed the cap, taking a big swig of the liquid within.
Penny (Orlan Orphans Book 6) Page 2
