The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection

by AlLee, Jennifer L. ; Breidenbach, Angela; Franklin, Darlene

  His eyes softened. “If we don’t make some money, we’ll have to sell the pig.”

  “No, Pa, not Daisy.” Tears stung Annie Mae’s eyes. She’d gotten the animal as a piglet and had hand-fed her ever since. She was Annie Mae’s most trusted confidant. They’d spent many hours together while Annie Mae talked of her dreams and fears, her secrets, and whatever cute boy she might have a crush on.

  He cupped her cheek. “I’ll do my best, but hard times …” He sighed and grabbed his hat on the way out the door.

  “Don’t worry.” Mama gave her a soft smile. “I’m making the widow Olsen a dress. It’ll take care of the electric bill this month and then some.”

  “I need twenty-five cents to register my quilt.” Papa was right. Annie Mae’s winning was nothing more than a pipe dream. Her parents were worried about money and here she stood with her hand out. They all worked hard to make enough funds to keep food on the table. Annie Mae would have to work harder. Her parents shouldn’t have to shoulder all the burden.

  “Take it out of the jar. You can pay me back when you win.”

  “Surely?” Annie Mae’s heart leaped. With her mother’s support, how could she lose? She retrieved the coins and practically skipped out the door. “What if I don’t win?”

  “We’ll figure it out. God hasn’t let us down yet.”

  Annie Mae bounded outside, the screen door slamming behind her. Squeals from the garden drew her attention. Robby and Lulu had made a mudhole and covered themselves with the rich clay so thoroughly, it was hard to tell who was who. “You two better get cleaned up before Mama calls you for lunch.”

  With Mama miscarrying a few babies after Annie Mae’s birth, there were ten years between her eighteen years and Robby’s eight. Then another two before little Lulu came along. The doctor told Mama no more babies. God knew best. More mouths were harder to feed when the country was in such dire straits. Marcus, her older brother, had been killed the year before in a tragic hunting accident, and life around the Thompkins farm just wasn’t the same. Instead of the laughter from Marcus’s constant pranks and jokes, a cloud of melancholy as thick as the morning fog hung over their heads.

  Life goes on, Pa said. But it was tough when sadness and worry were Annie Mae’s constant companions.

  Her scuffed black shoes kicked up the red dirt on her way to the general store where she could sign up to participate in the county fair. With each step she took, her excitement grew. Many folks around Rabbit Hollow had commented on her quilt. How the colors complemented one another, how tiny her stitches were. Each square represented a memory. A baby’s gown, one of Pa’s old shirts. Her steps began to falter as she second-guessed whether or not to enter it. What if someone wanted to purchase the quilt after it won? The money was sorely needed, but could she bear to part with her memories?

  “Good afternoon, Annie Mae.”

  She rolled her eyes and squared her shoulders as Jonathan Mercer, her longtime tease from elementary school, jogged to her side. He’d returned to their neck of the woods a few weeks ago. “Good afternoon.”

  “Where are you headed?”

  “Mason’s.” She grinned despite her determination not to engage him. “I’m going to enter a quilt in the fair.”

  “I’m going there, too. Going to enter my Belle.”

  His pig. Well, if he wanted real competition, she ought to enter Daisy. “That’s nice.”

  She peeked up from under lowered lashes. It was a cruel joke of God’s to make such an annoying man so devastatingly handsome. Blue eyes the color of a babbling brook twinkled from under dark lashes. Hair the color of mahogany caught the sun’s rays with strands of gold. It just wasn’t fair. Not with the way her heart had started fluttering each time she saw him. It was all she could do to concentrate on a Sunday morning sermon with him sitting one pew over!

  “It’s a nice day.”

  “Yes, it is.” She stopped and glanced up at him. “You don’t have to walk with me and make small talk. I’m in no hurry, and with your hog farm and all, I’m sure you’re busy.”

  “There’s no place I’d rather be right now than walking down this road with you.” A dimple winked in his right cheek.

  So not fair. “Very well. Suit yourself.” She resumed walking.

