Calico Brides (35 page)

Thirty minutes later, they met in front of the diner. The doors remained open, Aunt Kate serving hot cocoa to anyone bold enough to brave the weather.

“I wonder what’s keeping Haydn.” Gladys rubbed a spot in the window. “He promised he’d come right away. We don’t want to wait much longer.”

In addition to the sewing circle, several other members of the Calico community joined them in the diner. Half of them, Beau couldn’t put a name to their faces. Without his saying a word, the men organized search teams while the women decided which homes to set up as relay stations, places to return for warmth and refreshment. A few of the women, Ruth among them, wanted to hunt along with the men, and no one denied them.

Beau cleared his throat, and the room quieted. “I promised Guy I’d be back by noon. I’ll head on out with whoever is coming with me.”

“I am.” Ruth’s gray eyes met his.

Another man joined their party. They’d barely reached the town square when Pastor Fairfield clanged the church doors behind him, head lowered into the wind.

“Wait. Let’s see what he has to say.” Ruth nudged her horse forward toward the bent figure.

Pastor Fairfield lifted his head, hand clamped on a broad-brimmed black hat, and joy sprang on his face at the sight of Beau and the others accompanying them. “Good news, brother!”

S
it still, teacher!” Dru giggled. “That’s what you always tell us, and you’re worse than the first graders.”

Ruth smiled at the two of them in the mirror. After Papa had greeted them with the news that Dru had spent the night before safe and sound inside the room at the church, they had reached quick decisions. Beau headed for the soddy to catch Guy and hunker down before the storm let loose its full fury. Everyone agreed that neither Dru nor Ruth should face the weather without good reason. Once again Dru was a guest of the Calico parsonage.

The snow continued unabated for the rest of Monday into Tuesday. As usual, Aunt Kate and Mama and Papa took in those schoolchildren who lived too far away to reach home safely. Ruth had always enjoyed these times; they were part of the reason she had decided to become a teacher. After this most recent experience, she allowed herself to admit that perhaps they helped reveal a desire for a family of her own. A family with children of her own to love, special ones like Dru…and Allan…and even Guy. With someone like…Beau.

His name aroused a raging fire of emotions in her. She must have mistaken the spark she’d seen in his eyes when they went looking for Dru. Silly woman, to mistake feelings stirred by the disappearance of his niece for romantic longings of a lonely soul. He hadn’t even returned to town to take his niece home, although Allan had come by on his first day back at work to let them know the three menfolk had survived the storm.

“Now you’ve got that dreamy look in your eye.” Dru ran the brush through Ruth’s hair another time. “Do you want to keep it down around your shoulders? Or I could braid it and put it in a bun.” Dru ran her fingers through the long strands. “Although that would be a pity. It’s too pretty to hide. Or I could pile it on top of your head like a crown… .”

Ruth studied her image in the mirror. Not so long ago, she had worried about how to fix her hair. A simple bow holding her dark locks at the nape of her neck once brought her pleasure. Now she went with the most practical style for teaching, away from her face. During the summer, she kept her hair off her neck and let it down again when the weather turned cold.

But Dru was so eager, Ruth agreed to the experiment. “Whatever you like, as long as you don’t cut it.”

“I would never do that. It’s too pretty.”

Dru made a pretty picture herself. Now that Beau and Ruth had achieved peace between them, Ruth had finished another dress for Dru. This one was a soft green wool, one that would look lovely with her coloring, with white lace at the collar and cuffs, and a gored skirt in the back, flared just enough to look fashionable. Earlier today Dru had put the dress on for the first time, and Ruth had pinned her hair up in a simple bun. A little too grown up, too dressy for a weekday, but girls liked to dream.

Dru put a finger to her lips and turned Ruth around so she could study her face. “If you don’t mind…I’d like to fix it the same way you fixed mine.”

Happiness flooded Ruth’s chest as if the girl had just said she wanted to become a teacher. “That’s sounds wonderful.”

Dru kept Ruth facing her while she led the girl through the steps. “That’s perfect!” With a flourish, Dru held up the hand mirror for Ruth to see her reflection.

Ruth gasped. She hadn’t looked so pretty, so young, so vulnerable since she began teaching five years ago. She touched the smoothed edges of brow and skin and cheek and hair. “You’re a wonder, Dru Pratt.”

The girl giggled again. “I’ll remind you that you said that the next time I get into trouble at school.” She tugged at Ruth’s arm. “C’mon, stand up. I want to see us side by side.”

Their hair was different colors. So were their eyes. But something—the joy in their eyes? The laughter on their lips? The shine of their hair?—made them look as alike as sisters.

“I wish you were my sister. Or my mother, since my ma died.” The young lady slipped into a child again as she flung her arms around Ruth’s neck.

“I am your sister in Christ. And you can always come to me with questions you don’t feel comfortable asking your uncle.” Ruth wondered whether she was wise to make such an open-ended invitation. If—
when
—Beau married, Dru should go to his wife with her questions.

