The Long Road Home Romance Collection

by Judi Ann Ehresman

  Later that evening Bess and Rebecca walked over to the Lewises’ house. Pastor Lewis came to the door with a worried look. “Good evening, ladies.” Somehow it sounded more like a question than a statement. “Come in, come in. Is everyone well at your home?”

  “Oh, yes,” Rebecca said with a chuckle. “We just heard some news today that we wanted to share with Clara.”

  The sound of clinking dishes and women chatting came from the direction of the kitchen.

  “Come on back.” Pastor Lewis chuckled as he headed toward the back of the house. “Marita and Clara, you have guests,” he announced as they entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, what fun! We’ll have a bit of a tea party.” Clara pushed the coffeepot to the hot part of the stove while Marita uncovered a cake that had about one-third of it missing.

  After setting places at the freshly wiped table, Marita asked while serving the cake and coffee, “What brings you out in the cold?”

  “We heard about a large house that’s for sale on Main Street today. I don’t know what they are asking for the house, but it does have lots of rooms and might be just the thing for a boardinghouse,” Rebecca said, brimming with excitement. “The location is perfect. We wanted to let Clara know about it.”

  The women discussed the possibilities while they sipped their coffee and gave Clara what details they knew. She promised to visit the family the very next day.

  After a good chat and a nice long visit, Rebecca and Bess left the Lewis home. As they walked home, Rebecca took Bess’s arm and asked gently, “Bess, are you happy? Something about you seems restless or at best not quite settled. Is everything all right?”

  Bess walked arm in arm with Rebecca in silence. “I miss Anita desperately,” she said finally. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly with her gloved finger. “I miss the children and caring for that home. Anita and I had become as close as sisters even in the short months I was there, and I feel like a piece of myself is missing with her gone. And then not being with the children breaks my heart also. I wish so much that I could stay out at the farm and care for them. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t do anything to darken Robert’s reputation, but I wish it didn’t have to be this way. Rebecca, thanks so much for letting me bring the children to town for weekends. It is such a blessing to me to have them near again.”

  This time Rebecca was silent for a while. “Bess, before you came into our lives, Jason and I had three lovely children. When the typhoid epidemic went through the town a couple of years ago, the children and I came down with it. I was expecting our fourth child, which I lost, and all three of the children were also lost to the disease. It felt like such a waste. So useless. I even found myself questioning God. But He was patient with me, and when I accepted His sovereignty and grace, I finally began to heal. I don’t know why Jason and I have not had more children since then. We want them very much. But God has filled my life with others like you and Clara who have become very dear friends, and the ache is not as raw as it once was. God has shown me that my life still has purpose. I am praying He will do the same for you, Bess.”

  Bess sighed. “Thank you for telling me about your hurt, Rebecca. It helps to know that I am not the only one who has suffered loss. And it helps to know that you have been through heartache and loss and have survived, and very successfully too. I pray about the empty spot that was left when Anita died, but I try not to think about it too much. I appreciate being busy at the store and with the Sheldon children. And now, if Clara should open a boardinghouse, we will have our hands full helping her. There won’t be so much time for grieving.”

  “Yes, idle hands are indeed the devil’s workshop. And an idle heart is also. Keeping ourselves busy is a healthy way to begin the healing process in a positive way. I will continue to pray for you, Bess.”

  As the two women walked on, still arm in arm, silence again descended. But Bess’s heart rejoiced in the presence of her dear friend.

  Taylors’ General Store was busy as usual. The slight hum of conversations was a comforting sound, as was the tinkle of the bell at the entrance as people came and went, taking care of their physical needs as well as their social needs. Often one could hear chuckles and sometimes outright laughter as people of the town sat or stood in small groups around the store.

  Bess was noticing the comforting noises and smells of the store when suddenly the front door opened with a hearty bang. At that moment all noise stopped in the store while heads turned to the door to see what the commotion was about.

  Totally oblivious to the attention she had drawn, Clara flew into the store, looking around hurriedly for Bess and Rebecca. Catching Bess’s eye, she hurried in that direction. “My, the store seems unusually quiet today,” Clara whispered as she rushed over to Bess, motioning for Rebecca to join them.

  Bess tried to hide her smile while she said simply, “You know, just one of those lulls in conversation when everyone gets quiet at the same time. See? It didn’t last long at all.”

  But Clara didn’t even pause to listen to the voices as people slowly resumed their conversations. Instead she gestured again for Rebecca to join them.

  Bess took Clara’s arm and they started toward where Rebecca was finishing putting away some fabrics. Bess couldn’t remember ever seeing Clara so animated.

  They had barely reached Rebecca when Clara said excitedly, “Not only did I look at it and love it, I bought it. I bought the whole property!”

  “You bought it? Already?!” Bess and Rebecca said almost in unison.

  “Tell us all about it,” Rebecca insisted as she steered the women through the store to their kitchen behind. Putting fresh cold water and coffee in the coffeepot, she added wood to the stove and pulled the coffeepot to the hottest part of the stove, then joined the others at the gingham-covered table.

