Читать книгу Instant Prairie Family - Bonnie Navarro - Страница 9

Chapter One

Harlan County, Nebraska, 1881

Will scooped up six-year-old Tommy and called to Willy over his shoulder, “It’s time to go, son. The wagon is hitched and we need to leave so that we can get to the river before nightfall.” Will had left detailed instructions with Jake, his nephew, about the care of the livestock and what Jake should be doing in the next three days. Now everything was ready for them to leave—everything except his oldest son. Willy had dragged his feet all morning, and Will was quickly losing his patience with his namesake.

“Are we going to go get the new Auntie Shelia?” Tommy asked, his little face full of excitement. His eyes were the same color as Caroline’s had been—an expressive hazel that changed hues with her mood. Did the boy actually remember Auntie Shelia? No, that was impossible. Tommy was only three when Auntie Shelia had come to stay with them after her niece Caroline’s death. She stayed six months before she declared the West “too dangerous and uncivilized for anyone to hope to raise a respectable family.”

“No, Tommy, not another aunt. She’s our new housekeeper,” Will corrected gently, trying to find the right words to explain. “Miss Stewart is coming to do the cooking and cleaning and help you and your brother with your studies. She will be like a grandmother to you but isn’t related to you. She’ll be our housekeeper. Do you understand?”

Will glanced out of the window impatiently, aware of the sun rising high in the horizon. It must be close to nine and they had a full day’s ride to get to the river before dark. From the river it was only a little more than a two-hour ride and they would be in Twin Oaks with time to get cleaned up well before the train arrived tomorrow at noon.

Miss Stewart was due in on that train and he needed to be there. It wouldn’t do to have his new housekeeper step off into the small prairie town and not have the family there to extend their welcome.

Will hadn’t been all that set on the idea of bringing in a housekeeper when his mother had suggested it, but after several letters back and forth, he’d become convinced Miss Stewart was the perfect woman for the job. She was only one of a few dozen women who had replied to the ad his mother had placed in the Christian Ladies’ Journal who seemed to want the job for the right reasons. Most of the others were only thinly veiled attempts to trap a husband. Miss Stewart wrote that she was ready to move on from her sister’s home where she had lived for years, and that she wanted to settle in with a family who loved the Lord and where she could put her education and her gifts of cooking and cleaning to use.

Instead of answering his father, the boy yelled to his brother, leaving Will nearly deaf, “Hurry, we’re going to go get our new house.”

“Not house, Tommy,” Willy snickered, finally sauntering down the stairs. At age nine he felt he knew all there was to know about life and delighted in informing his little brother. “Our new housekeeper. She’ll probably take one look at this mess and make Pa take her right back to the train station.” He sounded almost hopeful. Willy was right about one thing—their house wasn’t likely to make a good impression. He and the boys would have to do their best to make up for that.

“Hey, that’s enough. Now both of you head out to the wagon,” Will ordered, setting Tommy back on the ground and glancing around his kitchen. The place had become messier as time went on. He had a bad habit of burning the oatmeal, and two skillets sat soaking in the sink were reminders of his lack in the culinary arts. One more thing Will had included in his instructions to Jake—make the place somewhat presentable before they arrived with the new housekeeper.

Will imagined a woman his mother’s age. From what he had read in her letters, her character seemed to be above reproach, and that was his main interest—that, and how well she cooked. Hopefully Miss Stewart could teach his boys some table manners, as well.

Finally, Will and the boys were in the wagon, moving along toward the river. The sky seemed so big and far above the earth and stretched out in all directions without any hindrance. The prairie plants, just having started to grow again after the winter, danced at knee level and waved on the breeze that kept the sun from completely baking both man and beast. Will was grateful for his hat. There were no trees to offer shade on the large expanse of prairie until they came closer to the river.

As he drove, he took in the breathtaking scenery. His thoughts turned to how majestic God was, having formed all this with just a word. Will didn’t need to be in church to be awestruck by God. Creation was enough to hold him spellbound and speechless. The boys asked questions and he took advantage of those opportunities to show them God’s handiwork.