  The store was a thirty-minute walk from the Thompkins farm. In the colder months, Annie Mae rode their one horse, an old plodding thing that would take a nip out of your leg if you got too close. With the way her senses went haywire every time Jonathan’s arm bumped hers, she wished she’d chosen to ride the nag today.

  He cut her a sideways glance. “I don’t remember you being this quiet.”

  “You’ve been gone awhile. I’m no longer the chatty little girl I used to be. Responsibilities weigh on my shoulders now. You were away on a work relief program, right?”

  “Yep.” Jonathan kicked a rock, sending it bouncing down the road. “I spent some time in Minnesota fighting fires, then when winter got so bad I thought my toes would fall off, I headed to the East Coast to build roads. Now, with Pa hurting his back, it was time to come home and see whether I can’t get the farm to produce.”

  “I’m sorry to hear he’s feeling poorly.” Folks around those parts hadn’t understood why Jonathan had taken off the way he had. A hog farm that size, they had needed more than one able-bodied man to run things. Then again, people needed money to run a farm, and that was in short supply in Rabbit Hollow, Arkansas.

  Jonathan opened the door to Mason’s, smiling at the familiar jingle of the bell signaling the arrival of a customer. He’d missed Rabbit Hollow and its people. Especially the lovely girl next to him who still held a grudge because of the teasing he’d given her once upon a time.

  “Annie Mae! Jonathan! What a pleasure to see you two.” Mr. Mason, short, trim, with a clean-shaven face, wiped his hands down the front of his spotless white apron. “How may I help you?”

  “I’d like to enter the fair, please.” Annie Mae plunked twenty-five cents on the counter. “A quilt.”

  “I’m entering my finest sow.” Jonathan added his money to Annie Mae’s.

  “Wonderful.” Mr. Mason pulled a notebook from under the counter. “It’s going to be quite the competition this year. This quilt makes number five so far, and as for the sow, well, the livestock is always a people pleaser. I’m glad they decided to have the fair despite the depression.”

  “Was there concern?” Annie Mae was especially glad they’d continued this year. The fair meant so much to the community. A time to let loose and enjoy the fruits of their harvests.

  “When I win,” Jonathan said, leaning on the counter, “I’m going to expand the hog herd. Now that I’m home, I’m going to make Mercer Farms something to talk about.”

  “I’ve no doubt.” Mr. Mason jotted down their entries and gave them each a receipt. “If you’d both sign on the dotted line, we’ll be all done here.”

  “I’d also like two grape sodas.” Jonathan paid for the sodas then pulled two from the cooler and handed one to Annie Mae.

  “Thank you. My favorite.”

  “I remember.” He remembered a lot about her. She liked to spend her free time reading, her favorite flower was a daisy, and her favorite color blue. When she was bored, she doodled on paper or in the dirt if paper wasn’t available. Oh, yeah, he remembered a whole lot about Annie Mae Thompkins. More than she remembered about him, he’d wager.

  They headed toward her house, the soda bottle causing condensation in his hand. He lifted it to his mouth and drank deep of the sweet carbonated drink. “Ahh. I could drink one of these every day.”

  “An expensive indulgence, but mighty sweet.” Annie Mae smiled. “You don’t need to walk me home.”

  “I’m headed that way. We live on the same road, silly girl.” He tugged one of her curls. “You aren’t still mad at me for teasing you all those years ago, are you?”

  “No.” Her tone said otherwise as she tilted her head. “I didn’t think you noticed a chi
ld two years younger.”

  “Don’t lie.” He placed an arm around her shoulder. “I’ve always noticed Marcus’s little sister.” He grew solemn at remembering his friend. He should have been in the woods with him that day. If he had been, maybe another hunter wouldn’t have mistaken Marcus for a deer and ended his life.

  Annie Mae slipped free of his arm and turned onto her lawn. “Thanks for the soda. I hope you don’t mind if I share the last half with my brother and sister.”

  The pain in her hazel eyes made him want to punch himself. He shouldn’t have brought up Marcus. It was still too painful. “Of course not. See you at church.”