  Clara could hardly contain herself as she began. “Well, I went over first thing this morning, knocked on the door, introduced myself, and asked if I could talk to them about buying their house and look at the property. Mrs. Tergoza invited me right in and offered to show the house to me right then. When I told her my boardinghouse idea, she also thought it was the perfect location, and the size is wonderful. The way that house is built, it’s just made for boarding guests.

  “Porches wrap completely around the first floor of the house. You enter through a hallway that divides the downstairs into two halves from front to back. To the right of the front door is a doorway into the parlor. Just beyond that doorway, on the right side of the hallway, is a huge stairway reaching to the second-floor balcony that encircles the center of the whole second floor. There are four large, lovely rooms and a sitting room on the second floor, as well as a smaller room between the two front rooms that can be used for a bathing room.

  “Behind the parlor on the main floor is a nice, bright dining room, which can be entered from the back side of the parlor or from the hallway across from the kitchen. The left side of the hallway has a sitting room, another room that will be my bedroom, and a wonderful large kitchen. The sitting room and the other room in front of the kitchen will be for me, while the rest of the house will be used for the boarders.

  “Behind the house at the back of the property are a beautiful large stable, a barn, and two outhouses. We can use one for women and one for men. The Tergozas built their house this way to accommodate their large family. They have fourteen children. Six girls and eight boys. So they built a girls’ outhouse and a boys’ outhouse to keep peace and for convenience.

  “As soon as Mrs. Tergoza started showing me the house, I knew it would work perfectly. But I feared it would be way beyond my means. When I finally asked what they wanted for the house and she told me, I didn’t even have to think about it. I told her I would be right back with the cash. And now it’s mine. And I still have some money left over that I can use to furnish the house and get started!”

  Clara had hardly taken a breath while she described the house and grounds. Bess and Rebecca looked at
one another and immediately broke out laughing. Oh, how they laughed! And every time they paused to breathe and glance at one another, they laughed again.

  At first Clara was puzzled, but when she stopped to think about it, she realized she had been quite worked up as she talked and that she had talked so fast she could hardly breathe. Then she laughed, too, but she was too excited about it all to waste time laughing, so she finally got up and poured the rapidly boiling coffee into mugs for them.

  When she sat back down, Bess and Rebecca were wiping their eyes and blowing their noses and trying to regain some decorum. More quietly they sipped their coffee, but not without a few snickers and further smiles.

  Finally, Rebecca said, “Well, Clara, I would ask you about it, but I can’t think of a thing to ask. I don’t believe you left out one detail. But we are thoroughly excited for you. And for all of us. What fun this will be!”

  “When will you get possession and be able to move into the house?” Bess was still wiping the merriment from her eyes, but she was truly excited about helping Clara move and plan.

  “The Tergozas asked if they could stay until the first wagon trains head West in the spring. Mr. Tergoza thinks there will be a train leaving in March. That should work well, leaving me time to prepare for this huge undertaking and to purchase furnishings and be ready to move in.”

  “Are they moving all of their furniture? Will they have some things you can buy from them? That might help them as well as you,” Bess suggested.

  Clara stared at Bess. “I didn’t even think of that. What would they do with all those beds since their children are grown? I will go right back over and ask them if I can purchase anything I need that they don’t wish to take with them. That will make it much easier than starting with nothing. Oh, Bess, that’s a wonderful idea.”

  “That is a great idea, Bess,” Rebecca added with a smile.

  The women sipped their coffee for a few minutes, and then Clara said she needed to get her money and return to Tergozas’ to see about purchasing furnishings. Rebecca and Bess needed to go help Jason in the store also, so they finished their coffee, put their mugs in the dishpan, hugged the excited Clara, and headed back to the store.

  Chapter 13

  It hadn’t snowed for a couple of days, and the snow that was on the ground, though deep, was packed in the wheel ruts of the roads, making walking much easier than trudging through the deep snow. Bess had risen extra early that Friday knowing that it would take her longer to walk than to drive Jason’s wagon. Bess didn’t like being responsible for someone else’s horses and wagon in this kind of weather, so she had opted to walk to the Sheldon home, knowing Robert would drive her and the children back into town in the evening.

  The sun had not yet risen, but the moon gave plenty of light as it shone on the packed snow. There was not much wind, and the cold seemed a bit more gentle than usual. As Bess walked, the crunching of the snow under her boots sounded colder than it actually felt.

  But then Bess thought that maybe it was the thought of seeing those dear children that warmed her heart and made her step light. Although the more she thought about the children, the sadder she became thinking of all the things she was missing in their lives by not being with them throughout the week. She even wondered if, in time, they would lose some of their deep affection for her as they spent less time with her. However, unless something happened to change the situation, she planned to continue to spend her Fridays with them, doing the laundry and cleaning for them since Robert and the children really couldn’t manage those chores alone very well.

  One by one she thought of the children as she walked. Paul was becoming quite grown up in his behavior. He always had watched over his younger siblings with almost a parental care and concern, but now, since Anita’s death, he seemed to take that responsibility much more seriously. It saddened Bess that he carried such a burden of responsibility at his young age, but it seemed to come natural for him, and the other children truly benefited from his care.