After a full day’s drive and a good night’s sleep by the river, Will headed into town, glad to be almost at his destination. He couldn’t help but be impressed by the way the small town of Twin Oaks had grown from just five houses in the middle of nothing a few years ago to a small but bustling village. New settlers seemed to be arriving all the time. People were still taking advantage of the Homestead Act that President Lincoln had signed back in 1862. The same law Will and Mathew had taken advantage of ten years ago. Will found a spot in the shade of the train depot and tethered the horses to the hitching post.

Their first stop once they were in town was the barber. He wanted to impress Miss Stewart—not scare her off. The boys had not had a haircut in more than a year. He hadn’t been very vigilant about combing out the snarls, either. Once everyone looked civilized again, the barber offered them each a piece of hard candy from a jar on his countertop.

Main Street was crowded—plenty of people waiting for goods and travelers off the incoming train. Back out on the street, he headed the boys toward the mercantile. Glancing at his pocket watch, he assured himself there was still time to pick up supplies before he needed to meet the train. Afterward, he could take the new housekeeper and his boys to lunch at the one and only hotel in Twin Oaks.

Standing in the doorway of the store brought back memories of his father’s store back in Philadelphia with all its sights and sounds. His throat tightened and he was surprised as a wave of nostalgia caught him unexpectedly. He took in the sight of wares stacked on wooden shelving and in barrels on the floor. Would his boys ever see his father’s store?

Pushing aside his sudden homesickness, he set to work, choosing supplies. Warning Tommy and Willy not to touch anything, he let them wander around to look at the toys and gadgets on display. Meanwhile, he bought some coffee, sugar and a few other cooking items women used to buy at his father’s store. He didn’t even know how to use most of them but figured maybe Miss Stewart would. He hadn’t savored homemade baking since Mathew’s wife, MaryAnn, had died. It would be a treat just to have someone who knew their way around a kitchen again. He would ask the new housekeeper if she had ever made raisin bread or bread pudding….

He picked up the small crate of raisins and made his final selections. At the counter, he greeted Josh, the owner.

“Good to see you again,” Josh said, tallying up the purchases on a piece of paper and then entering the figure in his ledger. “I haven’t seen you since you brought in your wheat last fall.”

“Yeah. I like to stock up when I get out. It’s more than a day’s trip out and I wouldn’t risk it in the winter,” Will rejoined. He wasn’t really in the mood to chat, but he didn’t want to seem rude, either. “Town seems to be growing.”

“It is. We’re getting more people every year. Are you going to be staying in town overnight or are you headed back?”

“We’ll be headed back.” Will was used to keeping his life to himself, but Tommy had other ideas.

“We gotta take our auntie House back to our farm,” the little tyke explained in his mixed-up way. The shopkeeper blinked at Tommy and scratched his head, but Tommy continued on without a break. “She’s gonna be a grandma to me and keep the house nice. She’s even gonna teach us stuff like how to be gent’men. She’s gonna be really nice—not like our other auntie, who was mean and yelled all the time….”

“Tommy.” Will was surprised at the last statement. Tommy couldn’t possibly remember his great-aunt. He must have been parroting something he heard from his older brother, or his cousin. But, no, it wasn’t likely Jake had said anything—the teenager wasn’t the type to tell tales. If anything, Will wished he was more in the habit of speaking up for himself. Willy, like his brother, had no such problem.

What did Willy remember of his great-aunt? Will had been too busy trying to keep the farm afloat to pay much attention to how the woman treated the children. He was going to have to do a better job this time. He wanted his boys educated but not at the cost of their being mistreated.

Once again, doubts assailed him—was he doing the right thing by letting a total stranger into his home? Maybe he and Jake could handle the boys on their own. But he’d given Miss Stewart his word, and she had packed up her whole life to come out to Nebraska. He had to at least give her a chance. Maybe he could let her stay for a few weeks while he watched how the boys reacted to her. Meanwhile, he’d pray about sending her back or having her stay. She might decide Nebraska wasn’t right for her after all. She’d hardly be the first to feel that way. In the meantime, there was no sense in borrowing trouble.

After all, he had been praying for this since last spring. God directed Miss Stewart to answer his ad and she would be arriving within the hour. Obviously God’s hand moved in this and had sent her here. Tommy and Willy needed a woman’s influence in their upbringing.

With that thought in mind, he prayed for wisdom and headed the boys out of the mercantile and off to the train station. The sound of the locomotive whispered on the wind as it came closer to town. Its whistle announced its approach before it even came into view. In just a few minutes, Miss Stewart would step off the train, and Will would see how right he’d been to bring her to Nebraska.

