by Lori Wick
"I'm sorry, Mr. Taylor, I really am. It never occurred to me that you didn't know. I do have an extra pair of glasses that I'll bring in so I won't be completely out of commission if this happens again."
Bill listened in patient silence. She had apologized at least six times, and even though he had assured her that everything was fine, he could see that this had really shaken her up. She wasn't anywhere near this upset when she left, and Bill couldn't help but wonder what had happened while she had been gone with Jeff.
They continued to talk, and in time Bill could see that he was finally getting through to her, making her under stand he wasn't at all upset and that she still had the job for as long as she needed.
But as they finished, Bill wondered if he should ques tion Jeff. Maybe he could shed some light on why this very efficient young woman had been totally rattled over her glasses breaking.
"I should have explained to you," Gil said quietly.
"I should have seen with my own eyes that she needed help." Jeff was still reprimanding himself as he and Gilbert talked in the back room.
"Well, I'm glad you spotted her at the mercantile when you did and Rigg was able to grab her. Don't look so down, Jeff. You said you apologized."
"I know." But Jeff didn't look the least bit consoled. He left the storeroom to help two customers, and by the time Bobbie came out of Bill's office, he had formulated a plan.
"Bobbie," Jeff approached her immediately. "I was wondering if you'd let me take you to lunch today?"
"That's very nice of you, Jeff, but you don't have to do that." Bobbie was in no way fooled by this sudden invitation. Jeff was still feeling badly about the morning and Bobbie admitted to herself that it had been very upsetting, but it was nothing to feel guilty about for the remainder of the day.
"I know I don't have to. I want to."
Bobbie smiled at him, but didn't answer. He was dif ferent now than when she had known him before, very different. In fact, it was like getting to know a complete stranger. She knew his treatment of her that morning had not been out of rudeness and Bobbie wished she knew him well enough to know what was going on inside his head.
Jeff had no idea how handsome he looked to Bobbie at that moment, as he looked at her in silent entreaty. 'He really is wonderful to look at,' she told herself, still wishing she knew him better.
"I brought my lunch." Bobbie tried another tactic after a moment of silence.
"Then take it home with you." Jeff was not to be dissuaded.
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Bobbie cocked her head to one side. "Has anyone ever called you pushy?"
"I think you just did," Jeff answered, and deliberately mimicked Bobbie's movement with his head.
Bobbie put her head to the other side and Jeff did the same. She told herself not to smile. After all, she rea soned, it would only encourage him.
"You're trying not to smile," Jeff said knowingly, and
it was too much for Bobbie. Her grin nearly split her face. "Will you go?" "Yes."
Jeff's grin was triumphant and Bobbie shook her head in mock disapproval as she headed into the back room.
thirteen
The next hour saw a buzz of activity in the front of the shipping office. Gil and Bobbie worked steadily in the back, with an occasional trip out front to help Jeff and Bill.
The inventory would have been done long before lunch if Bobbie hadn't needed to leave. It was nearing 1:00 when Jeff looked up to see Sylvia walking in the door.
"I figured something like this must have happened. I can see you've been very busy, so I'll forgive you if you come to lunch right now, like you were supposed to an hour ago."
Jeff caught himself just before he began to babble. How in the world could he have forgotten that Sylvia asked him to lunch at her sister's? Now what was he going to do?
Sylvia, who had been smiling at him and was obvi ously in good humor, was beginning to frown over the way Jeff stood and stared at her in mute indecision.
"I'll be right with you," Jeff finally said, then rushed into the back room, leaving Sylvia. alone.
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"We're almost finished. Are you ready to leave?" Bobie spoke as Jeff approached.
"Not exactly." Jeff said the words carefully, mentally measuring how he was going to explain.
"Is there a problem?" Bobbie asked with quiet sensitivity.