  Bess sighed. Paul would be grown in only a few more years. Bess had to smile when she thought of him as a husband and father. He would make some young woman happy with his gentle ways and tender caring.

  Bess’s thoughts turned to Conner, who was next in line to Paul. One might expect some rivalry between the two, but Conner seemed to idolize Paul. On more than one occasion Bess had noticed Conner secretly watching Paul and then imitating his actions. She was glad he had such a good example to follow. She would speak to Paul when the time was right and encourage him to give Conner some leadership responsibilities so he could start to learn that role also.

  Again Bess sighed. Was it all right for her to take that kind of responsibility with the children still? She and Anita had discussed parenting strategies, and Anita had so willingly listened whenever Bess had ideas. But mostly Bess learned from Anita’s nurturing ways. And Bess had always been truly honored when Anita told her she was a natural-born parent. Since Bess had never really had parenting herself or even opportunity to witness it, she and Anita were both amazed that it seemed to come so easily to Bess. But also, having seen some of the prankster children in the town, Bess realized that the Sheldon children were particularly easy to parent.

  The snow crunched as Bess marched on. The wind was more biting than she had realized at first. She gathered her cloak about her more snugly and tugged the collar up to shield more of her face. The cold stung her cheeks and nose, so she walked with one gloved hand shielding that part of her face for a while.

  Soon her mind wandered back to the children. She couldn’t help smiling when she thought of little Philip. With his freckles and missing teeth and wide grin, he looked more mischievous than he actually was. Oh, how broken he was whenever he was scolded—which wasn’t often. In her mind’s eye Bess could see the way the tears welled up in his innocent eyes when he erred. Just thinking about it made her want to hug him.

  And then there was Anna. Bess thought for a minute and then shook her head. No words were adequate to describe that precious child. Anna would one day make a wonderful mother, of that there was no doubt. She already watched over every bird, insect, and brother. Even though she was not quite five years old, she was as serious as though the weight of the whole world was her responsibility alone. She was a happy child, but it was a sober kind of happiness much too mature for her age.

  Bess smiled as she remembered Anna bringing gifts of flowers or pretty rocks or broken bird egg shells to her or to Anita. Anna was one small child who had never needed to be taught to share. It seemed to be her very nature.

  As the sky lightened, the stars twinkled out. The Sheldon house was now in view. Bess saw light through the kitchen window and knew someone was up. Probably Robert, she thought. Then she realized he would be out at the barn now, so one of the children must be up already. Her step quickened as she anticipated the greetings ahead. Her face felt too cold to smile, but she knew she smiled inside.

  She could see the smoke coming from the kitchen chimney and wished her legs and feet were not so cold nor the snow so slippery that she could run. She laughed at the childish thought. Yes, she really did feel like running. Anita had been gone for a few months now, and seeing the children only on the weekends was not enough. With that thought she felt her eyes tearing and laughed. That’s all I need—to walk in with tears frozen to my cheeks.

  As she turned to walk to the rear door, she saw the curtain drop back into place at the kitchen window. Who had peeked out? She was sorry she had missed seeing who it was but knew someone knew she was near.

  Just as she reached for the doorknob, the door flew open and all the children were laughing and hugging her at once. She entered and closed the door behind her before hugging them all back. All talked at once, and she could not get enough of hearing them and watching them. She tried to respond to a question here and there, but it was lost in the commotion, so she simply held them and listened.

  Finally, when things quieted enough, she asked why
they were up so early.

  “I woke up early because I knew it was the day for you to come,” said Paul. “And when I tried to sneak out of the bed, Conner asked if I was going downstairs to wait for you. I told him I wanted to get the fire going so the kitchen would be warm, so he came with me. Then we were building the fire and Philip and Anna came sneaking in, too, as though there was anyone left to be awakened by their noise.”

  Anna said animatedly, “We all wanted to see you quicker!”

  “Well, I was in a hurry to see you, too, and thought that I could get here and get your breakfast made before you even woke up.”

  “We’ll all help,” said Philip.

  “All right, let’s get the table set and breakfast made before your daddy comes in from the chores,” Bess said happily, hugging them all once more.

  The sausage was browning, but Bess was just putting the biscuits into the oven when they heard Robert stomping the snow off his boots on the back stoop. As the door opened, Anna flew at her daddy to tell him, “Miss Bess is here, Daddy. Miss Bess is here!”

  Robert smiled and nodded to Bess as he gathered the child in his arms. “Looks like we’re all early this morning. Guess this family gets pretty excited to see our Miss Bess again.”

  Bess felt herself blush. “You’re all just eager to have me do the cooking, I know.”

  Paul responded innocently, “Yes, we all like your cooking, too.”

  Bess packed their lunches as the boys finished getting ready for their walk to school in the snow. Anna helped and watched the boys to be sure they were dressed properly and didn’t forget anything. All the while they chattered and continued to tell Bess everything that was happening at school as well as in the barns and around the home. They seemed to need to share their lives with her as much as she needed them to. She loved hearing every little detail and asked lots of questions, which kept the conversations animated.