* * *

Within a few minutes, Abigail Stewart would be arriving in the town that was to be her new home.

The prairie looked so different from the rolling hills of Ohio that had been her only home for all of her twenty-six years. Nebraska felt as if someone had taken a huge rolling pin and flattened everything, leaving only waving grasses and flowers. Even the trees were missing. But the colors were vibrant as Abby watched the world pass by, and she couldn’t help hoping that they symbolized a bright, happy new life she’d have with the widowed Mrs. Hopkins and her children, free from Abby’s domineering sister and her brother-in-law’s inappropriate attentions.

How would she be able to recognize Mrs. Hopkins? She had never asked for a description before. She’d just assumed that she would be able to see something in the woman’s eyes that would match the gentle spirit and spunk Abby inferred from her letters. Now she wished she’d asked for more details.

Abby glanced around the stuffy passenger compartment at the other passengers traveling with her these last few days. The loud Erving family spread throughout the car. Watching them, Abby couldn’t help wondering what her own nieces, Megan and Hanna, were going to do now without Abby there to encourage them. They were beautiful girls, almost on the brink of womanhood. Would suitors begin to call on them soon? What sort of lives would they end up leading? And the rest? How would Harold get his studies done with Peter always bothering him? Would little Katie even remember Auntie Abby? The girls had promised to keep in touch, and Abby knew she would cherish their letters and the news they would share. She only hoped she’d have lots of good tidings to share by return post about her new home and the family she hoped would accept her as one of their own.

As the conductor opened the door to the car and called out, “Twin Oaks, Nebraska. Next stop,” Abby stuck her knitting into her satchel. She checked under her seat, pulled her satchel strap up over her shoulder and hugged it close. It held her letters, coin purse and knitting. Her heart sped up as she saw the town come into view. It was small and somewhat rough, as Mrs. Hopkins had warned her, but it looked fresh and exciting to Abby as she hoped that maybe she would find a place to belong to here.

As the train bounced and lurched to a stop, Abby tried to stand and found herself tossed against the conductor. Mr. Galvan had proved to be kind, making the trip as comfortable as possible for everyone. He regaled them with stories about other trips and the fascinating people he’d met over the past three years working for the railroad. The stories were a little marred by the man’s terrible memory for names, but were very entertaining all the same.

“Careful,” he chuckled, “you don’t want to get banged up right before you meet Mrs. Hooper.”

“Mrs. Hopkins,” Abby corrected softly, “and thank you for all your help.”

“It’s been a pleasure to assist you on your trip. If you ever need anything, you can always leave word with the train station. Maybe I’ll look you up in a few months...see how you’re faring with Mrs. Hoskills.”

“Mrs. Hopkins,” Abby corrected for a second time.

“Twin Oaks!” Mr. Galvan’s voice boomed, cutting off their conversation. He moved past her and stepped to the door of the car so that he could assist the passengers while they disembarked.

Abby clutched the seat in front of her, waiting until the last lurch of the train, and then followed the rest of the passengers to the door. She wasn’t sure if it was the jerky motion of the locomotive or—more likely—the nerves of meeting Mrs. Hopkins and embarking on this new adventure that had her stomach twisting. What a first impression that would make—to get sick just as she stepped off the train.

Taking in a slow, deep breath, she prayed silently that God would protect her and lead her to the right place. The smoky air from the train did little to settle her stomach, but her nerves calmed slightly as she closed her eyes and imagined God watching her step onto the wooden platform. It didn’t manage to go quite as smoothly as she’d imagined. Between the noises, the smoke and the bright sun, she tripped, lurching forward.

A strong and calloused hand reached out and caught her upper arm and kept her from falling. She blinked, finding herself face-to-face with a stern frown chiseled into a bronzed face, piercing blue eyes focused on hers. His face was shadowed by his straw hat, as if shrouded in mystery.

“Careful, miss.” His voice were low and gentle, surprisingly cultured for a man in ripped overalls, a faded black vest and a threadbare cotton shirt. He held a child in his other arm. The boy clung to his shoulders as the man stepped back and released Abby. Strangely, she felt drawn toward him. He made her feel safe.