"Yes, there is, and it's all my fault. You see, Sylvia is out front. She asked me to lunch last night, and-"
"You forgot." Bobbie finished for him and raised her ordering sheet to her mouth. Her eyes told Jeff she was about to laugh, but Jeff didn't find the situation at all amusing. He had thought himself quite clever in coming up with this lunch idea to make up for the awful morning. Now this had to happen.
"Jeff." Sylvia's voice sounded from out in the main room and Jeff nearly groaned. Gilbert, who was listening from his place on the ladder, went out to give Jeff and Bobbie a little more time.
"Go with Sylvia, Jeff. She's waiting for you, and as I said, I have my lunch along."
"I'm sorry, Bobbie. You must think I'm very insensitive."
"Not insensitive, just forgetful," Bobbie said with another smile, and turned away so Jeff knew he could leave. His look had been heartbreaking, and Bobbie wished there was something more she could do to reassure him. He was going to have to get to know her, to understand she wasn't that sensitive.
Bobbie and Gilbert ended up eating their lunch together and talking like old friends.
"How go your wedding plans?" Gil asked kindly. "Well, I'm not really rushing anything," Bobbie answered carefully, and Gilbert immediately keyed in on her hesitancy.
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"I believe I was out of line just then and should apologize."
"Don't apologize, Gilbert. The truth is, Cleve has asked, but I haven't answered him. Marriage is a rather big step, and I'm still praying about it.' Cleve told me to take all the time I need. He said he was sure he would eventually win me with his charm," Bobbie finished with a smile.
"I'm glad you told me, Bobble. I'll be praying with
you."
"Thanks, Gilbert."
The two fell silent. Gilbert searched for a change in the subject. "Will you miss living on the ocean?"
"You know, I really will," Bobbie admitted. "The sea is always so unpredictable and I love it."
"My sister-in-law Kaitlin grew up in the middle of the Pacific and she talks the same way. I've never even seen
"You might have a chance someday. It helps to have relatives living right on the coast, but you never know, maybe when you get married you and your wife will honeymoon at the ocean."
're you applying for the job?" Gilbert teased her with a tender light in his eyes and then laughed without repentance when she blushed.
Jeff walked in on this scene. He looked from Bobbie to his brother for a moment, biting his tongue to keep from asking what Gilbert had said to make Bobbie blush.
Lunch had been miserable for Jeff. Sylvia was angry for most of the meal over the way he had gone into the back room and left her alone. Jeff had been preoccupied by the way Bobbie had turned away from him before he left. He thought she had been hiding her true feelings
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from him, masking how upset she was, and now he came back to find her laughing with his brother and then blushing like there was something personal between them.
"How was lunch?" Gfl asked.
'la-re you guys done in the back?" Jeff evaded the question.
"I'm going to finish up on my own," Gil told him. "Bobbie is free to help you out here."
Jeff nodded, carefully keeping his emotions off his face. He would have been surprised to know that both Bobbie and Gil knew something was bothering him. They just didn't know what.
"I'm going to head home now, Jeff. Would you mind telling your dad?"
"I'll tell him. Maybe I should walk you home. It's getting pretty dark."
"Oh, I'll be all r
ight, but thanks for the offer."
Jeff stepped forward when Bobbie lifted her coat from its peg on the wail. His touch was careful as he assisted Bobbie with her coat. Bobble turned while she was but toning to thank him. She looked up and opened her mouth to express her appreciation, but something in his face stopped her,
"You haven't had a very good afternoon, Jeff," she said instead. "Is anything bothering you?"
Jeff's heart would have been made of stone had he not responded to the tenderheartedness he saw in her eyes.
"re you sure you're not upset about today?" Jeff finally asked the question that hadn't been off his mind for a moment.
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"I was scared in front of the mercantile, Jeff, very scared, but I was over it before we ever left my house. And if you're still bothered about lunch, well, let's just
ay, I wish there was some way for you to know how well I understand. Everyone forgets things. And while we're on the subject of the way I'm feeling, can I say some thing?"