  He trudged home, tempted to throw his bottle into the bushes to hear it strike a rock and shatter. But knowing his family could use the few cents he’d earn by turning the bottle back in to the store, he took a deep breath and headed to his favorite spot.

  A large oak tree still held the tree house he and Marcus had built when they were ten. Was it really a decade ago? They’d spent many a peaceful night in this tree with nothing overhead but a thin blanket of stars. It was in this very spot that he’d made a promise to Marcus. A promise he intended to keep. He’d promised to watch over Annie Mae and make sure she was always taken care of if something should happen to Marcus. It was as if his friend had known his life would end prematurely.

  Jonathan grabbed a low branch and swung himself onto the platform. He lay on his back, arms folded under his head, and watched the clouds float past through the tree branches. It had taken him a year to come home after his friend’s death, but he was here now, ready to care for his family and Marcus’s. How, he didn’t know yet. He only knew that God would provide a way if he would listen.

  “Jonathan!” His mom’s yell reached through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

  “Coming!” He swung down and hurried across the yard. “I’m here.”

  “I thought I saw you coming up the road. I need you to fetch a sack of flour from the barn. Your pa’s back is still spasming.”

  He handed her his empty soda bottle and rushed to do her bidding. He’d managed to send home quite a bit of his income from the work relief and was glad to see his family well fed. He tousled the hair of his youngest sibling, Eric, who played with a litter of two-week-old puppies. “Did you get your chores done?”

  “Suzanne is supposed to feed the chickens today.”

  “Then that means you’re supposed to muck out the stalls.” He patted his brother on the shoulder. “Don’t make Ma have to yell at you.”

  “I don’t know why Matthew can’t do it.”

  “He’s tending the hogs. Now git.” He swatted Eric on the rump then hoisted the flour sack onto his shoulder. Whistling a jaunty tune, he carried it into the house and set it on the table.

  His thoughts turned to Belle. By Jove, he’d win that competition and not only help his family, he’d buy Annie Mae some store-bought candy. Something a girl in Rabbit Hollow rarely, if ever, received.

  He’d make sure Annie Mae had a lot of things she rarely, if ever, enjoyed. It was the least he could do for his friend’s sister. Her family struggled after Marcus’s death. If he could make things a bit easier for them, he would.

  Chapter 2

  Annie Mae hung her quilt on the display rack at the fair. In five days she’d know whether she won and whether or not her family’s burdens would be eased. She perused the other quilts, a total of seven, none as vibrant as hers. Her Ohio Star was sure to be a judge pleaser. She waved at Mama, who had entered her peach jam, then, with a little time on her hands before Pa was ready to leave, she headed for the livestock tent.

  Jonathan paced the aisle between the hogs and the goats, running his hands through his hair. In front of an empty stall stood the fair coordinator, Mr. Wilson, a man as round as he was tall. His normally jovial face was drawn.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Mercer, I have no idea how that goat got out.”

  Jonathan whirled. “Got out and let my Belle go! I’m counting on that hog, sir.”

  “It’s a very smart goat.” Mr. Wilson’s face darkened. “I’ll help you search. She can’t have gotten far.”

  “I’ll help.” Annie Mae placed a hand on Jonathan’s arm. “Let’s check the next tent. She might have bedded down with the cows.”

  “I’m frantic,” he said, his blue eyes shadowed. “I’ll appreciate any help you can give me.”

  She understood how he felt. If something were to happen to her entry, she’d cry. “Come on.”

  Belle wasn’t in the large animal tent or the corral with animals for children to pet. The fair started early in the morning. It was imperative they find her. The last place to check other than the vacant field was the tent holding the sewing and craft entries. If Belle got in there, she could wreak havoc for sure.

  A woman screamed from inside the craft tent. Seconds later, Belle charged out, knocking Annie Mae off her feet.

  Jonathan tackled the sow, wrestling the massive animal until he got his arms around her neck. He glanced at Annie Mae. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and got to her feet. “Got the breath knocked out of me, but I’m okay. I’ll see who screamed while you lock her back up.” The animal was a menace. Daisy would never behave like that. Straightening her dress, Annie Mae stepped into the tent. Tables were turned on their sides. Jars busted. Thankfully, Mama’s peach jam was on a higher shelf and thus safe from the destruction. Not so for Annie Mae’s entry.