“Thank—” Her words were cut off by the shrill of the train’s whistle and the belching of smoke that followed. The man looked past her, obviously searching to find someone else. It shouldn’t have bothered her to so quickly lose his attention, but he had seemed nice...sincere.

Now was not the time to consider her confusing feelings. She needed to look for Mrs. Hopkins. Maybe the woman would be waiting with a wagon over by the station so they could get Abby’s luggage off the train and head home. Abby made her way through the throngs of people to the end where men were unloading the freight. Seeing her three chests set to the side, she sighed with relief. She turned to study the faces of the people rushing around her.

Suddenly she felt very small and alone. What would happen if she couldn’t find Mrs. Hopkins? The thought had never even occurred to her until she stood watching the other passengers meeting with their families or heading off to the livery to procure transportation. Soon she was completely alone. Minutes passed, but there wasn’t a woman nearby who could have been Mrs. Hopkins.

She took a seat on one of the benches and prayed, hoping Mrs. Hopkins would arrive before she concocted a backup plan. The sun shone bright and the air stifled her very breath. It was hotter here than it ever got back at home in May. Her stomach churned, reminding her that the last thing she had had to eat was a greasy sandwich of scrambled eggs and some unidentifiable meat she’d barely swallowed down at daybreak at a tiny train stop.

Where could Mrs. Hopkins be? Did something happen to keep her from coming? Abby tried to pray, but the thoughts all got jumbled up in her head.

* * *

Will waited while a large family with a passel of kids piled off the train. A few men and a pretty, young lady who needed some assistance disembarking followed. Maybe Miss Stewart was having trouble gathering her things or had difficulty with the jerky motion of the train’s stop. Did she need aid to exit the train? Will hoped he hadn’t hired someone who was too feeble to be able to carry out basic chores.

“Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me if there are any more passengers getting off at Twin Oaks?” he asked the conductor.

“No, sir. Everyone’s disembarked,” the man answered. “Is there someone you’re looking for?”

“Our auntie House,” Tommy replied before Will could get a word in edgewise.

“He means our new housekeeper.” Willy offered the information before Will could intervene.

“Yeah, her. She’s old like our other mean auntie, but she’ll be nice ’cuz Pa’s gonna pay her to be nice and teach us lots a’stuff like how to be gent’men.” Tommy picked up the story, hanging off his father’s neck precariously to peek into the train.

“I’ll bet she saw the prairie and got off the train back in... What state is that where the prairie starts?” Willy questioned midsentence.

Taking control of the conversation before the boys told all of the family secrets, Will eyed the conductor again. “Are you sure Miss Stewart wasn’t onboard? She should have been in her fifties. She was coming to fill a position of housekeeper and tutor for my children. She would have been coming from Ohio.”

“Nope. The only woman traveling alone was Miss Stevens.” The conductor’s gaze followed the girl who had just tripped off the train, and he pointed toward her. “That’s her. She was going to be a housekeeper, all right—but for a widow woman...” He looked deep in thought as if he was trying to remember something. “Mrs. Hopple or Hope.”

“That young lady?” Will clarified.

“Yes, sir.” The conductor looked Will over from head to toe through narrowed eyes. “You had better behave around that young lady. She’s very special,” he warned in spite of his obvious disadvantage in height and build. Will looked down on the smaller man and wondered wryly just exactly what the man thought he would be able to do if the situation arose.

There was no reason to upset him, though. “I don’t doubt it,” Will said in a pacifying tone. “I have no intentions of bothering anyone. I just came to look for my new housekeeper. Are you sure she wasn’t on the train?”

“No, sir, I’ve been on the train since we headed out of Illinois three days ago. There was no other woman that came alone except for Miss Standish. I hope everything is all right with your new housekeeper. Maybe she will be on next week’s train.”

Will felt the stirring of annoyance, then something akin to anger. If Miss Stewart wasn’t on the train, she had just made off with five dollars’ worth of his hard-earned cash. He had sent her a ticket and asked her to let him know if there were any obstacles that would keep her from arriving on this train. There was plenty of time for her to have sent a letter or a wire. He knew that she hadn’t because he’d checked both at the post office and at the mercantile for any messages before coming to the train depot.

“Thank you for your time.” He barely remembered to be civil as embarrassment and frustration warred within him. What kind of fool must the conductor think he was?