"Please do."
"I have feelings, Jeff. If you cut me I'll bleed, and if someone says something cruel to me I might cry, but I'm not made of crystal."
"I never said you were."
,, "But that's the way you're treating me. You can joke with me, Jeff, just like your father and Gilbert do, and you can even bump into me without apologizing for ten minutes. I'm not going to go to pieces like I did five years ago and run awa3 if that's what you're thinking. You push me and I just might push back."
Bobbie's chin had raised on these last words as did Jeff's eyebrows. 'She's right,' he said to himself. 'I've been treating her like she's a fragile piece of china, when plainly she's not.'
'laJl right, Bobbie Bradford," Jeff said with an air of determination. "I'll treat you with the respect you de serve and no more patronizing, if you'll always talk to me as bluntly and as honestly as you did just now."
Bobbie's hand came out and Jeff shook it. "It's a deal, Jeffrey Taylor, and by the way, you need a haircut."
The grin Bobbie gave Jeff on these words was nothing short of cheeky. Jeff would have smiled back and said goodnight before she sailed out the door, but he was too surprised to do anything.
"Like my dad said, she's not what we expected." He
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addressed the words to the quiet office and then found himself whistling as he retrieved his own coat to head home.
fourteen
Jeffhad supper at home, but left as soon as the meal was over to go to Rigg and Kaitlin's.
"What brings you out tonight, Jeff?" Kate wanted to know.
"Your haircutting skills, if you're up to it."
"She's not," Rigg said in a firm voice, but Kate ignored him. Kaitlin had been after Rigg for a week to let her cut his hair, but he always put her off. His worry over her fatigue was beginning to show, but even though Kate was tired, she wasn't an invalid.
"'I'd be glad to cut your hair, Jeff. Why don't we go into the kitchen?"
"Kaitlin," Rigg pleaded softly, his voice laced with anxiety. Kate lingered next to him on the couch a moment and spoke with her face close to his.
"I'm fine, Rigg. You and Marcail did all the work for supper, so it's certainly not going to tax my strength to cut hair. I only wish Sean were here. He looks so dishev eled these days."
Husband and wife exchanged a glance. Sean had been unpredictable lately, and the strain of it was worse than
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anything Kate had ever experienced. He did a tremendous amount of agreeing when he was face-to-face with you, but the minute your back was turned he did as he pl.eased. So far the things he did were not extremely serious, but there was a pattern of rebellion developing.
Rigg had already punished him for lying and also for disappearing after school with some friends and not coming in until almost bedtime. While the whole family prayed fervently for wisdom in dealing with Sean, most of the time Kate prayed for patience.
Kate and Jeff spoke easily while she clipped his hair. While not mentioning anything to Jeff, Kaitlin wonred
if he knew how many times he referred to Bobbie. "Bobbie said I need a haircut."
"Bobbie broke her glasses and I fixed them." "That Bobbie sure is a hard worker." "I made an agreement with Bobbie."
Rigg, who was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, exchanged more than one glance with Kate over the top of Jeff's head. Everyone in the family assumed that Jeff and Sylvia were serious about each other. No one had ever taken the time to ask Jeff; it was just something they took for granted.
Jeff hadn't d(ne much dating in the recent years, and it was nice to see him doing things and going places with Sylvia. It might also take a little adjustment if in fact they really weren't serious.
Jeff took his leave right after Kate finished with his hair, and Kaiflin and Rigg were then able to talk. They didn't come to any solid conclusions about Jeff, but they did understand that the Lord wanted them to pray about him, Sylvia, and Bobbie.
Bobbie sat down that night and wrote to her aunt and uncle. She told them all about her first days of work and how it was to settle into home again. Troy was having supper at Carla's that night and her parents had retired early. She wrote about what happened with her glasses that morning, and then realizing just how tired she was, went to bed herself. Bobbie fell asleep so swiftly she didn't have time to talk over the day with her heavenly Father.