  The once beautiful quilt lay in the dirt. Muddy hoofprints marred the fabric, along with a tear in one corner. Annie Mae fell to her knees and gathered the blanket of memories to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks, spotting the material. What would her family do? Her hopes lay as crushed as the fabric gathered in her arms.

  “Oh.” Mama put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me see.” She took the quilt from Annie Mae’s arms. “Oh, sweetie. It’ll never win a ribbon now.”

  Annie Mae lifted her head. “What will I do?”

  “Before we despair, let’s think.” Mama folded the quilt. “I can wash this for you to keep. It’s not a total waste.”

  “No, about the fair.” She got to her feet. “I’ve nothing else to enter.”

  Mama grinned. “You know, I won Miss Pulaski County once upon a time.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “They’re having the pageant here, as part of the fair.”

  Why was Mama talking about a beauty pageant? Didn’t she know Annie Mae’s dreams were dirtied and folded in her arms?

  “I’m saying there are other options, dear. You are quite lovely and have a wonderful singing voice. You could enter yourself in the pageant and Daisy in the livestock competition. You’d have two chances of winning a blue ribbon.” Mama linked her free arm with Annie Mae’s. “Let’s find the sign-up sheets. Pa won’t mind bringing Daisy out here this evening. Tonight is the deadline for entries.”

  “Do you really think I could win the pageant?”

  “I think you have a very good chance.”

  Dare she hope? She caught a glimpse of Jonathan exiting the tent where he’d taken Belle. Her spine stiffened. Once again he’d ruined her plans. First, he’d left and wasn’t there when Marcus needed him most; now he’d ruined her chances of helping her family through a rough time. “I’ll meet you at the truck, Mama.”

  Annie Mae marched over to Jonathan and poked her finger into his chest. “Your sow ruined my quilt. What are you going to do about it?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Are you deaf? It’s ruined to the point that not even cleaning it will make it good enough to enter into the competition.” Tears pricked her eyes again as she thought of her dashed hopes.

  “I’m sorry, Annie Mae. It wasn’t my fault. That goat—”

  “You should have made sure the gate on Belle’s pen couldn’t be jimmied open by an animal!” She whirled and stormed away.

  He caught up with her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. “I’m sorry. Wh
at do you want? Money? I don’t have much, but I can—”

  “Oh, you’re hopeless.” She covered her face and cried. She didn’t know what she wanted. The day had ended horribly. “Now I have to enter the beauty pageant. I hate those things. And I have to enter Daisy and then sell her to the highest bidder when she wins.”

  “I’m a bit confused. What does Belle getting out have to do with all that?”

  “You don’t understand anything!” She stomped her foot.

  “Please, don’t cry.” He gripped her shoulders. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

  “I don’t ever want to speak to you again.” Annie Mae pulled free, knowing she was being unreasonable but unable to stop herself.

  “Come, daughter.” Pa took her hand. “See you later, Jonathan.”

  “Oh, Pa.” Annie Mae buried her face in his chest.

  “See what happens when we put all our hope and trust in earthly things?” He set her at arm’s length. “Trust in God, child. It will all turn out.”

  Jonathan had no idea how to make things better for Annie Mae. He knew how much she had relied on winning first place with her quilt. He had the same high hopes for Belle. But he hadn’t had anything to do with her quilt getting ruined. If she wanted to be mad at someone, she should be mad at the fair administrator or the goat’s owner.

  He kicked at a rock in the road. First, he hadn’t been there for Marcus; now, inadvertently or not, he’d ruined things for the Thompkins family again. No wonder Annie Mae never seemed happy to see him.

  Casting a glance heavenward, he exhaled sharply and continued toward home. His hope of a relationship with Annie Mae was in God’s hands.

  Wildflowers bloomed at the side of the road, and he stopped to pick a handful. The next house was Annie Mae’s. Perhaps the pretty blooms would brighten her day. At the very least he could apologize. Again.