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Will forced a pleasant tone even though he was simmering inside.

“But shouldn’t we wait for Auntie House?” Tommy questioned innocently.

“She didn’t come. She’s just like all the rest of the women. They won’t live out here in the wilderness and let the Injuns scalp them. She won’t come to live out here. Even our own mother didn’t want to stay with us here.” Willy shouted the last part and darted off, not paying attention to the wagons or horses on the dirt street.

“Willy! Wait, son! You can’t go running—”

He caught up to Willy two blocks away. The boy was hunched over, hiding in an alleyway with his face in his hands. Just before Will reached him, he let out a sob.

“Willy.” Will set Tommy down and pulled Willy into his arms, holding him tight. “I don’t know why Miss Stewart didn’t arrive when we expected her, but it’s all going to work out. Maybe she wasn’t the one God wanted taking care of you and Tommy. Or maybe she is, and she’ll come on the next train.”

Even as Will said the words, he realized he was too far behind with the farm chores to make the trip again in a week. He would have to leave some kind of message at the train station just in case. And if there was a next time, he certainly would not be bringing the boys with to have their expectations dashed to the ground.

“No one wants to live out here. Auntie Shelia said it and so did Ma. It’s a savage land with savages running around with no clothes on, killing people. I’m glad she didn’t come. She would have been mean just like Auntie Shelia. Women are just trouble. I’m glad we don’t have any at the house.” The boy straightened his shoulders and pulled away from his father.

Will wasn’t sure exactly what he should do. Willy’s speech just showed him how much he had failed his boys. His own mother was wonderful... It was a crying shame the boys hadn’t had a chance yet to know a woman like her—kind, generous and loving. But how could he possibly convince his sons of that if the only women they had lived with were women who had made life miserable at home? Was it time to think of sending the boys back to Philadelphia to be raised where they could get an education and where his mother could instill some appreciation for women into them?

“I know it’s hard to believe, but there are some women who are good and gentle. Like your grandma and my sisters, your aunts and then there’s Mrs. Scotts. You like her….” The boys did like Mrs. Scotts, and the other women who attended their small church. But with the busy lives these farmers’ wives led, there wasn’t much time for visiting with neighbors. They only saw them for a little while at church the one Sunday a month they had services. And that short amount of time wasn’t enough to really know anyone. Even Caroline had been pleasant enough to their neighbors for a few short hours at church each month. It was when they were home that her mood had changed.

He stood and took Tommy’s hand in his right and Willy’s in his left. “What d’ya say we go get something to eat now? We need to head back in an hour or so if we’re going to get to the river before nightfall. Maybe we can bag that stag we saw last night.”

Tommy happily started chattering about their trip back and what animal he wanted to hunt as they headed back down the main street to the hotel. Willy swiped at his face with his hands and then his nose with his sleeve before Will could produce a handkerchief.

“Where’s your kerchief?” he asked.

“I forgot, Pa.” Willy blew his nose soundly.

“I ain’t got no kerchief, Pa,” Tommy reminded him. “You were gonna give me one and then you forgot.”

“Sorry, son. We’ll get you a few at the house.” At least he hoped that there were still some hankies somewhere in the house.

A few minutes later, Will and the boys sat at a table in the dining area of the hotel, perusing the menu. “Pa, what are you going to eat?” Tommy’s questions never stopped. Without letting his father answer him, he launched into his own opinion of the food, what he wanted, and ended with another question. “Why don’t you cook like this, Pa?”

“Well, son,” Will hedged. “I guess some things I just haven’t learned yet.”

“Maybe our auntie House...I mean our Miss Auntie could do it better,” Tommy reassured him.

“Don’t you understand anything!” Willy yelled at his brother. “She’s not coming!”

“But I want her to,” Tommy whined. “I want someone to cook better than Pa and fix my clothes so we could go to the meeting with nice clothes like Jill.”

“Boys!” Will exclaimed, glaring at his offspring. He gave a short lecture on the right way to behave in public. Even as he was speaking, he remembered his father saying something very similar when he was young. When both boys calmed down, he nodded approval.

The waitress came and took their order, smiling and teasing the boys before she left. Comfortably plump, the woman looked to be about Will’s mother’s age. “Maybe we can ask her if she wants to be our auntie... How do you call it again?” Tommy quizzed his brother when the waitress left.