“Everything would be perfect if you would just marry Uncle Beau. Then I could have you all to myself.”

Ruth turned away before Dru could see the telltale heat streaking across her cheeks. “He has caught the attention of several ladies of the church. It won’t be too long before you have an aunt you can go to with your questions.”

Dru’s mouth drooped. “I want you for my aunt.”

“What you want and what God and your uncle Beau want may be different things. I’m where God has placed me, teaching the Calico School. I don’t expect marriage to be part of my future.” She reached for her hair, ready to ruin the fancy hairstyle. With a look at Dru, she dropped her hand and sighed.

Beau waited in the parlor for Mrs. Fairfield to call Dru. He leaned forward, not meaning to eavesdrop but unable to close his ears and unwilling to move where he couldn’t hear.

I don’t expect marriage to be part of my future
.

The words hit his soul like a death knell. Dru appeared in the doorway and squealed, and Beau hastened to paste a smile back on his lips. She must have seen his unhappy frown, however. “Uncle Beau, are you mad at me?”

She wore a pretty green gown that showed a lovely young woman, one who was growing into the image of her mother. Beau blinked at the tears the memories of his own dear sister brought to his eyes. “Mad at you? Yes, and worried and relieved and…” He drew in his breath. “Mostly, I’m mad at myself that you felt you had to run away rather than stay with me.”

Dru looked at the floor. “I acted like a child. All you wanted me to do was to get my schooling someplace else. You weren’t sending me off to someplace like the Betwixt ’n’ Between, like the fathers of some of Birdie’s girls did.”

Of course Dru had heard some of the stories, as much as Beau wished he could shield her. “I was treating you like you were still seven years old and didn’t have any ideas of your own. Expecting you to run the house and then not respecting your opinion about what was best for our family…that wasn’t very smart of me.”

“Maybe.” She dragged her gaze to look at him. “So we’re all right, then?”

“More than all right.” He opened his arms, and she flew into them. He hugged her to his side, feeling once again the sizzle of joy he had felt each time he had reunited with Charlotte. He took a few steps with her. “Come outside with me.” When he whispered in her ear, she followed with wide eyes the snow-packed path leading from parsonage to church. Once he found a secluded spot, he shared his plan with his niece; he had already talked it over with Allan and Guy. When a fit of girlish laughter collapsed her, he led her into the church. “Why don’t you wait in here? I’ll come for you soon.”

“Of course. And Uncle Beau?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t hurry back.”

Ruth caught sight of Beau and Dru hovering behind the back wall of the church. Young couples who thought that was a good place for privacy didn’t know that the parsonage bedrooms looked over their hideout. Most of it was innocent enough, although once or twice Papa had to step in.

Whatever Beau wanted to discuss with his niece was none of Ruth’s business. She shut the curtains against the sight and rustled through her closet instead. Over the months she had filled a box with things she had made for the Pratts. The bed quilt wasn’t quite finished, so it lay on top where she could grab it and work on it during odd moments. She had shirts and pants for the boys and a skirt and blouse for Dru. Annie had added socks. After she finished reviewing the contents, Dru and Beau still hadn’t come back inside. She twitched the side of the curtain; they had disappeared from view. Frowning, she pressed her head against the glass but didn’t see either one of them. He hadn’t taken his niece home without saying good-bye, had he?

“Ruth.” Mama knocked on the door. “Mr. Blanton would like to see you in the parlor.”

Ruth’s heart leaped at those words in a way that didn’t reflect well on her continued peace of mind. “Coming, Mama.”

Beau stood at the entrance to the parlor. Something about the way he held his hat in his hands, hope shining from his eyes, made her glad for the extra pains she and Dru had taken with her appearance today. “You’re looking mighty fine today, Ruth.”

Heat rose in her cheeks as she entered the room. He rushed to the back of the chair closest to the fire and held it for her. “Let me take that for you.” He took the basket of shirts and household goods from her with a glance. “Let me guess. Your needle’s been busy again.”

“Yes.” Ruth studied his face, nervous that he might reject her gift. She held her breath.

“Good.” He smiled.

“So you’re not mad?”

“How can I be mad at you for blessing me even when I was too stubborn to accept help when we needed it?” He set the basket beside him, on top of his coat, where he could easily pick it up when he left. “Mad? I should be offering my gratitude as well as asking for your forgiveness.”

“Given. And I should ask for yours as well.”

“We’ve already discussed all that.” He didn’t speak again for the space of a few seconds. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. You’ve already forgiven me for being a stubborn fool. But I was wondering if you could do more than forgive me.” His eyes searched hers. “If you could, perhaps, even…love me? Love me enough to marry me, to raise three children and any others the good Lord sees fit to give us?”

Mama poked her head around the corner. “Your father has already said yes.” With a wink, she disappeared again.

Ruth blinked, certain Beau could read the answer in her eyes…her mouth…even in the way her ears reddened. “Yes yes yes!”

She couldn’t wait to tell the Calico Sewing Circle that their mission was complete.

Matchmaking and all.