"Thank you, Mrs. Gordon. I'm sure your package will go out this week."
Bobble shut the office door as the woman strode swiftly down the street. Another day at the shipping office was complete and Bobble was amazed at how swiftly time flew. It had been a great day, though. Jeff had scored a major victory by walking in with his new haircut. Bobbie had been surprised speechless, just as he had hoped. But Bobble was rarely at a loss for words, and before it was over she had the Taylor men laughing the workday away.
No one was around when Bobbie was ready to leave, so she let herself out and shut the door. Her walk home was uneventfulDin fact, it was very quiet. Entering the house, Bobbie was intent upon asking her mother what was going on in town. She found her in the kitchen throwing provisions in a large basket.
"Oh Bobbie, I thought I was going to have to leave a note. Your dad and Troy have already left for the Mickle-sons'. Their barn is on fire and the wind is blowing it toward the house. Gather some quilts and get them to the wagon. Your dad hitched the horse for us and I'm
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almost ready to leave." All of this was said with an air of urgency, but no panic.
Bobbie reacted in kind, racing to do as she was bid but with no hysteria or confusion. Within five minutes the Bradford women were on their way. Maryanne handled the horse and wagon efficiently and they arrived on the scene minutes later, joining Mrs. Mickleson and a few other ladies from the church. May Taylor was among them.
The women embraced and then talked. "Mic always lights a lamp in the barn but he's always so careful. I can't think how this could have happened."
Information on how the fire started was going to have to wait. Right now all the men were occupied with put ting the flames out, or at the very least directing them from the tall farmhouse that loomed in the sky some 50 feet away.
The women who had come on the scene offered their help in one form or another. May offered to take the Mickleson children back to her house for supper and to spend the night. Lu Mickleson accepted gratefully and Bobbie offered to help round them up.
Mrs. Mickleson pointed out ten-year-old Brian stand ing at the corner of the house and Bobbie headed in that direction, only to have him move before she got there.
The heat from the barn hit Bobbie full in the face as she rounded the house and her eyes squinted against flames. She prayed for safety for her family and the others work ing. Brian had moved close to the fire and Bobbie called to him, hesitant to go further. Her shouts went unheeded and
she knew she was going to have to go and get him.
She was only a few feet away from catching him by the back of the shirt when he darted away from her to circle
the burning barn. Determined now, Bobbie followed without thought.
She hadn't gone ten steps when a pair of strong arms literally lifted her off the ground and bore her toward the house. Jeff began to shout the moment he put her on her feet.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?"
"I have to get Brian. Your mother is taking him and all the kids to your house." Bobbie's voice was equally as loud.
"Stay here!" Jeff commanded and ran toward the flames. He was back in less than a minute holding Brian's arm and walking so fast that the ten-year-old had to run to stay on his feet.
"Brian," Bobble said sharply in her anxiety, "your mother wants you! Go to her immediately!" The boy left without a word and Jeff waited only a moment before
once again letting Bobbie see his anger.
"That was incredibly stupid!'"
"It was not stupid. I had to get that boy and I noticed
you didn't hesitate to run right toward the flames!" "That's different!" "It is not!"
"Yes, it is. You're just too mule-headed to see it." "How dare you call me a mule---" Bobbie's furious tirade was cut short by a flash of lightning, an unusual occurrence in Santa Rosa. The crowd in the yard and around the Mickleson barn only had time to look up before the deluge began.
Cheers of "hallelujah" and "praise the Lord" were heard from every corner. Their anger forgotten, Jeff and Bobbie looked at each other and laughed. Jeff scooped the small blonde into his arms once again and swung her
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around. They were still laughing when he set her on her feet.
"Bobbie," Maryanne called as she approached, "are you all right?"
"We're fine. Where are Dad and Troy?"
"They came over when it started to rain and I started to worry when you didn't come back."