Before Will could stop the conversation, Tommy turned his attention to the door. Standing up in his chair, he grinned, pointing and then waving at someone who had entered. “There she is, Pa. That lady that you caught at the train. Maybe she’ll be our—”

“Tomas, sit down and put your arm down!” Will was about to pick both boys up and take them to the wagon. It was downright embarrassing that he had come all this way for nothing, and now the boys were making a ruckus here.

“But she’s here, Pa. She looks really nice,” Tommy whispered this time, dropping back into his seat but still staring at someone behind Will.

“I’m sorry, miss,” he could hear the waitress answering the woman. “We don’t have any jobs here. There are hardly any customers except on the days the train comes through. Why don’t you come in and have a bite to eat and maybe by then the lady you’re waiting for will come by?”

Since his back was to the two women, Will wasn’t able to see what happened next, but the expression on Tommy’s face brightened. Before he could stop his son, the boy shot off his chair toward the stranger.

“Come sit with us, lady. You look nice. We need someone to teach us how to eat nice and not like a bunch of wild hogs.”

Will turned in his chair and caught the surprised look on the woman’s face. She quickly disguised it with a smile. “Well, hello to you, too, little man.” She crouched down and looked into Tommy’s eyes while she spoke.

Will was taken by her soft, sincere voice. She sounded as though she actually enjoyed talking to the little boy. Will opened his mouth to call Tommy back to the table, but the words died before reaching his lips when he saw the rapture on his son’s face.

“I’m not a little man, I’m just a boy. My brother says I haf’ta be more’n eleven to be a man. He’s gonna be a man soon ’cuz he’s already nine,” Tommy informed her, holding out eight fingers until she helped him lift one more.

“That’s nine.” She smiled, ruffling his hair.

“I just got my hair—”

“Tomas.” Will didn’t know what to do with his son. He seemed bound and determined to get the whole town laughing at his antics. “Leave the lady in peace and come back to the table.”

“But, Pa, she don’t have nobody to sit with and we could learn how to be gent’men if she were at the table,” Tommy argued, taking hold of the woman’s hand.

“Tomas, you need to heed your father, dear.” Her melodic voice soothed some of Will’s embarrassment, and her eyes sparkled with delight. She straightened back up and led Tommy to the table without withdrawing her hand from his.

Reluctantly, Tommy sat down and let her go, but as she turned to leave, she suddenly turned back to look closer at Will. “Oh, my! You’re the one who—”

“Yeah,” Tommy answered for his father, “he caught you at the train. You were gonna fall on your face.”

“Yes, I was. I don’t think I had a chance to thank you, sir.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt,” Will mumbled uncomfortably. It had been years since he was in polite company.

“Can she eat with us, Pa? Please.” Tommy pushed the issue.

“She probably wants some peace and quiet after her train ride, Tommy.”

“Yeah, you talk too much,” Willy whispered to his brother. Tommy’s face fell and he bit his lower lip.

“I’d love to eat with you, young man. You’re the most handsome gentleman who’s ever invited me to sup with him. I’d be honored, but your pa might want to have you boys all to himself.”

“It would be our pleasure to have your presence at our table,” Will responded, belatedly standing in the presence of the lady as his mother had taught him. “Please, have a seat, if you’d like.” Even as he stepped around to hold out the chair between Tommy and Willy and opposite his, he wondered what he was thinking. The young woman had just given him the perfect out and instead of taking it, he asked her to join them and endure his sons’ antics. Maybe it was just the idea of talking to another adult or maybe it was the worried look she was trying hard to hide from the boys.

“Thank you again,” she murmured. The waitress set a menu in front of her and soon returned with a glass of water for everyone.

“Well, my young friend.” She smiled down at Tommy. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. My name—”

“I’m Tommy,” he interrupted, “and I’m six years old.” He held out his hands and this time he had managed to get six digits to stand in the air.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Master Tommy.” She grinned and shook his hand as if he were a grown man.

“And you would be...?” She turned her attention on Willy.

Will did all he could not to stare at the young lady. Her eyes were a mix of green and blue and she smiled genuinely at his son. Her blond hair had been pulled back into some sort of braids and then wrapped into a bun. With the jostling about of the train and the wind, little spirals had escaped, bouncing close to her diminutive ears.

She couldn’t be more than eighteen. What person had sent her out on the train by herself? Didn’t they know that the prairie was full of single men? Many hadn’t had an opportunity to socialize with a lovely lady for months or even years. Where was her father or brother? What was she to do now that no one had shown up to the station? And who was so irresponsible to have a young lady like her come halfway across the continent and then not meet her train?

“He’s my big brother. He always tells me what to do. He’s sweet on Jill. So, what are you going to eat? Pa likes the chicken ’cuz we mostly eat venison and rabbit on the farm. I’m gett’n’ the same thing ’cuz it’s got potatoes in it. I think I like potatoes.”

“That’s very nice, Tommy, but you didn’t tell me you brother’s name.”

“I told ya you talk too much,” Willy muttered.

“I do not!” Tommy answered his brother with a glare.

“Do, too!”

“Do not!”

“Do, too!”

“Boys!” Barely keeping his voice low, Will intervened and frowned when he saw the young lady biting her lower lip. Was she trying not to laugh at the boys or trying not to show her discomfort? He had had almost all the humiliation that he could take for one day. “Behave yourselves.”

His warning was understood and both boys lowered their eyes. “Forgive us, miss. We don’t get to town very often and it seems we’ve left what few manners we have back home.”

“Don’t think another thing about it, sir. My nieces and nephews were always saying things without thinking them through first. I find your boys refreshing.” She smiled reassuringly at both boys.

“Well, I should try to start the introductions again,” Will stated, wondering why her smile made his stomach flutter just a bit. It must have been the hunger for his supper sending ripples though his middle. “I’m Will Hopkins and this is Willy.” He pointed to his older son.

“It’s a pleasure—” The young lady had turned to Willy, extending her hand to shake his, when she froze and turned stunned eyes back to Will. Willy stared at her strangely, his hand in the air.

“I... What did you say your surname was?” she asked in a choked voice.

“Hopkins, but around here we usually are very...” Her face had gone deathly white and she looked as if she was going to faint.

She looked too stunned for words, barely gathering herself together enough to speak. “I... Where is Mrs. Hopkins? Where is Francis?” she stuttered.

He hadn’t heard anyone call him that in years—in fact, other than his mother, no one called him that at all. He could feel himself flush, and tried to talk over it. “I’m, um... My father was... I’m Francis, Francis William Hopkins. I go by Will most of the time.”

“But you’re not a widow!”

A widow? Why would anyone think he was—

“I thought... My mother’s best friend was Frannie, Francis...and if you...if you’re... Why didn’t you tell me who you were at the station? You just walked past me and left me there!” The confusion on her pretty face gave way to obvious anger.

“How’d you know my given name? What are you talking about?” Will asked, curious and accusing at the same time.

“Your ad.”

“What ad?”

“The ad that you placed in the ladies’ Christian monthly pamphlet,” she explained. “I subscribe to it and in April of last year, there was an ad...” She pulled her satchel up onto her lap and started sorting through her things. Finally she pulled out a paper and handed it to him.

He only read the first few lines before he glanced back up to study the young woman again. It was the ad his mother had created to find him a housekeeper. The ad Miss Stewart had answered. But that meant... No, it couldn’t be. This girl didn’t look a day over twenty, and the letter he’d received had clearly stated that his new employee was in her fifties. The woman in front of him, who looked as if she might give in to tears at any moment, couldn’t be Abigail Stewart.

“What’s wrong, miss?” Tommy asked her, having come to stand next to her, his small hand on hers.

Will watched as some of the anger and frustration melted out of her expression as she looked down at his son. “I’m not quite sure of that myself, honey,” she answered, pressing his hand with hers. “It’s been a long trip and I have had a very taxing day. I was looking forward to meeting my new employer and her...his family. But this hasn’t gone at all like I thought it would.” She looked up from Tommy to glare at Will. “Especially the part where I was left alone on the train platform while your father walked away.”

“You’re...you’re Miss Stewart?” Will said incredulously.

She straightened her back and tilted her chin up to look him straight in the eye. “Yes, I’m Abigail Stewart.”

Any answer Will might have given was interrupted by Tommy’s response. Throwing his arms around the woman’s waist, he squeezed tight while yelling out, “You’re our auntie House!”